Chapter 23: Temporary cooperation

Deep in the dense forest of the hunting ground, Ian cautiously advanced forward, taking each step with exceptional care. He had already gotten used to the dark and humid environment of the forest, but he still didn't dare to relax in the slightest.

Soon, he encountered a mutant again - this time, it was a smaller but extremely fast cheetah-type mutant beast. Its skin appeared a strange dark green color, and its figure almost turned into a phantom when it moved.

Ian quickly adjusted his breathing and activated his Insect Senses Enhancement, his eyes quickly capturing the cheetah's trajectory. When the mutant leopard attacked again, he side-stepped and skillfully avoided it, and then slashed down with his long knife, which accurately cut through the leopard's abdomen.

The mutant leopard screamed and fell to the ground, Ian did not hesitate to swing his sword to make up for the fatal blow.

[Successful Looting, Speed +10%] 

As the number of battles increased, Ian clearly felt that his reflexes and ability control became more and more skillful, and this real-world experience allowed his combat power to steadily increase. Without wasting any time, he quickly organized his attire and once again set out on the road to the central area of the hunting grounds.

After another bout of trekking, Ian suddenly sensed keenly that someone was approaching. He quickly hid behind a tree and waited with bated breath for the other party to show up.

But unexpectedly, the person coming was actually a familiar face - Wang Wei. 

"Brother, it's me!" Wang Wei raised his hands to signal that there was no hostility, and his face wore the usual easy smile, "But don't turn your knife on your own people."

Ian stepped out from behind the tree, his expression still wary, "Wang Wei, why are you here?"

Wang Wei smiled and shrugged, "Relax, I've been internalized a long time ago, as long as I can make it out alive, I can join the Brotherhood straight away."

Ian frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice, "You were internalized? Then what is the purpose of your coming to work with me now?"

Wang Wei said frankly, "To tell you the truth, I just want to make sure that nothing goes wrong. And if you cooperate with me, the risk will be much smaller, I can help you complete the mission, we'll get what we want, after all, whether the mission is completed or not doesn't matter to me either."

This also verified the task given by the system, the third round of trials did have a deeper purpose.

Ian thought deeply for a moment, weighed the pros and cons in front of him, and finally nodded his head in agreement, "Alright, we'll cooperate for now. However, if you have any other ideas, don't blame me for being rude."

Wang Wei immediately laughed cheerfully, "Don't worry brother, I'm not so bad as to betray my friends."

The two of them paired up and continued to advance towards the center area. With each other covering them, their speed of advancement increased significantly, and on the way, they quickly resolved a few more mutated creatures that were in their way.

During this period, they encountered a huge mutated rhinoceros, which had skin as hard as steel, making it difficult for ordinary attacks to be effective.

Wang Wei quickly waved his hands, and an electric current danced around his fingertips, coalescing into a fiery lightning bolt that struck the rhinoceros fiercely.

The mutant rhino's body stiffened after being struck by the electric current, Ian seized the moment and quickly stepped forward, and accurately stabbed into the weak spot of the rhino's neck, successfully killing this difficult mutant beast.

[Looting Successful, Gain Ability: Rhino Armor Defense (Enhance skin toughness, substantially strengthen defense ability)] 

"Brothers, our cooperation is really tacit!" Wang Wei patted Ian's shoulder with satisfaction.

Ian smiled slightly and nodded his head in response, "Your lightning ability is indeed very useful."

The two continued on their way, chatting about their respective views on the future on the way.

Wang Wei looked serious and sighed, "I actually understand that the Brotherhood is not as innocent as it seems. However, in this chaotic world right now, strength is the root of survival. As long as I am strong, even if the Brotherhood has problems, I have the ability to change it."

Ian nodded approvingly, "That's right, I have the same thought. This world has gone through too much pain, we can't let such a tragedy continue, someone has to try to change it all."

Wang Wei let out a light laugh, a hint of appreciation added to his gaze, "If there were more people like you around, I think the future might actually change."

The sky gradually darkened, the two of them found a large tree and decided to rest temporarily in the tree for the night and continue their journey the next day, the jungle at night was still too dangerous.

The two of them respectively found a fairly thick branch and sat down, resting with their backs against the tree trunks, their hearts still maintaining their defenses, both against possible dangers as well as against their teammates.

[The system has detected powerful creatures at the location the host is about to travel to, and suggests that the host puts the Talent Enhancement Points to use].

Ian suddenly remembered that after completing the mission of escorting Ron back, the system rewarded 2 Talent Strengthening Points, it was only because he was in a hurry to process to find someone to treat Ron and Alisa that he ignored this reward, and it was only after that when the new mission was released that Ian completely forgot about this matter.

"System, what is the function of this talent strengthening point? "Ian communicated with the system in his mind, [Talent Reinforcement Points are used to reinforce the abilities mastered by the host, all abilities are at the most elementary level by default, consuming Talent Reinforcement Points can raise the level of the ability, the level of the ability can't exceed the host's own level, at the same time, a large number of Talent Reinforcement Points can also be used to directly raise the host's own level, due to the specificity of this system, the host can't raise the level through the Due to the special nature of this system, the host can't raise their level through cultivation, they can only raise their level by constantly plundering their abilities or using talent enhancement points."]

"So how many points do I need to level up? " 

[Host is currently at SPARK level, upgrade required: Talent Strengthening Points X100] 

".... "Ian looked at his pitifully small 2 reinforcement points and silently sighed in his heart, "This is too hard ..."

[The host should not be discouraged, as the host's strength increases, the number of reinforcement points rewarded by subsequent missions will also increase].

"I want to raise my ability to SPARK level now, how many points do I need?" [Raise ability to SPARK level, Requirement: Talent Reinforcement Points X1] 

Ian raised Gravity Control and Rhino Armor Defense to SPARK level after some thought.

[Consume Talent Enhancement Points X1, Gravity Control upgraded to SPARK level (control gravity within ten meters around yourself, enhance or weaken gravity up to a limit of 300%)] 

[Consume Talent Enhancement Points X1, Rhino Armor Defense upgraded to SPARK level (SPARK level attacks will be very hard to damage you)] 

Feeling the power within his body further enhanced, Ian felt an unprecedented level of confidence in his heart: "What is the strong enemy ahead of me that makes the system even take the initiative to remind me, it's really something to look forward to. "