Chapter 200: Teammate Card, the Idea of Cooperation!
Although Xiao Heng’s ability didn’t hold the monsters back for long, it bought the trio valuable time to escape.
Using this window, Sun Wanting seized the moment. As they passed through an area surrounded by snowy mountains, she launched several fireballs in quick succession, targeting the surrounding peaks.
The explosions triggered by the fireballs unleashed intense heatwaves on the mountains, causing the accumulated snow to collapse instantly. An avalanche surged down like a tidal wave.
The roaring snow swallowed the pursuing Ice Scorpions whole.
Seeing this, Xiao Heng praised her, “Nicely done, Wanting!”
A proud smile appeared on Sun Wanting’s face.
Although their mission didn’t specify whether the Ice Scorpions had to be killed, at least they had successfully shaken off the pursuit—for now. Finally, they could catch their breath.
Strictly speaking, among the three of them, only Xiao Heng had the qualifications to enter the S-level instance [Absolute Zero]. The siblings Sun Hao and Sun Wanting hadn’t yet reached the system’s required threshold.
So how did the two get in?
The reason was a special item Xiao Heng had once pulled from a treasure chest—[Teammate Card].
This item allowed the formation of a team of three. From then on, no matter what instance the team leader entered, all team members could enter together.
Because of this, when Xiao Heng was selected by the system to enter [Absolute Zero], Sun Hao and Sun Wanting were able to join through the item.
In past regular instances, the trio had no problem surviving and even collecting useful supplies.
But Absolute Zero was a different beast.
Now, with two “burdens” beside him, the difficulty of survival had drastically increased.
Xiao Heng said seriously, “This won’t work. We need to cooperate with others—otherwise, there’s no way we can complete the kill mission in a short time.”
Sun Wanting replied, “Boss, we’ve hardly run into anyone since we entered this instance. And the few we did encounter… none of them were the friendly type.”
As she said that, Sun Wanting recalled a few players they’d run into days earlier. Anyone strong enough to enter this S-rank instance was no pushover, and those people clearly looked down on their trio. Not only did they refuse to cooperate, they even needed to be watched closely.
Who knew whether those players were allies—or enemies waiting to strike?
Xiao Heng smiled and said, “Exactly. That’s why we need to change how we’ve been thinking.”
While the two were speaking, Sun Hao was staring at his frostbitten hands.
“God, this hurts!”
He had just fought off an ambushing Ice Scorpion, and during the scuffle, had taken direct frost damage to his hands.
As he shifted back from his tiger form to human, he howled in pain.
His innate ability was beastification—specifically, tiger-form. This boosted his physical strength and attack power significantly.
But even with his pride in his endurance and regeneration, it wasn’t enough. The Ice Scorpions’ natural freezing ability had suppressed all his physical advantages.
Just one touch from an Ice Scorpion could freeze someone solid.
Sure enough, his hands were now severely frostbitten.
His sister Sun Wanting glanced over and said nonchalantly, “Quit whining. Just roast your hands over a fire and they’ll be fine.”
She said it so casually, it was like her brother’s injury wasn’t even a big deal.
Sun Hao clutched his chest like his heart had shattered.
“I’m your own brother! How can you be so heartless?!”
But Sun Wanting ignored his complaints and turned back to Xiao Heng, focusing on what to do next.
Xiao Heng was deep in thought.
He glanced at the siblings and thought: They’re only in here because of the Teammate Card. The system registered them as part of my team, so the difficulty hasn’t been increased because of our numbers. They also didn’t receive any official instance missions. As long as I complete all the objectives, we can all return together.
“But even so… we still need help. The three of us alone can’t complete the mission quickly.”
Naturally, Xiao Heng voiced this plan. The siblings had no objections—though even if they had, it wouldn’t have mattered.
With this settled, the three of them remained vigilant while searching for possible allies.
Sun Hao once again transformed, using his beastification to scout the area. It didn’t just enhance his combat skills—it boosted his sensory perception too.
At that moment, he became a humanoid tiger—a full-blown beastman, not the cute cat-eared anime kind.
His nose twitched. His ears flicked.
Then he spoke—his voice now deep and growly:
“I don’t smell any creatures nearby… but I do hear continuous gunfire from the southwest.”
He reported his findings to Xiao Heng and Sun Wanting.
Gunfire meant players.
“Boss Xiao, should we head southwest?” Sun Wanting asked. She wasn’t against the idea of cooperating, but she was still uneasy. Their past encounters with players had been anything but friendly.
She felt a bit ashamed. Ashamed that she and her brother weren’t strong enough to help Xiao Heng complete the mission.
She clenched her fists and silently swore she would become stronger—for Xiao Heng’s sake.
Not because she liked him romantically. Sure, Xiao Heng was good-looking, but her feelings toward him were more like respect and admiration.
Before the apocalyptic disasters, when law and order had collapsed, it was Xiao Heng who had saved her and her brother. That was something she could never forget.
“If it weren’t for Boss Xiao, we would’ve been slaughtered and eaten by those people. For him, I’d do anything—even become a villain if I had to.”
Sun Hao finished reporting what he heard and looked to Xiao Heng. He knew who made the decisions in their team—and didn’t even bother commenting on his sister’s feelings.
Xiao Heng turned to the southwest.
Gunfire.
It had to be players.
“Let’s check it out. See if we can work with whoever’s there.”
The trio quickly crossed snowy peaks and ridges, heading toward the source of the gunfire.
As they got closer, the shots grew louder.
Before they even saw the scene, Sun Hao frowned. “Aren’t they afraid all that noise will attract more monsters?”
Sun Wanting also furrowed her brow, wondering if working with someone this careless might put them in danger.
But Xiao Heng noticed something odd in the sound pattern.
“This rhythm… could they have a massive supply of ammo? Why hasn’t the gunfire stopped at all?”
With questions in mind, the trio climbed over one last snow-covered ridge—then stared down into the valley.
What they saw left them stunned.
A pale-faced young man stood in the snow, gripping a Gatling gun.
Bullets spewed from the barrel like a torrential storm—wild, unending, almost demonic in their intensity.
And across from him, a massive Ice Giant, a creature of pure elemental fury and ice, was being completely suppressed.
The bullets tore through its icy body like glass, shattering it piece by piece.
The Ice Giant collapsed like a crumbling iceberg, crashing to the ground and kicking up a storm of white snow.
