Chapter 302: Core Reward

If the information is evenly distributed and each team gets one, then there must be a team whose info is that a shelter can only be used once.

So what information will the last team, which they still don't know, have?

Cheng Shuili shook her head; this team Instance is truly odd—teams are not competing but must cooperate.

Thinking back, it's a shame we didn't pull the information they knew out of Qianxun's mouth at the time.

Fortunately, we're about to meet now.

Cheng Shuili opened the map again and glanced; the two tiny lights were nearly overlapping, but the building complex's broken walls and ruins blocked much of the view.

After bypassing a collapsed wall, Cheng Shuili finally saw Qianxun and several others.

Only four of them remained, and even the living ones had grim faces.

Cheng Shuili examined closely and realized that among the dead was the young man who had spoken up in the warehouse earlier.

He was too reckless; losing his life wasn't surprising.

Qianxun's face was sullen, clearly having endured something unpleasant. He looked at Cheng Shuili with a hint of hope and said, "Wu Ya, you should be clear on the shelter rules by now, right?"

Cheng Shuili met Qianxun's gaze, nodded, and said, "Yes. A shelter can only be used once, and they're limited in number—not enough for each team to last to the end."

Her words fell like a stone into Qianxun's already unsettled heart, stirring heavy ripples. The final hint of luck on the faces of the three teammates behind Qianxun vanished, replaced by deeper anxiety and exhaustion.

Qianxun inhaled deeply, as if trying to suppress surging emotions, and said, "We only just learned… at the second peak, the shelter we found had already failed. The warning came too late, we almost…"

He paused, his voice hoarse, "We almost were completely wiped out. Fortunately there was an unused one nearby, and we rushed for it."

He omitted the perilous details, but Cheng Shuili could picture the harrowing scene from their wounded bodies and chaotic gear. That dead young teammate likely met his end during this transfer.

Cooperation is essential, but before that Cheng Shuili must know what information their team possesses.

She didn't state her own request, and Qianxun volunteered, "The information we obtained concerns the Central Research Institute, and because of that we were extremely passive at the first peak, lost four people, and even wasted one of my items..."

So they were a ten‑person squad.

Qianxun didn't linger on that item, but directly explained their information: "From the start we learned that only by exploring the Central Research Institute can we obtain this Instance's most crucial reward, and that reward can be earned by only one team per Instance."

Cheng Shuili understood instantly; no wonder the three teammates behind Qianxun looked so grim.

The reward was almost within reach, but now they have to relinquish it for a smoother passage through the Instance. Anyone would feel some resentment.

Cheng Shuili was actually pleased; they almost missed this Instance's core reward. The mechanism of this Instance is truly treacherous—one moment of inattention and you're caught off guard.

Cheng Shuili shook her head and generously produced her map, "Here's the map we found; tell us the locations of the shelters you've used, so we can more easily locate unused shelters."

Qianxun looked at the map Cheng Shuili shared, a flash of complexity crossing his eyes.

The honesty and efficiency displayed by the other side, contrasted with the losses caused by their own selfishness, made their earlier decisions appear foolish.

He suppressed his emotions and immediately pointed out the locations of the two shelters they had used.

"Here, and here." Qianxun's finger flicked quickly over the map, "The second shelter is the one we just fled into, almost right next to the first that failed. Luckily it was close, otherwise…"

Before he finished, a nearby teammate with a facial abrasion added, voice trembling, "At that time the acid rain had peaked, it started corroding the lizard‑skin gear, and we had brought a few extra units of that model."

But Cheng Shuili's focus was on the fact that they had used two shelters.

Thus, out of ten shelters, six are confirmed used, leaving four unknown, and according to Cheng Shuili's inference, three of those must be potentially unused.

Victory is within sight!

Cheng Shuili selected a shelter location, and the group moved forward immediately.

It was still early, no need to rush, so almost nothing happened on the road; any monsters encountered were simply bypassed.

Moreover… oddly, throughout the entire Instance, aside from their party's voices, there were no other voices.

They'd almost crossed half the Instance, and saw no one along the way; perhaps the team that gun‑fought them in the warehouse has all perished.

Whether they're alive or dead no longer matters to Cheng Shuili now; the search for shelters wasted too much time, so they can only wait for the next peak to pass before exploring the institute.

Including Qianxun, the ten of them cramped into one shelter.

When this peak arrived, Cheng Shuili and the others felt calm, neither panicked nor impatient.

It's worth noting that the system popped up a new prompt panel this time.

【Each shelter can accommodate up to ten players!】

Having this appear at such a time, the intent is so malicious that Cheng Shuili really doesn't want to comment.

Inside the shelter, ten people squeezed into a cramped space, the atmosphere heavier than any previous time. Not just because of the crowd, but also because of the system's final prompt.

Ginger Candy muttered softly, "This system is terrible… isn't it deliberately provoking internal conflict?"

Qi Wan Yi patted her shoulder, signaling her to say less.

Now it's not just them here.

Several members of Qianxun's team wore even more subtle expressions.

If their team still had six members, then meeting Cheng Shuili's six‑person team now would inevitably lead to conflict over this ten‑person shelter.

The system's malicious intent was obvious.

No need to say more about the other members; though a comrade's death is painful, at this moment they truly felt a hint of relief.

Actually the happiest person present was Mo yu mi ji, who stayed in a corner, trying to lower his presence, feeling terrified inside.

Luckily… luckily there are exactly ten now; though he's a "prisoner," he at least has a spot.