Captain 04

In a dilapidated alley, a bizarre monster resembling a wheel was cornered at a dead end. Its body was pieced together entirely from white bones, and as it rolled, the bones emitted shrill, piercing screams.

Gu Heng subconsciously stepped in front of Lin Wanxing to protect her, while the movements of the other team members were quietly observed by Fang Zhiyi. Li Fei and a few others still charged at the forefront, cooperating seamlessly.

This monster wasn't very strong. Aside from its ghostly wails, it didn't have many ways to attack. The team members easily chopped it into pieces. Fang Zhiyi also understood now that his subordinates were only slightly stronger than ordinary people. The weapons in their hands, however, were quite interesting, seemingly infused with something that suppressed the aura of these bizarre creatures.

But just when everyone thought it was over, the monster suddenly erupted. Its sole remaining head broke straight through the encirclement and charged directly at Fang Zhiyi.

"Captain!" Li Fei panicked a little.

Fang Zhiyi was also panicked, but his panic was an act. Just now, when directing the team members to surround it, he deliberately made his position appear weaker. Even if the monster relied solely on its survival instincts, it would choose to charge in this direction.

Fang Zhiyi clumsily rolled away: "Dodge!"

As soon as he dodged, Lin Wanxing and Gu Heng behind him were exposed to the monster. Compared to the terrified Lin Wanxing, Gu Heng's reaction was faster. He instantly drew his longsword and slashed at it. The desperate monster took the brunt of the blade, struggled for a few moments, and turned into ash.

Gu Heng wrapped one arm around Lin Wanxing while looking at Fang Zhiyi with disdain: "Wanxing, it's alright now."

Fang Zhiyi wore a look of lingering fear.

The other team members were a bit bewildered. Some had joyful expressions, while others had dark faces.

Fang Zhiyi was very tactful. After returning, he criticized himself for poor planning and, citing that his previous injuries hadn't fully healed, nominated Gu Heng as the acting captain.

Gu Heng was a bit dazed. He did want to be the captain, but hadn't this day come a bit too fast?

The others were even more confused. It had only been a few days, right? Gu Heng was the captain now?

Fang Zhiyi was faster than them. He had already submitted the application report and quickly received approval.

He stayed in his room, looking down below. Gu Heng, who had just picked up a captaincy for free, was currently beaming with pride. Lin Wanxing was also by his side, the two of them talking and laughing.

"Captain!" Zhou Hao barged in without knocking. "How could you let him be the acting captain? He's a despicable person!"

"Exactly! What were you thinking?!" Li Fei followed closely behind.

Fang Zhiyi didn't answer them, but stared blankly outside.

Shen Yue, who walked in last, closed the door, still looking warily at Fang Zhiyi.

"Have you guys ever seen the ocean?"

The sudden question left the few of them scratching their heads. The ocean?

"I've seen the ocean once, but it has nothing to do with this, right? Boss, do you want to go swimming?" Li Fei's train of thought was always quite magical.

"Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked." The corners of Fang Zhiyi's mouth slowly curled up.

Zhao Lei, who had been silent all along, followed his gaze. All the team members except for them were gathered around Gu Heng and Lin Wanxing, seemingly congratulating him on his successful promotion.

"A bunch of fence-sitters! If it weren't for the boss, they would have died eight hundred times! Damn it!" Li Fei jumped up and was about to rush out, but was stopped by Fang Zhiyi's shout.

"What the hell are you getting excited about... Others have powerful backgrounds. What do you have? A view of their backs?"

"But... sigh!" Li Fei punched the air heavily.

"Don't rush, the good days are yet to come." Fang Zhiyi narrowed his eyes, leaning back in his chair with a look of enjoyment.

Under Gu Heng's leadership, the Guardian Squad successfully resolved several more bizarre creatures that appeared nearby. Unlike Fang Zhiyi's low profile, every time a mission was completed, he returned to the city with an incredibly high profile. For a time, all the residents of the entire city knew Gu Heng's name.

But the more this happened, the more uncomfortable Li Fei and the others felt. No matter how they looked at Gu Heng, he rubbed them the wrong way.

However, they had no choice. Gu Heng was obviously targeting them, even leaving the original main force members behind at the base, claiming it was to guard important supplies.

Because of this, Li Fei and the others sighed all day long, while Fang Zhiyi was happy to relax.

Even every time Lin Wanxing returned, Fang Zhiyi would personally go to greet her. As the saying goes, you don't hit a smiling person. Fang Zhiyi kept his posture very low, and Gu Heng didn't make things difficult for him. Especially regarding Lin Wanxing's desire to help others, Fang Zhiyi always maintained an affirming attitude.

Gu Heng was certain that Fang Zhiyi just wanted to flatter Lin Wanxing. It made sense; otherwise, with Fang Zhiyi's abilities, he would at most be a Guardian in this small city for the rest of his life.

"Our supply rations are running low..."

Facing another batch of refugees, Lin Wanxing still acted very generously, almost granting every request. But then she heard this sentence from Fang Zhiyi.

Fang Zhiyi looked somewhat embarrassed.

Lin Wanxing was taken aback. "I remember there were still quite a lot..."

Fang Zhiyi smiled bitterly and pushed open the warehouse door. Inside, there were only a few empty boxes in the corner.

"What we had stored was a half-year supply allocated to us by headquarters, but because we had to relieve the refugees, there really isn't much left." Fang Zhiyi observed the young lady's expression. "But I think, Wanxing, you're doing a great job. Right now, everyone in the city knows Gu Heng's great name, and many people also know that Miss Lin is a wonderful person."

Hearing these words, Lin Wanxing blushed inexplicably.

"However, I do have an idea..."

"Tell me."

Fang Zhiyi frowned, looking troubled. "The City Guard still has reserves. They are responsible for city security, so their supplies are more abundant than ours. It's just that I don't have enough authority. If you go and talk to them, Wanxing, they will definitely give it to you out of respect for your grandfather." He paused. "Having saved so many people, as expected, only you can do this."

These words gave the hesitant Lin Wanxing a dose of reassurance. She thought of the words of gratitude those people had given her, which made every pore in her body feel incredibly refreshed.

"Really? Then I'll go right now!" She stood up and walked out, completely failing to notice that Fang Zhiyi's smile had turned somewhat eerie.

Upon learning of Lin Wanxing's needs, Gu Heng said, "The supplies they want seem to be a bit much... The City Guard won't agree either, right?"

Lin Wanxing held Gu Heng's hand and said earnestly, "Although we are Guardians, we are human just like them. There is no reason for us to be full while they have to starve."

Gu Heng looked at the hand she was holding, his heart fluttering, and a sense of heroism welled up within him. "No problem!"

"Rest assured, my grandfather is still here!" she patted her chest and guaranteed.