My Apocalypse Territory

The outcome of the battle was somewhat beyond Tang Yu's expectations.

It wasn't that the members of the Patrol Team were too weak; after days of high-intensity training and skirmishes with Demonized Beasts, these people weren't yet experts but had certainly risen above the standard.

Yet they were quickly dispatched by a few smacks from the Fighter Puppet.

Such strength...

Tang Yu remembered that the description of the Fighter Puppets indicated their bare strength was comparable to an ordinary Awakener at the Middle Stage of the Second-tier, and this Middle Stage possibly referred to an Awakener whose potential had been developed—it was somewhat stronger than someone who had simply refined their soul power to reach the Peak of the Second-tier.

Plus, the Fighter Puppets possessed a high level of combat intelligence, far beyond what these recently trained Patrol Team members could match.

Dominating these individuals was to be expected.

Among the Patrol Team members, given their contributions, they weren't yet qualified to obtain Cultivation Skills, and their regular routine included training at the camp or practicing the preliminary moves of Heavy Slash. Those with fuller wallets could afford a dose of Body Tempering Liquid to strengthen their physical fitness.

In this aspect, Wang Zhou, as the number one guinea pig, had taken advantage, using the Body Tempering Potion at a nearly giveaway price, enabling him to push his physical fitness close to the limit in just a few days.

Unfortunately, at this level, the effectiveness of the Body Tempering Potion seemed to have plateaued, and only heavy exercise could squeeze out the last bit of potential from his body.

At this moment, the Patrol Team members were still hesitating.

Zhao Ming came up with a suggestion, "From the looks of it, none of us at the Second-tier probably stand a chance against this Puppet, right?"

They looked at each other before finally their gaze settled on a youth with a stern face, "Brother Lu, what are your chances?"

The youth with a stern face shook his head, "Less than twenty percent, but I still have to give it a try."

He was about to step forward but was stopped by Zhao Ming, "Brother Lu is the strongest among us at the Second-tier. Our hope could be said to rest on Brother Lu, but the rest of us can also create opportunities for Brother Lu and increase his chances of winning."

Everyone looked puzzled, only to see Zhao Ming smile mysteriously, "Think about it, during the initiation test for our team, we faced those round puppets. It was only because we understood the behavior patterns of the puppets that we were able to pass easily later on."

Zhao Ming didn't blush at all as he continued, "Now, these human-shaped puppets definitely have some pattern of behavior, it's just that the fight was too short for us to analyze it. So, I think before Brother Lu takes the stage, the rest of us should go first, not to win, but just to last longer, trying to probe the Puppet's behavioral pattern. Won't our chances of winning be significantly increased by then?"

Everyone suddenly saw the light.

Such a strategy was indeed feasible.

The youth with the stern face hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.

On a regular day, he would have disdained this kind of tag-teaming approach, but this time it was for the honor of the Patrol Team, and they couldn't allow so many people to be unable to defeat even one Puppet.

It would make it look as if the Patrol Team members were merely freeloading.

Those on the other side had already discussed their strategy and order of appearance, all focused on lasting as long as possible, dragging out time. The more the Puppet revealed itself, the more its behavior pattern would be exposed.

With this thought, the first person stepped forward, "I'll go!"

He bore an air of readiness to face death.

That's when Director Tang waved a hand, "No need, the test ends here."

The Patrol Team members, primed and ready to go, were stunned: "(ŎдŎ;)!!!"

This wasn't part of the script!

They had prepared so much, had discussed various countermeasures, only to be told that the match was canceled... It was like cramming all night for an exam only to arrive with dark circles under the eyes and then hearing the examiner say that the subject would not be tested.

It was enough to make one want to spit blood.

Zhao Ming still wanted to negotiate, "Director Tang, give us another chance."

The reticent young man also stepped forward, "We hope Director Tang can give us a chance to spar with the puppets, regardless of winning or losing, we just want to gain some battle experience."

"Well..." Director Tang pondered for a while, "Forget it, you wouldn't win anyway."

"The battle intelligence of these fighter puppets is very high, you can think of them as having rich combat experience. There's no point in trying to figure out a puppet's behavior pattern; as things stand now, you can't match their physical prowess, nor can you match their experience and skills, so how do you expect to win?"

Zhao Ming's mouth twitched.

That statement made too much sense. Zhao Ming knew in his heart that even if it were a war of attrition, their chances of victory were slim, but Director Tang's blunt delivery was a real gut punch!

He wanted to say something else.

"As for wanting to fight puppets to improve your combat experience? That's too slow. Puppets are limited after all; no matter how much you practice, your combat experience won't improve much. And what if the puppet is damaged? Should we deduct it from your salaries?"

Zhao Ming was left speechless.

Tang Yu sensed the timing was right and slowly spoke up, "However, there is a place where you can rapidly improve your combat experience."

Everyone eagerly turned to look, including some members of the Patrol Teams who had already broken through to the third layer of Awakening. They were all somewhat astonished.

After regretting the lost sparring opportunity just moments ago, now there was a place that could quickly enhance combat experience?

There existed such a place?!

Tang Yu stood with his hands behind his back, looking towards the direction of the villa area, "It's the fifth level of the training camp. None of you have been there yet, have you?"

"The fifth level? Could it be that place!"

"It's said that the fifth level is shrouded in mystery and possesses methods to rapidly increase one's strength. People like Captain Luo often train on the fifth level. I had suspected that there would be some highly advanced training facilities there!"

"But the minimum cost for the fifth level is sixty contribution points. I can't afford that!"

The group was abuzz with discussion.

It wasn't that no one had wanted to go there before, but the price was prohibitive, barring their entry. Even for those who could afford the sixty contribution points, the uncertainty of what was on the fifth level meant that they hesitated to make the purchase.

The thought of splurging for a day of pleasure only to face half a month of hardship was demoralizing, especially when they didn't even know what kind of pleasure awaited. It felt like a rip-off.

Tang Yu took in the scene, unsurprised.

The reason for the high price point and the half-day minimum charge previously was exactly to keep these Patrol Team members out.

But now, things were different.

The Territory had begun to take shape, giving him more confidence in his decisions. Most importantly, his pockets were filled with Source Crystals. Previously, there were only three rooms on the fifth level, hardly enough even for him and his few followers. How could it have been made available to Patrol Team members?

After upgrading to a second-tier, the fifth level now had ten rooms.

This training camp, he planned to dedicate entirely to the Patrol Team's use, in order to squeeze their wallets. In this way, it seemed as if the Patrol Team members had high salaries, but in reality, after a roundabout exchange, the money would still end up in his pocket.

This made Lord Tang very pleased.

As for the training facilities he and his followers used on a daily basis, he planned to build a new training camp next to the Territory's castle. From now on, a turn to the left out the door would take him straight into the training area, greatly reducing travel time.

This was called saving time.

It was also known as cherishing life.