Chapter 74: New Mission—Defeat the Overseer

When the surrounding white light gradually faded, Qin Fei found himself back in his own room.

“Oink, oink!”

A series of pig-like grunts echoed through the room. Qin Fei glanced to his right, where Big Nose was now standing beside him, its eyes fixed on him, occasionally darting glances around the room. The pig noises just now had come from it. It seemed that the sudden shift to a new environment had left Big Nose quite unsettled.

It appeared that, upon his return, the system had not only sent Qin Fei back but had also brought along all the pets he had tamed in the Ark world. The system’s ability to transfer his tamed pets was not unexpected for Qin Fei. In fact, it was a boon. Both Big Nose and Eggy would be of great help to him in the coming world.

Not long after Qin Fei returned, a new system message appeared on the diamond crystal at his wrist.

[New game world notification: In ten days, you will enter the Ark: Survival Evolved game world!]

[New mission: Survive on the Ark’s central island, and before the Ark collapses, defeat the Overseer on the isolated island and return to the real world!]

[Mission reward: Sample implant authorization level upgrade.]

The Ark will collapse... and I need to defeat the Overseer...

Qin Fei pondered. From the mission hints given by the system, he extracted several pieces of information. First, judging by the mission description, this time the Ark world should be in PVE mode. Next was the warning about the “Ark facing collapse.” That detail was crucial—it meant that his mission was time-limited. If the three Arks floating above the isolated island collapsed, unimaginable disaster would likely befall the Ark world.

Therefore, Qin Fei had to defeat the “Overseer” before the deadline arrived. Lastly, there was the so-called “Overseer.” As a veteran player of Ark, Qin Fei was intimately familiar with the ultimate boss of the isolated island: the Overseer. In the game, to earn the right to challenge the Overseer boss, players first needed to defeat the island’s three ultimate creatures—the Broodmother, the Megapithecus, and the Dragon. The prerequisite for challenging these three was to collect all ten ancient artifacts scattered throughout the island’s hidden caves, each cave more dangerous than the last.

Collecting these artifacts was already a formidable task. It seemed the next world he would traverse would be exceptionally arduous...

In the previous world, Qin Fei’s body had been strengthened with the “Primary Constitution Enhancement” skill, and he had acquired a trove of new equipment. Both his improved constitution and the new gear required time to adapt to. Testing these items in crowded places risked being discovered by others. Likewise, training his pets, Big Nose and Eggy, was also inconvenient in the city.

Thus, Qin Fei decided to find a place with few surveillance cameras and sparse population. Using money gained from the system, he rented a two-story villa in the countryside. Country houses were cheap and the procedures swift. With the help of his system backpack and cryogenic storage, Qin Fei moved Eggy, Big Nose, and most of his household belongings into the villa. The move took him nearly half a day.

Big Nose, though technically an entelodont, looked little different from a large, fat pig—just with a longer snout. The villa’s yard was surrounded by walls, so letting Big Nose live there posed little issue. His dodo bird, at first glance, resembled a giant duck; keeping it in the yard, as long as he kept a low profile, wouldn’t attract much attention either.

Originally, Qin Fei had two dodos, but he lost one on the way to the volcano. He reckoned that, upon return, the system had only brought back pets that stayed close to their survivor. As for the lost one... it could only remain in that world. Perhaps, it had already fed the sharks.

Losing a dodo was no great loss for Qin Fei. As for Eggy, he dared not leave it in the yard. In modern society, a sudden appearance of a pterosaur would certainly cause trouble if discovered. Eggy could only roam indoors.

These days, Qin Fei spent most of his time on games, urgently learning about various sandbox games, their content and mechanics. He also set aside time to train Big Nose and Eggy, focusing on building combat rapport and acclimating them to the noise and flashes of firearms and other modern weapons.

Ten days soon flew by.

The time for another crossing had arrived.

Before the final moment, Qin Fei checked his skills and the equipment in his backpack once more. Besides the auxiliary skills “Advanced Engineer Mastery” and “Stone Architecture Mastery,” he now possessed four passive combat skills: Shotgun Expert, Demolition Expert, Stealth Strike, and Primary Constitution Enhancement.

In terms of items, apart from the basic firearms, ammunition, food, and other survival supplies, the special items in his backpack included: Substitute Doll x2, Y-shaped Plant Trap x4, Grappling Hook, Glider, Night Vision Goggles, and the three great artifacts: Unity, Wisdom, and Hunter.

Qin Fei had two magical items: the “Teleportation Staff” from Don’t Starve, and the “Cloud in a Bottle” from Terraria.

At present, his team comprised four members.

[Qin Fei’s team: Qin Fei (owner), Xie Nai Nai, Caesar, Pulse]

The last two were the survivors he had met atop the volcano before returning, and had teamed up with. Their names were strange, but given that all survivors hailed from different planes, eccentric names were to be expected.

As the countdown ended, the diamond crystal on Qin Fei’s wrist shone with a beam of light. In an instant, his entire body transformed into a string of digital code and vanished from the room.

[Repairing all injuries on your body...]

[Mission begins. Prepare to enter the Ark: Survival Evolved game world. Teleportation countdown...]

When teleportation was complete, Qin Fei found himself lying atop the volcano.

Beside him lay three others—two men and one woman: his teammates Xie Nai Nai, Caesar, and Pulse. As Qin Fei awoke, the others gradually stirred as well.

After a brief exchange, the group confirmed that the system had assigned them all the same mission: to defeat the Overseer on the island before the collapse of the three Arks overhead.

Qin Fei surveyed the surroundings. He noticed that the volcano’s summit had changed somewhat since he’d last been here. In the center of the volcanic lake, once filled with magma, a new path had appeared. At the end of the path was a cave, its entrance sealed.

Directly in front of the entrance stood a terminal identical to those found beneath the Ark towers, bearing three differently shaped slots.

They were for the heads of the spider, the ape, and the dragon...