Chapter 441 - 396: The Squad Members’ First Meeting

Chapter 441: Chapter 396: The Squad Members’ First Meeting

That morning, as the Human Federation held its meeting, the members of the North Star Sub-Team assigned to the Fire Thief Sect operation met for the first time.

They met in a gazebo in a park in Pinglu.

There were already a few people inside the gazebo. Chen Na was one of them, chatting with Bai Xuewu.

Suddenly, she turned toward the park entrance and said happily, "Guan is here! I’ll go get him!" With that, she jogged off.

"Guan? Who’s that?" Yang Ran asked Bai Xuewu curiously.

"Why do you care so much?"

"He’s a teammate, so of course I need to know more about him! Otherwise, how can I trust him to watch my back on the battlefield!"

"..."

Bai Xuewu couldn’t be bothered to deal with him. Just then, Li Meng, who was sitting in the gazebo, spoke up. "He’s not just a team member. Guan Tong will be your captain for this operation."

"Huh?" Yang Ran sounded unconvinced. "Section Chief Li, shouldn’t the strongest person be captain? Wait, Guan Tong? That name... is that Guan Tong, the former substitute teacher from the Academy?!"

"That’s right, it’s him. And who says the captain has to be the strongest? A captain should be someone calm and steady, who doesn’t panic in a crisis." Li Meng paused. "Besides, he *is* the strongest one among you."

"Really?" Yang Ran looked skeptical. "I heard he’s got a knack for teaching, but fighting is a different story, isn’t it?"

Even Bai Xuewu couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Li Meng’s words.

Li Meng said to Yang Ran seriously, "I’m not joking. Yang Ran, you’d be wise not to provoke him. Otherwise, you’ll be responsible for the consequences."

"..."

"By the way," Li Meng asked Bai Xuewu, "Chen Na said Guan Tong was here. Did she sense him?"

Bai Xuewu nodded. "Yes. To Na’s perception, everyone’s Psychic Power is unique. Once she’s encountered it, she can identify the person the next time she senses them."

"I know that from the files I’ve read. What I mean is, does she always keep her ability active, even when not in combat?"

’If she didn’t constantly keep her Perception Realm active, how could Chen Na have known the instant Guan Tong entered the park? But maintaining it constantly would surely drain a lot of Psychic Power. That’s what Li Meng was really asking about.’

"Na didn’t used to keep it active all the time," Bai Xuewu said. "But she seems to have developed her ability on her own and mastered a special marking method. Certain Psychic Powers she’s ’marked’ leave a record in her Perception Realm. When one of them enters her sensory range, she notices it immediately."

"I see..."

"Wow, that girl’s ability is seriously impressive!" Yang Ran exclaimed. "I wouldn’t want her to ’mark’ me, though. The thought alone is kind of terrifying!"

Bai Xuewu shot him a glare. "Na barely knows you. Why would she mark you?"

Li Meng said, "She will. You’re all heading to Fahe together later this month. I’m going to have Chen Na mark everyone on the team to make things easier."

While the three of them were talking, Chen Na and Guan Tong arrived at the gazebo together.

Li Meng smiled. "Guan Tong. We meet again."

"Section Chief Li, long time no see."

"Heh. It’s been almost two years. You’ve changed a lot."

’Seeing Guan Tong, Li Meng was reminded of the first time they’d met. Back then, Guan Tong had just been a high school senior. In just two years, that student had grown so much, becoming one of the world’s foremost Ascenders. It was truly difficult to imagine.’

"Wow, so you’re Guan Tong! I’ve heard a lot about you."

Yang Ran stepped forward to greet him.

"I’m Yang Ran. Everyone calls me ’Fire God’."

"No one calls you that except your variety show fans, thank you very much."

Bai Xuewu said, pulling no punches. Then she tilted her head slightly to look at Guan Tong.

"I’m Bai Xuewu. Have we met? You seem a little familiar."

"We probably have."

Just as Bai Xuewu was about to press him for details, Yang Ran crowded in front of Guan Tong, his eyes fixed on the glove on Guan’s left hand.

"Wow, that glove looks so cool! What’s it made of? How come it has no texture at all? It’s as smooth as marble!"

Guan Tong’s glove was made of a Nanomite Swarm, so of course it wouldn’t have any texture.

Yang Ran reached out to touch it, but was stopped by Guan Tong.

"Don’t touch it. Unless you don’t want your hand anymore."

"???"

’Yang Ran was stunned. He hadn’t expected to be threatened just for wanting to touch a glove.’

Li Meng, however, caught the meaning behind Guan Tong’s words. "Guan Tong, are you saying that glove of yours is dangerous?"

Guan Tong nodded.

"Yang Ran, did you hear him? Keep your hands to yourself."

"Er... fine."

Yang Ran’s expression was indignant. He clearly thought Li Meng was just trying to smooth things over.

’It was just a glove. How could it possibly be dangerous?’

Guan Tong then asked, "Are we the only members on the team?"

’Himself, Chen Na, Bai Xuewu, Yang Ran, plus their coordinator Li Meng... only five people in total. It didn’t feel like a standard squad for a decapitation strike in a foreign country.’

"There are two more members," said Li Meng. "One is Silver Fox, whom you all should know. She’s away on an urgent mission and hasn’t returned yet. The other... for special reasons, they can’t leave their room, but they will provide remote assistance for this operation."

"This is just a preliminary meeting for you all. Once Silver Fox is back, I’ll arrange a meeting for the entire team. After that, we’ll need to start running some combat drills to get you working together. It’s essential."

After Li Meng finished speaking, Yang Ran announced loudly, "Section Chief Li, I also think combat drills are essential! My flames don’t play favorites, and it would be a shame if I accidentally hurt a teammate!"

Chen Na was old enough to read between the lines. Seeing that Yang Ran’s words were a veiled jab at Guan Tong, she couldn’t resist retorting, "I think you should just worry about not hurting yourself. Careful you don’t get burned playing with fire!"

"Hey, you little brat!" Yang Ran was instantly furious.

Bai Xuewu, however, couldn’t help but chuckle. "Getting burned playing with fire... hmm, yes, that sounds about right."

"You two—"

Mocked by his two female teammates, one older and one younger, Yang Ran turned to Guan Tong. "Looks like they don’t think I can beat you. I challenge you! The winner gets to be captain!"

"Nonsense!" Li Meng snapped.

Guan Tong didn’t get angry at Yang Ran’s challenge. Instead, he asked, "Do you think being captain is something to show off with? It means taking responsibility for the lives of your teammates. If you have that resolve, you can be captain. I don’t mind."

Yang Ran was taken aback. Li Meng nodded gravely. "He’s right. Yang Ran, your childish challenge to Guan Tong proves you’re not qualified for the role of captain. Stop this foolishness."

Bai Xuewu chimed in, "He’s right. Yang Ran, when it comes to choosing a captain, I’d say even Na is more qualified than you."

Shot down repeatedly, Yang Ran looked defeated and finally dropped the subject of the challenge.

...

"’The target is... a lecturer at the North Star Spiritual Power Development Academy, Shi Jingyi.’"

Lu Cheng opened his eyes and sat up.

He was now in the wilderness outside Pinglu City.

Yesterday he was in the Black Banner Country; today he had arrived in Pinglu, part of the North Star region. This was, of course, thanks to Teleportation Items.

After he accepted the mission, the Prophet had said all necessary support would be arranged for him.

Apparently, even in an important North Star city like Pinglu, there were lurking Parasites.

’As for his part, he was to use his identity to lure Shi Jingyi out of the Academy. Then, he would coordinate with the other Parasites deployed by the Prophet to eliminate her.’

"’...Why would a lecturer be a target for the Prophet?’"

Lu Cheng couldn’t understand.

He’d been mulling it over since yesterday.

The Prophet had said the voices told him there were two true threats, one of whom was Shi Jingyi.

The Prophet hadn’t told him who the other one was.

’This was too strange... If the threat were a commander from the Federation, or even a national leader, Lu Cheng wouldn’t have been surprised. But for one of them to be Shi Jingyi, a lecturer who just taught at the Academy... how could she possibly pose a threat to the Parasites or the Prophet?’

"’Could it be that the voices believe... Shi Jingyi’s lectures will continuously strengthen more and more Ascenders, turning them into the main force for fighting and eliminating the Parasite swarms? Is that why she’s a threat?’"

Lu Cheng didn’t understand, but he knew he had no other choice.

He was out of time. If he didn’t get more help from the Prophet, he would become just another Parasite, his body completely taken over by the spores.

The thought of his own consciousness dissipating completely, of the spores taking his place and controlling his memories and body... Lu Cheng found it utterly unacceptable.

’Even though he didn’t want to kill Shi Jingyi—a lecturer who had once taught him and even tried to help him—he had to do it to ensure his own survival. He knew he had to use his status as a former student to get Shi Jingyi to trust him. Perhaps that was precisely why the Prophet chose him for this mission... The Prophet must have known he was a former Academy student and that he knew Shi Jingyi.’

’But how could he get her to trust him?’ Lu Cheng wondered.

His departure from the Academy with several others hadn’t been a simple violation of school rules. The status of an Academy student was sensitive enough, but the fact that they left right after the "Outer Heaven Parasite" rule ended led the Academy and related departments to conclude that they were all spore addicts. They didn’t even rule out the possibility that the students had already turned into Parasites.

’If he were to suddenly return now and rashly show his face at the Academy, the school’s leadership would most likely have armed personnel arrest him for questioning. Approaching Shi Jingyi directly was also not an option. For one, the faculty dorms had armed guards. For another, Shi Jingyi’s daily routine was a simple back-and-forth; she rarely went anywhere else.’

"’Since I can’t show myself openly... I can only hope that Lecturer Jingyi will be kind enough to help me...’"

As he thought this, Lu Cheng took out his old cell phone.

The numbers of the Academy’s lecturers were still saved on it. He found Shi Jingyi’s.

He thought long and hard, composing and re-composing the message in his mind before finally typing it out and hitting send.

"Lecturer Jingyi, it’s Lu Cheng. I don’t know if you still remember me.

I left the Academy after Rule Fourteen, the ’Outer Heaven Parasite,’ because I discovered I still had symptoms of spore addiction even after the event ended. I was afraid of being found out by my classmates and the Academy, so I panicked and ran... I’ve been in hiding ever since. I know I need to seek help, to find a way to break this addiction... Lecturer Jingyi, can you help me? I’d like to meet with you to ask for your help."