41. Monster Siege

"Political Commissar, although it sounds incredible, I think there is a high probability that it is true..."

Zhong Feng described the process of meeting Su Yu in detail.

At the end of his words, he added, "Regardless of whether Nemesis is truly Zhang Jiao, since he knows about the existence of the Singer Civilization, he must understand some inside information. I believe it deserves our serious attention."

Political Commissar Zhang did not answer. He cupped his chin and fell into deep contemplation.

After a long while, he let out a long breath. "Hoo. Regardless, the organization has already made a decision. The organization has decided to double the resources and personnel quota allocated to your department. What do you think?"

"Just double?" Zhong Feng frowned, the veins on his forehead bulging slightly.

"If the strength inside the game can truly manifest into reality, I believe we must explore this game at all costs! Even if doubled, the amount of resources is still far too little, nowhere near enough for us to—"

"That's enough, Xiao Zhong." Political Commissar Zhang pressed his palm down, signaling him to calm down.

"The game *Evolution* has always been within the organization's field of vision. Even if the game's strength can truly be manifested, there are still a massive number of uncertainties."

"For example, how much time and financial cost does it take for an ordinary person to reach Level 50?"

"To what extent can the manifested game strength actually reach? If one is still killed by a single gunshot after manifestation, wouldn't that be a joke?"

"If the manifested strength is still inferior to a child holding a gun, wouldn't that also be a joke?"

"Can it generate short-term benefits that would influence the entire strategic situation?"

"Is the country worth investing massive resources into this?"

Faced with Political Commissar Zhang's questions, Zhong Feng was left speechless. "This..."

Indeed, he could not answer.

Political Commissar Zhang crossed his hands and rested them under his chin. "From our standpoint, it is impossible to make a desperate gamble for an uncertain future. We are much more willing to invest as many resources as possible into fields with guaranteed returns—for example, increasing our hydrogen bomb stockpile."

"Understood." Zhong Feng smiled bitterly.

From the nation's perspective, it was indeed unlikely to immediately pour massive resources into a completely unknown field. If the huge investment failed to yield satisfactory results, the blame would be colossal!

Moreover, making a hasty decision based on a few baseless remarks from Nemesis would be far too rash.

"Unless..." Political Commissar Zhang's tone suddenly changed.

"Unless?"

"Unless you can obtain sufficient proof that *Evolution* truly possesses the power to alter the strategic situation, only then will I hand over the resources you want."

"Understood!" Zhong Feng stood up and saluted the Political Commissar. "I will work hard on leveling up and reach Level 50 as soon as possible."

***

"Alright, go ahead." The Political Commissar waved his hand. "You don't need to worry about the awakening of the ancient powerhouses anymore; I'll handle that. Just focus on leveling up properly!"

...

Back in the game.

Su Yu went nowhere else and diligently continued grinding levels in the Wolf King Valley.

There were still quite a few hidden quests in the village.

However, these hidden quests either had poor rewards or consumed a massive amount of time, so he didn't bother with them.

Besides, Su Yu now possessed the [Star-Pointing Hand], and he no longer cared for the equipment rewarded by ordinary hidden quests. It was far better to spend all his time on leveling up.

Around 2:00 PM, Su Yu's level reached Level 8.

"At this rate, I should be able to reach Level 10 by around 6:00 PM."

Thinking this, Su Yu did not slow down his pace, continuing to slaughter the [Howling Moon Wolves] with his spells.

"However, having killed so many Howling Moon Wolves, the boss should spawn soon, right?"

Just as this thought popped into his mind,

A-a-o-o—w—!

A resonant wolf howl echoed through the distant forest.

Simultaneously, wind, sand, and falling leaves whipped up across the Wolf King Valley. The pack of wolves within the valley seemed to be summoned by some kind of call, and they all began to howl in unison.

Before long, the howling of wolves in the valley spread throughout the entire新手村 (beginner village).

Whether they were players grinding levels, doing quests, or just chatting and joking in the village, everyone turned their gazes toward the Wolf King Valley:

"What happened?"

"That sound is just like my Husky howling during mating season!"

"Idiot! That's the sound of a wolf pack! It sounds like it's coming from the Wolf King Valley."

In the Level 7 monster zone, Sword Slasher Heaven looked at his teammates nearby. "What is this commotion? Should we go over and take a look?"

Sword Slasher Heaven had stayed in Beginner Village No. 6 for so long that he simply made it his permanent residence, choosing not to return to Village No. 1.

Actually, when it came to leveling up, any beginner village was the same.

Youyou My Heart stood on tiptoe and gazed into the distance for a moment before saying, "I think it's better not to go. The sound is coming from the Wolf King Valley. Even if a boss has spawned, we won't be able to handle it."

***

"Makes sense."

Sword Slasher Heaven did not argue. He pulled five new wild monsters and continued leveling up.

However, at that very moment, all online players in Beginner Village No. 6 received a system prompt:

"Ding! [Howling Moon Wolf King Lv10 (Rare)] has appeared in the Wolf King Valley! All monsters in Nolan Village will receive +20% to all attributes, and experience and drop rates will increase by +20% for 1 hour."

"One hour later, the [Howling Moon Wolf King] will lead the wolf pack to attack the beginner village. Participating in the slaying of the [Howling Moon Wolf King] will grant an equal share of massive rewards!"

As soon as the system prompt rang out, the Level 3 [Black Wild Boars], Level 4 [Hillside Sheep], Level 5 [Silver Snakes]...

All the animals were blessed by a surge of red energy, their eyes turning blood-red, and they began launching powerful counterattacks against the players attacking them.

The players were caught off guard.

Some players had pulled too many monsters and could no longer sustain themselves under the monsters' attacks, turning into streams of white light and disappearing one after another.

Scattered white light flickered across the leveling zone.

As a top-tier defensive warrior who had pulled five monsters at once, Sword Slasher Heaven found that with all attributes increased by 20%, he almost died on the spot amidst the monsters' gang beating.

Fortunately, he timely cast the [Shield Wall] skill he had purchased at a high price, thus avoiding the fate of being instantly killed.

After hacking the last wild monster to death, Sword Slasher Heaven breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing I didn't die. Being kicked offline would have been a huge loss... But should we participate in this monster siege?"

"Of course we should participate!" Tyrant was eager to try. "The rewards given by this kind of monster siege event are usually extremely generous! Since we're here, we definitely have to take part!"

"Alright!" Sword Slasher Heaven nodded. "I'll rally the guild members."

Sword Slasher Heaven opened his friends panel.

However, when he saw that Nemesis was ranked at the very top, and the note in front of Nemesis's name indicated Lv8, Sword Slasher Heaven froze: "Nemesis is already Level 8?!"

"What? He's Level 8?"

Upon hearing Nemesis's name, Qing Li, who was usually reticent, immediately wore an expression of rapt attention. "The few of us wasted quite a bit of time pioneering dungeons, but there are people in the guild who focus purely on leveling up! Even when they logged off, they were only Level 7!"

"Yeah! The highest in the guild, 'Green Mountain Has a Well', is only Level 7." Sword Slasher Heaven revealed a wry smile. "Nemesis only logged on at 10 o'clock, and he still has 8 hours of game time left. It seems the gap is gradually widening!"