Card Room

Seeing the bugs downstairs dispersing like a low tide, Gao Xiaoyi and the others couldn't believe it. What was going on? How could the bugs suddenly listen to this man? People looked suspiciously at Shao Qingge. Their faces were guarded like they had seen a big boss.

Xiao Lou saw their expressions and comforted them. "Don't be afraid. My teammate was previously infected by the bugs but he suppressed the bug with his own will and gained control of his body. In fact, we all fell into a misunderstanding at the beginning. The humans infected by the bugs don't die immediately, they might even assimilate with the bugs."

The captain of the Luoying Pavilion team heard this and her face changed sharply. "What did you say? Being infected doesn't mean death?"

She clearly remembered the supermarket and the teammate who had been burned to death by them after being infected.

Xiao Lou looked at her regretfully. "Yes, my teammate's name didn't disappear from the contract book after being infected. This allowed us to know that being infected isn't the same as dying. As long as the human consciousness is strong enough, it can defeat the bugs and regain consciousness."

The girls of Luoying Pavilion looked at each other.

A short-haired girl had a pale face and let out choked sobs. "So Ranran wasn't dead at the time. We burned her to death with our own hands…" She clenched her fists tightly and her body was trembling.

Captain Xue Lin took a deep breath. "Blame me for this matter. I was too arbitrary."

The girl next to her patted her on the shoulder. "Sister Lin, it isn't your fault. The situation was critical at the time and the bug was obviously using Ranran's body to attack us frantically. We couldn't do anything with her…"

The group of girls lowered their heads and there was a trace of grief in their expressions.

Gao Xiaoyi hadn't witnessed the scene of their teammate being burned to death but she could roughly guess from their conversation. She told them gently, "Our team also had a girl who rushed into a sea of fire because she was infected… these bugs are too hateful."

Xue Lin's face was white. "The bugs are hateful but we weren't careful enough. If I had looked at the contract and found that Lin Ran's name hadn't been erased, I would've known she was still alive and wouldn't have killed her."

It was a pity. Both their teams had lost teammates in this secret room but they couldn't change the result. This would probably be an eternal regret in their hearts.

Gao Xiaoyi calmed down and looked at Xiao Lou. "The gentleman on your team has assimilated the bugs and killed the queen just now. These bugs listened to him. Has he upgraded to the leader of the bugs?"

Shao Qingge's low voice entered their ears. "Yes, I am the bug king now."

No one had noticed when he came behind them. Shao Qingge had been promoted to a level 10 bug and his jumping ability had improved again. He moved like the wind and was as light as a feather when landing. He hardly made any sound. If he suddenly attacked he would've killed them all already.

This terrifying ability made Gao Xiaoyi pale. "You… what do you want to do?"

Shao Qingge smiled at them and didn't say anything. They were so nervous that they pulled out their cards to prepare for battle. Then he told them, "Don't be afraid. I won't do anything to you. I'll take everyone to pass the instance."

Xiao Lou came over. "There are still two and a half days left. You can rest assured that the other bugs don't dare act rashly since there is a leader. As long as we don't take the initiative to look for them, we can pass this secret room."

Shao Qingge told them, "Yes, I sent the signal that they can freely move around the west of the city. The east side of the city will be safe."

The other teams' challengers were relieved after hearing the explanation.

Gao Xiaoyi spoke solemnly, "Thank you."

The captain of Luoying Pavilion walked over. "Thank you this time. If we can pass the instance smoothly then I will invite you to dinner back in the main city. By the way, can you tell me your names?"

Xiao Lou didn't tell her and instead smiled apologetically. "I have received your good intentions but we will be busy clearing the following secret rooms. We will have no time for dinner after returning to the main city. Let's talk about it later if we have a chance."

Xue Lin heard the meaning of his words and stopped asking further. Everyone met and there was no need to have too many entanglements. It wasn't certain if they would meet after leaving the secret room.

Gao Xiaoyi's team and the Luoying Pavilion team said goodbye to each other and turned to leave. The eight people in Xiao Lou's team remained on top of the building and waited for the instance clearance. They were protected by Chief Shao and didn't need to worry about the bugs coming back to make trouble. Finally, they could sleep at ease.

Shao Qingge possessed the bug's abilities and was very energetic over the next few days. He flew around the community every day. At first, his teammates were shocked to see him flying around. Later, they got used to it. They would be calm even if he suddenly appeared behind them.

After leaving the secret room, the data would be cleared and the abilities gained in the secret room would naturally be removed. Everyone felt very sorry. What if Chief Shao's ability could be brought out?

In the early morning of the 14th day, a prompt appeared in the floating box in everyone's vision.

[8 of Spades Doomsday Escape, the 14th day, 00:00 in the morning]

[Number of challengers remaining: 120]

[Congratulations to Xiao Lou's team for perfectly clearing 8 of Spades. The instance clearance score is S and you will leave the secret room in five minutes…]

Looking at the countdown in the floating box, Shao Qingge lamented, “I have only been the bug king for three days and the ability is about to disappear. It’s unbearable. Can I buy it out for 5 million gold coins?”

Ye Qi smiled. “Maybe you can draw a related card. Didn’t Professor Xiao draw the zombie leader Liu Xiaoyuan in 2 of Spades? Group Leader Yu, do you think that a bug queen can be drawn this time from the treasure chest?”

Shao Qingge looked disgusted. "I don't want to draw the bug queen. Xu Rongrong isn't as cute as Liu Xiaoyuan. I just want the bug's abilities."

Xiao Lou joked, "All you can do is wash your hands and hope to draw a few good cards."

Shao Qingge really took out a bottle of water to wash his hands.

Everyone, "……"

It seemed that Chief Shao was serious this time!

Yu Hanjiang simply ordered, "Let's go back."

At the same time, everyone pressed the 'leave the secret room' option in the floating box. There was the familiar sound of the helicopter propeller. The cool Ace of Spades had piloted the helicopter to pick them up again.

Everyone lined up and got in. The helicopter took off and the pitch-black city outside the window was soon left behind. Everyone returned to their familiar personal spaces. On the Card Wall, it could be seen that 8 of Spades in the lower right corner had the green 'cleared' word on it and it was rated S.

A of Spades wore sunglasses and spoke lightly, "You performed well. You are the first group to get a S-grade clearance score."

Ye Qi wondered, "Didn't any other team think of killing the queen?"

"They thought about it but it isn't that easy to kill the queen." The eyes behind the sunglasses swept over Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang and Shao Qingge before continuing in an emotionless robotic voice. "This time, 30 teams were matched up in 8 of Spades. After a teammate is infected, most teams will choose to give them up. The crueler ones will directly kill their teammates so as to avoid danger. There are very few people like you who will take the risk to bring the infected with them."

Apart from Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou not wanting to give up on any teammates, the reason they dared to bring the infected Chief Shao with them was because they had the confidence to bring their teammate through the secret room.

Shao Qingge smiled. "Everyone didn't give up on me. In the end, I paid them back by killing the queen."

A of Spades nodded appreciatively. "In this secret room, there have been no more than 10 challengers who could assimilate the bugs after being infected. In addition, only Shao Qingge directly killed the queen. Therefore, I have an out-of-print limited card as a reward for you."

A of Spades gently raised his right hand and a card flew directly in front of Shao Qingge. Shao Qingge took the card and turned it over to take a closer look.

[Special Effects Card: Bug King]

Rarity: S

Description: The out-of-print reward card that can only be obtained after killing the queen of bugs in 8 of Spades and becoming the leader of the bugs.

Restrictions: Can only be used in the Spades and Clubs secret rooms. It can only be used once in each secret room.

Effect: After use, immediately transform into a level 10 bug king, gaining all the abilities of the highest level bug. The transformation lasts for 24 hours. At the end, the card will become unusable and will be refreshed in the next second room.

During the transformation, the jumping, climbing and regenerative abilities are the same as the bug king. Hard armour will appear under the skin, making you invulnerable. The weakness is still the fear of fire. Except for the risk of being burned to death, you will have a powerful 'immortal body' during the transformation period.

Additional Skill 1: Summoning

The bug king will send out a summoning signal and summon four high level bugs to assist in combat.

Additional Skill 2: Repair

The bug king will release parasitic bugs from the body, allowing the bugs to repair the wound of the specified target. The repair time is one minute. During the repair, the target will be anesthetized by the neurotoxin released by the bugs and feel no pain.

Every time a wound is repaired, 10% of the bugs in the bug king's body is lost. Therefore, the abilities of the bug king will be reduced by 10%.

If you want to repair a teammate's severed limb, it will take one hour and 50% of the bugs will be lost. Your own ability will be halved. Please use it cautiously.

Ye Qi saw the description of this card and couldn't help being excited. "In this way, Chief Shao can become the bug king at any time in the future? Although it can only be used once in a secret room, the transformation time is up to 24 hours. If he encounters danger then Chief Shao can directly become the bug king and won't be killed. He can also help us repair wounds! This is a good card for both fighting and healing!"

Old Mo laughed. "Yes, with this card, Chief Shao no longer has to lie down to win."

Qu Wanyue, Liu Qiao and the others were also very happy for Chief Shao. However, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang glanced at each other. They both had noticed one description on the card at the same time.

Repair severed limbs!

The director of the Intelligence Bureau, Tang Ci, was eliminated in J of Clubs and suffered hardships after entering the Nightmare Room. Unfortunately, his legs were disabled and the S-grade secret rooms didn't clear the body's data. His injuries were brought back to the main city.

He has been sitting in a wheelchair since returning to the main city. Although he relied on his powerful abilities to make mechanical cards and healing robots, his legs couldn't be cured. In the future, everyone would form a team to go to the high level secret rooms. Tang Ci's legs were inconvenient when moving and everyone would be distracted taking care of him. If he could stand up then his abilities would definitely be stronger.

Xiao Lou spoke to Yu Hanjiang, "Can Chief Shao's card be used to cure Mr Tang's legs?"

Yu Hanjiang nodded. "The bugs have the ability to regenerate. The regeneration of a severed limb can be applied to teammates. According to the card's description, Shao Qingge has to turn into the bug king and then he can repair the severed limb as long as he releases half the parasites in his body. We just need to cure Tang Ci in an S-grade secret room and he can return to the main city in a healthy state."

Injuries in S-grade secret rooms would be brought out. Similarly, if the body was healed with a treatment card in the S-grade secret rooms then it would be brought back into the main city instead of being cleared.

Xiao Lou was happier the more he thought about it. "This trip to the secret room was really worth it. Not only has Chief Shao's ability been greatly strengthened but Mr Tang's legs can also be healed. After returning, we have to tell the good news to Brother Jiu!"

The skills of the bug king would be reset after every secret room. For example, Chief Shao cured Tang Ci in J of Spades. Then after going to J of Clubs, his bug king's abilities would be restored to their full state and Tang Ci's legs would also be healed.

The bug king card was equivalent to giving the entire team a guarantee of life! In the future, as long as they weren't burned to death, it didn't matter if someone lacked arms, legs or suffered from serious injuries—there was always Chief Shao and the hope of healing.

Shao Qingge didn't know Tang Ci but was very satisfied with this bonus card. He carefully put it away and smiled at A of Spades. "Thank you, Mr Spades. Does anyone else have any rewards? We cleared 8 of Spades right? Everyone should have a share of the reward for their cooperation."

A of Spades replied lightly, "The others also have rewards. Please check your card pack."

Everyone hurriedly looked in their own card pack and found an additional A-grade card.

[Tool Card: Transform into a Bug]

Rarity: A

Description: Limited reward for clearing the Doomsday Escape secret room.

Effect: Instantly become a high level bug for two hours.

The bugs might look a bit disgusting but it can be beneficial to transform into one at critical moments, such as when escaping. Climb quickly, run fast, jump high and scale a 100 storey building without an elevator.

Everyone, "……"

They didn't want to be bugs. However, Shao Qingge had become the king of the bugs. If it was really a matter of life and death then it wasn't impossible to temporarily change into a bug to run away.

Ye Qi accepted the card. "Isn't it okay to transform for 2 hours? It is worthy of being an A-grade card, it can save us a lot of displacement skills. We can directly become a high level bug and we can jump and climb by ourselves."

Everyone felt that the prize given was better than the lantern card from the Diamonds secret room. Of course, everyone was only in the Diamonds room for a short time and cleared it easily. They had worked so hard for so long in the Spades secret room. It was normal to have better rewards.

Xiao Lou asked, "Is there a draw?"

A of Spades told them, "Since Shao Qingge was given a limited reward, there is only one chest this time. Who will draw?"

Yu Hanjiang simply said, "Chief Shao will go. We have already said so."

Shao Qingge had washed his hands and had been waiting to draw a card. Hearing this, he was no longer polite. He stepped forward and reached into the treasure chest.

[Tool Card: Thousand Gold Coin Throw]

Rarity: S

Description: After a perfect clearance and when there is an S score, there is a low probability of obtaining it from the limited card pool.

Effect: The strength of this card is related to the amount of money you take out.

Throwing a 1000 gold coin at a target isn't painful or itchy.

Throwing a 10,000 gold coin at a target can stun a single target for 1 second.

Throwing a 100,000 gold coin at a target can stun a single target for 3 seconds.

If you throw 1 million gold coins in one go, all hostile targets in the area will be blinded by the gold coins and will be stunned for 5 seconds. The group will also slow down by 50%.

His teammates, "……"

He washed his hands yet still drew this type of card.

Shao Qingge held the card with a smile. "Compared with the Rich and Willful that requires 5 million gold coins to copy, this Thousand Gold Coin Throw seems a bit cheaper? Converting to yuan, a single control skill is 100 to 1000 yuan and the group control is 10,000 yuan?"

This sounded very painful.

Ye Qi couldn't help complaining. "Chief Shao, you shouldn't use this skill unless everyone's cards are useless. I will feel distressed if I see you using the skill."

This skill was throwing out money! Of course, the benefit of this card was self-evident. There were no limits.

Shao Qingge smiled and put away the card. "This card can be used with my ATM Machine. I can withdraw money and use gold coins to smash people. I must earn more gold coins."

A of Spades inquired, "Do you want to go to 8 of Clubs or go back to the main city first?"

Shao Qingge glanced at Xiao Lou. "Professor Xiao, what do you think?"

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang conferred in their minds and then Xiao Lou replied, "Go back to the main city to rest for a day."

After all, everyone had stayed in 8 of Spades for 14 days. They fought against the bugs using wits and bravery and looked for bases everywhere. There were many battles and they were very tired. At present, they didn't know what form 8 of Clubs would take. They would rest for a day before going again.

Everyone agreed with Xiao Lou's decision to return to the main city.

Proofreader: FictionalReality