Chapter 38: Invaders

“Brother Snake, look, I told you I wasn't lying, right? The prison has been occupied by players.”

Outside the prison, amidst the shadows of the forest, Prisoner Snake was peering through a toy telescope, observing the situation inside the prison.

Yesterday, when Prisoner Snake first heard from his subordinates that the prison had been taken over, his immediate reaction was disbelief.

What a joke. There were so many zombies in the prison; how could they all suddenly vanish?

Only after repeatedly confirming the accuracy of the news did Prisoner Snake lead his elite subordinates out to investigate.

“Well done. I’ll credit you for this.”

Prisoner Snake put away the toy telescope, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

It no longer mattered how the zombies had disappeared.

What mattered was that he had found a "fat sheep."

The group of subordinates he had gathered were all players with combat-type talents.

These people were experts at fighting, but they were quite lackluster when it came to survival and base construction.

In the beginning, the team's development had indeed followed Prisoner Snake's plan: they obtained resources by robbing other players.

But after a while, Prisoner Snake discovered a problem.

The players in the surrounding shelters had almost all been robbed blind.

Some were dead, and others had fled.

Now, forget about resources—Prisoner Snake and his men couldn't even solve the problem of food.

With no food in sight and the team's morale dropping day by day, Prisoner Snake was growing anxious.

*Fine!*

*This prison is an opportunity bestowed upon me by heaven!*

Prisoner Snake thought to himself.

With a prison this large, there was bound to be no shortage of supplies.

As long as he drove out the players living in the prison and seized it for himself...

In the future, he could even use the prison as a starting point to build a massive faction!

Unknowingly, Prisoner Snake's ambition began to swell once again.

He had long since grown tired of living in that tiny shack!

“Brother Snake, the prison defenses seem to be built quite well.”

“Tch, so what if they're well-built? Didn't they just build them for us? Am I supposed to say thank you to them?”

Prisoner Snake let out a disdainful sneer and gave his subordinates a look.

“Brothers! Follow me!”

The players drew their weapons and followed Prisoner Snake, swaggering toward the prison.

Prisoner Snake was the first to reach the perimeter wire fence.

He lifted his leg and delivered a heavy kick forward.

*Clang!*

The wire fence let out a sound and vibrated heavily; its durability dropped by 2 points.

“Hmph!”

Prisoner Snake gave a cold snort.

Seeing that the players inside the prison showed no reaction, he waved his hand. “Everyone, smash it!”

“Right!”

Behind him, Prisoner Snake's subordinates swung their stone hammers, striking the outermost wire fence of the prison.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The wire fence rattled and shook, creating a massive amount of noise.

Looking at the three buildings within the prison, Prisoner Snake's eyes were filled with greed.

This prison—he was going to take it!

In his excitement, Prisoner Snake and his men failed to notice one thing.

At that moment, in the woods behind them, two pairs of eyes were watching them intently.

“The Big Boss is going to have trouble.”

Lu Yu crouched in the low bushes, carefully observing Prisoner Snake and his group.

“I know that leader. His nickname is Prisoner Snake. He's a mercenary with a foul reputation. I heard they've attacked many player settlements nearby in the last few days.”

“Tch, a bunch of scum.” Zhou Yi had no affection for these people. He whispered, “How many can you handle?”

Lu Yu possessed combat-type talent skills, and he re-evaluated the enemy.

“There are too many of them. With a sneak attack, I can handle at most two.”

“Right. Let's not expose ourselves yet. Send a message to the Big Boss. We'll wait for his command to coordinate an internal and external attack.”

“Okay.”

Lu Yu nodded, opened his survival radio, and sent an urgent message to Fang Heng.

...

Fang Heng had only recently returned to Building No. 3 of the prison from the Doomsday Merchant camp.

He was currently in the basement warehouse, arranging things for the three newly recruited mercenaries.

Pistols, ammunition, prison guard uniforms, riot shields...

Everything was being organized!

The prison guard uniforms had been scavenged from the prison's changing rooms.

Wearing the full set could increase the accuracy of all firearms by 2%. The riot shields provided no attribute bonuses but could block a portion of attacks.

Fang Heng didn't wear them.

Mainly because he found them too ugly and bulky.

Besides, he wouldn't be participating in the combat personally.

Additionally, Level 5 mercenaries were temporarily unable to equip sniper rifles.

A pity.

It was a shame that such a powerful weapon like a sniper rifle couldn't be used by anyone yet.

Perhaps after completing the Dark Knight Order mission, he would be able to recruit higher-level mercenaries who could use them.

As Fang Heng was issuing patrol and guarding orders to the three mercenaries, he suddenly noticed an urgent communication on the survival radio.

He opened the radio.

Lu Yu: *Big Boss, people are causing trouble outside the prison! It's Prisoner Snake's group. They destroyed a lot of player homes before, and they've brought a lot of people this time. They don't come in peace. Be careful!*

Lu Yu: *We are currently hiding in the woods behind them. We'll wait for your command. Call me when it's time to strike.*

Prisoner Snake? Was that the group that had tried to ambush the small wooden shack before?

Fang Heng had some memory of them.

To think they had found their way here again so quickly?

He quickly replied with a message.

Fang Heng: *Received. Stay hidden for now. Wait for my word.*

Fang Heng turned off the survival radio, motioned for the three mercenaries to follow him, and prepared to go out and meet Prisoner Snake's invaders.

“Boss!”

Before Fang Heng could even step out, Liao Bufan pushed open the basement warehouse door.

“Boss, we're in trouble! Prisoner Snake and his lot are back! These bastards are bullying us agai—”

As Liao Bufan spoke, his voice gradually trailed off.

“Holy crap!? Mercenaries!?”

For a moment, Liao Bufan doubted his own eyes and rubbed them.

He wasn't mistaken!

They really were mercenaries!

“You... the shelter is finished?”

“Yeah, just finished it. I didn't have time to tell you. It's right next door.”

As Fang Heng spoke, he patted Liao Bufan on the shoulder. “Come on, let's go meet Prisoner Snake. I'll give you a tour later.”

Liao Bufan stood there dazed.

In an instant, many pieces of information clicked in his mind.

The Boss had finished building the shelter?

There seemed to have been a game notification this morning saying a player had completed a super-large shelter.

Now, all the players were guessing who had completed it.

It was strange; such a great advertising opportunity, yet no game company, club, or guild had stepped forward to claim it...

And in the last two days, the Boss had also collected and manufactured a massive amount of wooden planks and nails...

Liao Bufan connected the dots in his head.

Could it be...

Liao Bufan tapped his forehead.

There was no doubt!

The person who built the super-large shelter first must be Fang Heng!

Damn! The Boss is truly incredible!

Not only did he complete the shelter, but it was only morning and he had already managed to get mercenaries!

“Wait for me!”

Snapping out of it, Liao Bufan saw that Fang Heng had already disappeared into the corridor and hurriedly chased after him.

(End of Chapter)