I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

The players buying medicine seemed used to this kind of scene; their faces showed little panic, but rather a subtle excitement at the spectacle. Some even gloated nearby.

"This guy's done for. Did he not check the system notification before entering the main city? I bet he'll be working on a sewing machine in jail soon."

"He doesn't think this is a normal dungeon, does he...?"

"It all depends on which expert is quick enough to grab these points."

……

……

The player ran two streets away and disappeared into a deserted dead-end alley before shaking the herbs in his arms onto the ground to examine them.

The herbs were all gathered by the little fox early in the morning, and some of the roots still had mud on them.

The man picked up a handful of herbs and found that they were just the most ordinary herbs, without any systematic explanation.

"Damn it! What a waste of my time!"

He cursed and was about to climb over the wall to the next house when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his foot, as if countless needles were piercing the sole of his foot at the same time—

"What is this thing?!"

The man's face contorted as he looked down and saw a clump of grayish-green bulrush that had somehow grown out and wrapped around his ankles.

[Aconite trap.]

He immediately realized there were other players around, and with a backhand motion, he pulled out a hammer from his waist and swung it forcefully at the approaching person.

But before he could swing the hammer out, a tremendous force struck him squarely in the center of his chest!

"boom!"

The man felt as if he had been tossed about by an enraged bull. In an instant, a dark shadow pounced down from the wall and swept a high kick across his side!

Then the world spun around him, and before he could even fight back, his hands were twisted behind his back and he was pinned against the wall.

"Behave yourself!"

The player behind him was extremely strong; he slammed his knee into the man's spine, and the man immediately stopped moving.

A series of light footsteps came from the alley entrance.

Several women walked over, all wearing the same style of gray windbreakers with a team emblem sewn onto the chest, embroidered with four small characters: "Man and Beast".

Su Ya, who was walking at the front, glanced at the player who had pinned the man down and praised him with a smile:

"Sasa's speed in getting things done has been getting faster and faster lately, keep it up."

Although she was wearing a windbreaker, she had a very mismatched gray fox fur scarf around her neck.

Just as the player was about to take a closer look, she noticed that the "scarf" had moved, jumping off her shoulder and landing on the ground.

It turned out to be a live fox.

……

……

"That's right. I've been training really hard lately, and Chen Ke hasn't held back at all against us."

Yang Asha pressed the man down even tighter, slightly raising her chin, and said proudly, "Before, when pigs were slaughtered for the New Year, I could help hold them down. Now I can hold down two pigs by myself!"

The player who was compared to a "pig" felt deeply humiliated, but was powerless to do anything about it.

Zhou Hui stood behind Su Ya, and she looked much better than before.

She became a player in order to raise money for her daughter's surgery.

Since becoming a player, she has experienced three dungeons, and although she narrowly escaped death each time, the points she earned not only covered the surgery costs but also greatly improved her and her daughter's lives.

In comparison, Ouyang Qiu's condition was somewhat unsatisfactory.

……

"My system shows that we have completed the capture mission. In addition to 200 points, we also gained 5 points of main city reputation."

Ouyang Qiu had a light-colored headscarf wrapped around her head, revealing that all her hair had fallen out due to chemotherapy. Her complexion was poor, her eyes were sunken, and she looked like she was recovering from a serious illness. Her voice was also weak and unsteady.

"What's the use of this reputation?"

"Increasing your reputation can boost your favorability with NPCs and unlock hidden quests."

Suya opened the system panel and swiped her finger a few times:

"Anyway, the system says that once you accumulate a certain amount of reputation, you can unlock a team territory, which I guess is similar to the guild homestead in online games."

"Isn't that just a portable space?"

The fox shook its fur on the ground and opened its mouth with a Sichuan-Chongqing accent:

"I never thought that people need to buy houses, and foxes need to buy houses too."

"You humans are so troublesome! Unlike us foxes, we can just dig a hole and that's our den!"

"I always felt that this 'reputation value' was not so simple. I saw on the Lingjing APP yesterday that some people had already started to farm reputation."

As soon as Su Ya finished speaking, Zhou Hui's expression became somewhat uneasy: "Our team doesn't have any strong damage dealers either. How can we compete with others in farming reputation?"

"Isn't this me and Sasha here?"

Suya patted her shoulder and pointed at Yang Asha: "Once my kitten egg hatches, our team will have another fighting force."

"Cough cough cough..."

Ouyang Qiu coughed, his face flushed unhealthily: "The results are about to be released, and the people from Jiangcheng University are still waiting for us at the inn."

"Oh, oh, oh! You're not feeling well and can't be exposed to the wind, I'm so sorry, we'll go right away."

Su Ya quickly said, "Then let's take this person to the government office on the way, and then turn the corner to go there. Don't keep Zhao Weilai and the others waiting too long."

……

……

……

"If only every instance could be as peaceful as the Orchid Garden Secret Realm."

Zhao Weilai sat by the window in the private room. Yellow flags were everywhere. Downstairs, there were vendors selling osmanthus cakes, knife sharpeners, and two players squatting by the roadside holding up signs.

……

Zhao Weilai glanced at it only once before looking away.

Deng Ziwen was sitting next to her, taking pictures of the street scene with his phone, and then turning around to take pictures of himself.

He was wearing a well-tailored, dark blue underground team uniform with a silver zipper pull and the words "Jiangcheng University" printed on the chest.

"Stop being so vain," Zhao Weilai said, rolling her eyes at him.

"You don't understand."

Deng Ziwen straightened his collar: "This outfit is really cool. It gives me a professional feel when I wear it out."

And let me tell you, several businesses have already contacted me, saying they want to sponsor our team. Our "Jiangcheng University Team" has really become famous.

"People are afraid of becoming famous, just like pigs are afraid of getting fat. You should stop sharing your experience posts randomly on the Lingjing APP in the future."

Zhao Weilai reached for the teapot; the handle was a little hot. She then poured tea for each of her teammates.

"The situation in the instance is constantly changing, so it's better to avoid trouble."

"I think Xiao Zhao is right."

Sitting on the other side, Liu Guilan nodded, holding a lump of clay whose shape was indistinguishable in her hand:

"Many companies are making money from paid dungeon guides. If you share them for free, you might get targeted."

"I agree that sharing strategies is acceptable, but not free of charge."

Weng Yang broke off a piece of osmanthus cake and carefully placed the larger half into Tan Moli's hand.

Tan Moli took the pastries and whispered "thank you".

Weng Yang whispered something: "You eat first, Su Ya and the others haven't arrived yet, be careful of low blood sugar."

"You still dare to say that?"

Ding Feifan held his teacup and slowly blew on the tea in his hand:

"Su Ya is really something else. She seemed gentle and kind before, and she suggested teaming up with us temporarily, but she's actually quite shrewd."

"Look, we entered the dungeon with that fox player, and it's only been a few days? She's already recruited non-human players into her party."

Ding Feifan looked at Zhao Weilai for his opinion: "Actually, we could also consider recruiting some non-humans into the team."

"It's difficult. New players need guidance, while veteran players tend to act independently."

Weng Yang shook his head: "The number of non-human players is actually not small. There are cats, trees, snakes... all kinds of species. But we have to consider the difficulty of the dungeon, so we have to be careful in our selection."

"I agree."

Zhao Weilai hummed in agreement and looked at Tan Moli:

"Jasmine is handling all the team entry screenings—you're in charge of the team's logistics and intelligence work. Are you feeling alright?"

"No problem! I've already started the second round of interviews. Since we're considered a senior team, we've received quite a few applications."

As if trying to prove something, Tan Moli carefully opened the notebook in her hand and explained:

"In the past two days, I have compiled some information about the 'Psychic Squad'."

First, the "Psychic Squad" was attacked at Cloudtop One a few days ago. Second, they traded a silver-quality item with the Chen family, but the specific type could not be found.

"A silver prop?"

Ding Feifan, who was drinking tea, frowned upon hearing this: "So, besides the red-quality items, they have other items in their possession? No wonder they've been targeted."

……

"We could try contacting them privately to see if they'd be willing to join us—though the chances are slim."

Zhao Weilai clicked his tongue softly.

"But having more friends means having more options, and maybe we can team up to run dungeons in the future."

Ding Feifan nodded: "I think so too. It would be best to get to know him. I heard there's a big shot with a gold-level job in the Special Investigation Bureau. I wonder when I'll be able to meet him."

"A golden profession..."

The group smacked their lips and fell silent.

Among them, only Zhao Weilai (butcher), Tan Moli (intelligence scientist), and Liu Guilan (clay sculptor) currently have jobs, and their highest quality is no more than green.