Chapter 102: Chapter 102: The Gathering Storm of Greed! A High-Tier Call for Aid!

The exact millisecond the leaked data hit the system networks, the entire localized server channel completely exploded with activity.

If the user interface featured a real-time trending topics dashboard, the keyword Pioneer Bai Cheng would have taken up the absolute number-one spot with a staggering metric gap over any other regional news.

"Pioneer Bai Cheng has an actual Legendary-grade retainer under her command?! Are you guys serious, or is this just a sick joke?"

"Damn it, I knew there was a specific tactical reason she kept hoarding low-tier employee recruitment cards on the open market before! Her innate talent trait is explicitly tied to maximizing employee metrics!" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"How can a broken talent like that even exist in the game database? This girl is an absolute monster..."

"My highest-tier employee is only a Green-quality common asset right now. How terrifyingly high must a Legendary employee’s baseline combat parameters be? No wonder she consistently sweeps every single first-arrival milestone reward."

"Big shot, please let me cling to your thigh! I’m ready to throw away my solo tracks right now, boo hoo..."

"Boss, do you still have open slots on your crew roster? You can make me handle all the manual heavy labor and sorting. I’m super capable—please just use me like a mule!"

While the vast pool of ordinary, low-tier Survivors merely viewed the leak through a lens of profound envy and helpless jealousy, the calculation was entirely different for the actual regional Pioneers. Every single top-tier Conductor clearly understood a fundamental, unwritten rule of the system.

When Survivors engaged in mutual slaughter and wiped out a rival train, the mechanical rewards weren’t strictly limited to looting their stored cargo boxes and extracting their train cores. More importantly, they could forcibly strip and plunder the defeated conductor’s contracted employees!

No one on the local boards could accurately map out the exact numerical limits of a Legendary retainer’s combat kit. But every single power-scaler understood exactly what integrating a Legendary asset would mean for their own faction’s survival curve!

If they could systematically plunder that card, wouldn’t their personal combat power instantly skyrocket past the regional ceiling?

Within a matter of hours, a toxic, highly volatile wave of greed sprouted simultaneously in the minds of the vast majority of regional Pioneers.

Furthermore, the structure of the upcoming [Pioneer Trial Phase Two]—which forced all 62 Pioneers to converge on a singular coordinates grid to siege the Infinite Marauders—presented the absolute perfect proxy environment to launch a synchronized ambush.

The system-mandated seven-day preparation window provided more than enough time for rival factions to coordinate communications, draft treaties, and assemble an overwhelming numerical force.

Meanwhile, outside a massive, frozen cavern system deep within the [Frigid Snow Mountain] sector.

A heavily armored locomotive was parked in a nearby valley lane. A tightly coordinated squad of seven survivors had just cleared a high-reward side-dungeon when the explosive chat logs flooded their terminal.

The vanguard leading the squad was a veteran female Pioneer. The exact second her eyes processed the leaked text scrolling across the screen, her pupils constricted into sharp, hyper-focused needles.

"This blue-tier elite werewolf under my command is already capable of tearing through low-grade mobs effortlessly," she muttered, her voice dropping into a tense whisper. "How completely broken would a Legendary entity be..."

Her gaze narrowed as she calculated the parameters. The arrival of the forced group campaign was a double-edged sword, but the tactical loophole it introduced was undeniable. A heavy hint of predatory greed completely overtook her rationale.

In a lawless world like this, if her faction didn’t make a play to seize that legendary card, another rival syndicate would eventually launch a raid to claim it.

An innocent man is guilty simply by virtue of possessing a priceless treasure.

However, she maintained enough operational sanity to recognize that her lone squad of seven stood zero statistical chance against Bai Cheng in a direct, isolated firefight—especially since the rank-one grinder had likely consolidated forces with other top-tier survivors by now.

"Ping every active Pioneer UID on our local directory immediately," she commanded her operations officer, a cold sneer forming on her face. "Tell them we are initiating a unified coalition to systematically strip Pioneer Bai Cheng of her Legendary asset cards!"

It didn’t take long for the subterranean networks to link up. Within a remarkably short time frame, the vast majority of the 62 regional Pioneers had secretly established encrypted communications, forging an ad-hoc military alliance targeted at a single node.

As the shadowy instigator who had intentionally injected this volatile intel into the public channels, Tang Yan—who was widely renowned across the server for his prophetic tracking talents—found his terminal completely overwhelmed by a non-stop barrage of alliance invitations from bloodthirsty Pioneer circles.

Tang Yan sat entirely motionless in his command chair, staring blankly at the thousands of unread messages glowing against the dark cockpit glass.

Behind him, his core team members were practically vibrating with intense, hyper-active excitement. As recognized Pioneers themselves, they knew that if a unified server alliance successfully overwhelmed Bai Cheng’s locomotive, their squad—holding the highest predictive data metrics—would stand the absolute highest statistical probability of looting the Legendary employee drops.

"Old Tang! What the hell are you still staring at?!" Xiao Ran roared, slamming an enthusiastic palm down onto Tang Yan’s shoulder plating. "Hurry up and click accept on the coalition framework!"

"He’s right, Brother Tang," the twin sisters standing adjacent to the console chimed in, their expressions eager. "Didn’t you intentionally leak her retainer’s grade precisely because you wanted to mobilize the entire server channel to hunt her down? Why are you hesitating now that the trap is snapping shut?"

Tang Yan snapped out of his trance, exhaling a slow, measured breath as he began systematically processing the incoming messages one by one.

Once the automated responses were locked in, he turned his chair around to face his inner circle, his brow furrowed in a deep scowl as he shook his head. "While the structural setup looks favorable, this is far from the optimal tactical window to launch our assault."

"Are you insane? An opportunity that literally forces every single high-tier Pioneer on the server to corner her in one sector isn’t good enough for you?" Xiao Ran countered, his face flushed with incomprehension.

The younger twin sister immediately pressed forward, her eyes scanning Tang Yan’s expression. "Brother Tang... did your prophetic tracking talent trigger another vision?"

Staring into the girl’s wide, inquisitive eyes, Tang Yan’s rigid posture relaxed slightly, ultimately deciding against withholding the strategic data from his core unit.

"Xiaoxiao! Stop pestering him!" the older twin interjected with a performative glare, though her ears were clearly strained to catch the explanation.

Tang Yan leaned forward, his voice dropping into a grim register. "Bai Cheng’s raw personal combat metrics are deeply terrifying. While the upcoming trial forces everyone into the same localized grid, it doesn’t enforce mandatory PVP mechanics or strict squad locking rules at the start of the instance."

Chen Xiao’s eyes flared with sudden realization. "Brother Tang... do you mean to say that this ad-hoc coalition of cannon fodder might get completely broken by a single display of her raw power, causing them to break rank and flee the sector?"

If that scenario played out, their grand, server-wide alliance would instantly transform into a humiliating, disorganized rout.

"No," Tang Yan sneered, a cruel, calculated light dancing in his eyes. "It’s simply because their current level of greed hasn’t reached its absolute boiling point yet."

With a few swift keystrokes, he compiled and leaked a secondary batch of highly detailed data points regarding Bai Cheng’s setup—specifically emphasizing that she possessed multiple hidden Legendary retainers, operated entirely without a massive faction army, and had only merged her train lines a single time.

This carefully curated data, giving the server an apparent map of Bai Cheng’s limitations, instantly magnified the coalition’s predatory greed tenfold. To an outside tactician, all signs pointed to an incredibly clear, exploitable vulnerability: Bai Cheng was a solo operator with zero defensive depth, meaning her localized numbers wouldn’t be able to withstand a multi-directional siege.

"During the opening phase of this trial mission, our core squad will strictly refrain from exposing our primary combat UIDs or frontline identities," Tang Yan ordered, his voice cold. "We will hover on the periphery as spectators and let the vanguard test her defenses."

He knew through his hidden predictive paths that the deeper phases of the trial campaign introduced a massive environmental restriction zone—and that specific window would be the exact mechanical juncture where the statistical gap between their squad and Bai Cheng would shrink to its absolute lowest point.

Realizing their leader had mapped out the macro-strategy and had no intention of leaking further details, the squad smoothly dropped the subject.

Chen Xiao’s gaze shifted playfully. Moving with fluid grace, she deliberately collapsed straight into Tang Yan’s lap, letting out a soft, melodious purr as her fingers traced his collar. "Oh, Brother Tang... all this heavy tactical planning has suddenly made me feel so dizzy and drained. Why don’t you help me back to the executive cabin so I can properly recover~"

Inhaling the girl’s heavy fragrance and feeling the soft, undeniable warmth of her body pressing flush against his chest, a sudden surge of primal impulse completely overrode Tang Yan’s calculative mindset.

Without a word, he hoisted her up and marched straight toward the private resting carriage. Within minutes, beneath the rhythmic, mechanical roar of the accelerating steam engine, a series of alluring, breathless moans began to echo softly through the locked steel bulkheads.

Meanwhile, deep within the blistering atmosphere of the [Lava Volcano] grid.

Inside the primary control cockpit, Pioneer Bai Cheng stood entirely motionless, staring blankly at an urgent, high-priority encrypted direct message flashing across her screen from a very familiar name.

[Direct Message: Conductor Leng Ningxue]

"Bai Cheng, my train array has just run into a catastrophic structural emergency. I desperately need your direct combat assistance right now!"