Chapter 264: What Are You Standing Around For? Pick Up Supplies!
After refining 20 portions of Advanced Healing Potion, Yu Jiang shared her idea with Shi Xu and Han Jiang Gu Ying in the Team Channel.
Tomorrow we can try challenging the Challenge Instance, which is perfect for letting the slightly weaker team members in terms of Combat Power get some practice.
If those two join in, tonight while grinding monsters outside, we’ll have to take it easy to conserve strength and energy.
The main rewards from the Challenge Instance are basic survival Supplies and Crystal Coins, plus a small probability of getting a Crafting Scroll.
They don’t lack basic Supplies either, so not going in is completely fine, and fighting Vengeful Spirits at night also yields revenue.
“Got it, we’re on our way back.” Han Jiang Gu Ying sent a voice message.
“My idea is to see if the Merchant Caravan’s Boss goes into the Challenge Instance. If someone doesn’t go in, then one group grinds Vengeful Spirits at night, one group enters the Challenge Instance during the day, which also protects the Merchants not entering the instance.”
“That works.” Yu Jiang took out 5 portions of Advanced Healing Potion and stored them in the Medicine Cabinet, putting the rest into her Personal Grid.
“If all the Bosses go in, we can split into two teams to enter, which has higher cost-effectiveness.”
Cleaver Brother’s side has Kuang Kuang Kuang, plus the Beast Tamer Qian Lai Qian Lai with similarly high Combat Power, 28-bar Bicycle, 188 Male College Student, and two players with Combat Power from Friend Channels, who can directly lead the Boss through.
Even if it’s about to fail, they can retreat, and leading through the Challenge Instance doesn’t charge extra, the deducted Crystal Coins are borne by the Merchant themselves.
The next morning at 10 o’clock, after discussing with Wholesale King Wang Defa, the entire Merchant Caravan went in.
Wholesale King Wang Defa’s original words: “Just 100 Crystal Coins, no big deal. If there’s a chance to improve strength and gain some Experience, we’ll definitely go.”
What Yu Jiang was thinking is to see whether fighting Vengeful Spirits at night or grinding the Challenge Instance during the day yields higher revenue, and focus on whichever is more profitable.
There are plenty of Challenge Instances on the Road, no need to worry about not finding any. For the two teams to challenge separately, they just need to split up.
The Challenge Instance allows only one team to enter at a time, unlike previous Instance Missions where the same instance could split into many parallel sessions simultaneously.
The number of Challenge Instances on a stretch of road is limited, so splitting up has higher cost-effectiveness. If something happens, three teams can always spare support.
When the next sign appeared, Yu Jiang adjusted the teams, and the two teams headed to different Urban Area Roads respectively.
They set off late in the morning and finally saw the Challenge Instance Entrance at 2 p.m.
During the preparation phase, Yu Jiang took a moment to check the Public Screen.
Indeed, many teams were shouting to carry players, but it wasn’t cheap.
Sicily: [200 Crystal Coins per person, Combat Power Ranking top 50 team, level 5 Healer, guaranteed survival, can also share some Supplies.]
Aladdin Nerve: [100 Crystal Coins or Medicinal Herbs, Food is fine too. Also have a level 5 Healer, but need someone who can fight a bit. Not recommended to waste resources if they can’t fight at all, as the base clear reward is only 50 Crystal Coins.]
Don’t abandon: [6, so honest post. Luckily I had the fortune to tag along with a Big Shot team yesterday. Latest news: there are various Achievements in the Challenge Instance too.]
Join a Big Shot’s Friend Channel, and as long as you can contribute, following the team won’t cost Crystal Coins. The more she looked at the Public Screen, the luckier she felt.
Seize the opportunity, develop stealthily! Someday, she could become a Master too.
Combat Power Ranking top 100 is out of reach, but top 200 or 300 might be possible.
There were also messages from Heartless Water and A Thousand Lamps Exhaust Snow behind. Probably seeing Sicily’s high quoted price, many people were complaining, so they priced the same as Aladdin Nerve but required specific professions and skills, or extra payment.
At this point, most on the Public Screen were Combat Power teams from zone 002, with a few unfamiliar ones, unsure which zone they were from before.
Wealth Ranking fifth Kiss of Death was pretty obvious, from zone 005. Players in the know wouldn’t dare approach him.
Otherwise, they’d end up paying to hire someone to rob and kill themselves, better to behave.
Yu Jiang’s gaze returned to the building ahead, an 8-story Mall.
From outside, the walls were covered in Plants, but the parking area in front was noticeably cleaner and more open than the surroundings. Challenge Instances in ordinary buildings were easy to spot.
The Car drove in, and a Light Screen immediately popped up.
[Current building is a Challenge Instance, time limit: 2 hours. Please confirm entry within 5 minutes.
Failure to confirm in time will be considered a refusal. You will be removed from Lucky Plaza and unable to enter another Challenge Instance for 24 hours.
Challenge Instance max 10 people, no minimum, but caution advised if under 5 people!]
Yu Jiang directly confirmed. During team preparation, an Air Wall with faint light appeared at the Instance Entrance, preventing outsiders from entering, and those inside had to pay to exit.
30-second countdown introduction.
The surroundings changed; the lower floors of the Plant-covered building reverted to their original state.
Blackened bloodstains everywhere, Plastic Bags, newspapers, bloodied Clothing scattered all around.
Annoying cicada chirps from the Trees, Zombie roars from all directions.
The system set the time here shortly after Doomsday? Judging by the Dust on the Escalator and the desolate City, it was probably a few months to a year.
Not important. Their slogan was grab Supplies! Grab lots of Supplies!
A City not yet overrun by Plants still had plenty of useful Things to pick up.
Encountering a Mall was great luck, much better than an Office Building map.
The downside was the player movement Area wasn’t large—just the Mall and the Street ahead, plus Alleys on both sides, blocked by Air Walls farther out, but Zombies could come in!
A roar suddenly rang out, like some signal, and a tidal wave of Zombies surged forth.
Their Clothing colors were brighter than those on the Road. The ones on the Road had been weathered black over years of sun and rain, except for system-placed Elite Monsters.
“Into the Mall first!” Yu Jiang shouted and turned to run.
All roads were blocked by the Zombie Horde—no fewer than thousands of Zombies. No Skill could cover such a vast Area.
Impossible to fight them all. The Mall’s Stairs and Escalator had limited space; they’d trip over themselves.
Only 2 hours— no need to waste time grinding monsters. Just grab Supplies directly.
Good Luck Lotus Lotus from the Merchant Caravan held a +10 Attack Crowbar. Seeing so many grotesque twisted faces squeezing one after another into the long-broken Glass doors at high Speed, she was completely stunned.
She’d never seen a scene like this on the Road. Compared to this, the Zombie Hordes on the Road were just a drizzle.
“What are you standing there for? Grab Supplies!” By the time Yu Jiang reminded her, she had already grabbed several rolls of Toilet Paper from the Service Desk, plus two bottles of Mineral Water and a fresh flower mooncake.
The paper was probably already there, the Water was system-placed, identical to those from Boxes. The fresh flower cake Packaging had no Dust at all—also system-placed.
Yu Jiang also spotted the Mall zone Diagram, locked onto the Sportswear Area, her mind full of getting rich!
This wasn’t a Challenge Instance at all—it was 2 hours of free looting. Backpacks, Carts, Shopping Baskets, Snake Skin Bags—she took them all.
Not much on the First Floor. They had to rush upstairs before Zombies took the Escalators, so grab the First Floor Supplies as fast as possible.
The team divided tasks clearly: Shi Xu tanked at the front, one Zombie per knife swing; Lightning Mage King and Strawberry Candy guarded the sides; Yu Jiang, Purple Butt Can Do It, and Pure Love Cockroach Spicy Spicy grabbed Supplies.
On the Merchant Caravan side, Wholesale King Wang Defa wanted to improve her strength, so Yu Zhou had to Heal her. The other two from the Merchant Caravan also grabbed Supplies.
Whoever picks it up owns it. Yu Jiang’s team had to handle the endless Zombies that could pile into a corpse wall. Impossible to raid the entire Mall— just grab as much as possible.
