While Jeremy was busy fine-tuning the settings of his mechanical puppets at home, Howard, E, and their team found themselves in a near-hopeless situation in an instance on the outskirts of Moonlight City.


    The instance Howard and his team had entered was not initially considered to be of high difficulty.


    Howard''s original intention was to use this instance to help his subordinates get ustomed to the rhythm ofbat. Afterpleting the first instance, he nned to lead his subordinates to a more challenging one.


    However, the moment they entered the instance, E alerted Howard that the difficulty level of the instance had changed.


    At first, Howard dismissed her concerns, thinking that perhaps E''s perceived decline in strength was due to personal reasons.


    However, as they delved deeper into the instance, he suddenly realized that the enemies they encountered were significantly stronger than before.


    Even monsters whose levels were close to his own could inflict severe damage upon him.


    Howard and E, along with their respective subordinates, had advanced less than a third of the way through the instance when they suffered substantial losses.


    Howard had entered the instance with twenty subordinates, and now four of them had already been killed by monsters. Additionally, he had lost contact with fourteen of his subordinates.


    Around Howard, besides E and the two members of E''s ck Dragon Squad, only two of his own subordinates remained.


    "What should we do now? Continuing deeper into the instance is incredibly dangerous! But our retreat has already been cut off by those monsters."


    One of Howard''s subordinates asked, his face pale with fear.


    E and the two members of the ck Dragon Squad wore expressions of intense concentration, yet they had not descended intoplete panic.


    E and the members of the ck Dragon Squad remained vignt, carefully scanning their surroundings, seemingly in search of an escape route from the perilous situation.


    In response to his subordinate''s inquiry, Howard''s face twisted into a grimace.


    His current emotions were a vtile mixture of regret and anger.


    If given the chance to reconsider, he would never have recklessly led his subordinates into this instance.


    Howard''s anger stemmed from his own perceived ipetence.


    Had he possessed the formidable strength of someone like Jeremy, his subordinates would not have found themselves in such a dire predicament.


    In an unguarded moment, Howard''s mind flickered to the name Jeremy.


    "It''s now impossible for us to leave the instance on our own, so we must seek the help of others."Howard stated bluntly to the few people behind him.


    The faces of Howard''s two subordinates grew even paler. They knew that the nearest military base to Moonlight City was 200 kilometers away.


    Even if the military could rush over at the fastest possible speed, it would still take them more than half a day. There was no way they could hold out in the instance for that long.


    However, E seemed to grasp the true meaning behind Howard''s words.


    Stepping forward, E asked in a low voice, "How do you n to ask him for help? He would nevere just to save me. In fact, my presence decreases the likelihood of himing to your aid."


    E was acutely aware that, due to her fiancé''s actions, she and Jeremy were already subtly opposed to each other.


    Howard''s expression shifted continuously, and finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "I know of one condition Jeremy would never refuse. But this condition requires your consent."


    E remained silent, merely looking at Howard.


    "In our uing actions, we must allocate half of all the rewards we obtain to Jeremy. If we propose this condition, he will definitelye to rescue us."Howard dered.


    After Howard articted this condition, the expressions on the faces of his two subordinates and the two members of the ck Dragon Squad behind E turned slightly disgruntled.


    If Jeremy were to take half of the rewards, it would leave them with significantly less.


    However, none of them dared to voice opposition, as there was no one else who coulde to their rescue in time other than Jeremy.


    E sighed deeply, "Aside from proposing such a condition, there''s no other viable option. I can agree to letting Jeremy receive half of the rewards from our subsequent actions."


    With E''s consent, Howard promptly took out amunicator.


    As themunicator powered up, Howard, E, and the others held their breath. If themunicator failed to reach Jeremy, they would indeed be in a dire predicament.


    Meanwhile, at Jeremy''s home, after adjusting all the settings on his mechanical puppets, a broad smile spread across his face.


    "Your names are Little ck, Little White, and Little Gray! From now on, it will be up to you three to guard my home!" Jeremy announced with a touch of warmth in his voice.


    Having received the names given by Jeremy, the three mechanical puppets appeared quite pleased.


    At that moment, themunicator on Jeremy''s bedside table began to emit a red glow and produced a ticking sound.


    "It seems someone wants my help now."Jeremy remarked casually, looking at the three mechanical puppets before him.


    He did not rush to answer themunicator, intending to let Howard feel even greater pressure.


    Back with Howard, nearly two minutes had passed since themunicator was activated, yet themunication channel remained unconnected. This seemed to indicate that within the instance, themunicator was unable to establish contact with the outside world.


    Howard''s two subordinates and the two members of the ck Dragon Squad wore increasingly grim expressions. They all believed there was no escaping this time.


    Just then, themunication channel finally connected.


    From the other side of themunicator came Jeremy''s voice, "Are you calling to share some good news with me this time? You must have handled quite a few instances tonight, right?"


    Jeremy''s tone was notablynguid.


    Faced with Jeremy''s inquiry, Howard''s expression turned slightly awkward.


    "We haven''t resolved any instances yet. In fact, the reason I''m reaching out to you this time is solely to seek your assistance. We are trapped in the Shadow City instance on the outskirts of Moonlight City.


    I have lost contact with many of my subordinates. If you cannote to rescue us promptly, my subordinates are very likely to perish within the Shadow City instance."


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    Howard did not let pride get in his way.


    He was acutely aware that the most crucial matter at hand was to get Jeremy toe over as quickly as possible. As long as Jeremy could arrive swiftly, Howard was prepared to endure any amount of Jeremy''s mockery.


    "Your mission ended in failure, huh? It appears your capabilities are somewhatcking. But if I were to provide you with support, what kind ofpensation would you offer me?" Jeremy inquired, his voice dripping with a hint of condescension.


    "After all, you previously declined to team up with me. Given that you had no intention of cooperating with me, it seems I have no obligation to rescue you."


    Though Jeremy was fairly certain that Howard would agree to share half of the rewards.


    He wouldn''t lift a finger to help until he heard a direct confirmation.


    Jeremy''s response didn''te as a surprise to Howard. After all, theirstmunication had ended in a heated argument.


    "I have already agreed to give you half of the rewards earned from resolving the instance. Besides me, Captain E has also consented to this arrangement. She is right here with me, and like me, she''s trapped."


    Upon hearing the first half of Howard''s statement, Jeremy had already decided to set out immediately to rescue them.


    However, after listening to thetter part of the statement, Jeremy hesitated slightly.


    At this moment, Jeremy was contemting dying his actions, waiting for the monsters of the Shadow City instance to kill E first before rescuing the others.


    "Captain E is there too? Then why don''t you get her fiancé to help? Isn''t Kean an extraordinarily powerful awakener? With Kean''s intervention, you all should be saved, right?"


    Howard could clearly discern that Jeremy''s words were meant to mock E and Kean.


    Under normal circumstances, he would prefer not to get entangled in the conflict between Howard and Kean. However, this time it was he who had asked E to join him on this mission.


    Therefore, Howard feltpelled to speak a few good words on E''s behalf.


    "E is indeed Kean''s fiancée, but she has never targeted you. In fact, when Kean went after your friends, E even tried to stop him."


    Howard''s words eased Jeremy''s mood slightly. Every time Jeremy thought about Kean, his mood would turn sour.


    "Since that''s the case, I suppose I''ll go ahead and rescue you. Send me the exact location of the Shadow City instance. It''s alreadyte, and even if I proceed at my fastest pace, it will take me about half an hour to reach you."


    Jeremy had agreed to rescue Howard, which made Howard overjoyed.


    "I''ll send you the coordinates of the instance right away. We''ll try to hold out for about half an hour. However, you must hurry, as I''m afraid my subordinates won''t be able to hold on that long."


    "Alright, I got it! I''ll definitely arrive within half an hour. Let''s reconnect once I enter the instance."


    With that, Jeremy ended themunication abruptly.


    At this moment, Howard and his team felt a bit less tense than before. After all, their task now was simply to hold out for another half hour.


    "Jeremy is on his way, we''ll be rescued soon!"