< Scavengers side quest unlocked.
> The system’s sudden prompt forced Aqina to make a choice as soon as possible.
Aqina fell into deep thought once again.
She had many choices now.
But after all, she was no longer alone; she had to consider the others in her squad.
Although their overall combat strength was not low, Iul was still injured.
Furthermore, Aqina knew that she only survived because of the skill cards provided by the system; if someone really wanted to get rid of her, there were a hundred ways to do it.
After all, her combat power was truly poor.
It could only be said that after meeting Tatiana, she finally achieved a qualitative leap, going from 0.5 to 1.
But if they really encountered ruthless desperadoes, Aqina could not guarantee the squad would have a 100% survival rate.
After all, everyone was a mortal, not a God.
And even if one were a God, as powerful as the Seven Archons, wouldn’t they also get hurt and erode?
Countless Gods died in the Archon War.
Even the Heavenly Principles fell into a slumber because of injuries…
Therefore, brute force wouldn’t work; they had to rely on wit.
There was already quite a bit of known information regarding the ‘Scavengers’.
As a mercenary group from the black market, the ‘Scavengers’ were backed by Snezhnayan nobles.
Being able to reach their hands into the recruit trials showed that the power behind them was not small.
Their squad was currently just reserve recruits, and none of them had any background, so offending the other party seemed truly unnecessary.
As for that mysterious veteran angler…
According to Aqina’s previous thoughts, the veteran had extraordinary skills and must have had a special mission; he was likely sent by the Snezhnayan military specifically to carry out the task of cleaning up the ‘Scavengers’.
Otherwise, there would be no benefit to killing them, and it would offend the noble lords behind them; he had absolutely no reason to do so.
The veteran didn’t seem like the type of person who couldn’t read the room.
After all, in Aqina’s past life memories, the Scavengers were notoriously invasive trash fish, and the angler just happened to love fishing.
Aqina realized that she seemed to have truly discovered an incredible coincidence.
Watson, you’ve discovered the blind spot.
Aqina’s first choice now was survival first, prioritizing the squad’s survival rate.
After all, their squad was long past lacking nameplates and supplies; they didn’t need to fight to the death with other squads.
Their total number of nameplates had already far exceeded the graduation requirements; even securing a spot in the top five wouldn’t be a problem.
Now, as long as they avoided combat throughout and found a place to lay low until the remaining time passed, it would be fine.
Although it was possible to encounter a final ambush when leaving the valley.
But “laying low” was clearly the safest and most reliable method.
As long as they didn’t meddle in other people’s business, they could completely act as if they didn’t know about the existence of the ‘Scavengers’ or that the veteran was on a mission.
As long as they lay low until the trial time was over, they could graduate safely and wait for the military assignment.
But pretending not to know didn’t necessarily mean it would just pass.
After all, the system gave a prompt; this choice was really crucial and would affect future career advancement.
And there was a saying: just because you don’t look for trouble doesn’t mean trouble won’t look for you; not meddling might still lead to trouble.
The second choice: hunter and prey, who could say for sure?
Is the hunter necessarily the one doing the killing?
Is the prey necessarily the one being killed?
Their squad could completely rely on the information gap they currently held to take the initiative first.
Take the initiative to ambush and hunt the Scavengers, then use the Scavengers’ identity tags to add chips to their own value.
Although this was a risky move.
But clearly, the Scavengers’ identity tags were worth more.
Otherwise, the Fatui could completely ignore this matter.
Why would they bother sending a veteran to specifically clean them up?
It was very clear that the black market side had touched the Fatui’s bottom line.
After all, although Snezhnaya was cold and ruthless, soldiers were still very important.
Recruits who could undergo training and finally survive the trial.
Basically all had value; those who didn’t pass the trial but were alive could also go to the mines to contribute their remaining warmth.
And now their squad was fully qualified.
They even had the capital to try to contact that veteran and discuss cooperation.
Or try to include him in the team.
With the veteran, they would have more ranged output.
The squad’s weakness of lacking ranged attacks would be completely filled.
By then, who was the hunter would be up to them, wouldn’t it?
Even if that didn’t work, their squad alone was not necessarily doomed.
Aqina looked at the blue light screen of the system in front of her.
She looked up again at the few people by the campfire; Tatiana was somewhat irritable, her hand gripping the sword hilt, opening and closing it repeatedly.
Iul’s small face was pale, and he looked a bit wilted.
But Aqina knew he was unwilling to accept this.
Being backstabbed by that bunch of idiots.
This clever person who prided himself on being a strategist must be feeling uncomfortable inside.
And Iul had truly once treated the other party as a teammate, otherwise he wouldn’t be genuinely angry.
Vera was hugging her knees, her eyes full of sorrow, lacking her usual lively spirit.
The three of them were waiting for her to make a decision.
Aqina took a deep breath, the cold air drawn into her windpipe, making her very clear-headed.
” We cannot hide, ” Aqina said.
The three of them looked at her.
” We have a wounded person and many nameplates; everyone outside knows, so hiding is definitely not going to work.
The Scavengers will also start attacking us for the nameplates.
” ” Plus, that veteran killed quite a few Scavengers; these desperate mercenaries will definitely become even more crazed, wanting to regain their lost face.
” Aqina paused, a glimmer of dark light flashing in her amber eyes, her tone firm.
” And being on the receiving end of a beating has never been my style.
” ” So…
” Aqina smiled, that smile carrying a sense of ruthless determination, ” We will not be the prey.
” ” Since we must get involved.
” ” Then we shall be the hunters, the hunters who clean up the Scavengers.
” Aqina’s words were like a sudden stone thrown into a stagnant pool, splashing ripples and bringing vitality.
Tatiana’s eyes lit up first, her flame-colored long hair swaying slightly; she grinned, her whole being rising with fighting spirit.
” It should have been like this long ago; my fire should burn these bastards to ash.
” Iul, however, was not that optimistic; he subconsciously touched his leg, which was still bound in a splint, his expression flickering in the firelight.
” We only have four people, and my leg is still lame.
Tatiana’s fire element consumes too much in Snezhnaya’s environment, and Vera belongs to the control and medical class.
” He paused and looked at Aqina, ” And although you can’t be killed, you do feel pain, and you are just a mortal after all.
The Scavengers are professional desperadoes; they won’t give us a chance to catch our breath.
” ” Therefore, we can’t attack by force; we can only use wit, ” Aqina squatted down, picked up a branch, and began to draw on the ground.
” Going head-to-head is just courting death, and it puts us at a disadvantage.
But everyone has weaknesses, and the Scavengers do too.
” Vera curiously leaned over, ” What weaknesses?
” ” First, they are here to make money, not to risk their lives.
” Aqina drew the first line on the ground, ” The Scavengers take jobs, and they went to such great lengths to sneak into the recruit trial grounds all for the sake of money.
” ” Do you remember what Vera said just now?
” ” When the Scavengers were fighting the veteran, some of them wanted to escape when they saw the situation was bad.
So when they encounter a hard nut to crack, they might not be willing to fight to the death.
” ” After all, money can be earned again, but life only happens once.
” Tatiana nodded, ” Makes sense.
That veteran angler Vera mentioned today killed three in one go.
Now the ‘Scavengers’ must be holding back their anger, but they will also be more cautious.
” ” And if people die, the mercenary side has to pay money.
After all, they are a group, and business on the black market is never cheap.
” ” Second, ” Aqina drew the second line, ” They are just like us; they need rest, they need supplies, and they need intelligence.
Vera said that the veteran stripped all of the Scavengers’ equipment, not even sparing their boots.
What does this mean?
” Iul’s eyes rolled, ” It means the Scavengers have good stuff on them!
And they must have a fixed supply point, or a trading post?
” ” Smart, ” Aqina gave him an appreciative look, ” The trial ground is closed, but the fact that the Scavengers could sneak in means there are loopholes.
If there’s a way in, there’s a way out.
If we can find it…
” ” We can cut off their retreat!
” Vera excitedly interjected, but immediately wilted, ” But how do we find it?
The valley is so big.
” Aqina didn’t answer directly.
Instead, she used the branch to draw a rough topographic map on the ground.
This was based on the map the Instructor had let them see, combined with what she had memorized while struggling through the valley.
” We are roughly here at the Ice Fissure Valley in the east.
” She pointed to a spot on the map, ” The place where Vera met the veteran is the Unfrozen Creek, which has hot springs.
It’s in the southeast direction, about two li away from us.
That place has running water, fish, and a relatively sheltered environment…
” ” It might be the Scavengers’ gathering place, ” Tatiana realized, ” But that veteran just caused a scene there and killed people.
The Scavengers will either strengthen their defenses or temporarily withdraw.
” ” So if we go now, we might make a wasted trip, or we might run into a trap, ” Iul smiled bitterly, ” It’s still the most critical problem: insufficient intelligence.
We don’t know how many Scavengers there are, and we don’t know how they are distributed.
” After all, without a source of intelligence and no one to tip them off, everyone was helpless.
But just at this moment, the system’s electronic voice rang in Aqina’s ears.
< Detected that the host is preparing to execute the side quest ‘Scavengers’.
> < Auxiliary function started.
Temporary skill activated: Environment Scan < Primary >.
> Just like that, when she was sleepy, a pillow and quilt arrived; she instantly had a way.
” I have a way to find them!