Cooperation and Pursuit

She said to the Avatar, "Captain, after thinking it over carefully, I'd like to continue taking part in the upcoming operations."

"Why?"

Mo Yuemei said firmly, "I want to develop my abilities through exploration. If my parents see how much I've grown, I believe it'll be easier to convince them."

The Avatar didn't know what to say. Mo Yuemei had an extraordinary curiosity about the world outside, and even after how dangerous their last operation had been, it hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Perhaps she had been held back for too long and, now that she had suddenly been set free, didn't much want to go home.

"All right. During the upcoming operations, I'll give you combat training. I hope you'll gain something from it. I still hope you can convince your parents to let you join our exploration team."

"Thank you, Captain. I'll do my best."

The Avatar spent most of the day coordinating with the Administration and Recovery Department and recording the exploration of H.

Word of the exploration team's gains over the past two days had also spread, and several other exploration teams came over to ask about them.

"Chen Sen, captain of the Chen Martial Arts School exploration team, has come to pay a visit."

The Avatar walked out of the camp and saw a tall, powerfully built man with deep, steady breathing. Every movement he made, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, radiated the majesty of a tiger. One look was enough to tell he knew martial arts.

The exploration captain named Chen Sen looked at the young man who came out. Dressed in camouflage combat fatigues, he carried himself like a soldier. His breathing was equally steady, but his every gesture held the might of thunder, unlike an ordinary person.

The two shook hands by way of greeting.

The Avatar asked, "Captain Chen, what brings you to visit our little exploration team?"

"Come now, Captain Wang, you're too modest. Just comparing our hauls, the few scraps our Chen Martial Arts School picked up fall far short of your team's astonishing gains."

"You're too kind, Captain Chen. It was all luck, just luck."

"Captain Wang, let's dispense with the pleasantries. I came this time mainly because I was impressed by your strength. Our exploration team found a herd of wild boars in a certain place."

"They've taken over a large area and made it impossible for us to explore deeper. I heard you escaped from the wild boar king and killed and drove off a large herd of wild boars."

"I didn't believe it at first, but after seeing you, Captain Wang, I do think the rumors are true. So I'd like to work with you to take them out."

The Avatar showed some interest at his words. There were quite a few wild boars in this herd, and if a mutated wild boar had appeared, there was most likely a Class Change Stone in its lair.

Otherwise, given that all ten members of their exploration team practiced martial arts and were well equipped, unless the boars were truly too numerous, they could have picked them off one by one and worn the herd down to death. It seemed there was something they hadn't said.

There was an inscrutable look in the Avatar's eyes.

"Oh? What sort of cooperation did you have in mind? Let's hear it."

"As long as we deal with that herd of wild boars, we'll split the meteorites we collect afterward fifty-fifty."

The Avatar thought it over and agreed.

"Good, excellent! You're a straightforward man, Captain Wang. How about we meet at the end of the village tomorrow morning?"

"Sure. I look forward to working with you."

After seeing them out of the camp, the Avatar returned.

Xu Feng, Chen Yanshan, Liu Tingquan, and Mo Yuemei all seemed to have something they wanted to say but hesitated.

Chen Yanshan spoke first. "Captain, how can you be sure they'll really split the proceeds with us fifty-fifty? They have far more people than we do."

"No, I'm certain they won't split them that way. Cooperation depends on both sides being fairly evenly matched."

"I don't know why they want to work with us. Perhaps they're using us to cushion their fall, or perhaps they really want to rely on our experience fighting wild boar herds."

"Then why did you agree?"

"If I didn't agree, how would they take us there?"

"Then you mean...?"

Chen Yanshan met the Avatar's gaze and smiled.

Xu Feng and Liu Tingquan looked at each other at the sight of their expressions. Mo Yuemei was somewhat bewildered, not knowing what the two were plotting. Clearly, her parents had sheltered her well, and she still didn't know how dangerous society could be.

"All right, Chen Yanshan, Liu Tingquan, you two will both be equipped with compound bows this time too. Hurry and familiarize yourselves with them. Sharpening a spear before battle may not make it fast, but it will make it shine."

"Yes! Yes!"

After the people from the Chen Martial Arts School left, the people from Chunhe Aluminum came out of their tents and watched the movements of both exploration teams, looking thoughtful.

Chen Sen returned to their own camp and looked at the members of the exploration team.

"Eldest senior brother."

"Mm."

The members of their exploration team were all elites selected from the martial arts school. Every one of them was skilled, having practiced martial arts for four or five years. They were agile and quick to react.

Their gains from the previous exploration operations had not been great, but they had suffered no casualties either. This time, their target was a mutated wild boar whose intelligence was no less than a human's, and it also led a herd of twenty or thirty wild boars.

Of course Chen Sen had a way to wear the herd down to death, but as before, the price was too high.

If any of his junior brothers were killed or injured, how could he, as their eldest senior brother, face their master and their families?

"The cooperation is settled. Everyone, get ready. We leave tomorrow."

A female team member walked over and spoke to Chen Sen worriedly.

"Eldest senior brother, are we really going to do this? If the authorities find out, our martial arts school will be in serious trouble."

"Don't worry, junior sister. With their strength, even if they can't win, they can still escape. At worst, they'll suffer some injuries. There won't be any major problems."

Hearing this, the junior sister said nothing more. After all, if they didn't cooperate with the others, they would have to go in themselves, and the potential casualties could be even greater.

After all, these martial artists were only proficient with melee weapons. They had trained with modern compound bows for barely a dozen days, so they were only a little better than ordinary people.

To really hurt the wild boar herd, they would still need to fight at close quarters, but against so many wild boars, someone was bound to get hurt in melee.

Having more people to share the pressure and deal damage would naturally be best.

On the 27th, the Changnan Interstellar exploration team formed a four-person exploration squad. Although their numbers had fallen by nearly half, they were more streamlined and flexible. They could also run faster if they encountered danger, without getting trapped in one place by others as before.

The Changnan Interstellar exploration team and the Chen Martial Arts School exploration team met at the end of Wang Family Village and set off for their destination. Before long, the people from Chunhe Aluminum followed.

The Avatar, who had deliberately stayed at the rear of the entire group, twitched his ears and let out a cold laugh.

"Heh."

Mo Yuemei, who was following him to learn, saw her captain laugh coldly for some reason.

"Captain, what's wrong? That smile of yours is a little frightening."

"It's nothing. Focus on learning." "Oh."