The Dragon Saber Squad's meeting place was a branch of the Free Martial Artist Association near the East City Gate.
Dongshan City had one headquarters and four branches. The headquarters could handle any problems Freelance Martial Artists encountered, while the four branches made it easier for Martial Artists to pick up and submit missions close to home.
After all, some Martial Artists lived outside the city year-round and only came into town a few times each year. The branches were there to make things more convenient for them.
Seeing Lu Lin climb out of Liu Weiran's car, Ren Tian chuckled. "I was just about to go pick you up, kid. Didn't realize you'd have a beauty keeping you company."
Lu Lin smiled but didn't reply. A step behind him, Liu Weiran heard the remark, and a faint blush appeared on her face.
"Haha, what's there to be shy about, young miss? Unless I hit the nail on the head?"
Ren Tian said bluntly, making Liu Weiran blush even harder.
Fortunately, Zhou Shenming came over just then and bumped Ren Tian's arm, making him stop teasing her.
"Lu Lin, wait a little longer. The gates open at seven, so we've got another half hour. The other guys will take a while to get here, too."
"Got it, Captain."
Lu Lin acknowledged him. He'd been looking forward to this day for ages, but now that he was standing here, his mood was surprisingly calm, as if this were just another ordinary day.
"Just wait a bit. Those guys are chronic procrastinators. They won't show up before 6:50. Lu Lin, come here and check out the gear I brought for you."
Ren Tian called him over and led him to his car. He took a large bundle from the back seat and dropped it on the ground with a heavy thud.
"This is a set of Light Armor. You only need to wear the chest piece normally; put on the whole set when you're fighting. Our flesh and blood can't take a Monster Beast's attacks."
"And this—catch!"
As he spoke, Ren Tian tossed Lu Lin a Battle Saber.
Lu Lin caught it easily. It felt heavy in his hand—a fine blade.
The Battle Saber weighed over twenty pounds, just right for Lu Lin to wield.
The blade was pitch-black, and even the hilt was black. It would be perfect for a nighttime ambush; nobody would spot it.
"Not bad! You've made a lot of progress in just three days."
Ren Tian jumped out of the car and praised him. "This saber's been my baby for five or six years. It was already at the peak of E-rank, and I had some Black Carbon Steel added to it. That turned the blade black and made it much tougher. Just don't use it to chop bones."
"Oh, got it."
Having just received such a treasure, Lu Lin was delighted. He couldn't help trying a few moves from Sky Breaking Thirteen Slashes. It fit—perfectly.
This Battle Saber was practically custom-made for Lu Lin.
"Lu Lin, did you bring a tent and stuff?" Ren Tian asked, making sure.
"Yeah. I packed a tent and some high-energy food. They're in my bag."
"Good. Put your bag in the car for now, and see how the Light Armor fits."
Lu Lin opened the bundle and nearly got blinded by the armor's gleaming shine.
Ren Tian had a black E-rank Battle Saber, yet he'd picked bright silver armor. It made no sense.
Still, when Lu Lin put it on, it fit him quite well.
"Don't look at me. This isn't my Light Armor. It belonged to that unlucky fellow Wang Yan. Someone set him up, and now he can't go outside the city anymore. When he heard the squad had a new recruit, he offered up his armor."
"Do you know how much a set of Light Armor like this costs?"
Lu Lin shook his head.
The armor wasn't very heavy. He guessed it weighed only twenty or thirty pounds, and it didn't hinder him at all.
"Forty-eight million."
"Wang Yan's really generous, tsk, tsk. If I had to give you a set of armor worth fifty million, I wouldn't be able to bear it."
"Fifty million?"
Lu Lin exclaimed.
That was way too expensive! It was just a set of Light Armor, yet it cost fifty million. Was it a robbery?
"Of course. Wang Yan spent his entire fortune on it. The armor's A+ rank, very close to S-Class. With this protecting you out in the wild, even a fourth- or fifth-tier Monster Beast probably couldn't hurt you."
"This... I really have to thank Brother Wang Yan. When I get back, I'll return the armor without a scratch."
"Return it? No need. Just go visit him when you have time. The guy's in his thirties and still doesn't have a wife. Now he can only spend his days dancing in the plaza with a bunch of old men and women. He's terribly lonely."
"Enough. Just wear the chest piece; leave the rest in the car for now. Look, the others are here."
Following Ren Tian's pointing finger, Lu Lin saw four burly Martial Artists.
Two of them looked exactly alike. They had fair skin and thick beards.
"Those twins are the two Martial Master saber fighters on our squad, Yang Dawei and Yang Xiaowei."
Beside the twins stood a lean, cold-faced Martial Artist.
"He's our squad's scout. His movement skills are top-notch. His name's Li Mo, but we all like to call him Killer."
Beside the scout stood a handsome, slender Martial Artist with a longbow slung over his shoulder, his features soft and delicate.
"That flashy guy is our squad's archer, Huang Li. Remember, he's a man, a real man."
With that, every member of the Dragon Saber Squad had arrived.
Captain Zhou Shenming gathered everyone together. "Welcome back, everyone. This is our new teammate, Lu Lin. Ren Tian, that loudmouth, has already told us plenty about him these past few days. Come on, let's all welcome Lu Lin."
"Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!"
Ren Tian was the first to respond.
The two stern-faced saber-fighting twins immediately changed their tune, too. "Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!"
They even started dancing happily right there.
Only the scout, Li Mo, and the archer, Huang Li, stayed composed, nodding at Lu Lin with faint smiles.
However, Li Mo's smile looked more like a grimace, while Huang Li's smile left Lu Lin a little entranced.
No!
Brother Ren had said Huang Li was a man, a real man. He absolutely couldn't let himself be charmed!
Zhou Shenming was already used to the three show-offs fooling around. Once they'd carried on for a while, he clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.
"Right, the gates open in three minutes. We'll do things the usual way: first drive to Forward Base 301, then contact the client to confirm the mission objective."
"Let's go!"
"Let's go!"
Everyone answered in unison.
Lu Lin joined in with a loud shout. There hadn't been time for him to introduce himself, but they had plenty of time ahead to get to know one another.
There were two nearly identical Tiger off-road pickups. Zhou Shenming drove one, and Li Mo and Huang Li naturally got into his truck and shut the doors.
The Yang brothers, Yang Dawei and Yang Xiaowei, naturally got into Ren Tian's truck. Just as Lu Lin was about to climb in, Ren Tian shoved him back.
"Silly kid, aren't you going to say goodbye to your little girlfriend?"
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