"Hey, how do I sign up for M.E.G.?" I asked.
The M.E.G. dude was kinda surprised for a sec, then said, "It's a piece of cake. Just head over to the community center and sign up for the volunteer squad. But, heads up, it's just a temp gig. You'll get some perks from M.E.G., but not the full package like the regulars. To go full-time, you gotta complete some missions."
"Oh, got it. What should I call you?" the M.E.G. guy asked.
"I'm Lin Yi. What about you, bro?" I asked.
"Ah, so you're Bro Lin Yi. Just call me Gong Jiang. Actually, I'm also in the M.E.G. volunteer squad, but not a regular yet," Gong Jiang said.
We chatted for a bit longer, and I got the gist of what the volunteer squad was all about.
It's like a branch of M.E.G., kinda like a militia and emergency volunteer crew. They usually keep things in order at the M.E.G. base outposts. Of course, you can also take on M.E.G.'s missions to explore different levels. If you do well, you can become a regular and get to live at any M.E.G. level.
As we were talking, we reached the M.E.G. community, which was linked to the B.N.T.G. community.
Gong Jiang took me to the door of a small house and said, "Bro Lin Yi, you can sign up here. There's a staff member who'll help you out."
With that, he was about to bounce because his job was to keep things orderly at the M.E.G. entrance area.
At that moment, I stopped Gong Jiang and handed him a bottle of almond water, saying, "Thanks for showing me the way."
But when Gong Jiang saw the bottle of almond water, he quickly pushed it away and said, "Bro Lin Yi, this is too much. It's way too valuable. I was just showing you the way. It's not worth a bottle of almond water."
I was kinda surprised. It was just a bottle of almond water. How could it be that valuable?
Back when I was in Level 9, if my backpack wasn't full, Jiu would've stuffed hundreds of bottles of almond water in it. So, I kinda thought one bottle wasn't a big deal.
For those who often explore different levels, a bottle of almond water isn't much because they collect a lot of stuff during their adventures.
But it's different for guys like Gong Jiang. They've been chilling in Level 1 all along, and all their supplies come from M.E.G. Plus, since they rarely run into entities and are in a pretty safe level, their SAN values drop slowly, so they don't need much almond water.
To them, a bottle of almond water might be worth a few hundred bucks in the front hall.
That's why Gong Jiang was quick to refuse.
In the end, I insisted on giving the bottle of almond water to Gong Jiang and then went into the small house to sign up.
When I walked in, I saw a girl sitting there, totally into a book. This girl was You Huanhuan, who I met when I first entered Level 1.
When You Huanhuan saw me, she was like, "So, you've made up your mind? Ready to join M.E.G.?"
I nodded and said, "Yep. Could you help me sign up, Miss You?"
"Oh, come on," You Huanhuan waved her hand and said, "No need to be so formal. It's no big deal. It's my job. No need to talk about trouble."
Saying that, she pulled out a form and a pen from the drawer beside her and handed them to me, saying, "Fill this out. Since we've got this connection, I'll personally introduce you later. You can pick any volunteer squad team you like."
I took the form and pen, thanked her, and started filling it out carefully.
After I finished, You Huanhuan led me towards the community center. On the way, I checked out my surroundings. There were a bunch of man-made houses packed together. Street lamps were lit along the road, and the ground was paved with cement streets. I could also see a lot of people walking around. Even some shops were selling stuff.
I couldn't help but feel impressed. No wonder this was the largest team in the Backrooms. They had built a whole community here.
As we walked, I kept chatting with You Huanhuan, and I got a better grasp of what M.E.G. was all about.
Finally, we reached the M.E.G. base in the community.
This M.E.G. base was different from the one I'd seen before. This one was a civilian base, while the other was military. But both were part of M.E.G.'s Alpha base stationed in Level 0.
I followed You Huanhuan into the base. Some M.E.G. members were guarding the entrance. After You Huanhuan showed her ID and explained why we were there, they let us in.
Inside, the vibe was pretty serious.
Three teams were gathered in the base. Two members from each team were in combat suits, while the rest were in military uniforms.
What really surprised me was that the two in combat suits were wearing "nuclear energy"!
Since I was wearing nuclear energy too, I could clearly sense theirs. And it was obvious they sensed mine, because they all turned to look at me.
Just then, an officer-looking M.E.G. member walked in through another door. He was also carrying nuclear energy.
He gave me a slightly surprised look, then turned to You Huanhuan and asked, "Who's this?"
You Huanhuan replied, "This is Lin Yi. He's about to join the volunteer team, and I'm introducing him."
The officer nodded, then turned to me and said, "Lin Yi, you've come at the right time. We need people at M.E.G. right now. I'm appointing you as captain of the third volunteer team. Follow the first and second teams to Level 3 for support. Once you're there, someone will assign you tasks."
"Uh..." I was stunned.
I'd just joined M.E.G., and they were already making me a captain? And sending me to Level 3 for support?
I'd heard about Level 3.
Level 3: Power Station
Survival Difficulty:
Level 4
• Unsafe
• Unstable
• Medium amount of entities
I'd just joined M.E.G., and they were already sending me to a level with such a high danger rating? I, Lin Yi, was just a newbie who hadn't been in the Backrooms for long. How could I handle constantly venturing into these extremely dangerous levels?
I was about to say no, but the officer seemed to notice my hesitation and added, "If you succeed in this volunteer mission, I'll officially make you a member of M.E.G. and give you residence rights in Level 1 and Level 4."
"Also," he continued, "since you have nuclear energy, I believe in your abilities."
Well, hearing the officer's promise, the words I was about to say got stuck in my throat and turned into, "Got it! I'll complete the mission!"
The officer patted my shoulder, then said to a member wearing nuclear energy, "Ban Tianyi, go to the warehouse and get Lin Yi a combat suit and a weapon. Then, head to Level 3 right away."
The member named Ban Tianyi replied with a quick "Yes" and hurried off to grab a combat suit and a pistol for me.
I ducked into a room and quickly changed into the combat suit. It fit like a glove—not too big, not too small. Plus, this suit had a dagger strapped to the leg and a few boxes of bullets in the chest pocket. I pulled them out and checked—they were a perfect match for the pistol I was carrying.
Once I was suited up, I stepped out and rejoined the team.
Me, along with two other captains, each leading five members, were all set to move out.
On the other side, You Huanhuan had already left. She probably never expected that casually introducing a wanderer would end up with him becoming a captain and having to take on what seemed like a tough mission...
After we got into formation, we left the M.E.G. civilian base and headed for the hub.
The hub was like a tunnel, with a bunch of unlocked doors on both sides. Each door led to a different level, and opening the right one would zap you to that level.
There was a specific way to get to the hub from Level 1.
First, you had to start at the entrance of Level 1. This was where most wanderers popped up after entering the level, and it was near the M.E.G. military base.
There was a corridor there. You'd walk straight down the corridor, go through a door, and reach the end.
Then, you'd backtrack along the same path to the entrance of Level 1. This time, you'd notice a new fork in the road. Take a left, then a right at the next fork, and keep going right at the following fork.
After that, you'd see two doors labeled A and B. Go through door B. Once you passed through, you'd find yourself in an identical room. This time, choose door A. Walking through door A would take you to the hub.
If you messed up any step along the way, your destination would be completely random.
Since it was my first time heading to the hub and I had no clue what I was doing, I just stuck close to the team led by Ban Tianyi and another member.
Following the route step by step, we finally made it to the hub. ...