Chapter 117 - 94: House and Mission

Chapter 117: Chapter 94: House and Mission

The scene was a true microcosm of life. There were team members in matching combat uniforms, well-equipped and with stern expressions. They tended to gather before the high-level mission screens, discussing strategy in hushed tones—clearly experienced, veteran squads.

Some, like Xu Mo, were lone wolves. They were mostly silent, warily scanning their surroundings before quickly accepting a suitable mission and departing in a hurry. There were also what appeared to be temporary teams of newbies, their faces a mixture of excitement and unease. They discussed mission details loudly, earning looks of derision or pity from the veterans nearby.

In a corner, several sallow-faced survivors in tattered clothes cautiously accepted the most basic F-rank gathering missions. Their weapons were crude, and their eyes reflected both the hardship of their lives and their desperate will to survive. Others crowded around the bulletin board, not to look at missions, but at the missing person notices and squad recruitment posts, hoping to find lost loved ones or a chance to join a team.

A mix of emotions saturated the air: desire, exhaustion, ambition, numbness, caution, and a trace of uncertainty about the future. This place was a microcosm of the apocalypse, a convergence point for all kinds of people struggling and fighting to survive.

After observing for a while, Xu Mo had gained a more intuitive understanding of the Hunter’s Guild’s ecosystem. He turned and left the bustling hall.

Just outside the Hunter’s Guild’s main entrance was a shop with a sign that read "Veterans Tavern." A faint clamor drifted out from within. An idea struck Xu Mo. ’No matter the era, a tavern is always one of the most active hubs for information.’

Xu Mo pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped inside. The tavern’s interior was spacious but dimly lit, the air thick with the mixed scent of beer, tobacco, and food. While it wasn’t peak hours, the place was already fairly occupied. Most of the patrons were road-worn Scavengers and a few soldiers on leave.

Some sat around tables, laughing loudly and boasting about their exploits. Others sat alone in corners, drinking sullenly. A few were gathered in small groups, whispering in hushed tones as they exchanged potentially valuable information.

Xu Mo went to the bar and spent two Contribution Points on a glass of the cheapest beer. He then found a seat against the wall and began to sip the slightly bitter liquid, his ears pricked to catch the surrounding conversations.

Soon, a conversation from a table near the center of the room caught his attention. Four or five powerfully built men sat there, all exuding a fierce aura. One of them, a burly man with a fresh scar on his face, was telling a story with great animation:

"You should have seen it. That thing was fast—fast as a ghost. Not at all like those slow, plodding zombies." The scar-faced man took a swig of beer and went on, "Our Magma Squad took a mission to clear out an abandoned town. We figured it would be the usual run-of-the-mill stuff, but while we were scavenging a hardware store, one of them suddenly pounced from the ceiling."

He gestured wildly. "It was bluish-black all over, with long nails, and it landed without making a single sound. It went straight for Xiaoliuzi on our team!"

The surrounding patrons were captivated by his story. They stopped their own conversations to look over, their faces a mixture of curiosity and tension. Even the bartender, who was wiping glasses behind the bar, slowed his movements.

"So what happened?" a younger survivor next to him asked, his face pale with vicarious fear.

"What happened? We fought the damn thing, of course," the scar-faced man said, slamming his hand on the table. "Luckily, I was quick on the draw. I raised my shotgun and blasted it. But the creature was too agile. It managed to twist in mid-air, so the shot only caught its shoulder. It dropped, rolled, and got right back up."

He described the thrilling scene. "When it lunged again, Xiaoliuzi was frozen in fear. But our captain is a total badass. He instantly activated his Superpower—’Rock Skin’—and blocked the hit for Xiaoliuzi, taking the zombie’s claws head-on. With a loud SCREECH, sparks flew everywhere."

"Rock Skin? Your captain is an Earth Ability User?" a patron exclaimed. His gaze fell upon a calm, middle-aged man at the same table who had been drinking silently, his eyes now filled with envy and awe.

The middle-aged man gave a slight nod but said nothing more.

Beaming with pride by association, the scar-faced man continued, "The captain blocked it, giving us an opening. Me and the others opened fire—rifles, pistols, we unloaded everything on it. The thing was fast, but its defense wasn’t all that great. After taking more than a dozen bullets, it finally went down for good."

He concluded, still clearly shaken, "We inspected the corpse later and found its muscle structure was completely different from a regular zombie’s. Damn it... from now on, we’ll have to be extra careful if we run into another one of those fast, wall-climbing types."

A murmur of agreement and discussion rippled through the crowd.

"So the zombies are mutating, too..."

"You’re telling me. I heard some have shown up in the north that can spit acid..."

"This world is just getting harder and harder to survive in."

Xu Mo listened in silence, committing the term "Agile Mutant Zombie" to memory. The Magma Squad captain’s Rock Skin Superpower also gave him a first impression of what a defense-oriented Superpower User from the Elemental or Enhancement System could do. ’To withstand a mutant zombie’s claws head-on... that’s some impressive defense,’ he thought. ’It’s almost on par with my own Cowhide Realm.’

Xu Mo stayed in the tavern a while longer, picking up more scraps of information: a new pack of Mutant Beasts had appeared near one of the forward bases; the official research institute was buying up some kind of strange mineral; a Scavenger team had struck it rich by finding a well-preserved small supermarket on the outskirts.

Once he’d finished his beer, Xu Mo got up and left the Veterans Tavern. The sky outside had already begun to dim.

Xu Mo first went to retrieve his car; now that he had a rental property, he was allowed to drive it into the Inner City. He returned to his new place to find the workmen were still making repairs, so he went back to the hotel for one more night.