"Commander, I will definitely work hard. Whatever you ask me to do, I'll give it my all."
Wen Xishu felt that this girl had some insecurities deep down, so he said:
"What are your strengths?"
Nico thought for a moment and said somewhat shyly:
"I... I can sing. I've always wanted to be a pop star, but my personality... has destined me to be unable to face too many people."
"I always sing in my dreams."
"After the apocalypse came, many people said they heard me sing in their dreams. It's really magical... It seems like it's one of my abilities."
"Actually, not only have my abilities evolved, but some people in my hometown have evolved too. Some are very fast, some are very strong... Everyone's evolution is very useful, except me... I'm the one everyone despises."
"Because my singing sometimes appears in people's dreams at the wrong time, causing them to wake up easily."
As Nico spoke, her head lowered further and further.
Those past memories flashed in her mind.
[When everyone is woken up by me, they must despise me...]
[Is my ability really useful to the commander and them?]
The bullet screen further allowed Wen Xishu to understand Nico's anxiety. He figured out that this was a talent that was almost useless but extremely suitable for breaking a stalemate in specific situations.
In a sense, Borg was still useful later on, but Nico's ability was really just a special card that could be discarded after passing through certain stages.
Before the one-hour countdown descended, Wen Xishu planned to extract as much information as possible:
"Is there any curse where you are? The Balance Curse."
"There is..."
Nico still lowered her head:
"Many people died... because there were others who evolved abilities during the apocalypse, they drove away monsters, and for a time it became a safe zone."
"Many people from nearby areas came to seek refuge with us, but the Balance Curse caused many of our people to die."
"This also led to disunity, as outsiders felt their lives were also lives, and the Balance Curse wasn't brought by them, so why should they blame themselves for the dead?"
"And people on our side felt... since we provided rescue, our people also died saving these outsiders, the outsiders should be grateful and do more to build the home."
"But after the Balance Curse, outsiders weren't grateful at all, instead complaining we led them to this cursed land."
Devon was somewhat angry upon hearing:
"It's so hateful, no matter what, without your help, they wouldn't have survived!"
Nico sighed:
"They even started using the Balance Curse to threaten us in reverse..."
"In our area, the curse has reached Level 3, if one person dies, an unknown existence will be born."
"To prevent everyone from being killed by suddenly descending monsters... everyone must work together."
"But this point instead became their bargaining chip to threaten us."
"I long to help everyone, but my ability is completely useless. Until recently, there was a rumor saying a commander would lead everyone out of the cursed land, the commander would choose people useful to him to find the power to break the curse."
Nico finally raised her head:
"I'm... I'm very excited, commander, I'm willing to contribute my power! Although... I don't know if it'll be useful."
Wen Xishu first comforted Nico:
"Your power will help us, be confident."
After saying this, Wen Xishu began contemplating the Balance Curse.
This isn't a small curse...
Firstly, Borg, Devon, Nico, and others aren't from one region...
But they've all suffered from the curse.
It seems like many cities across a whole country have been affected by the curse, or perhaps several regions worldwide have been affected...
What kind of curse can persist over such a large scale?
Does this involve some Savior plan?
Everyone sympathized with Nico's plight and disdained those greedy people. But in the apocalypse, such stories exist everywhere.
A strong sense of morality sometimes leads to being bullied by those without morals.
With slight adjustments, they were to set off.
[Current team maximum limit (4 people), all team members have appeared, next tavern round will unlock a new member, but requires passing of Stage 2. Start Stage 2 challenge now?]
[Note: If not challenged, the Balance Curse will appear in the tavern.]
The skull-shaped hourglass appeared again, current team members 4/4. This left Nico a bit puzzled:
"Wasn't there six people here... how come it's become four?"
Borg was very smug:
"Our commander isn't human!"
Then he felt this sounded like an insult and immediately corrected himself:
"I mean, our commander doesn't count as a person."
"Ah, no, it's that our commander owes one person... seems wrong too."
Devon promptly stopped him:
"Alright, Borg, focus on your computer and stop talking."
Borg fell silent.
Wen Xishu said:
"It's a method of mine, it can temporarily avoid the curse."
Nico didn't quite understand, but admired sincerely: "Amazing!"
Wen Xishu gained another wave of favor, and after a brief rest, he didn't delay any longer. He instructed Nico:
"If you sense something wrong, just sing, remember, your singing is definitely useful, don't doubt yourself."
Nico nodded seriously and gratefully.