Chapter 170 - 141: The Returned Captain

Chapter 170: Chapter 141: The Returned Captain

The first batch of six Advanced Members has been announced!

The result was both expected and unexpected for many.

"Returning Stream Chen Baichuan from the Countermeasures Bureau actually got the last spot?"

"Well, the Countermeasures Bureau has a lot of people. If they really put their minds to it, they can clear Nightmares pretty fast!"

"But who was it that said the Countermeasures Bureau wasn’t taking the Advanced Member positions seriously?"

The Countermeasures Bureau wasn’t stupid!

An Advanced Member could form a team with up to nine teammates, giving them an unparalleled advantage whether clearing Nightmares, exploring, or undertaking long expeditions.

How could they possibly pass up such an advantage?

The Baijiang Strategy Bureau had always been good at cooperating with other factions. They even had a routine of sending their own employees, and even their Elites, to the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall for advanced training. For them, competing for an Advanced Member spot in the Safe Zone was just standard procedure.

Even if being an Advanced Member meant a deeper bond with the Safe Zone and sometimes required completing missions issued by it... it was still only a ten-person team.

So, the Countermeasures Bureau put forward Chen Baichuan, a newly risen powerhouse who was relatively less busy at the bureau.

As for the other people in the Countermeasures Bureau with high Contribution Points, like Long Niu, he was tasked with patrol and guard duty on the outskirts of Baijiang City, usually rotating shifts with Black Tiger and a few others.

Still, whenever Long Niu had free time, he would come to the Safe Zone to train in the training rooms or study at the Curse Art Library.

He had now fused with his third Lifebound Curse Object and was just one step away from breaking through to the Third Refining Realm.

But Long Niu mostly came to the Safe Zone to cultivate; he didn’t do many missions, so his Contribution Points naturally didn’t increase quickly.

Then there was Fen Huo, who had to hold down the fort at Lu Yao Camp long-term, giving him even fewer opportunities to come to the Safe Zone.

...

Under the watchful eyes of the Dream Descenders, the six who had obtained the Advanced Member badges bound them one by one.

The badge and Member Card fused.

Or rather, the Member Card merged into the badge, and the badge then merged into their bodies, reappearing as a badge-shaped pattern on the back of their hands.

"Looks like it doesn’t have to just appear on the back of my hand."

Xi Xue muttered. The badge pattern on the back of her hand vanished, only to reappear on her forehead a moment later.

Mysterious Decoration +1!

Of course, the patterned mark could also be hidden, and the physical badge could be taken out at any time.

Compared to the Member Card, at least there was no risk of accidentally dropping the badge.

The group began to test the badge’s functions.

They figured it out quickly.

"If you take out the badge and touch it to another person’s Member Card, you can send an invitation to form a contract."

Xi Xue took her badge out again and pressed it lightly against Peaches’ Member Card.

Instantly, a line of text appeared on the front of Peaches’ Member Card.

"Form a team contract with Advanced Member ’Xi Xue’? Yes/No."

Peaches chose "Yes."

But she huffed, "I’m not your subordinate, you know! I’m just staying on the team to give you a hand until this young lady gets her own Advanced Member status~!"

"I know, I know. I’ll make you the Deputy Captain for now, alright?"

In reality, there was no such position as "Deputy Captain" within the team structure.

The new Advanced Members also quickly discovered that this "team contract formation" had its restrictions. The captain had the authority to unilaterally dissolve the contract, but once a team bond was broken, that team slot would enter a one-month cooldown period before another invitation could be sent to a different member.

Profound Sword thought to himself, ’That’s to be expected.’

Although some members had been discussing whether they could temporarily recruit a batch of teammates when needed and then dismiss them afterward, the Elder Level Members like him had long understood that the system wouldn’t have such an easily exploitable loophole.

Not that they ever had any intention of exploiting loopholes themselves.

However, the fact that there was a month-long cooldown before you could invite someone else after a member left the team meant that...

"You have to be extremely careful when choosing teammates!"

A month was an eternity!

The Safe Zone itself hadn’t even been around for a month yet.

If they carelessly sent out invitations now, only to find out later that they couldn’t get along due to conflicting ideals and had a few members quit, then their team’s maximum size would be reduced by several slots.

Profound Sword was determined to build the most elite clearing team, a goal the Martial Arts Hall fully supported.

He had to be cautious at a time like this.

He needed to consider the potential candidates’ personalities and character, as well as their areas of expertise.

An elite clearing team needed more than just a main force skilled in combat and assault; experts in scouting, stealth, recovery, and even logistics were all indispensable.

He first invited his fifth senior brother, Rakshasa Sword.

Rakshasa Sword nodded. "Of course. I’ll help you, Junior Brother. Together, we can definitely sweep through the Nightmares. Oh, right, we should see when we can get our fourth senior brother to join, too."

He added, "Now that we have a team, we can randomly descend deep into the Nightmare to clear it. Clearing, treasure hunting, cultivation, getting stronger—it won’t be long before the two of us can push for the Second or even Third Refining Realm. We’ll definitely give our first senior brother and second senior sister a huge shock then, hehe."

For now, Profound Sword’s team only consisted of Rakshasa Sword and two old masters from the Martial Arts Hall.

That left six member slots open.

Countless members were eyeing those spots covetously.

Many people immediately surrounded Profound Sword, Xi Xue, and the other new captains. Some of the more prepared veteran members even handed over paper resumes.

—I’m submitting my resume in the Nightmare World!

"Boss, look at me!"

"Boss, my Lifebound Curse Art is ’Eagle’s Overlook’! I’m super good at scouting, so pick me, pick me!"

"Boss, what about me..."

Captains needed to be extremely careful when choosing their teammates.

But in truth, it was even more important for the members to choose their team carefully.