Toxic Mist

“Correspondingly, as a member of Black Feather, you will receive protection, share all the monster strategies and world intelligence we have collected, gain access to all facilities built by the faction in the future, and receive support from your companions whenever needed.”

“We are a whole.”

Regardless of how the newcomers feel, these core members must possess a collective consciousness.

If they were all to fight for themselves and only look out for their own interests, then those who joined later would be even worse.

The attitude at the top dictates the culture below; the same applies here.

After these concluding remarks, the first meeting of Black Feather was officially adjourned.

Since construction on the territory had not yet begun, everyone returned to their own vehicles to rest. After the others had left, only Cheng Shuili and Su Rui remained in the territory.

Along with those few who could not leave.

Cheng Shuili did not rise from her chair. She tapped the table, contemplating the tasks ahead.

She had originally told Glory to come up with a recruitment plan by eight o'clock, but the meeting had dragged on until nine, so that task naturally had to be postponed.

Rather than playing the hands-off leader, Cheng Shuili preferred to be personally involved in the selection process.

She didn't need many recruits, but the first batch had to be the absolute elite among elites!

Glory could handle the preliminary screening, but the final selection would be made by Cheng Shuili herself. This group would form the foundational backbone of Black Feather, so they had to be chosen with the utmost caution.

As Cheng Shuili pondered, she looked up inadvertently and saw the flickering lights among the fields.

The fire lizards served as streetlights at night, making the entire manor look brightly illuminated.

Cheng Shuili stared at the lights for a while. The more she looked, the more she felt that bringing this nest of little creatures in had been a wise choice.

A notification sound suddenly rang out. Cheng Shuili paused and opened the chat page to check the message. After scanning through it and finding no sign of who had sent it, she subconsciously opened the channel page, only then realizing it was a message in the territory channel.

【Qingshan Trek】: What is next week’s disaster? Boss! @Angry Crow Takes Flight, did you forget to tell us?

Cheng Shuili paused. How could she have forgotten to tell Glory and the others?

She had forgotten to use the Gift of the Great God of Prophecy! Now, the refresh time for the item had been pushed back to Saturday.

There was still one day of preparation time, so there was no need to worry.

Cheng Shuili fished the special item out from the Abyss Ring. After a burst of brilliant special effects, a panel popped up in front of her.

【Next disaster type: Toxic Mist】

Toxic Mist?

How could these disasters be getting stranger one after another?

As for how to defend against this kind of disaster, she would have to wait for the system's hints tomorrow...

Cheng Shuili posted the results in the territory channel, and the group discussed it for a while.

【Qingshan Trek】: Based on the literal meaning, this disaster type should be similar to smog, just much more severe. The mist itself in this disaster is toxic.

【Wanyi】: Will they distribute gas masks tomorrow?

【Xinxue Chu Ji】: If they don't, how is anyone supposed to survive! What kind of disaster is this? They’re getting more and more abominable! I’m actually starting to miss the Extreme Cold.

【Liang Shanbo vs. Pig】: Are you having a Stockholm syndrome moment?

Jiang Tang was clearly out to make fun of Xinxue, but Xinxue did not back down: “Little Piggy, you’re the one studying medicine; have you already forgotten the technical term?”

Cheng Shuili shook her head; Xinxue still had the upper hand.

Gas masks should be distributed... but like the lizard skin from last time, it would only protect the individual. She would have to get Xinxue to collect a batch.

As for the vehicles...

Cheng Shuili paused, suddenly realizing she was overthinking things.

Vehicles obviously didn't need protection!

Could toxic mist poison a vehicle to death?

Vehicles weren't alive to begin with.

Cheng Shuili curled her lips, suddenly remembering the blueprints Zhu Xuan had traded to her back then. Among them was an Emergency Oxygen Circulation Device Blueprint; if the vehicle were in a sealed state, this would definitely come in handy.

Cheng Shuili didn't rush to craft it, but instead asked one more question in the territory channel.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: What happened with Zhu Xuan?

This was clearly directed at Glory and Chen Qingshan.

But Glory had no idea.

After leaving the organization, he had completely severed all contact with those people. The friends he had made when he first joined, the superiors who appreciated him, even some of the colleagues he had been close to...

Few of them were still alive today.

With those people gone and his own position being awkward, the connections had naturally faded away after he left.

Chen Qingshan, however...

His uncles were still the ones holding the power in the organization. Although he had left, they were his father's old friends, so there were naturally occasional greetings and shows of concern.

Moreover, since Zhu Xuan’s accident was so unexpected, the organization had naturally contacted him immediately to ask if he wanted to return.

The fact that Chen Qingshan was still here was entirely his own choice.

He organized his thoughts and answered Cheng Shuili’s question in the territory channel: “This was a team dungeon. Zhu Xuan went in as the team leader with nine others, and no one came out alive.”

So he had died in a dungeon.

Cheng Shuili fell silent. She had originally thought there might be something unique about the end of such an organization leader.

She hadn't expected it to be so... ordinary.

Yes, just ordinary.

This kind of death was no different from that of millions of other ordinary players.

No conspiracies, no calculations; he had simply passed away plainly in a dangerous dungeon.

Looking at it this way... the system was absolutely fair in some respects.

Cheng Shuili shook her head. She had almost capsized in the gutter herself this time, so it wasn't surprising that Zhu Xuan had died.

She asked one more thing: “What is the current situation in the organization?”

This was asking for internal intelligence, but Chen Qingshan had already decided to follow the Crow, so he naturally wouldn't hide anything from his boss.

Besides, those old men were all over fifty; which one of them wasn't shrewder than he was?

What kind of important information could he possibly have that they didn't?

Holding this thought, Chen Qingshan gave Cheng Shuili a straightforward account of the situation.

【Qingshan Trek】: It’s a mess. Once Zhu Xuan was gone, the factions he had been suppressing immediately jumped out. Some want to shrink back and protect themselves, some want to expand aggressively, and others just want to break up and go their separate ways... they’re arguing endlessly. For now, the most senior uncle is in charge, but he can't keep everyone in line. Plus, with the Lord’s Token now in play, hearts are even more restless, and no one in the organization has actually obtained a Lord’s Token. Some advocate buying one, while others advocate merging into other factions. In short... it’s a pile of loose sand.

Chen Qingshan’s description confirmed the rumors previously circulating in the regional channel.

Cheng Shuili looked at the text on the channel, her fingers tapping unconsciously on the tabletop.

The chaos and decline of an official organization were certainly not good news, especially after having been assassinated by people from other countries in the dungeon.