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Watching Su Wen's departing figure, Ji Mingyu was somewhat puzzled.

"It's that simple?"

"Otherwise what?"

Xiao Yun casually untied the ropes binding Su Wu and said indifferently:

"Given the chance to live with dignity, who would choose to die carrying the burden of guilt?"

Ji Mingyu seemed lost in thought, while Su Wu, standing beside him, scratched his head and spoke up somewhat embarrassedly:

"Um... gentlemen, do you have anything to eat here?"

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Yun heard a muffled thunder rumble in his stomach.

Su Wu chuckled and lowered his head.

Xiao Yun and Ji Mingyu also laughed.

I can tell, he lives up to his name; he's a military general.

"There's food to eat, but there's no such thing as a free lunch, especially since you're a prisoner."

Xiao Yun smiled and pointed at the Crow King.

"Try teaching it your skills; teach one, and I'll provide you with a meal."

"You think you can feed a beggar a meal?"

Su Wu chuckled, stroked his chin, gritted his teeth, and held up three fingers.

"At least three meals!"

Xiao Yun thought he was going to make some more demands, but when he heard this, he almost lost his composure.

"Okay, then three meals a day, plus a late-night snack."

Su Wu's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he nodded hurriedly.

"Okay, but let me make this clear first, it might not be able to learn my skills."

"It's okay, you can teach me as you please. If I can't learn it, it's my fault."

"Okay, but I have one more condition."

A sharp glint flashed in Su Wu's eyes:

"I need to pay the tuition fee in advance."

"..."

Xiao Yun's lips twitched slightly.

The Crow King cast a disdainful look at him.

This guy is both incompetent and stupid; he doesn't know what his master wants him to learn from him...

With King Crow taking Su Wu for a stroll, Xiao Yun could finally get some rest.

Xiao Yun slept soundly until dawn. The next morning, he opened his eyes and first opened the system panel to check the settlement rewards from the previous night.

[Ding! Congratulations on successfully surviving one day. Today's rewards are being calculated.]

Today, you successfully defeated the Flame Calamity Rhinoceros and the Blood Curse Ox-Bird, two special bosses that live side by side, and obtained valuable materials and drops...

That night, you successfully thwarted the assassination attempt using your wisdom and strength, and cleverly manipulated people's hearts to successfully turn the assassin against you...

Overall rating: 277 points, reward being distributed:

[Congratulations on obtaining the following items: Home Expansion Card (Medium) x2, Backpack Expansion Card (Small) x3, Safe House Item Card (72 hours) x1, D-grade Rune: Spell Echo, Rune Equipment Upgrade Card x5, Skill Upgrade Card x5, Building Upgrade Card x5, Item: Team Contract (15 players) x1]

"The rewards are so-so, but the safe house and team contract provide some extra security when exploring the ruins."

Xiao Yun nodded, put away the upgrade cards, and took out the Spell Echo Rune.

The rune's effect is quite simple: it allows the casted spell to deal an extra instance of damage, which is 10% of the original damage, essentially a basic version of double casting.

"10% damage is a bit lackluster, it's not even as high as my basic attack damage. However, if the Echoing damage can trigger the Void Mark one more time, this rune is not bad."

The next morning, Xiao Yun borrowed a forging table from Lu Zhi and attached the runes to the mithril sword.

Xiao Yun ran his fingers over the runes on the sword and suddenly understood.

"It's still far from reaching the limit for carrying runes."

Perhaps it's because mithril itself is a special material; in Xiao Yun's perception, there are still 7 D-grade runes like this that can be stored.

"If the mithril sword were fully restored to its power, upgraded to its highest level, and filled with the strongest runes, could it be forged into a divine weapon?"

The longsword in his hand emitted a soft hum, as if responding to his thoughts. Xiao Yun smiled, sheathed his sword, and walked out the door.

Outside the door, everyone was already fully prepared and ready to go.

"alright?"

"Okay, let's go."

Xiao Yunchong and Lu Zhi nodded and took out the team contract from their backpacks.

[Ding! Player Xiao Yun has sent you a team invitation. Do you accept?]

Lu Zhi opened the panel, looked at the rules set by Xiao Yun, and nodded.

"Director Xiao is quite cautious."

"It's always better to be prepared."

Xiao Yun said calmly, and Lu Zhi also expressed her agreement.

Although the two sides have cooperated twice, it is better to be cautious when it comes to safety and the final distribution of benefits.

[Ding! Player Lu Zhi has joined the party.]

After joining the team, Lu Zhi casually pulled the other girls in as well.

"How come there are only nine spots left in the team? Didn't you only have four people?"

Lu Zhi noticed a stranger named "Su Wu" in the group and frowned.

She turned to look around, but did not see a fifth boy besides Xiao Yun and his group of four, and her expression became even more puzzled.

Xiao Yun smiled and quickly explained:

"They're the people who arrived last night. They're assassins by profession, and their talents... are rather unique."

As he spoke, he raised the sword in his hand and tapped the shadow at his feet with the scabbard.

Knock knock—

"Su Wu, say hello to everyone."

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadow beneath Xiao Yun's feet suddenly came to life, and empty eyes and mouths appeared on its dark face. It grinned at Lu Zhi and the others and waved enthusiastically.

Seeing this bizarre scene, Lu Zhi's lips twitched slightly, and many of the girls behind her also looked rather unwell.

Seeing the expressions on the women's faces, Xiao Yun sighed inwardly.

He didn't really want to bring Su Wu along, but if he didn't, King Crow would have to stay behind to guard him, which would mean losing a powerful scout and combat force when exploring the ruins.

After weighing the pros and cons, Xiao Yun still chose to bring Su Wu along. After all, with the double insurance of the Crow King and the team contract, there was no need to worry about him betraying him. If used well, he could also gain more combat power.

Lu Zhi pondered for a moment, then nodded:

"Okay, but you didn't mention beforehand that there were five of you, which means one of my people can't join the team. What should we do?"

"Simple. Just let your extra team members rest at home. We'll only take resources for four people, and the extra ones are yours."

Xiao Yun readily conceded, and Lu Zhi nodded in satisfaction.

Then, she looked at a girl in the group.

"Shiya, you should rest in the dorm. We can organize the others to continue repairing the dorm."

Upon hearing Lu Zhi's words, Lu Shiya suddenly looked up:

"Sister Lu, you promised to take me with you this time to explore the ruins."

Lu Shiya stared intently at Lu Zhi, her cute, doll-like face filled with stubbornness, and said, word by word:

"Sister Lu, you clearly know I want to go out and explore, and you promised me a few days ago that once I changed jobs, you would approve my going out with the exploration team. Why did you go back on your word?"

Lu Zhi sighed softly, feeling a bit of a headache.

As the dormitory's head of internal affairs, Lu Shiya is a typical internal affairs specialist, but she is full of curiosity and a desire to explore the outside world.

Because of this, Lu Shiya had argued with her once before, so she naturally understood Lu Shiya's thoughts.

"Minister, Shiya has been waiting for so long, just let her go. I don't have to go."

Liu Feier, who was standing to the side, stepped forward and spoke, and the other girls nodded in agreement.

Lu Shiya cast a grateful glance at her, but saw Lu Zhi shake her head:

"no."

Lu Zhi looked at Lu Shiya, who was filled with resentment, and said:

"You've just changed jobs. Although your equipment and skills are all complete, you lack combat experience. The situation in the ruins is complex and fraught with danger. The anomalies on the night of the full moon make the entire ruins full of uncertainty. It's too risky for you to go."

Lu Shiya frowned angrily, about to argue, but Lu Zhi cut her off first.

"Shiya, as the head of the internal affairs department, you shouldn't neglect your duties for the sake of going out to explore. And personally, as my cousin, if something happens to you, how am I supposed to face Uncle Lu and Aunt Qin in the future?"

Lu Shiya lowered her head, remained silent for a long while, and then said softly:

"I understand, Minister Lu."

Lu Zhi sighed softly and patted her head.

"Wait for me at home. When I get back, I'll personally take you to explore the area, and then we can slowly visit these dangerous ruins, okay?"

Lu Shiya didn't speak, but just lowered her head and hummed in response.

Lu Zhi shook her head with a wry smile, but did not waste any more time on this matter.

The ruins are about 7 kilometers away from the dormitory building. If you set off too late, there will be no time to explore them.

Once the group was ready, they quickly set off.

Only after everyone left did Lu Shiya raise her head.

Those big, round eyes, however, flashed with a coldness and anger that was completely different from usual.

"What do you mean by 'for my own good' and 'afraid of something happening to me'? Isn't it just that you want to keep me locked up here? Are you afraid that I'll get better opportunities outside and surpass you when I come back?"

"You've always been the one who's superior to me since we were little, and you always try to control everything I do. Do you really think I can't live without you?"

Lu Shiya snorted coldly, her eyes burning with a fierce fire.

"I will prove that I can live better without you."

She turned around and went back to her dormitory, where she found a walkie-talkie in a locked cabinet.

After a few minutes, a girl's hoarse chuckle came from the other end of the line.

"Haha, Shiya, why did you think of contacting your older sister?"

"Haven't you always wanted to know about the ruins that Lu Zhi possesses?"

Looking out the window at the boundless wilderness and forest, Lu Shiya's lips gradually curled into a smile:

"I'll tell you."