Grey's face was a mask of calm, but his heart hammered against his ribs. The gazes of the veteran cultivators before him were enough to put a deep, primal fear in his heart. These were people who had survived countless battles, and the air around them was thick with the scent of bloodlust. The captain, in particular, was a study in contrasts: his delicate features and gentle expression belied a truly fearsome aura.
The captain seemed to sense Grey's discomfort. His gaze swept over his team members, and they all immediately retracted their baleful auras. Only then did Grey feel like he could breathe again, taking in a deep, grateful breath. A single thought echoed in his mind: 'Strong.'
"What's your name, kid?" the captain asked, his voice now soft and gentle. Grey was surprised to see that his companions were also looking at him with a softer gaze. When Grey didn't answer, the captain sighed and contemplated for a few seconds.
"Would you like to go with me?" he asked, his gaze calm and sincere. Grey's suspicion immediately flared. Taking in a random kid in a world this brutal was highly suspicious.
"Don't get the wrong idea," the captain said, as if reading Grey's thoughts. "I don't mean any harm. If you've been able to survive here for this long, you obviously have some tricks up your sleeve. Just take it as me inviting you to join my scavenger camp." His expression was earnest, and his team members didn't seem surprised at all. They looked at Grey as if they were used to their captain's strange behavior.
When Grey remained silent, the captain sighed again, rubbing his forehead. "Lemme tell you something, kid," he said, his voice dropping slightly. "This corroded zone was only born a few months ago. It's not yet fully matured. That's the reason for the red clouds." He pointed to the ominous red sky. "Once the corroded zone finishes maturing, more bizarre existences and terrifying creatures will appear, and this entire place will be in utter chaos. It won't be safe. So, carefully consider my words."
With that, he turned to walk away, satisfied with his warning. After they had walked a short distance, the young woman with the bow asked, "Why did you warn him about the corroded zone and then still leave?" Her voice was filled with a genuine confusion.
The captain just looked at her before answering. "Have you ever seen a peculiar kid like him living alone in a corroded zone? Even if he doesn't want to come with us, I still feel good knowing I gave him some advice. If we meet again, I believe it's Fate." He didn't say another word, simply walked a little faster, leaving the young woman lost in her thoughts. The two young men also fell into a deep contemplation, seemingly considering the captain's words.
"As always, our captain is peculiar in his own rights," the burly man with the battle axe said, his companions nodding in agreement. They looked at the captain's back with strange, respectful expressions.
Back in the dilapidated house, Grey stood in silence, deep in thought. Everything the captain said made sense. Even before their encounter, Grey had felt that something was missing in the corroded zone, as if it were still in its nascent stage. The captain's words had finally confirmed his suspicions. The docile mutated creatures, the lack of powerful bizarre existences, and the relative calm of the zone—it was all because it hadn't fully matured yet. He was living on borrowed time.
As the minutes stretched on, a determined expression appeared on his nonchalant face for the first time. The mask of cool detachment cracked, revealing a flicker of raw resolve. He moved quickly, gathering his useful belongings and packing them into his rucksack. Then, with a new sense of urgency, he left the dilapidated house for good.
He followed the fresh tracks left behind by the group, his pace steady and purposeful. Within minutes, he saw their figures in the distance. He slowed down until he was walking side by side with them. It was a bizarre, almost ethereal sight: five formidable adults and one young kid, all walking in a grim procession into the depths of the corroded zone, their faces set with determination.
As they walked deeper into the zone than Grey had ever gone, he subtly studied each member of the team. Each one of them radiated a dangerous, intimidating aura. He started with the burly man with the war hammer. Despite his seemingly silly demeanor, Grey felt his chances against him were less than ten percent. He was a pure powerhouse, a human weapon forged in battle.
As for the woman with the bow, he felt he might stand a chance against her if he went all out and launched a surprise attack. Her spiritual energy was sharp and focused, but her physical prowess might be lacking in close combat. The other two men, however, were on a different level. They gave off a chilling, baleful aura that made Grey's pupils constrict. He knew he had no chance against them in a direct confrontation.
Finally, there was the captain. Grey couldn't even begin to sense the true depths of his power. The captain's aura felt like a calm, fathomless lake—an eerie feeling that reminded Grey of his own state during deep meditation while practicing the Sky Mist Art. A thought, a wild theory, occurred to him. 'Could he also be practicing the Sky Mist Art?' The feeling of kinship and familiarity was too strong to ignore.
The captain had his hands in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the path ahead. He exuded an unshakable resolve. Sensing Grey's gaze, he glanced at the young boy and offered a small, knowing smile. Grey's face flushed red slightly, and he quickly turned his gaze away. The captain was so much more mature and refined, like a noble young master from a prestigious family.
Suddenly, the party stopped. In the distance, over a thousand feet away, stood a mutated moose. It was a terrifying sight, over three meters tall with massive, spiky antlers and a coat of silver fur that seemed to shimmer with malevolent power. Its eyes were a terrifying, glowing red as it stared at them.
Everyone immediately looked to the captain. His face was scrunched in a deep frown. He gestured, and the group silently changed direction, giving the creature a wide berth. Even from this distance, Grey could feel the immense pressure emanating from the moose. It was powerful, so powerful that a group of cultivators in the sixth level of Qi Accumulation would choose to avoid it rather than fight. The moose watched them until they were out of sight.
"Don't overthink it, kid," the woman with the bow said, shrugging her shoulders. "The captain has better senses than all of us, so we trust his instincts. I just felt I should tell you that since you're now a part of our team."
Grey didn't reply, but his heart was racing. He was now walking with a group of people he had no reason to trust. He just hoped this gamble paid off.