Temporary Teammates

"So the authorities' recent mission has been to explore that mutant beast nest?"

Just thinking of a place where mutant beasts gathered, Ye Xiu could understand the significance behind it.

Compared with zombies, which placed greater emphasis on crystal cores, mutant beasts could yield far more materials.

For the authorities, who possessed research capabilities, they were undoubtedly a better prospect.

Xu Xiao nodded, though his face was also full of distress.

"The problem is that although we've confirmed the location of the mutant beast nest, we still can't find its entrance."

"Can't find the entrance?"

Ye Xiu's expression hardened.

The technology of the Apocalypse World was remarkably advanced. Modern tools such as radar and satellites were all readily available.

He had originally thought that the monsters within the mutant beast nest were too powerful, making Xu Xiao feel troubled.

Now, it seemed things had not even reached that stage.

"Exactly. We've used radar and satellites, and even dispatched quite a few ability users with detection abilities, yet in the end, we still came up empty-handed."

At the mention of this matter, the troubled look on Xu Xiao's face grew far more pronounced.

The pressure from those higher up in the authorities was mounting by the day. Under such circumstances, he had already exhausted every means at his disposal, yet achieved little.

How could Xu Xiao not feel troubled by that?

And on the other side, the companies and organizations under Kabbalah were eyeing them like tigers watching their prey.

"If those bastards find it first, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Seeing Xu Xiao's troubled expression, Ye Xiu knew it was time for him to make his move.

"When will the next exploration begin?"

He asked, "If possible, could you count me in?"

Xu Xiao had initially intended to refuse, but when he thought of Ye Xiu's elusive and unpredictable skills, he agreed almost as if possessed.

"Go make your preparations first. Tonight, I'll select another elite squad, and we'll get to the bottom of this together."

Ye Xiu nodded in agreement.

At last, he had an opportunity to properly probe the authorities' depths. Of course he would not refuse.

Besides, training his abilities also required real combat to improve.

The daylight hours passed swiftly.

Before night had fully descended, the person Xu Xiao had sent to pick him up arrived at his door.

It was still that familiar helicopter. Yet when Ye Xiu boarded, he was surprised to find that aside from Xu Xiao, there were only two or three others.

"This time, our main objective is to find the entrance to the mutant beast nest. Too many people would only have the opposite effect."

Noticing Ye Xiu's gaze, Xu Xiao explained.

Ye Xiu nodded and did not object.

His primary purpose this time was to temper his own abilities, while also displaying his strength to the people of Starfire so that it would be easier to obtain resources and cooperation later.

Fewer people were actually a good thing for him.

After finding a seat in the helicopter, Ye Xiu listened as Xu Xiao directed the pilot and introduced the others to him.

"The big guy on the left is Su Lie, a fourth-rank ability user. His unique ability is creating shields that isolate outside forces. At most, he can protect four people at once. The defense is excellent and can basically ignore zombie attacks."

Following Xu Xiao's words, Ye Xiu looked over. The burly Su Lie gave him a somewhat bashful smile.

He wore a heavy suit of armor covered densely in solvents of all kinds of colors. Ye Xiu had no idea what exactly they were used for.

"Yan Weiwei is our intelligence specialist, a third-rank ability user. We call her ability Sickle Weasel. Her enhanced hearing allows her, under extreme circumstances, to monitor every change within a radius of more than ten miles."

She was a rather petite girl with long hair tied into a ponytail. Sunglasses rested on her face, making her appear quite aloof.

"You know my ability—fire manipulation. I'm responsible for breaking through tough targets."

A very standard squad setup.

Listening to Xu Xiao's introduction, Ye Xiu silently assessed them in his heart.

Intelligence gathering, support, and assault—such a personnel arrangement covered nearly every angle and could be said to have no obvious weaknesses.

As an organization with official backing, Starfire's personnel were evidently of quite high quality.

This made Ye Xiu think of the Wildfire Gang, which he had only recently brought under his command.

The ability users in that gang were basically all offensive types. There were pitifully few support ability users in the entire gang, and not a single one specialized in logistics or other functions.

After all, maintaining diversity among ability types was already an immensely difficult matter. Building coordinated specialization on that foundation was even harder still.

"If it's convenient, you can introduce your own ability as well. We'll be comrades fighting side by side afterward. You probably wouldn't want them to hold anything back from you, either, would you?"

Xu Xiao's words caused the other two to turn their gazes toward Ye Xiu.

They were also quite curious about this mysterious new teammate. After all, Ye Xiu's name had not been on the roster when the mission was first arranged.

"A recovery-type ability user. If necessary, I can also fill in other roles on the side."

Ye Xiu raised an eyebrow.

He knew Xu Xiao was asking about his role. This squad already had the classic warrior-mage-hunter lineup, so naturally he would fill the healer's position.

In any case, as a cultivator, he truly did know quite a few healing arts.

"A healer?"

Su Lie and Yan Weiwei exchanged a glance, both visibly surprised.

After all, healing abilities were exceedingly rare in the Apocalypse World.

On that point alone, any resentment they had over having an unfamiliar person abruptly inserted into their team vanished without a trace.

Xu Xiao raised his brows. He had never seen Ye Xiu display any healing ability before.

Noticing Xu Xiao's expression, Ye Xiu smiled casually. He drew out the Soul-Extinguishing Dagger and lightly cut his palm.

Blood immediately flowed from the wound.

"Heal."

He murmured a few words. As a glow flashed, the three people watching in astonishment discovered that the wound, originally a centimeter deep, had already healed.

"You really can heal?"

Xu Xiao looked at Ye Xiu with added depth in his eyes. A healing ability was already the third ability Ye Xiu had displayed.

Was it connected to the time he had disappeared...?

Many questions arose in Xu Xiao's heart, but in the end, he quietly rekindled his thoughts of recruiting Ye Xiu.

As for the other two, after witnessing Ye Xiu's skill, they were naturally won over.

Not to mention Su Lie—this naturally cheerful big man immediately came over. Even the originally icy Yan Weiwei forced a smile onto her face.

Ye Xiu smiled back, but inwardly, he began making calculations.

Now that he had given himself the title of healer, dealing with them later should become much easier.

Whether it was facing the Kabbalah Organization in the future or exploring this world's secrets, it could never be wrong to have more contact with these high-rank ability users.

Amid this harmonious atmosphere, the helicopter flew outward for several hours. Finally, a city shrouded in dust and sand appeared before Ye Xiu and the others.