"Red Ram, you actually cleared Ammunition Depot No. 4!"
Frost was practically trembling with excitement.
In the Battlefield World’s scavenging mode, players could bring items out of an instance and sell them in the real world.
Of course, if they were strong enough, they could clear the instance outright.
Most people, however, chose to sneak in, stay out of the NPCs’ sight, and slip back out unnoticed.
But some highly capable squads did clear instances and secure their ongoing yields.
Ammunition Depot No. 4, for example, produced large quantities of AK-47 rifles and ammunition.
Once someone cleared a map, they basically never had to worry about money again for the rest of their life.
Every major faction would come looking to recruit them.
Or they could refuse to join anyone and establish a faction of their own.
They could sell the resources the instance produced or use them to supply their own organization.
Instances such as ammunition depots and military bases were the targets every major organization rushed to capture.
Out in the real world, a single AK-47 sold for as much as 100,000 Federation Credits. Adrian’s monthly living allowance was only 1,000. That alone showed just how expensive weapons were in this world.
And it was not only ammunition depots and warehouses. Instances containing farmland, orchards, and mines were also fiercely contested by the major factions.
The resources consumed in the real world all came from Instance Worlds.
Clearing those instances meant gaining a fixed supply of resources every month.
"Damn. I had no idea this world was hiding so much information."
Adrian was genuinely surprised. None of this had been taught in class. Then again, perhaps it was knowledge only acquired after becoming a mercenary or spending years in the Battlefield World.
Then Adrian realized there was a serious problem.
"I’ve exposed what I can do. These two know I cleared Ammunition Depot No. 4. What if..."
At that thought, Adrian looked toward them. Both Rem and Frost sensed the trace of killing intent hidden in his gaze.
"You don’t need to be so tense, Adrian. Ammunition Depot No. 4 is only a minor instance. Attacking your teammates inside an instance will get you put on a wanted list."
Frost hurriedly stepped forward to explain. She was afraid Adrian might do something extreme.
What puzzled her, though, was that Adrian possessed such a powerful squad yet did not seem to know even this basic information.
"Could Adrian be the heir to some major faction? Maybe his family sheltered him too well?"
Hearing Frost’s explanation, Adrian realized that he had overplayed his hand.
"Ha. You’re overthinking it. But..."
Adrian stopped halfway through his sentence.
That look he had given them moments ago had clearly said he wanted to kill them and eliminate the witnesses. His hesitation immediately put them on edge again.
"Relax. I just need you to keep this a secret for me."
Adrian’s expression softened at once.
"Let’s go. We cleared it, so it’s time to extract."
The ammunition depot was still three kilometers from the extraction point, but now that Adrian had cleared the instance, there was no need to stay as tense as before.
The group headed toward the extraction point as casually as if they were taking a walk.
"System, open the Exchange Store."
As they walked, Adrian brought up the System interface.
Four thousand eight hundred points sounded like a lot. He wanted to see what kind of powerful squad support he could exchange them for.
[101st Airborne Squad: 12 personnel. Deployment method: helicopter fast-rope insertion. Required points: 10,000.]
[Royal Marines: 12 personnel. Deployment method: helicopter fast-rope insertion. Required points: 10,000.]
The 101st Airborne Squad and the Royal Marines had roughly the same squad composition as Adrian’s current VDV squad. The main difference was their weapons.
Yet a twelve-man squad like that cost 10,000 points. He still had a long way to go.
He continued scrolling.
[M-Series Squads unlocked. Unlocks subsequent light armored forces.]
[Guard Armored Squad: 12 personnel, BTR-80A wheeled armored vehicle ×1. Deployment method: full-vehicle airdrop. Required points: 50,000.]
[101st Paratrooper Armored Assault Squad: Locked. Requires exchange for the 101st Airborne Squad.]
[Royal Knight Armored Guard: Locked. Requires exchange for the Royal Marines.]
The store only went that far for now, but it was enough to leave Adrian astonished.
"That’s a BTR. Its 30mm cannon is no joke. Against infantry, it’d be a damn harvester."
A 30mm autocannon firing high-explosive rounds, backed by a coaxial machine gun.
Forget a few hundred guards—even if a thousand showed up, Adrian would not be afraid.
The only downside was that the BTR’s armor was too thin. At the rear, it was only ten millimeters thick.
Still, it was more than sufficient against ordinary rifle rounds.
"The only problem is that the exchange cost is way too high."
Each NPC killed earned him ten points. By that calculation, Adrian would need to kill 5,000 NPCs to unlock his armored force.
"Looks like registering as a mercenary was the right move. I’ll really need to come here often from now on."
The group reached the extraction point, an open patch of ground beside a road.
A small red flag had been planted in the earth.
Adrian’s vision blurred, and the four of them reappeared before the portal.
"Huh? Why is it only the four of us? Adrian, where are your teammates?"
Frost asked.
"They didn’t use the same portal as me. They’re in other cities."
This was one thing Adrian understood clearly.
Teammates could enter the same map from different cities.
After thinking it over for a moment, Frost understood.
"That’s right. Adrian entered alone, and he came back alone. That makes sense."
Before they parted ways, Rem paid Adrian and Frost for the job.
Since the mission had failed, the two only received 20,000 Federation Credits each. But that was insignificant to Adrian now.
Every month, he would receive 200 AKs and matching ammunition. At the current market price of 100,000 per rifle and one Federation Credit per round, Adrian could earn 20 million Federation Credits a month.
Still, he accepted the money. He had risked his life for it, so there was no reason to turn it down.
School ended at six in the evening, and only a little over three hours had passed. Adrian still needed to get back for class.
Not because he loved studying, of course, but because that afternoon’s lesson was genuinely important.
The freshmen would enter the Battlefield World tomorrow, this time as soldiers.
The equipment and documents they would need were all being issued that afternoon.
When he returned to school, Adrian went back to the classroom.
On the way, he made sure to put all his gear back into his backpack.
Thank God the System had storage space. If he had returned to class in body armor with a rifle in his hands, campus security would have stopped him on the spot.
"The conflicts between the Federations are becoming more intense, and our living space is being squeezed tighter and tighter."
The class was being taught by Ms. Ellis. With the students heading to the battlefield tomorrow, most teachers had chosen to spend the afternoon either giving them a motivational speech or sharing their own experiences.
"The Eastern Island Alliance has been steadily swallowing our resource nodes in the Battlefield World. Vast food-producing regions and oil-producing areas in the eastern seas and northern plains have already fallen to them."
A map of the Battlefield World appeared on the projector behind her.
Unlike the world map from Adrian’s previous life, the Battlefield World map was divided into regular squares.
Each small square represented a resource node.
"Tomorrow, you will become official soldiers and be deployed into the fight over those resource nodes."
"Of course, whether you are assigned to remain in the rear will depend on tomorrow’s marksmanship test and field evaluation."
Adrian listened intently.
In his previous life, physical limitations had kept him from serving his country.
But now that he had come here and gained the System, Adrian felt that he had to do something.
"Oh, and there will also be a special forces selection test tomorrow. Students who pass the soldier assessment can apply for it as well."
"All right, everyone. Take your ID tags."
Ms. Ellis picked up a box and walked from student to student.
Inside were oval metal tags. Each student’s name was engraved on the front, while the reverse side was blank.
"Tonight, come up with a callsign for yourself. That callsign will stay with you for the rest of your life."
"And do not reveal your real name in the Battlefield World."
It was meant to prevent retaliation in the real world.
Every country had learned that lesson the hard way. In the past, a special operations squad had one soldier’s identity exposed, and the repercussions had reached that soldier’s family.
To protect soldiers afterward, everyone in the Battlefield World could only address one another by callsign.
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