Chapter 49:

The noisy rescue operation continued until the first rays of dawn.

The good news was that because Kadman City was shrouded in chaotic astral energy, sunlight could not penetrate, allowing proper vampires like the Young Lady to move freely. And last night’s rescue was very successful!

After three consecutive searches, they managed to rescue an astonishing 409 people, more than doubling the number of survivors in the camp.

The bad news was that the simple and easy stage was now over.

The next areas were heavily shrouded in astral shadows, which Murphy’s players called the “monster wild zones”. The concentration of astral shadows lurking there was so dense that it could extinguish torches, making it impossible for ordinary people to enter on a large scale.

Even worse news was that according to the Young Lady’s in-depth reconnaissance, she could confirm that in that area of dense shadows, there were at least 200 life forces in the outskirts alone.

In other words, at least another 200 people were still waiting for rescue from the outside.

So a choice was presented before Murphy.

“Being able to rescue this many people is already enough,” said Miriam, yawning repeatedly after not sleeping all night. She whispered to Murphy, who was looking at the map:

“I just talked to a few of the appointed militia captains. The survivors are extremely grateful for your rescue efforts. Last night, they witnessed firsthand those dangerous astral beasts and shadow entities.

Venturing deeper into the city would be very dangerous. Plus, reports say many people fled into maze-like sewers, making large-scale rescue efforts impossible in this situation.

So they can understand the choice you might make.

A nun even asked me to tell you not to be too hard on yourself.”

“Morale?”

Murphy asked. Miriam nodded vigorously:

“Higher than I ever expected!

I thought this kind of operation would make them more terrified, but in fact, rescuing more of their kin not only didn’t make them uneasy, but actually instilled courage in them and stabilized everyone’s state of mind.

Some young people even volunteered to join the search and rescue team, those who still have family left in the city and are unwilling to give up.”

“This proves that our actions were correct, Miriam. The initial collective identity has been formed. It would be a pity to give up now.”

Murphy glanced at the three marks on the map.

Those were the locations of three family warehouses he had heard about from Tris earlier, perfectly overlapping with the unrescued areas. This immediately gave Murphy an idea.

He said to Miriam:

“Have your militia captains select those with the most resolute fighting spirit and organize them into the ‘Kadman Civilian Self-Defense Force’ under Maxim’s command.

Rest assured, I won’t let them go to their deaths.

I plan to burn through the areas we’ve already searched to completely eliminate any residual astral shadows. I need them to establish a defensive line outside those areas to receive my warriors after their assault operation.

Those people surrounded by monsters are still alive!

We’re going to attempt one final rescue for them.

Explain the purpose and process of this operation to those people. Make sure they understand their duty.

If they retreat before my warriors do, they will be executed as deserters! There is no room for discussion on this point.”

He glanced at the crimson handgun on Miriam’s waist.

The thing didn’t fire last night, but that might not be the case going forward.

“I understand.”

Miriam let out a long breath, saying:

“I know time is precious. I’ll have everything ready within two hours. Let me get some rest first.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Murphy patted Miriam’s shoulder encouragingly, then called Maxim over.

This guy took the lead during last night’s operation. His face was covered in scratches from astral beasts, with cuts on his neck and cheeks. But thanks to his decent combat stats and better armor and weapons, he wasn’t in mortal danger.

“Maxim, I need you to command the ‘Kadman Civilian Self-Defense Force’ that Miriam is organizing and set up a defensive line at the edge of the explored areas.”

The vampire drew a line on the map as he spoke to the weary Maxim:

“You must hold this position until my warriors have finished their assault on the ‘monster wild zones’, and secure any people they rescue behind the defensive line until the operation ends.”

“Understood, my lord.”

Maxim responded with a standard Blood Vulture salute, but then frowned and said:

“I have absolutely no doubt in the will and courage of your warriors, but their strength is still somewhat lacking. And with so few of them, sending them in there is practically a death sentence.”

“Young Lady, Lady Adele, and I will be joining them.”

Murphy waved his hand, saying:

“My warriors are destined for greatness, and they must quickly adapt to this kind of intense combat. I also want to see their limits.

Look, here they come!”

The vampire pointed to the ramshackle shed, where the Meow King and his student gang were getting up.

They were online now, just as Lumina and her group’s game time was about to end, perfect for a shift change.

“Yo Sister Lumina, what are you up to? Where’d these little mud monkeys come from?”

The Meow King came over rubbing his eyes, carrying a halberd. He happened to see the disheveled Lumina playing with a group of children.

The Meow King immediately discussed with the lead student Pigeon:

“We’ll go with Lord Murphy.”

“Why should you?”

Pigeon rolled his eyes, saying:

“Everyone knows you’re trying to farm favor. Plus Niuniu is our strongest combat force right now! No way, unless we swap! You guys go with the Young Lady, we’ll go with Lord Murphy. Isn’t a powerful yet adorable loli with no baggage irresistible?”

“What’s there to fight over?”

Ah Yuen beside them couldn’t help but comment:

“Other than Lady Adele who just joined, the other two are important NPCs whose favor we’ll definitely need to max out eventually. So what’s the rush to hog them now?”

The short Cyborg Snail next to him made a motion of pushing up glasses, even though his character didn’t have any.

Seeing the Meow King and Pigeon bickering, he suggested:

“Why don’t we draw lots? With eleven of us in three groups, one is bound to be shorthanded.”

“You three come with me! The rest report to Femis!”

Just as they were noisily dividing into groups, Murphy directly assigned the Meow King’s trio.

This made the Meow King secretly delighted, thinking his group must have higher favor for Murphy to personally choose them.

But soon they had no time to be happy, because the abominations near Vault 001 were simply overwhelming!

Their numbers and density were at least five times that of the border areas. Amid the complex terrain of the ruins, those rolling black plumes looked like a miniature “monster siege”, endlessly pouring out.

However, these formless entities no longer bothered the players as much as yesterday.

Their skill proficiencies had generally reached proficient levels, and after their initial job changes, their class talents and teamwork allowed them to often take on multiple foes.

As for the dangerous astral beasts, not a single one was found from start to finish.

Murphy guessed this was likely related to the day/night cycle.

Though there was no sunlight in the city now, those astral creatures were still affected by solar spirit energy and unlikely to leave their “nests” during the day.

Under these circumstances, entering the vault was not as perilous as Murphy had imagined.

Of course, this ease applied to Murphy, who had already triggered the Black Iron Trial.

For the small players whose character levels were still only 3-4, facing abominations swarming from all sides put immense pressure on them right from the start.

Meow King roared commands as his two enforcers held up shields, fending off the hordes left and right, while he continuously unleashed spirit blasts, it seemed he was determined to go the caster route.

They held on with great difficulty.

Like a taut spring at risk of snapping at any moment, but Murphy would only step in to help when they could no longer endure, not solely to enjoy the sight of players struggling, but because he had to rapidly harden his small players.

Before departing, he had given the Young Lady and Lady Adele the same instructions, requiring them to properly fulfill an NPC’s basic integrity, not to meddle unless absolutely necessary, and certainly not overly interfere with the players’ actions.

“We have reached the vault location. I need to cast spells to break this seal, a process that cannot be disrupted!”

Murphy said sternly to the three battered players:

“So you must withstand the relentless assault of the abominations.”

Damn!

Sure enough, this escort quest is the most hated type in any online game! But thankfully Murphy is composed enough to not run around screaming and aggro everything.

“We can’t hold out, my lord,” the Meow King wiped sweat from his face.

He realized he had underestimated the difficulty of this game’s early dungeon testing. With their current gear and level, they were completely overwhelmed by this scale of abomination attack.

“Pah”

Three bags landed before them, as the vampire told the small players:

“I’ve been watching your performance. You have now qualified to become Blood Vulture recruits. I’ve brought you better armor that will help you endure longer in this dangerous place.

When you can no longer hold out, break out. Maxim and his ‘Kadman Civilian Self-Defense Force’ will receive you.”

Hearing this, the three players immediately perked up, opening the bags to find a full masterwork recruit armor set, instantly delighted.

Their battered leather scraps had been torn to shreds in the constant fighting. This better gear with various minor enhancements would effectively boost their combat ability.

“Persevere, warriors,” Murphy said as he entered the vault passage, addressing the trio behind him:

“The longer you hold out, the more supplies I can obtain from the vault, and the smoother our endeavor will go.”

But what he really thought was:

The player stress test has officially begun!

Weren’t you always clamoring to raid dungeons?

Well, here’s your dungeon, this time you’ll raid until you puke.

Also, you three have been posting lewd jokes about Tris and me on the forums and writing dirty stories, right? Sure, the story was quite thrilling and well-written, but that’s beside the point!

Lord Murphy can really hold a grudge!

So learn to enjoy the coming battle, little ones.