The King of Black Fog

The leaves rustled, swirling in the air and forming words.

[Game Over]

[Current Arena Surviving Lives: 8]

[Contestants, please head to the station for settlement. The return bus departs in no more than half an hour]

The three climbed up from the underbrush and branches, picked up the camouflaged man's AK-47 and dagger, and walked towards the seaside platform.

"Stay on alert," Yang Qinglan said without relaxing his expression. "Although it's unlikely,, there might still be humans... or creatures that take advantage of the game's end to attack others."

"Understood."

Now leading the way was Li Qianxia.

Li Changzhou, carrying the sniper rifle and holding the AK, was arranged to be at the very back due to his increased attack capability by Yang Qinglan.

Yang Qinglan was in the middle, so she could support the front with "Attract And Repel" and also take care of the rear.

Her Instinct required intense concentration; while using it,, she was almost unable to do anything else, hence she did not carry a gun but took the dagger from the camouflaged outfit as a precaution.

Fortunately, no incidents occurred, and the three made it back to the station safely.

Upon entering within a 5-meter radius of the signpost, Yang Qinglan and Li Qianxia completely relaxed, and Li Changzhou knew they were safe.

"We got lucky this time, didn't encounter any plants or animals," Li Qianxia said happily.

"You call that luck? One with a sniper rifle, one with an AK," Li Changzhou remarked.

"Big bro, you don't know. Last time, Qing Lan and I encountered a mosquito that was fast and could heal by sucking blood and could fly. Qing Lan's Instinct was almost useless against it,, and we almost died!"

Li Changzhou frowned, "You should have told me about it after you finished your first mission."

Li Qianxia, feeling embarrassed, clung to her brother's arm, "I was just concerned about big brother~ I didn't want you to take risks~"

"Disgusting, isn't it? Scram!"

"Li Changzhou,, are you rebelling?"

After arriving at the signpost, Yang Qinglan went up to settle first, and Li Changzhou took the opportunity to check the camouflaged man's "Identity Card".

[Nickname: It's Your Daddy Yeah]

[Name: Ding Xiang]

[Value: 0]

[Instinct: Taste Enhancement]

[Skills: "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned"]

Taste Enhancement... becoming a gourmet might have some prospects.

Li Changzhou watched the human-shaped black fog vigilantly, afraid it would thoughtlessly give him this ability as well.

After Yang Qinglan finished her settlement, Li Qianxia stepped forward, followed by Li Changzhou at last.

"Keep the Value Coins. We'll discuss before buying anything," Yang Qinglan reminded him.

"Okay," Li Changzhou nodded.

He showed the ghille suit and camouflaged man's "Identity Cards", which disintegrated into dots of light in his palm and were absorbed into the signpost.

The signpost flared up with clusters of blue flames,, and lines of text appeared.

[Li Changzhou's Settlement Report]

[Survived, Rating +1]

[Assisted by others, killed lives 'Yellow-Robed Ascension' and 'It's Your Daddy Yeah', Rating +1]

[Commanded to evade Iron Arrow Tree ambush, Rating +1]

[...]

"Hm?" Li Changzhou furrowed his brow slightly.

The flames can also write ellipses?

[Li Changzhou's Settlement Report 2]

[Killed 2 strugglers, Rating +2]

[Detected special privileges, Ratings doubled, Rating +4]

[Summary: Li Changzhou's Rating +7, Final Rating: 'S']

[Earned full purchase rights for this arena match (Rights already maxed,, two Identity Cards converted to 20 Value Coins for refund)]

[Gaining 100 Value Points... Detection of two Identity Cards, please allocate——]

[Gaining 220 Money Coins... Detection of two Identity Cards, please allocate——]

[Bus Tickets *3, Subway Ticket *1]

Li Changzhou first checked his own black "Identity Card", which was the card he shared the 'Twins' Instinct with Li Qianxia.

[Value: 1 (37/100)](Twins)

Before it was (26/100), now it's (37/100), which means Li Qianxia only gained 11 points this time.

Based on this information, allocating 22 points to the black "Identity Card" would not raise suspicions.

But.

(Allocate—— Black: 63 points; White: 37 points)

"Wow!" Just after Li Changzhou finished allocating the value points, Li Qianxia let out an exclamation.

It seemed relying on her sister to keep a secret was out of the question.

"What's wrong?" Yang Qinglan asked Li Qianxia curiously.

"My value's at 2 now! Big bro, that's awesome!"

"Don't use foul language," Li Changzhou said sternly.

"Brother, you're super cool!"

"Earning so much value from killing two people?" Yang Qinglan pondered, "Is it because it's your first participation?"

They hadn't seen Li Changzhou's settlement report.

No one saw another person's settlement report.

"Not sure,, perhaps it's because of the 'Commanded to evade Iron Arrow Tree ambush, Rating +1', and also 'Preliminary match, Rating +1'," Li Changzhou said, half truthfully.

"Commanded to evade Iron Arrow Tree ambush?" Li Qianxia was initially puzzled but then realized, "Was it that detour we took?"

"Probably," Yang Qinglan nodded.

Li Qianxia did not care about the process; she checked her own "Identity Card".

"Value's increased, my backpack has one more slot, I got 300 coins as a gift, and now I have 322 coins! And 2 attribute points!"

Yang Qinglan said, "It seems the rewards for value upgrades are all the same."

"Eh? Qing Lan, you've reached value 2 as well?" Li Qianxia exclaimed in surprise.

"Mhm."

"Then why didn't you say anything? And you don't seem happy at all! Isn't this something to be excited about?"

"I'm happy in my heart," Yang Qinglan said indifferently.

Whether it was killing those in ghillie suits, or those in camouflage suits, or being in charge of commands, her contributions were the greatest. Coupled with her outstanding performance in the previous two missions, she directly reached value 2.

Compared to that, Li Qianxia only got 37 value points from three missions.

But that didn't mean she was inferior to Yang Qinglan.

Her instinct was "Twins," which basically meant she had no instinct in the first two battles.

After bringing Li Changzhou into the game, "Twins" immediately took effect, allowing her to catch up with Yang Qinglan and also reach value 2.

"Two attribute points, what should I add? Speed? Wait a second, I can share half the effect of my brother's 'Physical Enhancement,' so I can just let him train to death. Improve charm? Oh, I'm already this good-looking, it wouldn't be good to look even better, huh? Wait, why can't I add to charm? That's not fair!"

You'd actually add charm——the other two thought to themselves at the same time.

Amidst Li Qianxia's chattering excitement, Li Changzhou finished allocating the money, 120 coins on the white card, 400 on the black card (200 from the mission, 300 from the value upgrade reward, 20 from two identity cards, for a total of 520).

Including the 322 coins on Li Qianxia's black card, the siblings had a total of 722 coins on the surface.

Compared to the initial 2 coins, a single mission had increased their funds by a whopping 720 coins, not counting the 120 coins of private money that Li Changzhou had on his white card.

There were twenty-five minutes left until the bus departed.

"Mr. Li..."

"Just call me Changzhou."

"Changzhou," Yang Qinglan continued, "now I need to explain my proposal for the distribution of the money to you. If you have any objections, feel free to voice them."

"Please go ahead."

"Firstly, it's about meeting the team's needs. For instance, if I need a skill but don't have enough money, you and Qian Xia will have to give me some."

Yang Qinglan had barely said this when Li Qianxia quickly explained to her brother:

"If we don't have enough, Qing Lan will also have to give us some. My Mosquito Style Blood-sucking Gun was bought with money from both of us."

"I have no problem with that." Li Changzhou's gaze shifted back to Yang Qinglan.

Considering how well the other person was taking care of his sister, and how good looking she was, it was enough to earn his temporary trust.

Should any problems arise, he would just take his sister and leave.

Perhaps sensing his thoughts, Yang Qinglan added, "The distribution of money and other resources is not about who wants what, but about what the team needs. Everything is for the three of us to survive."

"Of course." Li Changzhou nodded slightly, thinking about his two guns.

Yang Qinglan looked at the two of them: "Let's discuss what each of us needs."

"I need armor, or speed, or fighting skills, so that the Blood-sucking Gun can really come into play," Li Qianxia reflected on her performance in the mission. "According to the authorities I have for purchases, there's a 'Wolf Howl' skill that costs 350 coins. If I include my brother's money, that's enough."

Compared to firearms, her Mosquito Style Blood-sucking Gun was indeed magical, but its combat style was too disadvantageous.

[Name: Wolf Howl]

[Type: Skill]

[Quality: C]

[Special Effect: Emit a howl, agility +2, perception +1 for three minutes, one second of 'Intimidation']

[Minimum Use Conditions: The ability to make a sound]

[Introduction: Even with this skill, agility won't exceed 10, perception won't exceed 5, and the intimidation effect is moderate]

[Remarks: Get down on your knees! Sorry, I was wrong, brother Tiger! Don't bite my head, it's going to break! Really, it's going to break! Ugh! (Commenter: A wolf king who tried to bite the tail of a Bengal tiger)]

"I need a skill that can serve as a team's insurance and support, 'Thorns,'" Yang Qinglan proposed her demand.

[Name: Thorns]

[Type: Skill]

[Quality: C]

[Special Effect: Using grass seeds, can summon up to ten thorn-like arrows at a time]

[Minimum Use Conditions: Intelligence 7, sufficient grass seeds]

[Introduction: The sharpness and hardness of the thorns only last for three seconds before they wither; skill range doesn't exceed a 5-meter radius from the body]

[Remarks: Why did those three animals turn corners, why did they turn corners, why did they turn? (Commenter: An iron-arrow tree whose ambush failed)]

The price was 400 coins, and combined with her "Attract And Repel" ability, it could produce a formidable effect.

Yang Qinglan had only 370 coins.

Some of the money she earned from her first two missions was spent on buying a Blood-sucking Gun for Li Qianxia, and the rest was just enough to buy 2 'Mosquito Blood Bags,' which could be used for IV drips to recover from injuries.

Li Changzhou supported her with 30 coins.

"Last time, Qing Lan gave me 80 coins, and even the bus ticket was from her," Li Qianxia unreservedly praised Yang Qinglan's generosity.

"That was for the team, don't take it to heart," Yang Qinglan said nonchalantly. "Whatever you give me, I won't feel indebted to you."

"That's best," Li Changzhou laughed.

With 362 coins left, Li Changzhou thought carefully. Although his instinct was 'Physical Enhancement,' it was of little use without training.

In the current stage of the Value Game, participants were not strong, and with his sniper rifle and AK-47, which still had plenty of value, he should make good use of them.

Besides, he'd unexpectedly acquired an F-grade 'Concentration' skill.

Li Changzhou bought 'Rifle Mastery,' priced at 100 coins, which was the skill of the man in the camouflage suit. The remarks were still puzzled about what had gripped him.

With 260 coins left, there was nothing much to buy, so he decided to save them.

The items available for exchange were all from the lives participating this time, such as Wolf Howl, Homo Sapiens Thinking.

The most incredible was a skill from a tapeworm.

It could add two sets of reproductive organs, one for males and one for females, and it even mentioned being able to produce offspring on one's own... Without the need for magic, the creatures of reality were already amazing enough.

After finishing the exchanges, as they were preparing to board the bus, Li Changzhou remembered something.

"Right, I can leave a message!"

"Li's casual visit?" His sister helpfully suggested.

[Outstanding Performers of This Arena Leave a Message]

[Message 1: I am here, to reign as the Mortal World's Changzhou (King of Black Fog)]

"Suffering from a second bout of puberty?" Yang Qinglan tilted her head and asked.

"None of your business!" Little Li bared his teeth and grimaced.