"How did you know we're from Fortress 51?" the burly man said.
Tang Xian didn't immediately answer, he glanced at the others and was amused.
The demands in the interface of the other two men were exactly the same as those of the burly man.
This was quite normal, indeed there were times when everyone's demands aligned, but even the option to flirt with Zhang Yuan was the same, which was quite interesting.
Three men flirting with one woman?
Zhang Yuan was probably the healer carrying the medical kit at the end.
Tang Xian took a look, and although this woman did have some charms, she probably didn't possess the formidable strength to make five men willingly pursue her jointly.
Because in her interface, the one she detested was Wang Tengyu.
And in her demands, there was also the option to flirt with Wang Tengyu.
If a person dislikes someone, they certainly wouldn't flirt with them.
So, Zhang Yuan probably wasn't the kind of strong figure who enjoyed the mating rights of several men.
Tang Xian figured Wang Tengyu must be one of the three men. And these three men, most likely each thought that they alone had won this woman's heart.
Thus, Tang Xian thought about it for an extra half second.
If a person is both despised and yet needed to be pleased, they must be core to the team, and this burly man before him was indeed Wang Tengyu.
This really was a team that could almost be toppled with just a little bewitchment.
However, Tang Xian couldn't be bothered with it, there were too many in this world who could manipulate men at a clap of their hands and women likewise, setting aside the moral aspect, at least in terms of intelligence, Tang Xian thought such people had value in existing.
"The axe in your hand, its craftsmanship comes from the fifth level's armory of Fortress 51, a few of the smiths there are acquaintances of mine, and one of them still owes me money."
Wang Tengyu was startled.
Not just him, the two men behind him were also surprised.
The creators of the equipment in the mining area are usually those with deep backgrounds and ties to the military. To recognize these people, one must naturally be no ordinary individual.
Wang Tengyu and the other two men exchanged glances, the mustached assassin squinted his eyes, giving a very slight shake of his head.
"Are you also from Fortress 51?" Wang Tengyu asked.
"Fortress 39. I've only been to Fortress 51 a few times for business."
"What's in your hand?" Wang Tengyu ultimately couldn't hold back.
"You know what it is, didn't you follow all the way from the den of the three-headed hellhound for this very thing?"
Dong Ran was a bit nervous, but seeing this moment, the burly man seemed more nervous, and she suddenly felt less anxious.
"Cough cough... You must be joking."
"Joking? In this wilderness, what do you think I and my assistant left footprints for? You saw the footprints and deliberately left two team members behind, sending only four people over. Could it be, our meeting here is just a coincidence?"
Dong Ran didn't quite understand.
But Wang Tengyu did. His expression turned somewhat ugly, but his tone became even more amicable.
"Hahaha... It really is just a coincidence."
Tang Xian shrugged, with an expression that read 'if you say so.'
Dong Ran couldn't help admiring this man's acting, or perhaps Tang Xian genuinely didn't care?
"I've already slaughtered the three-headed dog, the meat was nice, but the leg meat is too tough, only the belly meat is edible, look, it's all packed in the bag. I have another use for this Soul Crystal Mine, planning to exchange it for some better pots. If you're here to rob, feel free to try, but according to the mining area's survival laws, taking action against military personnel gives soldiers the right to execute immediately."
Still with a casual tone, lazily smirking, he glanced at Wang Tengyu once more.
Soldiers?
Immediate execution?
Wang Tengyu's facial expression changed rapidly as he tried to suppress his emotions, yet he couldn't help but show some surprise.
Could this man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, be from the military?
That would make sense; otherwise, how could he have identified his affiliation based merely on a weapon?
Originally, the few people in the Cerberus's den didn't believe that two people could kill a Cerberus on their own.
But they had only seen the footprints of two people.
Six against two, the odds were certainly in their favor.
However, the team's look-out, Zhao, suggested a more cautious plan, so only four of them gave chase.
Little did they expect that their motives seemed completely transparent to this man; the situation turned out to be the least likely one.
There indeed existed individuals who could single-handedly kill elite boss creatures, and they were either the strongest hunters on the leaderboard, or the aces hidden within the military's ranks.
The young man before them must be the latter. Thinking about it, they hadn't seen any other bodies nearby.
What puzzled Wang Tengyu the most was that this man did not have a single wound. His clothes did look quite dirty, with some red traces that seemed like blood.
What six of them couldn't accomplish, the two of them did. Now with only four left, the thought of robbing Tang Xian was immediately dismissed.
Glancing back at his two teammates, it seemed that they had come to the same conclusion.
At that moment, Tang Xian spoke up:
"Still want to rob me? If not, I need to get going. I have to travel at night."
"Hahahaha, brother, you must be joking. We really were just passing by. Our two teammates got separated, and we saw the footprints thinking they might be theirs. It was a misunderstanding—we're all hunters from Huaxia. How could we possibly rob anyone?"
Tang Xian pretended to think for a moment, then slowly nodded and said:
"What a pity, you should have tried. With more practice, robbery becomes a habit, but you're sensible, at least. Let me give you a piece of advice, don't sleep at night."
"Sorry to have disturbed you. I think they might be to the east," Wang Tengyu didn't understand the meaning behind Tang Xian's last sentence, and right now, all he wanted was to get away.
"I also think they're to the east," Tang Xian's eyes gleamed with greater amusement. He waved his hand, signaling for them to go their separate ways.
Wang Tengyu didn't say anything more, just waved his hand and quietly withdrew.
Dong Ran followed Tang Xian with composure, their footsteps steady and unhurried.
After walking for a long time, Dong Ran finally looked back and, seeing no sign of those people, displayed a somewhat panicked expression and asked:
"Tang, what was that all about? Did you scare them off? Why send four people when six would have been better?" Dong Ran had noticed that Tang Xian had just performed an Empty Fort Strategy, but she still didn't understand some of his words.
Tang Xian had not expected Dong Ran to be slow on the uptake, but he explained patiently:
"Six people found the footprints of two, and based on their understanding of Cerberus-type creatures, the likelihood of a single person or duo hunting a boss creature is the lowest. So they would think that we're probably from a squad and that the other four members had died."
"At that point, they naturally wanted to rob us. But there seems to be a cautious person in their team who thought that three warriors with a healer could definitely take down two people. There was no need for all six to move out, and if it really was the worst-case scenario, with the other party being powerful enough to kill boss-level creatures on their own, then these four could fabricate a story about their teammates dying or being lost to lower our guard even more, perhaps even extracting some information."
After explaining, Tang Xian looked at the distant hills, contemplating that sleeping in a cave tonight would be quite comfortable.
"We've got a place to stay for the night."
"But what did you mean by telling him not to sleep tonight?"
"That was just a hint. Like you, he'll find it strange, coming at such an abrupt time, which will lead him to think it over repeatedly, creating a self-suggestion. He might actually struggle to sleep tonight. And a man with a woman tends to seek her out if he's awake at night."
It's naturally more appropriate for infidelity to be discovered at night.
Tang Xian didn't elaborate further; he wouldn't tell Dong Ran that the female healer had a fling with all five men in a squad.
Just that today they encountered bandits, and although he wasn't a bad guy, he was no saint either. He still needed to teach these people a lesson.
As for what would happen to this squad tonight, he had no idea; he only knew that tonight, he wanted to eat grilled fish.