New World Squad

"We'll leave this afternoon then."

Nan Yue stood up and stretched her body. "Where are your team members?"

Fu Xi Ming stood up as well. "They're on their way. We'll meet at Eagle City State in an hour."

Fu Xi Ming reached out her hand. "Nan Yue, thank you."

Thank you for being willing to be the trailblazer. Thank you for being willing to take on the risks and sacrifices that a pioneer might face.

Nan Yue grinned and shook Fu Xi Ming's hand.

"A pleasure doing business with you."

This isn't my sacrifice alone, Nan Yue thought. She was grateful Fu Xi Ming was willing to be her solid backup.

Just as Fu Xi Ming said, the other three Sharp Blade teammates arrived at the hotel an hour later.

The red-haired, one-eyed woman was Chi Yu, a top 10 player whose ability was Fire Control.

The one called Yin Qian was someone Nan Yue had seen in advertisements before. She hadn't expected him to be part of Sharp Blade, and his real ranking was quite high.

His ability was Friendly Intervention.

The one wearing round glasses, looking a bit nervous like a student, was the researcher from the research group, Jiang Yuhao.

After they were introduced, Fu Xi Ming stood to the side.

"Nan Yue will serve as the commander-in-chief for the team entering the polluted zone. All Sharp Blade members will follow Nan Yue's arrangements unconditionally."

"Yes, ma'am."

Although the three had very different personalities, Fu Xi Ming's word carried weight.

"Do you want to pick a team name?" Fu Xi Ming added, thinking of Nan Yue's naming standards, "Something imposing."

Nan Yue gave Fu Xi Ming a resentful look, then thought for a moment.

"New World."

"The New World Squad?" Fu Xi Ming smiled. "I like it."

The seven of them said their goodbyes to Fu Xi Ming and He Jiu Chen at the Eagle City State teleportation point.

Passing scavengers were all sizing them up, and some recognized Nan Yue and Fu Xi Ming.

"It's Department Head Fu!"

"And Deputy Head He. How long has it been since they appeared together?"

"What are they doing here? Isn't the one in the lead that scavenger who's been making waves lately?"

"Nan Yue! I know her!"

"What are they doing? Why are they gathered here?"

"Maybe they're teleporting to Eden? Did Department Head Fu come to pick up Nan Yue?"

"Doesn't look like it. See that red-haired one? That's Chi Yu from Sharp Blade."

"Are they going to the polluted zone?"

"...What are you talking about? No one leaves the polluted zone alive."

"You're too young. This isn't the first time people have tried to explore the polluted zone."

"Really? That's so bold. Did the last group make it back?"

"They all died."

...

Fu Xi Ming ignored the gossip around them. She had procured a modified seven-seater SUV for Nan Yue.

"Just in case you need it."

No one knew how far it was between city states. If the pollution didn't kill them, walking for weeks on the road would be embarrassing.

Gu Xiang Kai had finished checking the car's performance. He, Jiang Siyan, Yin Qian, and Jiang Yuhao loaded their rations into the vehicle.

"Safe travels, Nan Yue."

Nan Yue blinked. "See you in a few days."

The large black SUV started up. Under the startled gazes of the onlookers, it passed through the transparent high wall guarded by soldiers and vanished from sight.

Static crackled in Fu Xi Ming's earpiece.

She could no longer contact Nan Yue.

Good luck, she said in her heart.

He Jiu Chen stood quietly behind her. Once she had composed herself, he stepped forward.

"Let's go. We still have to go back and screen the teams leaving the city."

Fu Xi Ming looked at He Jiu Chen. "I still didn't expect you to support me."

He Jiu Chen lowered his naturally reddish eyelids and smiled.

"I've always supported what you wanted to do, except for going outside the wall."

"The day I learned the truth, I knew I couldn't stop you. Fortunately, we have Nan Yue now. The situation is different from when Shen Nian and the others left."

"More importantly, if everything is fake and meaningless, I have to hold on tight to what I can grasp."

Fu Xi Ming smiled. She reached out and patted He Jiu Chen's face, then stood on her tiptoes to kiss his eyelids as a reward.

"Good boy."

He Jiu Chen's throat moved. He took Fu Xi Ming's hand, and this time, she didn't pull away.

"Let's go."

...

Nan Yue and the others were tense in the car. None of them had ever left the city state, and their knowledge of the outside world was zero.

The information sent back by Shen Nian's group was too sparse and outdated to be of much use.

Crucially, the awakened ability of the scavenger back then, like the equipment Nan Yue and the others wore, wasn't always reliable. For instance, they couldn't contact Fu Xi Ming now.

The environment outside the city state was also surprising.

There was nothing.

Literally nothing.

Total darkness. No light, no people, no existence of any kind.

It was like driving into a void.

"The pollution concentration here is 60%."

Jiang Yuhao was the most nervous. He held his small tester, peering out fearfully.

"It's not extremely high. Can we open a path?"

Jiang Yuhao held another device with a red button.

"In theory, yes, but there's no response for some reason."

"The concentration must still be too high. It's more likely to work below 50%."

Nan Yue hesitated. Both Fu Xi Ming and Wen Xiang Yuan had mentioned that to avoid triggering the monitoring system's alarms by making pollution disappear suddenly, they had to follow the normal purification process in mission worlds.

Survive, complete the objectives, and only devour the pollution when it was time to leave.

That was the only way to avoid alerting the monitoring system.

Furthermore, since pollution was generated by resentment and fear, it could be understood as having a mind of its own to some extent.

For example, the one that had been on Nan Yue before knew how to devour her fear.

If she devoured it directly without going through the purification process, the resistance would be much greater, the burden on her heavier, and the risk of backlash higher.

So, unless it was a last resort, Nan Yue didn't want to devour the pollution directly.

The car drove slowly. There were no roads or obstacles. Gu Xiang Kai drove cautiously, alert for any accidents.

They drove for over ten minutes. The pollution stayed around 50-60%. No path opened, and nothing else happened.

Suddenly, everyone felt a slight resistance, as if passing through something.

And they were no longer in the SUV. They were on horseback.

Nan Yue looked around. They were in a valley surrounded by mountains. It was quite picturesque.

However, they were all mounted on tall horses, wearing navy blue long-sleeved shirts and trousers with red belts around their waists.