The Invitation

"A teacher? Why?"

Nan Yue took her time sipping her hot cocoa. She had initially thought it was too sweet, but she eventually made the miraculous discovery that sweets could actually lift one's spirits.

For her, whose mood had soured because of the thing reappearing inside her body, it was incredibly effective.

"Because I don't know what other professions there are."

Nan Yue hadn't been through many missions, and only one had featured a large map. However, the mission at Blooming Media Company alone had left her with a lasting aversion to working in an office building.

"The Scavenger Training Academy has many teachers. Everything we know was taught by them."

Although they mostly taught from textbooks and many weren't particularly powerful themselves, it was common for teachers to die and be replaced frequently.

Nan Yue herself had never spent more than six consecutive months in the same teacher's class.

"But I think they're quite great. Without them, we might not even pass the Qualification Exam."

"I think being a teacher is quite nice."

Zhu Xi Ning murmured, "I see... That's true. Education itself is actually quite sacred. If those predecessors hadn't turned scavenger work into a curriculum, the purification work would be so much harder to promote."

Nan Yue silently planted a small seed in her heart, right within her illusory home.

She was quietly fantasizing about what she would do if the mission worlds were real and normal, and she had to live in one.

I'll be a teacher then, Nan Yue told herself.

"What about you?"

Nan Yue looked at Gu Xiang Kai. He didn't really want to participate in the conversation because he didn't want to do anything at all.

But since Nan Yue asked, he gave it some reluctant thought.

"...Hmm, a bodyguard, I guess."

"Some employees at Blooming Media Company were bodyguards, and they had high ranks. I think it suits me."

Gu Xiang Kai looked half-dead. "All I know how to do is fight. As the old saying goes, you should turn your interests into your job."

Zhu Xi Ning frowned in disdain. "What old saying is that? I've never heard of it."

"A Gu family proverb."

"Hah! Everyone's names are randomly generated and drawn. Where did you get a Gu family from?"

"None of your business."

Nan Yue had developed a fondness for the beef noodles in the North District, so in the days leading up to their next mission, they ate there every single day.

Now that they had more points, she didn't restrict Zhu Xi Ning as much. However, ever since joining the team, Zhu Xi Ning's terrifying urge to shop had faded significantly.

But one night, Nan Yue accidentally overheard Gu Xiang Kai threatening Zhu Xi Ning.

"The boss isn't an ordinary person now. She's like a ticking time bomb. If you keep spending money like that and piss her off, you'll be the first one she blows up."

To this, Nan Yue thought that if the mission wasn't imminent, she would very much like to blow up Gu Xiang Kai first.

While they were at the beef noodle shop, a boy they had never seen before appeared in front of Nan Yue.

"Hello, are you Miss Nan? There's something for you."

The three of them were caught off guard by this, momentarily stunned.

The boy's face was covered in freckles, and he grinned, showing off his teeth. "I'm from Cuckoo. We also handle delivery services."

So that was it.

Nan Yue wondered if Bi Danyuan had sent it, but then realized she hadn't given Bi Danyuan her address.

She took the letter, and the boy left. The three of them stared at each other before opening it together.

Inside was a gold-embossed black business card and a small brooch shaped like a sharp sword.

The business card didn't have much information, just a phone number and the name of an organization.

"Sharp Blade."

"What is this?"

Neither Zhu Xi Ning nor Gu Xiang Kai knew. The former opened the forum to search. "Sharp Blade is an organization in Eden. It has fifteen members, and the leader is the rank 3 scavenger, Fu Xi Ming."

As the captain of Sharp Blade, there was more information available on Fu Xi Ming.

"She's a very powerful woman. Her awakened ability seems to be perception-based, similar to mine, but she's definitely much stronger."

"The forum says Sharp Blade sends invitations to scavengers they're interested in, but no one has ever received one before, and nobody knows how they do it."

Nan Yue twirled the business card in her hand. "I guess this is how they do it."

Nan Yue found it a bit strange. She hadn't completed many missions. Even if she had performed well, she shouldn't have attracted the attention of a top 3 powerhouse.

"Hard to say. You sometimes project an aura in missions that's very eye-catching."

It wasn't the kind of pressure a rookie should have. If Gu Xiang Kai could notice it, other powerful scavengers naturally could as well.

Nan Yue put away the brooch and the card, having no intention of responding.

"We still have a long way to go. Besides, exploring slowly is also a way to grow."

She was currently in the dark about many things. There were many restrictions in the middle city states, and information wasn't transparent. She felt like a child in an adult's world.

In such a situation, she definitely couldn't act rashly, or she might end up selling herself out.

"Speaking of which, I think there's something very important we haven't done yet."

Hearing this, the two teammates turned to look, only to see Nan Yue looking dead serious.

"We need to choose a team name."

"I don't want a string of numbers. It's too hard to remember."

Gu Xiang Kai and Zhu Xi Ning: ...Fair point.

"What should we call it? The Dominant Squad?"

Gu Xiang Kai offered an option using his limited creativity.

Zhu Xi Ning rolled her eyes. "Why don't you just call it the Tyrannosaurus Squad?"

Gu Xiang Kai stretched out his muscular arm. "Because I have a long reach."

Nan Yue: ...I think our team is missing a smart person.

"How about... Beauty is Justice."

Gu Xiang Kai: ...I think mine was better.

However, this name resonated deeply with Zhu Xi Ning. Ignoring Gu Xiang Kai's protests, she raised her ID bracelet and pulled up a virtual screen.

"Come on, look at the camera!"

The screen showed the three of them crowded around the table. Zhu Xi Ning had a gentle, deceptive smile. Nan Yue was grinning brightly with her chin slightly raised, looking unrestrained and a bit cocky, a total departure from her usual cold persona.

Only Gu Xiang Kai looked somewhat impatient because he disliked the name and felt it didn't fit his cool and edgy style, giving him a bit of a delinquent vibe in the photo.

Behind them was the crowded beef noodle shop, with orange graffiti sprayed on the white wall.

"Zhang's Beef Noodles."

"Look! Doesn't it fit the team name perfectly?"

Zhu Xi Ning happily uploaded it to her personal space. As a literal nobody, no one followed her, so uploading a photo was like throwing a pebble into the ocean.

Nonetheless, Nan Yue cooperatively uploaded it to her space as well.

Gu Xiang Kai publicly declared this behavior extremely childish, but when Nan Yue couldn't sleep late at night, she found that he had secretly uploaded the photo too.

His caption: One handsome guy and two idiots.

Nan Yue gave it a like. Half a minute later, the caption changed to:

Universe's number one beauty Boss Nan and two idiots.