CHAPTER 1151: SECTION 710: SURVIVAL (PART 1)

Zhang Minghe felt really unlucky. As an adventurer in the Dark Zone for twenty years, he changed teams three times. The first team he was with for three years; that year, he broke his leg. As a result, he left the team to recuperate for two months, and the captain, who had introduced him to the business, led the team deep into the Dark Zone, where they encountered the black tide, and the whole team vanished silently in the Dark Zone.

Once his leg healed, Zhang Minghe couldn’t find any work. He served for four years in the army as a scout. After retiring alive, he was hired at a high salary into a second team as a scout. To be honest, Zhang Minghe considered himself a professional in the reconnaissance field, serving with the second team for eleven years. He helped the team escape at least nineteen life-and-death crises. Even when with other teams, during the team’s rest, he could pull the team out of the black tide.

This time, Zhang Minghe’s luck ran out. On the way home, he slipped on flat ground and broke his leg again.

During the three-month rest period, another old scout in the team claimed that the things Minghe could do, he could also do. So, he led the team into the Dark Zone... and nothing followed. After his leg healed, Zhang Minghe spent another three months retrieving the remains of the entire team from the Dark Zone and returning them to their families.

Because of this noble act, Zhang Minghe truly gained his fame among the adventurers in New Hangzhou—who wouldn’t want their team’s scout to be an old hand, upright, and even if the whole team perished, as long as he was unharmed, he could still bring back his teammates’ remains.

Therefore, the third time he joined a team, Zhang Minghe was invited by a wealthy man surnamed Li from New Hangzhou to guide this third team. The team was new, and there were more women than men, but clearly, in the adventurer’s life, hanging one’s head from a belt, gender distinctions meant nothing.

In fact, everyone in the team had considerable strength. Although they were novices, when the scout disappeared, they listened to the old captain’s suggestion to consider the Half-blood Elf dead and choose to retreat—if it were another female-majority rookie team, they might have obstinately gone to find him—for one person, it’s foolish for a whole team to die, isn’t it?

Kicked from behind by Chaos, Zhang Minghe turned to glance at the Chaos warrior behind him. How on earth did these damned Chaos manage to sneak in here? This Dark Zone was supposed to be a semi-safe zone, as the entire topography of the Dark Zone had been completely mapped, with dangerous and safe areas clearly marked.

Because of this, when Master Sage said there were zombies here that listened to people, also called Awakeners, the team came to see if it was true—after all, in the adventurer community, danger and opportunity coexist. When the team discovered there were Awakeners indeed, they not only didn’t attack but also had a little guy coming out to negotiate with them.

Looking back on it, danger and opportunity indeed coexist.

Thinking of this, Zhang Minghe saw the Half-blood Elf—he should have been dead, just not knowing which despicable soul forcibly occupied his body. Because of this, these Chaos had no clue about the situation here; otherwise, Zhang Minghe thought he wouldn’t have survived.

These Chaos were likely followers of Shafu... These cunning guys, at first glance, seemed indistinguishable from followers of Shafu, but with close observation, one could confirm their differences. These guys were definitely not followers of Shafu, as evidenced by Zhang Minghe playing around with food.

It was a very delicious cake, a craft before the Great Destruction. As powerful as Zhang Minghe was, he could only get one piece a week from that rich man.

This piece was originally his to savor, but in this test, Zhang Minghe ate this cake in front of all the Chaos, and none of the Chaos showed any desire to snatch it.

Remaining unmoved by delicacies was not a quality a follower of Shafu should possess.

Zhang Minghe couldn’t understand their language; with an iron ring locked around his neck, he was merely a captive now, which led Zhang Minghe to think about how to save himself—if he returned to the Chaos camp, they would have all the time to peel his skin, pick his bones and forcibly extract everything about New Hangzhou, and that was unacceptable.

Zhang Minghe was not married, but from the previous two teams, he had many comrades whose children were like his own.

He could never reveal anything about New Hangzhou to these Chaos, as it would certainly harm the entire city. As the most destitute child of the Zhang family, Zhang Minghe may have lost his family’s favor, but those years as a soldier, and these years as an adventurer, saw many peers dying in front of him, and their sacrifices and smiles lived in his heart.

So... Zhang Minghe was definitely not a coward, nor a human traitor who would betray his people. No one could force Zhang Minghe to betray, even if an axe blade pressed against him.

So, it was either death or escape.

And the problem was, he had a lock pick, hidden under the faux skin on his left pinky, but the lock was at the back of his neck.

Thinking about picking a lock while surrounded by an entire Chaos team, Zhang Minghe felt there couldn’t be a dumber plan in the world—getting a beating would be the least of his worries. If the Chaos felt this human’s two hands were troublesome, they might chop them off, and that would be the end.