84: Chapter 84 How are the benefits in your line of work?

On the desolate plains.

Gu Changming remained sitting cross-legged, his gaze falling on the description of the "Hidden Rule."

He was deep in thought.

This Hidden Rule was actually quite important; this Assessment was too outrageous, and one careless mistake could lead to death.

If this 'Hidden Rule' were spread, it should be able to save quite a few people.

He fell silent for a moment, and with a thought, a translucent system panel expanded before his eyes.

With a light swipe of his finger, he switched to the friends list.

There was only one name on the list, hanging there all alone: Su Wan.

Gu Changming stared at those two words, his expression unchanging. Su Wan was currently at the Xinhuo Stronghold; that place was crowded, so news traveled fast.

If she were the one to spread it, it would likely be much faster than if he did it himself.

The key point was, he didn't have anyone else to choose anyway!

Gu Changming stared at Su Wan's name for a few seconds before closing the panel and standing back up.

In truth, he didn't have much hesitation.

However, to avoid being noticed by the "Organizer," Gu Changming felt he needed to proactively trigger the Hidden Rule of "Equivalent Compensation."

Otherwise, a random message accurately pointing out a Hidden Rule would be too conspicuous.

He had to make it look a bit more reasonable.

Therefore, it would only be more natural and less likely to be targeted if he sent the information to Su Wan after he had proactively triggered the "Hidden Rule: Equivalent Compensation."

Of course, the price for doing this was: wasting one instance of being "favored," the reward pool would start accumulating again, and an additional six-hour safety period would be added.

But this small price was worth it.

Gu Changming stood up, his gaze scanning the surroundings as he pondered a suitable way to trigger the rule.

But just then.

Suddenly, the translucent message panel before his eyes flickered.

Gu Changming looked; it was a message from Su Wan.

Gu Changming opened it; the content was concise and clear:

"Are you there? We've discovered a Hidden Rule for this Assessment: Equivalent Compensation. You can proactively trigger 'favor' to gain a six-hour safety period."

"If you see this message, you can try it yourself."

"Please reply upon receipt."

Gu Changming's eyes flickered slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

Had someone in the Xinhuo Stronghold already realized it?

That's fine; it seemed he didn't need to go through the extra trouble.

Gu Changming sat back down and then replied to her, indicating he had seen the message.

After sitting down, Gu Changming's thoughts began to drift.

In his previous life, had someone noticed it so quickly as well?

He wasn't entirely sure; back then, he hadn't added many friends, so no one had sent him any messages.

Furthermore, after being "favored" twice in a row, he had found a secluded spot to hide away, so he didn't know much specific information.

Therefore, Gu Changming wasn't sure if Su Wan's message now was because his rebirth had allowed certain people to survive, thereby changing the course of human history.

If that were truly the case, it would be wonderful.

Everything was developing in a positive direction; perhaps human civilization could survive this Assessment...

He had just sat down and was deep in thought.

Suddenly!

High in the sky, a silver speck of light suddenly appeared, flickering continuously while accompanied by an extremely faint mechanical hum.

Gu Changming's eyes shifted slightly.

He raised his right hand and lightly hooked his index finger.

An inconspicuous pebble by his foot suddenly shot up, the sound of it tearing through the air short and sharp.

"Swoosh!"

The pebble turned into a gray blur.

In mid-air, the speck of light suddenly jerked and lost its balance, tumbling crookedly toward the ground.

Only after the object crashed did Gu Changming shift his gaze toward it.

The object had landed in a nearby pile of rubble; its shell was shattered, revealing intricate metal structures inside, its shape vaguely resembling the silhouette of a bird.

A mechanical creation... Is it the Mechanic class?

Gu Changming couldn't help but wonder.

It seemed he had been "favored" by fate once again.

...

A few minutes later.

Just as Gu Changming had expected.

A slight tremor came from the ground; it was faint but grew closer, sounding like heavy vehicles rolling across the earth.

Gu Changming turned his head toward the source of the vibration.

A large cloud of dust rose on the distant horizon.

Several modified cars were speeding toward his location, their appearance quite striking:

Heavy steel plates were welded to their exteriors, metal racks scavenged from who-knows-where were mounted on the roofs, and the tires were wide and rugged, kicking up clouds of yellow dust as they tore across the wilderness.

Gu Changming didn't know if these modifications provided any buffs or if they simply wanted vehicles that matched their aesthetic.

...

The cars screeched to a halt less than fifteen meters from Gu Changming, their tires grinding against the gravel.

Then, six people leaned out from the windows of the three cars.

The leader was nearly thirty, wearing a dirty white sleeveless shirt, with bulging muscles on his arms and a fierce look.

The others were around twenty-four or twenty-five; some were shirtless, revealing slash scars, while others dangled half-smoked cigarettes from their mouths, all of them carrying a reckless air.

The leader leaned most of his body out of the window, hand resting on the door, and shouted at Gu Changming at the top of his lungs:

"Hey! Was it you who brought down that bird just now?"

Gu Changming looked over and nodded. "Yours?"

"No duh!" the man cursed, pushed open the car door, and jumped down.

He landed firmly, and his gaze was naturally drawn to the black giant cocoon, over a man's height and still slightly writhing, in front of Gu Changming.

The man narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the cocoon and Gu Changming. He jerked his chin toward the cocoon. "Yours?"

"No," Gu Changming shook his head decisively. "I stumbled upon it. I thought it was a treasure and wanted it, so I've been waiting here for it to emerge from the cocoon."

If he claimed it was his, it would be another liability, but if it became theirs, they might even end up protecting it for him.

After speaking, Gu Changming paused and added flatly, "But from the looks of it, it should be yours now."

"At least you're sensible," the man chuckled and waved his hand, signaling the others in the cars to get out and load the thing up.

Soon, three or four more people jumped out of the other two cars and walked toward the Mimic Beast's black giant cocoon.

Watching them lift the cocoon, Gu Changming unconsciously rubbed his fingers together, his eyes downcast as he pondered.

Hmm... Should he take them out? Or... take the opportunity to stack the reward pool?

Before he could decide, the leader in the sleeveless shirt suddenly locked his gaze onto him. After staring for a couple of seconds, he immediately shouted.

"Tie him up too!"

Gu Changming: "..."

Well, that works; he's made the choice for me.

...

"Thud!"

Gu Changming's hands were tied, and he was tossed into the bed of a modified pickup truck just like that.

As the car jolted forward, Gu Changming diverted half of his Mental Power to envelop the Mimic Beast's cocoon to prevent any accidents, then remained quiet.

After quite a while.

A slit was opened in the partition window between the cab and the truck bed, and the leader poked his head through, meeting Gu Changming's eyes.

He found it truly strange; whenever he tied people up before, they would either wail for their parents, try their best to suck up to him, or hurl curses.

But this guy hadn't said a word the whole way.

After a moment of silent eye contact with Gu Changming, the man spoke:

"Don't you have anything to ask me?"

Gu Changming frowned and gave it some serious thought.

"How are the prospects in your line of work? Is the pay good?"