Absolute Death Game

Qin Shimoon hesitated a bit on the first two requests but eventually agreed; however, the third request made her hesitate.

"Fire-resistant Equipment? Is it really so necessary? I've already allocated you a substantial amount of funds previously."

"Manager Qin, this BOSS is an unprecedented formidable enemy that we have never encountered before, and conventional tactics will definitely not work against it. The only possibility is to utilize its Fire Element attacks, and counter it using fire-resistant measures. This may be our only chance to conquer this dungeon," Zhang Yaoyang explained earnestly, his sincerity evident.

Qin Shimoon was slightly taken aback, seemingly surprised that Zhang Yaoyang had adjusted his mindset so quickly. Countering with fire-resistant measures did sound like a good strategy, and since Qin Shimoon was not very knowledgeable about online games, perhaps it could really work?

Considering this, she nodded her head, "Well then, I can specially approve a fund of 200 Gold Coins for you. As for the rest, we will have to wait until the Xuanwu Group has replenished its Gold Coin reserves."

Zhang Yaoyang nodded, "Then I am relieved. In addition, there are two more matters. Since we're going to use the White Tiger Group's members to form a team with us, shouldn't we also assign a leader for the White Tiger Group? Manager Qin, do you have any suitable candidates in mind?"

Qin Shimoon hesitated, Wang Yifan was definitely not an option, as he still had to manage the daily operations of the White Tiger Group, "Who do you think would be suitable?"

"I think Li Jian is a good choice. He has some clout in the White Tiger Group and should be able to command those guys," Zhang Yaoyang said nervously, watching Qin Shimoon, fearing she might disagree. After various probes, he had confirmed that Li Jian, like him, not only knew the secrets of the game but also harbored some rebellious thoughts.

Qin Shimoon nodded, "Then let it be Li Jian. This dungeon is very important, and you can recruit anyone from the White Tiger Group as you wish. Don't disappoint me. What's the second matter?"

"Intelligence. I need all the intelligence on that dungeon, so I hope Wu Min'er from the Vermilion Bird Group can cooperate fully with me during this time."

Qin Shimoon nodded, "No problem. I will issue the order to her. Do you have any other requests?"

Zhang Yaoyang shook his head, "That's all for now."

When Zhang Yaoyang stepped out of the manager's office, he let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that the plan was progressing smoothly, and now it was time for the next step.

At noon, as Xiao Buli was pondering how to enhance his strength while eating lunch, Zhang Yaoyang suddenly sat down across from him, "Come with me this afternoon to meet with the White Tiger Group's people."

Xiao Buli asked curiously, "Why are you taking me with you?"

Zhang Yaoyang replied, "Of course, it's because we need to leverage your analytical skills to persuade them. If there isn't a sufficient chance of success, the White Tiger Group's members are unlikely to agree to join. After all, this dungeon battle is going to be led by our Green Dragon Group."

Xiao Buli nodded, offering no objection.

In the afternoon, Zhang Yaoyang specifically requested a conference room from Qin Shimoon as a venue to discuss the formation of the dungeon raid team.

As key figures in forming the raid team for the dungeon, Wu Min'er and Li Jian were both invited, and besides them, Zhang Yaoyang only brought Bai Yunfei and Xiao Buli.

Xiao Buli was the last to arrive. In order to persuade the White Tiger Group, he had prepared some items beforehand.

"Look who's here, isn't this our Master Xiao?" As Xiao Buli entered the office, Li Jian spoke with a mix of sarcasm and jest, as the scenes from their first days in the newbie area seemed like just yesterday, yet today's were so different.

Zhang Yaoyang nodded at Xiao Buli, who then went straight to sit between him and Bai Yunfei. Wu Min'er and Li Jian sat in the other two corners of the conference room, sharply delineating the groups.

"Well, now that we're all here, let's get started," Zhang Yaoyang said as he spread out a plan and handed out copies to everyone.

"This is the plan for our upcoming dungeon raid. Considering it's a 20-person team dungeon, the White Tiger Group also needs to send members. After discussing with Manager Qin, we've decided that Li Jian would be the most suitable person to lead the White Tiger Group. Moreover, key members including Gao Lianyu, Zhang Hao, Ma Long, and others, will all join. What do you think? Aren't you excited?"

Hearing Zhang Yaoyang's words, Li Jian indeed felt excited, not with joy, but with anger.

"What do you mean? Are you trying to drag others down with you as you die?" Li Jian asked with a dark expression, which was not unexpected.

Zhang Yaoyang laughed, "Why would you say that? It's actually a good thing. You should know that once it's completed, there's a 200,000 bonus to be earned, which is much better than working your butt off for a month to make ten or eighteen thousand."

Li Jian almost jumped up at this, his fists clenching audibly, "Don't play dumb with me. I'm asking you again, why have you turned to me now when we've had no grudges in the past and no conflicts recently?"

Zhang Yaoyang, hearing his question, also became serious, "Even if I didn't find you, how long do you think you could stay carefree if we were to fail this time? Since that's the case, why don't we all rebel together? With everyone present, we should have a fighting chance."

The room fell deathly silent at his words. Although everyone's previous conversations were implied, stating it so bluntly was still somewhat risky. Wu Min'er looked around vigilantly, while Li Jian watched Zhang Yaoyang with a wary expression, puzzled as to why the other was so bold.

"Rest assured, the surveillance cameras and listening devices in this room have all been disabled by me," said Zhang Yaoyang, his confidence brimming.

Li Jian furrowed his brows, "How did you manage that?"
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"Well, you'll understand once you look at this." After speaking, he stretched out a hand, and a mouse suddenly appeared in his grasp, obediently lying there, not showing any signs of fear.

Upon seeing this, Wu Min'er frowned, but Li Jian laughed, "A mouse? So that's it, you used Taming Skills, right? Heh, I should have thought of it earlier, you've already been able to use abilities from the game."

"That's true for me, and isn't it the same for you? If I'm not mistaken, you and your people have been able to do the same for quite some time now," he replied.

Li Jian nodded, took off his sunglasses, and his eyes were faintly red, "I am a berserker, and ever since I advanced, my eyes turned like this. Whenever I wish, I can enter a Berserk state."

After saying this, he put his sunglasses back on, "So are you really planning to rebel?" Li Jian still found it hard to believe.

"What else could it mean? Of course it's to rebel. We always harbored some illusions in the past, but now it seems clear that the higher-ups simply don't take us seriously at all, just using our lives in exchange for equipment. If we don't rebel now, then when?"

Li Jian asked, "How many in Green Dragon Group are willing to rebel with you? It can't just be those two, can it?"

Zhang Yaoyang shook his head, "Of course not, most people in Green Dragon Group are willing to stand with me. However, for the sake of confidentiality, I did not bring them here."

Li Jian nodded, "In that case, there might be a chance. How do you plan to deal with Qilin Group?" That was the question he was most concerned about.

Zhang Yaoyang turned and gave a glance, "Xiao, please enlighten us."

Xiao Buli nodded, he had already started preparing after the afternoon talk, so he was not flustered.

"The key to our uprising involves how to confront Qilin Group. As the saying goes, know yourself, know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. To defeat Qilin Group, we must figure out exactly how many people there are and what abilities they have," he said.

He pointed at Bai Yunfei, "Old Bai tried to scout using Soul Out Of Body, but there is a powerful barrier protecting the top floor, making it impossible to enter. Therefore, within Qilin Group, there must be someone good at dealing with Spiritual Beings from the Mage Professions. As for determining the abilities of other Qilin Group members, we'll have to resort to a less elegant method."

As he spoke, Xiao Buli took out several pieces of paper. These papers were penciled into a grid-like pattern; it was easy to discern that these resembled equipment slots for characters.

"I'm going to use a deductive method. List all the equipment and items you have turned in over the past five months. Same for the White Tiger Group," he spoke as he distributed the papers to Li Jian and Zhang Yaoyang.

They both complied, and Xiao Buli scrutinized the list on the paper, then looked up at the two men, "Are these the equipment and items taken at random by those above, or did they selectively choose? Did they assign tasks to you? Was there any instance where they returned equipment that was not useful? If yes, please mark those instances."

Zhang Yaoyang and Li Jian both nodded and once again followed his instructions.

With the updated list in hand, Xiao Buli nodded; with this data, it was not difficult to make some calculations.

In the first few months, the equipment turned in was primarily silver in color, even occasionally dark blue. But in the last two months, silver equipment no longer met the demands of those above. Apart from Gold Coin-level equipment, only Skill Books and certain special items could act as indicators to complete the demand.

Starting from five months ago, Xiao Buli categorized the turned-in equipment and Skill Books, filling them into the character cards he had prepared. As items were distributed progressively, the character cards became increasingly complete, and the tendencies in skills also grew more apparent.

This method was a first for everyone, and they couldn't help but show surprised expressions.

Finally, when all the equipment had been allocated, considering the turnover of equipment updates and that Qilin Group might have other sources to obtain equipment, he concluded that Qilin Group should consist of five members. Even though their names and professions weren't known, one could deduce some insights from the combination of their equipment and skills.

He laid out the filled character cards one by one for everyone to see, identifying the five individuals as follows.

One was a close-combat profession wielding a Two-Handed Sword and wearing armor, with Strength of at least 40 points.

One could see and suppress ghosts, possessing at least LV4 Necromancy from the Mage Professions.

One wore Leather Armor and wielded a One-handed Sword + Dagger, likely an assassin profession with the ability to use Ninjutsu skills.

One specialized in Thunder System spells from the Mage Professions, with extremely high Magic Damage.

The last one seemed peculiar as the combination of equipment made no logical sense, nor was there any pattern to their skill acquisition, leading Xiao Buli to conclude they might be a hybrid-class character or possibly two individuals with incomplete equipment sets. The latter was less likely, as the number of equipment didn't correlate.

"If my calculations are correct, these five are the formidable opponents we'll face," Xiao Buli concluded in the end. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)