9: What? You want to get it for free again?

Jacket Uncle heard the sounds of fighting from the next room and wasn't too worried at first.

After all, his teammates were quite capable, and after fighting for so long, he hadn't heard any screams or distress signals, so he figured Baldy should be able to hold on.

But unexpectedly, the situation changed in an instant; after a series of explosions, Baldy's room collapsed, and his teammate's marker immediately turned red.

Their items could synchronize and display teammate status, so the other two immediately realized Baldy was in grave danger.

Jacket Uncle observed the situation outside; it seemed that because the Mountain Child's main body had gone to Baldy's location, the fog outside had thinned considerably.

Coupled with the effective damage Baldy had inflicted on the Mountain Child, the fog appeared even more erratic.

Jacket Uncle immediately made a decision, braving the danger to pull open the door and rush towards his teammate's position.

The Short-Haired Girl, having received the signal, also ran out to join the rescue effort.

Although these earthen houses weren't very big, they were solidly built with bricks and stones; it was just that the veterans had all reinforced their bodies with items, otherwise, an ordinary person might have been flattened into a meat patty by now.

The two frantically dug through tiles and bricks, searching for Baldy's buried location.

Jacket Uncle spotted something moving and, thinking it was his teammate, quickly went over.

However, a greenish arm suddenly reached out from under the rubble, its sharp claws lunging straight at him.

Jacket Uncle immediately dodged to the side after realizing something was wrong, only to run into a second Mountain Child.

Clang!!!

Claws collided with a shield, emitting a loud sound.

Jacket Uncle hastily defended, struggling to parry, and rolled several times, person and shield alike, before stopping.

"Uncle Wang!"

The Short-Haired Girl grew anxious when she saw her teammate being attacked.

"I'm fine!"

Jacket Uncle wiped the dust from his face, raised his shield, and looked grim.

Even though he was the captain, he wasn't a frontline fighter, and his combat ability was inferior to Baldy's.

If there was only one Mountain Child, he might be able to hold on, but two were truly beyond his capacity.

As the two monsters stood up, the surrounding fog grew thicker, making Jacket Uncle acutely aware of the danger.

He and his teammate both had to deal with the Mountain Child and couldn't search for Baldy; in desperation, he shouted to the other two rooms:

"You two, come help! Otherwise, this BOSS won't be solvable later either!"

The two rooms housed Little Fatty and the female student, and they could still hear the sounds of battle outside.

Although still scared, the two hesitated for a moment but still came out to help.

If they didn't help Jacket Uncle and his team now, and they died or something, there would still be another night tomorrow, and who would be able to lead them to survive and clear the instance then?

Me, a Rookie, fighting a four-star instance BOSS?

Will I win? (I'll die!!!)

Seeing the two students run out to help dig people out, Jacket Uncle's expression improved significantly, and he dealt with the Mountain Child alongside the Short-Haired Girl, covering the two as they dug.

Fortunately, the house ruins weren't large, and Baldy's burial spot was quickly found, unearthing the victim of this shoddy construction.

However, to their dismay, Baldy, whether from the explosion or the impact, was covered in blood and unconscious, making the Short-Haired Girl so anxious that she pinched his philtrum until it turned purple, but couldn't wake him up.

In desperation, the two could only continue fighting.

But they both lacked means to cause effective damage to the Mountain Child, and as time went on, their stamina became insufficient to cope, gradually becoming breathless, and the wounds on their bodies steadily increased.

The Mountain Child, however, still seemed full of vigor, or rather, due to its injuries, it was even more enraged at this time, striking with greater ferocity.

Jacket Uncle had thought that digging Baldy out would allow them to deal with the Mountain Child, but now it had instead put his entire team in danger.

There was still a long time until dawn.

Anxiety, worry, regret, all sorts of emotions converged in his heart, making him feel increasingly bitter.

Again, he was swatted away by a Mountain Child's claw; he struggled to his feet and continued to use his shield to protect his teammates.

Suddenly, at this moment, through the thick fog, he glimpsed a golden light flickering not far away.

"If you can't handle the Mountain Child, you can come to me, 20 points per person, guaranteed survival."

He suddenly remembered what that newcomer had said during the day.

Very arrogant.

And very certain, revealing self-assured confidence.

Jacket Uncle felt he must have been hit too hard on the head to pin his hopes of survival on a newcomer who had just entered the instance at this moment.

But... what if?

As the saying goes, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; no one could have imagined that an English teacher would later become the richest man!

Dragging it out any longer would only make the situation worse.

Jacket Uncle no longer hesitated and immediately shouted to the Short-Haired Girl: "Lure the monsters with the wall! Then follow me!"

The Short-Haired Girl was stunned, about to say that even if they controlled the BOSS, they couldn't deal damage, but seeing the captain's resolute attitude, she still threw out an item—

[Sticky Mouse Wall (3/5)]

[Throws out a huge wall that sticks the target (the stronger the target, the shorter the duration)]

[Note: My little mouse, I can't go back...]

The two skillfully coordinated to lure the two Mountain Children together, and then the item accurately hit the Mountain Children.

The two Mountain Children, like giant rats, roared in anger and confusion, struggling after being stuck.

Although the Mountain Child's body could materialize into fog, sometimes instance items were like causality weapons; if it said it would stick, it would stick, no matter how illogical.

With the Mountain Child's strength, the sticky mouse wall wouldn't hold for too long, so they had to act quickly.

Jacket Uncle carried Baldy on his back, and the rest of them also ran frantically after him.

The Short-Haired Girl didn't know the captain's plan and was about to ask him where he intended to run when she saw Jacket Uncle loudly calling out to the house in front:

"Little brother! What you said during the day, does it still count?"

What he said during the day?

The others were wondering when they saw the window pushed open, revealing a handsome face no less attractive than the readers'.

"Of course it counts."

Cheng Zhen showed a warm smile, like a Haidilao signboard: "You five? A total of 100 points!"

Only then did the Short-Haired Girl and the others remember Cheng Zhen's 'guaranteed survival' deal from earlier in the day.

She was a little surprised, not knowing why the captain suddenly did this.

And...

"Um, I'm sorry..."

Jacket Uncle's dust-covered face faintly showed a blush of embarrassment: "We don't have that many points..."

"Huh?"

Cheng Zhen immediately performed a Sichuan opera face-change.

Aren't you three veterans who've cleared several instances? How do you not even have a hundred points?

What? You want to freeload off me again?

Kōtowa rū!

Cheng Zhen raised his hand to close the window, and Jacket Uncle quickly said anxiously: "I can use an item as collateral!"

"MVP Double Card!"

"As long as you're willing to save us, you'll definitely get more than 100 points after the instance settlement!!!"