Shaun tightly gripped the knife in his hand, and said, "Are you kidding?"

Ji You pursed her lips and smiled, "I’m serious."

To express her attitude, Ji You covered her chest and emphasized, "Really, truer than pearls."

Shaun drew his knife and pointed it at Ji You, saying, "If you can’t give me a convincing reason, then you’ll find out what it means to be blind to sword and blade!"

Ji You’s eyes suddenly lit up upon hearing this. She didn’t say anything but jogged towards the newly built city gate by Shaun, stopping just a centimeter away from the sharp spike blocking the gate and path, saying, "Shaun, I’m not afraid of dying. If I can persuade you to let my teammates join your squad, then my death will have been worthwhile."

Shaun kept a stern face, ignoring her words, considering them nonsense.

He wanted to hear the crux. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

And then—

Ji You’s expression suddenly became bitter, but she seemed to remember something. She pretended to be strong, trying hard to appear calm and collected, saying, "Shaun, my raid on the enemy camp this time didn’t fail! I succeeded in the raid!"

Shaun really wanted to say she was bullshitting. Seeing her poor acting, her eyes filled with anguish that couldn’t be hidden, not to mention her three teammates behind her who looked as if they were carrying a grudge as deep as the ocean.

Just this?

She dares to claim success?

Shaun prided himself on being extremely patient, so he didn’t prompt her. Instead, he watched Ji You with a cold expression.

Ji You lightly cleared her throat, barely moving her lips, and the wound beside her mouth and the swollen bruise made her face twitch involuntarily with pain.

All these reactions were captured in Shaun’s eyes, his blue eyes slightly narrowing, revealing a touch of disdain.

[Weakling.]

Shaun said calmly, "Oh? And then?"

Ji You pointed to He Yu and the others behind her, He Yu and the others, following Ji You’s impromptu teaching, immediately and cooperatively lowered their heads slightly, each staring at their own toes—

—This was learned from He Nu.

Shaun raised an eyebrow.

[Heh—Quail!]

Ji You took a deep breath, saying, "Although successful, it was a pyrrhic victory. Of the 8 brothers and sisters who went out with me, 5 are gone, only 3 returned!"

"5!"

"5 people gone!" Ji You’s face was full of pain, she punched her chest forcefully, "Lost 5!"

"I—"

"Pff—"

A mouthful of blood sprayed out, Ji You’s form staggered, and under everyone’s gaze, she stepped back stumblingly, then sat heavily on the sandy ground.

"I..."

"Pff—"

Blood flowed out again—

He Yu, Liu Jia, and Wang Xin were momentarily stunned:

This—

This serious?

Or?

Does she really have some old internal injuries?

But the three always remembered their roles, Liu Jia and Wang Xin putting on a look of extreme endurance without moving, while He Yu, as the only girl, couldn’t bear it. She stepped forward to help Ji You, saying, "Squad leader—"

Ji You raised a hand, indiscriminately wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, saying, "Ru Mei, don’t... don’t worry about me... pff—"

He Yu was at a loss, anxiously looking at Ji You and then at Shaun and the others on the wall, full of confusion...

Behind Shaun, a teammate said, "Teammate, this—look at this..."

Shaun frowned.

To Shaun’s right, another boy who seemed to be a strategist whispered, "I observe her complexion doesn’t seem fake, it should be severe internal injury."

Upon hearing this, Shaun directly scoffed, "Weakling indeed."

The strategist said, "Squad leader, this is indeed one of ours. Leaving it unattended is both inappropriate and likely to provoke gossip."

Shaun rolled his eyes and said, "I didn’t say to ignore it, but I don’t want a few worthless fools to share my cake."

"They must prove their value." Shaun said this, deliberately raising his pitch and volume, loud enough for Ji You and the others below to hear.

Ji You supported herself with one hand, and upon hearing Shaun, her eyes flashed with reluctance and pride, but it was just for a moment. After weighing the pros and cons, she bowed her noble head, saying, "I led my teammates, 9 of us set out. Once across the river, we encountered an enemy squad. Instantly, no words were exchanged; they turned tail and fled. My few teammates and I knew we couldn’t let anyone escape, or we’d face annihilation.

And then—

Everyone gave it their all!

In that battle, our 9 killed 5 of theirs, losing 1."

Ji You’s originally clear voice turned deep, hoarse, and heavy, but her words were clear and distinct.

Because of the guilt and pain in her heart, her voice became very hoarse, yet her abundant emotions in storytelling made people want to continue listening.

Of course, these were secondary. The important thing was, Shaun and the others wanted to know the subsequent developments.

When mentioning ’sacrificing 1 person,’ Ji You paused, she quietly clenched her fist, then lifted her head, looking directly at Shaun and others, saying, "The enemy only escaped 1 person, we all chased him down, killing him near their base, then took advantage to sneak into their lair, but, alas, our luck wasn’t good..." Saying this, Ji You gritted her teeth, "Originally thinking only 4 enemies were left, unexpectedly, there were 13, 5 more than us!"

"The reason?"

"The captain from the neighboring base sent representatives to discuss cooperation, and we happened to run into them!" Ji You roared, "Our side, with only 8, killed 9 enemies, 4 escaped while our side sacrificed 4."

"A total of 5 sacrifices, 14 enemies killed!"

"How is it not a success?"

"Given such a disparity in numbers between the two sides, my side raided the enemy’s nest, nearly annihilating a squad while fighting on their home turf, how is it not a success?"

"Ask among you, can you do it?"

As Ji You said this, she choked back tears several times, but her shouts, one word at a time, had struck a chord with Shaun and others. Then, Ji You took a deep breath, heavily stating, "You only hide in one place, of course you can’t do it, we Mechanical Warriors would rather die standing than live kneeling!"

He Yu, Liu Jia, and others, listening to Ji You’s pitch fluctuations, couldn’t help but clench their fists.

Liu Jia even clutched his chest tightly, glaring at the soles of his ID: [Damn! I feel it so strongly! If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I’d almost think it was real.]

Students beside Shaun listened, especially to the last sentence, suddenly feeling a surge of pride!

Then.

Ji You’s voice suddenly softened, "We Mechanical Warriors can stretch a hand and pick the sun, moon, and stars, also can transform into spring soil and be ground into dust."

Instantly—

Silence.