"In the end, he was killed and carried away by a monster, leaving no trace of his body."
Jiang Fan didn't comment on this; he simply listened quietly.
At this moment, Wang Jiangang, a burly man who was about 2.2 or 2.3 meters tall, came to Jiang Fan's side and patted Jiang Fan's shoulder with his palm, which was as big as a palm fan.
"Good lad, I, Wang Jiangang, admire intelligent people like you the most. When we team up to go to the Inner Wilderness Zone in the future, you must come up with many ideas, and I will be responsible for protecting your safety."
Jiang Fan felt his internal organs tremble from the blow and quickly retreated to the side from Wang Jiangang's large hand.
"Alright, Gangzi, you big guy, don't kill the precious archer we finally dug up," Yang Xiaoqiang said.
"Hehe." Wang Jiangang laughed honestly, "No, no, I'm merciful, I just patted you gently."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan retorted that if that attack had been landed on an ordinary Middle-Stage Martial Apprentice, they would likely have been seriously injured or even coughed up blood.
However, judging from the other person's expression, it didn't seem like it was intentional.
Yang Xiaoqiang began introducing everyone to Jiang Fan, " Tang Fan, let me introduce you. This is Gangzi, his full name is Wang Jiangang. You only listed your age as 22 on your file, Gangzi is 28, quite a bit older than you. If you're shy, you can call him Brother Gang."
Wang Jiangang scratched his head. "Just call me Gangzi."
Jiang Fan felt it was best to be polite, after all, he was only 17 years old, and the other person was 11 years older than him, so it was only natural to call him "brother".
" Brother Gang."
"Hehe, finally someone calls me 'brother'! Let me tell you, I'm the youngest in the team, but once you're here, I'm no longer the youngest."
Looking at the big guy with a face full of wrinkles as he smiled, Jiang Fan's face showed surprise, because judging from his appearance, the big guy was undoubtedly the oldest-looking person in the team.
At that moment, a skinny team member walked over.
"My name is Zhou Xiaoyan, you can call me Brother Zhou."
The burly man grabbed Zhou Xiaoyan by the neck with his arm and lifted him up.
"Don't call him Brother Zhou, everyone calls him Zhou Xiaoyan. Do you know why? Because his eyes are really small, like chicken eyes."
"Get out of here! You're the one with small eyes! Your whole family has small eyes!"
Wang Jiangang stared wide-eyed at Zhou Xiaoyan, "See that? One of my eyes is worth ten of yours."
"I'll poke your eyes!" Zhou Xiaoyan stretched out two fingers and poked Wang Jiangang's eyes, and then the two started fighting.
Yang Xiaoqiang was already used to it. He said to Jiang Fan, "Ignore them. They fight eighteen times a day, and every time it's because of an eye problem."
"Oh," Jiang Fan responded softly, without saying anything else.
"Let me introduce you to someone else." Yang Xiaoqiang glanced at the receptionist. "Her name is Yao Lingling; she's an ordinary person."
"An ordinary person?" Jiang Fan was surprised.
Everyone in Yang Xiaoqiang Studio First Rank; how could there be any ordinary people among them?
Seemingly noticing Jiang Fan's confusion, Yang Xiaoqiang explained, "She's mainly responsible for liaising with clients and maintaining the studio's operations. She's exceptionally capable in this area, and this kind of work doesn't require her to be Martial Artist."
Hearing this, Jiang Fan understood.
Then his gaze followed Yang Xiaoqiang and landed on the last female member.
Before Yang Xiaoqiang could introduce her, the short-haired female member walked over and introduced herself, "My name is Miao Xi. You did very well today, but you've never been to the wilderness area. You only have a general understanding through some pictures and videos. And pictures and videos are nowhere near as scary as what you'll experience in person. It's a fear far beyond your imagination. So when you actually face those monsters, I hope you won't wet your pants in fear and drag us down."
After saying that, Miao Xi turned around and walked back the way she came.
Yang Xiaoqiang patted Jiang Fan on the shoulder, "Don't blame Miao Xi for being harsh. She didn't mean to target you, it's just— Miao Xi wasn't originally a resident of Fortress No. 31. She was born in Fortress No. 39. Now you understand."
" Fortress No. 39?" Jiang Fan's heart skipped a beat.
The history of this fortress is told in elementary school textbooks.
The reason it's described as "the past" is because a beast tide occurred at Fortress No. 39 twenty years ago. The beast tide was enormous, and the fortress was completely lost to history shortly after sending out a distress signal.
According to records, when the rescue team arrived, they had only managed to save fewer than 100 people.
It turns out that Miao Xi was one of the lucky ones during that beast tide.
"That's right. Her entire family perished in that one-sided hunt. As a child of just a few years old, witnessing her parents and relatives become food for a monster—the despair and fear she felt would be unbearable for anyone!"
"It's nothing, I didn't take it to heart."
In his previous life, Jiang Fan had personally experienced a terrifying and bloody beast tide, and had also personally felt the despair and resentment of being devoured bit by bit by the monsters.
He imagined that if the Tang Family had been present and witnessed this scene, they would have been in unbearable pain, to the point that their personalities would have changed drastically.
Just then, Yao Lingling received a phone call. "Okay, I understand. I'll inform the boss right away."
"Boss, the Demon Beast Research Institute sent us a mission to capture Eight-Legged Hedgehog Pig that just escaped. It escaped in the nearby woods. Should we accept this mission?"
Upon hearing this, Miao Xi, who had already walked a short distance away, stopped and, in unison with the other members of the studio, all looked at Yang Xiaoqiang, awaiting his decision.
"What level?" Yang Xiaoqiang asked.
Yao Lingling: " One Star."
How much is the commission?
Two million.
"I can accept it." Yang Xiaoqiang nodded.
The group prepared to depart.
"Can I come with you?" Jiang Fan asked.
Yao Lingling's eyes widened. "Didn't you hear me? Our target is One Star demon beast! You, a newbie at the Middle-Stage Martial Apprentice, want to participate in a mission of this level right off the bat? Aren't you afraid?"
Jiang Fan didn't answer but instead asked, "Am I a member of the studio now?"
"Of course," was Yang Xiaoqiang's reply to Jiang Fan.
Jiang Fan smiled. "In that case, shouldn't I go with you?"
The group exchanged bewildered glances, all seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
Yang Xiaoqiang seemed to have thought of something and asked, "You wouldn't be trying to show off to Miao Xi because of what she said, to prove you're not a coward, would you?"
Jiang Fan shook his head. "I won't risk my life just because of what others say. I'm going with you only because I think I can go."
These words stunned everyone once again.
Even Miao Xi, whose expression had been indifferent and cold until now, couldn't help but glance at Jiang Fan a few more times.