047

The leftover rice from the cooking squad still tasted pretty good, at least better than what Li Changan had expected. It was quite oily and flavorful, on par with what that boss whose name was still unknown had made.

Zhang Qiangzhuang, the tall guy who had already exchanged names with Li Changan, was spending more time sizing up Li Changan than eating, seeming more and more satisfied the more he looked. It was like a mother-in-law inspecting her son-in-law.

Li Changan, however, was focused on eating and didn't pay much attention to Zhang Qiangzhuang's nonstop chatter.

"Don't just eat, have you considered what I just said?" Zhang Qiangzhuang was anxious, seeing that two pots of rice were nearly finished. In a bit, other squads would come to poach recruits.

Li Changan, his mouth full of food, made an indistinct "Huh?" sound.

Zhang Qiangzhuang was exasperated, rendered speechless for quite a while. After taking several deep breaths, he could only grit his teeth and continue his sales pitch. "See, we get along pretty well. Since you're here to enlist anyway, why not join my squad?"

"What's in it for me?" This time, Li Changan finally paid attention.

"Benefits?" Zhang Qiangzhuang was taken aback. "What benefits could there be from enlisting?"

Li Changan asked back, "If there are no benefits, why do you want me in your squad?"

"To increase everyone's chances of survival, of course!" Zhang Qiangzhuang said matter-of-factly. "The stronger you are, the higher everyone's chances. That's only natural."

Picking up his empty plate, Li Changan stuffed the last steamed bun soaked in vegetable gravy into his mouth, then nodded. "Fine."

"You agreed?" Zhang Qiangzhuang swept Li Changan into the air, spinning joyfully like a child.

Li Changan didn't really understand. Was it that worth celebrating over?

"Let's go, I'll introduce you to the others." Zhang Qiangzhuang awkwardly set Li Changan down and snatched his backpack to carry it for him, then halted in surprise again. This backpack sure was heavy!

"I'll take that, thanks," Li Changan retrieved his backpack. "Shall we?"

A few minutes later, the two stopped in front of a barracks with three people already seated inside.

"The one oiling a knife is Hu Chai."

"The stocky, fumbling one is Ma Hao."

"The one with dark eye circles is Ha Ka."

"And this is Li Changan. He looks pretty fierce."

I...look...fierce? Li Changan frowned but didn't object. He'd always thought of himself as quite amiable.

The three inside the barracks got up to greet Li Changan but were clearly less than enthusiastic.

"So each squad has five people, right?" Li Changan turned and asked. "You only have four. Did your previous squadmate die?"

The three exchanged a look and burst into laughter.

Lanky Hu Chai stepped up and patted Li Changan's shoulder. "I like a guy who speaks so directly."

"Me too," Ma Hao gave a thumbs up.

Ha Ka also nodded.

With just that one line, Li Changan was somewhat integrated into the group.

Zhang Qiangzhuang explained in a low voice, "Five people is right. But we're counting the missing one as dead."

"We got a new recruit previously. A very capable fellow who told us on his first day that his dream was to become a general."

As he spoke, Zhang Qiangzhuang heaved a sigh. "On our last mission, that newbie stayed behind to cover our retreat and died under the beast tide, but he managed to kill a leopard ox before he went down."

"That was his credit. His family could claim a hefty death benefit because of it. But then..."

Hu Chai picked up, "Turns out that bastard claimed the newbie's credit for himself and ascribed that leopard ox kill to his tally. He got a promotion and transfer out."

Li Changan nodded. Such things were very common among hunters, and he'd seen even worse―people deliberately holding back to let their companions die first.

As for the credibility of what these men said...Li Changan had no reason to doubt them. For one, there was no need to deceive someone they'd just met. And two, while many emotions could be faked, self-reproach could not.

"Let's not talk about unhappy things. We should welcome our new brother-in-arms." Zhang Qiangzhuang pulled Li Changan into the barracks. "We can also brief each other about our abilities to coordinate better in future."

After Zhang Qiangzhuang described his own ability, he left to handle some paperwork for Li Changan.

Living up to his name, Zhang Qiangzhuang's ability was [Powerhouse], a combat-type ability mainly embodied in breath recovery, significantly boosted combat attributes, and extremely high weapon damage resistance.

Against the beast tide, this ability was useless since the monsters had yet to evolve weapon usage. The current criteria for judging a "weapon" seemed limited to metal objects. Non-metals did not seem to trigger [Powerhouse]'s effects.

Knife-wielding Hu Chai's ability was [Blink]―teleporting to wherever his eyes were looking 0.3 seconds later. It was a budget version of [Teleport].

The destination had to be within sight, no penetrating walls. It had to be a straight line, no teleporting into midair. Solid footing was necessary upon arrival. For instance, no teleporting heavenwards.

Shockingly, Ma Hao's ability was [Thermal Weapon Augmentation], far exceeding Li Changan's expectations. It was an extremely rare ability.

[Thermal Weapon Augmentation] could be applied to firearms, artillery, even tanks and aircraft. Any thermal weapons he used would obtain some degree of enhancement.

But the effects were largely random and uncontrollable. Li Changan found such volatile abilities rather unpleasant.

Finally, Ha Ka was the squad's eyes and ears. His ability, [Spirit Resonance], was a psychic type that sensed any living being with a mind within a 200 meter radius. It functioned well as a sensory ability.

The ability itself had little offensive power. Currently, Ha Ka could only sing songs in people's heads.

Li Changan was a little dumbfounded. This squad's configuration was quite luxurious. If every squad was made up this way yet still couldn't defeat the beast tide, how terrifyingly powerful were those monsters?

That leopard ox...I think I've killed one before?

Seeing Li Changan lost in thought, Ma Hao lightly coughed to snap him back to attention. "Changan, what's your ability? Is it confidential?"

Li Changan shook his head. "I spaced out for a bit there. My ability is [Lethargy]. It can slow my opponents' ability activation speed, causing delays."

The three exchanged a look. Frowning, Hu Chai said, "That ability is quite powerful, but useless against monsters since few wield abilities. "

"High-tier monsters with abilities fall under the Special Operations Department. They're not our concern."

Hu Chai's words were relatively tactful. He should've just said Li Changan was completely useless.

Li Changan smiled. "It's fine, I understand what you mean. My close combat skills are decent enough not to drag you down."

Hu Chai laughed. "You're not joking, are you, Brother Changan? Should I take it that, without relying on your ability and just close combat prowess, you can avoid hindering us?"

Li Changan nodded. His close combat ability was acknowledged by Wen Anyan. It was proven against Charles and the 50 odd lives from Tiger Gang.

Listening to Li Changan's immodesty, Ma Hao fell silent in thought. But Hu Chai couldn't sit still.

"Since you say so, why not lend us a hand? Don't worry, we'll stop at first blood. No hard feelings if we accidentally hurt each other. What do you say?"

Li Changan promptly nodded. "Fine. I'll be careful not to injure you."

"You wanna fight?" Hu Chai flung aside his dagger and took out two rubber training knives, tossing one to Li Changan.

I'm going to have to teach this cocky newbie a lesson!