Even though she had worked with him and Jiang Siyan had said as much, Lan Jing Shui didn't look like a particularly reliable person no matter how one looked at him.
"So, do you want to hide the fact that you've joined us?"
Jiang Siyan removed the grilled chicken wings from the skewers and placed them directly onto a plate.
"I don't mind either way."
It was all the same to him regardless of where he was; Nan Yue was the one who needed to consider this issue.
Nan Yue drank a glass of beer, thought for a few seconds, and then raised her virtual camera.
"Look here."
The other three instinctively looked toward her lens—Zhu Xi Ning holding a beer, and the two men grilling like laborers.
Even through the swirling smoke, the two men's outstanding looks were apparent.
Nan Yue stood at the very front with a wide grin, her face slightly distorted in the lens, looking like a cat that had swallowed the canary.
With a click, Nan Yue uploaded the photo to her feed with the caption: "Welcome our new member!"
This time, the likes came much faster and in greater numbers than the previous photo.
【I Love Pretty Ladies】: Little sister is so pretty.
【Mute but not Deaf】: Why are you guys eating again?
【A-Yu】: Hey, why wasn't I invited to join? My looks are top-tier too.
Nan Yue replied to them one by one.
She wasn't the type to make many friends, and more importantly, the difficulty of the missions she entered was never low, so there were even fewer people who survived to become her teammates.
After a while, Nan Yue received a call from Huo Fuyu, which she calmly declined.
【Strongest A-Nan in History】: But you're too manipulative and insecure.
【A-Yu】: ...Nan Yue, answer the phone!!!
Jiang Siyan's ID was 【Yao】.
Many people knew he was the top 9, Bai Yao, but not everyone.
Unless they had survived a mission with him, others couldn't easily connect the top 9 scavenger Bai Yao with the therapist Jiang Siyan.
Nan Yue was now considered a minor celebrity in the missions, and more people were lurking on her personal feed.
Everyone was speculating about the background of the man who had just joined.
Someone even paid the Cuckoo for information and found out the man was a therapist from the Green City State.
"A talent in the healing-type category..."
"Not necessarily. Don't you know that many therapists have only received relevant training and don't actually have an awakened ability?"
"True. Healing-type scavengers are rare; there aren't that many of them."
"Then this guy isn't even famous. Why was he able to join? I want to join too. There are so many beauties, and I heard Nan Yue is strong and very protective of her own."
"Probably because he's handsome."
"I'm not bad-looking either!"
"Looking at your profile picture, brother, maybe you should go see an eye doctor?"
Nan Yue ignored the minor stir on the forums.
She was rarely troubled, but now she was planning to drink away her worries glass by glass.
However, before she could finish her second beer, Jiang Siyan swapped it for a soft drink.
"Drink this instead. Drinking beer on an empty stomach is bad for you."
Nan Yue found it strange. "But my stomach isn't empty."
For once, Jiang Siyan was at a loss for words.
If you keep drinking, it'll be bad for my body and my mental stability.
"You don't seem to be in high spirits."
Nan Yue saw Zhu Xi Ning and Gu Xiang Kai busily and noisily grilling things before she finally spoke.
"Yeah. I feel like my progress is too slow."
"I," Jiang Siyan noticed the word Nan Yue used.
"I'm not strong enough."
Nan Yue didn't say more; her concern was Wen Xiang Yuan.
Wen Xiang Yuan's identity was very special.
Though she didn't know the exact situation, it was definitely different from everyone else's.
Outliers are always targeted; that was an eternal truth.
People were already starting to pay attention to them, and with Jiang Siyan joining, that attention would only increase.
But this step had to be taken. Rather than waiting, it was better to secure the strongest healer as soon as possible.
However, by being exposed to the public like this, someone would eventually discover Wen Xiang Yuan's uniqueness.
Would she be able to protect her when that time came?
Nan Yue didn't have Zhu Xi Ning's foresight, but her intuition told her that Wen Xiang Yuan was important.
Whether from emotion or logic, she had to protect her.
Just as Zhu Xi Ning had said, the secrets regarding herself might finally find their answers through Wen Xiang Yuan.
"Nan Yue, when did you develop this mother hen mindset?"
Nan Yue was speechless.
Gu Xiang Kai, who had been listening nearby, chimed in, "Ever since the team was formed, the boss has been acting more and more like a mother hen."
Nan Yue was indignant. "Is that any way to talk about your boss?"
Gu Xiang Kai didn't respond, but he had his own thoughts.
He might not be able to fully empathize with Nan Yue's worries, but his thinking was more direct.
Before, it seemed Nan Yue was the strongest in the team while he and Zhu Xi Ning were evenly matched.
But after Zhu Xi Ning's awakened ability was triggered and her second personality appeared, she had a more vital role in the team.
What about him?
His ability was direct physical damage, but with Nan Yue around, he rarely even got a chance to act.
He, Gu Xiang Kai, didn't want to be the one who needed protection and worry.
"Since we are a team, we need to progress together."
Jiang Siyan said calmly, "Only by becoming stronger together can we possibly walk the path we want to take."
By this point, Nan Yue was a bit tipsy.
Her attention had shifted, and she didn't hear Jiang Siyan's words, but Gu Xiang Kai did.
He put down the skewer in his hand and looked seriously at Jiang Siyan.
"Is there a way?"
Jiang Siyan smiled slightly.
Although he was usually reluctant to meddle in others' business, since he had joined the team, he had to contribute something to maintain harmony.
"Have you realized that your own ability hasn't appeared yet?"
Gu Xiang Kai was stunned, only realizing it after a moment.
Because he had always relied on his fists and was quite proficient with them, he had assumed that was it.
In essence, the reason he could attack ghosts was due to the tool he had obtained after a narrow escape in a mission.
His earring.
"Your current power is a result of your personal physique combined with a tool. Your own innate ability has not appeared."
Gu Xiang Kai remained silent for a long time. "What if I'm just someone without an ability?"
Jiang Siyan glanced at him. "Then train your physique."
"You know, don't you? Not having an ability is the norm."
The vast majority of scavengers had no special powers.
One could say that awakened ability users were one in ten thousand... no, even one in a hundred thousand or a million.
It was only because the platform they were on was too high and there were too many high-level players around them that it felt like having an ability was normal.
"Are people without abilities supposed to just stop living?"
Jiang Siyan chuckled. "I don't know if you have an ability, nor do I know when it might be triggered."
"But I can tell you this: your captain has a very strong perception of emotions. She can feel your anxiety, your confusion, and your panic."
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