Chapter 172: Player Ying Duo Invites You to Join the Team (Revised)

Qi Hengyu agreed without hesitation.

"Accept! Of course we accept! Isn't forming a mercenary corps just to hunt aberrant species? What's the point of doing odd jobs in the city?"

He had already rolled up his sleeves and clenched his fists, clearly full of fighting spirit.

Chen Mo Zhi frowned slightly, did not immediately express his opinion, after a moment of silence he looked at the three calm and composed people before him, then asked.

"What are your opinions?"

Shen Zexi smiled gently, but his words were especially firm.

"We've already simply discussed it; not only do odd-job tasks earn little money, they also fail to achieve the goal of training while earning credits, so we all lean toward accepting this mission."

Luo Jinyou shrugged indifferently; who let their mercenary corps just be formed, they can only start from the most basic, while Ying Duo completely has the attitude of "as long as there's a monster to fight, it's fine."

Chen Mo Zhi looked at the few people before him with varied expressions; although their personalities differed greatly, their decision to accept this task was surprisingly unanimous, carrying the confidence of a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.

But he knew, these guys' confidence was not blind.

Chen Mo Zhi felt somewhat reassured in his heart, thinking perhaps he hadn't chosen the wrong team.

"I have no problem either." Chen Mo Zhi nodded; this trip out of town was also meant to head to the wilderness.

"I can opt out of sharing loot and mission rewards, but if we encounter valuable aberrant plants during the mission, I hope the team can give me some time to harvest and collect them."

Shen Zexi smiled, saying, "As long as we guarantee mission completion and team safety, of course it's fine; as for the distribution of mission rewards..."

He looked at Ying Duo, who had just walked back; although he had been appointed as "Deputy Regiment Leader," after all the boss should be Ying Duo.

"Ying Duo is the Regiment Leader, so naturally he should decide."

"Then we'll distribute according to contribution." Ying Duo, seeing the issue had come to him, spoke bluntly.

The few people looked at each other, and had no objections to this plan.

"More work, more gain; very fair."

Since it's confirmed we'll accept the mission 【Explore Black Stone Mine Cave】, the process is clear.

But to accept a mercenary mission, the game system still has a precondition: all members of the mercenary corps accepting the mission must be in a "teamed" state.

"Then let's go accept the mission." Shen Zexi reminded again; everyone got up, only Ying Duo remained seated there, eyes vacant, as if in a daze?

Qi Hengyu said with some concern in a low voice:

"Hey, this kid isn't dropping the chain at a critical moment again, is he?"

His concern is not without reason, after all the regiment leader is the mentally abnormal Ying Duo; although everyone acknowledges Ying Duo's ability, they also equally acknowledge his brain.

But the next second, aside from Ying Duo, in the field of view of the other four people present, a half‑transparent pop‑up window suddenly appeared, emitting a faint Ying Guang Lu glow, its border also showing a Data Stream‑like effect.

The center of the pop‑up window clearly displayed a line of text:

【Player "Ying Duo" invites you to join the team, agree?】

【Yes】/【No】 (countdown 29s)

Qi Hengyu: "!!!"

Shen Zexi: "!!!"

Luo Jinyou: "......?"

Chen Mo Zhi's pupils contracted slightly, a flash of surprise crossing his scarlet eyes.

This...... Aberrant Art of the Consciousness Law?

No, if it were a mental‑type Aberrant Art, the rune device he carries to defend against such intrusion couldn't possibly have no reaction.

The first collective action of the "Version Answer" Mercenary Corps hadn't even stepped out of the guild's doors before their own regiment leader gave them a power play.

"What is this?" Qi Hengyu pointed at the pop‑up window before him, looked around, and confirmed that this screen seemed visible only to the four of them.

How did this thing appear before his eyes?

Shen Zexi likewise stared in shock at the invitation interface before his eyes; he tried to move his gaze, and the system pop‑up moved along as if attached to his retina.

Although hard to believe, the color of this thing practically tells them outright whose work it is.

"Ying Duo, is this your doing?"

But Ying Duo isn't a spatial‑type Aberrant Art, so how did it become involved with the mental type?

Ying Duo tilted his head, seeming not to understand why they were so surprised.

"My Aberrant Art—just agree directly."

The few people looked at each other; Qi Hengyu wanted to press the 【Agree】 option with his hand, but saw that Shen Zexi beside him hadn't lifted his hand either—the 【Agree】 key before him had already been pressed.

Noticing Qi Hengyu's gaze, Shen Zexi turned his head to explain:

"This seems not to require our contact; mental control works too."

Qi Hengyu did the same; at the moment he pressed agree, that Ying Guang Lu pop‑up window vanished, replaced by a more complex semi‑transparent interface unfolding before his eyes.

The left side of the interface clearly listed the names of the five squad members, followed by a green Blood Bar and a string of numbers; the right side was an area marked "Team Channel", below which was an input box that seemed to allow text communication.

"This is simply......" Shen Zexi didn't know how to evaluate what he saw; as his thought moved, the game‑like interface retracted.

But as soon as he had the intention to view it, the interface would pop up again.

Shen Zexi looked at the screen before him, which was extremely similar to some game interfaces he had played, feeling his worldview shaken.

If this is merely a visual byproduct created by Ying Duo's Aberrant Art, what does the world Ying Duo himself sees on a daily basis look like?

Or does it also constantly overflow with these games' UI interfaces?

Qi Hengyu tried waving his hand, but the interface remained completely still.

Luo Jinyou curiously stared at the Team Channel, researching how to use it.

Chen Mo Zhi instead looked at the Blood Bar representing his status and the words "Status: Normal" below it, his brows furrowed.

If someone lives long‑term in a world where reality is digitized, who could fail to mix reality and game?

Ah...... so this is what the world looks like through the eyes of a mental patient?

Thinking of Ying Duo's usual behavior that defies common sense, they merely began silently researching the freshly obtained "game system".

It's just a pity that, aside from being able to view their own and teammates' status bars, their team channel for information exchange was the most useful thing they had.

Just as they were silently studying the 'system,' Ying Duo, thanks to having successfully formed a team, smoothly accepted the task 【Investigate Black Stone Mine Cave Anomaly】 at the counter.

He returned with the mission certificate stamped by the Mercenaries Guild, glanced at the contact information and brief address of the task poster marked on it, and tilted his head.

Because it was easy to remember, he actually had an impression of that name.

He was an acquaintance.

Ying Duo casually tossed the mission certificate onto the table; they needed to first go find the task poster to obtain the map of the Black Stone Mine Cave.

"I know this person; I'll take you to find them."

This remark exceeded everyone's expectations; Shen Zexi instinctively glanced at the task details for the poster's information.

Slum District 8's 'Mirage Vortex' bar, Cai Mao.

Almost forgetting, Ying Duo also hailed from the Slum, so it's not strange that he has acquaintances here.