Chapter 176: Captain

"Shen Yu! Shen Yu! Are you home?"

"Open the door!"

"Hurry!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Shen Yu’s eyelid twitched.

"Damn it..."

"Who is it?"

Hadn’t they realized he’d just returned from an SS-Rank dungeon?

He was covered in burns, his body was barely holding together, and all he wanted was to sleep.

Was that really too much to ask?

"It’s us!"

Lu Xian’s voice came from outside.

"Lu Xian and the Defense Team."

"We need to talk to you."

Shen Yu sighed.

He hadn’t even bothered changing his clothes.

His shirt was still stained with blood, his skin was covered in half-healed wounds, and several patches of his face were still covered by dark scabs.

Looking thoroughly annoyed, he dragged himself toward the door.

Click.

The door opened.

Five people stood outside.

Ho Yong.

Lu Xian.

Yaning.

And two male dungeon participants from State Pool City.

The moment they saw Shen Yu, Lu Xian’s face lit up.

"Congratulations, Shen Yu!"

"You’re the first person from our team to clear an SS-Rank dungeon."

"You’ve finally broken the curse for us!"

She smiled brightly and stepped forward.

Then she saw Shen Yu’s face.

She froze.

His hair was singed.

His clothes were torn.

His face was covered in burns.

Blood had dried across his arms and neck.

Lu Xian’s smile became awkward.

"Uh..."

She stopped.

"From now on, you can brag whenever you go outside."

"Our team leader cleared an SS-Rank dungeon."

"What do you think, Vice Captain?"

Yaning apparently didn’t care about Shen Yu’s injuries.

She stepped forward and casually slapped him on the shoulder.

Pat!

Shen Yu’s mouth twitched.

Pain shot through his body.

His patience dropped another level.

"You people didn’t come here just to congratulate me, did you?"

"Of course not."

Lu Xian immediately laughed.

"To celebrate your successful completion of the SS-Rank dungeon, I gathered everyone together and got you two doses of Insane Asylum Potion."

Ho Yong immediately stepped forward.

He pulled two small syringes from his pocket.

Each syringe was protected inside a sturdy iron case.

Shen Yu’s expression changed.

"This..."

He recognized them.

He had seen them before in the State Pool City Defense Bureau’s warehouse.

B-Rank Dungeon Drop Item — Insane Asylum Potion.

Its effect was simple.

After injection, it could rapidly restore the user’s current physical injuries.

The price had been 100 points per dose.

Back then, Shen Yu had stared at the item several times.

But he had never been willing to spend the points.

Now—

Lu Xian had brought him two.

Two hundred points.

It might not sound like much to Shen Yu anymore.

But when he thought about it carefully...

How many points did these people actually have?

Not everyone participated in high-level dungeons.

Their points were hard-earned.

Yet four people had apparently pooled their resources together just to get these two doses for him.

A warm feeling quietly spread through Shen Yu’s chest.

"You guys..."

He looked at the two syringes.

"I can’t take these."

Lu Xian immediately frowned.

"I said we gathered them for you."

"So take them."

"You’ve already done enough for us."

She crossed her arms.

"Besides, didn’t you promise me before that you’d become the vice captain of the State Pool City Defense Team?"

"This is your promotion gift."

Shen Yu stared at her.

Lu Xian suddenly smiled strangely.

"And if you still feel guilty..."

Her smile widened.

"Don’t worry."

"I’ll make sure you stop feeling guilty very soon."

Shen Yu’s instincts immediately told him something was wrong.

"What are you planning?"

Lu Xian’s expression became completely serious.

"From now on..."

"You’ll be leading the team."

Shen Yu’s face darkened.

"Wait."

"You want me to lead?"

"Why?"

"You know I’m not suited to this."

"Forget it."

He immediately tried to hand the medicine back.

Lu Xian refused to take it.

"No."

Shen Yu sighed.

In the end, he could only accept the arrangement.

After all, he lived here.

He ate here.

The State Pool City Defense Bureau had also saved his life more than once.

He couldn’t keep taking from them without giving anything back.

There was a simple principle he had always believed in.

If someone showed you kindness, you repaid it.

If leading the team could improve their survival rate, then he would do it.

"Fine."

Shen Yu took the two iron cases from Ho Yong.

"Thank you."

"That’s more like it."

Ho Yong smiled.

Shen Yu immediately opened one of the cases.

His recovery ability was still too weak.

His D-Rank talent, Heartbeat, could accelerate his natural healing, but it was nowhere near enough to deal with injuries of this level.

At this rate...

Who knew whether the burns on his face would leave permanent scars?

His face was important.

His livelihood depended on it.

He absolutely couldn’t afford to ruin his appearance.

Shen Yu was just about to inject the potion when Lu Xian suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Wait!"

Shen Yu looked at her.

"What?"

"Didn’t you say this was for me?"

"Of course."

He looked confused.

"I’m going to use it now."

Lu Xian smiled.

"Since you’re back, you don’t need it anymore."

"What?"

Shen Yu frowned.

"Then why did you give it to me?"

Instead of answering, Lu Xian turned toward the two men standing behind her.

"Let me formally introduce you to the remaining members of our team."

She pointed toward the tall man first.

"Chu Chang’an."

"An A-Rank talent user."

"His ability is Damage Transfer."

Then she pointed toward the other man.

"Ning Su."

"Another A-Rank talent user."

"His ability is Advanced Recovery."

Shen Yu’s eyes immediately sharpened.

He looked at the two men he’d barely spoken to before.

Chu Chang’an was tall and thin.

He wore narrow, gold-rimmed glasses and a neat suit.

At first glance, he looked refined and scholarly.

But there was something slightly roguish about the smile on his lips.

Ning Su was his complete opposite.

He stood just over 1.6 meters tall, with a thick, sturdy build.

When he smiled, his eyes nearly disappeared.

Shen Yu’s gaze moved between them.

Damage Transfer.

Advanced Recovery.

The combination was obvious.

His expression changed.

"So that’s why..."

He understood immediately.

Shen Yu bowed slightly toward the two men.

"Thank you."

Chu Chang’an waved his hand.

"No need."

"We’re a team."

"State Pool City Defense Team is one big family."

He paused.

"And honestly, that previous Fujia Yuanji wasn’t exactly someone who liked cooperating with the team."

"Ning Su and I are different."

"We’ll work together."

Shen Yu nodded.

At least now he understood why Lu Xian had stopped him from wasting the potion.

Chu Chang’an suddenly stepped closer.

His slender fingers pressed lightly against Shen Yu’s scorched arm.

Shen Yu raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

Chu Chang’an smiled.

"Su Zi."

"Ready?"

Ning Su nodded.

"Ready."

He immediately sat down cross-legged on the floor.

Shen Yu blinked.

"What?"

Before he could ask another question—

A strange vibration suddenly traveled through his body.

Buzz...

Shen Yu’s expression changed.

The thick scabs covering his body began trembling.

The wounds beneath them started itching intensely.

Then—

Crack.

A piece of blackened scab fell from his arm.

Fresh pink skin appeared underneath.

Another scab dropped.

Then another.

Buzz... buzz... buzz...

The vibration continued.

Granulation tissue rapidly formed beneath the damaged skin.

The wounds closed at an astonishing speed.

Within seconds, large pieces of charred skin detached from Shen Yu’s body and fell to the floor.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

One after another, the blackened scabs dropped away.

The newly formed pink skin gradually returned to its normal color.

Shen Yu stared at his arm.

The burns were gone.

Not healed naturally.

Transferred.

His eyes immediately moved toward Ning Su.

The answer was obvious.

Ning Su’s body now carried the exact same wounds Shen Yu had possessed moments ago.

Burns.

Scabs.

Damaged flesh.

Everything.

Except—

They were already healing.

Rapidly.

Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.

"You transferred my injuries to him."

Chu Chang’an smiled.

"Exactly."

Shen Yu looked at Ning Su.

"So that’s how you use your talents together."

"Damage Transfer..."

"Advanced Recovery..."

He finally understood.

The combination was terrifyingly efficient.

Chu Chang’an nodded.

"That’s the basic principle."

"But an A-Rank talent isn’t the same as an S-Rank talent."

"There are still weaknesses."

He raised one finger.

"For example, my Damage Transfer ability."

His smile faded slightly.

"I can transfer injuries."

"But I can’t erase them."

His gaze shifted toward Ning Su.

"And that’s where he comes in."

Ning Su was still sitting cross-legged on the floor.

His eyes were closed.

His breathing was steady.

Then—

He let out a loud snore.

Hrrr...

Shen Yu stared at him.

"...He’s asleep?"

Chu Chang’an nodded calmly.

"Yes."

Shen Yu looked at the mountain of a man sitting peacefully on the floor.

Then at his own perfectly restored arm.

A strange feeling rose in his heart.

This team...

Might actually be useful.

Very useful.