Set up the firewood.
As Shen Heng took out a lighter from his storage space, he looked up at Zhou Dehou.
"By the way, Brother Zhou, you..."
"No, Captain Shen!" Zhou Dehou quickly looked up, "I can forgive everything else, but please, don't call me that!"
Shen Heng looked at Zhou Dehou, who looked nervous, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.
"That..."
"You can call me Dehou, or just call me Old Zhou like everyone else!" Seeing that Captain Shen agreed, Zhou Dehou finally breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face.
After thinking it over, Shen Heng decided to call the latter one instead.
" Old Zhou."
As he lit the fire, he looked up and asked,
You should know about this operation, right?
"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics, but I have a general idea," Zhou Dehou replied, looking at Shen Heng. "Because high-level Calamity Beast might attack the base, we've decided to launch a surprise attack on their Earth Eye to deal with this situation."
"Hmm." Shen Heng nodded. "So, did you stay in Shuofang City, or did you go out with them?"
"Well..."
Zhou Dehou paused for a moment, then did not reply.
"What?" Shen Heng looked up, somewhat puzzled.
"Because the higher-ups said this mission was very urgent, and I'm older than the other soldiers but not as high-ranking, I didn't go out on this mission and stayed behind in Shuofang City," Zhou Dehou replied, a sheepish smile on his face.
So, is Shuofang City also affected?... Shen Heng lowered his eyes in thought.
He raised his gaze, glanced at Zhou Dehou, and then focused his attention on the bonfire that had been lit.
Two pieces of Calamity Beast, one large and one small, were taken out and placed on the fire to roast.
Then, he looked up at Zhou Dehou and asked:
"By the way, Old Zhou, if I remember correctly, you've been here for a while, right?"
"Huh? Captain Shen, you remember me?" Zhou Dehou asked, somewhat surprised.
"Hmm, what's wrong?"
"No, it's just..." Zhou Dehou paused, then said somewhat uncertainly, "Isn't this the first time we've met?"
"Strictly speaking, it wasn't the first time we met, just the first time we interacted closely," Shen Heng corrected.
"Uh, isn't that the same?" Zhou Dehou.
"That's one way to put it, but..."
Shen Heng paused for a moment, then continued:
"Although I can't say I remember everything, I'll have some impression of anyone I've seen or spent a lot of time with. Especially those soldiers who died in battle or were wounded and forced to leave."
"Uh, why are you writing all this down?" Zhou Dehou asked, his voice somewhat strained.
"Hmm... if I had to say, I didn't really do anything."
Shen Heng looked at the fire and pondered for a moment before saying,
"It's just a feeling that, as comrades-in-arms, their sacrifices deserve recognition!"
"Unfortunately, there's not much I can do. All I can do is take them seriously!"
Silence, no response.
Zhou Dehou sat there, staring blankly at the person beside him.
There, the young man sat calmly, his pupils reflecting the flickering flames.
"So, if I remember correctly, Old Zhou, you've been here for quite a while now, haven't you?"
The question came again.
Zhou Dehou snapped out of his daze and quickly nodded, saying:
"Yes, I came in as soon as I entered the Erosion Zone."
"My impression of you only came about after we arrived in Bedrock City!" Shen Heng recalled.
"After all, there were too many people at the base back then!" Zhou Dehou said with a smile.
"Since you came in so early, how come you're only at the Early Third Tier?" Shen Heng asked.
The Origin Power distributed within the Erosion Zone is far greater than that outside.
In addition, there are the points accumulated from completing various tasks.
Although the points earned varied depending on their contributions to the task.
But even after two years, it's impossible to have only just reached the Early Third Tier!
Zhou Dehou smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
"I'm not very talented, and I'm getting old, so I've accumulated no use for those points. I plan to give all the resources I exchange for to my son. As for me..."
He paused for a moment, then smiled and said:
"I'll just use my own bones to piece things together. Anyway, even if I reach a higher rank, it doesn't guarantee I'll be any safer!"
Shen Heng nodded slightly, without judging this approach.
"By the way, Captain Shen," Zhou Dehou remembered his earlier question, "Do you know why we suddenly ended up here? Was it the work of the Calamity Beast? Or is it related to our operation?"
Shen Heng then began to explain briefly.
After that, the two chatted about various things.
After finishing the roasted Calamity Beast, they each chose a spot to rest.
The night deepened, then gradually faded.
As dawn approached, Shen Heng, who was leaning against the rock wall, opened his eyes and looked in a certain direction.
One hour later.
"Boom! Boom--"
A fierce wind was blowing.
A violent impact echoed through the mountains and forests.
Two figures stood in the woods, staring blankly at the two figures colliding above them.
Finally, with a roar that abruptly stopped, the enormous figure plummeted downwards.
"Boom--"
Smoke and dust filled the air.
After storing the newly extracted Late Fifth Tier Origin Crystal into his storage space, Shen Heng glanced at the Distortion Calamity Beast beneath his feet, then turned and flew towards the two figures a short distance away.
The two of them also came forward to greet them.
"Team leader!"
A new figure spoke up.
Shen Heng nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on the other person.
Wu Hao.
He wasn't initially in Shen Heng's team, but later, because he didn't join any other teams and their interactions gradually increased, he started calling Shen Heng" Captain" like everyone else.
This time, he was probably going to the Earth Eye with Han Ling and Zheng Guomin.
Now that he's here, it means that the team heading to the Earth Eye has also been affected.
Shen Heng's gaze narrowed slightly.
Although he had already anticipated that the team heading to the Earth Eye might be affected when he heard that the Calamity Beast from the Light Gate in the distant Ruins Realm had also been swept up, he only dared to be truly certain at this moment.
Without giving it any further thought, Shen Heng's gaze swept over Wu Hao.
Aside from his somewhat dirty clothes and rather disheveled appearance, there were no obvious wounds on his body.
However, the extent of an injury cannot be determined solely by visible wounds.
"Are you injured?" Shen Heng asked.
"I was bumped twice, but it's nothing serious. I'll be fine after a rest," Wu Hao said with a light cough.
Shen Heng nodded. "So you guys got involved too?"
"Yeah!" Wu Hao gave a wry smile. "I didn't expect that you, Captain Shen, would get involved too!"
"Hmm... This incident originated from me, so it's practically impossible for me to avoid getting involved," Shen Heng said thoughtfully.
Upon hearing this, Wu Hao paused for a moment, then seemed to realize something and asked,
" Captain Shen, did you succeed?"