MDT Chapter 177 (Patreon)

Chapter 177: The Courage of Desperation

Lying on the rooftop, Biaozi clutched the dagger in his arms, trying his best to keep his breathing steady. But when he looked up at the starry sky, a hint of despair and unwillingness flashed in his eyes.

How… how the fuck did I select wrong!

There has to be an exit option somewhere. I'm still at the starting point—I haven't even moved yet. Can't I just... quit?

What happens if someone cuts the power from outside? Would that count as completing the mission, or would the system just... kill me anyway?

Brain death... can the Medical Bay even fix that? Or would I just be gone?

Maybe I'm just exhausted. Maybe this is all some twisted stress dream, and when I wake up, I'll be back in my bunk in Sentinel Carriage #7...

Biaozi squeezed his eyes shut, and after a long time, he opened them again.

Well, this isn't a dream.

He lifted his head slightly to look at the dagger in his arms, then turned his head to look at the constantly patrolling monsters inside the castle. He was on the verge of tears. At this moment, he really wanted to cry.

He didn't dare to make any moves at all.

He couldn't even pass the normal difficulty. How could he possibly pass the extreme difficulty?

Boss Mang!

Can you see me? Can you find a way to save me?

……

In the control car, Chen Mang looked at Biaozi, who had been lying motionless on the rooftop for nearly twenty minutes. After a long silence, he said softly, "Xiao Ai, I don't think Biaozi is trying to challenge his limits."

"Is there a possibility that he accidentally selected extreme difficulty?"

"The possibility is very small," Xiao Ai said. "When selecting extreme difficulty, another option will pop up, asking if you want to select extreme difficulty. It's unlikely he could be so careless twice."

"…"

Chen Mang thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. How could anyone be so careless? It was like a train captain accidentally opening the cover of the "Immediate Self-Destruct" button, then accidentally pressing it, and then accidentally confirming it on the screen.

How was that possible?

It was just that he didn't remember putting any pressure on Biaozi. How had Biaozi pushed himself to the point of seeking a breakthrough on the brink of death?

He couldn't let his confidant die in this map, could he?

"If the power is cut, he'll die, right?"

"Yes, it will be directly judged as death."

"Brain death, the Medical Bay probably can't treat that, right?"

"Yes."

"Good." Chen Mang nodded silently, let out a slightly tired sigh, and after another long silence, he secretly made a decision. Let Shanmaozi be the captain of Sentinel Team One. He just didn't know if Shanmaozi could handle the responsibility.

…...

"Brother… Brother Biao is going all out?"

At this time, all the members of Sentinel Team One had left the combat training virtual space and were gathered around the "Combat Training Virtual Space" that Biaozi had entered, looking at each other.

On this cyber-coffin-like instrument.

Two large words were floating.

"Dragon's Fortress."

And those two words were scarlet. The indicator lights on the instrument were also all red. This meant that Brother Biao was challenging the "Extreme Difficulty" Dragon's Fortress map. But they all knew that Brother Biao hadn't even passed the normal difficulty Dragon's Fortress.

How had he suddenly jumped to the extreme difficulty Dragon's Fortress map?

"Brother Biao is putting his life on the line."

Shanmaozi gritted his teeth and said word by word, "Brother Biao once told me that for those of us with ordinary talent to become strong, we must put in more effort and more sweat!"

"Either he passes and becomes the first on the train to clear the extreme difficulty Dragon's Fortress map and get the pioneer's reward."

"Or he dies!"

"I've decided—"

"Since I want to follow in Brother Biao's footsteps, I must have Brother Biao's courage to put myself in a desperate situation and fight for a new life."

"I'm going too!"

With that, Shanmaozi strode toward a nearby "Combat Training Virtual Space." Before anyone could react, on the instrument that Shanmaozi had just entered, a text appeared.

"Biohazard."

This text was also crimson.

Which meant—

Shanmaozi had also entered an extreme difficulty map. Not "Dragon's Fortress," but "Biohazard."

"Him?"

"Shanmaozi? Brother Biao?"

The remaining nine members of Team One stood frozen, slightly dumbfounded by the scene. Although Biaozi had already told them the trick to clearing the "Biohazard" map, and each of them had already cleared it on normal difficulty three times…

But as for the extreme difficulty version, so far, only Biaozi had passed it. Not even Zhang Damei had cleared it.

In the extreme difficulty "Biohazard" map, you either had to max out your dodging skills to minimize injuries, or you had to be like Biaozi and deceive your own brain, pretending to have taken a "Stimulant Syringe." It was easier said than done. They had tried for a long time, but still couldn't grasp what it meant to deceive their own minds.

"Forget it."

Just then—

A Team One member named Zhang Qi stepped forward and walked toward a nearby "Combat Training Virtual Space." His face was calm as he said, "If he can have the courage to face death and seek a breakthrough in extreme difficulty without even passing normal, how much weaker can I, Zhang Qi, be than him?"

"I'm going too."

"Since we're members of Team One, we should naturally push ourselves harder than the other teams."

Soon.

The crimson text "Biohazard" appeared on Zhang Qi's machine.

Ergou stood there, his expression complicated as he looked at Biaozi's "Combat Training Virtual Space." Over ten minutes had passed. Since the light hadn't gone out, it meant Biaozi wasn't dead. There was still hope of his clearing it.

He had been with Biaozi the longest. Even before the apocalypse, back in the village, he had followed Biaozi to find work. After the world ended, people scattered and died, leaving only him, Biaozi, and Hei Wa.

Hei Wa was dead now.

Of their original construction crew, only he and Biaozi remained.

He knew Biaozi had been holding in a fierce determination, wanting to work hard to catch up to the other freaks of nature. But he never thought Biaozi would be so ruthless with himself, pushing himself to the point of facing death to find a new path.

After a long silence, Ergou lit a cigarette, took a few drags, then crushed the butt in a nearby cola can. "To hell with it if I die," he muttered.

Then he too entered a "Combat Training Virtual Space."

The crimson text "Biohazard" appeared on the machine's exterior.

The remaining members of Team One exchanged a look, gritted their teeth, and all entered. They too would follow Biaozi's example, facing death to find a new path!

Only Zhang Yi and Zhang Er were left, chewing on steamed buns.

"Uh…" Zhang Er looked blankly at the scene, stuffing a steamed bun into his mouth. "Isn't it dinnertime? Why is everyone going back in?"

"No idea. But since they all went in, let's go too."

"Oh, okay."

…..

In the extreme difficulty "Biohazard" map.

Zhang Er stood in the elevator with a steel pipe, looking blankly at the monster dead at his feet. The creature had been clawing at the top of the elevator. He'd yanked it down and stabbed it to death with a few thrusts of the pipe.

The monster's skin was tough.

He couldn't pierce it at first, but after a few forceful attempts, he broke through.

"Which way do I go now?" Zhang Er frowned, trying hard to remember what Biaozi had told him. Was it the seventh floor or the eighth floor? It seemed like it could be either.

"Forget it." He shook his head, climbed on top of the elevator, grabbed a steel cable, and began to quickly ascend the shaft.

"The goal is to reach the rooftop anyway. This should work."

Of the two brothers, Zhang Yi was the smarter one. He had already reached the seventh floor, found the fire axe in an office, and cleared all the zombies in the fire escape.

But…

"Biaozi said after clearing the zombies in the seventh-floor fire escape, do we go up or down?" Zhang Yi frowned, racking his brain. After a long moment, he shook his head.

"The goal is to get to the top. Why would we go down?"

"It has to be up."

"Biaozi must have said to go up."

He hefted the fire axe and, with a roar, charged up the fire escape toward the eighth floor!

……

Chen Mang silently watched the three split screens on his monitor.

One showed Biaozi, the other two showed Zhang Yi and Zhang Er. He couldn't help but marvel at how terrifying natural talent could be.

Zhang Yi and Zhang Er had already reached the rooftop, successfully clearing the extreme difficulty "Biohazard" map.

When Biaozi had entered this map, his conclusion about the monster on top of the elevator was that it was absolutely unbeatable—an instant-kill scenario that had to be escaped in the shortest possible time to even begin the map proper.

But that monster...

Zhang Er had yanked it down and stabbed it to death with a few thrusts of the pipe.

Scaling the steel cable in the elevator shaft like Spider-Man, he had climbed all the way to the rooftop without seeing a single zombie, easily clearing a map that had nearly killed Biaozi.

Zhang Yi had been more obedient.

Since Biaozi said the opening monster was unbeatable, then it was unbeatable. He had dutifully gone to the seventh floor.

Then, without grabbing any of the armor, weapons, or stimulants from the lower floors, he had relied entirely on his own formidable physique and a single fire axe, hacking his way from the seventh floor to the rooftop. He was covered in blood, his eyes were red, and he had taken countless injuries, but his steps remained steady as he walked to the zipline on the rooftop and successfully cleared the mission.

Though the two brothers had cleared it in different ways, they had both done so with ease.

As for the techniques Biaozi had taught them—getting weapons and armor from the lower floors, deceiving your own brain—they hadn't used a single one. Zhang Yi, in particular, was like a god of war!

Not a single stimulant used, not a single weapon picked up!

With just one fire axe, he had slaughtered his way through the entire map!

"Those two are warriors," Chen Mang sighed, leaning back in his chair and watching the two on the screen with a sense of helplessness. It had been a truly satisfying battle to watch. Their physical abilities alone were already this outrageous. If he built them higher-grade mechs in the future...

They would be two unstoppable gods of war.

Unbeatable.

Best of all, their upkeep was low. Just keep them full of steamed buns every day.

As for Biaozi... he was still lying on the rooftop, motionless. It seemed he still hadn't decided to face reality. Half an hour had passed. It was time to move. He couldn't just lie there forever.

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