Chapter 29: Chapter 27 — Crisis Contract

Chapter 29: Contingency Contract

"Catapult circled the killer in Spot’s latest detective comic with a black marker, leading to a heated argument.梓兰 (Zilan) tried to stop them, but Tsukigase wanted to pull her aside to whisper sweet nothings amidst the chaos. To prevent the situation from escalating, Popukar decided to step in and quell the fighting?"

Zhou Jinru chewed his chicken wrap with an expressionless face. He watched the troublemakers of Team A6, currently unconscious, being carried out on stretchers by the medical team. Their dormitory was in total disarray: shattered teacups, an overturned water dispenser, a comic book stepped on and discarded on the floor, a portable chainsaw tossed against the wall, and in the corner, Popukar huddled with her head in her hands.

"Doctor!"

The moment the little girl saw him, she stretched out her arms and pounced, clinging to him like a koala, refusing to let go.

"Doctor, everyone was just arguing a moment ago. Popukar tried to stop them, but I don't know why, suddenly everyone just fell to the ground."

Zhou Jinru carried Popukar as he walked out. "They were performing a show on how to fall asleep faster."

Popukar looked on the verge of tears. "I haven't seen you in such a long time, Doctor. Where did you go?"

"I went home for a break. I won't be leaving again."

"Let's pinky-promise."

"Alright, pinky-promise."

He turned to Amiya and said, "The shut-in, the drama queen, the prankster, and the one with the overinflated ego—handle them according to the usual protocol."

The troublemakers of Team A6 often turned the base upside down. Before joining Rhodes Island, Catapult had suffered a throat injury, and the period when she couldn't speak had been the last bit of peace they had enjoyed. Fortunately, the prank-loving children hadn't extended their chaos beyond Team A6; that was truly the best of a bad situation.

Dock their pay? They didn't care. Since Rhodes Island covered their food, housing, and medical bills, they had nowhere to spend their money anyway, unless they had some very peculiar hobbies.

Thinking of this, Zhou Jinru especially missed Croissant. While she claimed to need a truckload of "bread-men" (merchandise) whenever she went out to fight, her importance was no less than that of a certain blood-demon profiteer who drank engine oil.

Red is to Shawshank as the bread-woman is to Rhodes Island.

There was nothing the operators couldn't think of that the bread-woman couldn't acquire. That might be a slight exaggeration, but it wasn't far from the truth.

It was a pity that the entire Penguin Logistics crew had left Rhodes Island, without even leaving any contact information.

"If you want to look for your former companions in Lungmen, Doctor, there is an opportunity now."

Zhou Jinru put aside his wandering thoughts and asked in surprise, "I've only been resting for a few days—what happened now?"

Amiya raised a finger and listed them off: "The operators of Reserve Team A4 are executing a contract in Lungmen and are now one day overdue. They seem to have encountered trouble and reached out to the base for help. I have to deal with the Originium vein issue here in Syracuse and cannot leave for the moment. Could I trouble you to go to Lungmen and see what is happening?"

Lungmen, huh? Zhou Jinru had wanted to go there for a long time. Information about Lungmen in the game was scarce, and the two annihilation stages were long battles without any related plot. It wouldn't be bad to experience the local customs and atmosphere of the Terra world.

He immediately nodded in agreement. Ansel and Red would accompany him; since Amiya was absent, Red was responsible for protecting the Doctor's safety, and as a medical member of Reserve Team A4, Ansel needed to reunite with his team to provide support now that his companions were in trouble.

"Let's talk about the contract issue for Reserve Team A4 first. I remember that Melantha and the others are quite strong. Just how tricky is the problem that even they cannot solve?" Zhou Jinru needed to gather relevant intelligence; he couldn't go to Lungmen completely blind.

Amiya spoke solemnly, "Doctor, the issue of the contract relates to a draft from when Rhodes Island was first founded. Because we needed a large amount of capital, manpower, and resources at the time, you and Dr. Kal'tsit took the lead in signing a special contract with Lungmen. Whenever they encounter problems that are difficult to handle, they can seek help from Rhodes Island. Whether it is medical assistance or military intervention, Rhodes Island must provide a positive response."

"It was only after receiving massive resources and assistance from all sides that Rhodes Island could grow to its current state. At the time, Lungmen offered a condition we couldn't refuse, which is the 'Contingency Contract'."

Zhou Jinru had a faint impression. "Contingency Contract" was an event in the game that used high-difficulty stages with various tags to enhance the player experience. The event had broken the mold by not consuming Sanity, all to extend playtime so players wouldn't just log on for ten minutes and log off for the rest of the day.

This was going to be difficult.

He had never touched this event; he had become a "cloud player" by that time. Now, he was a true novice relying entirely on exploration, and the problem was that he only had half a squad of low-star operators. The difficulty coefficient was imaginable.

"That's fine. We still have our old companions in Lungmen. I'll go and see if I can find some help from them."

Whether it was Ch'en, Hoshiguma, Swire, or the folks from Penguin Logistics—as long as he could secure help from one of them, the difficulty of what lay ahead would drop significantly.

"Doctor."

Amiya looked mysterious, leaning in closer, and whispered, "Doctor, I have started practicing the violin again. Don't tell anyone, keep it a secret."

*Will you play it for me when I return?*

Zhou Jinru quickly interrupted what she was about to say. "Alright, don't say anything else. I don't want to become an old general on stage with flags stuck all over my back."

"Eh? What does that mean?"

"It's a proverb from Yan, used to describe promises made before departure that never come to fruition. Like 'I'll get married back home after this battle,' or 'I'll go herd sheep in the frontier once I've avenged my father's death,' or 'I'll return to the team and restore my status after catching the ringleader.' In the end, these people always die."

Popukar couldn't understand what the Doctor and Amiya were talking about, but she finally understood one fact: the Doctor was leaving again. The little girl clutched the hem of the Doctor's coat, unwilling to let go.

"Doctor, don't leave Popukar alone, I'm scared..."

Zhou Jinru turned his head and said, "Then add Popukar to the trip. It's fine; she's very strong and will definitely be able to protect herself."

Amiya: "..."

Due to the urgent situation, they completed the intelligence handover with Lungmen within just two hours. However, at the very last moment of the connection, Amiya watched in shock as a top-level authority appeared on the operation platform, erasing the Doctor’s name and replacing it with a codename: "A-Guang."

"Dr. Kal'tsit..."

Zhou Jinru, already boarding the aircraft, only learned of this news before takeoff. He remained silent for a moment, and eventually accepted Kal'tsit's arrangement.

A-Guang was also him; it was what he was called on his basketball team. Because he sweated profusely while playing, he was used to shaving his hair until only a little remained on his scalp, making him look like a bald man, so others got used to calling him A-Guang.

At this moment, he finally completely believed that he was the Doctor of Rhodes Island in the world of Terra, the man who was invincible in battle.