Game: Civilization Paradise

But just then, Long Ming suddenly thought of the members of the Scorpion Guild. ’There’s no way those guys walked here. And since they all got wiped out inside the base, that means their vehicles must be somewhere nearby!’

Clutching the nuclear fuel rod, Long Ming immediately began searching for an escape vehicle.

「A moment later.」

Long Ming finally spotted a row of snowmobiles in a patch of snowy terrain.

Overjoyed, he immediately rushed over, only to find that all the snowmobiles were already running.

’Then again, that makes sense. In weather this cold, if you turn off the engine, there’s a ninety percent chance it won’t start again.’

Long Ming immediately climbed onto a snowmobile and sped toward the nearest extraction point.

’It was a foolish move. There was a ninety percent chance that Luoxue and her team had already used that extraction point. But I have no other choice. The other extraction points are too far away; I’ll never make it in time.’

All he could do now was gamble.

Several hours passed in a blur. Long Ming drove the snowmobile, constantly glancing down at his wristband.

Only twenty minutes remained until the final extraction, but he was still some distance away from the point.

Long Ming took a deep breath and continued driving toward the extraction point, showing no signs of giving up.

Time ticked by.

With just five minutes left, Long Ming saw the extraction point.

Just then, a series of joyous shouts suddenly rang out.

"Long Ming, we’re over here!"

...

Long Ming gazed into the distance.

To his surprise, he saw everyone waiting for him on the extraction platform.

Cloud Fish and the others were waving excitedly at him.

A smile crept onto Long Ming’s face as he slammed the accelerator to the floor.

The snowmobile shot forward.

When only five minutes remained, Long Ming slammed on the brakes, skidding the snowmobile to a stop beside the platform.

"Hurry, get on!"

Luoxue shouted to Long Ming.

"Wait a second."

Shouldering the nuclear fuel rod, Long Ming jumped off the snowmobile.

Luoxue was stunned for a moment when she saw this. She immediately rushed down from the extraction platform to help him carry it up.

Then, Luoxue raised her wristband and pressed the extraction button.

WHIRRR—

The mechanical platform activated instantly, and Long Ming and the others began to float slowly upward.

...

「Inside Starry City.」

Fu Fuqing, Jiang Heng, Xiaoqi, and the others were gathered together.

Johnny and his group said to Xiaoqi, their faces beaming with excitement.

"Sister Qi, we’re guaranteed to win this time, right?"

"Definitely! This time, we followed Vice-President Fu Fuqing and cleared out an underground supply warehouse. We brought out a total of 60 million worth of supplies, and we got half of it. We’ve got this in the bag!"

Xiaoqi said, her face wreathed in smiles.

"That’s great!"

Johnny and the others were ecstatic. They could finally beat An Qing for once.

Just then, Jiang Heng glanced over and asked with a hint of confusion.

"How come Luoxue and her team aren’t out yet?"

"Let’s wait a little longer. The time limit is almost up."

Fu Fuqing said calmly.

"Alright."

Jiang Heng said no more.

SHING—

Just then, several beams of white light descended upon Starry City.

Long Ming, Luoxue, and their group appeared in the distance.

"Haha, we’re finally out!"

An Qing and the others were overjoyed. Although they had used up a lot of their weapons holding back the monsters, they had still managed to bring back a hefty haul.

Long Ming also heaved a long sigh of relief.

At this, An Qing and the others crowded around Long Ming, asking excitedly.

"Long Ming, how did you escape?"

"Yeah, we all thought you were dead."

...

"Uh, well..."

For a moment, Long Ming didn’t know how to explain.

Just then, Luoxue walked over and said to An Qing and the others.

"Alright, stop crowding around Long Ming. Everyone, disperse. An Qing, go tally up the earnings."

"Yes!"

"Also, Long Ming’s earnings don’t need to be turned in or included in the calculation."

"Got it!"

An Qing quickly replied.

Just then, Cloud Fish handed Long Ming his backpack.

"Long Ming, here you go."

"Thanks."

Long Ming took it.

An Qing and the others then left, moving to one side to calculate their earnings.

Then, Long Ming took out the nuclear fuel rod and handed it to Luoxue.

"Here, the thing you wanted."

"Mm. I’ll apply for your reward later."

Luoxue didn’t stand on ceremony with Long Ming; she accepted it directly and stored it in her inventory.

"Okay!"

Long Ming nodded, then raised his wristband to check his character status.

Name: Long Ming

Race: Carbon-Based Human

Genetic Level: 0

Profession: None

Power: 7

Agility: 8

Physical Strength: 6

Intelligence: 6

He found that his Genetic Level had reset to 0, but his Power and Agility had each increased by 1 point.

’So my genes really did reset.’

Long Ming muttered to himself as he looked at his wristband.

"That’s normal. The effects of a Genetic Potion injected inside an instance are wiped when you leave. Only Genetic Potions administered in Starry City grant permanent stats."

Luoxue explained.

"I see."

Long Ming replied with a nod.

"Also, don’t just inject any random Genetic Potion. Especially those mutated ones—don’t touch them, or you’ll ruin your character. It’s best to stick with the basic, all-purpose Genetic Potions."

Luoxue added in a low voice.

"Why?"

"I’m not entirely sure. It might be related to your potential. As for determining whether a Genetic Potion is good or bad, you need a professional to appraise and test it."

"Understood."

Long Ming responded with a slight nod.

’Just as I thought,’ he mused. ’Genetic Potions are so expensive, yet almost no one uses them. There must be a catch.’

"Luoxue."

Just then, Fu Fuqing’s voice called out from a distance.

Luoxue turned to look.

She saw Fu Fuqing running over with Xiaoqi and the rest of their group.

Soon, the two groups converged.

"Luoxue, are you all alright?"

Fu Fuqing asked with concern.

"We’re fine."

Luoxue replied with a slight nod.

Fu Fuqing then said with a smile.

"Even though we landed in a different city, our luck was pretty good. We managed to loot a major supply point and came away with about 60 million worth of supplies."

"Well done."

Luoxue praised.

At this, Xiaoqi turned to An Qing excitedly.

"An Qing, you’ve definitely lost this time."

"I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You may have looted a lot, but so did we."

An Qing replied, beaming.

"Uh, how much did you get?"

Xiaoqi was taken aback.

Fu Fuqing and the others all turned to look at An Qing.

"We looted a total of 230 million one-dimensional coins’ worth of supplies."

An Qing announced with great pride.

"That much?"

Even Fu Fuqing was shocked.

Xiaoqi and her group were dumbfounded, their faces masks of disbelief.

An Qing smiled at Xiaoqi and said.

"Sorry, Xiaoqi, looks like I won again. Oh, and I forgot to tell you—the only reason I could beat you this time is all thanks to Mr. Long Ming. Otherwise, we’d have been eating dirt. And don’t think you have a claim on this win; only two people on our team were from your Rat Group—the rest were all mine, you know! Plus, Mr. Long Ming’s earnings aren’t even included in our total. Even if they were, you guys still couldn’t match our score."

Xiaoqi was completely stunned by An Qing’s words. She turned and shot a resentful glare at Long Ming.

"Long Ming... whose side are you on?"

"*Cough, cough.* It was just a coincidence."

Long Ming replied awkwardly.

Fu Fuqing glanced at Long Ming, his brow furrowed and his expression souring, but he said nothing.

Just then, Luoxue addressed everyone.

"Alright, that’s enough. Great work, everyone! Anyone who’s finished with the tally can log off now. As for the rewards, the guild will distribute them to you later."

"Understood."

Xiaoqi and the others replied in unison.

Long Ming immediately raised his wristband, tapped it, and logged out of the game.

...