The Second Batch of Squads

But she regained her composure in just two seconds. "Understood. The rest of the 'New World' squads will head out of the city simultaneously."

Nan Yue and her team were the first. When they left the city, they didn't know what they would face, nor did they know if their plan would even be possible.

Now that the most difficult part of exploration had been resolved, the rest of the burden couldn't be left entirely on their shoulders.

Nan Yue briefly explained the situation of the pollution zone to Fu Xi Ming. As she had expected, they were all pollution worlds that had not yet entered the monitoring system's operational sequence.

It was likely that most of them were extreme missions, so they needed to be fully prepared.

"There's one more thing. We have no sense of direction here, and we're not sure where the nearest city state is."

Fu Xi Ming pondered for a moment before directly calling Fu Ruiyan, the research group leader.

Fu Ruiyan was nearly forty. If not for the mission delay tools obtained by Sharp Blade using points and the numerous protectors during his purification missions, he would never have lived to this age.

No one calculated the average lifespan of a scavenger in this world, because a large portion of them were filtered out during their first official evaluation mission.

Those who could survive until thirty were already considered exceptional.

Fu Ruiyan's ability to clear missions was average, but he had been deeply interested in academic classes since his time at the training academy. His wealth of knowledge had saved him countless times in missions until he was discovered by Shen Nian.

At that time, Shen Nian already had the initial idea of establishing Sharp Blade. Her original intention for the research group wasn't just to explore outside the walls, but to allow scavengers without purification talent to find their own value in this world.

There were many people like Fu Ruiyan, many of whom had been discovered by Shen Nian.

When Sharp Blade was first established, it was like an infant, lacking the power to protect everyone.

They had relied on Shen Nian and her team fighting with everything they had at the front lines.

After Shen Nian's death, Fu Ruiyan threw himself entirely into research. He was also a firm explorer who, like Fu Xi Ming, refused to let Shen Nian's legacy die with her.

She was the mother of Sharp Blade. Even though she was gone, Sharp Blade could continue.

But if her spirit vanished, then Sharp Blade would inevitably collapse.

"Department Head Fu."

Fu Ruiyan answered the call after only one ring. He seemed never to sleep, always remaining awake and alert.

Fu Xi Ming relayed Nan Yue's question to Fu Ruiyan. The man on the other end wasn't as composed as Fu Xi Ming; he began shouting excitedly into the phone.

"Group Leader Fu!"

"Group Leader Fu!"

"Fu Ruiyan!!!"

Fu Xi Ming had to snap at him a few times before he finally calmed down.

"Oh, I was being reckless. Captain Nan is waiting, yet I'm here getting carried away by my own emotions."

"You deserve the criticism."

Veins pulsed on Fu Xi Ming's forehead. "An-swer. My. Ques-tion!"

"Oh, right."

Fu Ruiyan fell silent for a moment before speaking cautiously.

"I can't be certain, but all city states have zero pollution. Therefore, we can determine the direction of the zero-pollution areas."

"I'll create a small orientation program and send it to Xiao Jiang."

Without waiting for Fu Xi Ming to say anything else, he hung up the phone.

"Sorry, you'll have to wait there for a bit."

"But since your corridor has been opened, we can head out from Eagle City State to send you supplies and begin reinforcing the corridor."

It wasn't that Fu Xi Ming was being too hasty, but they were truly racing against time.

The Federation wasn't paying attention to them now, but no one knew when those people might suddenly get an idea. They needed to gain as much time as possible.

"Alright, it's good that you're coming. We can test the safety of the reinforced corridor."

Nan Yue pondered for a moment. "But we still have to participate in the Scavenger Project on time. What's the maximum we can delay it?"

Fu Xi Ming answered quickly. Many research-type scavengers in Sharp Blade used points to buy mission delay tools to stretch out the time between missions as much as possible.

"The timing for the Scavenger Project depends on the city state travel permit you hold. Since you have a permit for Eden, you are naturally only required to enter a mission once every two months."

"Currently, with delay tools, the maximum extension is one month."

Nan Yue calculated the time. This meant they could stay outside the city state for a maximum of three months before they had to return and accept a mission at the Purification Center.

Otherwise, they would be forcibly pulled into a purification mission.

If they were inside a city state, it wouldn't be so bad. The fear was that if they were in a pollution zone outside the city state—essentially a place beyond the control of the monitoring system—they might completely escape the system's grasp.

But doing so would certainly trigger an alarm and draw the Federation's attention.

They had rested for a while after their previous mission, and combined with the time spent in the Qi Family Gang's world, about fifteen days had passed in total.

"If we assume each mission averages no more than eight days, plus your rest periods, that makes a fifteen-day mission cycle."

"You can still clear five more pollution worlds."

A seven-day rest was far too little for purification missions, especially extreme missions, but there simply wasn't more time for them to rest outside the city state.

"We will play it by ear."

They were all top-tier scavengers. Since they had come out, they naturally understood the risks and had already prepared themselves.

"Then get some good rest. Contact me immediately for anything; I won't turn off my comms."

After coming out, Nan Yue and the others could only estimate the time based on their progress in the mission.

But Jiang Haoyu had professional equipment, so she knew it should be 1:00 AM back in the city state.

Nan Yue heard Fu Xi Ming roll out of bed, splash cold water on her face, and make a call.

"A-Xiu, have all seven 'New World' squads gather in the conference room in ten minutes."

Just as Fu Xi Ming had said, she made no attempt to hide anything from Nan Yue, laying out all her decisions before her.

Ten minutes later, all forty-nine people were present in the conference room.

Standing behind Fu Xi Ming was A-Xiu, looking like a robot as always in her black suit and expressionless face.

Beside her was Lan Jing Shui, who looked exhausted after just crawling out of bed.

He Jiu Chen stood next to Fu Xi Ming; he had heard the conversation between her and Nan Yue.

He had complex feelings about this result.

Since he had joined Sharp Blade, he naturally had his own ambitions and resolve.

However, Shen Nian's death had been a massive blow to him. Unlike Jiang Siyan, he had gone down a different, more obsessive path.

He couldn't lose Fu Xi Ming.

He especially couldn't lose her for the sake of a meaningless hope.

But now, Nan Yue had proven that Shen Nian and the others weren't wrong. The original intention of Sharp Blade was correct.

Although fate had played a joke on them and the truth of the world was the exact opposite of everything they had imagined...