Yu Hanjiang has a map of the entire city.
They were currently in a dilapidated residential area, consisting entirely of six-story buildings without elevators. The entire community had been infected and had joined the Zerg army, and the area was so quiet that no sound could be heard.
A skilled Challenger team had previously used this place as a temporary base. After being discovered by the Zerg, they detonated the natural gas pipelines in the area, killing a group of Zerg before escaping.
The Zerg suffered heavy casualties, and the ground of the community was littered with fragments of Infected corpses. The surviving Zerg merged and evolved, chasing after Challenger as they fled. As a result, there was not a single person to be seen in the community at present.
Yu Hanjiang spread out a map and pointed to their location, saying, "Our Sunshine Community is about one kilometer away from the city's main traffic artery. The Zerg will definitely take this main road to meet at Dongguan Bridge. I'll try to lure them to this community and set up a trap in advance."
"Isn't this a bit risky?" Xiao Lou looked at the map and analyzed seriously, "Since the Zerg Queen summoned all the Zerg to gather at the East Gate Bridge, there might be high-level Zerg among those rushing to the bridge. We can't judge the level of the Zerg from their appearance. What if we attract someone higher level than CEO Shao and CEO Shao gets killed? Or what if there are too many Zerg and we get surrounded?"
"Hmm… Professor Xiao's concerns are understandable." Shao Qingge stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "I'm currently level five, so I can easily handle Zerg below level five. They'll willingly submit to me, and I can fuse with them without much effort. But I'm not so sure about dealing with level six or eight Zerg. Fortunately, I'm not only an evolved Zerg, but also a Challenger, so I can use cards." He glanced at everyone and smiled slightly, "Besides, I have teammates, and everyone can help with cards."
"That's right, CEO Shao now possesses dual abilities." Yu Hanjiang walked over, gently put his arm around Xiao Lou's shoulder, and whispered, "Don't worry, we can come up with a foolproof plan to protect CEO Shao."
"Alright." Since everyone had decided to do it this way, Xiao Lou had no objections. He looked at Shao Qingge and said, "If we want to level up as quickly as possible, we need to think about our leveling strategy in advance. Killing low-level Zerg is not only laborious, but also slows down the leveling speed."
"That's right!" Ye Qi, a homebody who often plays online games in his spare time, is the most qualified to speak on this point. He took a tree branch, squatted on the ground, and wrote as he spoke: "According to the rules of same-level fusion to upgrade to higher levels, CEO Shao is currently level 5. If he eats low-level insectoids of level 2 or 3, his leveling up will be very slow, just like how high-level players in games get very little experience when fighting low-level monsters."
"I agree with Xiao Ye's statement. If CEO Shao wants to upgrade quickly, it's best to find a Zerg of similar level." Xiao Lou paused and said, "There is a certain risk with those of the same level. They might be counter-fused. So, the safest approach is to find a level four Zerg."
"Yes, two Level 4s equal one Level 5. CEO Shao merging two Level 4s is equivalent to merging one Level 5, allowing him to directly advance to Level 6." Ye Qi carefully wrote and drew on the ground. "After advancing to Level 6, merge two more Level 5s to advance to Level 7, and so on!"
"But the problem is, how do we accurately find level four and five Zerg for CEO Shao to fuse with?" Liu Qiao asked, puzzled.
"If we can't find it, then we'll make it ourselves," Yu Hanjiang said calmly.
"Yes, we can actively cultivate some advanced Zerg for CEO Shao to fuse with." Xiao Lou's eyes lit up. "It's like raising Gu poison. Find some low-level Zerg, let them self-fuse first, control their number and level, fuse them into level four, and then let CEO Shao do it."
"Back then, in the supermarket and later in the warehouse, because we set fires, the lower-level Zerg sensed the danger and began to self-melt and upgrade," Ye Qi said excitedly. " After Captain Yu lured the Zerg over, we set fires directly, and they would merge together out of panic. In this way, we could quickly fuse into higher-level ones, allowing CEO Shao to upgrade as soon as possible!"
"We can use the Zerg's self-melting characteristic to raise 'gu' (a type of insectoid creature), and then use the advanced ones to deal with CEO Shao. This is indeed the fastest way," Yu Hanjiang calmly concluded.
"..." Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
At first, seeing these insectoids made me feel disgusted and scared, but now I treat them like mobs, actively luring them over to level up for CEO Shao?!
Spending a long time in the Spade Secret Room really does improve everyone's mental resilience.
Perhaps in the future, when they encounter even the strangest creatures, they will remain calm and composed.
Yu Hanjiang took a tree branch, squatted down, and quickly drew a route, saying, "Later, I'll use my Lightness Skill and Teleportation Card to wait for the Zerg on the main road and lure them into this area."
He drew a circle on the ground and said, "Old Mo will build a maze model room downstairs. The model room will have small secret rooms, each of which can hold 8 people. After the Zerg enter the maze, they will definitely scatter everywhere. If a fire breaks out in the maze, the scattered Zerg will self-destruct due to the crisis."
After self-fusion, the eight low-level Zerg will eventually generate a level four Zerg, which will be absorbed by Shao Qingge.
Xiao Lou said, "With this method, the number of Zerg needs to be strictly controlled. Once it exceeds that, the fused ones will be of a higher level than CEO Shao."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Therefore, we need everyone's assistance. After putting the sixteen low-level Zerg into the model room, immediately use various crowd control skills to control any excess Zerg, preventing too many from entering. Xiao Lou, use Drone to monitor and count the number of Zerg. Once the target is reached, have Lao Mo use the marble wall..."
" Seal off the model room. Long Sen is in charge of igniting it with alcohol, while Ye Qi and Teacher Qu control the Zerg on the perimeter."
Everyone nodded in agreement as they listened to Captain Yu's instructions.
This ensures that only 16 Zerg are placed in the closed model room. They are scattered throughout the maze-like model room, and when the central area is set on fire, the Zerg self-melt and upgrade, resulting in two level 4 Zerg.
In one wave, Shao Qingge can directly level up to level six.
As long as Shao Qingge's level increases, he will no longer need to fear advanced Zerg.
To ensure the plan was more secure, Yu Hanjiang asked everyone to wait until midnight, after all the card skills had refreshed, before taking action.
Old Mo took out his card in advance and started drawing the new model room.
Although his [ Model Room ] card is an A-rank card with only one skill—drawing a model room and enlarging it a hundredfold—it's quite useful in actual combat. After activating the card, a design blueprint with a grid slowly unfolded in front of him. Old Mo used the pen that came with the card to draw many lines on the blueprint, and in the blink of an eye, he had drawn a maze plan.
After entering the model room, the maze branches into two narrow passages, each only wide enough for one person to pass at a time. This forces the Zerg to scatter. Unable to find the exit, the Zerg are caught in a fire within the maze. Fearing fire, the Zerg spontaneously merge, generating level four Zerg at lightning speed. Shao Qingge can then easily collect them, making leveling up a breeze.
After Lao Mo finished drawing up the blueprints for the model room, he pointed to the floor plan and explained to Shao Qingge in detail: " CEO Shao, I left a back door in the model room. Go in through the back door and walk in the left, left, right, right direction. You can quickly get to the center and find the upgraded Zerg. The ceiling of the model room is made of tempered glass. To prevent the upgraded Zerg from being too powerful and breaking the glass to climb out, you must be quick."
Shao Qingge took the floor plan and examined it carefully before saying, "Understood."
Old Mo's maze was designed to be quite complex, and the Zerg would definitely not be able to get out easily inside. Although Shao Qingge was not good at mazes, Old Mo had shown him the floor plan of the model room in advance, so memorizing the route was not difficult for him.
After everything was arranged, everyone waited patiently.
It was already past midnight when a notification appeared simultaneously in everyone's pop-up window—
[ Spade 8 Secret Chamber, Doomsday Escape, Day 11, 00:00]
[ Challenger remaining: 120 people]
Yesterday the death toll was 150, and today the total death toll is around 30. I wonder if there were any skirmishes?
Xiao Lou recalled that last night, more than 50 Challengers temporarily formed an alliance. That group was very powerful, and the dead were probably not among them. They were likely Challengers scattered in other areas who encountered the Zerg army and were wiped out.
Simply being infected doesn't automatically result in death; CEO Shao, for example, was assimilated by the Zerg. Therefore, since these 30 people have been removed from the secret room list, they clearly weren't simply infected, but either burned to death or lost consciousness after being fused with the Zerg…
The remaining 120 Challengers will be able to complete the game in 3 days.
At this point, the smartest thing to do is to find a secluded corner to hide in for three days, play guerrilla warfare, and avoid actively provoking the Zerg.
Of course, this can be done if no one in the team is infected. Once someone is infected and not burned to death by their teammates, the Zerg Queen can sense the presence of this Zerg kin at any time, and they have nowhere to hide.
Once midnight passed, Yu Hanjiang reconnected with Xiao Lou via Telepathic Connection, and Ye Qi and Shao Qingge also re-established communication channels.
All team members' card skills were refreshed, and Old Mo's model room was also completed.
Yu Hanjiang said in a deep voice, "Prepare for action."
As soon as he finished speaking, he used his Lightness Skill Card and Teleportation Card to fly out. A dark figure leaped several times in the night sky and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Everyone was worried when he went to lure the monsters alone.
Ye Qi clenched his fists nervously: " Captain Yu is flying in the sky, the Zerg can't catch him, so how is he luring the Zerg here?" He paused, then a sudden thought flashed through his mind: "With blood?"
Xiao Lou nodded: "Yes, if he has wounds, the Zerg will know he's not Infected and will definitely swarm him to infect him. Captain Yu plans to cut his hand, land to attract the Zerg's attention, and then return to the rooftop of the apartment complex as quickly as possible."
The Telepathic Connection channel allowed Xiao Lou to learn of Yu Hanjiang's plans.
At every critical moment, Yu Hanjiang would take on the responsibility of captain without hesitation. He dared not let his teammates follow him because it was too dangerous. After all, they would have to go into the Zerg swarm to attract the Zerg's attention with their blood. If they were infected by the Zerg, it would be troublesome. Therefore, the people who went on the mission had to be vigilant enough and act quickly.
With limited Lightness Skill Cards and Teleportation Cards, it's indeed difficult to find another person who can flexibly use both cards and move freely among a large number of Zerg.
It wasn't that Yu Hanjiang wanted to be a lone hero, but some missions were actually easier to carry out alone.
Watching the direction the man disappeared in, Xiao Lou was extremely nervous, but on the surface he maintained a calm demeanor, because the base still needed his care, and he couldn't afford to panic— Yu Hanjiang was risking his life on the front lines, and he had to stabilize the rear!
1 second, 2 seconds...
Xiao Lou kept counting down the time in her heart, waiting for Yu Hanjiang to return.
Yu Hanjiang traversed walls and rooftops, arriving on the main street in the blink of an eye, and placed the luminous pearl on a street lamp.
By the light of the luminous pearl, countless [items] could be seen emerging from the thick snow.
The human footprints, judging from their number, clearly indicate that a large Zerg army had just received the Queen's signal and was heading towards the bridge.
Yu Hanjiang lay in wait behind a tree, patiently awaiting his opportunity.
Just then, a rustling sound came from his ears, along with the crunching sound of his feet on the snow. Yu Hanjiang frowned and stared intently at the street.
Not far away, swarms of insectoids crawled rapidly toward the bridge like a tide.
Their bodies were almost touching each other, crawling at a speed like the wind. The sight of these people crammed together was even more terrifying than the subway stations in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou during Monday rush hour, let alone the fact that everyone was crawling on the ground. It was a chilling sight.
Yu Hanjiang held his breath and roughly counted that the number of this group of Zerg easily exceeded a thousand, and judging from their crawling ability, they should be upgraded Zerg. No, it's too dangerous to lure so many over. I have to wait a little longer.
A moment later, another large group of Zerg crawled over.
The number was even greater than before, almost comparable to the opening ceremony of a university.
Xiao Lou waited a few minutes but Yu Hanjiang still hadn't returned, so she asked anxiously, "How is he? Did he run into trouble?"
Yu Hanjiang's deep, steady voice echoed in my mind: "Don't worry, there are quite a few Zerg here. It's difficult for us to control an army of thousands. I'll wait and see. Maybe there will be some smaller, easier-to-control squads."
Xiao Lou breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you didn't encounter any danger. If things really get bad, come back first, and we'll think of something else."
He paused, then continued, "By the way, CEO Shao just said that the Queen has sent another signal, this time it seems to be an ultimatum—all the Zerg must get to Dongguan Bridge before 1 a.m., don't be late."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Understood, I will decide based on the situation."
Just then, a group of over a hundred Zerg soldiers suddenly appeared in the distance, wearing matching blue and white school uniforms. They were likely a group of infected students from a nearby school.
Yu Hanjiang narrowed his eyes, immediately activated his Lightness Skill, and after several leaps, landed steadily in the middle of the Zerg.
The Zerg were all taken aback.
Sensing the scent of Yu Hanjiang's blood, a swarm of insectoids' eyes instantly turned crimson, and they lunged at Yu Hanjiang, baring their fangs and claws.
Just as they pounced, Yu Hanjiang reacted with lightning speed, immediately using his Lightness Skill Card to take flight!
The Zerg were caught off guard, and the man flew more than 50 meters away in the blink of an eye.
The Zerg were naturally unwilling to let him go and hurriedly turned around to chase after him.
Little did they know, Yu Hanjiang subtly raised the corners of his lips in the darkness.
He had been waiting for this small number of Zerg troops; CEO Shao would finally have plenty of nourishment to draw upon.
******