Chapter 165: A New Starting Point

The day after Lin Chen's birthday, just after he and Xia Nuan had sown the cold-resistant wheat seeds in the base's open space,

he saw three off-road vehicles driving towards the base in the distance. The guards immediately raised their weapons in alert,

and Lin Chen and Xia Nuan also walked to the defensive wall, watching the off-road vehicles stop outside the base.

Five people got out of the cars, and the leader was wearing a dark blue jacket with a red Starfire Badge pinned to his chest.

"We are from the Starfire Mercenary Group, looking for Mr. Lin Chen." The leader shouted to the guards,

his voice loud and clear. Lin Chen was stunned for a moment; he had heard of the Starfire Mercenary Group before—it was a famous mercenary group in the apocalypse,

mainly undertaking material transportation and survivor rescue missions, with a good reputation. He nodded to the guards, opened the base gate, and let the five in.

"I am Lin Chen.

What do you want with me?"

Lin Chen asked. The leader reached out his hand: "My name is Zhao Feng, and I am the captain of the Starfire Mercenary Group.

We heard that you established a base here and have repeatedly repelled mutant creatures and human enemies,

so we want to invite you to join our mercenary group." Xia Nuan stood beside Lin Chen, her eyes full of doubt, and asked in a low voice: "Why would the Starfire Mercenary Group suddenly invite you?"

Zhao Feng heard Xia Nuan's words and explained with a smile: "We have been looking for capable people.

We saw the scene of Mr. Lin fighting the Lord Zombie in an abandoned city before,

and later found out that you established this automated defense base, knowing that you are a reliable person.

After joining us, the base will still be managed by you, and we will provide more material and intelligence support to fight against stronger enemies together."

Lin Chen was silent, thinking of the days he fought alone—the panic when facing zombies just after rebirth,

the misery when being hunted by Gan Jiang, and the oppression brought by the Children of the Universe.

If he joined the Starfire Mercenary Group, perhaps he could get more help and find clues about the World Core faster. He looked at Xia Nuan, and Xia Nuan nodded to him: "Just make your own decision; I support you."

"I need to understand the specific situation of the mercenary group first," Lin Chen said. Zhao Feng took a document out of his backpack,

and handed it to Lin Chen: "This is the charter of the mercenary group. We don't do things that hurt heaven and reason.

Our main task is to rescue survivors and find safe zones. After joining, you can lead your own people to participate in missions, or arrange base affairs independently; we will not interfere."

Lin Chen quickly finished reading the document, found no problems, and asked: "If we encounter outsiders like the Children of the Universe,

does the mercenary group have the ability to deal with them?"

Zhao Feng's expression became serious: "We have also encountered similar outsiders and suffered heavy losses,

but we have been integrating our strength recently. As long as everyone is united, we will definitely be able to fight them. Moreover, we have clues about the World Core, which can be shared with you after you join."

Hearing "World Core," Lin Chen's eyes lit up; this was exactly what he had been looking for. He took a deep breath,

and made a decision: "I agree to join the Starfire Mercenary Group, but I have one condition—my base and the people inside must be protected by the mercenary group and cannot be mobilized at will."

Zhao Feng nodded immediately: "No problem. We respect the autonomy of every member. Your base is still yours; we will only provide help."

Zhao Feng took a red Starfire Badge out of his pocket and handed it to Lin Chen: "Wear this badge, and you are an official member of the Starfire Mercenary Group.

We will contact you through the communicator if there are missions in the future." Lin Chen took the badge,

pinned it to his jacket, and the badge felt slightly warm to the touch, seemingly carrying some kind of energy fluctuation.

"By the way,

we also brought some materials this time,

as a meeting gift for joining."

Zhao Feng signaled to the people behind him, and they immediately moved several boxes of compressed biscuits,

medicine, and weapons and ammunition off the off-road vehicles and piled them in the base square. "These materials are enough for the base to use for a period of time, and we will provide supplies according to member standards every month in the future."

Lin Chen thanked Zhao Feng and let the guards move the materials to the storage room. Xia Nuan walked to Lin Chen's side,

looked at the badge on his chest, and said with a smile: "From now on, we won't be fighting alone."

Lin Chen nodded, feeling much more relaxed in his heart—saying goodbye to the past of supporting himself alone and joining the mercenary group might be the right choice.

Seeing that the matter was discussed, Zhao Feng prepared to leave: "We have other missions to deal with,

so we'll take our leave first.

Contact us through the communicator if there is any situation." Lin Chen sent them to the base gate,

watched the off-road vehicles disappear in the distance, and then turned back to the square. The guards gathered around,

saw the badge on Lin Chen's chest, and asked one after another: "Brother Lin Chen, have you joined the Starfire Mercenary Group?" Lin Chen nodded: "We will have more help in the future. Everyone train well and protect the base."

Returning to the villa,

Tuan Tuan saw the badge on Lin Chen's chest, curiously touched it with its paw, and the badge emitted a faint red light.

Tuan Tuan was scared and took a step back, but soon came over again and rubbed its head against Lin Chen's hand.

Xia Nuan poured a glass of water for Lin Chen: "After joining the mercenary group, we can use their intelligence network to find the World Core, and have more people to fight against outsiders together. It's quite good."

Lin Chen drank the water and looked at the base outside the window, no longer feeling the confusion he had before.

He knew that saying goodbye to the past was not forgetting, but carrying the previous experiences to better walk the path ahead.

The joining of the Starfire Mercenary Group gave him more confidence and made the goal of protecting the base and the people around him clearer.

"Let's go see Lin Chong and the others tomorrow, tell them about joining the mercenary group,

perhaps they are also willing to join, so our strength will be even stronger." Lin Chen said to Xia Nuan. Xia Nuan nodded: "Okay, they are very strong. If they can join, there will be more guarantees if we encounter danger in the future."

Lin Chen picked up the communicator, tried to contact Zhao Feng, and only after confirming that the communication was normal did he feel relieved. He touched the Starfire Badge on his chest, felt the temperature of the badge, and knew that from this moment on, he was no longer fighting alone, but had a group of companions he could rely on. ===== CHAPTER 166 =====