Li Ang didn't rush to retrieve the Short Dagger from the drawer of the Forging Furnace. Instead, with some hesitation, he put on the thick hazmat suit he had procured from Tama Riyadi. He then brought two sterile plastic curtains, dividing the entire Alchemy Workshop into three separate sections. In the second compartment, he built a makeshift disinfection shower stall and an air filtration section.

After he was fully prepared, he entered the first compartment where the Forging Furnace was located. He took out the Ruitu Military knife, used tweezers from within it to carefully extract the Short Dagger, and placed the dagger into a clear plastic box.

This level of defense was absolutely necessary. If conditions allowed, Li Ang would even turn the Alchemy Workshop into a top-tier biological safety level 4 laboratory and operate on the Short Dagger through a completely airtight glove box.

The equipment description mentioned that it could infect a creature with a random virus currently known to humankind.

Measles and mumps, with their well-established treatment protocols, were known. Highly infectious and dangerous viruses like Ebola and Marburg were also known. Even ancient viruses, existing only in a handful of top-tier biological safety labs, were known!

Heaven knew what powerful and dangerous virus it might generate, or if these viruses, upon combining, could produce any special mutations.

The slightest carelessness with the Short Dagger could cause extremely terrifying biological hazards. If, by some chance, a single strike caused a plague to spread for thousands of miles, leaving bodies strewn everywhere and plunging the world into a "Plague Inc." scenario, Li Ang would become a sinner for the ages—the kind who would have to apologize incessantly to everyone.

Using tweezers, Li Ang placed the sealed plastic box containing [Virulent Poison] on the workbench and examined it carefully under the light.

It was an unimpressive Short Dagger, about 110 centimeters long. Its blade and handle were both entirely black. The thin spine of the blade, dotted with mottled green light, was slender and elongated, somewhat resembling an ancient Miao knife.

After inspecting it, Li Ang lifted the plastic box's lid and cautiously gripped the handle.

The handle was wrapped in a layer of fine black hair, which, despite its appearance, did not feel soft or loose in his grip.

It's well-balanced, the blade is sharp, and the body is harder than I expected. It must have been made from the nails of a Black Zombie.

Li Ang slowly waved the Short Dagger. It felt quite good in his hand, easier to wield than the [Steel Stick] which was as thick as a bowl's rim.

However, the strong point of [Virulent Poison] lay in the mysterious unpredictability of an unknown virus; its lethality wasn't as direct as the [Steel Stick] during intense, short-duration combat.

The side effects of [Virulent Poison] were as potent as its lethality. It likely only had utility in isolated scenarios where one wouldn't need to worry about the consequences of its use.

Li Ang regretfully stored the Short Dagger in his backpack slot. Then, still wearing the cumbersome hazmat suit, he turned and walked into the second compartment to thoroughly disinfect and cleanse himself.

Although the description stated that the Short Dagger spread through exposure to mucous membranes and all bodily fluids, the necessary protection procedures still had to be followed.

Exiting the Magic Box, which had been temporarily converted into a biological safety laboratory, Li Ang asked Chai Cuiqiao, who was lying on the couch playing with her phone, to retrieve several blood sampling kits from the large medical box under the TV stand.

"What are you doing?"

Chai Cuiqiao lay motionless on the couch, only waving her slender arm—its sleeve extending several meters—to hand the blood sampling equipment to Li Ang.

She watched Li Ang clench his left fist tightly and leisurely swab the crook of his left elbow with a cotton ball, then asked curiously, "Drawing your own blood?"

"Mhm."

Li Ang nodded and drew several vials of blood from himself.

Li Ang was quite skilled at drawing blood. If he hadn't been so skinny during his time in the orphanage, he might very well have drawn his own blood to make blood tofu for a hot pot.

Setting aside his past exploits, once Li Ang finished drawing blood, he obtained some flesh-colored modeling clay, wrapped it around the blood collection tubes, and then put the entire set of items into his backpack slot.

The items inside the backpack slot wouldn't rot or deteriorate, making it perfect for storing blood samples.

Seeing the curious look in Chai Cuiqiao's eyes, Li Ang casually explained, "The school is arranging a physical examination tomorrow. To avoid any scenario missions popping up in the meantime that could alter my blood sample, it's better to prepare in advance..."

Suddenly, the cold, mechanical voice of the System notification sounded.

[Mission trigger condition has been fulfilled.] Content sourced from * – My Virtual Library Empire.

[Mission type: Scenario Mission (3V3 Team Competition)]

[Mission name: Wasteland and Fertility]

[Mission objective 1: Eliminate Libra Company's CEO, Alphonse Anderson.]

[Mission objective 2: Eliminate the mutated organism.]

[Mission objective 3: Destroy Libra Company's Boston Biotech Laboratory.]

[Complete two of the above mission objectives to unlock Mission 4.]

It finally arrived.

Li Ang sprang up from his chair, his expression somber and unsettled.

This was the first time he had received a team competition mission. According to explanations from high-level players on the forums, this type of mission divided players into two or more teams, sending them into a scenario world together.

The mission objectives for each team could be the same or different. Sometimes, teams could cooperate to fulfill the objectives.

However, the teams could also earn a hefty amount of Game Coin and Experience Point by killing members of other teams.

Danger and opportunity coexisted. Cooperation and competition were juxtaposed. This was the nature of team competition.

[In this mission, if a member of the opposing team dies, it counts as one positive point; if a member of your squad dies, it counts as one negative point.]

[For each mission objective completed, it counts as one positive point.]

[Three positive points are considered mission completion, enabling teleportation back to the real world.]

[Mission time limit: 7 days]

[Mission reward 1: Excellent quality Skill Scroll * kill score]

[Mission reward 2: 200 points (Game Coin, Experience Point) * final positive score]

[Mission failure penalty: Teams that fail to achieve three positive points by the end of the 7-day time limit will be eradicated.]

[5 minutes left before teleportation, proceed with immediate teleportation?]

Seeing Li Ang's solemn face, Chai Cuiqiao, who was lying on the couch, immediately realized that a scenario mission was coming.

Her expression also grew serious. She stretched out her limbs to help Li Ang pack his gear and tidy the room. Meanwhile, she swiped her fingers across her phone screen to turn on a radio broadcast, continuing to listen intently to the forbidden audio novel with a stern look.

The mission name 'Wasteland and Fertility' is a bit odd. However, based on Objective 2, 'Eliminate the mutated organism,' I can infer that the setting for this mission is likely a scenario world with factors like contagion, mutation, monsters, or even radiation.

Li Ang's mind raced. He ran back to the Magic Box and retrieved two brownish-yellow, heavy-duty hazmat suits hanging on the wall in the second compartment. He put one on and placed the other into his backpack slot.

As the time limit ended, Li Ang, holding an assault rifle and clad in a hazmat suit, packed away his large black umbrella and stood in his living room, vanishing from sight.