"Explorer's Guild?"
Ye Feng was a little surprised.
He had heard a bunch of people discussing it in the [Regional Chat Channel] yesterday, and today he ran into it himself?
"Yes!~"
"My Old Liu Touzi, Shuangyu Town is a town with many explorers, and our Explorer's Guild is at the end of this street. If you're interested, you can go take a look~"
The old man with graying temples and a side-swept fringe nodded at Ye Feng, then turned and walked away quickly in one direction, as if he had something urgent to attend to.
As Old Liu Touzi left, a large group of explorer team leaders surrounded Ye Feng again, introducing their teams to him one after another and trying to recruit him.
Ye Feng took a lot of effort to squeeze out of the crowd with Xiao Xiao.
"Big brother, these people are too enthusiastic!"
Xiao Xiao looked at the large crowd behind them with some confusion.
"Indeed~"
Ye Feng was also a bit puzzled.
"Little brother, it's good that you didn't join those explorer teams. They aren't looking for explorers, but cannon fodder!"
Suddenly, a middle-aged man holding a musket next to a stall by the roadside spoke to Ye Feng.
"Hmm? Cannon fodder?"
Ye Feng frowned.
"Old Zhang is right!"
At this moment, another middle-aged man in armor, holding a large saber, next to the musket-wielding man chimed in.
"In this post-apocalyptic world, dangers are everywhere. Food and water are scarce. Worrying about the next meal is common, so food and water, especially food, are very expensive."
"But compared to weapons, water and food are cheap!"
"Weapons with great power and exquisite craftsmanship are priceless and hard to come by. You need special connections to buy them!"
"As for explorers, as the name suggests, the core is this word 'danger.' Going out to explore, although there's a chance to get food, or even encounter rare opportunities, you're more likely to run into various monsters and die directly."
"Especially when exploring unfamiliar environments, the risks are immense."
"This has led to low-level explorers without equipment becoming cannon fodder, using their lives to scout for others!"
"And if you don't join an explorer team and take on missions, you'll starve to death and become a slave or a prostitute... If you join an explorer team and take on a mission, you might be killed by goblins or monsters on your first mission..."
"Explorer teams basically have casualties every time they go out, so they naturally need to replenish personnel."
"And these explorer teams recruiting at the town entrance are not genuinely looking for partners, but for cannon fodder to scout ahead..."
The armored man seemed to have a good impression of Ye Feng and explained slowly.
"Oh, so that's how it is~"
Ye Feng suddenly understood what those explorer teams at the town entrance that tried to recruit almost anyone were all about.
"My name is Liu Kui, and his name is Zhang Chong. How about it, little brother, are you interested in joining our Huochong Explorer Team?"
Finally, the armored middle-aged man invited Ye Feng.
As the armored middle-aged man finished speaking, the musket-wielding middle-aged man, Zhang Chong, nodded at Ye Feng, clearly agreeing.
"Uh... no, no!"
Ye Feng waved his hand, gestured to the two, and then continued walking forward with Xiao Xiao.
"Uncle Zhang, Uncle Liu, why did you invite that young kid?"
After Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao had walked away, the young man who had been standing behind them asked in confusion.
"Young kid?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Kui and Zhang Chong both frowned, their expressions clearly displeasured.
"I... I..."
Seeing this, the young man became flustered, not knowing what he had said wrong.
"That young man just now was indeed very young, but the over a meter long mace he was holding weighed at least eighty jin."
"He carried it with one hand the entire way, without switching hands or putting it on his shoulder."
"From beginning to end, his expression was normal, and he showed no signs of breathlessness."
"This person's strength is absolutely extraordinary!"
Liu Kui seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps to the young man.
"Not only that! Judging by their clothing, they are clearly not explorers from nearby villages or towns."
"Those strange clothes... I've never seen anything like them within a fifty-mile radius."
"They must have traveled a long distance... and that young man is even bringing a little girl. In this world where people worry about food... what do you think that means..."
Zhang Chong also chimed in. He looked in the direction Ye Feng had left, his expression quite serious.
"This..."
Hearing Liu Kui and Zhang Chong's words, cold sweat broke out on the young man's forehead.
...
On the other side,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao had reached the end of the street, in front of a three-story brick and wood building.
On the plaque at the entrance, the words "Explorer's Guild" were carved.
Below the large characters, there were two small characters, "Wu Ye," which were difficult to see without careful observation.
"Bartender, a bottle of rum!"
"Damn, last time I went to hunt goblins, I ran into two tigers and almost died. This time I must bring more weapons!"
"Weapons? Can you afford them?"
"Exactly, might as well find more cannon fodder for scouting and covering the rear."
"Hmph, why can't I afford it? I just found a bronze treasure chest yesterday!"
"Holy crap, you're that lucky?"
"Miss Lin, are there any easy missions available recently?"
"I'll take this big saber!"
"Miss Lin, this information fee is too expensive..."
...
Standing at the entrance, a jumble of voices reached Ye Feng's ears.
Clearly, the Explorer's Guild was quite lively inside.
Afterward, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao walked in.
As the half-closed cloth curtain was lifted, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao's appearance immediately attracted the attention of many people.
A few seconds later, most of them turned away in disappointment, returning to their previous noisy state. A few people, however, looked at Xiao Xiao with lecherous gazes.
"Explorer, welcome to the Explorer's Guild~!"
"I am Lin!"
A young woman in a shirt standing by the counter greeted Ye Feng.
The woman had fair skin, a delicate oval face, and her eyes, nose, and small mouth were not particularly outstanding. However, her features were arranged in a unique and coordinated beauty.
She had jet-black hair tied up high, and combined with her lady's shirt, she appeared quite capable.
"What the... another woman who doesn't seem to belong in the apocalypse."
"Ling Xi at the beginning, then Bing, and now the... counter girl..."
Ye Feng muttered to himself.
Then, Ye Feng turned to survey his surroundings.
The entire hall of the Explorer's Guild was several hundred square meters. In one corner, many people were gathered, with dozens of tables, and every chair by the tables was occupied. People were either drinking heartily or feasting.
"That's the rest area~ Explorer, would you like to rest for a bit first!"
At this moment, Lin's voice sounded again.
...