Chapter 28: The First Wilderness Mission (Special thanks to Ning Le Jia Bing for the sponsorship!)

"Swish, swish."

Two soft sounds signaled that Zhang Ruolin and Ling Baiwei had teleported into the Morning Glow Plains map with me.

Turning around, I saw that the teleportation array in the Morning Glow Plains was hidden beneath a massive banyan tree. By now, quite a few players had already gathered there. Nearly everyone had their health bars displayed, with their levels and IDs bobbing above their heads.

A burly man with a hulking frame and a glowing green sniper rifle slung across his back walked straight over. His eyes swept over Zhang Ruolin and Ling Baiwei before he smiled. "How about it, folks? Want to form a party? I’ve already got two people here, so if you three join, it’ll be a perfect five-man squad. It’s safer with more people."

Zhang Ruolin frowned, clearly repulsed by the way the man was looking at her.

Ling Baiwei offered a calm smile. "No thank you. We have both leveling to do and a quest to complete together, so a party wouldn't be suitable. Sorry."

"I see. That’s a shame..."

The man nodded and didn't press the issue.

As we headed north and left the teleportation point, several others lingered by the side of the road, watching us with predatory eyes. One of them even rested a hand on the pistol at his waist.

In open-world maps, players are free to engage in PK, and the dangers involved are far greater than within the city walls.

I kept my expression indifferent, cradling my Roarer in my arms as I swept my gaze across the crowd, my own health bar flickering into view.

Instantly, the looks in their eyes turned friendly. Some even nodded in greeting. "Oh, it’s the big shot from the leaderboard, Shadow Chaser! It’s an honor to meet you!"

I simply smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, not stopping as I led the two women out of their sight.

...

After passing through a stretch of woodland, we officially entered the Morning Glow Plains map.

"That guy earlier was likely no good," Zhang Ruolin said with a frown. "The way he looked at me... it was deeply off-putting. He’s definitely not a decent person."

"Mm," I replied. "Star Abyss is a world where the strong prey on the weak. Some players treat this world purely as a game; once they’ve tasted the thrill of PK-ing, killing, and looting, they have no desire to do the hard work of hunting monsters. It’s to be expected."

Ling Baiwei pursed her red lips. "Next time we plan an outing like this, we need to be much more thorough. It’s fortunate that Ding Han was with us this time; his level is high enough to command respect, otherwise we might have run into trouble."

Zhang Ruolin nodded in firm agreement.

"Who goes there? Stop!"

As we were trekking through a shrub-filled forest, a group of people suddenly burst out from ahead. They appeared to be NPCs.

Each of them had a green health bar and a name floating above their head. One of them, sporting a thick beard, clutched a bolter and wore tattered power armor. He approached with the rhythmic, mechanical sound of servos.

"I am He Xiangyang of the Scarlet Dragon Kingdom’s Border Defense Legion. Who are you to dare trespass in the wilderness?"

"We are from Creek City."

I stood in front of the two women and said in a steady voice, "We bear no ill will toward the Scarlet Dragon Kingdom. We are out here to hunt exotic beasts in the wild and gather some materials to sell."

"Ah, people from Creek City..."

He Xiangyang raised a hand. "Friendly forces. Lower your weapons!"

He let out a sigh of relief, his expression softening. The soldiers surrounding us also relaxed; they were in poor shape, and many of them were injured.

He Xiangyang had "Lv 20" displayed above his head, but his health bar was less than half full, and his leg showed signs of being bandaged after a bullet had passed through it.

Furthermore, he was wearing Mark I power armor. This armor was crudely crafted, utilizing cheap, entry-level power systems, and it didn't even cover the entire body. To put it bluntly, it was just a collection of exoskeletal components for the legs, torso, and arms meant to assist the user in long-distance running or lifting heavy loads. While it allowed for the use of heavy weaponry, its defensive capabilities were essentially zero.

During the closed beta of *Star Abyss*, the saying "Mark I power armor: not even a dog would wear it" was extremely widespread.

"These people look like they’re in a tough spot..." Zhang Ruolin said in the party channel. "Do you think they’re going to give us a quest?"

"It’s very possible..." Xiaobai seemed excited, shooting me an encouraging look.

I stepped forward and asked, "Officer He, you all seem to be injured. What happened? Were you attacked by exotic beasts?"

...

"Not beasts—Xenos."

He Xiangyang’s expression grew grave. "Just two days ago, a pack of Crawlers and Devourers raided our camp. We lost a few brothers, and those damned beasts made off with a significant amount of supplies. We’ve been at our wits' end trying to deal with it."

"If that’s the case..." I said, lowering my voice. "Perhaps the three of us can help."

"Oh?"

He Xiangyang’s eyes lit up. With a tone that sounded exactly like an NPC issuing a quest, he said, "Young man, if you truly can help, that would be wonderful. Please, you must help us recover those precious supplies; otherwise, our camp will fall into deep trouble!"

Before he could finish his sentence, a chime rang in all three of our ears!

[Attention: Your party has accepted the side quest "Recover Supplies" (Rank B)! Quest Objective: Kill 200 Crawlers and 200 Devourers respectively, and recover the lost supplies for He Xiangyang’s border patrol unit. Quest Rewards: A large amount of EXP, reputation with the Scarlet Dragon Kingdom faction, and a chance to obtain additional rewards!]

The quest was ours, and it was a B-rank side quest at that!

"Young people."

He Xiangyang looked worried. "Those Xenos are extremely powerful. You must be careful. Even if you can't complete the mission, it doesn't matter—just make sure you come back alive!"

"Don't worry," I said with a nod, and then set off with Zhang Ruolin and Xiaobai.

...

On the large map, the area ahead was marked in blood-red as the "Quest Execution Zone," which was also an incredibly dangerous region.

"We’ve seen Crawlers before, but not Devourers," I said, frowning. "But we must be careful. In the beta settings, there were no 'common' Xenos; they started as Elite-grade. First-tier Xenos like Crawlers and Devourers are likely just Elites, and anything above that is Boss-level. We must be extra cautious."

"Mm," Xiaobai nodded. "Ding Han, you have the highest level and the most experience. You should be the party leader and command us."

With that, she transferred the party leadership to me.

"Alright." I turned to look at them. "Since you’re really letting me lead, you must listen to me. If I say don't go east, you don't go east. This isn't a joke; in a place like this, one careless move and you're dead. We lost Chief Chen last time, and we absolutely cannot lose anyone else this time!"

"Don't worry," Zhang Ruolin said. "Xiaobai and I will be perfectly obedient. I’ll provide you with all the emotional support you need."

I felt a vein throb in my forehead. "Let's go."

...

The three of us hugged the edge of the shrubbery, moving forward. We hadn't gone far when I halted, saying in the party channel, "Stop! There’s movement!"

I tilted my head, listening to the sounds in the breeze.

Sure enough, a series of rapid, rhythmic footfalls approached. They didn't sound like human footsteps—they sounded like those of some kind of beast.

"Over there!"

I spun around abruptly, aiming my gun toward the downwind side.

The surrounding brush was dense; there was no way the enemy could have seen or heard us from such a distance. That left only one possibility: they had caught our scent from downwind!

Suddenly, the brush shattered. Three Level 20 Elite-grade Crawlers charged out, their maws wide and dripping with gore!

"Attack!"

Without hesitation, I raised my barrel and unleashed a dense barrage of fire.

Ling Baiwei crouched low, using her submachine gun to pin down the second Crawler, while Zhang Ruolin lunged forward, using a steel shield to catch the jaw of the third, simultaneously firing her own submachine gun directly into its maw!

"Roar~~~"

The Crawlers seemed to lack a sense of pain, ignoring their wounds as they charged frantically!

I twisted my body, shifting my angle with a Step-Slash. In an instant, all three Crawlers were lined up.

Now!

Burst-Energy Rush!

"Boom!"

The Primal Energy in my body burned and erupted. I transformed into a blur, piercing through all three Crawlers at once. Not only did three damage numbers bloom, but all three were stunned in place!

"426!"
"444!"
"453!"

As the damage numbers floated up, I instantly switched my main weapon to the Vanguard Stinger and unleashed a flurry of attacks on the Crawler Zhang Ruolin was holding: a standard attack, followed by Dragon Blade, then another standard attack. The entire sequence flowed like water!

"302!"
"664!"
"299!"

In an instant, the Crawler Zhang Ruolin was fighting collapsed, its health bar completely depleted!

"Whoa, what kind of damage is that?" Zhang Ruolin stared, dumbfounded, clutching her submachine gun.

"Don't get distracted! Kill them!"

"Right!"

I dashed toward the second Crawler. This time, I used a simple combo: standard attack, Earth-Spike Slash, standard attack. The movements were equally fluid and smooth.

The second Crawler’s health bar was instantly wiped out. A level 20 Elite monster only had 2,500 health; it couldn't withstand melee damage of this intensity.

The next moment, Zhang Ruolin and Ling Baiwei opened fire on the third Crawler, and to save ammunition, I closed the distance with a Step-Slash and finished it off with three quick sword strikes!

"Swish, swish, swish~~~"

The three Crawlers fell, and each released a stream of white experience light that flew into the three of us.

I have to say, killing monsters with melee attacks is truly satisfying.

After all, melee weapon damage scales with your own stats, and with my off-the-charts Strength, the damage I dealt was naturally high—unlike firearms, where the only basis for final damage is the weapon's firepower.

Looking at the three carcasses on the ground, Zhang Ruolin and Xiaobai were silent.

"Ding Han, you’ve truly shocked us..." Zhang Ruolin said. "What have you been doing this whole time? How did you get such a complete set of skills? Having Burst-Energy Rush and Dragon Blade is one thing, but how do you even have a rare skill like Earth-Spike Slash?"

"Just luck," I said with a faint smile. "I’ve soloed two dungeons during this time and completed a lot of daily quests. Plus, I got lucky, so my skill set is a bit more complete."

"No wonder..." Xiaobai nodded, looking enlightened.

...

"Something else is coming!"

I tilted my head to listen, then suddenly turned, pointing my gun in another direction. "This time, it's from the east!"