Chapter 79: Apocalypse Guild!

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Apocalypse Guild!

Two hours passed quickly.

Lin Ji opened his eyes on time and woke Gu Yihan, who was still sound asleep.

He then went to the first floor and gathered everyone on the deck.

After two hours of rest and the food Lin Ji had distributed, the women had mostly regained their strength.

"Next, we’ll reassign positions."

Lin Ji’s gaze swept over everyone before finally settling on Su Qingyue.

"Su Qingyue, you’re being transferred back to the combat group."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of surprise crossed Su Qingyue’s cool face, followed by a barely concealed glimmer of joy in her eyes.

Although being assigned to the logistics group earlier had deeply humiliated her, her desperate block during the final strike against the Withered Wood Reaper in the previous battle had proven the value of her Ice Shield and finally earned Lin Ji’s recognition.

"Your Ice Shield can save lives at critical moments. It was my mistake to assign you to logistics before."

Lin Ji offered a brief explanation.

Su Qingyue bit her red lip and nodded firmly.

Once the deployment was complete, Lin Ji wasted no time and led everyone back into the scorching black jungle.

This time, the group moved noticeably slower and with greater caution.

Lin Ji walked at the front of the formation.

He wore the black Hidden Wings - Mantis Exoskeleton.

With this exoskeleton armor, Lin Ji felt his defensive capabilities had significantly improved.

Moreover, low-level poisonous insects fled at the scent of the Withered Wood Reaper emanating from him.

As the group quietly advanced about five kilometers deeper into the island, Lin Ji, walking at the very front, suddenly halted.

He swiftly crouched behind a massive black rock.

"Stop!"

Lin Ji sharply raised his right hand.

The women behind him instantly held their breath, gripping their weapons nervously, not daring to make a sound.

Lin Ji’s eyes, hidden beneath his tactical helmet, fixed intently ahead.

Through the exoskeleton’s respiratory filtration system, he detected an extremely pungent odor.

It wasn’t the sulfurous smell of volcanic ash.

Instead, it was a faint yet incredibly fresh scent of blood!

Moreover, on the charred, ash-covered ground ahead, Lin Ji clearly saw a set of chaotic, human footprints!

And a long, dragging bloodstain that extended deep into the thicket!

Lin Ji lowered his voice, his tone carrying a chilling coldness:

"Ahead... there are people."

"And they’ve just killed someone."

Following Lin Ji’s gaze, besides some scattered mutated beast claw marks and scorch marks from battles, the ground now bore a set of uniformly patterned combat boot prints!

Even more alarming, beside those footprints were clear drag marks from rope hooks and a torn strip of black cloth casually discarded on the bushes.

Upon seeing that strip of cloth, Gu Yihan’s pretty face immediately paled slightly.

Because on that scrap of somewhat tattered fabric was imprinted a dark golden eye emblem she was all too familiar with.

It was the standard insignia of the Apocalypse Guild!

This meant that Gu Tianming’s people had not only already landed on the island, but judging by the uniform equipment, their numbers were certainly not small.

Lin Ji took in the change in Gu Yihan’s expression, his mind instantly clear as a mirror.

"It seems your old man moves pretty fast."

Lin Ji sneered.

Gu Yihan bit her lower lip, her gaze somewhat complicated.

Lin Ji knew that in such a situation, Gu Yihan’s "family card" was likely useless.

In those large guilds where profit reigned supreme and the strong preyed on the weak,

she was now nothing more than a useless young lady who had only awakened an E-grade talent.

If they really encountered Apocalypse’s core team, these subordinates of Gu Tianming might not even recognize her as the young mistress.

It was even highly possible that, in order to monopolize the high-level resources on this island, they would wipe out their small team in passing.

Just as Lin Ji was rapidly considering countermeasures,

from deep within the smoke-shrouded forest ahead, a series of shrill, miserable screams suddenly rang out!

Immediately after, a young man’s arrogant, domineering, and vicious curses drifted over on the hot wind:

"A bunch of useless trash!"

"I’m giving you face by sending you in to scout!"

"Whoever dares take one step back, I’ll chop them to pieces right now!"

Hearing this voice, Gu Yihan’s body stiffened abruptly, her face changing once again.

As if recalling something she found utterly repulsive, she whispered coldly:

"That voice... it’s Gu Sen!"

"Gu Sen?" Lin Ji raised an eyebrow. "Your brother?"

"Not a blood brother. He’s my uncle’s son, my cousin."

A flicker of disgust passed through Gu Yihan’s eyes.

"A good-for-nothing playboy who relies on the family’s influence to commit all sorts of wrongdoing."

Lin Ji raised a hand, signaling everyone to halt, then lowered his voice:

"Let’s move closer quietly and see if it’s your Gu family people clearing the area inside."

Leading the group, he took advantage of the cover provided by scattered rocks and shrubs, moving forward without a sound.

As they drew closer to the central crater of the floating island, the surrounding temperature had already risen to a point where it was hard to breathe.

The ground was littered with signs of fierce battles, with charred giant insect corpses and mutated beast remains visible everywhere.

Clearly, there were not only people ahead, but they were an exceptionally powerful elite team, bulldozing their way toward the central area with overwhelming force.

Soon, through a patch of half-burned shrubs ahead, the group got a clear view of the situation in the clearing.

In a relatively open space stood a small team of seven or eight people.

They were uniformly dressed in black combat uniforms bearing the Apocalypse Guild insignia, well-equipped and with cold, ruthless eyes.

The two standing in the very center of the team, however, instantly chilled Lin Ji’s gaze.

One of them was a flashily dressed young man with a frivolous expression and an arrogant face.

He appeared to be around the same age as Gu Yihan, idly toying with a blue-glinting Alloy Combat Blade, flanked by two obvious sycophants.

This person was clearly the cousin Gu Yihan had mentioned, Gu Sen.

With just a glance, the Eye of Insight provided information.

[Target: Gu Sen]

[Talent: B-Grade - Berserk Physique (Close Combat Enhancement Type)]

"B-Grade Enhancement type... No wonder he dares to be so arrogant. He has some skill, but not much."

Lin Ji silently evaluated in his mind.

These kinds of playboys relying on their families are often unlearned and incompetent, with fragile minds.

In a real life-and-death struggle, they might not be able to fully utilize all the abilities of a B-Grade Talent.

However, when Lin Ji’s gaze passed over Gu Sen and landed on the woman standing at the front of the team, his eyelids twitched violently.

She was an incredibly stunning beauty with a tall, fiery figure.

She wore an extremely tight, almost revealing dark Red leather outfit.

The leather clung to her body like a second skin, outlining her breathtaking curves.

The neckline plunged extremely low, exposing two heavy mounds of snowy white to the scorching air.

With her slightly hurried breathing, they heaved dramatically, as if they might break free and bounce out at any moment.