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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nOn the vast, light-gray ocean, a medium-sized cruise ship moved slowly through the waves.

nIt was a double-decker cruise ship that was almost 20 meters in length, and three distinct characters, Hui Yi Hao, were on the silverish-gray hull of the ship alongside a string of red English characters. However, the thing that attracted the most attention was the 40mm three-barreled close-in cannon beneath the ship’s control room, as well as the two sets of six-barreled rail guns at the back of the ship.

nHui Yi Hao was a weaponized cruise ship!

nOn top of the synthetic deck covered by a layer of insulation materials, Feng Luo sat on a sun lounger while disassembling the Desert Eagle with great agility. He used an oilcloth to do his daily maintenance.

nTaking a cruise out to see would normally have been a leisurely excursion. Blue sky, white clouds, the ocean… Fishing, tanning, eating coconuts… When the surrounding scenery was just a vast and endless sky, with nothing to do apart from playing in the ocean, it was easy for people to forget their worries. One’s mood would naturally lighten and improve.

nHowever, Gray Water was an exception.

nThe seawater here had been polluted, and the entire ocean seemed to carry a slightly gray color.

nGray was a color that could easily generate negative feelings in people to begin with. Moreover, Snipers were not well-suited for combat in the ocean. Although the sea allowed for an unobstructed field of vision, the effects of the waves and the wind on the ship were too great.

nFeng Luo had made a few attempts after boarding the ship. When he used his rifle to snipe at the sea birds, the sudden movements of the ship would often offset his accurate aim. By the time his bullets reached their destination several hundred meters away, the deviation was substantial. He wanted to solve the problem of being inaccurate, but at the moment, he still did not have any good plans.

nIt was a good thing everything had gone according to Red Queen’s plan. The group of people would only travel by boat for around a day and a half. The real mission destination was a military base on an island.

nThat was right—it was precisely the same military base marked on the mission map given to Feng Luo by Master Roland. A coincidence like this had to make Feng Luo wonder if Red Queen and the others had other plans or other intentions. However, upon remembering that he was the one who had chosen to go with them, the only word that could be used to describe the situation was “coincidence”!

nAt that moment, Red Queen stood in front of a table on the left of Feng Luo and used the equipment on the table to project a 3D virtual image of the island while saying to the group of six players around the table, including Feng Luo, “Our destination is just a little south of the central region of the Gray Water: Silver Leaf Island. We’re entering the military base with the serial number S-53! This is a secret military base from before the Great Destruction in the history of the game. At the moment, no one ought to have explored it before, so there will definitely be some dangers in there. We have to be careful when we enter.”

nAfter that, the projected image changed into a middle-aged Caucasian male NPC wearing a white lab coat and a short-haired young woman with the same type of white lab coat on, wearing a pair of spectacles with black frames.

n“However, our mission does not require us to explore the entire military base,” said Red Queen. “We only need to protect these two NPCs and obtain something from the main laboratory. This middle-aged Caucasian is a specialist in genetics and virology. His name is Aike, and this 17-year-old, short-haired young woman is his assistant, Lin.”

n“Lin. A 17-year-old science assistant,” said a slightly shorter player with a darker complexion who looked a little bit like someone of Indian descent. “A genius young woman among the NPCs. Huh… A ruddy complexion…” His eyes shifted back and forth between the bust of the short-haired NPC’s uniform and her butt as he made a series of “tsk, tsk” sounds. “Yup. With this body, you can’t tell that she’s only 17 years old!”

nThis guy’s ID was “Big Pineapple,” and he was a Level-47 Heavy Armor Warrior.

nThe mission team that Red Queen had gotten together consisted of seven people. Apart from Black Panther and Glazed Ice, there was also a Level-46 Light Armor Warrior called “Neutron Star” and a Level-44 female Doctor called “White Crescent.”

nA Fire Manipulator, a Water Manipulator, a Heavy Armor Warrior, a Light Armor Warrior, and two Snipers, as well as a Doctor; this seven-man squad was comprised of two branches from the three main professions. Defense and attack, melee and long-range damage-dealers—everything was there. Added to that was a healing profession. It was perfect for small-scale fights. The only regret was that there was no Machine Gunner, so they would not be able to use firepower to suppress the enemy when necessary.

nThe main reason for this was that Machine Gunners expended too much ammunition, and ammunition would take up a lot of inventory spaces. There was a limit to the space and weight of players’ anti-grav spacial backpacks. Once the limit was exceeded, the load would weigh down the character just like in real life, and, as such, movement speed and stamina consumption would be greatly affected. Small squads with fewer than ten people would normally not have a Machine Gunner to avoid the risk of a Machine Gunner becoming a burden instead of a benefit.

nAmong the seven players, apart from Feng Luo and the Doctor, the others were above Level 45. Among them, Red Queen had actually reached Level 48, which made her the highest-level player Feng Luo had ever met.

nHowever, the combatants on the ship were not limited to only the seven players. The ship also had 15 NPCs whose levels were above Level 40. They were the crew of this weaponized cruise ship, and they had a certain degree of combat strength. Even the over-40-year-old ship captain was a Level-43 Elite model who had high AI. Rumor had it that he had been a Corporal of the Federal Guard.

nIt was true. These crew members were the NPC mercenaries whom Feng Luo had considered hiring before. The rich and wealthy Red Queen had hired 15 of them.

nRed Queen turned around to face to the player who was commenting and pointing at the young female NPC. She looked a bit cold. “Mr. Big Pineapple, your most important task is to protect and ensure the safety of the two NPCs after we get on the island. After we complete the mission, the 20,000 credits promised to you will be transferred to your account without a single credit less.”

n“Okay, I guarantee I will complete my mission!” Big Pineapple agreed quickly. His sneaky eyes turned and glanced at the cleavage of the female Doctor, White Crescent, before receiving a fierce stare from her.

nOnly now did Feng Luo know that this Heavy Armor Warrior called Big Pineapple was like him; neither of them had been members of this squad prior to this mission. They were players who were here for the money.

n20,000 credits. The price was slightly higher than his “Maximum Shooting” skills chip. Of course, this guy was Level 47, so it was natural that he was worth more than Feng Luo, who was only Level 40.

nHowever, if one were to add the price of his Rare Skill Chip and the commission price of the Heavy Armor Warrior, the total money spent was already more than the price of Rare-grade equipment. Added to that were the expenses paid to hire the mercenary NPCs and the cruise ship.

nJust what exactly was the reward for this mission if they were willing to invest so many resources?

n“Regarding the situation of the two target NPCs,” said Red Queen, “the introduction will stop here. Since they will shut themselves inside their cabin to conduct experiments, protecting them while at sea won’t be that difficult unless a sudden emergency happens.”

nWhen Red Queen mentioned “sudden emergency,” she meant the monsters beneath the sea.

nEven though they were on a cruise ship, it did not mean that they could completely avoid the attacks of monsters. They had already encountered several waves of monster groups since going out to sea, although they had not caused too many problems. After Red Queen finished saying this, she closed the projecting device.

n“That’s all for now,” she said. “We’ll now operate among ourselves, and around noon tomorrow, we’ll have reached our target island.

n“Okay!” Big Pineapple extended a hand gesture to signal that he understood.

n“I’m going inside to check on the employer’s situation.” Red Queen stood up and walked into the cabin.

nAs everyone left, Feng Luo was prepared to go idle and switch to the forum and watch a movie, but a sound came from above his head.

n“How about a wager?”

nBlack Panther, who had changed into a brown camouflage uniform, stood beside him. His 1.8-meter body blocked half the sunlight coming through as he glared intensely at Feng Luo.

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