Chapter 935: How to Split the Clearance Rewards
"It's best not to go around," Teacher Ai said. "The energy can't keep up, and the road on the side isn't necessarily easier to travel. If we avoid the hottest time, this vehicle can make it through without issue."
"Then let's go," Gao Xiaoyan invited Xu Huo to ride in the front vehicle.
But Xu Huo declined today. "I'll follow you."
Gao Xiaoyan didn't insist and took her people to drive ahead. She wasn't the one driving today either.
Behind them, Pan Qiao drove, and Shangguan Xi only used a silencing item before asking, "Brother Xu, do you think Gao Xiaoyan's group might trigger a branch mission?"
"Not sure. Let's get to W37 first," Xu Huo said.
"They already know we're Instance players. Could they make a move on us halfway?" Zhu Feiyun's bracelet was still in Gao Xiaoyan's group's hands. He subtly glanced back at the metal cage holding the Xenomorph.
"If they wanted to make a move, they wouldn't have let things go last night," Kuang Wenjun said with a frown. "The living sample is everyone's hope for clearance. You'd better not have any crooked ideas."
Xu Huo turned his head to look at him.
Noticing his gaze, Zhu Feiyun's expression turned awkward. "Given the situation last night, it's not an exaggeration to say we were coerced by them. I was just thinking of finding a way out while the cooldown times for traits and items are still running."
From Zhu Feiyun's perspective, there was nothing wrong with that. The key point was that they were no match for Gao Xiaoyan's group. Without the living sample, they might still have a chance to fight, but if they wanted to clear the instance, it was best not to make enemies.
"Whether we're Instance players or not doesn't make much difference to them," Xu Huo said. "If they had to fight every player heading to W37 Base City, they wouldn't bother running a city here."
"I'm still suspicious of their identity," Kuang Wenjun said, sensitive and paranoid. "They're at odds with W11. When they see a Xenomorph, they should first suspect W11's intentions... W11's intentions themselves are questionable. Don't they think we might have other missions? If it were me, I'd definitely assume this group of players is heading to W37 to spread the virus."
The lightning-patterned man's reaction was the normal one. As the leader of this group, Gao Xiaoyan was the one who was a bit strange.
"Maybe they already know our Instance mission," Shangguan Xi said. "Haven't some players who failed clearance already arrived at W37?"
"If they know the mission content, wouldn't they find it even stranger?" Zhu Feiyun said. "W11 hiring players from other zones to deliver a living sample to W37—just hearing it sounds absurd."
"That's simple. It works if W11 and W37 have a cooperative relationship," Xu Huo interjected.
Everyone in the vehicle, including Teacher Ai, looked at him. Xu Huo said, "Is that strange? Players can switch sides in a loop. It's normal for base cities to change their stance."
From the Under Dimension and some local players, he also believed that W37 had a bad relationship with other base cities. Especially based on the information in the Game Government's library, W37, as the last base city to be built, had a very tortuous process. It was built by those who were first expelled from the major base cities. The two sides could even be called mortal enemies.
Under this premise, combined with the positions of these two bases and W19, he also believed that the living sample didn't carry any antibodies. After all, if they really wanted to cure the epidemic, they could have found a way from other game zones.
This matter had made no progress for so many years, showing that all the base cities had tacitly agreed to the status quo.
The cooperative relationship between W11 and W37 was just a guess. Of course, whether there was a cooperative relationship or not might not affect the function of the living sample.
Xu Huo thought of another possibility.
"Other base cities have portrayed W37 like this. Can they still cooperate?" Shangguan Xi complained, then said, "In that case, the background given by the Instance is fine. As for the branch mission, it might be related to vaccine research."
Zhu Feiyun and the other two didn't speak, but their expressions seemed to agree. Teacher Ai, however, looked unhappy.
The outside temperature gradually rose.
The off-road vehicle was damaged, and with the need to conserve energy, there was no cooling inside. As the temperature rose, the people were the first to suffer.
"Do you have any fan items?" Shangguan Xi asked the others, pulling at her collar.
"Fans just blow hot air. It's better to buy some ice now," Zhu Feiyun said, fiddling with his personal panel for a while before pulling out a few ice buckets and distributing them. "This thing is said to come from some extreme-cold game zone. It melts slowly, so it should hold up for a while."
Shangguan Xi hugged a bucket to her chest and said to Xu Huo, "Brother Xu, do you want a bucket? Although the protective suit can regulate temperature, wearing it in this heat actually makes it harder to dissipate heat."
Xu Huo was still wearing his protective suit. It wasn't that the suit's effect was too good, but that he wasn't that hot.
He wasn't sure if this was a benefit of Perfect Evolution, but his tolerance for the environment had increased. The current temperature wasn't unbearable.
But to fit in, he also took an ice bucket.
Gao Xiaoyan called from ahead. "We'll reach the forested area in half an hour. We can rest then. How are you doing, Mr. Xu? If it's too hot, you can come sit in our vehicle."
Xu Huo thanked her but declined.
In the back seat, Zhu Feiyun and Kuang Wenjun exchanged a glance. The former said, "If we reach W37 smoothly, how do we split the clearance rewards?"
The vehicle fell silent for a moment before Shangguan Xi said, "Split evenly. What else? But Brother Xu should get a bigger share, since we're only getting along peacefully with Gao Xiaoyan's group because of him."
"What do you think, Brother Xu?"
Logically, if a team all contributes, splitting evenly is only fair. It's also the foundation of cooperation. If they start arguing over who contributed more or less, no one would be satisfied unless it came down to just one person.
The reason they were discussing this before even reaching W37, and why Zhu Feiyun and the others were willing to concede, was mainly for the subsequent branch mission. Gao Xiaoyan's side was a good entry point.
"He's right. A team splits evenly," Xu Huo stated. "As for the branch mission, if Gao Xiaoyan really wants to hire me as a teacher, I can take you all there. I can't guarantee you'll trigger the mission, but if you do, I'll take one-third of the mission rewards."
"Discuss it among yourselves. If you agree, we continue cooperating. If not, we go our separate ways when we reach W37."
"I have no objections," Kuang Wenjun was the first to nod.
What else could Zhu Feiyun say? Objecting meant he wouldn't be allowed to play along.
"Once we reach W37, how do you plan to settle?" Xu Huo turned to talk to Teacher Ai.
"W37 has good welfare policies. As long as you work, you can exchange for living resources," Teacher Ai said, still expressionless. "If nothing unexpected happens, I should die in W37. No need to worry about my corpse becoming someone else's food."
Xu Huo looked into the distance. The bright sunlight shone on the azure sky, looking full of life yet filled with suffering everywhere.