While the showing from the ace team’s trio was certainly noteworthy, the focus of nine out of the ten people present was squarely on Reef, who held a bizarre and terrifying shield… After all, the saying remains: there are plenty of individuals adept at outputting damage, but those skilled at absorbing enemy attacks, charging to the front line to handle the dirty, grueling work, can only be described as rare gems! Anyone daring to step out with a shield on a normal battlefield… must possess some serious skill; that much is undeniable, otherwise, they’d be the first to die.
“Could we be that lucky? Encountering a solo MT?”
In that instant, at least twenty minds conjured up that very term.
This Viper Wolf was also terribly unlucky; caught between the pincer attack of Fang Senyan and his two companions, it was merely an ordinary beast. After taking over a dozen shots and suffering scorch marks all over its body from Reef’s slashes, Fang Senyan seized the opportunity and landed several heavy punches!
It must be remembered that with his potions active, Fang Senyan’s peak Strength had reached an insane 44 points!
Even though he and Reef seemed constrained in every way in the previous world, that was an abnormally high-level world! Even the Nightmare Space hadn't favored them, providing them with world-ending trump cards—the ability to retreat at any time and invulnerability when heavily injured!
Now, the two had returned to a relatively normal world. Although the difficulty was B+, it was still two full tiers lower than the previous world ‘A’! Even though his brass knuckles were still a basic, unmodified item, Fang Senyan’s sheer Strength of 44 points easily created a crushing disparity. The Viper Wolf managed to hold out for less than ten seconds before the top of its skull was blown off by a bullet, thick blood spraying everywhere. The beast shrieked once and met its demise!
Fang Senyan’s party simultaneously received a notification: “Your RDA Company Battlefield Contribution has increased by ten points… After the battle concludes, you may use your contribution points to purchase related supplies from personnel aboard the ship.”
After dispatching the Viper Wolf, Reef and Mogansha naturally joined the fray, but Fang Senyan squatted down to examine the carcass. The swipe of the Viper Wolf’s claws earlier had left a distinct impression on him. “…Studying it closely now, I realized this creature, classified as a ‘Wolf,’ could actually hold objects like a primate! Furthermore, its feet had pads, meaning they could climb trees and stalk silently along the ground!”
Compiling this data, and considering their pack behavior, Fang Senyan could already visualize their ingrained hunting pattern in his mind: a completely three-dimensional encirclement… They would sneak close to their prey using their thick paw pads, and once within a few meters, they would suddenly attack from the top, middle, and bottom simultaneously. Such a brutal scenario sent a chill down Fang Senyan’s spine, despite his current Health being well over the 800 mark, making him secretly resolve to avoid engaging these creatures in the dark whenever possible.
Evidently, when dealing with the other contractors, Fang Senyan continued his unscrupulous practice of pushing Reef and Mo Qiansha to the forefront, while he casually drew his basic shotgun and fired a few blasts, contentedly slacking off and hiding his true strength.
However, the eyes of the crowd were sharp. Although Fang Senyan looked imposing, that shotgun was truly lackluster. After booming away for quite some time, it hadn't even managed to kill a single heavily wounded Viper Wolf.
Occasionally stepping out to throw a couple of punches to help Reef absorb a blow, he immediately garnered seven or eight looks of contempt.
Facing this awkward situation, Fang Senyan remained remarkably composed; he already had a countermeasure ready. When he noticed the fighting ahead had momentarily eased, he tossed a mixed potion—Grizzly Bear Tincture and Raptor—towards several contractors holding the front line, allowing them to enjoy the latest fruits of his research amidst the rising faint mist.
Although the area-of-effect toss naturally weakened the potion’s full effect, the boost to Strength B and Agility was certainly not negligible—it amounted to an amplification equivalent to a Black-grade item, a full six-point increase in base attributes! Given the scarcity of equipment in the space, the attribute boost from this single potion even surpassed the combined values of two pieces of gear on many other contractors.
Watching the beneficial smoke rise, after one clueless rookie cursed, “What kind of crap is this?” the rest of the seasoned contractors immediately noticed the considerable change in their base attributes.
Instantly, cries of “OH. YES,” and “GOOD,” rose one after another. Some even found a moment to give Fang Senyan a thumbs-up.
Of course, Fang Senyan was not favoring one over the other. Those providing ranged fire support in the rear were either gunners or ranged mages, so tossing a potion that increased Agility and Intelligence their way was a guaranteed success. This didn't account for the occasional outlier who stood in the front line craving Intelligence or stood in the rear desiring Strength; for such individuals, Fang Senyan could only apologize internally, stating, “Sorry, I don’t play favorites.”
As the saying goes, the eyes of the masses are discerning. After these two potions were deployed, almost everyone grasped Fang Senyan’s role: a powerful support, commonly known as the universal adhesive, the lubricant, the jack-of-all-trades—someone who could stand in front to block blows for the MT, or retreat to boost everyone’s attributes… He usually dedicated himself to the team’s core members, but could serve everyone when necessary.
If such a person could also deliver powerful output, they could stand out and even contend for the position of team leader. Even without significant output, a position among the main players would be unshakable, and they would be universally welcomed. Thus, the gazes of many grew even more fervent. The configuration of an enhanced MT coupled with powerful support—these were two legs too thick to describe, representing immense advantages. Even if they couldn’t be clung to long-term, hugging these legs for the duration of this battlefield run was extremely worthwhile.
The battle continued for several more minutes. Although the two potions Fang Senyan threw out hadn't cost him much, he was perplexed that the RDA Company Battlefield Contribution hadn't increased. According to the space’s normal adjudication system, this should be absolutely impossible. It was like in a war: those charging at the front earned merit, but those hauling heavy supplies received none? The soldiers earned merit, but the kitchen staff received none? This seemed highly illogical!
While he was pondering this, a loud bang echoed. A screaming Viper Wolf had a grenade stuffed into its mouth, resulting in its demise through such a direct and brutal method. Fang Senyan hadn't even touched the creature, and Reef and Mogansha were focused on another one, yet Fang Senyan suddenly received a notification: RDA Battlefield Contribution +5. Reef and Mogansha also gained +2 contribution points due to their team status.
“So that’s how it works,” Fang Senyan realized instantly. “If a contractor has my beneficial enhancement status active, and they gain benefits regarding battlefield contribution… then I get a share of the dividends.”
Of course, this dividend was linear. For example, if Reef killed a Viper Wolf and earned 20 contribution points, but he currently had Fang Senyan’s beneficial status active, he would only receive 18 points, and Fang Senyan would get 5 points—not the calculation where Reef got 15 and Fang Senyan got 5. In essence, the total yield from the Viper Wolf increased.
It was worth noting that this contribution was bound to the beast. If ten people all had Fang Senyan’s beneficial status and killed one Viper Wolf simultaneously, Fang Senyan would only receive one bonus reward, not ten separate ones. Realizing this, Fang Senyan immediately began making plans. With Reef sponsoring him as a willing ATM, he wouldn't lack materials in the real world. Wasting a bit here didn’t matter; as long as he had enough for this world, it was better to use the surplus to earn battlefield contribution points.
He had already gathered from conversations around him that fighting wasn't just happening in his immediate vicinity! This Valkyrie transport ship had four access points—Southeast, Northwest—and large numbers of Viper Wolves were appearing ahead of all four paths. To breach the nearly paralyzed interior of the transport ship, fierce engagements were inevitable ahead of each passage. In other words… there were a full four battle zones!
Fang Senyan’s objective was now clear: he had to play the good samaritan, ensuring every contractor on the battlefield was covered by his beneficial status. That way, he could earn steady income without lifting a finger.
The battle he was currently in was on the West side, so he circled toward the North. As he approached this northern battlefield, his heart suddenly jumped: the Viper Wolves here had already been completely wiped out! And the number of contractors was much smaller. Looking at the contractors sitting or squatting casually, it was obvious they were all extremely familiar with each other. They spoke quietly and laughed occasionally, and faint, pale-yellow light emanated from their bodies—they clearly belonged to one large team. Those ferocious and exceptionally coordinated Viper Wolves had been utterly annihilated; not a single one had escaped!
Even the corpses remaining on the ground were being meticulously managed and collected by contractors attempting to maximize their profits.
A tall, powerfully built contractor was squatting at the very front of the battlefield, holding a lit cigarette between his fingers… All the contractors were wearing oxygen masks, so what was the point of lighting a cigarette?
Unexpectedly, this guy seemed to have an extreme nicotine craving. Every few seconds, he’d pull down his oxygen mask and take a deep, satisfying drag of the smoke, seemingly unconcerned about the toxic air.
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