Absolute Death Game

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"You'll know after a while, despite our group being full of experts, there have been quite a few unexpected deaths."

After saying that, Wu Tao added, "Of course, I'm talking about in the game."

Xiao Buli sighed, thinking to himself that this guy probably still didn't know the real truth behind the game. He looked around at the various slogans that felt like tombstones, signifying the game's brutality.

However, deep down, Xiao Buli still harbored a slim hope that the reality might not be as terrifying as he feared, but he couldn't help asking, "Is the casualty rate for our Green Dragon Group high?"

"Of course, after all, dungeons aren't like the wilderness; if you can't beat them, it's hard to run away, and you encounter all sorts of strange circumstances inside. Bosses keep transforming, and the ones to really watch out for are those with multiple phases. One slip-up could easily lead to death. So even when we're playing low-level dungeons, we can't say it's a guaranteed win.

But although there's some risk, we also earn a lot, right? How much did they offer you for a month's salary?"

Xiao Buli replied, "Twelve thousand."

"Look at that, a full half more than the newbies in the White Tiger Group. I'm making fifteen thousand a month now, but the mages in our group are all earning eighteen thousand. You'll probably get there sooner or later. Plus, there's extra allowance for every dungeon run, and if you turn in something good, there's additional rewards too.

With a bit of luck, earning twenty or thirty thousand a month isn't out of the question."

Wu Tao said this with pride, but Xiao Buli only felt sadness for him, thinking that this was a gamble with one's life. Twenty or thirty thousand, is that a lot?

"Wasn't your original dream to open a restaurant? How did you end up back in this line of work?"

"Hey, it's all because of money troubles. Not gonna lie, back then I got myself a girlfriend," Wu Tao said as he pulled out a photo. The young girl in the photo was petite and seemed full of charm. Xiao Buli found it strange, thinking how could Wu Tao, who didn't look like much, have such a pretty girlfriend? Is it real?

"How about that, she's pretty, isn't she? Unfortunately, her parents disagree. They say I don't have a house or a car, let alone a career. How could they possibly marry their daughter to me? So I thought about opening a restaurant, but starting one requires money. That's why I came here when I heard about this job.

Once I save enough to open a restaurant, I'll resign and go back home to get married." Wu Tao spoke with his face full of longing, as if a happy life was just within his grasp.

Xiao Buli's heart stirred and he joked, "Then you better hurry up. Your girlfriend is so beautiful, don't be late and let someone else snatch her away."

Xiao Buli meant it sincerely; although the two were merely acquaintances, he didn't want anything bad to happen to Wu Tao. It would be best if he could resign and go home sooner.

"Absolutely, I've got it all planned out..." Wu Tao's words trailed off as he stopped talking mid-sentence, chuckled twice, and didn't continue.

Xiao Buli felt that there was more to what he said and was about to inquire further when the door to the Green Dragon Group's machine room was opened once again. Zhang Yaoyang hurried in and announced, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Fellows, good news, we're starting work."

"Does that mean a new dungeon has been discovered?" The swordsman named Liu Xing lifted his drink and asked.

"Yeah, and it's related to our newbie here."

Xiao Buli was startled, thinking, why is it connected to me again?

Zhang Yaoyang pointed at Xiao Buli, "Remember when you were robbed by the Black Mountain Bandits on your way to Nine Dragons City?"

Xiao Buli nodded, and Zhang Yaoyang continued, "The distribution of monsters in this game is generally very regular; they don't just wander about. Black Mountain is nowhere near the Misty Forest, so it wouldn't make sense for the bandits to appear in the Mist Valley. After Li Jian reported it, the higher-ups deduced there had to be an event, and the Vermilion Bird Group was dispatched to follow up.

And believe it or not, they discovered a small fortress in a deserted mountain near the Mist Valley, and inside that fortress was a dungeon—our target for today."

"We're hitting it today? What's the quality of the dungeon?" someone interjected from the side.

"Deep blue, it should be an open-air dungeon." Upon hearing Zhang Yaoyang's words, the room fell silent. Xiao Buli observed everyone's expressions and noticed an absence of excitement or joy; apparently, no one liked tackling such difficult dungeons.

"Come on, don't look so glum. The task has been assigned from above, and we've got to do it whether we like it or not. Let's just prepare as best we can and aim for a clean run with no casualties," Zhang Yaoyang tried to comfort them, sensing the mood in the room.

"Easy for you to say. For a dungeon of this level, we'd normally need half a month of research plus preparations for supplies. There's no such thing as just jumping in. Have you forgotten the last time in the Demon Spirit Cave?" Hua Yueying, the chief healer, spoke out, instantly winning the support of many people.

Various voices arose, and Zhang Yaoyang became increasingly irritated, slamming his hand down on the table, "It's just a fortress dungeon. How many times have we done those? It shouldn't be too hard, there won't be any problems."

"The fortress dungeons we've cleared before weren't deep blue level."

"Right, right, maybe you could speak to the higher-ups? Ask for a few days to prepare before we take it on."

"You think I don't want to? I nearly wore my mouth out arguing with Manager Qin, but he said this order came from the top executives and that it has to be done. So stop dragging your feet, everyone."

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Zhang Yaoyang, seeing everyone still lazing around, couldn't help but get angry and said, "Fine, fine, fine, you're all bosses, I can't control you. If you really don't want to fight, I won't force you. Just go ask the manager to transfer groups. That's all I have to say. If you don't want to get fired, then start running this instance."

Seeing his determination, most people began to prepare to run the instance in silence. After all, despite their complaints, no one wanted to lose their job. The only exception was Liu Xing, who still wore a cold smile on his face, as though deep in thought. After a while, he downed his drink in one gulp, took a deep breath as if he had made a big decision, and sat down in front of the computer.

Wu Tao looked puzzled, seemingly speechless over Liu Xing's attitude, but Xiao Buli felt as if he could sense that Liu Xing probably knew something about the inside story.

As he thought this, he also logged into his account and looked at his character's shabby equipment. "Group Leader, do I need to run the instance too?" he asked.

"Of course, you're a healer, how could you not participate?" came the reply.

Wu Tao whispered a few words into Zhang Yaoyang's ear, resulting in an enlightening moment for him. "Wait here. I'll get the Xuanwu Group to put together a set of equipment for you," he said.

After making a phone call, a capable-looking guy soon pushed the door open and walked in.

"Who needs the equipment?" he asked.

Xiao Buli raised his hand, and the man sat down next to him. With plenty of computers in the room, he logged into the game with ease and started running towards Xiao Buli's location, asking, "What's your profession, and what kind of equipment do you need?"

Seeing the benefits of working, Xiao Buli wasn't shy to ask for what he needed. "I need a sword, a set of leather armor, a set of jewelry, and it would be even better if you have magical treasures, elixirs, and spirit talismans.

The priority for attributes should be health points, movement speed, armor, spell power, and mana." He had made sure to prioritize survival, placing health points at the top of the list.

"You wear leather armor?" the man asked with a puzzled look at Xiao Buli, but shook his head before he could respond, thinking to himself that the game's equipment system was so mixed up he couldn't be bothered with mage professions wearing leather armor.

"I don't have any magical treasures; our studio can't afford to make those yet, and the few we have were distributed a long time ago. I do have elixirs and talismans, but those are allocated with a quota, distributed by the group leader. I don't have the authority to allocate those. Anything else is doable," he explained.

In no time, a set of equipment was delivered to Xiao Buli, traded over, a uniform blue quality. Xiao Buli checked each item carefully.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ironwood Rune Sword: Attack 5-20, Spell Power +2, (crafted by Luo Yang).

Gleaming Sapphire Necklace: Spirit +1, (crafted by Duan Feihong).

Emerald Spirit Stone Ring: Max Mana +20, (crafted by Duan Feihong).

Emerald Spirit Stone Ring: Max Mana +20, (crafted by Duan Feihong).

Sturdy Cowhide Chestplate: Armor +10, Physique +3, (crafted by Xiong Tianfu).

Sturdy Cowhide Leggings: Armor +6, Physique +2 (crafted by Xiong Tianfu).

Sturdy Cowhide Bracers: Armor +2, Physique +1 (crafted by Xiong Tianfu).

Light Cowhide Boots: Armor +3, Speed +2 (crafted by Xiong Tianfu).

Magnificent Evil-Repelling Crown: Armor +3, Charm +2, (crafted by Jiang Shuiliu).

After gearing up, Xiao Buli's attributes significantly improved, especially his health points, which increased by a full 60, nearly reaching the 200 mark, giving him some much-needed confidence.

He also gained a preliminary understanding of the Xuanwu Group's manufacturing capabilities, which seemed to cover everything from weapons to jewelry, and from leather armor to cloth armor—they truly had it all.

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