Chapter 20: Claiming the Mission Reward

At this moment, smiles adorned everyone’s faces. After all, it was their first mission, and they had exceeded expectations—truly a cause for joy.

After driving for more than ten minutes, the towering walls of Liberty City came into view. Numerous squads were already returning from outside; some carried large bundles while others drove vehicles into the city.

Gazing into the distance on both sides, many squads were still advancing toward Liberty City—evidently, everyone had completed their missions.

Soon, the vehicle reached the city gates, where the Judgment Officers on guard approached, checked the information on the wristbands, and then allowed them to pass.

They drove through the outer district and arrived at the Zombie Hunting Division near the C District plaza. After parking, the five of them entered the division’s lobby.

This Zombie Hunting Division was far larger than the one in the outer district. The lobby was crowded with people either picking up or submitting missions.

“Hello, here is our squad’s information. We have completed an E-level task and are submitting the crystal core.”

“Hello, we completed an E+ level mission. Our vehicle is outside; please take a look.”

All the squads were submitting their missions at the front desk. Li Xingyue and the others scanned the room and noticed a spot just vacated in the corner. They immediately rushed over and handed over their third-tier crystal core from their pockets.

“Hello, we completed a D-level mission. Here is the crystal core.”

The young woman at the front desk, who had been dozing off, suddenly woke at the sound. She looked up at the crystal core in surprise, then at Li Xingyue and the group with even greater astonishment.

Without saying more, she verified the information and transferred the mission reward points through the front desk's system into Li Xingyue’s wristband.

“Please check; the points should have arrived. Your team experience has also been added. Wishing you an early promotion to a level two team.”

The girl smiled gently and spoke politely.

Seeing the 2,000 points displayed on the wristband, Li Xingyue nodded and thanked her, then left with the others.

However, just outside the lobby, they noticed many people gathered around their vehicle. Some seemed ready to tamper with the locks.

Liu Er cursed under his breath and prepared to rush forward.

Li Xingyue quickly pulled him back and whispered a few words into Liu San’s ear. Liu San’s face brightened, and he hurried back inside.

Soon, Liu San returned, accompanied by the young woman from the front desk.

Liu San led her to the car, and she nodded, communicating something through her radio. Soon, two people came over to inspect the vehicle and inventory the supplies inside.

Indeed, Li Xingyue had acted wisely—if they confronted the others head-on, they would be outnumbered.

So, Liu San went to find the girl who had received them earlier and explained that their team had returned with an entire vehicle full of supplies, hoping to have those converted into points as well.

The girl then came out with him.

Upon seeing Liu San and the girl’s actions, those initially gathered around the car leapt forward to shield the vehicle.

“What are you doing? This is our vehicle we brought back!”

“Yeah, we haven’t even agreed to exchange points yet!”

One of them pointed at Liu San and cursed, “You little punk, trying to steal a car! You must be asking for trouble!”

As the men advanced, Liu San quickly pulled the girl behind him, ready to speak. Unexpectedly, she stepped forward defiantly, looking at the group without a trace of fear.

“If you claim this car is yours, where is your proof?”

Her words silenced the crowd’s jeers.

By now, the area was packed with people from neighboring squads, all watching eagerly.

“Proof… what proof do you need? We recovered this car ourselves. Besides, they probably don’t have any evidence!”

The girl turned to Liu San.

Liu San understood her meaning. He pulled the car key from his pocket and pressed the thumb button downward.

BiUbiU!

The vehicle’s lights blinked on instantly, followed by the sound of the doors unlocking.

This display stunned the opposing group.

The onlookers realized the men were trying to claim the car for themselves but had failed.

However, the bald man was quick-witted and responded swiftly: “Alright, you thief! No wonder we couldn’t find the keys earlier. We almost had to pick the lock!”

Seeing they wouldn’t back down, Li Xingyue and the others stepped forward, facing the bald leader.

“If you say this car is yours, then tell us what’s inside.”

The bald man had already been considering retreat. Compared to fighting an ordinary squad, he had some courage—his team was composed of strong adult men. But opposing members of the Zombie Hunting Division was a different matter entirely; he wouldn’t dare.

Yet after hearing Li Xingyue’s question, he regained confidence. He had spent some time peering through the car windows and knew there was plenty of food and water inside.

This was his advantage.

With determination, the bald man looked at Li Xingyue. “Of course I know what’s inside. Food and water, mostly snacks—chips, cookies… all the stuff we painstakingly brought back from a supermarket surrounded by zombies!”

The crowd, hearing his detailed description, began to doubt Li Xingyue and her group.

Damn, this guy has sharp eyes—I better be careful, Li Xingyue thought, growing uneasy.

At that moment, Huang Ya stepped forward and addressed the bald man: “Is there only food and water inside the car? Nothing else?”

The bald man shook his head firmly. “Nothing else but water and food!”

He then opened all four doors, revealing the contents to everyone.

The girl also looked inside. The items were exactly as the bald man had described, down to the last detail—she felt as though it was truly his vehicle.

“I’m telling you all, stealing someone’s stuff is shameful. Just admit your mistake.”

“Exactly. You’ve been caught red-handed and still stand there dumbfounded. It’s a disgrace to the Zombie Hunting squads!”

After this exchange, the crowd was convinced the car belonged to the bald man and began to scold Li Xingyue and her group.

But Huang Ya spoke again: “Wrong! Completely wrong! There’s a cooking pot and five bowls inside the car!”

His words rang out with authority, drawing all eyes.

“Is this guy crazy? Who in their right mind would bring pots and pans when scavenging supplies?”

“I think he’s just grasping at straws, refusing to admit defeat!”

“If there really are pots and bowls in that car, I’ll personally go to Starsea City and fight the Tyrant barehanded!”

The girl shook her head in disappointment and turned to return to the lobby.

Ignoring the surrounding voices, Huang Ya walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk.

After rummaging through the mountain of supplies, he pulled out a cooking wok.

Placing it on the ground, he continued searching and soon found five small porcelain bowls.

“Holy crap! This guy means business!”

“No way! This guy’s a legend!”

“By the way, didn’t someone just say they were going to fight the Zombie King barehanded?”

The crowd buzzed with excitement as Huang Ya confirmed the unusual but convincing evidence.