Infinite Game - Start With SSS Rank Class

Chapter 234: The Dark Lord’s Gifts

Rover temporarily set aside the three items the Dark Lord had left behind.

The Family Map, the Instant Displacement Function Card, and the Flying Shoes blueprint were all extremely important things for room 2705. If used well, they would not only make coordination easier when going outside, but could also greatly reduce danger when the team got separated or was chased by monsters in the fog.

However, Rover didn’t immediately arrange everything.

Today everyone had just returned from the freight depot and the spaceship manor. Even with the Anchor Generator shortening the distance, everyone’s spirit still needed rest. What they had seen in the memory drives, the Unnamed Explorer, Professor Harlan, the so-called new region, and the secrets related to Rover’s father were none of them things that could be processed in a few minutes.

So Rover let everyone rest for a day.

Room 2705 was rarely this quiet.

Nanoe spent most of the time reorganizing known information while also checking their current supply inventory. Morie continued monitoring the defense system and surveillance screens. Monica, Nanami, and Thunder Dragon listened as Rover’s group gave a rough account of what had happened outside. Everyone reacted differently. Monica seemed to think for a very long time. Nanami was both astonished and curious. And Thunder Dragon, after hearing about the astronaut summoning a massive satellite, immediately declared that if he had been there, he would certainly have used lightning to blow up that satellite before it could even fall.

No one truly believed him.

But no one cut him off either.

Ditto, letting the little dragon feel confident about himself wasn’t a bad thing.

Rover rested until the afternoon.

After confirming everyone’s condition had recovered relatively well, he went to the defense tower area.

The two most important defense towers of room 2705 were still the Crossbow Shooter and the Marble Launcher.

One handled strong damage, piercing, and eliminating high-defense targets.

The other handled control, slowing, and disrupting enemy formations.

Before, after evolution and upgrades, the Crossbow Shooter had reached Rank S and the Marble Launcher had also reached Rank A. Both had helped room 2705 resist many waves of attacks, and were also why Rover always felt safer being in the room.

But now, after seeing the world beyond the fog, after encountering the Unnamed Explorer and existences far beyond the level of ordinary Survivors, Rover understood one thing very clearly.

The current defenses still weren’t enough.

If only dealing with ordinary Survivors or low-level monsters, these two towers were already very strong. But if one day something like that astronaut truly came looking for room 2705, relying on the current state certainly wouldn’t make him feel at ease.

Rover stood before the control panel.

Morie walked over to stand beside him.

She looked at the two defense towers on the screen, her voice as calm as usual: "You want to upgrade them?"

Rover nodded.

"Mm. At least one level more."

Morie didn’t ask why.

She understood Rover’s nature well. He wouldn’t casually pour points into something meaningless. If he had decided to upgrade the defense towers, it was certainly because the future danger was large enough that he felt it necessary.

Rover opened the information panel.

The Crossbow Shooter appeared first.

....

[Crossbow Shooter]

[Type: Defense Tower]

[Rank: S]

[Level: 02]

[Damage: 3,000 | Fire Rate: 1 arrow / 0.5 seconds]

[Range: 200 meters]

[Special Effects:

Piercing: Arrows can pierce a maximum of 5 units, damage undiminished, ignores 30% of enemy defense.

Poisoning: Arrows carry toxin, draining 0.5% life per second.

Headshot: If enemy life is below 10%, combined effects of Poisoning and Piercing instantly eliminate the target.]

[Upgrade Requirement: 50,000 Omni Points.]

....

Right after came the Marble Launcher.

....

[Marble Launcher]

[Type: Defense Tower]

[Rank: A]

[Level: 02]

[Damage: 1,200 | Fire Rate: 1 marble / 1.5 seconds]

[Range: 200 meters]

[Special Effects:

Ricochet: Can continuously ricochet between 10 targets, damage unchanged. Collisions with structures don’t count as ricochets.

Freeze: Marble on impact freezes the target, reducing movement speed and attack speed by 30%, with a 1% chance to send the target into a frenzy, unable to distinguish ally from enemy.]

[Upgrade Condition: 30,000 Omni Points.]

....

Rover looked at both information panels, not hesitating for long.

After repairing the Anchor Generator, he had consumed one million Omni Points. But as long as room 2705 still existed, he could continue receiving Omni Points every day. Moreover, after this last outing, he understood even more clearly that resources left sitting unused sometimes just made dying faster.

"System." Rover said quietly. "Upgrade the Crossbow Shooter and the Marble Launcher."

[Ding! You have spent 80,000 Omni Points.]

[Ding! Crossbow Shooter level up successful.]

[Ding! Marble Launcher level up successful.]

Light on both defense towers blazed simultaneously.

The Crossbow Shooter, already carrying a sharp aura, became much colder after upgrading. The small veining on the crossbow arms glowed faintly. A thin energy groove appeared at the arrowhead, as if every arrow fired would be coated in an additional layer of penetrating force. The bowstring pulled taut without making a sound, but just looking at it gave the feeling that anything it locked onto could almost not escape.

The Marble Launcher beside it also changed.

The tower body, which had appeared a bit rough, became more refined. The launch barrel was reinforced with a layer of glossy black metal, with slowly rotating energy rings inside. The ammunition chamber gained an additional gear-like structure. Every time a marble was loaded, a thin layer of cold aura covered it before it was fired.

New information panels appeared.

....

[Crossbow Shooter]

[Type: Defense Tower]

[Rank: S]

[Level: 03]

[Damage: 4,200 | Fire Rate: 1 arrow / 0.45 seconds]

[Range: 250 meters]

[Special Effects:

Enhanced Piercing: Arrows can pierce a maximum of 7 units, damage undiminished, ignores 40% of enemy defense.

Enhanced Poisoning: Arrows carry toxin, draining 0.7% life per second for a short duration.

Headshot: If enemy life is below 12%, combined effects of Poisoning and Piercing instantly eliminate the target.

Armor Break: When continuously hitting the same target, the target’s defense is briefly weakened.]

[Next Upgrade Requirement: 150,000 Omni Points.]

....

Rover looked at the Armor Break effect line, his gaze brightening slightly.

This was what he needed.

Before, when facing enemies with extremely strong defense or energy shields, even though the Crossbow Shooter could pierce, damage was still limited to some degree. But now with the Armor Break effect added, it would be even more suitable for handling stubborn targets, especially those who liked using heavy defense to pressure room 2705.

The Marble Launcher’s information panel also appeared.

....

[Marble Launcher]

[Type: Defense Tower]

[Rank: A]

[Level: 03]

[Damage: 1,700 | Fire Rate: 1 marble / 1.3 seconds]

[Range: 230 meters]

[Special Effects:

Enhanced Ricochet: Can continuously ricochet between 15 targets, damage unchanged. Collisions with structures don’t count as ricochets.

Enhanced Freeze: Marble on impact freezes the target, reducing movement speed and attack speed by 40%, with a 2% chance to send the target into a frenzy, unable to distinguish ally from enemy.

Impact Sluggishness: Each time the marble ricochets and strikes a target, the target suffers a brief stun, slowing their movements for a moment.]

[Next Upgrade Condition: 90,000 Omni Points.]

....

Nanoe looked at the new information and gently nodded.

"Very good. The Crossbow handles high-defense targets, the Marble Launcher handles disruption, control, and slowing. These two working together will make it very difficult for enemies to approach the door."

Morie also looked at the screen, a slight change in her gaze.

"But it could still be better."

Rover looked at her.

Morie stepped to the control panel and placed her hand on the screen. An interface only she could operate immediately appeared before her. Her slender fingers moved very quickly across the panel, adjusting the firing angle, projectile trajectory, target lock range, and attack priority order for both towers.

Rover stood beside her watching.

He had seen Morie control the defense towers in battle before.

She didn’t simply press the fire button.

Under Morie’s operation, the Marble Launcher could use terrain to ricochet more precisely, creating strike angles that slowed enemies multiple times. The Crossbow Shooter could also be adjusted to prioritize firing at joints, weak points, or areas where enemy defense was thinnest.

In other words, the same defense tower would be far more powerful in Morie’s hands than in automatic attack mode.

Morie said calmly: "The Marble Launcher doesn’t need to aim at the strongest targets. It’s suited for disrupting formations, controlling, and forcing enemies to stop. The Crossbow Shooter should prioritize targets already slowed or frozen. That way the Armor Break effect will stack more easily."

Nanoe stood beside her listening. Her gaze brightened slightly.

"You mean let the Marble Launcher create the conditions, then the Crossbow finishes?"

Morie nodded.

"Correct."

Rover watched the two women quickly coordinate their tactical thinking. Inside, he felt very reassured.

One was the brain.

One was the defense tower controller.

If these two arranged the defenses together, the effectiveness would certainly be far stronger than him deciding everything on his own.

After finishing the adjustment, Morie removed her hand from the control panel.

Both defense towers on the screen simultaneously showed a new status.

....

[Tactical Coordination Status: Established.]

[Priority 1: Marble Launcher slows, freezes, disrupts formations.]

[Priority 2: Crossbow Shooter focuses controlled targets, prioritizes piercing and armor break.]

[Priority 3: When high-speed targets appear, both towers simultaneously lock target for the first 3 seconds.]

....

Sunako looked at the information panel and said quietly: "If I were an enemy, I wouldn’t want to step into room 2705’s attack range."

Selina crossed her arms and laughed: "Unfortunately, there will always be people who think they’re special."

Rover glanced at her.

For some reason, he felt this sentence was very likely to come true.

After finishing the upgrades and adjustments to the defense towers, Rover returned to the living room.

He took out the card John had once given him.

That card could directly open the trial, helping him advance to Survivor level 5 if successfully completed. Of course, the price was that difficulty would increase sharply, potentially double that of the fourth round. This was a fast path, but also a gamble.

If it had been before, Rover might not have been in a hurry.

But after seeing the new region, the Dark Lord’s departure, the Overlord astronaut, the Anchor Generator, and the secrets buried beneath the spaceship, he felt even more strongly that room 2705’s current level still wasn’t sufficient.

Survivor level 5.

That might be the next threshold.

Rover sat in the chair, fingertip lightly sliding across the card’s surface.

Nanoe stood beside him. Seeing the card, she understood what he was thinking.

"You want to start the trial?"

"Considering it." Rover said.

Nanoe didn’t immediately object.

She thought for a few seconds then said: "If we start, we need a bit more preparation. Fog lanterns, defense towers, retreat items, the Family Map, the Instant Displacement Card, all of it needs to be arranged. If the difficulty truly doubles that of the fourth round, we shouldn’t take it lightly."

Rover nodded.

"I know."

He was originally going to open the card’s information panel to review the trial conditions again.

But right at that moment, an unfamiliar voice rang out from outside room 2705.

"Rover! Get out here!"

The voice was very young.

But also very arrogant.

The living room immediately fell quiet.

Rover raised his head.

Nanoe frowned.

Selina’s smile was very faint, but her gaze turned cold. Sunako, who was standing near the table, immediately stepped back slightly. Rilia had unconsciously placed her hand on her weapon. Elith said nothing, but a few thin strands of silk had already appeared around her fingertips.

Morie walked to the surveillance screen.

She opened the image outside the door.

On the screen, the corridor before room 2705 appeared clearly.

Outside was a group of people.

Leading them was a young man.

He looked only around twenty years old, wearing a lightweight armor set with a very science-fiction style, the armor’s surface carrying many blue light lines running along it. His face was fairly handsome, but the arrogance between his brows made it very difficult to feel any goodwill. Behind his back, four drones hovered, shaped like small metal birds, cold sci-fi aura surrounding them.

The group behind him were clearly not weak either.

But they all stood half a step lower, as if taking the young man as their center.

The young man raised his head to look at the door of room 2705, the corner of his lips curling.

"I know you’re inside."

He raised one hand.

The four drones behind him immediately spread out, the small weapon barrels beneath each drone’s body simultaneously glowing slightly.

The young man laughed coldly. His voice was full of contempt.

"Rover, stop playing dead. Someone like you who only knows how to hide behind women and defense towers, if you still have any self-respect at all, roll out here and face me right now."