Chapter 45 Team Rank

“You’re quite fortunate,” Qi Guanbei nodded. “I’m leading this run.”

“So… would you be willing to help me?”

“Of course, not without compensation.” Qi Guanbei smiled. “What price are you prepared to pay?”

Xiao Zhang considered for a moment. “In the last run, I gained some rewards.”

“I don’t need them,” Qi Guanbei replied coolly. “I’ve been through many runs and collected plenty.”

He didn’t even bother to ask what Xiao Zhang had.

Chen Xiaoliang thought for a moment. “Then what do you want?”

“As I said, your luck is quite good.” Qi Guanbei stubbed out his cigarette. “I require a promise.”

Xiao Zhang stayed silent.

“This run was originally organized for an old hand and a few newcomers who were to join me. But on the way here, he killed two of the newcomers and fled.”

Qi Guanbei’s voice was calm, but Xiao Zhang’s heart churned. “And me?”

A flicker of coldness crossed Qi Guanbei’s eyes. “If you encounter him, I want you to eliminate the traitor at any cost.”

Xiao Zhang’s heartbeat quickened. “You mean, killed in the real world?”

“Yes,” Qi Guanbei replied flatly.

Notification: Someone has invited you to join their team. Do you accept?

Xiao Zhang looked up at Qi Guanbei, who gave him a confirming nod.

Xiao Zhang took a deep breath…

Accept.

Are you sure you want to accept? Accepting will remove you from your previous team.

Confirm.

Soon, new changes appeared on the interface within Xiao Zhang’s field of vision.

Notification: You have joined the “Dragon Five Squad.” You can now use the team channel, purchase special team equipment, and more. Please check the team functions.

Xiao Zhang glanced at Qi Guanbei. Notification: You are now a participant in the run. The run begins in six hours and twenty-six minutes.

“I think you need to get familiar with a few things right now,” Qi Guanbei said with a soft smile. “I’ll give you some time. Come find me two hours before the run starts to regroup.”

“By the way, Qi Guan, do you know any way to awaken intentionally?”

Qi Guanbei thought for a moment. “No. At least, I don’t know. If you meet Haonan, you can ask him.”

“Thank you.”

Back in his room, Xiao Zhang found Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhao Bai to discuss matters. Zhao Tai had already joined Shadow Isle, and since he had support there, he couldn’t interact with them for now.

“I’ve joined Qi Guanbei’s temporary team, but you two shouldn’t join just yet.”

While the group discussed, Zhao Bai seemed to want to say something, but couldn’t get the words out.

Finally, Xiao Zhang called Zhao Bai aside, and the two stepped out of the room.

No sooner had they left than Zhao Bai asked, “Doggie, can’t we let Zhao Tai join us now?”

“No.” Xiao Zhang shook his head.

At that moment, Zhao Bai pulled out his phone, intending to call Zhao Tai, but Xiao Zhang snatched the phone away and ended the call. “Datang’s mythic run this time isn’t your run-of-the-mill instance. If you really want to protect Zhao Tai, don’t contact him. Otherwise, you’ll not only endanger him but also us.”

“Alright!” Zhao Bai took his phone back from Xiao Zhang.

Xiao Zhang’s expression grew serious as he spoke to Zhao Bai. “Besides, I have no idea what happens if these artificially awakened people die—whether they refresh or not—so now isn’t the time for you to act on impulse.”

Noticing he’d been too stern, Xiao Zhang tried to lighten the mood, giving Zhao Bai a playful punch. “Bro, I damn well don’t want your first run to end with you dead, haha~”

“Screw you, you damn dog!” Zhao Bai laughed in return.

The awkward tension between them finally dissipated.

Xiao Zhang let out a long breath and said quietly, “Let’s go back and discuss what to do next with Momo.”

As they walked, Xiao Zhang suddenly remembered something. “Momo, let me ask you—what’s the difference between a team and an organization?”

“A team is pretty much like a temporary organization,” she replied.

“Oh. So, can we start our own organization now?” he asked, while also splitting his attention to check the new system functions.

Team Functions.

The team functions were roughly as Xiao Zhang had guessed. Sure enough, after joining a team, he now had permission to select runs.

Although the option was currently greyed out, it was clearly because his authority wasn’t high enough—probably only the team leader could control it.

If he could establish his own organization, then these features should be available to him as well.

“Not yet. Only when a team reaches a certain level can it create an organization. An organization can have multiple teams, but a team can only belong to one squad.”

After a moment’s silence, Xiao Zhang spoke. “So what’s team mode like?”

“Yeah! We’re all newbies here—we don’t know any of this,” Zhao Bai jumped in.

Mo Xiaoxiao laughed. “Leave it to the great one here! Team mode has a lot of advantages—it’s like forming a group, so you won’t be forcibly pulled into runs as an individual anymore.”

Zhao Bai slapped his thigh. “Damn, Miss Mo, why didn’t you say so earlier? We could have just joined a team!”

“But—” Mo Xiaoxiao shot him a glance. “Individuals might be exempt from random selection, but teams and organizations still can’t avoid runs. Every team and organization has its own run missions. You can’t just loaf around after joining a team.

If you stay inactive too long, you’ll be forcibly thrown into a punishment run.

Also, run clearance rates are a crucial metric for teams and organizations. Team member strength, the number of successful runs, survival rates, mission completion—all these are evaluated together.

In theory, the more skilled members a team has and the more runs they complete, the higher their success rate and the higher their team rank.

Team ranks range from E to S.

High-ranking teams have several benefits. First, they can enter advanced runs without a participant limit, bringing all their strongest members to maintain maximum fighting power and boost their chances of success.

Second, they get byes. When facing runs below their team rank, they can choose to opt out. For instance, an A-rank team can skip A-rank and below runs.

But doing so will lower the team’s rank.”

Suddenly, Zhao Bai’s eyes lit up. “That’s a loophole! Theoretically, the tougher the run, the higher the death rate. So we could use this to farm our rank…”