76: Monster Tide

Everyone in the Elite Pioneer Team had heard a little about Shi Li, the rising star who had recently advanced at the Show Card Hall.

It was clear they all had a mind to look after this young man.

After all, he was only Gold 5, not even reaching the threshold for the Elite Team.

One must know that pioneering meant being among the first to enter the exotic, and they were bound to encounter many uncertain factors.

It was still too difficult for a Gold 5 to face the various emergencies of a Level 3 exotic.

They all unanimously believed that his situation was merely a formality, a chance for him to gain experience.

During the 30-minute break, Old Han introduced every member of the team to Shi Li.

Pioneer Team No. 1 had a total of 39 people; excluding Shi Li, the average rank of all members reached Gold 15.

Besides their team, there were three other teams, from Li Card Hall, Star Card Hall, and Jiangnan Province's own defense forces, respectively.

Their mission would be to quickly select a location for defensive works near the entrance and exit after entering the exotic.

Once the location was confirmed, the mechanical construction team would begin construction day and night.

Then, the duty of the four teams would be to provide protection from the east, south, west, and north directions.

On the other side, the other teams were also ready to go.

Zeng Hong, the gold medal sparring partner from the training ground, was one of the members of the Li Card Hall Pioneer Team.

"Hey, Zeng Hong, you heard, right?"

A colleague leaned closer: "This exotic might be upgraded to Level 4. What do you think, if we find the Core Event and shut it down before the upgrade is complete, will we get a generous reward?"

"Just you? Or me?"

Zeng Hong, who was Gold 13, looked at the top of the other person's head; this guy was only Gold 18.

"Since you heard that the exotic will upgrade, didn't you hear there are Three-Star Demons inside?"

He said with a hint of mockery, "You will definitely encounter Three-Star Demons on the path to the Core Event. Do you think that's something we Gold Card Players can handle?

Let's just honestly do our part and wait for the Platinum Pioneer Team to enter."

"Hmph, look at you, so serious. Can't a person dream?"

The colleague pouted.

As the break ended, the four teams gathered in front of the entrance light pillar.

"Huh?! How is it him?!"

When he saw Shi Li, Zeng Hong's expression froze.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing."

He was unwilling to say more when his colleague asked.

He didn't expect this guy to come participate in the pioneering too!

Although a gag order was issued after the training ground challenge incident, as a direct participant, Zeng Hong remembered this culprit.

With just a Gold 4 rank, he cleared out most of the LV5 Two-Star Demons in the entire training ground.

His ability to defeat higher-level monsters and his speed in clearing them were undeniably exaggerated.

How long had it been, and this guy had already advanced to Gold 5?

If it was him, would it really be possible to solve the Core Event with a Gold rank?

"No, impossible."

Thinking of this, Zeng Hong still shook his head.

The enemies inside the Core Event were not that simple.

Even if they were both Three-Star Demons, they would be stronger than ordinary Three-Star Demons.

He had also had the good fortune to participate in a Core Event in a small exotic during his previous pioneering, and the strength of the enemies inside still left a deep impression on him.

If his luck hadn't been a little better, they might have been wiped out in that mission.

A Level 3 exotic involving Three-Star Demons and poised for expansion and upgrade, its Core Event was definitely not something a mere Gold rank could solve.

Not even Gold 100.

Zeng Hong thought to himself.

"Starting with Team 1, enter!"

As Zhang He gave the order, the members of the Pioneer Team began to walk towards the light pillar.

When she first touched the light pillar, her entire figure began to distort.

One moment it was stretched, the next it was squashed.

Soon, it completely disappeared.

One by one, figures entered the light pillar. Shi Li watched himself get closer and closer to the light pillar, a hint of excitement rising in his heart.

His first journey into an exotic was about to begin.

"Just relax your whole body later; the slight pulling of space-time power is a normal phenomenon."

"Okay."

With Old Han's notification, Shi Li stepped in.

Then, he felt forces from all directions sweeping towards him.

There were impacts from inside out, and pulls from outside in; in short, the feeling was quite strange.

"Old Han, you really are a scoundrel, treating newcomers like this."

At this moment, someone from Team 2 next door laughed.

Everyone who had passed through an exotic knew that when going through the Space-Time Trace, one should try to tense every muscle in their body, including their scalp.

This was because it would help resist the pulling of space-time power and minimize the impact of the vibrations.

Otherwise, symptoms similar to "motion sickness" would easily occur.

"Haha, newcomers, they always have to suffer a little to learn their lesson."

Having completed this small prank, Old Han chuckled.

After speaking, he himself stepped into the light pillar.

Although he had experienced it many times, and despite tensing every inch of his body, including his prostate.

Every time he entered the Space-Time Trace, Old Han was still quite uncomfortable.

This suffering was simply not for humans.

"YUE!!!"

As soon as his feet touched solid ground, he immediately knelt down and began to vomit.

Fortunately, he had learned from previous experiences and had not eaten or drunk anything for five hours before entering, so there was nothing to throw up, only dry heaving.

"Are you alright?"

But just then, he heard Shi Li's voice.

He looked up and saw the other person looking completely unfazed.

"You're fine? Not dizzy?"

Old Han was a little surprised.

"It's just like that, like driving a car for a short while."

Shi Li shrugged.

"!"

Old Han carefully examined his expression, confirming once again that this guy was truly unharmed.

He then looked around at the others who were "motion sick" and vomiting like himself.

He could only sigh inwardly, thinking, I didn't realize this kid was a born Space-Time Trace saint.

"Alright, has everyone in Team 1 finished throwing up? Look at the state of you all!"

At this moment, Zhang He, who had dry heaved first, had already forced herself to perk up.

"Everyone activate your electronic wristbands and scan 100 meters in the designated direction!"

She quickly entered the command.

Thus, on the mechanical wristbands that all members of Team 1 were equipped with before entering, the current action to be performed popped up.

Shi Li also looked at his wristband, which showed a holographic green arrow.

His task was to explore in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Their current location was a large plain covered in green grass, with scattered rocks forming natural cover.

"Large Demon approaching!"

However, before he had taken two steps, he suddenly heard someone give a warning.

...

...