The transport was still as smooth as silk. As Li Ang opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a desolate wilderness.
Below his feet was a narrow dirt road, bordered on both sides by dense and chaotic forests. The trees within were tall but not straight, with branches sprouting haphazardly, twisted and skewed, like deformed, muscular men lurking and observing the five figures standing at the center of the road.
It was evening. The dim sun hung high over the distant hills, its slanting rays illuminating the earth but failing to bring even a trace of warmth to this forest path.
The five figures stood in the formation of a pentagram. No one spoke, and a somber, oppressive atmosphere brewed and grew.
Each person was sizing up the others.
The first was a tall, well-built, middle-aged man with a square face. His appearance was stern and resolute, his demeanor calm and composed, and his posture straight and solemn. Even clad in a casual shirt and shorts, he could not hide the strong, iron-like character in his bones.
A soldier, or a policeman?
The second was a man with an older-looking face, probably in his early thirties. He had a wide forehead, arched eyebrows, small eyes, and a mustache. He wore sunglasses, a white shirt, and yellow beach shorts, and sported flip-flops. His entire demeanor exuded a sleazy, middle-aged vibe.
Uh... strikingly similar to Sun Haiying's portrayal of Tian Boguang.
The third person was a tall, slender young woman with long hair. She was dressed in black Night Clothes and was quite beautiful with her exquisite features, yet her face bore no expression, exuding an air of indifference, as if she were keeping everyone at a distance of a thousand miles.
An ice queen, huh... straight out of a light novel.
The fourth was a young monk in grey robes, with a gentle face and naturally enchanting beauty.
It was the Muscle Saint Monk that Li Ang had seen at Jing'an Temple a few days ago.
However, in the Killing Field game, there were slight, almost imperceptible changes to the monk's facial features. If it were not for the facial recognition correction system built into Li Ang's brain, he might not have recognized him at all.
"Hey," the man who resembled Tian Boguang glanced at Li Ang and said, sounding somewhat irritated, "Kid, why have you been narrating this whole time, introducing everyone? And where do I look like Tian Boguang?! Be careful, or I might just send you a lawyer's letter for your nonsense!"
Among the five, Li Ang—wearing a steel helmet, tall boots, a Monkey King mask, and a Bulletproof Vest, holding an AK-47 with a large drum magazine, and carrying a bulging backpack—appeared the most bizarre.
If you said he had escaped from a psychiatric hospital, well, the assault rifle in his hand was real. If you said he was a professional mercenary, well, he was wearing an incredibly funny Sun Wukong Mask.
Li Ang, who had been providing the narration, laughed. "Sorry, I just thought the atmosphere was too oppressive and wanted to liven it up a bit."
The previously brewing oppressive atmosphere dispersed after Li Ang's interruption. The square-faced, middle-aged man surveyed the group before speaking, "Everyone, we're on a team mission now. Judging by the generous settlement rewards, the difficulty is not low."
The square-faced man, who appeared to be a soldier, confidently stated, "Unlike electronic games in the real world, team missions in the Killing Field game do not have a 'friendly fire off' setting. Players on a cooperative mission can attack each other, though the effects will be greatly weakened. Furthermore, any action taken to actively attack a teammate will incur severe sanctions from the System. These sanctions can include, for example, the deduction of all Game Coins, destruction of all items in their inventory and equipment slots, or, after the mission concludes, being forced to immediately undertake an extremely difficult mission with an 80% mortality rate."
"Therefore, in team missions, our backs are guaranteed to be protected. Starting now, we had better let down our guard and work together; otherwise, it's very likely we'll all be wiped out in a high-difficulty mission."
Having said that, the square-faced, robust man took the initiative to open his permissions and publish his personal player information.
[Towering Cliff·Xing Hechou][Lv6]
Xing Hechou was not the robust man's real name; his birth name was Xing Chou, and he had become a player two months earlier.
There were three reasons he took the initiative to ease the situation in this team mission.
First, just as he had mentioned, the difficulty of this mission was probably not low, necessitating that everyone unite and work together to overcome the challenge.
Second, after observing the others, Xing Hechou believed he was likely the highest-leveled and most seasoned individual in the group, possessing the means, responsibility, and obligation to step forward and take control of the situation.
Third, in the real world, Xing Hechou had been an officer with the rank of Major. After becoming a player, he reported to his superiors, and following organizational deliberation, he was reassigned to work at the Special Affairs Bureau.
The Special Affairs Bureau, abbreviated as the Special Affairs Bureau, was a special department urgently established seven months ago. It was subordinate to the Security Department, with a lower hierarchy but extensive authority.
Seven months earlier, the Republican Intelligence Department had received intelligence on the Killing Field game. After repeated confirmation, they immediately reported it. The national machinery sprang into action; numerous think tanks and dignitaries from intelligence support organizations crowded into several large halls for days of continuous, highly classified meetings.
The think tank, composed of nearly a thousand experts, scholars, and industry leaders, soon provided a comprehensive and detailed advisory report, including assessments and predictions.
On this basis, the meeting ultimately determined that analyzing, decrypting, and utilizing the Killing Field game was to be one of the most important tasks for the national machinery at present.
Military, politics, economics, culture...
Over the ensuing lengthy period, the national machinery would gradually and imperceptibly begin to change in all aspects of society. This change would not only concern the daily lives and necessities of the people but also involve the safety of the citizens, the rise and fall of the nation, competition for global dominance, and the survival of the species.
Establishing the Special Affairs Bureau was just a small step in this major transformation.
As a member of the Special Affairs Bureau, Xing Hechou had already thoroughly studied the action guidelines compiled and summarized by the think tank organization, and he followed the behavioral instructions in the guidelines to the letter.
Xing Hechou's seemingly logical, articulate, and well-organized performance, with its convincing persuasive power, was partly due to his charismatic military personality. Another part stemmed from the action guidelines issued by the national think tank's psychological analysis team. Indeed, when faced with guidance manuals provided by thousands of psychological analysts, even a Transcendent who was otherwise an ordinary person was as predictable as a lab rat.
Surely enough, after Xing Hechou finished speaking, the other four individuals were moved and, one after another, published their personal player information.
The sleazy middle-aged man resembling Tian Boguang: [Passionate Swordsman·Wanli Fengdao][Lv5]
The ice-cold beauty: [Wu Dai][Lv4]
The grey-robed monk: [Hui Bin][Lv4]
The Monkey-faced Mercenary: [Li Rising][Lv3]