Chapter 8: Teammate Development Plan

Just as the imperial soldiers tasked with the pursuit were consumed with rage, wishing nothing more than to locate and crush them into dust.

At the hunter's lodge on the other side, the remaining four were pacing agitatedly back and forth.

It had been almost half a day since Shen Congfei left.

But he still hadn't returned.

This led those who were already doubtful about the plan to begin imagining all sorts of scenarios.

The prevailing theory was he had either been discovered and killed by the imperial soldiers or had chosen to surrender and betray them.

Although they had spent quite some time together, it was often said that you could know a person's face, but not their heart.

Who was to say what they would do when faced with a life or death situation.

Of the four, only Xia Wei was staring blankly at a dead rabbit in front of her.

In her view, the timid boy who used to hide behind her had changed dramatically after an accident induced "amnesia".

Xia Wei had to admit, the contrast was stark.

If it weren't for the pressing situation at hand, she would have pinned him down and interrogated him thoroughly.

However, Xia Wei was not upset about the changes in him.

Especially the way he stepped forward today, it gave her an unusual sense of relief.

Thinking about this, a soft smile surfaced on her delicate face.

"Xia Wei, aren't you... worried about him at all?"

To the bewilderment of their medical instructor, Chen Yuanjia, who initially thought she was the most worried about Shen Congfei.

Yet now, she sees the one who should be most concerned about him, actually smiling.

That left Chen Yuanjia wondering.

Had the kid done something inappropriate to her last night?

On hearing this, Xia Wei shook her head, "Teacher Chen, I trust Cong Fei. Since he insisted on doing that, he must have his reasons. We should have faith in him too."

Chen Yuanjia sighed and shook her head helplessly.

It seemed she had misunderstood.

She didn't know what charm this boy had that could mesmerize such a pretty young girl to this extent.

As they were talking, another voice joined the conversation:

"You guys think, he's still not back yet, could it be..."

Before Xia Wei and Chen Yuanjia could respond, a figure emerged from the nearby forest:

"Hey, lend me a hand."

"Hahaha, I knew you'd be okay."

At their side, the man who had been skeptical and worried just now ran towards Shen Congfei. Watching how fast his expression changed, Xia Wei and Chen Yuanjia could only sigh.

Suddenly, a boy with a shaved head and an uncanny resemblance to "Flat-head Guy" ran up to them. As he was about to speak, he noticed this fellow checking him out while muttering:

"Where's the knife, where's the knife..."

Shen Congfei, who was carrying several guns on his back, was at a loss for words.

What he needed right now were greetings from a girl, not the attention of a grown man.

"Here, your knife. I don't know which one it is, take your pick."

Saying so, he pulled a bundle of field knives wrapped in cloth from behind him reluctantly.

Upon seeing this, "Flat-head Guy," Xue Yangping, was stunned.

He had initially feared that his weapon would be taken by Shen Congfei, but instead, he casually pulled out a bunch of knives.

Wait, does this mean…

Xue Yangping realized something and turned to look at the extra guns Shen Congfei was carrying. With a gasp, he exclaimed:

"You, you succeeded?"

At this moment, the other three people at the hunter's lodge also came over. They too were disbelief when they saw the extra guns on Shen Congfei.

Compared to the different degrees of shock displayed by the four, Shen Congfei calmly nodded. He took off the few assault rifles he had grabbed, along with the pistols, and laid them on the ground.

Feeling light as a feather, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Catching his breath, Shen Congfei looked at the four people in front of him:

"There are also three rucksacks left, too heavy for me, so I buried them first, we can dig them up later."

Chen Yuanjia, who was initially the most opposed, wore a look of astonishment. But seeing Shen Congfei safely returned, she felt something akin to relief, and smiled, saying:

"You didn't just sneak into their camp and rob them while they were sleeping, did you?"

He laughed at her words, "If only it were that easy."

As they were talking, suddenly a voice rang out:

"Why is there blood on my knife?"

Seeing "Flat-head Guy" waving a blood-stained combat knife and shouting, Shen Congfei replied, exasperated:

"I killed an enemy, how could there not be blood?"

"And thanks to your knife, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten back that easy."

Then he explained to the four of them:

"Back then, I was hovering around their temporary camp, planning to silently attack one of the imperial soldiers. But I was quickly discovered."

"If I hadn't thought of taking further advantage this time, I probably wouldn't have had another chance."

"After all, the enemy is no fool. If they chose to fight together, there was no way I would have succeeded on my own."

Everything he said was the truth.

Grabbing a few more guns was for the purpose of arming the four people in front of him to assist himself.

Thinking back on the scene where he almost got chased down by three imperial soldiers, he reckoned it was only by luck that he made it back.

His thoughts completed, Shen Congfei looked at the four people who were squatting on the ground and discussing the guns, wondering how best to boost their combat ability on short notice.

Sigh! It would be nice if there were extra professional development points.

He could add points to a Teacher profession, then use the advantages of that profession to multiply their training proficiency and swiftly increase the team's combat power.

As a beta tester for "Code: Wasteland," Shen Congfei knew exactly what his current advantages were — understanding of various jobs and skills, and memory of some pre-apocalyptic classified information.

These were the things that guaranteed he could lead others to survive until the end of the world.

Snap back to the present, he saw the four had chosen their weapon configuration, and he said:

"Now that we have enough weapons, and we also have backpacks containing ammunition and food, we shouldn't have to worry for now. So why don't we move on to the next phase."

"What phase?"

Noticing their confusion, Shen Congfei waved his hand:

"Various trainings."

After saying this, as if he remembered something, he looked at one of them:

"Oh right, Xia Wei, could you teach us some basic combat training?"

...

And so, in the following days, the five who escaped from school into the mountains began various types of training.

Shooting, hiding, firearms assembly, and combat training.

What reassured Shen Congfei was that no one in the team was squeamish, everyone was making rapid progress, the kind you could see with the naked eye.

But in combat training, he chose to give up.

Because...