Game: Civilization Paradise

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Search

Long Ming fell silent upon hearing this. freēwebnovel.com

’No wonder it’s so difficult for solo players to survive,’ he thought. ’Against their methods and strategies, solo players don’t stand a chance.’

Take this instance, for example. Out of a thousand people, over two hundred were from their guild.

That was a very high matching probability, and many factors could be manually controlled.

For instance, when major guilds queued for matchmaking, they would time it to avoid other guilds and match with as many solo players as possible.

Even if they were unlucky enough to run into another guild, their list of allies could filter out some threats. Unaffiliated guilds would also reach a compromise out of mutual apprehension.

The game had been out for less than ten days, yet they had already developed so many strategies. ’It’s only going to get harder for solo players from now on.’

Just then, Mira issued a command to all combat personnel.

"Move out!"

Cao Jie and his men immediately went to the sealed factory door. They pressed their ears against it to listen for any sounds outside. Hearing nothing unusual, they grabbed the handle and pulled.

SCRAPE~

The large iron door was pulled open.

Mira cautiously led the team out. After confirming there was no danger, she waved to the other combat teams behind her.

The numerous combat squads filed out and then dispersed in their respective team formations.

Long Ming and the others all turned to look at Xiaoqi.

"Everyone, follow me. No one is to act without my command!"

With that, Xiaoqi led the group out the door and onto the street.

A gray morning mist, thick with the stench of rot and blood, shrouded the old buildings all around them.

Long Ming scanned his surroundings. The concrete street was riddled with cracks, and dark red bloodstains were visible everywhere.

A chain of wrecked cars was piled up, and the streetlights on both sides of the road had toppled to the ground.

The surrounding buildings had shattered glass windows, which let out a cacophony of whistling sounds as the breeze blew through them.

Looking down the street, he saw no monsters.

Mira led her team a short distance forward and soon spotted a couple of figures wandering in the mist.

Looking closer, he saw that the wandering figures were Corpse Monsters with rotting faces and blood-soaked clothes.

"What disgusting monsters."

Cloud Fish and the other girls murmured, looking at the Corpse Monsters with a mix of nervousness and fear.

"Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you."

At that moment, some members of the Rat Group confidently pulled pistols from their pockets.

Although most people who joined the Rat Group were in it for the money, some players were more interested in showing off and hitting on girls.

Just then, Cao Jie shot a sidelong glance at Xiaoqi before volunteering to Mira.

"Captain, let us handle these few Corpse Monsters!"

"Go ahead. Try not to make too much noise."

Mira glanced at the one or two wandering monsters and gave a slight nod.

"Understood!"

Cao Jie calmly walked toward the nearest scrawny Corpse Monster.

Long Ming and the others all turned to watch Cao Jie.

Cao Jie made no move to use his gun. Instead, he nonchalantly drew a tactical knife from his utility belt.

The scrawny Corpse Monster quickly noticed Cao Jie. It staggered around and then charged at him with its mouth wide open.

Cao Jie shot out his left hand, grabbing the Corpse Monster by the chin. With the tactical knife in his right, he made a clean, swift slash across its neck.

Black blood instantly splattered everywhere.

The Corpse Monster’s throat was torn open. It collapsed to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

"Whoa, Brother Cao is so cool!"

"Yeah! He’s amazing!"

...

Seeing this, many of the girls began to chatter excitedly.

Hearing the praise from behind, Cao Jie couldn’t help but look smug. He subtly glanced over at Xiaoqi out of the corner of his eye.

Unfortunately for him, Xiaoqi’s expression remained as cold as ever.

Just then, Mira waved her hand and gave an order to all the combat squads.

"Go!"

The combat squads charged out in a fan formation, beginning their search-and-clear mission.

Xiaoqi waited with the members of the Rat Group for about ten minutes before giving a command with a serious expression.

"Everyone, open your wristbands and turn on the automatic recording function."

Hearing this, Long Ming and the others looked down at their wristbands and enabled video recording from the system settings menu.

Then, Xiaoqi continued with her instructions.

"Do not turn off the recording function for the duration of the instance. Also, while you’re searching, pay attention to building entrances. Look for any kind of checkmark (√). A building with a mark has already been scouted, so it should be clear of monsters. If there’s no team mark, it means it’s unexplored. Be extremely careful in those cases!"

"Understood!"

"Also, when you’re searching inside, there’s no fighting over items. Whoever finds it first, gets to keep it."

"Got it!"

"Move out!"

"Yes, ma’am!"

Hearing Xiaoqi’s command, the members of the Rat Group scattered like rats let out of a cage.

Xiaoqi, Cloud Fish, and the others immediately dashed toward a five-story building facing the street, heading straight for the convenience store on the ground floor.

Before Long Ming could even react, everyone around him had already taken off.

The dispersed members of the Rat Group all put their skills to use. Some pulled crowbars from their backpacks and immediately started prying open the closed metal shutters of shops, while others rushed into residential buildings and used lock-picking tools to get inside and search.

A strange expression appeared on Long Ming’s face. ’So it’s true, everyone has their own specialty. Being a "rat" isn’t as easy as it looks. These guys are fast, and they’re incredibly experienced.’ freewebnovel.cσ๓

Long Ming let out a small sigh and walked toward the convenience store that Xiaoqi’s group was searching.

It was a small convenience store. Inside, shelves were toppled over, and merchandise was scattered messily across the floor.

Tang Ye, He Zhong, and Cloud Fish were busy rummaging through the refrigerated coolers and the shelves where canned goods were kept.

Long Ming stood at the entrance, watching.

Seeing Long Ming standing motionlessly by the door, Xiaoqi walked over and asked with concern.

"Mr. Long Ming, why aren’t you searching?"

"Well..."

"Long Ming, we’re the Rat Group. Our pay isn’t as high as the combat teams’, especially for part-timers like you. Everything depends on our scavenging performance. So when you’re looking for supplies, don’t be shy."

"Right."

Long Ming nodded.

"Being shy will get you killed from starvation! Sister Qi, look at this can of beef I found. It’s in perfect condition!"

Tang Ye walked over smugly, holding up a can of beef he had found.

"Not bad. Keep searching."

Xiaoqi then walked forward and tried to lift a toppled shelf.

"Let me help you!"

Tang Ye immediately rushed forward to eagerly assist her.

Long Ming let out a soft breath and went to rummage through the scattered food items. He found that most of the packaging was damaged and the contents had spoiled.

About ten minutes later, they had turned the entire convenience store upside down.

Long Ming only managed to find a fruit knife. Although it didn’t look to be of very good quality, it was better than nothing, so he decided to keep it.

As for Cloud Fish and the others, they had all found some decent items.

"There’s not much left here. Everyone spread out and search. We’ll regroup at the intersection up ahead!"

Xiaoqi said to Cloud Fish and the others.

"Okay!"

Cloud Fish and the others left the convenience store and spread out to search.