"What?"

Everyone's faces changed simultaneously; they truly hadn’t expected something like this to happen.

Upon closer thought, it wasn't entirely impossible for the three of them to have escaped.

First off, after experiencing the situation at the club, they no longer trusted them completely, though knocking out Eric was a bit excessive.

"I was knocked out by Roland. I just woke up to discover they took the car and left!" As Eric finished speaking, everyone’s faces turned even paler because at that moment, they received a group side mission.

Main Task 1: Find Anandon and survive until Act Four safely!

Side Mission 2: Protect Janet, Linda, Roland, and Abigail to survive until Act Four. For each one who survives, everyone receives a 100-point survival reward.

"It seems like everything is scripted. The script already stated that tonight, most of the townsfolk of Innsmouth will rapidly transform into Deep Ones overnight..."

Xu Lin shook her head, "This makes things harder. Since there's a task to survive until Act Four, the coming scenes will definitely be tough!"

"The danger level will also increase exponentially!" Carmen added, "Someone among us might have already triggered a death flag, and the rescue plot ahead could very likely lead us into danger."

The main story script is like a biochemical crisis erupting in the town, with most ordinary people turning into Deep One hybrids, a phenomenon rapidly spreading to Arkham and Newburyport, causing a terrifying large-scale incident.

The main storyline typically follows a similar pattern, and side missions can’t be revealed, so everyone had to discuss based on the main storyline.

"When we enter the town, we must first get a vehicle, and our actions need to be swift. Just finding those few people will be troublesome..."

"The side mission doesn’t say we must rescue them; it says we get a reward if we do. In other words, we can still complete the story without saving these people..."

Jin Jianshu had now set aside other concerns, focusing on researching the plot and cracking the main storyline. Being a smart person, he temporarily discarded the bad habits cultivated from years of scheming, showing a much more solid performance now.

"We can’t think like that. Although the main task is to last until Act Four, it might still involve those people. Since it's a group side mission, it can't be that simple. I still believe we should rescue them." Alexander thought in reverse, believing they shouldn't discard the rescue option.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Carmen and Xu Lin exchanged glances, realizing that in this bloody mission world, only these two were likely to survive and become true strategists.

"A group side mission isn't issued for no reason. People indeed need to be saved, but since each survivor brings a 100-point reward, we don’t have to exhaust ourselves to save everyone."

Xu Lin maintained the decision-making power within the team.

"We must return to the town's dock and port, even the hospital, to find Madden's whereabouts and figure out Anandon's movements."

"But the whole town will become 'Deep Ones.' Our journey will certainly face obstacles..." The elder surnamed Cheng, who had seldom spoken, expressed his deep concern.

"Yes, that's true, but given the main storyline, we strategists are powerless."

However, Alexander considered why such a setting suddenly emerged.

In the original works, a person’s transformation into a Deep One wasn’t absolute; even those with special bloodlines wouldn’t change so quickly, especially in a large town like this.

Moreover, there was another puzzling matter—why the main storyline had changed. If anything seemed suspicious, it was the club’s incident and the appearance of the military...

"If I'm not mistaken, the town's transformation into Deep Ones will happen by midnight. It's still early, so we have time," Xu Lin, with a wisp of worry in her brows, spoke steadily, concealing any anxiety, as was her nature.

...

"How could you do this, Roland!"

"Listen, Linda, now isn't the time to argue. We can't rely on those people, and they might have hidden something from the start. Didn’t you notice they always gathered together, plotting something and deliberately avoiding us?"

Roland was talking while driving, addressing Linda in the back seat.

"Now even Janet is missing, yet they won’t tell us anything. Honestly, I’m fed up. I want to go back to town to find them."

"How? Like headless chickens running around town..."

The black guy shook his head, "If we run into that special forces group, we're done for. They might not hesitate to kill us to silence us."

As Roland was driving, a large truck suddenly sped from the roadside, seeming intent on ramming into them.

"What?" He hurriedly tried to steer away, but it was too late. With a loud crash, their car was spun around. Luckily, they weren't hurt, just shaken and pale with fear.

At that moment, several burly men jumped from the truck, seizing the trio and dragging them out.

Roland and Abigail tried to resist but were quickly beaten to the ground.

"Who are you, and why are you doing this?"

Linda was about to scream when a drug-soaked handkerchief was shoved over her mouth. Her eyes rolled back, and she lost consciousness.

...

Half an hour later, Alexander's group descended the mountain, soon finding the wrecked car.

"This is bad; it looks like they've been captured. But who on earth took them?" Xu Lin frowned, seeing the car's smashed doors.

"It looks like we’ll have to use that." Carmen reluctantly shook his head, extending a hand to produce a syringe filled with a blue liquid from nowhere.

"What’s that?" Jin Jianshu eyed the syringe with an uneasy expression. The liquid inside was a bizarre shade of blue, its glow unsettling.

"Old Li, I remember your survival points are running low too."

Xu Lin looked at Carmen seriously.

"Yes, just over 700 left, but I’m the only one whose 'fragment magic' can come in handy for this." Carmen shook his head, aiming the needle at his arm for an intramuscular injection.