"Huh.. I guess it makes sense now.."

Sergeant Dylan said with a frown. It was apparent that his impression of them took the worst possible turn after realizing that Alan and Nims are part of the organization he detested – the Black Sand mercenary group.

In his past life, when the Sergeant noticed him, Alan was just an ordinary school teacher striving to hang onto his dear life by a piece of thread and one of the few who still retained the will to clear the game.

From the moment the man met Alan, he taught him all the basics of survival in the game and provided guidance that eventually made him able to reach the final stage of the game. That past life might be a distant dream now, but that doesn't change the fact that the guidance he received from his friend was the reason he is the man he is right now.

Alas, in this timeline, although he was technically not a member of the mercenary groups, his relation to Kal Umbra was enough to deter Sergeant from getting any closer to Alan.

To make things even more complicated, the person who butted in, the Squad leader of Black Sand Mercenary, Mr Cachelo, was renowned for his disrespectful attitude toward the US military, which further decreased the Sergeant's favorability.

"They are indeed not soldier material, Sergeant. You can find some recruits for the Government somewhere else," said the Hispanic mercenary leader, staring straight at Sergeant Dylan.

Alan felt a glare as a Sergeant looked down on him before turning around with a grunt and walked away, ending their first meeting on a sour note. He quietly watched the man get further and further away and inwardly heaved a sigh, hoping this will not ruin his future plan.

Now that the Sergeant had left them, Cachelo turned to Alan, and looked him up to the bottom before saying, "I have never heard about you before... Getting such a rank as a rookie, you must be Kal Umbra's bigshot, aren't you?"

What followed next was unsurprisingly an invitation for them both to join the Black Sand, with their whole agenda being- "Finding a way to survive the game while gaining as much benefit as possible."

Accepting the offer certainly would increase Alan's chances of survival by a lot. But similarly, with low risk comes low rewards. Alan had no intention to join the mercenary group, and having to share the loot with 30 other veterans and professionals just made the offer even more off-putting.

Considering all the drawbacks and him having his own plans, Alan politely declined the offer the Hispanic man put forward and said that he would consider it for the next round. But unexpectedly, Cachelo was not a pushover as he increased the stacks to entice them to join him.

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"Are you sure? If you join, not only will I provide you with better weapons, but I also guarantee that you will be included in my squad list."

As a level 30 veteran, a player would be given access to purchase [Squad Leader] title, allowing one to add 10 other players to his squad list. Every member's spawn point will be set together with their leader.

Being surrounded by allies from the spawn would indeed increase the chances of survival. Alas, it was still not enough for Alan.

"Thank you for the offer, Mr Cachelo. But not to be disrespectful…" Alan paused for a second and continued in a slow and slow voice, "We actually have our own mission from our superior.. I hope you understand."

The annoyed look that started to appear on the Hispanic man's face immediately went away, as he nodded his head readily. "Aahhh, of course Mister Alan. I understand.. Good luck with your mission."

"And you too."

To make sure he didn't offend the mercenary leader, Alan ended up having to settle with a lie making it sound as if Alan had a mission given by the Kal Umbra.

The Black Sand was, after all, a group that Alan would most likely have to depend on for his plan in the near future. Unnecessary burning bridges was certainly something he didn't plan on doing.

After successfully getting rid of the mercenary group, Alan and Nims walked out of the training grounds. Finally, he could return to his preparations; however, just as that thought appeared in his head, he was once again stopped by a group of three standing on his path.

Two young men and a beautiful young girl.

"Gracias al Cielo…Mister Alan, we finally found you," said the Mexican man with much anticipation and approached him with a spring in his steps.

The girl followed behind him but was much more composed, but the spark in her eyes betrayed her outward demeanor. What surprised Alan was the presence of the third member walking a step behind the young girl.

These people were naturally the ones he encountered in the first round. Luis, Laura, and Smiley.

In all honesty, he expected the first two to be together but not the third.

Facing the three people, Alan heaved a huge sigh and asked, "What do you all want?"

The short African American pushed Laura aside and replied before others could even process his question.

"Smiley wants to join you. Please bro, Smiley is multi talent "

"Don't listen to that killer, brother Alan. I may not have much talent, but you can trust me." said Luis knocking aside Smiley

Seeing the two fighting among each other only gave Alan even more headache

But then, they suddenly quieted down, and surprisingly, all it took was a side glance from a young girl.

"Mister Alan, please let us join you for the next round. We will make sure that we will be of use," said Laura with an anticipated gaze.

Alan saw all three were dead set to join him, but he decisively said, "No." and then continued his tracks, walking past them while ignoring their pleas.

Unlike Nims, the three were not built for what he was trying to do; they would only weigh him down, or worse put their death into his conscience.

Alan swiftly made his way towards the nearest skill shop, which was much quieter already. However, as he arrived at the place, he realized that the three were still following him.

With a smile, Laura calmly said "Aahh, mister Alan, what a coincidence to meet you here." The other two couldn't help but laugh cheekily at the brazen action of the lone girl from their group.

"While we all are here, can you help us pick a good skill to purchase?",