Shaun, accompanied by a few teammates, walked up to the city gate and coincidentally met Ji You, who was being supported by Liu Jia and Wang Xin. The two groups exchanged glances. Seeing Ji You’s weak and pale face, Shaun frowned and disapprovingly said, "You should rest a little longer."

Ji You gasped for breath, slightly weakly squeezed out a smile at Shaun, and said, "I heard Ru Mei and the others are back, I must come and see."

With that, Ji You eagerly stretched her neck to look outside the city wall.

Then, she saw a girl with a limp rushing towards the city gate, staggering.

Ji You’s brow furrowed, "It’s Ru Mei."

Which is He Yu.

Shaun said, "Did you hear they were back while in the base?" He had just learned about it after Wei Yun, stationed 1,000 meters away, discovered them. How did Ji You hear news so quickly?

Shaun truly found it a bit strange.

Ji You thought to herself that the vigilance was quite high, but her face remained calm and she naturally pointed at a guy under the rudimentary city gate, who was opening the gate to let He Yu in, and said, "Li Yun told me. As soon as I heard, I dashed out."

Upon hearing this, Shaun dismissed a trace of suspicion and said, "I just instructed Li Yun to open the gate."

Ji You needed Liu Jia and Wang Xin on either side to support her body to stand. She seemed oblivious, and didn’t think Shaun might suspect her, and said, "Why is Ru Mei the only one returning? Where is Jiang Sen?"

This question was one Shaun wanted to know as well. Seeing Ji You unaware of any suspicion, he also felt relieved. With the signal tower successfully built, he needed to expand his team, and the people Ji You brought were exactly what he needed now. Shaun didn’t want to do anything to cause Ji You to harbor resentment. Both the camp of Squad 6’s Zheng Er and Shaun’s own base had to remain stable and seek development at this stage.

The return of Ji You’s people should make Shaun angry under normal circumstances, but with various considerations in mind, Shaun said quite politely, "Let her rejoin the team, ask her, and we’ll know what’s going on."

Meanwhile.

Although He Yu was limping, her pace was not slow. Before long, she reached beneath the city gate. Li Yun and Bai Hui timely opened the gate and conducted symbolic checks outside the city gate on He Yu as a formality.

Seeing this scene, Ji You couldn’t help but smile and said, "Squad leader, you are right to do this. It is indeed a precautionary measure. Every returning teammate should undergo routine checks to eliminate all external factors that may threaten teammates or the base. Otherwise, if one teammate unknowingly carries a bomb or a listening device, wouldn’t it implicate us all?"

Initially, Shaun thought his people stopping the girl who went out for reconnaissance might stir Ji You’s thoughts, but unexpectedly, she agreed wholeheartedly, much to Shaun’s delight, and he said, "I figured that since the gate has been built, we should be thorough and execute all necessary procedures."

Ji You laughed and said, "Being thorough is good, it’s good for ourselves, good for teammates, and good for the whole team."

Shaun nodded.

Then.

Shaun led his teammates down the city gate, followed by Ji You, who was supported by Liu Jia and Wang Xin, descending the simple steps.

The group eagerly looked at He Yu.

He Yu’s hair was disheveled, her cheek bore a scrape, there was a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth, and even the swelling intentionally made on her face had grown more pronounced. Looking at her appearance, it was evident there wasn’t any good news.

Shaun and the others felt their hearts sink.

Ji You put on a serious face and asked, "What happened? Speak quickly, don’t delay. Whatever happens, act decisively and transparently, don’t dawdle or cover up!"

Everyone understood what Ji You meant: Be quick! Whatever directly happened, tell it all, no concealment allowed.

He Yu took a deep breath, then raised her hand to wipe the almost dried blood from the corner of her mouth, and said, "Squad leader, Jiang Sen’s gone."

After saying that.

He Yu lowered her head, looking immensely guilty and sorrowful.

Shaun was mentally prepared, but hearing He Yu’s response still made his heart sink:

Jiang Sen was a major asset! Within the base, his combat power was second only to Shaun, and he was adept in reconnaissance, a teammate Shaun highly valued. This time, when sending someone to scout the enemy camp, Shaun carefully considered that Jiang Sen was the most reliable, sure to gather the vital information he needed, and thus dispatched him, but!!!

Shaun looked somber and asked, "What situation did you encounter?"

He Yu lowered her head, her face drained of blood, but faintly, a hint of anger could be seen in her half-lowered eyes as she said, "I and Jiang Sen sped along smoothly, scouting around the enemy camp within 5 kilometers and found 3 squads, of which 2, as Ji You mentioned, were no longer teams. These two bases were deserted. We hypothesized these previously crippled teams might seek allies, and indeed they joined Team 9."

Shaun listened calmly.

He Yu continued, "I and Jiang Sen approached them opportunistically, and everything went smoothly, but—"

After saying these two words, He Yu hesitated, not knowing how to begin.

Shaun frowned and asked, "But what?"

He Yu glanced at Ji You, who pretended not to see, internally grumbling: [Silly girl, we’ve pledged allegiance to a new boss, and the new leader is beside us. Why are you looking at the old leader? Aren’t you aware of our current status?]

Fortunately, He Yu quickly realized her actions might displease Shaun, so she immediately raised her head towards him, albeit with a flicker of hesitation in her eyes, "Squad leader... there’s something I’m not sure whether to say."

Shaun said, "Speak!"

Upon hearing this, He Yu then said, "At that time, there were only two people guarding the enemy camp. I suggested returning immediately, but Jiang Sen wanted to take a chance and planned to storm into the enemy’s base. I advised him several times, but he wouldn’t listen. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Jiang Sen...

He brought death upon himself."

Shaun’s face darkened further.

Ji You hurriedly said, "How many people does Team 9 have, and where are they located? What is the precise distance from us? What kind of powerful weapons does the enemy roughly have...

And how did Jiang Sen die?

How did you escape alone?

...Tell us everything about these."