68: Chapter 68 The Changes in Lin Rui and Su Wan on the Battlefield

The next morning, the trio took a vehicle to the Burning Village dungeon.

After an hour of slow public transport, the three arrived at the entrance of the dungeon.

Unlike the hustle and bustle before the holiday, the number of people here had dropped off a cliff.

It wasn't just because everyone hadn't recovered from the exhaustion of visiting relatives after the holiday; more importantly, the batch of people who chose to restart had accumulated enough experience and rushed to higher-level dungeons.

After all, the ruthless people who chose to reset their levels during the holidays were ultimately in the minority, and most ordinary Awakeners had already completed their initial accumulation and moved on to higher-level dungeons.

The trio was happy to have the peace and quiet. After completing a simple registration at the entrance, they went straight into the 250% difficulty Burning Village. At this time, Lin Rui was level 12, Su Wan was level 12, and Hu Jinsi was level 13.

Upon re-entering the dungeon, the three actually felt a bit nostalgic facing the smoke-filled environment. Su Wan skillfully pulled a stack of masks from her backpack—the high-end facekini version that covered the entire face, leaving only holes for the eyes and mouth. She handed one each to Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi.

"Put them on. It's not pleasant to inhale too much smoke and dust at 250% difficulty."

Hu Jinsi took the mask and put it on. He had gotten used to breathing directly in the dungeon during this time, so he felt a bit unaccustomed to wearing a mask again, feeling as if his lung capacity had been compressed. But looking at the billowing smoke and sparks flying everywhere, he obediently tightened the straps.

The three looked each other over, and then, without prior agreement, they burst into laughter.

"Jinsi, this cloth robe of yours..." Lin Rui pointed at the dark gray robe on Hu Jinsi, laughing so hard he couldn't straighten up. "Upgrading from stripping clothes off zombies to stripping clothes off jiangshi? Your aesthetic sense is getting more and more ghostly!"

"You have the nerve to talk about me?" Hu Jinsi retorted, pointing at the tower shield on Lin Rui's back that was almost as tall as he was. "With that thing on your back, you look just like a turtle carrying its shell. Add that green helmet, and you look like you traveled over from a movie set."

"This is tactical style!" Lin Rui puffed out his chest. "Professional heavy assault, get it?"

Su Wan covered her mouth and chuckled nearby. "You two should stop roasting each other. At least Lin Rui's equipment looks decent; compared to Jinsi's cloth robe, it's certainly more combat-effective."

"Traitor." Hu Jinsi clutched his chest, pretending to be wounded. "I thought we were on a united front."

"I'm just telling the truth." Su Wan blinked.

Hu Jinsi was finally no longer wearing that Raccoon City police uniform, as it had been completely scrapped.

He had now switched to a dark gray Chinese-style cloth robe dropped in the Mass Grave, its loose sleeves and hem fluttering gently in the wind.

From wearing clothes dropped by zombies to clothes dropped by jiangshi, Hu Jinsi's taste really hadn't changed in any fundamental way. The weapon in his hand was still that ironwood staff, and the rest of his equipment hadn't been updated yet.

Lin Rui's appearance had changed the most. He carried a full tower shield on his back, extending from the back of his neck to his buttocks, almost completely obscuring his entire body, like he was carrying a moving wall.

His upper body was still wearing the [ RPD Tactical Bulletproof Vest ] dropped in Raccoon City. Although it was medium armor, it was indeed the armor with the highest defense value Hu Jinsi had seen so far, which was no wonder Lin Rui hadn't replaced it.

Around his waist was a [ Crocodile Skin Belt ], and his pants had been changed to new ones—a pair of wild, genuine scale-armor pants that made a rustling sound as the scales rubbed together when he walked.

"Haven't seen these pants before." Hu Jinsi examined them.

"Bought them new." Lin Rui patted the leg armor. "New Year's money from my elders; I happened to snag a pair."

The [ Bone-Crushing Greaves ] dropped in the Burning Village were still on his lower legs, clanking with every step. The shoes on his feet had also been changed to new ones—a pair of dark green field boots with thick rubber soles and a high-top design, which looked like a drop from a military-themed dungeon. On his head was a dark green steel helmet in the style of Hu Jinsi's previous life's WWII, with some dents and dings on the edges.

Hu Jinsi silently evaluated: Pretty cool, just don't know which dungeon it dropped from. If he could get a full military uniform, that would be great; it would be more respectable than wearing clothes dropped by zombies and jiangshi. After all, occasionally he wanted to wear clothes dropped by living people.

Through communication with Lin Rui, Hu Jinsi also learned the detailed attributes of this equipment.

[ Triceratops Heavy Scale Leg Armor ]

[ Type: Magic Equipment / Leg ]

[ Brute Force Charge: When you attempt a Charge or similar action, your Strength check gains a small (+2) bonus. The bones of a Triceratops give you confidence. ]

[ Wasteland Habit: When you rest in a non-urban environment (jungle, wasteland), your natural HP recovery increases by 2 points/minute. ]

[ Item Description: These pants are sewn from the thick, hard scales beneath a Triceratops's neck. Unlike the soft leather of the abdomen, the scales here are hexagonal and as hard as rock, with scratches on the surface from grazing stray bullets. ]

---

[ Rebel Standard-Issue Steel Helmet ]

[ Type: Magic Equipment / Head ]

[ Shrapnel Protection: You have slight (+1) resistance to blunt and piercing damage. ]

[ Cannon Fodder Will: When you are in an inspired state, your dodge probability has a slight (+1) increase. ]

[ Blind Spot: The helmet brim is low, slightly blocking your vision. When you make a ranged attack check, if the target is over 30 meters away, your accuracy may be slightly (-2) reduced. ]

[ Item Description: A no-frills, dark green stamped steel helmet. The edges have some dents and dings, and the lining is rough leather. It cannot stop cannonballs, but it is enough to stop flying shrapnel and stray bullets. ]

---

[ Rebel Field Boots ]

[ Type: Magic Equipment / Foot ]

[ Striding Forward: When you are sprinting or jumping, you will not consume extra movement points due to passing through difficult terrain (such as swamps, gravel, ice). ]

[ Hard-Toe Kick: You can kick the target's shin with the hard toe of the boot. Deals 4-8 points of blunt damage, and the target has a small probability (based on Strength) of being knocked down. ]

[ Heavy Footsteps: Because the boots are too heavy and the soles are too hard, your Stealth check has a slight (-2) disadvantage. ]

[ Item Description: A pair of thick, dark green field boots with soles made from recycled tires, featuring high, hard uppers. They are waterproof, mud-proof, and thorn-proof; the only drawback is that your feet will get sweaty and smelly after wearing them for a long time. ]

The helmet and military boots are parts of the [ Rebel Field Set ]. Two pieces can activate the set effect: Max HP increased by 10 points. Although it's not overpowered, for Lin Rui at this stage, this equipment fits his attributes very well.

The Strength check bonus from [ Brute Force Charge ] helps [ Charge ] and [ Tactical Roll ] achieve greater effects; the difficulty terrain reduction from [ Striding Forward ] is obviously also very practical for Lin Rui, who carries a heavy load.

As for why that bulletproof vest hasn't been replaced, the +8 defense bonus is almost impossible to find a better substitute for at this stage.

Hu Jinsi asked about the source of the military-style clothing drops. Lin Rui said that it is rumored these items come from a Pallas Island dungeon, and that series of dungeons has very rich drops. The time those dungeons first descended dates back more than a decade.

At that time, a series of dungeons descended, blending into Water Blue Star with various terrains: tropical rainforests, urban train stations, snowy mountains, secret bases, as well as ruined towns, canyons, modern industrialized cities, dense office buildings, and even cross-sea bridges and coastal combat scenarios.

According to Lin Rui, his father happened to catch the peak of that wave of dungeon descents. As a basic class Soldier himself, Lin Rui's father was very fond of this series of dungeons because their mechanics were very simple, with no messy or complex designs; it was almost purely gunfights. All you had to dodge were the bullets fired by the enemy.

However, because that series of dungeons that descended at the time dropped ready-made firearms and ammunition, they were too popular and were successively cleared over the following years, being completely absorbed by Water Blue Star. At one point, half of Water Blue Star's annual firearm production came from this series of dungeons.

Then, five years ago, this series of dungeons began to appear again. This time, the first one to appear was a combat scenario in a desert and desert city, followed by ancient tomb-style dungeons with mummy battles. In short, this series of dungeons all adhered to the elements of gunfights and gunpowder weapon attacks, but the settings changed drastically.

Some scholars on Water Blue Star once specifically studied this world because the dungeons from this world descended too frequently. But after in-depth research, they discovered that this world was just too disaster-stricken: war was always ongoing, and the war was not only between humans, but also between humans and zombies, humans and aliens, and humans and various monsters. And the people of that world could only resist through the firearms in their hands. Later, the scholars stopped focusing on the reasons for the world's destruction; after all, the more they looked, the more desperate they felt.

It is said that starting this year, these types of dungeons have been descending one after another, and it seems that every time the previous batch of dungeons is cleared, new ones reappear after about a year or two. It is as if the dungeons formed by this world can never be fully cleared.

"The equipment I have now dropped from dungeons that appeared in the last year," Lin Rui said. "They come from a Pallas Island dungeon, which is full of various mutant creatures and rebels."

Upon hearing Lin Rui's description, Hu Jinsi roughly understood the progress. The fragments that descended over a decade ago should have been from a parallel world of the first Metal Slug, the ones from five years ago were the second version, and the ones descending now should be the third version.

However, Hu Jinsi remembered that the background of the third game's opening seemed to have nuclear radiation mutation elements, so he, who had originally been somewhat interested in this series of dungeons, could only steer clear of them.

"If there's an opportunity, I might be able to go farm them." Hu Jinsi noted this intelligence in his mind.

As for Su Wan's appearance, it had also changed slightly.

First, the lyre in her hand had disappeared, and it was no longer on her back either. According to Su Wan, the instrument had been left at home. After half a year of fighting, the body of the instrument had developed quite a few cracks and wear, and the tone had begun to become unstable. For a musical instrument, every repair requires re-tuning, and Su Wan couldn't bear to see it get hurt again.

"It accompanied me through the initial stages," Su Wan said softly. "Now let it rest."

Now, tied to Su Wan's left arm was a strangely shaped shield made of bone, unfolded in a fan shape, like a giant fan. It was not as uniform as the round shield she used to use.

In her right hand, she held a hand crossbow; the crossbow body was slender and exquisite, and the tail end was connected to a safety lanyard tied to Su Wan's waist to prevent it from slipping out of her hand during combat.

After a brief inquiry, Hu Jinsi learned the attributes of these two pieces of equipment.

[ Parasaurolophus Membrane Shield ]

[ Type: Magic Armor / Light Shield ]

[ Defense Bonus: +2 ]

[ Agile Block: Faced with ranged attacks, your reflexes are more sensitive, and you have a higher (+2) chance to Block them. ]

[ Lightweight Structure: This shield is extremely lightweight and has no Strength requirement. ]

[Elastic Tremor: When arrows or stones hit the shield, the membrane wings on the shield face will produce high-frequency vibrations, attempting to offset part of the damage (max -2).]

[Item Description: This shield is not made of heavy wood or metal, but uses the huge fan-shaped membrane wing skeleton from the crest of a Parasaurolophus. The skeleton is light and elastic, covered with a layer of translucent dinosaur skin. It lacks rigid hardness, acting more like a giant fan that relies on resilience to deflect attacks.]

[Raptor's Kiss]

[Type: Magic Weapon / Hand Crossbow]

[Damage: 10-15]

[Range: 25 meters (Full Damage) / 100 meters (Maximum Attack Distance)]

[Precision Strike: Attacks with this weapon gain a slight (+1) accuracy boost.]

[Fatal Wound: Upon a Heavy Strike/Critical Hit, the target not only receives normal damage but also suffers 6 points of cumulative bleeding damage over the next 6 seconds due to the torn wound.]

[Item Description: The bow arms of this light crossbow are polished from the caudal vertebrae of a Velociraptor. This dinosaur's tail is tough and powerful; after special treatment, it can provide excellent elasticity like a spring, while the crossbow string is made from their back tendons.]

"Yet another piece of equipment made from dinosaur materials," Hu Jinsi sighed.

"The dungeons in that world drop a lot of these things," Su Wan said. "Fortunately, Water Blue Star doesn't have those animal protection organizations from TV shows, nor does it have extreme Druid factions, otherwise things would definitely get lively."

Hu Jinsi smiled. Indeed, using dinosaur bones to make weapons and dinosaur skin to make shields would probably get them chased down by Druids in certain worldviews.

After observing their respective changes, the three of them soon arrived near the first group of enemies.

Just like the previous 250% difficulty, the enemies consisted of five Soldiers and one archer, patrolling around a Burning Village ruin. The thick smoke and firelight provided them with natural cover, but for the three, who had cleared this dungeon countless times, the positions of these enemies were already well-known.

Hu Jinsi glanced at Lin Rui and Su Wan: "Old routine? Or do you want to demonstrate your new skills?"

"I'll go first this round." Lin Rui loosened his shoulders, and the tower shield on his back made a dull clanking sound. "I'll test out the new effect; you stay here and protect Su Wan."

Before the words had even faded, Lin Rui had already charged out.

He quickly stepped forward a few paces, and once at the appropriate distance, he immediately performed a [Tactical Roll], his figure turning into a grey-green afterimage as he spun rapidly across the ground to advance.

Dust was kicked up by the airflow along the path of his roll, forming a blurred trail. The archer furthest away hadn't even reacted before being directly struck by Lin Rui's roll!

[-18] Damage numbers exploded above the archer's head, knocking him down to half health with a single hit.

Lin Rui rose with the momentum, grabbed the heavy sword in his hand, and followed up with a [Heavy Strike] and a [Shield Bash]. The blade slammed into the archer's chest, and the shield followed with a fierce strike, knocking him directly to the ground.

The entire process was fluid and seamless; from the rolling Charge to the combo takedown, it took less than three seconds.

"Nice!" Hu Jinsi couldn't help but exclaim.

But Lin Rui's attack also alerted the other enemies. Two of the five Soldiers split off and charged toward Lin Rui, while the other three sprinted toward the position of Hu Jinsi and Su Wan. As they neared, the Soldiers didn't forget to use the short swords in their hands as throwing weapons, hurling them violently at the two.

Hu Jinsi stood guard in front of Su Wan, his ironwood staff spinning like a windmill. With three crisp "ding, ding, ding" sounds, he deflected the thrown short swords one by one.

"Your turn," he said, turning his head to Su Wan.

Su Wan nodded, took a deep breath, parted her lips, and began to sing. It wasn't an ordinary song, but a strange melody with a subtle, trembling frequency. Sound waves spread outward from Su Wan as the center, rippling layer by layer like water, silently seeping into the enemies' perception.

Among the three charging Soldiers, one seemed as if he were drunk; his steps, which were originally moving straight forward, suddenly took a wide sidestep, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground with a thud.

Immediately after, another Soldier was in the middle of raising his short sword to stab Hu Jinsi, but for some reason, he suddenly froze, maintaining the posture of raising his sword. It was as if a pause button had been pressed, and he remained fixed in place, dazed for a full 3 seconds.

"Good chance!" Seeing this, Hu Jinsi certainly wouldn't let it pass. He immediately unleashed a [Flurry of Blows], striking the Soldier three times with his staff, [-11] [-12] [-10], knocking him down directly.

By this time, Lin Rui, having finished off the two Soldiers near him, also arrived at Su Wan's side with a [Charge]. A small combo of [Shield Bash], [Heavy Strike], and [Honorary Counterattack] was executed in one go, knocking down the second enemy approaching Su Wan.

The last remaining Soldier, the unlucky one who had fallen earlier, became the perfect target for Su Wan to demonstrate her skill.

This miserable Soldier had just climbed up and hadn't even steadied himself when Su Wan's singing started again. It was an even softer, more subtle tone, lacking the obvious melodic changes from before; instead, it was so soft it was nearly formless, almost imperceptible.

Yet the effect was equally significant. The Soldier's steps inexplicably went awry again, his body's center of gravity shifted to the left, and he nearly fell again.

The Soldier clearly wanted to Charge forward, but every few seconds, his legs would disobey him, and every step landed in a strange position. By the time he finally steadied himself to raise his sword for an attack, the blade inexplicably slashed into thin air. Even though Hu Jinsi was standing just two meters in front of him, he slashed wildly at the void as if he couldn't see him.

The Soldier clearly didn't even know what was happening to himself. He tried to attack a few more times, but each time there was a probability of a subtle deviation at the moment of striking; the blade would either be three inches to the left or five inches to the right, simply unable to hit the target.

Every ten seconds or so, he would make an inexplicable mistake; sometimes he would daze off, standing in place for two or three seconds with unfocused eyes; sometimes his limbs would refuse to listen, and he would nearly drop his sword while trying to raise it; sometimes his attack direction would completely deviate, and he would slash wildly at a non-existent enemy.

Under the influence of Su Wan's singing, he was like a puppet manipulated by invisible strings from behind, every movement filled with discord and confusion.

"This is the effect of [Plucking·Initial Movement]," Su Wan explained after ending the battle. "I am interfering with his 'String of Existence,' creating a subtle misalignment between his perception and his actions. He can't feel it himself, but in reality, there is already a deviation between what he sees, what he thinks, and the actions he actually performs."

"That's too eerie," Lin Rui said, looking at the Soldier who was spinning in circles and constantly attacking the air. He couldn't help but shake his head. "This is even more disgusting than direct control. At least when you're controlled, you know you're being controlled; this kind of thing, where you don't even know what's going on, is the most frustrating."

"That's enough," Su Wan signaled Hu Jinsi to end the enemy's life. "Demonstration finished."

Hu Jinsi stepped forward and struck him down with his staff, and the Soldier dissipated into points of light.

"That's awesome," Hu Jinsi couldn't help but say. Although, to some extent, the skill's effect wasn't very stable and added certain randomness and unpredictability to the battle, watching the enemy make inexplicable mistakes right in front of him—the sense of control was absolutely satisfying.

Especially since Hu Jinsi discovered that Su Wan's skill could also synergize with his [Combat Reflexes] perk. Every time a Soldier exposed a weakness due to a Plucking error, Hu Jinsi actually had the opportunity to go in and finish him off. This coordination was perfect.

The three of them continued to clear the enemies along the way at a leisurely pace, starting to slowly regain the tacit understanding they once had when fighting together, and making minor adjustments based on each person's changes.

For example, for Lin Rui's current combat style to exert maximum power, the team needs to stay mobile; they can't just stand still and output damage like before.

The name of the Rotating Charge style already makes it very clear; only when Lin Rui alternates between using [Charge] and [Tactical Roll], and maintains a state of movement, is he at his maximum output state.

This change doesn't affect Hu Jinsi much; his own movement speed is already on the higher side, and his maneuverability is the best among the three.

But for Su Wan, a clear disadvantage was exposed in this dungeon: her own movement speed clearly couldn't keep up with Lin Rui's rhythm.

Even though Su Wan's ability range can cover the entire battlefield with the support of her talents, as a Bard, standing alone at one end of the battlefield is always unsafe. If she encounters rushing enemies or assassins flanking from behind, her situation would be very dangerous.

"I need a piece of equipment that increases movement speed," Su Wan said during a break in the fighting. "It would be best if it could also provide some displacement effects."

"I've noted it down," Hu Jinsi nodded. "After we get out, we'll help you look for one."

As for Lin Rui, he also discovered a new problem: due to the change in his combat style, his level of protection for Su Wan had dropped by at least one level compared to before.

Previously, he could use his tower shield to Block in front of Su Wan, but now he needs to constantly roll and Charge, making it difficult to balance output and protection simultaneously.

"Until we have new breakthrough skills and equipment," Lin Rui said, "we can only adopt a strategy of reducing the attack range. Keeping the three members of the team within a reasonable range is the safer approach."

Fortunately, the tactical styles of all three belong to relatively flexible types, so a slight adjustment could allow the battle to continue. Hu Jinsi is responsible for roaming and filling gaps, Lin Rui is responsible for rushing and suppression, and Su Wan is responsible for rear control and support. Although this triangular formation takes a hit in flexibility, it at least ensures everyone's safety.

"Actually, the minor problems exposed this time, strictly speaking, have almost no impact in a dungeon like Burning Village," Hu Jinsi analyzed. "Because this type of dungeon only has one path in total; following this path leads you to the boss guarding the exit. But once future dungeons become open maps like Cold Plains, enemies will appear from all directions."

"Then this formation would put Su Wan in danger," Lin Rui replied.

"Exactly," Hu Jinsi nodded. "So we need to solve this problem before the next open-map dungeon. Either get Su Wan a displacement piece of equipment, or we adjust our tactics so that Lin Rui retains some protective responsibilities during battle. For example, by acquiring the [Cover] skill,"

"Or both," Su Wan said.

The three discussed while fighting, and the enemies along the way were cleared one by one with their coordination. The 250% difficulty Burning Village was no longer too much of a challenge for the three of them now, as everyone had gained significant growth during the vacation.

After two hours of pushing forward, they stood before the first boss, the Shadow Mage. The three stood side by side, finishing their pre-battle discussion.

"Are you ready?" Hu Jinsi asked. "Ready whenever," Lin Rui gripped his heavy sword. "Let's begin," Su Wan cleared her throat.