After pondering for a moment, Zachary suddenly realized there were no other buildings or ruins surrounding the dilapidated structure.

Although at this moment Zachary was unclear about what this place was before the disaster, it was unusual for such a solitary building to exist anywhere, even in a remote rural area before the catastrophe.

Furthermore, it’s important to remember that the last disaster was an earthquake, which caused daily seismic activity of varying intensities. Whether it was skyscrapers or low-rise residential houses, all had essentially turned into rubble during the earthquakes.

It was impossible for a building, albeit a bit run-down, to still have its overall structure intact, which was exactly why Zachary felt something was off at first glance.

While Zachary still pondered in mid-air how this building could have maintained its structural integrity during the earthquake, the crowd below had already finished discussing.

Having come all this way, it would be a huge loss not to take a look inside.

However, the impetuous leader who was previously determined to come here did not rashly enter the building. Instead, he led his teammates around the worn building for an inspection.

The dilapidated structure was not very large. It had a front courtyard, but the original main gate had rotted away completely. One could directly see the overgrown condition of the courtyard from the entrance.

The building was surrounded by a wall approximately two and a half meters tall. Including the courtyard, the total area was estimated to be around four to five hundred square meters. If it were used for residence, it would be considered a large courtyard. However, if it served another purpose, this space wasn’t particularly vast.

Looking from the main entrance towards the inside, one could see a two-story pavilion at the center of the courtyard, and beyond that, only the waist-high weeds that crowded the yard.

"Xiao San, take out the tools from your backpack and clear the weeds in the courtyard for me," the leader ordered.

Hearing the leader’s instructions, the man casually took the tool box off his back, opened it, and revealed various tools inside.

He took out two thin, sickle-like metal sheets from the box, assembled them into an S-shape, and then retrieved a small engine and some connecting parts from the bottom of the box, quickly piecing everything together into a small weeder.

After assembling the device, the man said to the leader with a smile, "Boss, is it really necessary to go through all this trouble? They’re just weeds. We could just walk over them."

Upon hearing the man’s nonchalant words, the leader approached him and tapped his head, "Do you want to save some effort, or do you want to stay alive? If you think it’s too much trouble, then you can take the lead. You go in and scout the way."

Although the main gate was already decayed and scattered around the entrance, upon hearing the leader’s suggestion to take point, he softened immediately, "No, no, no, boss, I was just trying to lighten the mood with a joke. You’re the boss, I’ll follow your plan."

The weeder was already assembled, and he was no fool. Scouting through the weeds at this point, their team had been through a lot, which is why they had specifically brought a toolbox filled with tools for various situations.

Every single tool inside was the result of their former teammates’ experiences bought with their lives.

As for the seemingly innocuous weeds, who knew what kind of traps might be hidden within them? Even without traps, there could be poisonous insects or other dangers lurking.

Without proper preparation, rushing in could lead to an unknown number of casualties among their teammates.

The weeder they assembled had an extended front pole specifically for this reason, keeping the operator more than three meters away from the rotating blade at the front.

This distance allowed the operator to react in time should there be any hidden dangers in the thickets.

Watching Xiao San distance himself from the weeder as though startled, another member took over by strapping the machine’s engine to his back and then hoisting the elongated metal pole with both hands.

As he walked steadily toward the courtyard gate, and as he approached the leader, he heard the boss remind him, "Be careful. This is your third mission. If we make it back alive, you’re no longer just a reserve member; you’ll be a full-fledged team member."

Hearing the leader’s advice, the man carrying the weeder showed a smile on his face.

This team’s situation was rather clichéd, much like the mercenaries commonly found in adventure novels. After forming the team, they would complete various tasks assigned by their employers according to their requests.

If the tasks involved hunting or collecting, they might face some dangers, but preparedness usually meant the casualties would not be too severe.

However, exploration tasks like this one seemed safe and didn’t demand combat, but from their experience, such missions often resulted in the most significant losses in their type of teams.

After a few major losses, they added reserve members to their squad. In situations that were particularly dangerous or required someone to take risks scouting, they would send in those reserve members first.