0062 – Is There A Way
0062 – Is There A Way
Athena ran, her heart already clear that the three of them must have used tracking methods unknown to her just now.
She knew they wouldn't let her off easily, especially since she had taken the supply box right from under their noses, which was no different from teasing them.
She moved through the dense forest, holding the supply box in her hand, but dared not open it recklessly. She didn't know if another beam of light would appear when she opened the supply box.
They used an unknown method to track her, and Athena could feel their approach. No matter how she hid, she couldn't shake off their pursuit.
While running, she suddenly spotted a hidden cave and didn't hesitate to dive in.
Inside, she opened the package.
Congratulations on obtaining Night Vision Goggles x1, War Time Medal x10, Shelter Upgrade Blueprint x1 (applicable to any level), and Deluxe Food x5! |
Simultaneously with the system prompt, another beam of light shot out from the package.
In fact, even with the cave's concealment, its light was unstoppable. The Night Vision Goggles were a pair of classic monocular glasses. When worn, Athena's vision instantly brightened, just like in daylight, no longer limited by darkness.
The ten war time medals had automatically merged with her medals, and her ranking on the medal quickly rose to 11th.
Phew, thankfully, just a hair away from the top ten.
The Deluxe Food consisted of five sheets of parchment paper, containing delicacies like seafood feasts, and stewed chicken. Athena rolled them all up and tucked them into her belt.
She was very cautious during battles and didn't feel marked by anything, and the system and purple fonts didn't make any judgments.
There was only one possibility: she wasn't marked; the package in her hand was.
Athena threw the package, which had lost its brilliance, on the ground and retreated. Indeed, the feeling of being tracked disappeared after she moved away.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the three advancing individuals also saw the appearing beam of light, and quickly noticed its disappearance, understanding something had happened.
Witch's Cloak stopped the Magic King who was preparing to accelerate, shaking her head at him. Her tracking method had been discovered; now, they didn't know where the other party escape to, so there was no point in pursuing again.
True Heart also quietly retreated to the side, turned around, and ran away. With the loss of a common goal, this temporary alliance instantly fell apart.
For Athena, the current dark forest, aside from being a bit more dangerous, had become as easy as walking on flat ground. Just as she was about to find a relatively safe place to take a rest and have a good meal with Mikmik, her friend's reminder sounded.
Finding a relatively safe place to temporarily rest, she opened the system panel and found her friend interface.
Inside were a series of messages bombarding her, but she had been busy just now and hadn't had time to attend to them.
-- Boss Big Dream, I'm in a dire situation! -- I'm surrounded by three people from Region 003! Boss, please help! -- They're all a bunch of rookies! Something you can handle with a flick of your hand! -- But I dare not move! |
Potato sent you a location share! |
The opponent's timidity seemed natural in their speech.
After Athena clicked, indeed, a white moving marker appeared on her map, indicating Potato's real-time location.
She was familiar with that location; apart from their beam of light, there were two other beams in different places. Unfortunately, Athena couldn't rush over there.
However, amidst the struggle for those beams on this side, she didn't see her familiar figure. She found the chat box for [ Ask-The-Heavens ].
Trade request from Big Dream, Accept/Decline? |
[ Ask-The-Heavens ] pushed up the glasses on his nose, showing a hint of confusion in his eyes, and clicked on accept.
Congratulations on receiving 20 silver! [ Big Dream ] sent you Potato's location sharing. |
-- That guy has a few people from Region 003 nearby. Give him a hand. |
[ Ask-The-Heavens ] knew Potato because he had purchased several scrolls from him before. Seeing the location was near his own, it was an easy favor to do.
Moreover, hadn't the rules of the regional battle been stated?
"If the number of surviving players in our region exceeds that of the opposing region by 10 people, the region subsidy reward increases by 1%, and an independent region increases by 5%!"
He had no way to refuse. He didn't know where he pulled out a handkerchief from, wiping the blood off his face and glasses, then headed in the direction of Potato.
Taking advantage of a break, he opened the regional chat channel.
-- Can any of the big shots in the regional battle broadcast it live? I'm really curious! -- Are you daydreaming? How could there be someone chatting in the regional battle? -- If I were to go, I'd probably turn into Voldemort on the ground, motionless until the end. -- I'm sitting at home, and I can imagine how intense the battle there must be. -- We should organize more of these activities in the future. It's rare to have such leisure, with no monsters around. I feel like planting some flowers and grass in the yard to rejuvenate. -- We're pretty leisurely now, but when they come back, our strength will be left behind by others by a lot. |
The system, in a rare act of conscience, had put all regions on rest mode during the three days of Regional battle.
Without system teleportation arrays and monsters being sent over, coupled with the previous barriers being pushed outward, they had more space to explore.
Athena had already arrived at another riverside with Mikmik, fishing out the fish monster hidden inside. After dealing with the opponent, she directly used a deluxe food blueprint next to the fish monster.
She gnawed on a big chicken leg while surveying the surroundings. It was completely different from her previous sight. Now, Athena truly saw the Black Forest.
The trees in the Black Forest were different from normal trees; their leaves were pure black, and each tree's growth was very peculiar. Their branches crazily grew outward but not towards the sky, exuding a sense of twisted madness everywhere.
The top ten on the system panel's map hadn't changed until now; they were still those few dots of light. The current top ten could be described as a hot potato; everyone was carefully avoiding entering the top ten.
They might not necessarily be the ultimate winners, but they were definitely good tools for now. The crazy ones didn't mind using them as practice to increase their chances of winning and ranking, while the cautious ones planned to stay in the later stages and then go harvest these lambs.
However, those qualified to harvest must first have strength that matches them; otherwise, the roles of prey and hunter could easily be reversed.
Athena now had a concern: once she did anything, her score would increase, and she might accidentally enter the top ten. But if she did nothing, it would go against her original intention of coming here.
Is there any way for her to hunt monsters, snatch others' medals, and maintain her ranking without moving?