The Backup

Neither Cheng Shuili nor Qi Wanyi had time to react; they were caught completely off guard.

Zhang Yueying, however, knew clearly that he could not escape. Instead of using his final moments to fire a few more shots at the monster, he turned abruptly!

He turned his back to the monster and aimed his muzzle directly at Cheng Shuili.

What was he doing...

He wanted to take someone down with him before he died!

Cheng Shuili's pupils constricted sharply. Time seemed to stretch infinitely, and her body instinctively hunched over, trying to dodge the line of fire!

The god of luck was still looking out for her. A second before Zhang Yueying pulled the trigger, the Forms of the Blooming Skeleton tore through his chest.

The hand holding the pistol went limp and dropped, the sound of metal hitting the asphalt ringing out sharply.

He didn't even leave behind a single scream.

Zhang Yueying was dead.

If he hadn't died, Cheng Shuili would have been the one to die.

After the Forms of the Blooming Skeleton killed Zhang Yueying, it didn't even spare Cheng Shuili or Qi Wanyi a glance. Dragging its trembling body, it retreated back into the service area.

Cheng Shuili was genuinely stunned for a good while. It wasn't until Qi Wanyi checked her from head to toe, confirming that her boss was unharmed, and gently patted her face, that Cheng Shuili finally snapped back to reality.

"Boss? Did you get scared silly?"

Qi Wanyi was genuinely worried; the question carried no mockery, stemming entirely from her concern for Cheng Shuili.

Cheng Shuili, however, suddenly grabbed her arm, her eyes shining. "We can get out!"

Qi Wanyi: "??"

I'm over here worrying about you, and you were spacing out to think about the dungeon mechanics?

And you actually figured it out?

Qi Wanyi was speechless. She regretted worrying about Cheng Shuili earlier and felt annoyed at herself for underestimating her boss.

She was truly a fool for actually thinking her boss had been scared silly.

Cheng Shuili was still very happy. The monsters would chase them out of the service area once they were attacked.

This meant they could single out these monsters and fight them one-on-one! The advantage of this was obvious; they would never again fall into the trap of being surrounded!

As long as they could take down every elite monster one by one, the road to the destination would be a smooth path!

As for the slimes that kept spawning...

Those things were just mascots.

Cheng Shuili had long since grown familiar with them. Other than suddenly latching onto a player's face when they opened a crate, they didn't have a single combat skill!

They didn't even have basic skills like the acid-spitting slime often found in novels!

Cheng Shuili explained her reasoning to Qi Wanyi clearly and concisely.

Qi Wanyi finally understood what Cheng Shuili was so happy about. She had been worried too, but because Cheng Shuili hadn't shown any concern, she had assumed her boss had the situation under control.

Who would have thought...

Seeing Cheng Shuili's smiling face now, Qi Wanyi couldn't help but giggle along with her.

There was no time to lose; even the best plan needed to be tested.

The most important question was who would act as the bait to draw aggro.

Cheng Shuili's method was simple: look at agility stats. Whoever had the highest would draw the aggro.

Being fast was quite useful in moments like these.

Cheng Shuili's stats were naturally far ahead.

"I'll go first."

Cheng Shuili spoke with certainty, leaving Qi Wanyi with no room to object. The two intended to start immediately, but after Cheng Shuili picked up the pistol, their focus shifted entirely to the weapon.

One was a programmer and the other a cook; neither knew anything about firearms, let alone the model of this pistol.

Cheng Shuili removed the magazine and checked it; it was empty.

This was perhaps a hint that the pistols obtained in the dungeon only came with one bullet. Of course, the sample size was too small for Cheng Shuili to be certain.

In front of Qi Wanyi, Cheng Shuili pulled a few bullets from the Abyss Ring. Many firearms used the same type of ammunition.

Cheng Shuili tried loading them.

They were quite lucky.

The bullets fit perfectly, looking just like the standard ammunition for the pistol.

Qi Wanyi's attention was no longer on the pistol. She stared at Cheng Shuili's hands for a long time, unable to figure out where she had pulled the bullets from.

And the prepared meals!

She had been too busy grieving for Wang Lu at the time, but now she remembered that too.

Qi Wanyi was just plain curious now.

Who wouldn't be?

But she hesitated to ask. After all, everyone had their own secrets and might not like being pried into.

If Cheng Shuili didn't want to talk about it, her asking rashly would only damage the deep bond between the boss and her subordinate.

Cheng Shuili wasn't aware of Qi Wanyi's complex internal struggle; she used these things in front of her precisely because she trusted her completely.

After fiddling with the pistol for a moment, she placed it in Qi Wanyi's hand.

This was the team's cook, arguably the most important soul of the group besides Cheng Shuili herself.

Selfishly speaking, the person Cheng Shuili least wanted to see get hurt was Qi Wanyi.

"Take it for protection," she said earnestly. "The gun might not be very effective against monsters, but for killing people, it is absolutely the most efficient tool."

Qi Wanyi nodded, subconsciously taking the item. Only when her fingers touched the cold metal did she realize what a powerful weapon Cheng Shuili had given her!

This was a pistol!

A firearm!

In an era where people were still fighting with daggers, the value of this item was self-evident, right?

Her boss didn't even have one herself, yet she was willing to give it to her...

Qi Wanyi sniffled, her vision blurring with emotion.

But right now, the mission came first.

Qi Wanyi returned the pistol to Cheng Shuili and pointed at the weakest-looking monster. "Boss, you go ahead and draw one out to test it."

Cheng Shuili blinked. She had given the weapon to Qi Wanyi because she wanted to try out her own rifle.

After all, she hadn't fired a single shot since she got it.

She couldn't wait until she really needed it to practice; at that point, she'd only be able to swing the rifle like an iron rod.

But since Qi Wanyi had returned the pistol, she would just hold onto it for now.

Qi Wanyi drew the dagger from Cheng Shuili's waist and spun it in a graceful arc with her fingertips. "I'm ready."

Quite a show-off.

Cheng Shuili nodded. The two retreated in silence to a safe distance, and suddenly, a pitch-black rifle appeared in her hands, looking over a dozen times more high-end than the small pistol!

Seeing this, Qi Wanyi: "..."

Her boss's wealth was beyond her understanding. She would never try to guess again.

Cheng Shuili fumbled for a moment before pulling the trigger, firing the first shot of her life.

The gunshot exploded across the empty road. Cheng Shuili felt a sharp pain in her shoulder from the recoil, but her eyes were startlingly bright.

Bullseye!

The bullet struck one of the Forms of the Blooming Skeleton with precision. The monster's twisted body shuddered violently, and then it decisively lunged out of the service area, eyes locked onto Cheng Shuili, its hip bones grinding against the ground!