42: Chapter 42: With the right methods, dealing with 10,000 zombies in Raccoon City is easy.

Before Hu Jinsi and Lin Rui could say anything more, a strange face suddenly poked in from the front door.

It was a man in his thirties, wearing a dark gray staff uniform, with "Academic Affairs Office" written on the badge on his chest. His gaze scanned the classroom like a searchlight, finally pinning accurately on Hu Jinsi, then sweeping past Lin Rui and Su Wan in turn. "Lin Rui, Su Wan, Hu Jinsi, you three students, please come with me to the Academic Affairs Office."

The classroom went quiet for a moment. Several students in the front row turned their heads, their eyes mixed with curiosity and schadenfreude. Being called out by the Academic Affairs Office was never a good sign in any school.

"What's going on?" Su Wan whispered, her fingers unconsciously gripping the strap of her lyre.

"Don't know." Lin Rui closed his notebook, shoved it into the drawer, his expression as heavy as iron. He stood up, walked toward the back door, and signaled the two of them to follow.

The three of them followed the strange teacher through the corridor, turned two flights of stairs, and finally stopped at the door of the Academic Affairs Office. The door was half-open, and someone was already sitting inside.

Liu Betti.

She was sitting with her back to the door in the row of chairs by the window, wearing a school uniform. Two seats away from her, two middle-aged couples were sitting. One pair was dressed in simple work clothes; the man clutched a work cap with worn-white edges, the woman's eyes were red and swollen, and she was holding a ball of crumpled tissue; the other pair was dressed a bit better; the man wore a crisp, ironed shirt, and the woman had a faded gold ring on her finger, nervously twisting the corner of her clothes.

Hu Jinsi's footsteps paused at the door for half a second.

"Sit over there." The leading teacher pointed to the empty seat next to Liu Betti, his tone devoid of any warmth.

The three of them quickly exchanged a look and walked quickly to Liu Betti's side to sit down. Hu Jinsi leaned next to her and lowered his voice: "What's the situation? Do you know those two strangers?"

Liu Betti turned her head, her lips barely moving, her voice sounding like it was squeezed through her teeth: "Those two couples are the parents of Zhang Qiang and Li Xue, the warrior and priest from your class who sacrificed themselves. We've met a few times since that incident. After we left the dungeon the day before yesterday, they came to my house in the afternoon to find me and asked about the dungeon this week, which I told them. I don't know exactly what they are here for today, but combined with the news I heard as soon as I arrived at school that Zhao Lei had transferred, and since all three of you were called here, I believe everyone can guess that it must still be related to what happened back then."

Hu Jinsi's eyebrows twisted into a knot. Zhao Lei transferred? Wasn't that kid suspended? He hadn't been seen for weeks, why did he suddenly transfer away?

His inner alarm bells rang loudly. He had watched so many crime dramas in his past life—How to Get Away with Murder, Elementary, Person of Interest, Bones, The Mentalist. This scene was the standard "secondary investigation" template: the key witness suddenly disappears, the investigation target shifts to the survivors, and the goal is to find someone to take the fall. With Zhao Lei gone, Liu Betti was the only participant left in the battle against Bishibosh. As for the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad, they were the only known squad to have defeated Bishibosh, and Zhang Qiang and Li Xue's parents obviously wouldn't be satisfied with the official conclusion of "accidental death."

Within five minutes, footsteps could be heard in the corridor. Teacher Fan, the homeroom teacher of Class 1, walked in front. His round face, which usually wore a smile, was tight now, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. The homeroom teacher of Class 3 followed behind, holding a stack of folders, his expression as serious as if he were attending a funeral. Entering last was the Director of the Academic Affairs Office, a man in his fifties with a half-bald head. His uniform was buttoned to the top, and he exuded an aura of "official business, absolutely no favoritism."

The Director of the Academic Affairs Office sat behind the desk, folded his hands on the desktop, and let his gaze linger on each of the four faces in turn. His look wasn't like he was looking at students; it was like he was reviewing a suspicious financial report.

"Inviting you all here today," he began, his voice low and slow, "is on behalf of the school to question Lin Rui, Su Wan, Hu Jinsi, and Liu Betti. Please describe in detail the process of dealing with Bishibosh in the dungeon last week."

"Um—"

Lin Rui paused, about to open his mouth. He had prepared the first sentence in his throat, but before he could say it, Liu Betti's hand suddenly reached out from the side and pressed gently on his knee.

Her force wasn't great, but the meaning of stopping him was clear.

"Director," Liu Betti raised her head, looking directly at the Director of the Academic Affairs Office. There was not a hint of fear in those deep eyes, unique to a person of mixed heritage, "I was also a victim of that incident, and Uncle Zhang and Aunt Li already came to my house the day before yesterday to understand what happened. If the school wants to question me this time, I hope my legal guardian can also be present."

Her tone was as calm as if she were discussing the weather, but every word was bitten out clearly and forcefully. She paused, her gaze sweeping over Zhang Qiang and Li Xue's parents, then turning to Lin Rui and Su Wan: "Think about it, it's best to call your parents over too. Only with everyone's guardians present can the communication of this matter be guaranteed. According to the 'Law on the Protection of Minors' and the 'Criminal Procedure Law,' the legal representative should be notified, which means parents need to be present."

The expressions of the Director of the Academic Affairs Office and the two homeroom teachers froze for a moment. Zhang Qiang and Li Xue's parents were also taken aback, clearly not expecting a seventeen-year-old girl to cite legal provisions in such an occasion.

Taking advantage of the moment the teachers and parents were stunned, Liu Betti quickly turned her head, her lips close to the ears of Lin Rui and Su Wan, her voice kept extremely low, and her speaking speed as fast as a machine gun: "Something is wrong. Zhang Qiang and Li Xue's parents are both here, but none of Zhao Lei's family members appeared. Zhao Lei transferred to Roujing, and his family has connections there, so the school dare not touch him. For safety, hurry up and call your parents over, otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble will happen."

Lin Rui and Su Wan's eyes changed at the same time.

Su Wan's fingers had already reached the mobile phone in her pocket. Lin Rui pondered for half a second, then also took out his phone, his fingers operating rapidly on the screen. Hu Jinsi watched all this from the side, giving Liu Betti a thumbs up in his heart. This girl looked cold and aloof, but her brain turned faster than anyone else's at critical moments. It was worth it that they pulled her into the squad in the Cold Plains dungeon.

An absurd thought flashed through his mind: In the web novels of his past life, this scene was undoubtedly the start of a "broken engagement" trope. Except this time it wasn't about breaking an engagement, but about dropping out, or worse. But was killing one Bishibosh worth making such a big fuss?

The Director of the Academic Affairs Office cleared his throat, trying to regain the initiative: "Student Liu Betti, we certainly respect the legal procedures you mentioned. But today's questioning is just a preliminary understanding, not a formal interrogation, so it doesn't need..."

"Director," Liu Betti interrupted him, the corners of her mouth even curving, but there was not a hint of warmth in that smile, "My legal guardian is already on his way to the school and will arrive in about twenty minutes. Lin Rui and Su Wan's parents should be about the same. Before that, we don't mind waiting here."

After she finished speaking, she leaned back against the chair, crossed her arms over her chest, the posture as if saying, "If you have the ability, go ahead and interrogate us now."

Hu Jinsi almost couldn't hold back his laughter. He lowered his head, pretending to look at the tips of his shoes, while actually hiding the twitching expression at the corners of his mouth. This girl usually drew her bow and shot fire arrows without a word in the dungeon, and she was actually this tough in reality too. He suddenly felt that his previous idea of suspecting her of being possessed was a bit redundant; did those grandmas in the dungeons even understand the law?

Teacher Fan smoothed things over: "Since the parents are already on their way, let's wait. Parents, please don't be impatient. Our purpose today is to clarify the matter, not to pursue anyone's responsibility."

Zhang Qiang's father, the man clutching his work cap, didn't speak. Li Xue's mother wiped away tears again. They had already privately sought out Liu Betti before, so obviously, they weren't targeting the four students today either.

Time felt like it was stuck with glue, every second drawn out endlessly. Hu Jinsi sat in the chair, feeling his butt engaged in a long-lasting struggle with the hard plastic chair surface. He didn't dare to take out his prayer beads to meditate in such an occasion, so he could only boredly count the peeling spots on the ceiling. One, two, three... When he counted to twenty-seven, hurried footsteps finally came from the corridor.

The first to push the door open was Liu Betti's father. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, tall and sturdy; one look and you knew he followed the melee path. His brows and eyes were somewhat similar to Liu Betti's, especially the mixed-race contours, just worn much rougher by time and wind. The first thing he did upon entering was to walk to his daughter's side and ask, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Liu Betti shook her head, "Dad, sit down first."

Immediately after, Lin Rui's father, Lin Jianjun, arrived. He was shorter than Liu Betti's father, but his shoulders were very broad, and his walking posture carried the steadiness unique to people who had been on the battlefield. He walked into the room, his gaze first landing on his son, and after confirming that Lin Rui was safe and sound, he nodded to the others in the room and sat down on the outermost chair.

The last to arrive was Su Wan's mother. She was a slim woman wearing a light gray wool coat, her hair tied behind her head, her face carrying the weariness of an intellectual. As soon as she entered, she walked quickly to Su Wan's side, reached out to touch her daughter's hair, asked a few low questions, and then sat down next to her.

With all three parents present, the atmosphere in the room changed subtly. The pressure originally formed by the school and the victims' parents had now turned into a three-way standoff. Moreover, the presence of the three legal guardians made the nature of this "questioning" have to move closer to formal procedures.

The expression of the Director of the Academic Affairs Office was not very good, but he still started according to the process.

"Since the parents have arrived, let's begin. Student Lin Rui, please describe in detail the battle process of your squad with Bishibosh in the Cold Plains dungeon."

Lin Rui stood up. He did not look at the Director of the Academic Affairs Office, but first bowed slightly to Zhang Qiang and Li Xue's parents. It was a simple but sincere action, for the two departed peers, and for their broken families.

"Hello, Uncle and Aunt." His voice was steady and clear, "I am Lin Rui. Regarding the battle with Bishibosh, I will explain it in as much detail as possible. If you have any questions during the process, please interrupt me at any time."

He took a deep breath and began to speak.

"The preparation for the battle actually started a week ago. In an intelligence exchange weeks ago, through communication with classmate Sun Yao, we learned a key piece of information: Fallen in the Blood Moor with incomplete bodies cannot be resurrected. This is a fact she verified repeatedly in the Blood Moor dungeon. Based on this intelligence, we further inferred: if incomplete bodies can prevent resurrection, then other methods that cause Fallen to be unable to be resurrected might also exist. So we conducted relevant searches online last week, querying data, literature, and discussion posts on professional forums about blocking demon resurrection. Finally, we locked onto the substance 'Pure Blood'."

He took out his mobile phone from his backpack, tapped the screen, and showed it to everyone present.

"This is our search history, the time, keywords, visited pages, are all in it. This is the order record of our purchase of Pure Blood from the professional mall, as well as the logistics delivery record. Eighty bottles of Pure Blood, totaling eight hundred credits, used to splash on the Fallen other than Bishibosh during the battle to block the Fallen Shaman from resurrecting its bodies."

The Director of the Academic Affairs Office took the phone, flipped through it, and his face eased slightly. Teacher Fan also leaned over to take a look and nodded.

Lin Rui continued: "On the tactical level, we made a clear division of labor. Hu Jinsi was responsible for frontal containment of Bishibosh, Liu Betti was responsible for long-range output, and Su Wan and I were responsible for splashing Pure Blood on the corpses of the Fallen. We set up bunkers in the battle area in advance constructed by Lin Rui using the Tactical Fortification skill to prevent Bishibosh's self-destruction damage."

"Most importantly," his tone deepened a bit, "Bishibosh has an ability not mentioned in the intelligence—Flame Shield. Its effect is that any melee attacker will receive fire damage reflection. According to the post-battle review, Hu Jinsi was wearing Hot Boot Spike at the time, which provided forty-five percent fire resistance. Under this protection, he would still receive a dozen points of reflection damage for each attack. If there was no fire resistance equipment, the reflection damage of each melee attack could be close to thirty points."

The room was quiet for a moment.

Zhang Qiang's father, the man clutching his work cap, suddenly raised his head, a sharp light flashing in his cloudy eyes: "Thirty points?"

"Yes, Uncle Zhang. We don't know how Zhao Lei's squad solved it back then." Lin Rui nodded, his tone without any evasion, "But with our HP at the time, without fire resistance equipment, a melee attacker would lose combat capability in less than half a minute. This is also why we let Hu Jinsi serve as the main melee output in the initial tactics. First, his agility was high enough to dodge Bishibosh's melee damage as much as possible, and most importantly, he was the only person in our squad with fire resistance equipment who could withstand Bishibosh's big fireball when he couldn't dodge. Of course, the situation of the Flame Shield was also an accident for us. Fortunately, Hu Jinsi himself had healing abilities, so he could barely achieve a balance between healing and health loss."

...

The complete battle plan was slowly narrated by Lin Rui. After the explanation, he paused, his gaze sweeping over the Director of the Academic Affairs Office and the homeroom teacher, and finally landing on Zhang Qiang and Li Xue's parents.

"In summary, although our battle with Bishibosh lasted only five minutes, we had been summarizing experience and looking for ways to restrain it for a week or even longer before these five minutes. This plan was designed by several of us after repeated discussions and racking our brains. If you have any other questions, you can also apply to the Education Bureau to retrieve the data of our battle process. If needed, we will try our best to cooperate."

After Lin Rui finished speaking, he nodded to everyone present and sat down again.

The room fell into a brief silence. Zhang Qiang's father lowered his head, continuing to clutch his work cap until his knuckles turned white. Li Xue's mother stopped wiping away her tears; there was a hint of bewilderment in her red, swollen eyes. As a Life Professional, she might not understand those tactical terms, but she understood the two numbers: "30 points of recoil damage" and "losing combat effectiveness in half a minute."

The Dean of Academic Affairs and Teacher Fan exchanged a few words in low voices. Then, the Dean waved his hand: "Alright, Student Lin Rui, thank you for your detailed explanation. Today's questioning ends here; you four students may leave now."

The four of them stood up, nodded to their respective parents, and pushed the door open to leave the Academic Affairs Office.

The moment the door closed behind them, Su Wan let out a long sigh, as if she had just surfaced from underwater: "Huff—huff—that suffocated me."

"It's not over yet." Liu Betti's voice came from beside them. She leaned against the hallway wall with her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the tightly shut door of the Academic Affairs Office at the end of the corridor. "Those teachers and parents are definitely inside discussing how to wrap this up."

"What do you mean?" Su Wan asked.

Liu Betti turned her head, sweeping her gaze over the three of them. Her voice was as calm as if she were explaining a math problem: "Actually, this matter is easy to understand. I went with Zhao Lei and the others, and the squad was wiped out; I went to the dungeon with you guys, and no one was hurt, plus the loot was pretty good. So, is it possible that I was holding back? Or, perhaps when I was teamed up with Zhao Lei, I had already obtained key intelligence but didn't share it with them?"

Hu Jinsi raised an eyebrow.

"If those are ruled out," Liu Betti continued, "then according to our description, it took such thorough preparation to push the battle to that extent. So, how did the squad I was in with Zhao Lei manage to get that far when everyone was under level five? Especially Bishibosh's Flame Shield. I'm a ranged class, so I wouldn't feel the recoil damage from the Flame Shield, which makes sense. But the other three were all melee, and Zhao Lei is still alive, yet he never mentioned the Flame Shield. That seems very suspicious."

She stretched out a finger and gestured vaguely in the air: "Hu Jinsi has 45% fire resistance, and he still takes over ten points of damage per attack. Without fire resistance, wouldn't they have to take nearly 30 points of recoil damage per attack? Given everyone's HP at the time, they would basically be throwing their lives away to hack at the monster. That's clearly impossible; nobody is that stupid. In other words, if Zhao Lei's squad had really fought Bishibosh head-on, it's impossible that no one noticed the existence of the Flame Shield."

"You mean…" Lin Rui frowned.

"Zhao Lei is the problem." Liu Betti's voice dropped. "Logically, our original squad couldn't have known all the details about Bishibosh. After all, it was our first time entering the dungeon. To have such thorough, targeted preparation, someone must have leaked intelligence to Zhao Lei in advance—leaked information he shouldn't have known. And this information was something even the school didn't know at the time. If the school had known Bishibosh had a Flame Shield, they definitely would have strongly reminded all the students, or at least had the homeroom teacher hint that everyone should bring a Dispel Magic scroll."

She leaned against the wall, a self-deprecating smile appearing at the corner of her mouth: "Now that Zhao Lei has transferred and can't be contacted, they can only use us few who are still at school as a breakthrough point. If it weren't for the fact that I and you three had just earned two achievements in a row, making us one of the top-ranked squads in this grade, I estimate the pressure of suspicion on us would be even greater."

"Where did Zhao Lei transfer to?" Hu Jinsi asked.

"Roujing, didn't I just say that?" Liu Betti rolled her eyes at him. "When I was teamed up with Zhao Lei, he mentioned that his family had some connections in Roujing. A school in a small place like Wei City wouldn't go to the trouble of making a scene at the Education Bureau in Roujing over something without any clear evidence. So in the end, Zhang Qiang and Li Xue's parents will just have to let it go. It'll be the same result as last time—nothing more than finding a handle on the school's negligence to get a bit more compensation, and the school will just have to swallow it."

"Bad luck." Hu Jinsi squeezed the two words through his teeth.

This summary was concise and powerful, earning the unanimous mental agreement of the three.

The four parted ways at the stairwell. Liu Betti slung her bow over her shoulder and walked toward Class 3. The three members of the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad turned back toward their own classroom.

The moment they stepped through the back door, their classmates swarmed them like sharks smelling blood.

"What's the situation? Why did the Academic Affairs Office call you in?"

"Is it because of the Zhao Lei incident?"

"I heard Zhang Qiang and Li Xue's parents came? What did they say?"

The three were surrounded, with questions coming from all sides like raindrops. Hu Jinsi raised his hands in a "pause" gesture: "One at a time, don't crowd."

"It's nothing much." Lin Rui placed his backpack on the desk, his tone flat. "They just asked about the battle with Bishibosh. We explained the process clearly, and then we came out."

"It's that simple?" Chen Yu squeezed through the crowd, his eyes behind his lenses wide open.

"It's that simple." Su Wan nodded. "Though the process was quite tense. Fortunately, Liu Betti was quick-witted and had us call all our parents over."

She recounted how Liu Betti insisted on only being questioned in the presence of their legal guardians, and the surrounding classmates let out exclamations of "Impressive" and "Smart."

The three didn't embellish anything, just stated the events simply. But even so, the classroom exploded. During the following breaks and lunch hour, the three became the focus of the entire grade, and even students from the next class came over to ask. This experience of being gawked at was extremely unpleasant, like being monkeys in a zoo, except the monkeys didn't have to answer stupid questions like "Were you scared at the time?"

To avoid being annoyed to death, the three spent as little time as possible in the classroom that day, aside from necessary classes. They hid in corners of the library, under the awning on the rooftop, and even in the equipment room of the gymnasium, maintaining communication and exchanging intelligence with their classmates via their phones.

According to feedback from the Gunpowder Squad, when their cumulative kill count for a single dungeon run this week exceeded 15,000 zombies, it potentially triggered a hidden event: a giant zombie, massive in size and wearing full bulletproof gear, arrived at the entrance of the shopping mall where they had set their traps.

"But at that time, it was already approaching the final hour before the dungeon closed," Li Hao wrote in the message, his lingering fear visible between the lines. "And that zombie was too big; its normal height was already over 2.4 meters. We had already modified the mall's entrance, so the guy was blocked by other normal zombies and couldn't get in for a while. We probed it with a few attacks and found that most gunpowder damage had limited effect on it, so we didn't try too hard to kill it. Actually, we brought an RPG, but we were afraid that if we didn't kill it in one shot, we would end up blowing open the mall's entrance and letting the monster rush in, so we didn't attempt it. We waited until the time to exit the dungeon and chose to leave, without forcing a kill."

Hu Jinsi looked at his phone screen and his mouth twitched. They even brought an RPG and still didn't dare to fire? How tough must that thing be?

Besides the intelligence on the giant zombie, since many squads, such as the Pear Garden Squad and the Nature Squad, had already obtained their achievements in Goldshire, the direction of their dungeon clearing had shifted to the Cold Plains starting last week. Hu Jinsi and Su Wan promptly shared the latest intelligence on the Cold Plains with them, as well as the suppressing effect that the item Purified Blood had on the resurrection of the Fallen.

"For both of your squads," Hu Jinsi said in a voice message to Yi Chun and Mo Ming, "the difficulty of Bishibosh might be the lowest with the help of Purified Blood, also known as Demon Happy Water. As long as you prepare enough fire resistance gear for the person kiting, or fire resistance potions, or temporary magic scrolls that absorb elemental damage, anything works. You just need to stall for those few minutes and that's about it. Bishibosh's own melee ability is very poor; aside from the recoil damage of the Flame Shield, its direct attacks can almost be ignored."

"As for Blood Raven," he paused and continued, "we didn't have any slowing skills ourselves (Liu Betti's Ice Arrow was obtained after killing Blood Raven), so we aren't too sure how much of a slowing effect it would have on Blood Raven. Given the movement speed of the Nature Squad and the Pear Garden Squad, you definitely can't outrun Blood Raven. But if Blood Raven is susceptible to slowing skills, whether it's Yi Chun's Entangle or Mo Ming's erhu debuff slow, both should be able to reduce its movement speed. You should be able to barely hinder Blood Raven's movement; that depends on the specific situation on the field."

"As for Rakanishu," Hu Jinsi's voice became serious, "since none of you have many ranged options, you have almost no chance against an existence like Rakanishu, which is a complete bane to melee classes, unless you have very powerful ranged teammates to supplement. We filmed a video of Rakanishu stuck in a pit and sent it to you; it's a scene of electric sparks flying everywhere. If a melee character goes over and stays for a few seconds, they might get roasted. Unless you have a full set of lightning resistance gear, it's impossible to withstand it. With Bishibosh, you can stall it with one or two pieces of fire resistance gear; after all, it's a magical class with poor melee ability. But Rakanishu's attack speed is truly astonishing. It's unlikely for melee characters to dodge its high-speed pursuit, and every attack carries weak lightning damage, which is very disgusting. Therefore, in the first stage of dealing with Rakanishu, the stretch of road where you lure it into the trap could be fatal for squads with many melee members."

After the message was sent, the other side was silent for a long while. Yi Chun's reply was only two words: "Received." Mo Ming's reply was slightly longer: "Thanks for the intel, we will consider it carefully."

Hu Jinsi turned off his phone, leaned his head back against the library bookshelf, and calculated the arrangements for next week in his mind.

Since the plan for next week was to head to Raccoon City again, the squad didn't actually have much extra preparation needed. They just needed to repair their existing equipment. Lin Rui had worn out a set of leather armor and a round shield in the Cold Plains last week, and his riot shield also needed repairs. The all-wood shield had been completely destroyed last time, but since they wouldn't really need it for Raccoon City this week, there was no need to replace it.

However, the squad still replenished one RPG rocket for Lin Rui, costing 10,000 credit points. As for the RPG launcher, Lin Rui hadn't thrown it away initially and it was still lying in his backpack. This thing was a precaution, prepared specifically to deal with that "big guy" mentioned by the Gunpowder Squad.

"It's best if we don't need to use it." Lin Rui carefully tucked the rocket into a separate slot in his backpack. "If we do use it, that's 10,000 credit points a pop, and the squad's just-improving financial situation will be on the verge of collapse again."

"Just think of it as buying insurance." Hu Jinsi comforted him from the side. "If you don't use it, it's a waste; if you use it, it saves your life."

Besides that, Hu Jinsi really suggested that the squad prepare a few large, noise-making loudspeakers.

"Think about it," he gestured in the classroom. "When moving in Raccoon City, turn on the loudspeakers and make a huge amount of noise. Nearby zombies will hear the sound and gather, moving toward the source of the sound. Then we run with the loudspeakers, luring them in batches toward Su Wan's position. Su Wan casts one Requiem Chant, and swaths of zombies are harvested. Efficiency can be increased by at least three times."

"Those high-volume loudspeakers aren't expensive, a few dozen credit points each; even if you use them as disposable consumables in the dungeon, it won't hurt too much." He continued, "Throw them away after use; they aren't worth much to take out anyway."

Lin Rui considered it and felt the suggestion made sense. He placed an order in the Professional Mall, bought three high-volume loudspeakers, and handed them to Hu Jinsi.

"Anyway, you have the Unarmored Movement skill now, so you run fast." Lin Rui shoved the loudspeakers into Hu Jinsi's hands, his tone carrying a certainty of "you're the unlucky one anyway." "If it really proves useful, you'll ride the bicycle with the loudspeakers first. If you get caught up on the bike, you'll just have to run on foot. Lure the monsters into Su Wan's attack range, and then get out of there quickly."

"…So I'm just a human bait?" Hu Jinsi took the loudspeakers, weighed them, his expression complex.

"You're the fastest in the whole squad." Su Wan added, suppressing a smile. "Who else would we use if not you?"

"I'm the one with the highest perception in the squad," Hu Jinsi corrected her. "Does the fastest person deserve to be sacrificed?"

"Then you're the highest-perception-and-fastest human bait." Lin Rui made the final decision.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was Sunday again.

The three members of the squad stepped into the Raccoon City dungeon again. The moment the grey-white vortex flung them onto the subway platform, Hu Jinsi took a deep breath. The familiar stench of rot and mold rushed toward him, giving his nasal passages a brutal baptism.

But this time, their tactics had changed completely.

"Old rules: first clear the path from the subway platform to the exit." Lin Rui walked at the front, holding his short spear, with his riot shield on his back. "Then look for an open area."

The zombies on the subway platform were pitifully sparse; a dozen or so zombies wearing tattered suits and work uniforms were wandering around swayingly. The three cleared them without much effort, then pushed their bicycles and rushed out of the subway exit.

The streets of Raccoon City were still grey and hazy, with smog covering the sky like a layer of grime that could never be washed away. But the weather these past three days seemed a bit better than last week; at least the sunlight could occasionally pierce through the clouds, casting pale patches of light on the ground.

"The first battlefield," Hu Jinsi took out the city map found at Kendo's Gun Shop and tapped his finger on it. "The school playground. Open, flat, surrounded by wire mesh fences, and good visibility."

The three rode their bikes to the main gate of Raccoon City High School. The school gate was half-open, and the rusty school emblem on the pillar was crooked. They didn't rush into the teaching building, but instead circled to the playground on the side. It was a standard track and field, with the plastic track already cracked and the lawn withered and yellow, but the area was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people at the same time.

"Let's begin." Hu Jinsi took a high-volume loudspeaker out of his backpack and pressed the switch.

"Buzz—buzz—buzz—screech—hiss—"

The piercing electrical noise exploded from the loudspeaker, echoing across the empty playground. The sound was as sharp as someone scratching a chalkboard with their fingernails, mixed with the buzzing of a thousand bees. Hu Jinsi hung the loudspeaker on the front handlebar of his bicycle, put force into his legs, and began to ride along the edge of the playground.

The noise was like an invisible spoon, stirring up the zombie hordes within several hundred meters.

"Hrr-hrr-hrr—"

"Roar—"

In the apartment building across the street, behind abandoned vehicles at the street corner, and even within the gaps of sewer manhole covers, countless swaying figures raised their heads simultaneously.

Their eyes were cloudy and white, and hungry roars emanated from their throats before they surged toward the playground as if pulled by an invisible thread.

Hu Jinsi rode his bike in circles around the playground, the noise from the loudspeaker never ceasing for a moment.

Behind him, more and more zombies converged into a black river, flowing slowly along his riding path.

Those rotting legs dragged across the ground, creating a rustling friction sound, like countless snakes crawling at the same time.

"The number is about right!" Lin Rui stood in the center of the playground, striking his shield with his spear.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The dull thudding sounds pointed the way for the zombie horde.

Hu Jinsi squeezed the brakes to stop, threw the loudspeaker onto the ground, put his bicycle into his backpack, and then used [Parkour] to dash toward the center of the playground, putting distance between himself and the zombie horde.

The zombies, having lost the sound source, paused for half a second at the edge of the playground before being attracted by Lin Rui's striking sounds, stumbling toward the center of the playground.

Su Wan stood twenty meters behind Lin Rui, holding her lyre in front of her, her fingers resting lightly on the strings.

She took a deep breath and began to sing.

[Requiem Chant].

The sound was different from the short chants used in previous battles; it was a long, almost dirge-like melody.

Notes flowed from the strings, diffusing into the air as a circle of faint golden ripples, spreading outward with Su Wan as the center.

Wherever the ripples reached, the zombies seemed to be struck deep in their souls by some irresistible force; their steps began to stagger, their rotting bodies seemingly losing their skeletons, kneeling, collapsing, and then dissipating into points of light one after another.

[- 25] [- 28] [- 22] [- 30]...

Damage numbers jumped in the air like popping beans. Under the blessing of Su Wan's talent, the range of [Requiem Chant] covered a ten-meter radius.

The zombies on the playground fell in swathes, like wheat cut down by a sickle. Points of light rose one after another, forming a strange, shimmering nebula under the sunlight.

"Beautiful!" Hu Jinsi watched this scene from the side and couldn't help but applaud. "This is what you call AOE! This is what you call clearing efficiency!"

The first harvest ended. Before the points of light on the playground had fully dissipated, Hu Jinsi had already taken the second loudspeaker out of his backpack and hung it on the bicycle handlebars again.

"Continue!"

He set off for the second time with the noise, riding in circles along the roads around the school. More zombies were attracted—student zombies in the teaching building, teacher zombies, chef zombies in the cafeteria, and even a few zombie crows that emerged from behind the gymnasium were provoked by the noise and swooped down from the sky.

Su Wan kept [Requiem Chant] going. The zombie crows that entered the range fell to the ground before they could even fly in front of Su Wan.

Accompanied by her chanting, Su Wan adjusted her position, standing on the flag-raising platform in the center of the playground; it was the highest point of the entire playground, offering the best field of view and the largest coverage area. The second wave of incoming zombies was harvested in swathes once again.

In this way, the three formed an efficient assembly line: Hu Jinsi was responsible for luring monsters, Lin Rui was responsible for anti-air and cover, and Su Wan was responsible for large-scale clearing.

The battery of one loudspeaker could support about forty minutes of continuous noise. They used the three loudspeakers in rotation, interspersed with several breaks to alleviate the fatigue of Su Wan's throat.

By the end of the first day, the trio's kill count had already exceeded four thousand. In the evening, they retreated to a locked classroom in the teaching building, munching on compressed biscuits while counting their harvest.

"Four thousand two hundred." Lin Rui looked at the number on the panel, not very surprised. "According to our calculations, we need a little over two days to reach the 15,000-kill trigger line for the hidden plot."

"But at our current speed," Su Wan counted on her fingers, "going to the stadium or the residential square tomorrow, the area is larger, and we can lure more monsters. Breaking ten thousand within two days should be no problem."

"Breaking ten thousand is easy," Hu Jinsi leaned on the windowsill, munching on a biscuit, "but when we break fifteen thousand, that big guy will appear. Gunpowder Squad said it's 2.4 meters tall and wears full bulletproof gear. We only have one RPG round. If we don't hit a vital spot, or if the damage isn't enough..."

He paused, "Then we'll have to consider Plan B."

The next day, the tactics continued. The trio moved the battlefield to the central square of the Raccoon City stadium. That place was nearly twice as large as the school playground and was surrounded by a semi-enclosed grandstand structure; zombies could only surge in from a few entrances, making the terrain extremely advantageous.

Hu Jinsi rode his bicycle in large circles on the roads around the stadium, the noise from the loudspeaker attracting all the zombies from the surrounding blocks.

The zombie horde following behind him was twice as large as yesterday's, a dense black mass, numbering at least two thousand. The scene was both spectacular and disgusting; rotting faces, severed limbs, and zombies wearing various professional attire mixed together, like an endless doomsday parade.

"It's time!" Lin Rui stood at the stadium entrance, raised his standard-issue rifle, and fired three shots at the metal fence. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" The gunshots echoed within the empty stadium, and the clinking sound of bullets hitting the metal fence was enough to guide the zombie horde.

Hu Jinsi put the loudspeaker into his backpack, activated [Parkour], passed through the side gate of the stadium, and slipped into the field before the zombie horde surged in. Thousands of zombies surged into the stadium from several entrances at the same time, like a black tide pouring into a giant bowl.

Su Wan stood at the highest point of the grandstand, her lyre held horizontally in front of her. Her fingers plucked the strings rapidly, the melody of [Requiem Chant] released to the extreme. Sound waves diffused from the high vantage point, and points of light, like a retrograde meteor shower, rose in swathes on the field below; their sheer number made the air appear blurred.

[- 27] [- 31] [- 29] [- 24]...

Su Wan's voice carried a hint of trembling. Continuously releasing large-scale [Requiem Chant] caused a mental exhaustion that was indescribable. Her fingers had already started to go numb, the strings had pressed red marks into her fingertips, and her throat felt like it was burning.

But the effect was astonishing. Over two thousand zombies were mostly eliminated in less than twenty minutes of continuous chanting. The remaining scattered individuals were picked off by Lin Rui with his submachine gun, while Hu Jinsi used brass knuckles to clear out the stragglers trying to climb onto the grandstand.

Kill count for the second morning: 5,100. Cumulative: 9,300.

On the second afternoon, the trio arrived at the central square of the residential area again. This was the final harvest; their goal was very clear—to break ten thousand.

Hu Jinsi's third loudspeaker was hung on his bicycle, the noise echoing through the empty residential area. A large number of zombies surged out of the surrounding buildings, more than ever before. After all, the residential area was the place with the highest population density, and many zombies were trapped in the buildings, not usually wandering out. The noise was like a hook, pulling them out of every room.

"There are too many!" Lin Rui roared in the center of the square. "Su Wan, are you ready?"

"Ready!" Su Wan stood on the edge of the fountain pool in the center of the square, the music already playing in advance. Her face was somewhat pale; continuous high-intensity spellcasting had pushed her mental state to the limit. But her fingers were still steady, and the melody on the strings was clear and powerful.

The moment the zombie horde surged into the square, the sound waves of [Requiem Chant] erupted.

It was Su Wan's strongest chant in the past two days; the music, accompanied by her singing, echoed over the square like a funeral dirge, tolling the final death knell for thousands of the undead.

Points of light rose like an explosion, their sheer number making the sky brighten. Hu Jinsi stood at the edge of the square, watching this scene, his throat tightening, unable to speak for a moment. This wasn't a battle; this was a transcendence. Su Wan's singing wasn't killing; it was liberating the souls imprisoned by the virus.

When the last zombie dissipated into a point of light, Su Wan's knees went soft, and she almost collapsed to the ground. Lin Rui dashed forward in one step to support her.

"Are you okay?" His voice carried a rare hint of nervousness.

"I'm fine..." Su Wan panted, her forehead covered in cold sweat. "Just a bit weak. Let me sit for a while."

The three of them rested against the fountain pool. Hu Jinsi opened the panel to check the kill statistics.

"Ten thousand and five hundred." His voice trembled. "We did it. Two days, over ten thousand zombies."

As soon as he finished speaking, the panels of all three vibrated slightly at the same time.

There was no golden announcement text, no server-wide broadcast, and not even extra experience rewards. Only one line of system prompt appeared:

[Achievement Unlocked: Ten Thousand Slayer]

The rewarded achievement was also quite unremarkable.

[Raccoon City Walker: Having withstood the repeated trampling of thousands of zombie hordes, your flesh and bones have been tempered to their limits. Effect: Your stamina consumption is reduced by 5%.]

"It's here." Lin Rui's voice was low.

"No announcement, no extra experience," Su Wan leaned against the fountain pool, reciting weakly. "Only one specialization. Stamina consumption reduced by 5%... Hmm, very fitting."

"We need to be careful," Hu Jinsi looked up, gazing at the distant street. "That big guy will only appear at fifteen thousand. We still have a gap of about four thousand five hundred."

The three were silent for a moment.

"There might be more zombies in the sewers." Lin Rui suddenly spoke. "The sewer pipes have a complex structure, sound travels further, and the space inside is narrow, so the lethality of [Requiem Chant] might be higher."

Hu Jinsi and Su Wan simultaneously recalled their previous encounter in the sewers, that suffocating stench, the sticky biofilm, and that giant mutant crocodile. The expressions on their faces twisted.

"Forget it." Hu Jinsi waved his hand. "Given that unpleasant experience in the sewers before, and that environment which is extremely unfriendly to shoes, we'd better stay safe and grind monsters on the surface; it's happier."

"Agreed." Su Wan's voice was unprecedentedly firm. "I'd rather run an extra two streets than step into that biochemical cesspit again."

"Then we'll continue to push on the surface." Lin Rui stood up and patted the dust off his pants. "At the current speed, we should be able to reach the 15,000-kill trigger line by tomorrow afternoon. That's when the giant zombie will appear. We need to choose the battlefield in advance."

The three sat around the fountain pool, spread out the city map, and began to discuss.

"Gunpowder Squad encountered that big guy at the mall entrance." Hu Jinsi pointed to a mark on the map. "But they chose to retreat rather than fight, which means the mall's terrain isn't very suitable for dealing with it."

"Although the mall space is large, there are too many obstacles." Lin Rui analyzed. "Shelves, counters, elevator shafts—these things will block the giant zombie's movement, but they will also block our attacks and escape routes."

The three moved their fingers across the map, eliminating unsuitable locations one by one.

"The streets in the residential area are too narrow; it's easy to get surrounded."

"The stadium is too open; there are no obstacles at all."

"The wire fence of the school playground won't be able to stop it."

Finally, Lin Rui's finger stopped at one location.

"The library." He said in a deep voice. "The Raccoon City Public Library. It has a multi-story structure with a height difference of over three meters between each floor. There are many bookshelves inside, which can effectively hinder the giant zombie's movement, especially by preventing it from running, so it can't accelerate for a Charge. Plus, the multi-story structure facilitates us using the height difference to attack."

"The only problem is," Hu Jinsi spoke up, "the library's design has a strong sound-absorbing effect. Will Su Wan's [Requiem Chant] be affected?"

Su Wan thought for a moment and shook her head. "[Requiem Chant] is a fixed-range skill effect and is not affected by the sound absorption of the physical environment. What I chant is magical sound waves, not ordinary sounds. So sound-absorbing materials have no effect on the skill, and on the contrary, they can weaken the noise made by the zombies, avoiding luring too many monsters."

"Then it's settled." Lin Rui moved his finger away from the map, his gaze sweeping over the two. "After the number is about right tomorrow, we will stop actively luring monsters and quickly move to the Raccoon City Library. Before reaching the 15,000-kill trigger line, we will set up the battlefield and prepare to welcome that giant zombie."

Hu Jinsi leaned against the fountain pool, looking up at the gray sky. Two days of the dungeon time had passed, but before exiting, they still had to face one last tough battle.

"As long as the method is right," he muttered to himself, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "clearing ten thousand zombies in Raccoon City is really easy."

"But taking care of that last big guy," Lin Rui replied, his voice carrying a pragmatic weight, "might not be so easy."

Su Wan didn't speak, just lowered her head to look at her fingers; red marks left by the strings still remained on her fingertips, the mark of two consecutive days of high-intensity chanting. She gently flexed her joints, confirmed there was no damage, then raised her head, forcing herself to perk up.

"Let's go," she said. "While it's still not dark, let's farm one more wave."

The three stood up and patted the dust off their bodies. Hu Jinsi took out the last spare loudspeaker from his backpack; although the main tactic no longer needed it, keeping it for self-defense was always good.

On the distant street, a few scattered zombies were swaying and wandering. Their footsteps echoed in the empty city, like some kind of ceaseless background noise.

Hu Jinsi took a look at the kill count on the panel: 10,500. Still 4,500 short.

"Tomorrow," he said. "We'll see the real deal at the library."