Everyone Had Their Own Plans

Meanwhile, Wang An began gathering and refining star qi at night.

He made use of the small feng shui aura field in the villa complex.

At dusk and dawn, he gathered and refined the water qi corresponding to the Heavenly River Water imagery: the Milky Way faintly visible, gentle and misty.

He had also booked a ticket to watch the South China Sea launch three days later, to see whether he could gather and refine suitable qi.

Meanwhile, the Avatar, his teammates, and the people from the Chen Martial Arts School had been traveling through Mount Huaiyu for three days. They would reach their destination tomorrow.

For safety, the two exploration teams generally traveled and camped at the same time.

So that evening, Chen Sen, the leader of the Chen Martial Arts School exploration team, came to the Avatar's camp to discuss specific tactics.

Captain Chen brought seven or eight of his team members with him, saying they were there to discuss the plan.

"Captain Wang, if you ask me, your team should be the ones to lure those wild boars.

After all, you've driven back a wild boar herd before."

"These members of my exploration team are a bunch of rough men who only know how to brandish spears and staffs in the martial arts school. They don't have your experience."

After saying a few words, he saw that they made no move, and several of the team members behind him started forward.

A few others held their hands behind their backs, doing who knew what.

Seeing this, Chen Yanshan and Liu Tingquan immediately put their hands on the short blades at their waists.

Mo Yuemei sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere. She picked up the compound bow beside her and fixed her eyes on Chen Sen.

The Avatar exchanged a glance with the teammates behind him, then immediately walked up to Chen Sen.

He said nothing, merely looking at Chen Sen, but it was enough to send a chill down his back.

Chen Sen thought that his people's strength was more than enough to deal with them.

But he didn't know whether it was Captain Wang or the look in the eyes of the young woman holding the compound bow that made him feel a little uneasy.

The Avatar thought, Now that you've brought us here, you're no longer of any use, and besides...

A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he finally spoke.

"Captain Chen, you can't put it that way. Who knows what mutated creatures are in that wild boar herd?"

"We can draw their fire, but we have a condition. After we drive off or kill the wild boars, our exploration team gets to explore first.

You wait half an hour before coming over."

"What do you say? If you can't even agree to that, Captain Chen, then we have nothing to discuss."

Chen Sen was a little suspicious when he heard the condition. He hadn't expected their demand to be so simple.

Judging by their attitude, he had already guessed that a fifty-fifty split with them was out of the question.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked to explore first.

But judging by Chen Sen's estimate of the Changnan Interstellar team's fighting strength, they were very likely to suffer casualties if his people didn't intervene.

And of course they would intervene, only for certain reasons, they would do so a little later.

That way, once they had wounded to deal with, how much of a lead could they gain, even if they started searching half an hour earlier?

Thoughts raced through Chen Sheng's mind as he carefully weighed the pros and cons of the condition. At that thought, his confidence returned somewhat.

"All right, Captain Wang. Since you don't want a fifty-fifty split and want to explore ahead of us, we'll take a little loss and let you go first."

The Avatar sneered. He hadn't expected the man to be so thick-skinned.

Seeing that Captain Wang ignored his remark, Chen Sheng coughed awkwardly.

"Captain Wang, now that we've settled who goes first, we can start drawing up a detailed plan."

"Our two teams only need to do this and this... and we'll be sure to slaughter those beasts until not a scrap of armor remains."

After the people from the Chen Martial Arts School left, Mo Yuemei slapped the table in anger.

"Captain, the Chen Martial Arts School is going too far! They clearly want us to be cannon fodder."

"If we lure the wild boars out and they don't join the fight, what are we supposed to do?"

Chen Yanshan and Liu Tingquan said nothing. They both wanted to hear what the captain had planned.

The Avatar wasn't in the habit of keeping the others in suspense, so he explained directly.

"Of course we can't draw their fire for them. I'll lure the wild boars by myself this time."

Before any of them could speak, the Avatar raised a hand to calm them and continued.

"Don't be hasty. Let me explain."

"We're few in number and a small target, so we really are suited to luring the wild boars."

"But if I bring the three of you, it will probably slow us all down.

If they don't join the fight in time, the three of you will be in trouble when we face the wild boars we've lured over."

At those words, their eyes dimmed somewhat, and they all tightened their grips on their weapons.

"So I'll lure the wild boars by myself this time.

Alone, I'll be a small target, and I can fight or retreat.

Besides, you've seen what I can do. As long as there isn't a giant wild boar king like that one, I can climb any tree and get out of the herd's reach."

They all knew, of course, that their exploration team captain's abilities were extraordinary.

Last time, an adult wild boar had slammed into him, yet the impact had only sent him back a few steps without injuring him at all. That alone showed what he could do.

Even Mo Yuemei, who actively took part in missions, said nothing.

Because if they joined him, they really would hold him back.

Last time, the six of them had already held the captain back.

She never wanted to feel like such a burden again, so she quietly listened to the captain's arrangements.

Chen Yanshan and Liu Tingquan naturally knew their own measure.

Although they were now proficient with their compound bows, they were still a long way from true precision. They were only barely capable of defending themselves against wild beasts.

Seeing that they had no objections, the Avatar continued.

"The people from the Chen Martial Arts School dared to come here and threaten us like that. I'm going to find a chance to deal with them."

"Next, I have a new task for you. It will take all three of you to complete it."

The three of them straightened when they heard he had another task for them.

Feeling that they were finally of some use, they all listened intently as the captain assigned the task.

"Once I've lured the wild boars away, the three of you

will set out immediately, explore farther north, and quickly collect the meteorites there."

"I suspect some people may be planning to reap the fisherman's reward. You'll have to move quickly, ahead of them."

The three were startled by his last words.

They all wondered whether that exploration team might get there first.

At the same time, they felt the weight of their task.

Finally, they began discussing and agreeing on a place to meet up, since even the Avatar wasn't sure when he would finish.

So he told them to follow the planned route and, if they had to change course, leave markers so he could find them.

Meanwhile, Zhou Mingyu, the captain of the Chunhe Aluminum exploration team, was also holding a meeting to brief his people.

"We're here to pick up the leftovers this time, not take part in their operation.

So once they start fighting the wild boars, we'll take the opportunity to head straight for the depths of these mountain woods."

Having said that, he turned to Ye Xingchen, who stood nearby with his arms folded.

"By the way, Brother Ye, if we run into a few stray wild boars, we'll need you to step in and keep us safe."

Hearing Zhou Mingyu's words, Ye Xingchen merely nodded and replied,

"Don't worry, Captain Zhou. It's my duty."

"If there's nothing else, everyone get some rest early.

Old Zhao, stay a moment."