Chapter 61: Temporary Teammates

Xu Feng felt a little embarrassed. At this stage, having a piece of Silver Quality equipment was naturally treated like a treasure, yet he had ended up breaking it.

However, there was nothing Xu Feng could do about it. In his talent bonuses, the power of his attacks when using sword-type weapons was 300%, and this was something he couldn’t control.

“Haha, the captain’s wife got broken by Xu Feng,” Xiao Yun laughed loudly, saying with a teasing expression.

Hearing this, Xu Feng broke out in a cold sweat.

“You jerk, fix it quickly. If there’s any flaw, if its durability drops even a little, you won’t get any bonus from this mission,” Li Qing said fiercely.

“Really, captain? It wasn’t me who broke it. How can you take it out on me?” Xiao Yun took the shield, his face looking upset.

Xu Feng raised an eyebrow. In this four-person team, there was actually a Blacksmith.

Xiao Yun pulled out a small forging hammer from his lower back, then reluctantly took out a small piece of metal, and started repairing it with clinking sounds.

A ball of white light appeared on Xiao Yun’s right hand. First, it softened the small piece of material, then the white light enveloped the entire shield. Xiao Yun’s forging hammer struck the ball of white light repeatedly.

At this moment, Xiao Yun had a serious expression on his face, no trace of his usual playful smile to be seen.

Soon, Xiao Yun put away his forging hammer. The ball of white light gradually faded, revealing the brand new shield inside.

Xiao Yun showed a hint of tiredness on his face and handed the shield over, saying, “Captain, it’s fixed.”

Li Qing took the shield, examined it carefully, and nodded with satisfaction, saying, “Well done. Team Points increased by three.”

“Thanks, captain.” Xiao Yun whistled at Guo Lan and her brother, smiling smugly.

“They should have almost finished clearing out the monsters at the gas station, right?” Guo Yong looked up toward the gas station.

Earlier, they could faintly hear shouts and the screeches of monsters coming from the gas station, but now the gas station was completely silent. Yet, no one had come out, which felt very eerie.

“Could they have all died together?” Xiao Yun muttered quietly.

“Impossible. We already scouted that gas station. The monsters and Insect Humans there are all One-Star Strength. Those people are at least Two-Star Strength. How could they all die together?” Guo Lan shook her head, analyzing calmly.

Xu Feng looked at Li Qing. Li Qing’s face was calm as he quietly watched the direction of the gas station. Guo Lan and Guo Yong also looked indifferent, as if they wouldn’t care even if everyone who entered the gas station had died.

“Look, someone’s coming out,” Xiao Yun shouted.

Xu Feng turned to look. A man was slowly walking out of the gas station entrance. The man was covered in blood, and as he walked, blood dripped from his body. He seemed injured, walking very slowly, leaving bloody footprints with each step until he reached the group.

Before Li Qing could speak, the man said, “No need to wait anymore. There’s nothing alive inside.”

After saying that, the man showed his bloodstained, pale teeth in a grin and said, “Since I’m the only one alive, I should pass the test, right?”

Xu Feng frowned slightly as he stared at this man. The gas station wasn’t very big, and those who came to take the test were all stronger than ordinary people. Even if they were competing, after clearing the gas station of monsters, it was unlikely that only he would survive.

The only reason for this situation was that this man had killed all the other competitors.

Li Qing and the others clearly understood the reason too, and they all fell silent.

Such a man was too dangerous. Having him as a teammate was even more dangerous than having him as an enemy.

“Welcome to the Wildfire Squad,” Li Qing said, extending his left hand first to the blood-covered man.

“Heh, my name is Zhao Qiang. Zhao as in Zhao from the common surnames, Qiang as in handgun,” the man said, extending his right hand. The palm of his right hand had a deep cut from a sharp blade, the flesh still torn open, blood slowly oozing out.

“Guo Lan, treat our new teammate’s wound,” Li Qing said with a slight frown, turning to Guo Lan.

“Oh, okay.” Guo Lan carried a backpack. She rummaged through it and took out a palm-sized paper package, tossing it to Zhao Qiang.

Zhao Qiang caught the paper package, opened it, and saw some medicinal powder inside.

He smiled, put the medicine package into his pocket, and did not apply it to the wound immediately.

“You’re Xu Feng?” Zhao Qiang turned his head, showing a grim smile, and said, “Do you dare to compete? When we clear out Xinfu Village, let’s see who kills more monsters, whose team gets the first Points?”

“Just like at the gas station?” Xu Feng said with a smile.

Zhao Qiang was startled, then a crazy smile appeared on his face as he laughed loudly, “Haha, yes, just like at the gas station.”

“Alright, I’m happy to accept!” Xu Feng also showed a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

In his previous life, Xu Feng had struggled for ten years and had seen all kinds of people, some even ten times crazier than Zhao Qiang. Faced with Zhao Qiang’s challenge, Xu Feng chose to respond head-on without hesitation. In this life, he intended to crush all those who challenged him or meant him harm beneath his feet.

Li Qing glanced at them both and said, “Let’s head to Xinfu Village. Our squad isn’t the only one that took this bounty mission; several other teams also took it. If we go too late, we might not even get a share.”

The Li Qing squad actually had an off-road vehicle. They walked for over two hours before reaching the outskirts of a small town.

This small town was Xinfu Village. For some reason, the monsters in this town were generally stronger than those in other places. In other areas, most monsters were One-Star Strength, and occasionally a Two-Star Strength monster appeared, which could already be considered a boss.

But in this small town called Xinfu Village, the monsters were generally at the Two Stars level.

At that moment, sounds of fighting and the roars of monsters came from the town. The ferocious aura in those roars made even Xu Feng feel threatened.

“We need to speed up. Some teams have already entered the town,” Li Qing said seriously.

“To speed up progress, you can form teams freely. The more monsters you kill, the higher your Points, and the greater the rewards. Insect Crystals from monsters are yours to keep. If you’re in danger, send a signal.”

Li Qing gave brief instructions and then handed each person three silver metal balls the size of eggs.

These three metal balls were like signal flares. When smashed on the ground, they would release a special Flamefire that could be seen from several kilometers away.

After Li Qing finished explaining, the group split up. These kinds of bounty hunting missions were issued by the state and could only be accepted by teams. If someone came alone, they would be stopped before even getting close to the town.