At dawn the next morning, Jiang Lan opened his eyes.
He quietly took stock of his body.
His wounds barely hurt anymore and would not hinder his movements at all.
Jiang Lan grinned, sat up in bed, and prepared to get up and wash.
When he left his room, Shen Qingqiu was busy in the kitchen, dressed in lounge clothes.
Hearing him, he turned around and asked:
"Not going to sleep a little longer?"
"Don't I have to report to the team today?" Jiang Lan smiled and went to the bathroom to wash up.
By the time he finished, Shen Qingqiu had breakfast ready.
Two bowls of rice porridge and a few side dishes. Nothing lavish, but he had clearly put care into it.
"Eat up. We'll leave once you're done."
Jiang Lan sat at the table, picked up his bowl, and took a sip of porridge.
It tasted mildly sweet and warm.
After breakfast, Shen Qingqiu returned to his room.
Before long, he came back out.
Jiang Lan's eyes widened a little as he looked at Shen Qingqiu.
Shen Qingqiu had changed into a black combat uniform, with a long saber on his back and his hair tied in a high ponytail. His entire bearing was completely different from before.
He looked striking and valiant.
And with that tight combat uniform outlining his figure...
Ahem...
Jiang Lan forced himself to look away and followed Shen Qingqiu out.
They went straight to the underground garage and got into Shen Qingqiu's car.
It was a modified black off-road vehicle, rugged and exceptionally hefty.
Shen Qingqiu stepped on the gas, and the engine let out a low roar.
They drove out of the residential complex, and before long, the vehicle stopped outside the City Guard compound.
The compound was large, with quite a few camouflage-painted off-road vehicles parked inside.
The Salvage Team was stationed in a small three-story building within the compound.
Shen Qingqiu and Jiang Lan entered the lobby one after the other.
More than a dozen people had already gathered inside.
When they saw Shen Qingqiu enter, everyone greeted him.
"Captain."
"Morning, Captain."
Shen Qingqiu nodded and led Jiang Lan farther inside.
Jiang Lan studied the people in the lobby.
As their gazes met, they regarded him with varying expressions.
But most of those looks were disdainful.
Jiang Lan remained expressionless.
Even if these people looked down on him, their contempt was for the original owner of this body. What the hell did that have to do with him?
He was hardly that thin-skinned.
Shen Qingqiu stopped in the center of the lobby and swept his gaze over everyone.
"Is everyone here?"
"Everyone's here!"
A burly man answered.
Jiang Lan looked toward the voice. The man had a powerful build and a square face, and he looked rather honest and straightforward.
He quickly recognized him.
Zhao Gang, an early-stage Meridian Opening martial artist and the deputy leader of the First Squad.
"Then let's begin." Shen Qingqiu glanced at Jiang Lan before continuing, "Jiang Lan is returning to duty. He'll be assigned to the First Squad."
As soon as Shen Qingqiu finished speaking, whispers broke out across the lobby.
"The First Squad again?"
"Isn't the captain playing favorites a little too much?"
"Exactly. It's bad enough that he has no talent as a martial artist, but he gets assigned to the First Squad every time."
Hearing their comments, Shen Qingqiu swept his gaze over them, his voice turning slightly cold.
"What, do you have a problem with that?"
Everyone immediately shut their mouths.
Shen Qingqiu was universally acknowledged as the strongest member of the Third Scavenger Squad.
He was also their captain. No one dared openly defy him.
"Good." Shen Qingqiu looked at Zhao Gang. "Keep an eye on him for me."
Zhao Gang nodded and said:
"Don't worry, Captain."
"Jiang Lan, join your squad."
"Yes!" Although this was Jiang Lan's first time experiencing such a scene, the original owner's memories kept it from feeling unfamiliar.
Jiang Lan walked over to Zhao Gang.
Zhao Gang reached out, patted Jiang Lan on the shoulder, and said:
"Brother, you got hurt pretty badly last time. Be careful this time."
Jiang Lan nodded.
"Thanks."
"Your teammates haven't changed. You should know them all." Zhao Gang pointed at the three people beside him.
Two men and one woman.
One man was tall and thin, while the other had an average build. Both looked human enough.
The female martial artist was no stunning beauty, but she had a strikingly spirited air, and her combat uniform looked neat and practical.
On a scale of ten, she could just about qualify as a six and a half.
The two men were named Li Ming and Chen Feng.
The female martial artist was named Wang Fang.
Li Ming glanced at Jiang Lan, looking rather indifferent.
Chen Feng, however, smiled and said:
"Glad you've recovered. Welcome back."
Wang Fang nodded in greeting.
Jiang Lan responded to each of them.
Just then, mocking laughter came from the other side of the lobby.
"Well, look who it is. Our little deadweight is back!"
The tall, thin man beside Li Hu, who had mocked Jiang Lan yesterday, spoke loudly with a derisive smile.
Before Jiang Lan could speak, Shen Qingqiu, standing in the middle of the lobby, turned a cold gaze on Li Hu and his group.
"Li Hu, keep your people in line."
"Tsk..." Li Hu curled his lip. "Chen isn't wrong. He nearly died out there last time and dragged the others into trouble. He really ought to be more careful this time."
Shen Qingqiu's expression darkened.
"Li Hu, are you looking for trouble?"
Li Hu took half a step back and gave him an insincere smile.
"I was just making a passing comment. Don't take it to heart, Captain."
With that, he led his people aside.
Before leaving, he glanced back at Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan stood where he was, expressionless.
Of course he was angry.
But to him, Li Hu was simply acting like a clown.
Still, he had no intention of arguing back.
In a world where strength ruled, trash talk was useless.
He just needed to grow stronger, then put the man firmly in his place.
At that moment, Zhao Gang leaned closer to Jiang Lan and said quietly:
"Don't mind him. Li Hu's always had a foul mouth."
Jiang Lan nodded.
"It's fine. I know."
"All right, quiet down." Shen Qingqiu walked to the center of the lobby and clapped his hands. "Ferocious beasts have been unusually active outside Base City lately. The higher-ups want us to speed up our searches."
"We leave the city at seven sharp tomorrow morning. Our destination is the Eastern Suburbs Ruins."
As soon as he finished, someone asked:
"Captain, isn't there a tier-two ferocious beast out there?"
Shen Qingqiu replied, "That beast was badly injured a few days ago and has already left the eastern suburbs. Still, don't let your guard down. There are plenty of tier-one ferocious beasts in the ruins, so stay careful."
"All right, everyone check your equipment. Assemble at six tomorrow morning."
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison.
"Dismissed."
As everyone dispersed, Zhao Gang looked at Jiang Lan.
"All your equipment was wrecked, wasn't it?"
Jiang Lan nodded.
Indeed, when he had returned last time, most of his equipment had been ruined.
"No problem. I'll take you to get a new set."
With that, Zhao Gang led Jiang Lan to the armory and exchanged a few words with the attendant.
The attendant glanced at Jiang Lan, then went into the armory and brought out a set of standard-issue equipment.
A long saber, a set of armor, a backpack, and some basic supplies.
"Sign here," the attendant said, handing him a form.
Jiang Lan signed it and accepted the equipment.
The standard-issue saber was over a meter long, its blade gleaming coldly. It was almost no different from the saber priced at eight hundred credits that he had seen yesterday.