Hearing a knock, Luo Fan looked out the truck window. It was Niu Dagang.
Luo Fan rolled down the window, looking surprised. "Brother Niu? What brings you here in the middle of the night?"
"Luo Fan, with the help of those three Mara Flower Petals, along with the battles over the past few days, my Sequence level has increased," Niu Dagang said.
"Oh? Congratulations! Brother Niu, you're now the third Lv10 in our convoy." Luo Fan smiled at his words.
Niu Dagang growing stronger also meant their team's overall strength had increased, so Luo Fan was naturally happy too.
"But there's something I need your help with," Niu Dagang continued.
He paused briefly, then added, "It's about my advancement to the Professional Sequence. Niu Dagang added."
"Oh? Just tell me what you need. If there's anything I can help with, I won't refuse." Luo Fan readily agreed.
"To advance to the Professional Sequence, I need to gather five materials."
"They're feathers, shells, scales, hide, and crystal."
"The first is feathers from a Ranked Fierce Beast. I happen to still have some feathers from that Fire Rotbird that I haven't thrown away."
"The second material is a shell from a Ranked Fierce Beast. Remember how I made a crude suit of armor from the Black Bear's shell? That'll work too."
"But I'm still missing scales from a Ranked Fierce Beast, hide from a Ranked Fierce Beast, and finally, a weird crystal formed inside a Weird."
"So, could you help me gather these materials?" Niu Dagang asked.
He paused briefly, then Niu Dagang continued, "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to help for free. I'll compensate you accordingly."
The four materials-feathers, shells, scales, and hide-all had to come from Ranked Fierce Beasts.
Gathering them with just one Level 10 Melee Sequence user would naturally be extremely difficult.
Not to mention the final weird crystal.
A weird crystal was something that only had a chance of being obtained after killing a powerful Weird.
So gathering these materials wouldn't be easy.
But however difficult it was, they still had to be gathered. Naturally, Niu Dagang had to seek Luo Fan's help.
If Luo Fan agreed, that would be as good as An Xiaoran agreeing too, wouldn't it?
"No problem." Luo Fan nodded without hesitation and readily agreed.
Actively searching for Ranked Fierce Beasts, or even Weirds, was extremely dangerous.
But if they succeeded, the convoy would have a powerful melee fighter in the Professional Sequence. That would be an enormous help to the entire convoy.
Besides, Niu Dagang needed help advancing today. The next time Luo Fan needed to advance, he would most likely need help too, wouldn't he?
If he refused this time, who would help him when he needed it?
Furthermore, if Niu Dagang successfully advanced, Luo Fan would have a Professional Sequence fighter to help him with his own advancement later.
"That's wonderful. Thank you!" Hearing Luo Fan agree so readily and decisively, Niu Dagang spoke with delight and excitement on his face.
"You're welcome."
Luo Fan smiled faintly. Whatever else, he held Niu Dagang in considerable respect.
After all, if Niu Dagang's bus hadn't happened to reflect the sunlight back then, Luo Fan would have died at the Creepy Doll's hands long ago. Niu Dagang might not know about that debt of gratitude, but Luo Fan had always remembered it.
Besides, Niu Dagang was kind and had principles. Luo Fan felt he could trust him.
On top of that, in battle, Luo Fan was an assassin, while Niu Dagang was the tank who drew enemy attacks.
Shouldn't he do his best to help someone like that?
"All right, then. Tomorrow morning, let's talk it over with Old Zhao. We can discuss the compensation then."
As long as Luo Fan agreed, the matter was already more than halfway to success. Niu Dagang happily turned and left.
Luo Fan smiled, glanced at An Xiaoran, who was still fast asleep beside him, and adjusted the blanket covering her.
The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning, Luo Fan washed up and met with Niu Dagang and the others.
Once Zhao Chunfeng confirmed that Luo Fan had agreed to help, he was naturally willing to lend a hand too.
"How about this? Over the next two days, I'll do some divination about gathering the materials. If I find a suitable opportunity, I'll let you know."
Zhao Chunfeng explained that both divination and interpreting the results took time. Actively hunting Ranked Fierce Beasts while ensuring the convoy's safety required caution.
"If there's fighting, I can help too," Rose volunteered.
Although she was only Lv1, she was still a Spell Sequence user. Even if her Missile couldn't hurt a Fierce Beast, it could still help hold it back.
It was like an ordinary person throwing stones at animals such as rhinos or wild cattle. Although it was difficult to inflict much actual damage,
if the stones hurt enough, they could still distract the animal.
With their discussion settled, the Hope Convoy set off again.
One thing worth mentioning was that Uncle Li was driving the fuel tanker, so Zhao Chunfeng had found another young man who looked fairly honest to drive his off-road vehicle for him.
Niu Dagang had also found a middle-aged man to drive his bus.
Being a Sequence User's driver meant both greater safety and no longer having to travel on foot. Naturally, the survivors fought over these jobs.
"What a shame. My little truck only has a driver's seat and a passenger seat, so there's only room for Xiaoran and me. Otherwise, it would be great to hire a driver too."
Seeing that Zhao Chunfeng and Niu Dagang both had drivers, Luo Fan shook his head inwardly with some resignation.
Hiring a driver only required some food and water. For Luo Fan, who could now get ninety yuan from checking in every day, that really wasn't a burden.
And so the convoy traveled in fits and starts, with no regular pattern, as always. Sometimes they went in circles; sometimes they traveled for an entire day, only to return to their starting point the next day.
But the journey was very peaceful. The few Fierce Beasts they occasionally encountered were all unranked, and the Hope Convoy naturally dealt with them with ease.
By the evening of the second day, the convoy came to a stop.
Zhao Chunfeng said the convoy could rest for six hours and would need to depart in the early hours of the morning.
Then Zhao Chunfeng told Luo Fan and the others to gather at Niu Dagang's bus.
"We already have the feathers and shell. What Dagang needs now are scales, hide, and a weird crystal."
"If you head in this direction, you'll encounter a target about eight to ten kilometers away."
"Do you want to set out?" Without wasting words, Zhao Chunfeng pointed Luo Fan and the others in a direction and gave them the distance.
"What will we encounter?" Rose asked, looking slightly nervous.
After all, this would count as her first direct fight.
"I only know there's something you need. I don't know exactly what it is. It might even be a Weird," Zhao Chunfeng said, shaking his head.
"Is the divination auspicious or ominous?" Luo Fan asked next.
"Ominous, but fortunately, not a sign of great misfortune. You should be fine if you're careful." Zhao Chunfeng gave an answer Luo Fan had expected.
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