The Thief Swarm and Team Survival

Lin Ran pulled his hand back, only a faint trace of electricity lingering on his fingertips.

It seemed these dolls had completely drained him.

He truly wondered what powered these dolls; they ran on electricity, steam, and clockwork.

Vera straightened up, regaining her usual calm and composed demeanor.

“I have something to report regarding that human woman, and I hope you will accompany me.”

Lin Ran nodded.

Although Zhou Qingqing, the woman in question, did not hold significant weight in his plans, and leaving now might cause the Treasure Chest Monster to throw a tantrum from not seeing her ‘Mama’, she was, after all, a fish he had painstakingly reeled in, an integral part of his cultivation scheme.

“Anmeng Yue, let her sleep for a while. I have something to attend to.”

Anmeng Yue didn’t even lift her head, simply extending three fingers.

“Three crystal cores.”

“Tch… you profiteer, put it on my tab for now.”

Lin Ran spat dismissively, then, after ensuring the Treasure Chest Monster was asleep, he turned and followed Vera.

A sense of foreboding settled over him.

Along the way, Vera remained utterly silent.

Her very silence was a signal in itself.

Soon, the two passed through a teleportation gate, arriving inside the convenience store.

The place had been almost entirely emptied, with most of the supplies already moved.

Only a few heavy items remained on the shelves, originally slated for Lim to transport.

The convenience store was desolate, save for a lone figure lying on the ground.

It was Zhou Qingqing.

Her eyes were tightly shut, her chest showing no rise or fall whatsoever.

“Dea… dead?!”

Lin Ran looked at Vera with a hint of disbelief, his voice tinged with a question, but she quickly shook her head, clarifying, “She was like this when I found her. I had Anmeng Yue examine her; she isn’t completely dead.”

“Her ability to breathe has been taken away, seemingly influenced by some external factor.”

Vera’s explanation was remarkably precise, designed to inform Lin Ran of the situation immediately.

“Her life is being sustained by a small slime, which has burrowed into her windpipe to assist with respiration, though she may require a small slime to perform this function long-term.”

She paused, then added, “If you object, we could also simply abandon her life.”

Lin Ran shook his head, naturally unable to agree.

This woman was a propaganda machine he had painstakingly hooked, and just when he was about to use her, she was dead?

He absolutely could not accept it.

More importantly, there was a hidden threat lurking behind this incident.

Who could guarantee that Lim, Vera, or even he himself wouldn’t be the next to have their breathing capacity stolen?

This method of attack had already crossed his bottom line.

Sustaining her life was no longer merely about her being a propaganda tool.

It was also about uncovering the enemy hidden in the shadows.

He would investigate anything that threatened the lives of those around him to its very core.

“There’s more.”

Vera continued, “This isn’t the primary scene. The primary scene is in the warehouse inside. A little doll discovered her and then dragged her before me.”

With that, Vera led Lin Ran towards the convenience store’s warehouse.

Lin Ran followed her in, and what met his eyes was… a treasure chest.

It was a brand-new treasure chest, identical to the Treasure Chest Monster he had encountered before, down to the slightest detail of its patterns.

However, the lid of this particular chest was already open.

Inside, there was nothing.

“The human woman was found to have stopped breathing directly in front of this treasure chest. And the chest was empty from the very beginning, which means…”

Before Vera could finish, Lin Ran had already caught on to her line of thought.

“It’s a setup, a frame-up, isn’t it?”

“Moreover, the culprit possessed information that ‘we have a treasure chest here,’ yet they lacked the details that ‘the treasure chest has already been moved’ and ‘the treasure chest is a Treasure Chest Monster.'”

Lin Ran’s analysis astonished Vera, causing her to instinctively clap her hands.

Meanwhile, his own fists were tightly clenched.

Such an enemy existed.

An enemy capable of killing his subordinate right under the noses of countless little dolls, small slimes, and Vera, a master of mind-reading.

He truly had to prioritize this kind of enemy above all else.

“Prepare a defensive plan. Immediately summon all slimes and dolls before me; I need to…”

Lin Ran’s full thought was, ‘I need to appraise your abilities,’ meaning he intended to use his Talent Detection Eye to enhance everyone’s strength.

****

However, he didn’t even get to finish his sentence.

The entire world suddenly lurched violently.

Lin Ran stumbled, nearly losing his balance.

Vera, however, remained elegantly upright, even extending a silken thread to steady Lin Ran.

Immediately afterward, that familiar notification sound echoed in the minds of all humans—

[Attention, everyone—]

[Twenty-one percent of humanity has yet to awaken from the second wave of attacks, exceeding the time limit. The second wave of attacks has been prematurely concluded.]

[Humans who have not yet awakened will remain eternally asleep in their dreams until their physical bodies perish.]

Lin Ran’s heart sank.

The harsh reality of the apocalypse was finally beginning to manifest.

Twenty-one percent of humanity plunged into permanent sleep.

And this was only the second wave.

Moreover…

[The third wave of attacks is about to begin!]

[This wave’s attack: Thief Swarm!]

[The enemies in this wave are of the ‘Thief’ profession, comprising numerous different species. Their common trait is that they will steal your possessions!]

[This wave’s failure mechanism: Life stolen by thieves.]

[This wave of attacks employs a special combat mechanism—Five-Person Team Survival Battle!]

[Teams will be divided into five roles—Damage Dealer, Support, Logistics, Crowd Control, and Healer.]

[Each role will adopt different strategic approaches, and the system will automatically match teammates whose abilities align with those strategies.]

[Role assignments are to be decided by each of you. Upon the conclusion of the third wave, corresponding rewards will be distributed based on the assigned roles.]

[Example: If assigned the Damage Dealer role, you will receive a reward capable of enhancing your damage-dealing abilities after the third wave.]

[Randomly matching teammates…]

[Matching complete!]

[Connecting to rest area…]

[Connection complete!]

Before the words had even fully registered, Lin Ran found his feet planted on solid wooden floorboards.

He had been suddenly teleported back to his own wooden cabin.

The slimes and dolls were all still there, including Lim, who had been out with him, and Zhou Qingqing, who was lying in the convenience store.

The scenery around his wooden cabin also began to undergo dramatic changes.

Four other wooden cabins, each distinct in style, materialized out of thin air around his own.

These five wooden cabins formed a circular arrangement.

[Now, please begin forming your teams.]

[Regardless of whether your teammates are friends or foes, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses, and regardless of any past grievances you may have held against them,]

[They will, from this point forward, be your most crucial companions.]

[Even if they have previously harmed you in secret.]