Lin Mo didn’t sleep well the entire night.

The Magic Scroll on his chest, which had once given him so much hope, had now become a hot potato, leaving him restless.

But he couldn’t bring himself to just throw it away.

After all, if he missed this chance, he had no idea when he’d get his hands on such a precious Magic Scroll again.

’People always hold onto a sliver of hope. When I ran into them last night, I had the Scroll on me, and they didn’t react, right?’

He spent the whole night in a half-awake, half-asleep state mulling it over, so when he got up the next day, he looked completely drained of Spirit.

In contrast, the squad members, who had rested for several days, seemed full of ambition.

Bain and Evan had both equipped Arm Armor on their wrists, and Millian was wearing a decent quality suit of Leather Armor. They hadn’t spent the past few days just fooling around; after some discussion, they had used the money from their last mission to buy new equipment.

Compared to before, they now looked more like a professional Adventurer Squad.

As for the squad’s new member... the Assassin named Cody was standing off to the side, just as cold and grim as when Lin Mo had first seen him two days ago.

Perhaps it was a professional habit, a need to remain quiet. Most Assassins had this kind of personality and didn’t like to talk.

When Lin Mo pushed the door open and walked out, Cody glanced at him, his brow furrowing slightly.

Although he was new, as a member of the squad, he naturally knew the objectives of their two missions, and he also knew about their collaboration with Lin Mo, including the 70-30 split of the reward.

This was somewhat hard for him to understand. He had been in many Adventurer Squads, seen all sorts of Adventurers from Professionals to rookies, and considered himself a decent judge of character.

In his eyes, this Lin Mo was just a rookie who had barely entered the business. He simply couldn’t understand why the squad leader would value him so much, even giving up thirty percent of the profits.

But he was, after all, the new guy on the team. According to the rules of the Adventurer trade, the leader had the final say in these matters, so he couldn’t really object. Still, in his heart, he held a considerable degree of skepticism and prejudice toward this so-called partner, Lin Mo.

And seeing Lin Mo’s current drowsy state only deepened Cody’s dissatisfaction.

"Brother Lin Mo, you didn’t go to Flower Cluster Street last night, did you?"

Evan was taken aback when he saw the dark circles under Lin Mo’s eyes. "We have a mission today, you know."

"Just didn’t sleep very well..."

Lin Mo pursed his lips and glanced at Millian behind Evan. "Speaking of which, how do you know about Flower Cluster Street? Have you been there secretly before?"

"Of course..."

The corners of Evan’s mouth tilted up, and he was just about to recount his past glories when he suddenly felt a cold stare from behind him and shivered. "Of course not... I heard about it from Uncle Bain! He used to go all the time..."

"You’re such a dutiful nephew."

Bain unceremoniously smacked him on the back of the head. Millian was still looking at him suspiciously, forcing Evan to frantically try and explain himself.

’Heh, you think I can’t handle a little punk like you?’

Lin Mo chuckled as he watched the show, his own heavy mood lightening considerably.

’Time to go adventuring. It’ll be a change of pace, and a good way to lay low for a while.’

’If possible, I should do my best to avoid any more contact with that Mage from the Saint Antonia Magic Academy. It would be best if we never even saw each other again!’

"Everyone, check your supplies. We’ll be out there for at least three or four days this time, so we can’t afford any mistakes."

Bain reminded them.

His words made Lin Mo realize he hadn’t prepared any supplies.

He had planned to go shopping last night, but because of that whole incident, he had forgotten.

"I need to make a trip to Harvest Street. It shouldn’t take too long."

"Alright, no problem."

Bain nodded. He knew Lin Mo had just completed a mission yesterday, so it was normal that he hadn’t had time to prepare.

"Hmph."

Cody, who was standing to the side, couldn’t help but snort coldly. He was growing more and more disdainful of this baffling "nepotism hire."

That’s right. Although he didn’t know why they didn’t just have him join the squad, in Cody’s mind, there was only one possible reason why his own fairly seasoned captain would value the other man so much.

’This guy is most likely a good-for-nothing who got here through connections.’

The things he needed to buy were no different from his last trip, but remembering his terrible sleep the night before, Lin Mo made a point to buy a portable sleeping bag.

This type of sleeping bag was specifically designed for Adventurers. It was slightly less comfortable, but it allowed for a quick rise in case of danger, greatly increasing safety.

On the way to Loran Forest, Lin Mo pulled out his copy of the *Loran Forest Outer Area Monster Atlas* and once again reviewed the information on Cat Demons.

The Cat Demon was a type of Demon that lived in the deeper parts of the forest. Its habitat was roughly on the border between the outer area and the depths of Loran Forest, with populations found on both sides.

Unlike low-tier Demons like Goblins and Slimes, the Cat Demon’s ecological niche was higher than these two most common Demons. They were also stronger, which was why the mission reward was so generous.

The Monster Atlas provided detailed information about Cat Demons, including their typical hiding spots, common attack methods, and most importantly, their weaknesses...

’Getting this whole set of books for only 30 Copper Coins was an absolute steal!’

Walking at the back of the group, Cody watched Lin Mo read the book with a contemptuous look on his face. For an experienced Adventurer, this kind of basic knowledge should be memorized by heart.

This only further confirmed his suspicions: this Lin Mo was just a rookie with little experience.

The journey was fairly smooth. They only encountered two waves of Goblins. These damn creatures might swagger in front of civilians, but against a full Adventurer Squad, they were laughably weak. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Lin Mo barely had a chance to act before the Goblins were dealt with.

What puzzled him was that the Assassin named Cody, after killing two Goblins, didn’t bother to cut off their ears. Instead, he looked over at Lin Mo with a kind of "tsundere" gaze, his chin held high, leaving Lin Mo completely baffled.

’From my perspective, this guy’s skills don’t even seem as good as those two Blood Sea Gang Assassins I took out before.’

’Is killing two Goblins really something to be proud of?’

However, contrary to his thoughts, Lin Mo’s "bewildered" expression looked to Cody like he was stunned by his performance.

’For a rookie like him, even a one-on-one fight with a Goblin would probably be a bitter struggle that would drag on for a while, right?’

’It’s only natural he’d be shocked to see me kill two Goblins in a row so easily.’

With this thought in mind, his pride swelled even further. He raised his chin a few degrees higher and even started striking a pose, very deliberately taking out a handkerchief to slowly wipe the blood from his Short Knife.

Lin Mo’s mouth twitched. For the sake of team harmony, he temporarily suppressed the urge to walk over and slap him.

"Let’s rest here for a bit."

Bain, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped. He held a map in his hand, comparing it carefully. "The Cat Demons’ habitat is just ahead. Let’s all recover our Physical Strength before we move on."

Traveling through the forest was no easy task. Even without encountering many Demons, the terrain itself was complex enough, with bushes and waist-high grass everywhere. Combined with the need to constantly be on alert for danger, everyone was feeling a bit tired after half a day’s travel.

Entering a dangerous area, let alone fighting a Demon, in this state was not a mistake a mature Adventurer should make.