Chapter 292: Beg Me

The cities in this apocalyptic game are every player’s nightmare. Abandoned buildings, vines, bushes, and wild grasses everywhere. Players have no idea where zombies might appear next.

Zombies could claw their way out from cracks in the ground or might leap down from adjacent abandoned buildings.

There are many types of zombies, not just human ones. Pet zombies and even mutated animals, including rats the size of leopards, have been seen.

The worst part is poisoning. If your character gets poisoned, you must return to the respawn point immediately. Otherwise, the poison worsens, and you’re done for.

Many players have voiced their frustrations on the forums, demanding antidotes to be added to the character’s equipment set.

Yang Bo knew things weren’t that simple. After all, he was a Bionic Puppet controlled remotely. It’s not as easy as just using an antidote like in regular games.

Progress inside the city was slow for players, but here’s one advantage: once zombies were cleared out, they wouldn’t respawn.

However, some players thought that was unreasonable. ‘I painstakingly explored this place, killed the monsters, and now you’re telling me this area won’t refresh?’

Switching to another area and starting the process all over again felt like a waste of time to them. The game officials were relentlessly criticized, accused of scamming players out of their money.

Even so, not many players dared venture into the city. Before the ranking system was introduced, the city became a battleground for factions to settle scores.

To these players, it was truly skillful to fight in such a dangerous setting, using zombies to outsmart each other.

Players couldn’t directly attack one another, so they resorted to these strategies. Lately, though, due to the rankings, everyone united to farm monsters instead.

Most players weren’t here for fun; they were in it for the money. Sure, grudges had built up during early conflicts, but now that the system offered a distraction, most just retreated to farm in peace.

The zoo had already attracted attention. It was relatively open, and its metal cages had long since corroded.

The zoo was also conveniently close to the respawn point, making resupplying easier.

A team of ten players was completely wiped out inside the zoo. They had carried over 2,000 bullets, thinking it would be enough.

Initially, things went smoothly. They easily cleared out the bird exhibit, wiping out all the zombies there.

They were just about to advance to the next section but stumbled into a monkey territory. At first, the monkeys hurled rocks at the players. Naturally, the players didn’t hold back and opened fire.

The monkeys scattered in retreat. The players then discovered the monkeys’ various body parts—blood, brains, skin, and meat—could be used as mission items.

One monkey was worth tens of thousands in game currency, which excited the players. They chased after the fleeing monkeys, not expecting to be led right into a massive zombie horde.

This zombie wave contained not only animals but also humans. Some zombies even spat poisonous black liquid that inflicted poison damage.

Caught off guard, and with several members poisoned, the team was wiped out within 20 minutes.

This became the game’s largest financial blunder to date. The revival tokens cost 500,000 game currency.

Ten players collectively lost 5 million. Naturally, some opportunistic players followed behind, captured the whole event on video, and uploaded it online, making a good deal of cash.

As Yang Bo and his crew hurried, they skimmed through the forum, where many expressed envy—one monkey was worth so much. That group had multiple, making their mission quite profitable.

While Yang Bo traveled in the game, the March Planet officials were also on high alert, having put extra protection around Wang Muxue.

Coincidentally, Zhou Rui had just received the task to assist with security. The Bounty Hunter Guild had many experienced members available from past missions.

Most missions conducted by the Bounty Hunter Guild tend to be official bounties issued by various territories.

There are several types of bounties. The standard ones involve apprehending criminals and taking them into custody.

The second type involves property investigations, where assets of indebted individuals are tracked down. Banks can freeze accounts, but these individuals often hide their wealth in luxury items, and the authorities sometimes issue bounties to locate these assets.

The third category of official tasks involves assisting authorities, like providing security for events or missions. Occasionally, they accept illegal jobs, such as surveilling individuals or even more dubious things.

In the Alliance, officially investigating someone’s private life is almost impossible, so organizations like the Bounty Hunter Guild emerged.

However, if discovered by the target and exposed, the guild members could be jailed for invasion of privacy.

The Bounty Hunter Guild took the security task from the officials to protect Wang Muxue, with Zhou Rui personally leading the team.

Their role was to act as exterior security guards.

Members of the Bounty Hunter Guild patrolled the villa area’s outer perimeter.

Though it was a registered company with all proper licensing, the guild members were bounty hunters acting as guards.

Tailing and investigating others was the guild’s specialty, making them perfect for preventing anyone from finding out where Wang Muxue was hiding.

Given Zhou Rui had already established a working partnership with the officials, it was a no-brainer that Zhou Rui took the job for the money.

“President, we shouldn’t run into any surprises, right?” A senior member asked while watching over the perimeter.

Zhou Rui glanced at the villa area, shaking her head. “No one knows where exactly our target is, but the longer this takes, the more money we make.”

“I just hope something exciting happens. It’s getting dull.” The bounty hunters, typically risk-takers, found this official work—guard duty—rather boring.

Annoyed, Zhou Rui snapped, “If something goes wrong, it’s gonna be big. Remember, we’re guarding a high-ranking military official.”

“Like the last group Third Master dealt with. If we go up against them, we’d probably lose a few guys.” The senior nodded in agreement.

“If things take a turn, we bail. Alliance laws are funny like that—if a mission’s clearly suicidal, we can refuse orders outright.”

“It’s better in the Alliance. Even thieves here enjoy more freedom than in the Federation. You steal something, and they can’t come after you; otherwise, they risk paying out a fortune in compensation.”

“Back in the Federation, missions were nerve-wracking. You lived in constant fear of getting caught. If caught as a thief there, you’d be dead before anyone cared.”

“Stay alert. We took the job, so let’s see it through.” Zhou Rui glanced at her wristwatch, seeing a message from Wang Muxue.

The villa area was practically sealed off. Even an insect couldn’t get in without being scanned multiple times by police drones.

Technology advanced enough that detection devices, like insect-sized bionic drones, were now commonplace.

“Cousin, it’s best we don’t stay in touch. You might end up dragging me down.” When Zhou Rui stepped aside to call Wang Muxue, her tone was curt.

Inside the villa, Wang Muxue heard this, immediately asking, “Thanks for helping last time, but I have a question. Who killed those Brotherhood members? Don’t tell me you don’t know.”

Hearing this, Zhou Rui laughed. “My dear cousin, you’re supposed to be so smart. Why don’t you take a guess?”

“I know the Bounty Hunter Guild isn’t capable of finding the Brotherhood’s hideouts.” Wang Muxue remained unflustered, speaking calmly.

“Keep thinking, or maybe, when you’re ready, beg me.” Zhou Rui hung up, feeling smug. As a child, she’d been constantly frustrated dealing with Wang Muxue’s sharp wit. Every move she made would be predicted.

On the other side, Wang Muxue clenched her fists, her chest heaving in frustration before resuming analyzing the attack’s details.

Although the intel was doctored to credit the Security Bureau, private sources revealed the Bounty Hunters were the first on the scene.

This raised questions. The Brotherhood was far more disciplined and secretive than the guild.

Plus, Zhou Rui’s branch of the guild wasn’t particularly strong. A more powerful division might sufficiently handle such a task.

The Brotherhood member they supposedly killed was none other than the Silver Butterfly, an A-class operative. Where would Zhou Rui’s group get the strength to pull that off? “This planet is filled with mysteries. Who knows what will happen next!” Wang Muxue rubbed her temples, feeling powerless about this unpredictable scenario.

Even with the layers of security, she couldn’t shake her unease.

The previous time, they used a ship’s cannon. What would they bring next?

On the surface, Red Earl’s people spread various messages, but in the shadows, Brotherhood assassins lurked. Wang Muxue couldn’t predict who would come next.

Inside the game, Yang Bo finally reached the zoo, having already watched the video of the last team’s disastrous wipe. He even paid 500 credits for the premium video.

“There are quite a few mini-bosses in here.” Yang Bo wasn’t the only one who noticed. The rest of his group also saw it.

Only now did Yang Bo realize that the Older Miss and the Smaller Girl were twins, though their personalities didn’t match. Seeing them argue so often, he assumed they just loved to bicker. Apparently, their pets fought often too.

Anyone who could afford pets in this world must have serious money.

Were it not for Yang Bo’s past life experience with pet care—almost treating his goldfish like a god—he wouldn’t have understood.

The members of Yang Bo’s group were experienced. They knew mini-bosses had unique abilities, whereas regular zombies mostly just lunged and grabbed.

But the three zombies they were facing were different.

Each of these strange zombies could spit out various colored liquids. The horse zombie spat yellow poison.

The zombie bird spewed black liquid.

The third zombie, a giant turtle, had a shell almost a meter in diameter. When it ran, it looked like the shell was sliding along the ground. Its legs were shriveled, so its limbs weren’t visible when it moved. The turtle expelled green poison.

“First, we need to deal with the monkeys!” Zombies were a formidable force, but Yang Bo accurately identified the root of the problem—the monkeys had led the zombies here.

The monkeys never left the treetops in the surrounding forest. They stayed safe because most zombies couldn’t climb trees.

The monkeys could even pick up rocks to throw at people. They resembled baboons, though much larger.

“We need to scout out their lair.”

“You all wait here. I’ll go in and scout.” Yang Bo decided to use his superpower to locate the hidden monkeys.

Just as Yang Bo’s group was observing the zoo from high ground, they noticed another team approaching the zoo.

This new group also had ten members. They entered the zoo, though their movements were harder to track due to the terrain and trees.

Clearly, the monkeys’ high value had piqued more people’s interest. Additionally, higher-level zombies had been sighted.

Better zombies meant higher rewards. Xiao Huang and Xiao Hong grew anxious. “Captain!”

“Let’s observe them for now.” Yang Bo didn’t believe the new team could clear the zoo.

The zoo, located on the city’s edge, contained a few small hills about a hundred meters tall.

Despite its current state, the zoo’s former glory was still visible. It must’ve been a beautiful place back when it was newly built. The now-overgrown roads once spiraled around the hills.

“Captain, we’re not the only ones watching.” Xiao Huang gestured to the distance, where others seemed to be waiting nearby.

Feeling a bit frustrated, Yang Bo had assumed he’d be the first one to arrive.

“You all wait here. I need to make a call.” With that, Yang Bo left his character idle and picked up his wristwatch.

“Sister Zhou?” See it was Zhou Rui calling, Yang Bo stood up to answer.

“Whatever you do, don’t go out right now. Anything you need, have it delivered by drone. Don’t interact with strangers.”

“Until things settle down, we shouldn’t meet either. I don’t want to drag you into this.” Zhou Rui’s voice echoed in the call.

“Why? Didn’t the news say that the criminals were taken care of?” Yang Bo asked, pretending to be puzzled.

“Not yet. According to intel, two other waves of criminals have arrived.” Zhou Rui answered on the other side.

Hearing this, Yang Bo was secretly delighted. “I hope more of them show up. These guys all have special powers.”

“Thanks, Sister Zhou. I understand.” Yang Bo expressed his gratitude despite knowing it was part of his play to maintain his cover.

“Once this is over, I’ll take you on a fishing trip.” Zhou Rui, thinking their relationship had grown closer, casually made the offer.

After hanging up, Zhou Rui started planning a fishing trip, intending to verify Yang Bo’s talent as a chemist before deciding how far to go with him during their excursion.