Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

The one on the left immediately winked at the one on the right.

It's okay, buddy, we have backup. As long as we hold out until backup arrives, as long as we kidnap this man in front of us—

"Thump!"

The idea had barely formed when it was abruptly interrupted by a series of deep footsteps.

"Thump."

"Thump."

"..."

It even has a good rhythm.

Then they saw a huge, hard turtle head slowly moving toward them from behind Ou Yun.

Seeing it directly like this is much more impressive than watching it on a live stream—the turtle's shell must be at least ten meters in diameter, and every step it takes makes the ground tremble.

It was also carrying a soaking wet competitor in its mouth—it looked like an intruder trying to sneak in by water.

The giant tortoise spat on the ground, spitting the man out like saliva.

The two looked closely.

"..."

"..."

Isn't that one of their foreign player players?!

Holy crap!

The two of them were petrified on the spot.

Was he arrested so quickly?

They only recently split up and started their operations!

Even Ou Yun, watching from the side, remarked, "This is the fourth one? Not bad, pretty efficient tonight."

The two contestants: ...

They suddenly realized that perhaps their decision to launch a surprise attack tonight was the biggest mistake of their lives...

*

The battle was essentially over within fifteen minutes.

Eight people lay sprawled across the camp square—all still alive, of course.

Leng Ruolan strictly adhered to her principle of not killing prisoners, but she also strictly adhered to her principle of making prisoners suffer enough.

All the prisoners were tied to pillars in the center of the square.

The ropes used to bind them were changed from ordinary ropes to tentacles plucked from that mutated plant.

The paralyzing toxins on the tentacles can cause numbness in a person's limbs, while keeping them conscious.

"You...you're mistreating prisoners!"

Fei-ge—let's call him Fei for now—is the vice-captain of the Sava team. He was tied to a pillar, his legs completely numb, but he was still incredibly stubborn.

"Abuse? You call this abuse?"

Ou Yun squatted down in front of him, her tone quite amiable, "Aren't you still doing pretty well?"

Afei was startled by Ou Yun's kind and gentle expression. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Ou Yun squatted down in front of A Fei and took a sip of wine.

"Alright, now you can tell the truth. How many of you came in total? How many other groups are nearby? How many more teams are moving this way from the forest?"

Afei hesitated for a moment and looked at the team member next to him carrying a big bag—that man was the captain of the Sava team, codenamed Lynx.

The lynx was more composed than him; after being tied up, he kept his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought.

Leng Ruolan then coldly interjected, "We don't kill prisoners."

The lynx then opened its eyes: "You really don't kill prisoners?"

"There have been no exceptions so far."

Because this was their first time capturing prisoners, haha!

Ou Yun shrugged. "Of course, if you insist on forcing us to make an exception—"

"We came in three groups in total."

The lynx spoke up, decisively and swiftly.

"The first wave consists of the six of us, attacking in two groups. The second wave is from two other small countries in the Southeast Asian Alliance, who are on their way and expected to arrive before dawn. As for the third wave—we're not sure about that either."

"What does 'not sure' mean?"

"Because there are other teams moving in the forest. Not just our Southeast Alliance, but also individual two-person teams, three-person teams, and even some people are heading this way all by themselves."

Lynx smirked. "Once the area interaction function is enabled, everyone can see the location of your camp—you will be the biggest target in the entire forest area."

He continued, "To be honest, it's quite rare that you're willing to spare our lives at a time like this."

"Because we need intelligence."

Leng Ruolan stood up and gestured to Hassan beside her, "Put all their equipment into storage, and store the weapons separately. As for the rest of them—lock them in the storeroom for now, and have Green Bean guard them."

"Storage room?"

Ah Fei's expression was somewhat subtle. "Could it be that storage room with the netted traps?"

Leng Ruolan raised an eyebrow: "Oh? You've heard of it?"

"We had an ally who was previously in your camp..."

"Mike?"

"...You already knew?"

"He's dead."

Leng Ruolan's tone was calm, "After he turned into a monster, we gave him a ride. But there really was a trap net hanging in that storage room, haha."

Ah Fei fell silent.

The lynx fell silent.

They suddenly realized that their understanding of the Dragon Kingdom camp had always been superficial.

The camp's defense system, personnel configuration, and even the bizarre mutated plants—everything was beyond their expectations.

"One last question."

Ou Yun stood up, placed the empty bowl on the wooden table beside him, and asked, "Why did you attack us? Besides the resources, was there any other reason?"

The lynx glanced at him, seemingly trying to determine if the question was a trap.

Then he spoke, his voice a little hoarse: "Because... the forbidden area is forcing us."

Ou Yun paused, "Forbidden Zone?"

Leng Ruolan's expression froze for a moment. "Forcing you?"

"After the regional interaction function is enabled, players who do not actively attack other teams will have one attribute randomly weakened each day. If they do not participate in any battles for three consecutive days, their physical condition will deteriorate to the point of near death."

Lynx took a deep breath. "Don't you know? That's probably because you've already completed the kill mission, so this hidden rule won't be triggered."

Ou Yun and Leng Ruolan exchanged a glance and fell silent.

This rule was of course not mentioned in the notice regarding the forbidden area.

But after listening to Lynx's words, neither of them felt anything was wrong.

It even felt somewhat familiar.

After all, hadn't they witnessed a similar scene not long ago?

Is this the style of the forbidden zone? Setting up hidden mechanisms outside the rules, rewarding those who take the initiative, and punishing those who try to evade.

Push everyone into the arena and force them to tear each other apart.

This is how they raise poisonous insects!

"So we had no choice."

Lynx looked dejected. "Your Dragon Kingdom is the largest camp in this area, and also the richest target. Instead of searching for those hidden small teams one by one, let's take a big gamble—if we win, we can turn things around; if we lose, at least the Forbidden Land won't punish us."

"Because we came, the forbidden area won't punish us. Even if we're defeated or captured, at least we won't be considered 'non-participants in the fight'."

Lynx gave a wry smile. "Irony, isn't it? The most relaxing night I had since arriving in this forbidden area was when you guys tied me up and interrogated me—"

Ou Yun remained silent.

Looking at the lynx's pale face illuminated by the moonlight, he suddenly remembered the handsome Chinese man he had met many days ago in the circular valley.

Mike only chose to probe their camp when he was desperate.

The difference is that Mike chose infiltration and assassination, while the Bobcats chose a frontal attack.

The result was the same—they all failed.

But Ou Yun still remembers the words Michael said before he died.

He said the world has changed; China has won, and other countries are just barely surviving.

He said that their country, America, has already surrendered in the real world because it simply can't keep up with the speed of China.

He said...

"You just said that the forbidden area will punish players who do not participate in the battle."

Ou Yun suddenly spoke up, interrupting Lynx, "What if you participate in the battle but lose? What will the Forbidden Land do to you?"