53: Rescue beacons, all gathered on the map!

"Damn it! So many zombies... we can't break through!"

Several captains huddled at the instance entrance.

"No, there's not much time left! We have to get the NPCs inside!!"

"I don't care anymore! I'm taking my people and charging in first!"

Subsequently, two captains charged out with their NPCs.

Before long, they were surrounded by the horde.

In the end, only one battered person made it inside, with two NPCs remaining by their side.

When the Points were settled, they only got six.

"Only... six Points?!"

"Heh... haha... Damn it!!!"

The man actually started crying as he recalled everything he had endured in the instance.

The livestream chat was also filled with sighs of disappointment.

"That guy put in a Herculean effort and only got six Points!"

"This instance is such a scam!"

"Exactly! The horde is blocking the door, and you don't even know the value of the NPCs you bring back!"

"Everyone is risking their lives to open a mystery box! When you end up with a pile of useless trash, who wouldn't have a breakdown?"

The leaderboard refreshed.

The remaining captains also let out a collective lament when they saw those pitiful six Points.

"No other way! Charge!"

More captains charged out.

The zombies were overjoyed; they hadn't expected a buffet to be delivered right to their door.

They swarmed forward with a roar.

"Fire! Fire!!!"

"Aaaagh—!!!"

"It's a Shield Mountain Zombie! Someone save me!!!"

A chaotic battle erupted at the instance entrance, with blood splattering and flesh flying everywhere.

The viewers in the livestream couldn't bear to watch any longer.

It was too tragic!!!

In the end, only a few people managed to get inside.

When the Points were settled, the NPCs they brought were all worth the lowest value of 3 Points.

Even the person in first place only had a pitiful dozen or so Points.

The good news was...

Because of the recent charge, the zombie horde had loosened up slightly.

A few of the stronger and bolder captains decided to make another run for it.

Seeing them charge out, the remaining captains grit their teeth and followed suit.

The horde moved again, and gunfire erupted everywhere.

The captains, having fought their way through a sea of blood and corpses, began to search desperately within the instance.

However, the NPCs were too scattered; finding someone was harder than climbing to heaven.

Watching the time tick away second by second while looking at their pitiful Points...

These captains turned their gazes toward the others.

Kill!

Kill others to steal their Points!

And so...

Scattered gunfire rang out across the abandoned city.

This gunfire, in turn, lured away some of the zombies from the instance entrance... Meanwhile, on the other side...

While others were slaughtering each other in a sea of blood...

Wang Feng's side was as quiet as if they were on vacation.

The children were huddled together.

Qiu Churou patiently explained to Wang Feng.

"This rescue beacon doesn't just broadcast a location."

"It can also transmit simple messages, like Morse code."

Qiu Churou's words answered Wang Feng's confusion.

No wonder this place was called a Fallen Zone.

It turned out it was once a human Shelter that was later overrun by the zombie horde.

Why were there a Kindergarten Teacher and children?

Because they originally lived in the Shelter and were simply scattered by the horde.

Wang Feng recalled the instance information.

Ordinary people... Armed Soldiers... Kindergarten Teacher and children... Wang Feng looked at the kids.

"Where are their parents?"

Qiu Churou's expression turned grim.

"The vast majority of their parents are in the Shelter's armed forces."

"Some died in the horde, and others were separated."

"Our rescue beacon has never received a response, so I'm afraid..."

Oh?

Children of the armed forces?

And the rescue beacon was in her hands?

Wang Feng roughly understood why Qiu Churou's point value was so high.

Wang Feng asked—

"After activating the rescue beacon, will all members of the armed forces receive the coordinates?"

Qiu Churou nodded and replied—

"Yes."

"Not just them."

"Anyone with a terminal can receive the location."

"Especially the armed forces; every single person has a terminal."

"Under normal circumstances, the armed forces would definitely come immediately after receiving a beacon."

"If they haven't... they've either encountered a zombie encirclement, or..."

Qiu Churou didn't continue.

Aha—

Wang Feng understood.

This rescue beacon was specifically used to summon the Armed Soldier NPCs in the instance.

No wonder a Kindergarten Teacher could be marked as a special resource worth a full thousand Points.

So this was the hidden secret!

As for why they couldn't summon the NPCs before...

It must have been that zombie blocking the door!

That fellow could emit sound waves to interfere with the rescue beacon!

That's why no one received the rescue message Qiu Churou sent out!

Wang Feng looked around, confirming his position.

There was an hour and a half left in the instance, and their current position was nearly an hour's journey from the entrance.

However, Wang Feng could take a shortcut.

There was an underground pedestrian street nearby.

Originally, there were a large number of zombies there, but now they were all at the instance entrance.

From the very beginning, Wang Feng's goal had been this place.

He had been confirming this earlier when he was looking at the horde from a high vantage point.

The vast majority of zombies had surged out from the exit of the underground pedestrian street.

If they took that path, it would only take half an hour to reach the extraction point at the instance entrance.

An underground pedestrian street for a shortcut, a rescue beacon to summon the armed forces, and Qiu Churou, who was worth a thousand Points.

Along with the potential benefits on the train after saving her.

Everything linked together in Wang Feng's mind.

"Try activating the rescue beacon again now."

"Eh?" Qiu Churou's eyes widened in surprise. "Now?"

"Exactly."

Wang Feng continued.

"In a moment, we'll traverse through the underground pedestrian street to go directly to the extraction point."

"Use the rescue beacon to send out this critical intelligence."

Under Wang Feng's urging, Qiu Churou pulled out the rescue beacon.

After a quick assembly on the ground, she pressed the start button.

Immediately after, she could be seen tapping repeatedly on the device, which emitted a series of "beep-beep-beep" sounds.

It carried a certain special rhythm.

About a few minutes later, Wang Feng's information was sent out as code.

But... there was no response.

Qiu Churou looked at Wang Feng as if for help.

Wang Feng just told her to keep operating it.

Biting her lip, Qiu Churou buried her head back into the device.

Outside the livestream...

People looked at Wang Feng and Qiu Churou and all started laughing.

"Is Wang Feng really trying to call for backup with that thing?"

"Who knows? But it looks like it's impossible."

"Didn't that woman already say it? The rescue beacon gets no response at all, so how could anyone come?"

"Look at Wan Jinxuan from our carriage! He's hoarded so many people from the armed forces at the instance entrance!"

"Once the time is right, he'll launch a charge and settle the Points! He's bound to win this instance!"

"Ladies of Carriage No. 83, this is your last chance. Once this opportunity passes, it's gone!"

Carriage No. 83.

Zhang Qiang and Wang Hao led the others in a shouting match with the people in the livestream chat.

But they also couldn't figure out what Wang Feng was actually trying to do.

"Boss!"

"There's not much time left in the instance!"

"Everyone else is already at the entrance, and you're still stuck halfway there!"

"Hurry up and charge, Boss!"

But there was one point they hadn't realized.

The zombie horde at the instance entrance was an insurmountable obstacle for everyone!

The captains who charged earlier had proven this with their lives.

And the only one who could use the terrain to avoid the horde was Wang Feng.

Because he had the instance map he got from Shen Aoxue.

He knew every resource point, every terrain feature, every secret passage, and every alleyway perfectly.

Just like in the first instance.

Next, it was time for the response from the rescue beacon... "Hello, thank you for your rescue!"

"I am the captain of the Shelter's armed forces!"

A fully armed, capable middle-aged man shook hands with Wan Jinxuan.

In the span of half an hour...

Wan Jinxuan had brought five more armed members from another location.

One of them was the captain.

"Haha, it's fine, it's fine. It's only right," Wan Jinxuan said, his face beaming with a smile.

Counting the 18 people from before...

The number of armed members gathered around him had now reached 23.

Adding the three of them, they had a total armed force of 26 people.

"In a bit, I'll find a way to lure the zombies away."

"When that happens, my people will lead you into the extraction point."

The middle-aged man was full of gratitude.

"Thanks."

But before he could finish speaking...

The terminal at his waist suddenly chirped.

Immediately after, the terminals on the waists of the other Armed Soldiers all rang at the same time.

The sound was soft and rhythmic.

The middle-aged captain's face lit up with joy.

"It's a beacon from Qiu Churou!"

"The children... haha! They're still alive!"

The other soldiers also became excited.

"When our unit was scattered, we thought we had lost them forever."

"I didn't expect them to still be alive. This is great, truly great!"

The soldiers were ecstatic.

However, Wan Jinxuan's expression wasn't quite right.

rescue beacon?

Children?

What were they talking about?

An ill omen spontaneously arose in his heart.

"Um, what are you guys talking about?" Wan Jinxuan asked.

The middle-aged captain laughed heartily.

"Our children!"

"We are people from the Shelter, and we were separated from the children because of the zombie horde."

"It turns out Qiu Churou and the children didn't die!"

"We have their location!"

"And it's not far from here."

The middle-aged captain immediately gathered all the armed members.

"We have to leave for a moment."

"Then, we'll bring the children back here to regroup with you."

Wan Jinxuan's face looked quite terrible now.

No!

What the hell time is it? You're still going to save kids?!

There's only one hour left until the instance ends!

If you guys don't make it back, won't I get zero Points?!

Of course, Wan Jinxuan wasn't having it.

"Let's go into the extraction point first after an hour!"

"I'll help you bring the children back later!"

Bring them back?

Bullshit!

How could Wan Jinxuan possibly do that!

I can't even be bothered to save women, why would I specially run back to save kids?!

However...

Wan Jinxuan's words caused the middle-aged captain's face to instantly darken.

The children were still alive, and they were not far from here.

Furthermore, the other party had broadcasted a specific escape route using code.

How could he possibly wait here for an hour?

If they hadn't been besieged by zombies back then, they would have charged over to save them long ago!

"I'm very sorry."

The middle-aged captain jerked his chin toward his subordinates.

"We must go."

"After we pick up the children, we will come back to regroup with you."

Wan Jinxuan was anxious.

But for now, he could only suppress it.

They had over twenty people and over twenty guns; his side's firepower couldn't compare at all.

And they were NPCs!

If a conflict really broke out and they started fighting among themselves...

They might survive, but their Points would definitely go down the drain!

Damn it! Motherfucker!

Which bastard sent a distress signal at such a critical moment!

Couldn't they just die quietly in a corner?!

And little kids!

I fucking hate kids the most!

"Ah, haha... fine."

Wan Jinxuan squeezed out a forced, ugly smile.

"We'll go with you; that way we can speed things up."

The coldness on the middle-aged captain's face softened slightly.

"Alright, then we'll have to trouble you."

In addition to the armed forces on Wan Jinxuan's side...

Throughout the entire instance, all surviving members of the armed forces had received the signal for help!

"Our children are still alive!"

"Go! Quick, go and regroup with them!"

In an instant, the entire instance was in an uproar.

At the same time, outside the livestream...

The people who were just eating hotpot and waiting for Wan Jinxuan's victory...

The hotpot meat held in their chopsticks just stayed suspended in mid-air.

They watched in a daze as Wan Jinxuan led all the armed members away from the instance entrance.

"Captain! What are you doing?!"

"It's already this late; why are you leading people back?!"

It wasn't just them.

Several other scattered Armed Soldiers brought by other captains also turned around and ran back.

The entire instance was changing because of Qiu Churou's rescue beacon.

And on Wang Feng's side...

Qiu Churou finally let out a loud shout.

"Wang Feng!"

"There's a reply!"

"So many... so many replies!"

"The armed forces from across the entire city are converging toward us!"

She clenched her fists in excitement.

"But why couldn't we receive a signal back at the kindergarten?"

"How can the signal be sent out now that we're here?"

Why?

Naturally, it was because of that special zombie.

It had interfered with the survival signal.

"Good!"

"Since there's a reply, let's go straight to the underground pedestrian street!"

"After they receive the signal, they'll follow us!"