It was like a princess had fallen from grace overnight, a tiger stranded on the plains.

Lou Feng lamented the helplessness of the outside world while in a reclusive state, but Ji Jue felt that there was excitement everywhere.

After a round of pleasantries, he had become acquainted with everyone and, with Ji Xue's introductions and recommendations, secured a good number of orders—his first wave of customers.

With Tong Shan's case as a precedent and having experienced the benefits of Master Ji's blessings, and after personally enjoying the equipment maintenance and upgrades by Ji Jue, everyone was naturally eager to sign up.

These days, Chosen Ones were either extremely poor or filthy rich. Those working for the Security Bureau, capable of getting into the unit and serving on Tong Shan's direct team, wer** not broke.

It's hard to join and leave the unit, and under the premises of high scrutiny, high standards, and high requirements, there naturally come high benefits.

But even with money to spare, not everyone was like Tong Shan, who could use the entire Cliff City as a piggy bank—everyone still sought value for their money.

It's not that one couldn't afford the craftsmen from the third department; it's just that Master Ji offered the best bang for the buck!

Renowned for quality and affordability with plenty of work to go around.

For regular alchemy work, you can bring your own materials for processing; bring your own blessings for production, and the labor cost is directly 20% off. Purchase a weapon maintenance package now and get a complimentary car wash and full maintenance service!

Compared to those craftsmen who are stingy and always frown, Master Ji is always smiling, affectionately calling customers 'brother' and 'sister', maximizing the emotional value.

Having been used to catering to haughty goddesses, where had anyone seen Ji Jue's considerate and gentle demeanor?

"Brother, you've worked so hard to earn money, no need to spend so much, how about some cheaper consumables? Sister, you've been working hard, don't rush, the money saved can go towards a pretty dress, here, I'll even give you an extra 20% discount..."

Even if there are regulations on pricing and standards by the association, it doesn't mean Ji Jue couldn't throw in a maintenance package, gifts, and trial sets!

"...Let me put it this way, see the machine gun mounted on my car over there? Engraved with the Superior Emblem, strengthened structure, supports all-weather combat, and still functions perfectly in Mutated environments. All Mercury Bullets, doubly endowed with the powers of the crowd and the Ruins, now you just need to cover the cost of bullets, and it supports free trial use.

"Think about it, Brother Jiang Xuan, wielding this gadget and encountering those punks from the Evil Cult, won't it be like taking candy from a baby?"

"It's that good?"

Jiang Xuan pinched his chin, his eyes shiny with anticipation, his honest face filled with hope.

Until Tong Shan, helpless, sighed from behind the wheel, "There's no need for a sales exhibition anymore, Ji Jue. You guys could at least keep cool. If this goes on, the kid is going to start selling membership cards."

"Need a membership card?"

Ji Jue's eyes lit up, rubbing his hands with excitement: "I could do that for sure, top-up now, and for every hundred thousand, you'll get an extra ten thousand! Top-up two hundred thousand, and get an extra thirty thousand!

"The first batch of customers will even receive a limited edition modified Fuel Element Bomb..."

Amid the laughter of others, Tong Shan couldn't help but shake his head and sigh resignedly.

Jokes aside, Ji Jue wasn't so desperate as to actually move his small stall into the team.

After all, business has to flow steadily. Following the jesting, he still handed out two magazines of Alchemy Bullets and a mercury hand grenade each. He called it a trial, but it was really a gift for meeting them; after all, it wasn't anything valuable.

The association's market regulations and restrictions were too much, and no matter how much he racked his brains to make money during his apprentice stage, it was all trivial. To get rich quickly, he still needed to get his craftsman's license first.

Now, in the midst of the dense fog that seemed to have no end, silence gradually fell in the carriage. Everyone was seizing the moment to rest and gather energy or to remain vigilant, looking out for any abnormalities.

The mission of the advance scouting team was to clear the designated area, preparing for the large troop's later entry.

This time, not only did Tong Shan and his team have to complete their originally planned area detection, but they also had to transport a batch of supplies to another permanent investigation team delving deeper into Spring City.

With such a tight schedule and heavy tasks, efficiency was paramount.

The squad had been cooperating for a long time, completing many exploration missions with closely coordinated teamwork.

Team leaders Tong Shan and Ji Xue were both from the Heavenly Origin System, Ji Xue's brother, Ji Liu, was good at frontline combat from the crowd, Xu Guan from the Taiyi System was in charge of scouting and assistance, and the bulkiest, Jiang Xuan, was aligned with the Ruins.

Control, damage, tank, and support, nothing was lacking—if anything, they were just missing a healer, especially since last exploration, the Vortex System's healer was unfortunately contaminated and couldn't enter high-concentration Mutated environments for now.

Now with Ji Jue and Lou Feng joining as Embers, it greatly alleviated their logistical pressure. After learning about Ji Jue's background from Tong Hua, Tong Shan didn't think he would be a burden. And as for Lou Feng, well, wouldn't he be aware of the Lou Family's strength in spiritual shaping and its vast applicability in combat?

At the moment, Ji Jue sat in the car, looking around, and to his surprise, he found—

Tong Shan, at the Rebirth stage Eighth Rank, Ji Liu and Jiang Xuan who had been stuck at the Sixth Rank Transformation Stage for quite some time, Ji Xue and Xu Guan both at the Fifth Rank Transformation Stage...

And there was Ji Jue, a mere third-rank Summoning Stage Ember who had recently entered, amidst them, sticking out like a sore thumb.

"Damn, am I the weakest link in the entire team?"

Ji Jue was shocked, instinctively glancing at Mr. Lou beside him for some emotional validation. But when Lou Feng sensed his gaze, he was startled for a moment, then instantly annoyed: "What are you looking at?!"

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