"Why did you suddenly stop?" Hong Shang complained, but Chu Tian covered her mouth with his hand and made a shushing gesture.
Feeling something unusual, Chu Tian pointed ahead and said, "There are people. I've seen them before, a group of mercenaries, about a hundred meters from us. But this five-person squad is now down to three."
Hearing Chu Tian's words, Hong Shang's eyes widened in surprise. She looked at the big boy in front of her, a look of confusion on her face.
Hong Shang was astonished as she realized that Chu Tian possessed psychic talents, a capability she hadn't expected. Dual-talent warriors like him often had the upper hand in battles due to their unpredictability.
Of course, Chu Tian was unaware of Hong Shang's true thoughts. If she knew that Chu Tian's talents were limitless, she would probably be shocked.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Chu Tian continued forward and stopped about fifty meters from the mercenary squad.
The three remaining members of the squad, including a man in a black robe, the bald captain, and a tall, thin man, were holding a metal canister about thirty centimeters long and twenty centimeters wide. However, Chu Tian's psychic perception couldn't penetrate the canister to determine its contents, indicating that the material was designed to block psychic abilities.
Their conversation, on the other hand, was clear and audible to Chu Tian's ears.
"Black Robe, what should we do now? We didn't capture any elves, and we lost two of our comrades. This is a significant loss," the tall, thin man said calmly, as if discussing a mundane matter.
The man in the black robe, shrouded from head to toe, replied, "We need to recruit new members. It seems we'll have to find talent warriors of C rank or higher; otherwise, many missions will become very challenging."
"B-rank talent warriors won't even consider teaming up with us C-rank warriors. Even if they do, they'll be the leaders, and we'll likely become cannon fodder," the bald captain said after a moment of silence.
Chu Tian knew that this five-member squad of C-rank talent warriors must have encountered some danger in the so-called dimensional gate. Otherwise, it was impossible for them to fail to escape from it with their combat talents.
"Alright, let's leave here. Although we didn't capture any elves, we found divine iron. As for the elves, we can only wait for the next opening of the dimensional gate," the captain said before leading the tall, thin man and the man in the black robe away.
Completely unexpected for Chu Tian, a squad of C-rank talent warriors had suffered losses of two members in the dimensional gate, indicating that it was a dangerous place.
Chu Tian had originally planned to investigate further, but now he realized that it was wise not to sneak in with them. After all, he was only a D-rank talent warrior.
However, Hong Shang, who had been curiously watching Chu Tian, had a lot of questions.
As they continued walking through the forest, Chu Tian suddenly turned and asked, "By the way, do you know about the Lunar Base?"
"Yeah, it's an important part of the Federal Flame Seed Project, established to preserve the continuation of human civilization. Most of the people who went there were wealthy corporations," Hong Shang replied disdainfully.
Chu Tian continued, "What about the Insect Tribe?"
"The Insect Tribe? What's that? Is it a new group of formidable beasts? Are they strong?" Hong Shang had no information about the Insect Tribe, so she didn't inquire further.
They continued on their way toward the area where the Thunder Patterned Snow Fox was located. Along the way, they encountered no danger.
Chu Tian swiftly dispatched the lower-level E-rank ferocious beasts. As for the materials, he didn't choose to dismantle them because Hong Shang was present, so he simply handed the materials over to her. After all, he had already collected enough for the mission.
"Do you really not want them?" Hong Shang was a bit puzzled.
"No need. These are just some E-rank ferocious beasts; their value isn't that high," Chu Tian generously replied.
Seeing that Chu Tian wasn't being overly cautious, Hong Shang didn't insist and went ahead to collect the materials.
"By the way, how about forming a team?" Hong Shang suddenly suggested.
Form a team? This was something Chu Tian hadn't considered so far, as he had been mostly working alone.
"You see, all these mission areas are quite dangerous. If we team up, at least we can help each other in case of trouble. What do you think?" Hong Shang continued.
Chu Tian contemplated the idea of forming his own mercenary squad but decided it wasn't the right time yet. After all, he had too many secrets, and building a team meant trusting others completely. If his secrets were exposed, he might end up as a test subject for the Federation.
Initially, when the first awakened warrior, Jason Scottson, appeared, the Federation had captured him. Later, to continue their research, they captured many awakened warriors. If it weren't for the sudden surge of spiritual energy and the appearance of ferocious beasts, the Federation might still be capturing awakened warriors for research.
However, as far as records showed, there were only up to five types of talents that an individual could possess. Chu Tian, on the other hand, had dozens of them, and they were still increasing with time. Therefore, he would likely become a target for the entire human race.
"What's wrong? Chu Tian, you've been lost in thought for a while," Hong Shang observed as she looked at Chu Tian, who had been standing still for some time.
Chu Tian didn't respond immediately but contemplated for a while before asking, "If you want to form a mercenary squad with me, can I trust you?"
"Trust?" Hong Shang thought for a moment before saying, "You can trust me completely, and you can also trust that I won't do anything to harm the mercenary team unless it's for the team's benefit."
"Is that so? Unfortunately, even with a powerful oath, there's no guarantee it won't be broken. Let's talk about it later," Chu Tian decided not to pursue it further. He couldn't easily trust someone with his numerous secrets.
"Don't worry, after spending more time with me, you'll find out that I'm a reliable partner you can trust completely. Anyway, let's form a temporary team now. We can officially establish one when we get back to the base, and you can be the captain."
With Hong Shang's words, Chu Tian couldn't help but be moved.