Card Room

The crowd made their way to the entrance of the supermarket.

The supermarket entrance was empty. The local people in this city were affected by the attack of the infected people and traffic was paralyzed. Naturally, no one dared to go out to the supermarket at this time. The challenger teams might've been divided into other urban areas so there were only the three teams in the supermarket right now.

The bearded uncle took the initiative to speak. "The epidemic in the city center is spreading very quickly. It isn't safe to stay here. Once all the humans in the vicinity are infected, we are likely to be surrounded by thousands of bugs!"

The female captain of the Luoying Pavilion team nodded. "Today, there are only 50 infected people in the supermarket and they can be eliminated by fire. If the city centre is full of infected people, we might be able to burn some but we won't be able to run away."

The bearded uncle asked, "What are your plans next?"

The female captain replied, "We plan to go to the suburbs. The number of infected people there should be less. As long as there are enough supplies, it will be easier to survive in a remote place.

The bearded uncle agreed. "We also want to hide in the suburbs. Do you want to act together?"

The female captain spoke decisively. "No, we have to go back to the supermarket to get supplies. Goodbye."

The girls from Luoying Pavilion heard their captain's instructions and turned to return to the supermarket. The bearded uncle watched their backs and touched his nose in a slightly embarrassed manner. Then he turned to look at Xiao Lou and proactively said, "Hello, we are a team from the Eternal Kingdom. I don't know if you want to cooperate to clear the instance?"

The Eternal Kingdom?

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang glanced at each other in a puzzled manner.

They remembered Old Mo previously saying that there were three large challenger organizations in this world. One was the Distant Association managed by Gui Yuanzhang. The challengers who joined this association all aimed to return to reality.

The second was the pure female organization 'Luoying Pavilion.' The boss of this organization was Chu Huaying.

The third largest guild was the Eternal Kingdom. It was said that challengers of this guild didn't have the urge to return to reality. They were more willing to stay in the Card World where they could buy cars and villas and could even marry and have children. They only did the World Weekly tasks and weren't very interested in challenging the secret rooms on the card wall.

Why did they come to a secret room with an A-grade difficulty like 8 of Spades? It wasn't easy to ask this question directly. At present, Xiao Lou didn't know anything about the Eternal Kingdom guild. There was no relevant information from Brother Jiu so it was better not to rush to contact them.

Xiao Lou smiled politely at the friendly bearded uncle and replied, "Thank you for your kindness but we don't know each other after all. If one of us is infected then it is likely to affect the other team. Rather than suspecting each other, I think it is more convenient to act on our own."

The bearded uncle thought carefully and nodded with understanding. "Okay, since we're not familiar with each other, let's go our own way. We will be leaving first. Take care."

Xiao Lou nodded. "Take care."

Once they left, Xiao Lou suggested, "Why don't we go back to the supermarket to get some insecticides and lighters before going to Old Mo's place?"

Yu Hanjiang agreed. "Yes, it will be easier to deal with infected people if we take some more."

They might have Bai Juyi’s Old Charcoal Seller skill but the cooldown time was up to 24 hours. It could only be used once a day but the infected people wouldn’t only be used once a day. The charcoal fire also wasn’t easy to take away. For example, today the charcoal fire was left in the supermarket. If they met an infected person outside later, it wouldn’t be easy to deal with them.

In any case, this supermarket was now empty. Everyone went back to see what supplies needed to be added. They followed Yu Hanjiang back to the supermarket, took a large box of lighters from the shelves and each took a bottle of insecticide.

They were about to leave when they bumped into the female team from Luoying Pavilion.

The thing that surprised Xiao Lou was that as this time, a girl from Luoying Pavilion was actually surrounded by nine other people. The girl's eyes were read and she was attacking her teammates frantically. Her teammates couldn't bear to fight her so the 9v1 situation was very passive.

Ye Qi's expression changed and he whispered, "She was infected…"

Sure enough, there was the cry of a girl from the group. "Lin Ran, wake up!"

Another girl asked, "Was she scratched by the cashier at the cash register? We didn't find it at all!"

Someone agreed. "It must've been before. She was at the cash register in front of me and seemed to have handed gold coins to the cashier."

The tall captain spoke calmly. "She is no longer the Lin Ran we know. Her mind has been parasitized by the bugs and she will attack us. There is no self-awareness…" Then the captain's face suddenly turned white. "Don't hesitate and control her quickly!"

A short-haired girl next to the captain immediately threw a card. It was a spell-like card. Once stuck to Lin Ran's body, Lin Ran seemed immobilized and she was unable to move.

Her eyes were red but the expression on her face was very innocent as she smiled. "Sister Xue Lin, are you really going to kill me?"

The strange smile was exactly the same as the smiles on the faces of the cashier girls in the supermarket. Xue Lin's face was extremely ugly and the surrounding teammates glanced at each other. Kill. They couldn't bear it but there would be endless troubles if they didn't kill her!

Xue Lin was silent for a moment before saying, "We have been through many things with you for a long time and I really don't want to do it. However, you have been infected. We are likely to be wiped out if we don't deal with you." Her voice was choked up with sobs. "I'm sorry Lin Ran. I didn't protect you. Leave early so you won't suffer anymore…"

Her face was full of guilt. The moment she finished speaking, she sprayed the girl with insecticide and threw the lighter.

"Ahhhh—!"

The sharp screams reverberated through the supermarket and caused their eardrums to ache.

Xiao Lou was sweating when he saw this scene. The way the Luoying Pavilion team handled it might be less humane but it was very sensible and decisive. At present, it was really difficult to bring an infected teammate around. Now they watched their partner being burned to ashes and a few girls couldn't stand it. Some of them secretly wiped their tears and the atmosphere was very depressed.

Captain Xue Ling's face was full of anger. "These disgusting bugs, I really want to burn them all to death!"

Then after realizing that Xiao Lou's group was behind them, Xue Lin took a deep breath and sorted out her emotions without looking back. "Let's go!"

The team of 10 now had only 9 people. Everyone's expressions were ugly as they left. Xiao Lou could sympathize with their feelings. If someone in his team was infected… he couldn't imagine how to deal with it. Just then, Shao Qingge held his nose and sneezed.

His teammates looked back in unison. Ye Qi turned pale and asked in a trembling voice, "Chief Shao, you seem to have coughed several times. A cold is a sign of a parasite infection. Are you okay?"

Shao Qingge explained, "People who have parasites do show signs of a cold but this doesn't mean that people who have a cold must be infected. I encountered a traffic jam and ran in the cold wind all the way to the square. It is normal to get a cold."

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang had seen Shao Qingge running over in a sweaty manner and Xiao Lou was willing to believe Shao Qingge's explanation. Moreover, if Shao Qingge was infected then there were countless opportunities in the supermarket to act. During the time when everyone was focused on dealing with the bugs, they would definitely be unprepared if Shao Qingge suddenly attacked from behind.

However, Shao Qingge didn't do this. He always listened to instructions and helped spray insecticides on the supermarket employees. In addition, as early as when they were in Old Mo's decorating company, Shao Qingge had taken out the ATM machine to withdraw money for everyone… Could a bug know that he had the S-grade card like the ATM Machine?

Thinking of this, Xiao Lou spoke softly, "Don't be suspicious of everyone. The actual battle just now proved that the bugs are afraid of fire. During the time when the bugs were burning, Chief Shao was still spraying insecticides. He shouldn't be parasitized by the bugs."

Yu Hanjiang added calmly, "Yes, Chief Shao also used the ATM machine to withdraw money. If the bugs are so smart that they can use our cards as well as disguise as us, there will be no way to pass this secret room."

Everyone felt it was reasonable and their expressions eased a lot.

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang's trust made Shao Qingge sigh with relief but he wasn't too happy about Ye Qi's suspicion. He looked at Ye Qi and asked with a smile, "If I was really infected, would Xiao Ye burn me to death like the people of Luoying Pavilion?"

He might be smiling but his eyes were extremely sharp and almost stared a hole into Ye Qi's face.

Ye Qi was stunned and replied without hesitation, "How is that possible? Even if you are infected, I won't burn you to death!"

Shao Qingge raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Why?"

Ye replied earnestly, "We have been teammates since 3 of Spades. If you really have an accident, I will definitely find a way to save you. Although the parasites can't be cured at present, perhaps a treatment method can be developed? How can I kill you directly? It isn't just you. I won't want to kill any of my teammates if they are in trouble…"

Shao Qingge's eyes narrowed as he stared at the teenager in front of him. This teenager was so optimistic that he wanted to save his teammate infected with the parasite? Nevertheless, such remarks warmed Shao Qingge's heart. If his long-time partner really gave up on him in such a critical moment then it would be really chilling.

The scene where a member of Luoying Pavilion was burned just now made everyone feel cold. They thought about how they might encounter such an outcome one day and might eventually end up losing trust in their teammates.

Shao Qingge smiled and rubbed Ye Qi's head, warmth filling his voice. "You want to save me? If I am infected then I will definitely bite you first to infect you."

Ye Qi's eyes became wide. "Don't make such a joke!"

Shao Qingge stopped joking and became serious. "Relax, I'm fine. I really just have a cold."

The conversation between Ye Qi and Shao Qingge made their teammates feel complicated. At this juncture of life and death, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't be infected. At this time, the attitude of their teammates was critical. If their teammates killed them without hesitation, they would become cold-hearted. Everyone hoped that they wouldn't be abandoned by their teammates during their most difficult time…

The girl who was burned to death just now might've been parasitized by the bugs but what if there was a bit of consciousness left in her body?

How sad would she be?

Yu Hanjiang spoke calmly. "Xiao Ye's words are correct. Everyone has walked this path and are considered to be partners who live and die together. I won't give up on any teammate. So if you are caught or bitten by an infected person, don't hide it. Report it to me while you still have awareness. I will find a way to help you through your difficulties!"

Group Leader Yu's words eased everyone's worries.

Abandoning teammates? This wasn't Yu Hanjiang's style.

Everyone was a partner who had signed Xiao Lou's contract. They all had reasons to return to the real world and they had been working hard for a common goal. They didn't want to give up on anyone.

After an infected person scratched or bit the skin of a human, it took some time for the bugs to occupy the human body. So while they still had a sense of reason, they should tell their teammates the truth and perhaps they could be saved. The most feared thing after being infected was being killed by their teammates. That's why they refused to speak up while their sense of reason was swallowed and they became the puppet of the bugs…

Yu Hanjiang spoke in a low voice. "Don't forget, the data of the A-grade secret rooms will be reset. As long as you leave the secret room, your status will be cleared immediately even if you are injured. So if someone is infected, you must tell me immediately. We will take precautions in advance to take you through the instance and back to the main city."

Judging from the clues given by his older brother, injuries from the S-grade secret rooms weren't cleared. Tang Ci's legs were injured in J of Clubs and the injury was brought back to the main city. However, the A-grade secret rooms hadn't reached that level of difficulty. Even if a teammate was infected in this secret room, as long as they were controlled, protected and cleared the instance, the status of their teammate would be reset to normal.

Group Leader Yu's words made everyone's eyes shine.

if something went wrong, tell their teammates so their teammates could clear the instance. This perfectly solved the problem of being infected in the 8 of Spades secret room!

Ye Qi was excited. "Group Leader Yu is right. Even if one of us is infected, as long as the other seven doesn't give up on them and take them through the instance, they will be normal after returning to the main city!"

Liu Qiao, Qu Wanyue and the others nodded.

The team from Luoying Pavilion must've been upset by the sudden attack and forgot this key point. This could also be blamed on the infected Lin Ran. She was afraid that her teammates would abandon her and refused to say that she was scratched for so long. Then she suddenly mutated and attacked her teammates, shocking them. If she had told her teammates earlier, her teammates could calm down and think carefully. Then the tragedy wouldn't have happened.

Group Leader Yu had considered it more comprehensively. This man seemed cold but there was a touch of tenderness in his heart.

His words eased the atmosphere of the team a lot. They had just seen the girls from Luoying Pavilion decisively burn their teammate. To be honest, everyone had felt a bit cold and feared they would one day be burned by Yu Hanjiang.

Now everyone heard Yu Hanjiang's words and felt relieved. There was the team even if something happened to them. This undoubtedly gave everyone a sense of confidence and they were even more willing to follow Group Leader Yu's orders.

In this cruel Card World, how rare was it to have such a team?

Xiao Lou once said that since everyone formed a team and wanted to face the challenge of life and death together, they should regard each other as a family that could be trusted. What was the use of only saying nice words? In a critical moment, if they could continue without leaving or giving up then this was a real family.