Building a Perfect Territory in the Mist

Chapter 36: Chapter 33: Player Association, 3v3 Battle

The first-floor lobby was bustling with people coming and going. Sofas and coffee tables were placed all around, making it look more like a private lounge than some mysterious organization.

There were also several service windows to the side, with a few lines of people queuing up.

Shen Xing and the others passed through the crowd, overhearing various conversations around them.

"Isn’t your Anomaly Handling Bureau’s efficiency a little too slow? I accepted a bounty last night, ran down to the riverside overnight to kill that Extraordinary Level monster, and uploaded the photos long ago. When is my 200,000 prize money getting deposited?"

"Hello, sir. We’ve verified that you did indeed complete the bounty mission. However, during the fight, you damaged a yacht. The repair costs are estimated to be 270,000, so you’ll need to pay an additional 70,000."

"Huh? I fucking have to pay you instead?"

Elsewhere, a few men were gathered around a table, talking loudly.

"I’m telling you, once you hit the mid-game, you should get an Insect Race Nest and go into zerg rush mode. The recruitment conditions for the Insect Race are low and their reproductive ability is strong. They’re the perfect Soldier Type!"

"You’re full of shit. What’s the use of strong reproductive ability? They’re just a bunch of cannon fodder. It’s better to cultivate the Undead Race. You recruit Soldier Types directly from corpses, and the stronger the corpse, the more powerful the undead you get. They completely crush the trashy Insect Race!"

"You have the nerve to show off a trash Soldier Type like the Undead Race? You’d be blown to bits if you ran into my Light Priests!"

"Stop arguing, all of you. The Sand Race is the best in the world! Physical immunity, how ’bout that? Scared yet?"

"What kind of garbage is the Sand Race? I could piss on them and they’d all be fucking done for. The Blood Race is the strongest. Anyone who disagrees can come with me to the fifth-floor battle area and we’ll see about that!"

"Let’s go then! Who’s afraid of who?"

As the argument grew more and more heated, an increasing number of people joined the discussion.

Everyone thought their main Soldier Type was the strongest, and many had already agreed to go upstairs and fight it out.

The three of them watched on, amazed, and couldn’t help but fan the flames a little.

"I never realized there were so many players in Jiang City," Shen Xing marveled.

"Yeah, I was shocked too the first time I came here to buy a Unit Nest."

Qin Lang nodded and added, "But this number of people is pretty normal."

"Didn’t Zhou Zheng say that the game *Mist Reincarnation* has been around for who knows how many years? The number of players that have accumulated by now is bound to be huge."

"There are even some veteran Lords whose sons have already started playing. They’re true Second Generation Lords."

"Because they have people looking out for them, their starting point is much higher than other players, and their development speed is like a rocket."

Shen Xing nodded slightly. "Speaking of which, how are we supposed to find Zhou Zheng?"

Qin Lang was also a bit lost. Zhou Zheng had only told them to come to Times Mansion, not where to find him specifically.

The group looked around. Just as they were about to find someone to ask, a text message arrived.

"Huh? It’s from Zhou Zheng," Qin Lang said in surprise. "He says he saw us enter the building and that we should just head to the fourth-floor office area."

Shen Xing nodded, having seen the text as well. "Let’s just take the elevator up, then."

Qin Lang pushed his wheelchair toward the elevators, followed by Xu Jiayi, who was wearing pink bunny-ear pajamas and bunny-ear slippers.

Their little group didn’t seem particularly strange here; if anything, they looked a bit conservative.

There were plenty of people in the lobby who were much weirder than them.

There was someone in a Mage’s Robe and a Wizard Hat, cosplaying as Gandalf. There was someone in a black hoodie and a black face mask, cosplaying as Jiahao... no, wait, that one was probably just being himself.

There was also someone in a thong and a pair of cat ears, cosplaying a kemonomimi—and it was a fucking guy.

If a random passerby were to wander in, they’d probably think it was some huge cosplay event.

Inside the elevator, they saw that the floor buttons were labeled with information for each level.

First floor: General Office and Lounge Area.

Second floor: Trading Area. Players can trade freely here, but a handling fee is required.

Third floor: Battle Area. In short, a PK arena for players to SOLO.

DING!

The elevator quickly reached the fourth floor. The doors opened to reveal a wide corridor.

Compared to the noisy first floor, it was much quieter here. Offices lined both sides of the corridor.

Shen Xing and the others proceeded down the corridor and soon found the office with a sign that read ’Zhou Zheng’.

The door was open, and the three of them stood at the entrance, looking inside.

A middle-aged man in a gray trench coat and sunglasses was lying on the sofa, resting with his eyes closed.

At a nearby desk, a young woman in a black business suit with her hair tied in a neat, high ponytail was typing furiously on her keyboard.

She was lightly biting her lip, her oval face gloomy. The resentment of an overworked employee practically radiated from her.

"Zhou Zheng." Qin Lang knocked on the door.

Hearing the call, the middle-aged man on the sofa took off his sunglasses and looked at the figures standing at the door.

"Ah, you’re here. The three of you are early."

Zhou Zheng smiled, then said apologetically, "Sorry about that. I was out on a mission all night and didn’t get much rest, so I forgot to send someone to pick you up."

"Hah... by ’out on a mission,’ do you mean spending the night at a married woman’s house?"

The woman with the ponytail shot Zhou Zheng a cold glance, then looked at the three at the door. Her eyes widened in slight surprise when they landed on Shen Xing.

Zhou Zheng’s face stiffened, and he laughed awkwardly. "Haha, that’s not important. Come on in and have a seat."

Qin Lang and the others didn’t stand on ceremony, walking into the office and sitting down on the sofa.

Zhou Zheng poured each of them a cup of hot water, then sat down across from them and got straight to the point.

"I called you here today about the matter we discussed last time: the slots for the Foggy Void Realm."

"What’s wrong, Zhou Zheng? Are our slots gone?" Qin Lang asked directly.

"Not exactly."

Zhou Zheng shook his head. "It’s just that a Secret Realm of the Void hasn’t appeared in Jiang City for two years. There are quite a lot of players stuck at Tier One without the materials to break through to the Extraordinary Level."

"Right now, there are over two hundred players qualified to enter the Secret Realm, but there are only one hundred slots."

"Also, due to some special circumstances, some of the slots have already been internally assigned."

"So, the higher-ups have decided to pick the best of the best, selecting only the strongest group to go in."

Shen Xing asked, "So, does that mean we aren’t strong enough?"

"No, you’re plenty strong. At least for new players, you’re already very impressive."

Zhou Zheng explained, "But because the number of players has surged in the last two years, there are quite a few Novice Lords who have cultivated Elite One-Star and Two-Star Soldier Types."

"Especially those players who have been stuck at Tier One for a long time. They have Elite Three-Star Soldier Types by now."

"After all, you haven’t been in the game for very long and haven’t had enough time to develop. The higher-ups originally said you should wait and build up your strength a bit more."

"But after I argued your case and pulled some strings, I finally managed to secure an opportunity for you."

Shen Xing looked at him thoughtfully. "Just an opportunity, meaning it’s not guaranteed?"

"That’s right."

Zhou Zheng nodded frankly. "I believe in your strength, but those folks upstairs don’t."

"So, next, I’m going to arrange a match for you. You’ll fight against other players to prove your strength."

"As long as you win, the slots are yours."

The three of them stared at each other blankly, finally understanding why Zhou Zheng had called them over.

"So you called us over to fight other players?" Shen Xing asked subconsciously, not quite processing it.

"I’m not asking you to fight, I’m asking you to summon your Soldier Types to do the fighting."

Zhou Zheng corrected him, "At the same time, during the spar, an Extraordinary Level expert will be present to protect you the entire time, ensuring there are no serious casualties."

After a pause, he added with profound meaning, "Besides, sparring with other players in the real world is a form of training for you."

"The global situation is a bit unstable right now. Anomalous incidents are happening frequently in every country. You all need to adapt as soon as possible."

Hearing his pointed words, the three fell silent for a moment.

"Are you sure one match is enough?" Shen Xing asked again.

They had never experienced summoning Soldier Types to battle other players before, so they felt a little uncertain.

Although they fought frequently in the game and were ruthless when it came to killing monsters, this was still reality.

"Of course, but only if you win. If you lose, then there’s nothing to be done," Zhou Zheng replied, leaning back on the sofa.

Shen Xing pondered for a moment, took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, we’ll do it."

"Excellent."

Zhou Zheng smiled with satisfaction, then asked, "Will you be choosing 1v1 or 3v3?"

"What? We can choose the match format?"

The three of them had faces full of question marks.

"Of course you can," Zhou Zheng said as if it were obvious. "In the early stages, Novice Lords aren’t strong enough and can only manifest a limited number of Soldier Types, so their combat style is one-dimensional."

"But if you coordinate with other players’ Soldier Types, the effect you get isn’t 1+1 being greater than 2, it’s 1 to the power of 2!"

Everyone: "..."

The entire office fell silent for a moment.

"Captain Zhou loves telling those kinds of lame jokes. Don’t mind him," the black-haired woman at the desk said calmly, as if she were used to it.

"Ahem..." Zhou Zheng cleared his throat and said with a serious expression, "In any case, our country strongly encourages players to team up and fight in the real world."

"Not only does it reduce the casualty rate, but it also deepens your level of coordination with each other."

"That includes inside the Foggy Void Realm—you can explore as a team there as well."

"So... what format do you choose?"

Qin Lang and Xu Jiayi didn’t speak, both turning to look at Shen Xing in the middle.

Shen Xing thought for a moment before replying, "We choose... 3v3."

"Alright." Zhou Zheng smiled as if he had expected their choice all along.

"Let’s go to the third floor. I’ll arrange today’s match for you."

With that, he was the first to get up and leave the office.

「A few minutes later.」

Led by Zhou Zheng, the group arrived at the third-floor battle area.

DING!

As the elevator doors opened, a vast hall appeared before them.

The entire floor was divided by pillars into a four-by-four grid, creating sixteen zones. Crowds of people surrounded the edges of each zone.

In the center of these zones were specially made arenas, where several players were currently controlling their Soldier Types in battle.

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