Chapter 10: Second Squad Leader Gu Chenghu

As for his progress in the Apocalypse World, Lin Yi felt there was no need to rush. His current universal talent had only solidified into a white-tier gift. Although this talent had saved his life yesterday, white-tier talents inherently offered limited potential for growth.

With ample time ahead, Lin Yi believed he didn’t need to hasten the so-called “monster hunting and leveling up” in the early stages. As long as he could solidify a superior talent from the universal talent draws in the coming days, he would have no worries about advancing in the Apocalypse World.

Of course, Lin Yi made sure not to waste the six hours he could spend there daily, though he avoided logging in for long, continuous stretches to prevent raising suspicion.

With this in mind, he did not rush back into the Apocalypse World immediately but returned to his studio to oversee the staff grinding gold.

At noon, finding an excuse, Lin Yi took a brief moment to enter the Apocalypse World. After appearing near the home of the woodcutter Gu Yongqiang, he accepted another firewood gathering task from Gu Yongqiang and headed to the small forest behind the mountain to chop wood.

Woodcutting was exhausting. Even with his attributes bolstered by the “Remarkable Bones” talent, he could not endure long hours of labor. Fortunately, having learned from yesterday’s experience picking up firewood, Lin Yi managed to collect a bundle in just over an hour.

After submitting the task and earning ten copper coins, he found a shaded spot and ate a flatbread with well water.

During his free time, Lin Yi attempted to draw from the universal talent pool once more.

The universal talents refreshed daily at midnight, each draw randomly selecting a talent from the talent material library. But since “Remarkable Bones” had already been solidified, even if he drew a good talent in the next three days, he could only admire it without the ability to solidify it.

“Ding! White-tier talent ‘Fragile but Fortunate’ drawn!”

Fragile but Fortunate (White Talent): The holder’s constitution decreases permanently by 3 points, but the probability of good luck increases.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow upon seeing this talent. This white-tier talent was a half-detrimental, half-beneficial one, reducing attributes while boosting luck.

Thankfully, the talent he drew yesterday was not “Fragile but Fortunate,” or else he might have died beneath the claws of that ghostly beast.

After drawing the talent, Lin Yi logged off immediately without lingering.

Outside Gutan Village, beneath the crumbling city wall, blood stained the dirt and grass. On the ground lay two slain wolf-like demons and three militia men groaning in pain.

It was clear that a fierce battle had just taken place here.

One of the team members checked the wounded and frowned. “Captain, Gu Hai is alright; his injuries aren’t severe. But Gu Yuan and Gu Qing have been pierced deeply by the Bloodthirsty Wolves. Without medicine, they likely won’t survive the night.”

The man addressed as captain was a young man in his thirties, with well-defined features, upright stature, and a resolute expression.

His name was Gu Chenghu, second squad leader of Gutan Village’s militia, responsible mainly for defending the eastern and western city walls.

Due to the recent surge of monsters infiltrating the village, he had arranged for an outer city defense today, intending also to clear out surrounding minor demons.

Unexpectedly, just after noon, two level-nine Bloodthirsty Wolves breached the traps outside the city walls and charged straight at their militia squad.

A level-nine Bloodthirsty Wolf was a formidable foe—Gu Chenghu could only handle one with all his spiritual weapons and full effort, let alone two working in tandem with notable intelligence.

Fortunately, their militia was strong, with several members at levels seven and eight.

With the distraction provided by his team, Gu Chenghu managed to kill one wolf, then with the others’ cooperation, they slew the remaining one.

Though victorious, the militia suffered heavy losses.

Gu Chenghu looked at his men and spoke with a deep, forceful voice, “Don’t worry. I will take them back for treatment. With the three village elders here, their lives won’t be in danger.”

One team member voiced concern, “Captain, this won’t do. Monster attacks on the village have grown more frequent. I’ve heard that not only our second squad but also squads one, three, and four have suffered heavy personnel losses. At this rate, we won’t even have enough men to guard the walls.”

Others who had just faced life-or-death battles nodded in agreement.

“Yes, Captain. Our second squad is already the smallest. Losing Gu Qing and Gu Yuan on top of that—how can we continue to fend off the monsters outside?”

“Besides daytime patrols outside the walls, we also have to keep fires lit at night to guard the streets. I haven’t slept a good night in half a month…”

“Captain, maybe we should recruit some new members?”

Gu Chenghu sighed lightly. “There aren’t that many newcomers to recruit. Apart from you young men, there are mostly just children left in the village. Besides, if they don’t reach level five, joining the militia is just a death sentence.”

Gutan Village was small, with just over three thousand people.

Resources limited the population, and monster attacks had been rare in past years. The militia managed to maintain manpower by relying on village youths and occasional refugees.

But in the past six months, since the temple delivered divine decrees and the emergence of the Descendants, monsters and nocturnal spirits had visibly increased, attacking the village at intervals.

Compared to six months ago, the militia had lost thirty percent of their personnel, making defense increasingly difficult.

At this moment, a team member suggested, “Captain, what if we recruit some Descendants? I’ve heard several decent ones have recently come to the village. If we can train them…”

Another immediately retorted angrily, “Descendants? Lao Shan, have youI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.