Death Train: SSS-level talent right from the start!

Zhao Hai said no more and turned to walk across the street.

Without the cover of the gray fog, the dark red, moss-like substances on both sides of the road had a nauseatingly greasy sheen in the sunlight.

A large crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the shopping mall.

Zhao Hai glanced at the group briefly; there were at least forty or fifty people.

These people stood in small groups of two or three, dressed in a variety of clothes, obviously found in abandoned shopping malls, and carrying all sorts of weapons: kitchen knives, steel pipes, wooden sticks, fire axes...

But these are not the most eye-catching people.

It was the group standing on the steps of the shopping mall.

Fifteen people, all dressed in sportswear, including men and women, were all around twenty years old.

They stood together, very close to each other, like a team that had been working together for a long time.

No one whispered or looked around; all eyes were fixed on the person at the top of the steps.

The man sat at the top of the steps at the mall entrance, his gaze casually sweeping over the crowd gathered in the square, as if he were taking stock of his assets.

He looked ordinary, about 1.8 meters tall, with a well-proportioned but not exaggerated figure. He was wearing a black sports T-shirt and dark gray sports pants, with white running shoes on his feet.

Zhao Hai roughly knew that this was Jiang Ning. Although both were S-rank, Jiang Ning was much more impressive than him. He learned from Xu Shan that Jiang Ning's team only needed A-rank combat talent.

In other words, all fifteen people below Jiang Ning were A-level, much more than the seven or eight people Xu Shan mentioned. Zhao Hai was quite impressed that such a large and powerful team could be assembled in such a short time.

He was just about to find a place to stand when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Hey, isn't this Brother Hai?"

Zhao Hai turned his head.

Li Jiahao walked out of the crowd, followed by Sun Kai and Ma Wenbo.

He changed his outfit, no longer wearing the black silk pajamas, but a dark blue windbreaker and black cargo pants, with high-top hiking boots on his feet.

"Jiahao said you'd definitely come, and you really did." Sun Kai grinned and sidled up to Zhao Hai, glancing around behind him. "Where's your team? Did you drag them all down with you?"

Ma Wenbo added, "That's true, it's really tough to have three burdens. If you ask me, Hai-ge, you shouldn't have been so stubborn in the first place. What good can come of taking those useless people with you? You should have been like Jiahao-ge and only taken the useful ones."

Zhao Hai looked at his two henchmen, who were singing in unison, and a smirk appeared on his lips.

"You idiot."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

Sun Kai's smile froze.

Ma Wenbo also shut his mouth.

Zhao Hai ignored them, his gaze sweeping past them to Li Jiahao: "I'm not going to be like some people, bringing my teammates to their deaths. Do you two even know what that monster is? I really admire your courage."

He paused, then spat on the ground: "Get lost if you don't want to get beaten up."

Sun Kai's face turned bright red, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but Li Jiahao stopped him with a raised hand.

Li Jiahao wore his signature smile, his gaze lingering on Zhao Hai for two seconds before casually glancing around, not noticing Chen Ye or anyone else.

Then he suddenly raised his voice: "Our S-class Zhao Hai from carriage number three is here! This assassination operation is a sure thing!"

All eyes were drawn to it.

Zhao Hai frowned slightly; he didn't need that kind of attention.

He came here hoping to take advantage of the chaos and find an opportunity to kill someone. Now, Li Jiahao has put him in the spotlight, and everyone knows he's an S-rank.

Jiang Ning stood up from the steps.

As he walked through the crowd, the fifteen Class A soldiers automatically made way for him.

Jiang Ning walked up to Zhao Hai and extended her hand: "Jiang Ning, from carriage number five."

Zhao Hai looked at the outstretched hand, paused for a second, and then shook it: "Zhao Hai. Carriage number three."

"I've heard so much about you. People in the group say that Zhao's talent is extraordinary, with triple strength damage and an S-rank [Steel Armor]. Among our group, you have the strongest explosive power."

Jiang Ning's smile was appropriate, neither overly enthusiastic nor cold.

Zhao Hai glanced at Li Jiahao.

Li Jiahao had already retreated into the crowd, a harmless smile on his face.

Jiang Ning followed Zhao Hai's gaze for a moment, then looked away and gestured for him to speak privately: "Classmate Zhao, may I have a word with you in private?"

Zhao Hai hesitated for half a second, then nodded.

The two walked out of the crowd and stood next to a crooked lamppost.

Standing about twenty meters away from the crowd is far enough that no one can hear you when you speak.

Jiang Ning turned around to face Zhao Hai.

"Since Zhao is an S-rank student, I'll get straight to the point. You help me kill that lizard-headed monster, and the kill and loot will be mine. As compensation, I'll give you the Gale Crossbow I have."

Jiang Ning got straight to the point without any preamble, and her tone was very sincere.

Zhao Hai asked directly, "Are you giving me that Swift Crossbow now, or after I kill the monster? Or, if the hunt fails, will you still give me the Swift Crossbow?"

"Of course, it'll be given after a successful kill. Otherwise, if I give it to you and you run away, who am I supposed to find? If the kill fails, then naturally there's nothing to be had."

Jiang Ning shrugged, her tone as if explaining a very simple principle.

Zhao Hai sneered inwardly.

Drawing a pie in the sky.

Even if the kill is successful, there's nothing Jiang Ning can do if he tries to renege on his debt.

Both of them are S-rank, but Jiang Ning has fifteen A-ranks behind him, while he is all alone. In this new world where strength reigns supreme, verbal promises are worth less than farts.

"I'll act depending on the situation. To be honest, I don't think we can kill that lizard-headed creature. I'm just here to watch the show."

Zhao Hai didn't respond to his comment.

Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed slightly.

Zhao Hai didn't give him a chance to continue persuading him, and immediately asked, "When you gathered people, you said there would be no talent rating. Do you think those D-level and C-level people have any combat ability? You're just sending them to their deaths by tricking them into coming here."

Jiang Ning's expression changed, then she smiled calmly.

"More people means more strength. What if a master comes along, like Zhao? Besides, those with low-level talent, even if they survive this trial by chance, what about next time? And the time after that? They're going to die sooner or later anyway, so what's the difference? They might as well take a gamble."

He spoke as if it were something perfectly natural.

Zhao Hai fell silent. Chen Ye was right; Jiang Ning was indeed looking for cannon fodder.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Jiang Ning smiled and patted his shoulder: "But you're different. You're an S-rank, and we'll have plenty of opportunities to work together in the future. How about it? Give me a hand?"

"I'll say it again: we'll act depending on the situation."

Zhao Hai neither refuted nor agreed with him; he simply repeated what he had said before, then turned and walked toward the crowd.