What's interesting is that the team happened to be all men.
Judging from their positions and outfits, two of them had come in together.
Lu Wenwu activated the Eye of Insight and discreetly scanned each one of the men.
[Wei Long (D+)]:1700/1700
[Current Status]: Cautious, Vigilant
[Yuan Shi (D+)]:1600/1600
[Current Status]: Nervous, Vigilant
Well, the Spicy Strips duo.
These two who were surfing the web with their real names wore dark combat uniforms, exuding a sense of fierceness and toughness, clearly military-trained.
On the far left of the circle was a young man with blond hair in a ghostly fire style.
Despite his rebellious demeanor, with a 'heaven is first, and the earth is second' attitude, internally, he was extremely nervous.
[Super Niu Niu/Cao Xu (D+)]:1500/1500
[Current Status]: Fearful, Nervous
On the far right of the circle stood someone who appeared to be nearly sixty, with some grey in his hair.
He wore a pair of traditional black-rimmed glasses, giving off the vibe of a scholarly gentleman.
[Ye Hongyuan (D+)]:2300/2300
[Current Status]: Calm and Composed
Lu Wenwu felt slightly surprised.
This old gentleman, also using his real name online, was surprisingly at least level 7, with blood volume surpassing even the military man Wei Long, and a physique attribute reaching an astonishing 23.
Truly, you can't judge a book by its cover.
While Lu Wenwu was observing them, they were also observing each other.
The two military men and Ye Hongyuan's gaze simultaneously landed on Lu Wenwu and Mao Mao.
It was clear they were astonished, probably never having seen someone bring a dog into a dungeon before.
In the corner, the rebellious-looking young man initially had a hint of fear in his eyes.
But upon seeing Lu Wenwu and the panting Mao Mao beside him, disbelief and joy instantly filled his gaze.
"Oh my! Brother Pancake! No no no no... that's not right, Pancake God! Are you Pancake God?"
Lu Wenwu: "...?"
"You know me?" Lu Wenwu raised an eyebrow, "What kind of nickname is Pancake God?"
"Of course I know you! You were the first to complete the hidden quest of the Initial Dungeon, god among gods!"
Super Niu Niu's gaze had become somewhat fervent.
"Because back then, you hadn't registered an ID and were making egg-filled pancakes among the zombies. The brothers respectfully called you Pancake God."
"You can just call me Xiao Niu, I'm good at luring monsters and taunting. As long as it's an intelligent being, I can drive them crazy. Compared to me, Train King is nothing."
"Great One, I'll stick with you this round. If you say catch the dog, I won't run away... hey hey, sorry sorry, cute golden retriever, I wasn't talking about you, not at all! Here, have a hot dog sausage!"
Lu Wenwu: "..."
Damn!
So, the first round of this flexible matchmaking and I got found out?
I thought most Transcendents didn't have time to watch livestreams back then?
It's ridiculous someone still recognized me!
"It's you?"
Yuan Shi and Wei Long spoke in unison.
They immediately showed joy, their vigilance easing considerably.
Ye Hongyuan also looked enlightened, even bowing slightly: "Thank you for your contribution to the country!"
"Not at all, not at all, we're all descendants of Yan and Huang, just doing what we can for the Divine Continent." Lu Wenwu quickly changed the subject, "Let's skip the compliments and focus on completing the mission."
[Mission Hint: Determine your direction and reach the "City of Evolution" before sunset]
"I have a 'Wu' in my name, the number, I'm good at close combat and know some firearms." Lu Wenwu introduced himself succinctly.
His egg-filled pancake stall was called "Brother Wu's Egg Pancakes," and the foodies usually called him Brother Wu.
"Wei Long, Level 8, Special Operations Squad Leader in the Xinglong Army, skilled in sniping." Wei Long spoke and glanced at the sky, "We really need to hurry, time is tight. As per usual, the death rate outside the city at night in this type of dungeon is very high, so we better not delay."
Yuan Shi added: "My name is Yuan Shi, and he's my squad leader. I'm good at scouting and mid-to-close range firearms. How about you guys stay put while I scout the area?"
Lu Wenwu unhooked the dog leash and ruffled its head: "No need, we have Mao Mao. Let's just go."
Mao Mao nodded proudly, sniffed a couple of times,
then turned to the group with a "woof," lifted a paw, and started walking in a certain direction.
"Hey, Mao Mao really is intelligent."
Super Niu Niu kept his promise, took out a hot dog sausage, peeled the packaging, and attempted to put it in Mao Mao's mouth.
Mao Mao didn't open its mouth, just looked back at Lu Wenwu.
Only after he nodded did it gobble it up, which made everyone click their tongues in wonder.
Ye Hongyuan adjusted his glasses: "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Ye Hongyuan, Level 10, Head of Orthopedics at Imperial City First People's Hospital. I've learned some healing skills and can do simple surgeries. I have plenty of stamina and some self-defense ability."
Hearing this, everyone was quite pleased.
We got a top-notch Nanny, ensuring our safety is well guaranteed.
Two ranged DPS, one healer, one War Tank, and one human-shaped taunter, not a bad team composition.
But Lu Wenwu sighed internally.
He was clearly just a pure newbie, yet the system threw him into a high-difficulty dungeon.
It's just high hidden scores!
KFC mechanics are destined for disaster.
With Mao Mao leading the way, the group moved along more leisurely.
Without straying off course, the assassination squad quickly approached the vicinity of the City of Evolution as described in the mission.
Everyone, having been strengthened multiple times as Transcendents, had far better vision than ordinary people.
Even from a distance and under dim twilight, they could clearly see the city's outline.
This so-called City of Evolution was, in fact, a desolate modern city, lacking the classic makeshift walls of a post-apocalyptic landscape.
Due to years without maintenance, the exterior walls of these buildings were largely mottled.
Quite a few weathered corpses were strewn about outside the city, twisted beyond recognition of their original species.
"This seems slightly different from a classic post-apocalyptic zombie setting." Super Niu Niu scratched his blond hair, "We've come so far and haven't spotted a single wandering zombie or mutated beast."
"Doesn't seem like a nuclear wasteland either." Yuan Shi continued, "Maybe it's just straightforward evolutionary mutation, where social order shuffled, and technology regressed... Whoa, what is that!"
Yuan Shi's low exclamation caught the others' attention.
They followed his gaze and were all taken aback.
A hundred meters ahead, five humanoid creatures, looking like the scene of a seafood truck accident, marched out of the City of Evolution, raising clouds of dust.
Among them, the leading creature stood at least three meters tall, its lower half entirely composed of tentacles, upper body had three knotted muscular arms, and its whole body was covered with scales.
However, this fellow was already the most humanoid among that line of "persons".
[Polluted Patrol Captain Ma Guang (D)]: 1376/1500
[Current Status]: Mind Distortion, Flesh Mutation, Hunger, Agitation