72: Chapter 72 What's with the "captain" thing?!

Leaving the Stronghold, their field of vision suddenly opened up.

The wilderness was like an infinite sheet of crumpled paper; the gray-brown earth, sparse withered trees, and collapsed highway signs formed a monotonous and oppressive landscape.

The four of them walked along a small path trodden by those who had come before.

The area near the Stronghold had long been cleared many times by frequently passing teams, so one could only occasionally see a stray monster or two. Hunting them was a hassle and they weren't worth much money.

Their goal was deeper in. Only far away from the Stronghold would there be "Elite-tier" prey worth the price of admission.

However, the team had only been traveling for fifteen minutes when Chen Yanzhi, who was walking slightly ahead, suddenly stopped without warning.

"What's wrong?" Lin Jianqiu instantly lowered her stance and looked back, asking in a low voice.

Chen Yanzhi was the mage of their team and had the highest spirit attribute, so he was often able to detect danger ahead of time.

Chen Yanzhi didn't answer immediately. He closed his eyes, his brow furrowing slightly. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and his right hand quickly constructed a basic Exploration Spell in front of his chest.

The ripples of the spell spread out silently.

The next moment, Chen Yanzhi's expression changed.

"There's movement straight ahead."

The moment he spoke, everyone reacted.

Lin Jianqiu crouched low, her hand pressing on her sword hilt; Zhang Yuanfan quickly took down the short spear from his back and snapped it straight with a click.

Su Wan gripped her longbow with a backhand motion, an arrow already lightly notched on the string. "What kind of movement? Another team? Or a monster?"

Chen Yanzhi shook his head, his lips pressed tight.

The information returned by the Exploration Spell was very blurred, making it impossible to distinguish exactly what it was.

Seeing his reaction, everyone understood. Su Wan made a gesture, signaling everyone to stay on guard and observe.

As far as they could see, on the dirt road at the edge of a rock pile, a figure appeared from the distance, its silhouette gradually becoming clear.

"A person?" Lin Jianqiu narrowed her eyes, sounding uncertain.

As the distance closed, they recognized that it was indeed a human.

A man wearing a black coat was walking alone along the road toward them, his pace neither fast nor slow.

Confirming this, the team's tense muscles relaxed slightly.

Although human hearts are unpredictable in the wilderness, and encountering other survivor teams or individuals could mean trouble or a backstab, at least they were all human and could communicate.

Besides, most people were normal; they weren't beasts who thought about killing the other party the moment they met.

Su Wan gave a slight nod to Lin Jianqiu beside her, signaling with her eyes for her to follow her forward.

In their team, the one with the strongest melee ability was Lin Jianqiu.

Lin Jianqiu understood and slightly adjusted the angle of the long sword in her hand, holding the blade across her body in a clear offensive posture, enough to let the newcomer see that they were not a team to be trifled with.

The two of them maintained their guard and walked toward the other person.

When the distance closed to about ten meters, Lin Jianqiu took a deep breath, just about to raise her voice to shout and warn the other party.

But Su Wan beside her suddenly quickened her pace.

Lin Jianqiu was stunned, not understanding what was wrong with her.

Su Wan stared for a moment, her face showing a look of surprise and delight.

Then she stepped forward quickly, and after seeing the other person's appearance clearly, a genuine smile blossomed on her face.

"Hey!" Su Wan waved at Gu Changming. "Do you remember who I am?"

Gu Changming's gaze fell on Su Wan's face as she quickly approached, and his expression also froze slightly.

Wasn't this his neighbor from upstairs?

He had come out last night but hadn't gained much, and was now on his way back. He had sensed Su Wan and the others from a distance.

He just hadn't expected to actually run into someone he knew.

A clear hint of a smile also emerged from the depths of Gu Changming's eyes; the probability of meeting in such a place at such a time was truly too small.

But soon, another problem dispelled the joy of this chance encounter with an acquaintance.

What was her name again?

Gu Changming also stepped forward a few paces and slowly spoke, "It's you."

Seeing that Su Wan clearly knew the man, Lin Jianqiu tentatively asked in a low voice, "Captain, you know him?"

Although they usually called each other by name, they still had to be more formal in front of outsiders.

"Captain?" Gu Changming's brow quirked as he repeated the word.

Why call her captain? Why not use her name?

However, Su Wan's face flushed slightly upon hearing this, subconsciously assuming Gu Changming was teasing her: she who didn't even dare to stay in a room alone before and was afraid of the dark at night was now actually a captain.

"Yeah, we know each other," Su Wan said, keeping a straight face.

Seeing that it was indeed an acquaintance, Lin Jianqiu's tense shoulders relaxed completely, and she snapped her long sword back into its sheath with a click.

In the distance, Chen Yanzhi and Zhang Yuanfan saw this and also dropped their guard, walking over quickly.

The two groups met and sized each other up.

Gu Changming was alone and dressed simply, with nothing special about him, except for the inconspicuous lump of black slime-like creature perched on his shoulder, which was somewhat eye-catching.

As for Su Wan's team, Gu Changming also gave them a brief glance; they had the standard configuration of an outdoor hunting team.

Then, Su Wan naturally took on the responsibility of introductions. She turned slightly and began to introduce her team members to Gu Changming:

"My teammate, Lin Jianqiu."

Gu Changming looked at the woman who had been beside her just now.

She was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, tall, and good-looking. She wore a sleeveless tight tank top that was easy to move in, her skin was a healthy wheat color, and she exuded a sense of neat strength.

"Chen Yanzhi." Su Wan pointed to the refined-looking man wearing glasses.

He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and nodded to Gu Changming as a greeting.

"Zhang Yuanfan."

Gu Changming looked at the last person, who looked like a college student and seemed a bit reserved. After Gu Changming looked over, he also nodded.

After she finished the introductions, Gu Changming also nodded and introduced himself simply: "Gu Changming."

Su Wan listened with a light smile, then suddenly remembered something. She looked behind Gu Changming and asked, "Why are you alone?"

"Ah, I'm used to it," Gu Changming replied. "I've always adventured alone."

Su Wan nodded; she had sensed his personality early on.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have left her alone in the store in the middle of the night.

"Are you... going back to the Stronghold?" Su Wan continued to ask.

"Yeah, I've been out for a while, then remembered I forgot to buy some things, so I'm going back to take a look," Gu Changming answered.

Most adventure teams would not choose to go out at night for safety reasons. So, in order not to attract attention, Gu Changming could only make up such an excuse.

Su Wan gave an "oh" and let her gaze linger on him for a moment, her fingers unconsciously twisting the corner of her clothes.

Then she raised her eyes to look at Gu Changming, with a hint of testing and invitation in her tone:

"Our team's supplies and equipment are quite complete. Do you... want to come with us?"