Second Squad Captain Gu Chenghu

As for his development in the Apocalypse World, Lin Yi felt there was no need to rush.

His Omnipotent Talent currently only solidified white talents. Although that talent had saved his life yesterday, a white talent was ultimately still a white talent, with little room for growth.

If he had enough time, Lin Yi felt there was no need to hurry into the so-called "grinding monsters and leveling up" in the early stages.

As long as his Omnipotent Talent could solidify an excellent talent next time, he would have nothing to worry about regarding his development in the Apocalypse World.

Of course, Lin Yi would not waste the full six hours he could spend in the Apocalypse World each day. He simply could not log in for too long at once, lest others notice something unusual.

With that in mind, Lin Yi did not hurriedly enter the Apocalypse World again. Instead, he returned to the studio and continued urging his employees to farm gold.

Around lunchtime, Lin Yi found an excuse and took the opportunity to enter the Apocalypse World.

After appearing near woodcutter Gu Yongqiang's home, Lin Yi accepted another Woodcutting Quest from Gu Yongqiang before heading to the small forest behind the village to chop wood.

Woodcutting was exhausting work. Even though Lin Yi's attributes had improved somewhat due to the Astonishingly Good Bones talent, he still could not endure prolonged labor.

Fortunately, with yesterday's experience of gathering firewood, Lin Yi spent just over an hour collecting a bundle of wood today.

After turning in the quest, Lin Yi received ten copper coins. He then found a shady spot and ate flatbread with well water.

During his spare time, Lin Yi tried drawing an Omnipotent Talent once.

The Omnipotent Talent refreshed every midnight. With each refresh, it randomly selected a talent from the Talent Material Library based on probability.

However, the Astonishingly Good Bones talent had already been solidified. Over the next three days, even if Lin Yi drew a good talent, he could only admire it and had no ability to solidify it.

"Ding! You have drawn the white talent 'Weak Body, Great Fortune'!"

Weak Body, Great Fortune (White Talent): The holder permanently loses 3 Constitution points, but their chance of experiencing good fortune increases.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow when he saw the talent.

This white talent actually reduced attributes. It was half a debuff and half a buff.

Fortunately, the talent he had drawn yesterday had not been Weak Body, Great Fortune. Otherwise, he probably would have died on the spot beneath that Ghost Fiend's claws.

After drawing the talent, Lin Yi did not linger and logged off directly.

At this moment, beneath the dilapidated walls outside Ancient Pool Village, blood stained the soil and grass. Apart from two Monster corpses resembling gray wolves, three Militia members lay on the ground, groaning in pain.

Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here not long ago.

One team member examined the wounded and frowned. "Captain, Gu Hai is alright. His injuries aren't serious. But Gu Yuan and Gu Qing had their lungs and internal organs injured by the Heart-Devouring Wolves. Without medicine, I'm afraid they won't survive the night."

The man addressed as Captain was a young man in his thirties. His features were regular, his build tall and straight, and his expression resolute.

His name was Gu Chenghu. He was the Second Team Captain of the Ancient Pool Village Militia Team, mainly responsible for defending the village's eastern and western walls.

Because too many Monsters had recently infiltrated the village, he had specifically arranged for Outer City Defense today, intending to clear out the smaller Monsters nearby as well.

But he had not expected that shortly after noon, two Level 9 Heart-Devouring Wolves would cross the trap line outside the city and charge straight at their Militia Team.

A Level 9 Heart-Devouring Wolf was already something he could only handle by going all out with a Spiritual Artifact.

Let alone two Level 9 Heart-Devouring Wolves capable of coordinating with each other and possessing considerable intelligence.

Fortunately, their Militia Team was not weak. Several members were Level 7 or Level 8 powerhouses.

With the team members holding them back, he finally killed one Heart-Devouring Wolf, then worked with everyone else to kill the remaining one.

Although they had won, his Militia Team had also suffered severe losses.

Gu Chenghu looked over the group, his voice deep and powerful. "Don't worry. I'll take them back for treatment shortly. With the Three Village Elders there, the three of them won't be in mortal danger."

One team member said worriedly, "Captain, this can't go on. Monster attacks on the village have become more frequent lately. I heard that it isn't just our Second Team—the First Squad, Third Squad, and Fourth Squad have all suffered heavy losses as well. If this continues, we won't even have enough people to defend the walls."

Once he said that, the other team members who had just survived the life-and-death battle chimed in as well. "That's right, Captain. Our Second Team already has the fewest members, and now we've lost Gu Qing, Gu Yuan, and others one after another. How are we supposed to resist those monsters outside the village?"

"Besides patrolling and defending outside the city during the day, we have to light fires and guard the streets at night. I haven't had a good night's sleep in half a month..."

"Captain, why don't we recruit some newcomers?"

Gu Chenghu sighed softly as well. "Where are we supposed to find so many newcomers? Apart from you young people, the village probably only has children left. Besides, without at least Level 5 cultivation, joining our Militia Team would just be sending oneself to death."

Ancient Pool Village was not large, merely a small settlement of more than three thousand people.

Moreover, the village's resources limited its population. In previous years, Monsters did not attack the village often. Relying on the village's young people and the occasional refugees who fled in from outside, the Militia Team had barely maintained a population balance.

But over the past half year, ever since the Temple issued its divine oracle and Newborns appeared, Monsters and Ghost Spirits at night had visibly increased. They attacked the village every so often.

Compared to half a year ago, their Militia Team had already lost thirty percent of its members, and defending the entire village was becoming increasingly difficult.

At that moment, one team member suggested, "Captain, why don't we recruit a few more Newborns? I heard that several Newborns with decent character have arrived in the village recently. If we can train them up..."

Upon hearing the suggestion to recruit Newborns, one team member immediately snapped, "Newborns? Gu Shan, have you lost your mind?"

"Our Second Team has always firmly refused to recruit Newborns. Have you forgotten? That Newborn named Long Haixin from our team was the one who messed around with Ghost Spirits in the village, causing the village to come under attack at night. Even the Village Elders nearly got dragged into it and killed that night. After that incident, our entire Second Team was punished by having our Blood Food withheld for a whole month. If I'd had that Blood Food, I would have reached Level 7 and awakened a Constitution talent long ago..."

Gu Shan, the one who had made the suggestion, glared. "Hey, Gu Xiaoliu, don't condemn everyone with the same brush. Newborns can be good or bad. Besides, unlike us, they can level up just by killing monsters. They can be trained quickly, and the monsters they kill can even drop high-quality materials."

"I heard that Gu Man, the captain of the Third Squad, likes taking Newborns out to kill Monsters. In just one week, he collected quite a few materials for forging Spiritual Artifacts through those Newborns. Before long, he'll probably have a second Spiritual Artifact and replace our Second Team..."

Gu Xiaoliu sneered. "What do you mean, replace the Second Team? Gu Shan, don't think I don't know what you're plotting. A Newborn recently moved in near your home, right? Is he the one who wants to join the Militia Team? Looks to me like you took his benefits..."

Upon hearing that, Gu Shan flew into a rage. "Fuck you, Gu Xiaoliu! You're slandering me..."

Seeing that the two were about to start fighting, Gu Chenghu frowned and shouted, "Shut up! Stop arguing!"

Gu Chenghu held great authority within the Militia Team. The moment he angrily spoke up, the team members did not dare make another sound and all shut their mouths.

Only Gu Shan and Gu Xiaoliu remained red-faced and thick-necked, glaring at each other as though neither would back down.

Gu Chenghu sighed inwardly. How could he not know the advantages and benefits of Newborns? Their Second Team had recruited several Newborns before, but most of them had been arrogant and unruly, refusing to obey orders and preferring to act on their own.

More often than not, they caused huge trouble before they could even be fully trained.

Especially Long Haixin, who had actually researched Ghost Spirits within the village without permission, leading to a Professional level Ghost Spirit attacking Ancient Pool Village.

No one knew how many people had died that night. Not only had the Militia Team suffered grievous losses, but two of the Three Village Elders had also been seriously injured.

Even now, thinking back on it filled him with lingering fear.

Had Elder Gu He not used the Temple to suppress that Ghost Spirit, the entire Ancient Pool Village would likely have been destroyed by now, becoming an abandoned Ghost Domain shrouded in deathly aura.

It was precisely because of that incident that Gu Chenghu opposed allowing Newborns into the Militia Team.

However, it now seemed that their Second Team truly needed fresh members. There were not many young people in the village who could join the Militia Team, so choosing Newborns was indeed a good option.