Volume 3, Chapter 62 – Awakening

“There isn’t much time left.”

“We have to seize this opportunity.”

“Let’s head over immediately.”

…

Anran’s group did not waste any time.

The moment they made their decision, they set out at once.

At first, Li Zhuying was a little unwilling to go. She had been trying to write something.

But then Anran quietly issued a mission.

A reward of 500 EXP was better than nothing.

Li Zhuying closed her game panel and followed along.

Unlike their previous operation, this time the target’s gathering point was inside Twinmoon City, though it was on the edge of the city, a place convenient for escape.

But when it came to the actual operation, Nine Songs would be much more constrained than before.

At that moment, the Security Department’s forces had no choice but to redeploy to support Wutong City. Morningstar’s operations were threatening the hydroelectric station upstream on the Great River.

As a result, Twinmoon City’s interior was far emptier than it appeared.

There was no way Nine Songs could send too many people.

And they could basically forget about support from the Security Department.

They had already suffered heavy losses to begin with. After splitting off many more people to garrison various locations, they were already struggling just to maintain the appearance of being strong and well-manned.

Anran did not charge in directly.

Before leaving, she disguised herself first.

A long coat, a small backpack containing disassembled firearms, and a dark blue baseball cap.

Anna, on the other hand, was extremely casual. Her coat hung loosely off her body, even exposing her shoulders. Her long strides and wheat-colored skin radiated health.

As for Li Zhuying, she had not changed at all.

Her gaze fell on Anran’s profile. There was something oddly familiar about this look.

“Let’s go.”

Anran led the way.

Though calling it leading the way was a bit generous. She was really just following a paper map.

The three of them quickly arrived near their destination.

It was the factory compound of an abandoned manufacturing company, with buildings packed tightly together behind the walls.

Rеаd οո KatRеαdіngСafe

It seemed no one had come here for a long time. The walls were overgrown with vines.

“This terrain is even more complicated than the intel said,” Anna sighed as she stood by the roadside and swept her gaze upward.

There were buildings all around them.

No wonder Morningstar had chosen this place.

It was suitable for hiding.

Even if Nine Songs discovered them, they would not be too suspicious about why Morningstar’s people were here.

It was convenient for defense.

Even if Nine Songs attacked, the people serving as bait would still be able to hold out for quite a while.

And it was even more suitable for an ambush.

There were simply too many buildings of varying heights in this factory district. It was large and cluttered, and there were even quite a few basements.

No wonder the mission Nine Songs had issued required multiple squads to coordinate their actions.

“Actually, I have a pretty good idea,” Li Zhuying said.

“What idea?” Anna asked.

Anran also turned to look at Li Zhuying.

This erotic novelist actually did have a fair amount of talent when it came to strategy.

Otherwise, she would not have discovered the easy way to clear Nine Songs’ assessment dungeon so quickly.

It was just that she had no interest in grinding dungeons or anything like that.

Nor did she have any desire to dominate the rankings and become a big shot.

Her idea was simply that as long as her level was high enough, that was enough. She wanted to use the tenfold lifespan in Night of the Stars to experience a different kind of life, then write interesting novels out of it.

Li Zhuying said, “Whether this is a trap or not, because of the walls, the terrain is basically a cage. We definitely have more people than Morningstar. After searching the surrounding area, all we need to do is surround this place. That way, no matter what choice Morningstar makes, we’ll be in the advantageous position. We have plenty of time and patience to wear them down, but Morningstar definitely doesn’t. The more anxious people get, the more likely they are to expose flaws.”

Sharp as expected.

But Anna shook her head.

“That idea is good, but it’s not realistic. It would be too hard to carry out.”

“Why?” Li Zhuying blurted out.

Of course it was irritating to have your proposal rejected.

Right.

Anran had thought of it.

“It really would be troublesome. Nine Songs has always been divided by squads internally, so getting everyone to follow this method would be too difficult…”

Rеaԁ οո ΚаtRеаdіngСαfe

Most importantly, there were kill points.

The greater a squad’s contribution, the more benefits that squad would receive.

If everyone only surrounded the place from outside, then there would be no distinction at all.

That proposal would definitely be rejected.

“What if we go through the higher-ups?” Li Zhuying said.

If the deputy minister stepped in…

“It won’t work.”

Anna said, “Don’t judge by how I usually act. There are plenty of people in Nine Songs with even worse personalities than mine. Close-combat experts, master marksmen, even ability users. Every single one of them is arrogant. Unless we can produce evidence.”

So you do know your personality is awful.

Anran stared at Anna.

“Then pretend I never said anything.” Li Zhuying’s gaze began drifting again.

“No matter what, it’s worth trying,” Anran said. “And we should investigate the surrounding area too.”

For the time being, they did not dare enter the factory compound itself.

Morningstar’s ambush would likely involve nothing more than sniping and explosives.

Bombs were hard to check for.

But they could still inspect likely sniper positions.

There were only so many high points nearby. Some were inside the factory grounds, and several were around the perimeter. They marked every suspicious location on the map.

“Even so, there’s still no way to know whether Morningstar really has people lying in ambush. We still need to go in and confirm it,” Anna said.

“Don’t go throwing your life away.”

Startled, Anran hurried to dissuade her.

“I’ll go.”

At the crucial moment, Li Zhuying stepped forward.

“Then I’ll leave it to you!” Anna patted Li Zhuying on the shoulder.

Sure enough, having a player around really was convenient at times like this.

Of course, what would really be convenient was if she herself held the power to decide things. Then there would be no need for all this nonsense in the first place.

Li Zhuying took a sketchbook and strode openly straight into the factory compound.

Compared to sneaking in, acting so openly made her less likely to arouse suspicion.

Reaԁ oո KatRеаⅾingСаfe

Morningstar had no idea Li Zhuying had joined Nine Songs.

Anran and Anna waited outside for over twenty minutes before they saw Li Zhuying walk back out, her expression calm.

“Well?” Anna asked.

Li Zhuying said, “I got chased out.”

“Then…”

Before Anna could finish, Li Zhuying cut her off. “I saw seven people. There should be another dozen or so in the office. And when I first went in, I heard them say there were people in other places too.”

“Morningstar really is underhanded.” Anna ground her teeth.

The numbers did not match the intelligence.

That already said more than enough.

“We need to hurry back and discuss this with Feilian and see how to handle it. He’s better at this kind of thing.”

With Feilian absent, Anna’s rare praise of him left Anran quite surprised.

Looks like Anna didn’t disapprove of Feilian as much as she seemed to.

After getting the information they wanted, the three of them withdrew quickly.

Back at the base, Feilian had actually been mentally prepared when he heard the report.

“I’ll go report this to the deputy minister right away.”

He stood up, and after saying that, pushed the door open and left.

There was only half a day left, but as long as nothing went wrong, there was still enough time.

This time, they were going to hit Morningstar hard.

Anran checked her title. Morningstar Hunter was still seven people away from leveling up.

If she was lucky, it might level up this time.

If Feilian could successfully persuade the deputy minister, the mission rank for [Siege the Morningstar Stronghold] might even drop a little, Anran thought.

She left the base and went first to the Research Center.

The moment she walked through the main entrance, Anran saw Gray.

Gray noticed her too. His face instantly lit up with delight, and he strode over.

“I’ve got good news for you!” Gray called from a distance.

“What good news?” Anran asked, puzzled.

“Eudora is awake!”

Gray suddenly dropped a piece of news that shocked Anran. “She wants to see Aila and you.”

Read оո KαtReаⅾiոɡСаfе

“Now?”

“Sometime in the next couple of days, anyway. She just woke up, so you can go see her,” Gray said.

Gray had been keeping an eye on Eudora’s condition the whole time.

He had wanted to notify Anran that morning, but she had not come by.

“Thanks.”

Anran instantly lost all interest in staying at the Research Center.

This was good news for Aila, and for her as well.

That story mission, [Mysticism and Science], had been troubling Anran for many days now.

“Come on, Aila. I’ll take you to see Eudora!”

After returning home, Anran took Aila by the hand and headed right back out.

Aila followed close beside Anran, her eyes filled with an unreadable light.

Beep, beep…

Halfway there, Anran’s phone rang. She picked it up and saw that Anna was calling.

“What is it?”

“The deputy minister has already reconvened the meeting. Looks like this mission is going to go smoothly,” Anna said over the phone.

So next came another round of kill-stealing?

Anran clenched her fist.

“Did something good happen to Anran?” Aila looked up and asked.

“I guess so.” Anran chuckled.

The mission rank.

She took a quick glance at it.

Hm?

Still C-rank?

Even after changing the battle plan, it was still C-rank?

Then again, that made sense. There were still dozens of people on the other side. No matter how you looked at it, it should not drop to D-rank.

Anran put that matter aside. For now, it was more important to hurry up and complete that story mission first.

A story mission with a name like that had to be anything but ordinary.