63: Do some private work (please add)

"What Miss Xuan Yu said is correct," Yun Dongliu spoke up at this point. "As the old saying goes, things turn into their opposites when they reach the extreme. We have indeed been acting too aggressively. Everyone's goal is to survive, and people naturally avoid things they perceive as dangerous. And we are currently showcasing our danger to the outside world!"

Qin Luming and Yun Ying both voiced their agreement. Liu Nian, failing to get support from his old teammates, had no choice but to compromise: "Alright, let's leave it to Lao Xiao to decide!"

The ball was passed to Li Xiao, but he already had a well-thought-out plan in mind.

"Since a temporary halt to the offensive is the majority opinion among our command layer, we'll proceed accordingly. Miss Xuan Yu is eloquent and capable, a woman not inferior to men. Moreover, being a girl, she has great affinity. So, I'd like you to be the one to liaise with the various squads in the south. How about it?"

"It's my duty, I cannot refuse..."

Though they had never met, Li Xiao was certain that this Xuan Yu was absolutely a first-rate beauty. Otherwise, Wu Chong probably wouldn't have died by her hand.

"Then, Yun Dongliu will continue to be responsible for intelligence gathering in the southern region and Xi City's urban area."

"Good!" Yun Dongliu resumed his habit of being sparing with words.

"Yun Ying and Qin Luming will be responsible for coordinating matters of resource distribution among the various combat squads. Any problems?"

"No problem!"

"Hmm..."

"As for Liu Nian..." Li Xiao thought for a moment and said, "I have a new task for you. Starting now, organize a force of about a thousand troops every day to harass the Black Hawk city defense forces in Xi City. Remember, hit and run, don't get bogged down in prolonged fights. Aim for two or three such operations a day."

"Harassment? What's the point? If we don't kill them, we waste bullets. If we do kill them, we can't collect the spoils."

"Don't ask so many questions. Just do as I say."

"Fine then." Liu Nian reluctantly agreed. Li Xiao had turned the tide several times, so he still had considerable faith in Li Xiao's ideas.

After two hectic days, they could finally rest for a couple. Li Xiao had Du Ziteng make roujiamo and venison soup, and everyone enjoyed a hearty, satisfying meal.

Taking stock of the gains from the past two days, apart from having zero durability points left, his life points had accumulated to five hundred thousand.

Over the course of these two days, his troops combined with the kills from squad members had taken down nearly four thousand people from the Night God Squad. Among them were many high-ranking veterans that Night God players had brought along from the very start.

These life points were Li Xiao's precious wealth. As his life points accumulated more and more, his troop casualty rate noticeably decreased.

His total troop count had now reached over ninety. In contrast, the Xiaoyao Squad, after several battles, averaged only a little over fifty members.

Of these ninety-plus troops, excluding those refreshed in the second month, the soldiers from the first month basically all had health points over ten thousand. Officers like Di Yun and Zhao Feipeng had health points as high as nearly one hundred thousand. Fire support roles like machine gunners and snipers also had health points upwards of thirty thousand.

With this kind of health pool plus vehicles, he wouldn't even flinch if an ordinary small squad of thirty or fifty came to attack him.

What was frustrating, however, was that his resource quantities always lagged behind. Take yesterday, for example. The squad went to flatten the east, dismantling dozens of bases, and he didn't get a single share.

Today, after the battle with Night God, cleaning up the battlefield also wasn't his lot, mainly because it wasn't appropriate to compete with teammates for it.

"I still need to find some private work for myself."

Looking at the two hundred thousand points required for a single resource type at the level nine base, Li Xiao got a headache. Right now, he actually wished half his troops were Engineers.

Come to think of it, resource points like the Banshan Steel Factory were good. There were civilians working inside, so you could just send one Engineer in and it would automatically collect.

Unfortunately, the Banshan Steel Factory was just a small factory. If only he could find a resource point with reserves similar to a chemical plant, where stationing just one Engineer could produce all the resources, that would be great.

Thinking of this, Li Xiao opened the map. Even though a squad had been formed, he still couldn't see areas scouted by squad members; he had to send people to explore the map himself.

Li Xiao first looked south. Last week, Yun Dongliu had sent a Scout riding an all-terrain vehicle fifty kilometers south and discovered overlapping mountain ranges there. The highway had turned into an ordinary asphalt road, and the road conditions were poor.

Li Xiao judged that the south was likely a resource-scarce area, but it offered advantageous terrain for defense in depth.

So, exploring south didn't align with his goals for now. As for the west, it was simply a north-south spanning mountain range. Without air vehicles, making progress inside would be extremely difficult.

The east had gentle terrain, but it was certainly densely populated, and there would be more Black Hawk Units. He wasn't considering it for the time being.

That left the north. Last time, Liu Nian had gone out twenty kilometers and seen that the highway extended continuously northward. Along the way, there were few signs of habitation, but resource points appeared occasionally.

"Should I give the north a try?"

Li Xiao made his decision. Currently, there were no bases within a dozen kilometers to the west; beyond that were mountains. The south, east, and north for dozens of kilometers all had their own people, so his base was temporarily in a safe location.

Sending out Zhao Feipeng's Scout squad and Yan Yizhou's sniper team to accompany him could serve both purposes without conflict.

Sitting in the back seat of the off-road vehicle, watching the passing hills and the lush farmland and cottages at their feet outside the window, he felt a pang of emotion.

His parents were also ordinary commoners, living in the countryside farming and raising geese. Sadly, a landslide caused by an earthquake took both of them away. At seventeen, he managed to finish university relying on relief funds.

But what use was a university diploma on Blue Star nowadays?

Later, he began to enjoy games, reveling in the feeling of commanding vast armies and deciding victories from afar. He livestreamed games, commanding various ancient and modern war campaigns, enjoying the thrill of leading players under him to defeat opponents and win victories.

After commanding a battle, he could receive considerable rewards from the heads of those major guilds. And so, he muddled along playing like this for two years.

And now, he would never have imagined in his wildest dreams that one day he could actually command thousands in battle, and possibly even more in the future!

This gamified otherworld seemed to have given him a grand stage. Though he didn't know how it would end, whether he could return to Blue Star, he definitely wouldn't waste his life on this journey.

The two meng hu off-road vehicles drove north for seventy kilometers straight, only stopping to refuel when they reached a service area named Jiannan Dao.

This service area wasn't garrisoned by the Black Hawk Empire; only some civilians provided refueling and food services. The charges were very reasonable. Refueling both vehicles cost Li Xiao ten-something fuel points, and they asked him for three Star Coins.

"Should we go get something to eat? I see they're selling grilled sausages and rice noodles inside," Zhao Feipeng suggested to Li Xiao.

Coincidentally, Li Xiao was also a bit hungry. Although he had plenty of field rations on him, having something good to eat wouldn't hurt.

So, Li Xiao and his group of eight entered the restaurant.