32: Chapter 32 The Complexity of Chunhe Aluminum

In fact, as early as when the two Exploration Teams converged, those who had been left behind had already reported this situation to them.

The two Exploration Team captains naturally did not hold such small-time riffraff in any regard; if they dared to overestimate their capabilities and try to snatch food, they would make them pay the corresponding price.

Incarnation recalled the information collected over the past few days.

The Exploration Team of Chunhe Aluminum Industry was formed with a prospecting team as its foundation.

Their actual combat power consisted merely of six amateur Archers whom Chunhe Aluminum Industry had recruited through a mix of deception and cajolery.

There were also five people from the original company prospecting team, and the captain was a leader who had been parachuted in temporarily, possessing no experience in wilderness survival.

They followed far behind the two Exploration Teams ahead. The original captain of this prospecting team was Zhao Huaqiang, who now wore a fawning expression as he faced the captain.

He said with some worry: "Captain, do we really have to follow behind them? If they discover us, we won't be able to beat them."

This captain, named Captain Zhou Mingyu, was refined and wore glasses, affecting the demeanor of an elite Professional.

He said with a look of disdain: "Are you stupid? Why would we fight them?"

"As long as they take care of those beasts blocking the road, we will quickly move ahead of them and collect those meteorites first."

"So what if they discover us? Do they dare to search us? This is a society ruled by law, after all. Our group is not to be trifled with."

Zhao Huaqiang feigned a realization at just the right moment and praised him: "You are still the smart one; how else could you be the captain? Someone like me couldn't come up with such a good plan."

Following this was a series of sycophantic flattery that left Captain Zhou Mingyu feeling quite pleased.

He then specifically hinted: "Old Zhao, your ability is actually quite good. If our harvest these few times is decent, I can recommend you to the group to be promoted as the captain of this Exploration Team."

Upon hearing this empty promise painted by Captain Zhou Mingyu, Zhao Huaqiang looked flattered.

"I am only responsible for the initial formation of the Exploration Team; once it is on the right track, I have other work to do."

"So! Perform well, stick with me, and the benefits will be massive."

"Yes, Captain, you are wise and mighty. I will definitely follow your lead; if you say go east, I will never go west."

"Hahaha! You are very sensible. I like people like you, unlike some others."

Zhao Huaqiang naturally knew who Captain Zhou Mingyu was talking about.

However, since that person was currently their source of combat power, he couldn't respond to such remarks and just laughed it off.

Seeing that Zhao Huaqiang didn't take the bait, Captain Zhou Mingyu knew he was an old fox and not so easily won over.

Then he thought of the news he had heard before: a month ago, someone told him that using these meteorites that fell from the sky could allow one to become a Professional, providing significant bonuses to various abilities.

This old fox, who had been struggling in the company for decades, naturally knew the importance of these Professionals. It could be said that they were a group of newly rising elites, and using a job-change stone to become a Professional was the entry ticket.

However, he had previously paid a high price to attempt a Professional job-change through official channels, and it was clear that he had not succeeded.

That mysterious person had told him that if he collected three job-change stones, he could use a special method to help him force a job-change.

Although he held a certain amount of skepticism about this method, he was the type of person who would gamble even on a small probability; otherwise, how could he have reached his current position?

Therefore, he used his connections and resources to push the group to form this Exploration Team, all to help himself change jobs.

Fortunately, after several explorations by their team, disregarding casualties, he had already collected two job-change stones. Captain Zhou Mingyu had hidden them in a secret place in the mountains.

Only the last one remained, but regarding the collection of the final job-change stone, the members of the Exploration Team would not agree to his previous action plan under any circumstances.

In desperation, he could only promise substantial casualty compensation again, and this time, by following behind other Exploration Teams to pick up scraps, he was finally able to persuade them to undertake this mission.

Therefore, even though he was extremely dissatisfied with this bunch of bumpkins, Captain Zhou Mingyu did not show it on his face.

He looked at the six youths holding Compound Bows, who were led by a youth in the middle with outstanding temperament and sharp, star-like eyebrows.

The other two women and three men were all very respectful of this person named Ye Xingchen; he was the one with the highest archery skills among them and had saved their lives several times.

It was because of this person that he, as the captain of the Exploration Team, could no longer command them.

Watching them walk ahead, laughing and talking, a flash of jealousy and wariness crossed Captain Zhou Mingyu's eyes.

But then he remembered that he was about to successfully change jobs and walk a different path.

He felt a surge of excitement. "Once I return, I can contact them to help me change jobs, hehe!"

The six people walking in front naturally heard the whispers about them from the people behind.

A sweet-looking beauty named Lin Wanxing was very angry at their words. "That guy surnamed Zhou is not a good person. Several times before, he made us go to places where Mutant creatures were active to collect meteorites regardless of the danger."

"Now, he is making us follow behind these two Exploration Teams; he definitely has bad intentions."

"Brother Ye, we must be careful not to be fooled by this guy."

A burly man holding a Compound Bow also chimed in. "Sister Lin is right. Brother Ye, I heard that the strength of the two teams in front is extremely extraordinary."

"That Chen Martial Arts Hall, it is said that every member is an expert who has practiced martial arts, and their Exploration Team hasn't had a single injury so far."

"And that Exploration Team from the company called [Changnan Interstellar], although it is newly formed, I can see that their captain's strength is very strong. They had a great harvest on their very first operation. We must be careful about having a direct conflict with them."

Ye Xingchen pondered for a while and nodded, saying "Hmm."

"Wanxing, what you and Brother Qian said is correct. Our main task is to collect those meteorites; we should not get involved in any other unrelated matters."

Except for Ye Xingchen, the others had all been lured by the high salary and high benefits of the Chunhe Aluminum Industry group. Only after getting on the pirate ship did they realize that these things would only be fulfilled gradually after they had made a harvest.

If they did not join the Exploration Team, they would be considered in breach of contract and have to pay a large sum of money.

The reason they hadn't run away was that after the previous few times they had some harvest, the group had issued a generous bonus, confirming that there were returns for their efforts.

But this did not include Ye Xingchen. He had already been a Professional a month ago, but because he lacked a job-change stone and had no resources to support his growth,

he used the last two job-change stones to change jobs into an [Archer] and responded to the recruitment of the Chunhe Aluminum Industry group, successfully getting hired by relying on his exquisite archery skills.