54: Chapter 54 Free Skills

Lu Ming pushed the door open and left, his footsteps echoing in the corridor as he hurried down the stairs.

Old Gu and Ye Yun also stood up one after the other, nodded at Zhen Lu, and departed separately.

Zhen Lu stood alone in the medical room, looking down at his friend list on his communicator.

Lu Ming's avatar was already lit up, with information marked next to it: Guardians 3rd Patrol Squad.

He put away his communicator and also pushed the door open to leave.

By the time Zhen Lu walked out of the liaison station, it was already past three in the afternoon.

He ordered a bowl of noodles at a roadside snack shop, and after finishing it, he walked back slowly.

On the way home, he calculated his accounts in his head: today's three Healing tasks earned 15,000, plus the 10,000 extra he got from Bishop Lin for the church demonstration, combined with his previous balance, he had nearly 160,000 credits.

Making money is really fast now; a few days equal the income of several years in the past.

Returning to his apartment, he changed into casual clothes, turned on the projection TV, and tuned into the Radiance City local news channel.

The anchor was reporting on the progress of the cleanup work at the Ring Road Ruined City, and the screen showed bulldozers pushing piles of rubble into trucks.

Zhen Lu leaned back on the sofa, watching while thinking about the things Old Gu had said during the day.

The liaison point on the Ring Road. The sunken warship. Brother Wei, whose whereabouts were unknown.

He didn't know for sure if he had gotten involved with The Resistance, but knowing a little more never hurt.

He also thought of another point: one day when he went to find Brother Wei, a young master came to repair his flying car, and he had even helped out. That repair shop was very ordinary; logically speaking, even if the flying car had issues, such a luxury car wouldn't come to a place like this, as if it weren't drivable.

When the young master left, he even left Zhen Lu his contact information; he couldn't stick his head out until he figured things out.

Zhen Lu stopped thinking deeply and focused his attention on watching the news.

In the blink of an eye, it was already evening.

It was about time. He touched his ring.

"Enter."

A white light flashed.

He stood in the Main Star Plaza and directly let Xiao Guang switch to the first layer of the Inner World.

The texture of the air changed, and there weren't many players around.

His communicator vibrated, and a message from Lu Ming appeared: "I'm waiting for you by the Ruined City portal."

Zhen Lu followed Xiao Guang's guidance to the east side of the plaza.

A dark gray light curtain hung within the door frame, flowing slowly, and the information panel next to the door stated the entry fee: 1,000 credits.

Lu Ming stood in front of the portal, wearing a dark gray tactical vest; he was like a different person compared to the wounded man lying on the bed in the medical room.

Seeing Zhen Lu approach, he greeted him enthusiastically: "They went in first; I stayed behind to wait for you."

Lu Ming added Zhen Lu to the group and turned to walk into the portal. "Let's go."

Zhen Lu followed closely behind.

The white light dissipated.

Underfoot was a cracked concrete floor, with steel bars poking out from the edges of broken walls.

Overhead was a gray, hazy sky, with clouds hanging very low.

The entire city had been destroyed.

High-rise buildings were snapped in half, streets were blocked by rubble and abandoned vehicles, a few buildings in the distance stood precariously, and their outer walls were covered in cracks and scorched bullet marks. The air was mixed with the smell of dust and rust.

About twenty people were already standing in the open space, divided into two groups.

One team wore dark gray tactical vests; it was the 3rd Patrol Squad that Lu Ming belonged to;

The other team wore navy blue combat uniforms; it was Old Gu's Sixth Patrol Team.

Sitting on a broken sofa nearby was Old Gu, who wasn't participating in the battle, holding a cup of tea in his hand.

Lu Ming led Zhen Lu over.

Captain Zheng Feng nodded at him first: "You're the newly registered Healer for today? Welcome. I am Captain Zheng Feng, leader of the 3rd Patrol Squad."

Someone from the Sixth Patrol Team also tilted their chin at him: "Greetings, Healing master. If you have time in the future, help us check our bodies too."

Captain Zheng Feng didn't engage in much small talk; he clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention back.

"The rules are the same as last time. The map boundaries are: east to the broken canal bridge, west to the television tower wreckage, north to the Ring Road expressway breach, and south to the subway station ruins. Exceeding the boundaries results in an automatic loss. The goal is to kill all members of the opposing team. When the time limit is reached, the team with more people remaining wins. It is not allowed to deliberately hide in one place and not come out. All stealth-related skills are prohibited, and skills that lower one's own perception are also prohibited."

He reached out and pointed to Zhen Lu. "This is our newly registered Healer, Zhen Lu. He will be watching the battle on our side but will not participate. Everyone, perform well."

Zhen Lu nodded but didn't speak.

"Also," Captain Zheng Feng added, "three people have survived to the end in several training sessions and still retain temporary skills. When you encounter them, everyone should be careful."

Zhen Lu noted this in his heart.

After learning temporary skills in the world, as long as you don't die, they are still there the next time you enter. He didn't know about this mechanism before.

No wonder temporary skills at the auction house are so expensive; they are almost catching up to the price of permanent skills.

Moreover, permanent skills learned in the game don't seem to be permanent either; if you die while entering the world for an adventure in the normal way, you become a blank slate, and the skills disappear.

These Guardians members training here must all be scanning themselves. They are using their real-world abilities.

"Alright, each team return to your starting points. The 3rd Patrol Squad goes to the expressway breach, and the Sixth Patrol Team goes to the subway station ruins. Start when the signal flare goes off."

The two teams scattered. Lu Ming took Zhen Lu and walked north, turning into a half-collapsed building on the way, from which he rummaged out a small box. Opening it, there were over a dozen scrolls stacked inside, all basic level, such as speed boost, shield, damage reduction, and other life-saving skills.

"Pick a few to use," Lu Ming said.

Zhen Lu squatted down to look through them and picked three: Basic Lightness Technique, Basic Climbing, and Basic Breath Concealment.

He applied the scrolls to himself one by one.

The Lightness Technique made his ankles feel lighter, the Climbing made his hands and feet feel more agile, and the Breath Concealment lowered his presence a bit.

They were all basic level, but they were quite useful to him.

And he knew that these three skills were permanent on him.

Zhen Lu was embarrassed to ask for more; giving him three was already the team members expressing goodwill.

Lu Ming stopped at the bottom of the breach ramp, turned back to look at Zhen Lu, and pointed to a tilted high-rise building not far away.

"You go up there to watch the battle; the view is good. There shouldn't be any stray bullets hitting that high up." He paused and added, "Welcome to the Guardians, Zhen Lu."

Zhen Lu waved his hand and walked toward the high-rise building.

The wind of the Ruined City passed through the broken floor slabs, emitting a wailing sound.

A signal flare exploded over the ruins, and a mass of dark red smoke slowly spread.

Zhen Lu stood on the tilted high-rise, leaning his back against a broken load-bearing pillar.

The Lightness Technique made his body at least 30% lighter than usual, and his feet made almost no sound when stepping on the broken concrete floor.

The Climbing ability allowed him to stand very steadily, and he didn't sway much even with the gusty wind blowing against his body.

Breath Concealment suppressed his presence, so as not to distract the warriors on the field.

The position he chose was on the 20th floor, where his view could just cover most of the battlefield, and Basic Reconnaissance provided him with excellent vision.

The two teams had already started moving.