Chapter 682 - 652: Spy

After the Xinghai Squad left with Elder Guo, the commotion in the Mission Hall quickly subsided.

After all, with the appearance of the Blood Bags, every student understood that this was an incredibly rare opportunity.

Even if some teams weren’t strong enough to enter the dense fog area, they still accepted missions near the Poisonous Fog District in order to hunt more Abyssal Creatures.

The Abyssal Creatures in these areas also possessed Blood Bags, just at a much lower rate.

Meanwhile, a staff member in the corner responsible for reviewing missions stared at his computer for a moment. Then, with a calm expression, he greeted a nearby colleague, left his post, and entered a bathroom stall.

After locking the door, he immediately activated his wrist-mounted computer and pulled up a data sheet.

The sheet contained exactly 100 names, each one rated for importance with a star level.

At the very top of the list was Lin Xinghai, with a full nine stars next to his name.

The person in second place, Wan Feiyang, only had seven stars.

And that was a rating he only achieved because he was on the verge of breaking through to the Divine Demon Realm.

As for the others further down the list who couldn’t break through to the Divine Demon Realm anytime soon, it was impossible for any of them to exceed five stars.

Following the star rating were each person’s detailed profile and combat power assessment.

After opening the file, he quickly updated Lin Xinghai’s profile, adding the mission he had just accepted and its location.

He then took a transparent, diamond-shaped Crystal Stone from his pocket and injected a bit of Blood Qi Power into it. The scene before him, including the data sheet, was perfectly imprinted onto the Crystal Stone.

He then turned off his wrist-mounted computer and brought the diamond-shaped Crystal Stone close to his face for a final check. After confirming everything was correct, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a fox pattern that slowly materialized on his arm.

At that moment, the staff member’s eyes grew hazy, filled with a look of intoxicated reverence.

He pressed the diamond-shaped Crystal Stone against the fox pattern. With a flash of red light, the tattoo slowly faded away, and the image on the Crystal Stone vanished as well. It was as if nothing had happened, save for the fact that the staff member’s face had grown a shade paler.

He took an Elixir for replenishing Blood Qi Power from his clothes, tossed it into his mouth, and soon returned to his workstation as if nothing had happened.

...

Meanwhile, under Elder Guo’s guidance, Lin Xinghai entered the communications department, where he successfully placed a call to Zuo Wenyao in the core region.

"You have the time to call me? Let me guess, you’re not calling to check on your dear old teacher. You’re looking for your girlfriend, aren’t you!" Zuo Wenyao teased as soon as the call connected.

"Ahem! Not exactly. But speaking of which, how is Miaomiao doing?" Hearing her name, Lin Xinghai immediately asked.

"Don’t worry, she’s doing great. She’s in the middle of her breakthrough. Her foundation is solid, so it’s going smoothly. Her mentor, Wen Qiuying, will personally escort your ’little girlfriend’ back later."

"Alright, anything else? If not, I’m hanging up. I’m pretty busy right now." Zuo Wenyao was speaking much faster than usual; he was clearly swamped.

"Yes, there is, Teacher. I plan to enter the intermediate zone to hunt Abyssal Creatures." As he turned to business, Lin Xinghai’s tone grew serious.

Zuo Wenyao was silent for a moment on the other end, then sighed. "I knew you wouldn’t be able to sit still. You should be well aware of the risks. So, tell me, what do you need from me?"

"Teacher, the military must have arrangements in place, right?" Lin Xinghai asked first.

"Mm," Zuo Wenyao grunted in affirmation but didn’t elaborate.

Lin Xinghai understood and didn’t press the matter. Instead, he asked, "In that case, Teacher, what’s the worst-case scenario I might face?"

"Encountering a Fourth Level Mutated Zombie, of course," Zuo Wenyao answered without a second thought.

"No, Teacher, I mean, in the worst-case scenario, how many Mutated Zombies would I be up against?" Lin Xinghai quickly clarified.

Zuo Wenyao was taken aback for a second. "Are you brave or just brainless?" he said, exasperated. "One Fourth Level Mutated Zombie is more than enough to handle. How many are you expecting to run into?"

However, Zuo Wenyao paused before continuing, "Of course, we don’t know what kind of move the Abyssal Plane will make this time. We can only do our best to prepare for it. So, I can’t give you a 100% guarantee that you won’t encounter two Fourth Level Mutated Zombies at once."

"If a situation like that really happens..." Zuo Wenyao trailed off, unsure of what else to say. He couldn’t think of a way to handle that, either.

But Lin Xinghai picked up where he left off. "I think I can handle two Fourth Level Mutated Zombies. But if three of them appear at once..."

"Then you can just wait to die," Zuo Wenyao said bluntly.

In that scenario, forget about a mere Marrow Tempering Realm practitioner like Lin Xinghai; even if Zuo Wenyao himself were there, his chances of survival would be slim.

This time it was Lin Xinghai’s turn to be speechless. He quickly said, "...Hey, don’t give up on rescuing me, Teacher! If that actually happens, how long would it take you to get there?"

"Within one minute," Zuo Wenyao replied instantly. "Hold on. I’ll inform the academy’s upper management about your mission. Our Divine Demon Realm experts will try to operate in your mission area to ensure there’s always at least one of them within a five-kilometer radius of you."

Hearing this guarantee, Lin Xinghai breathed a silent sigh of relief. Now he had a safety net.

"Okay, thank you, Teacher!" After expressing his gratitude, he ended the call.

He bid farewell to Elder Guo and left the communications department alone. The members of the Xinghai Squad were all waiting outside, their eyes fixed on him.

Lin Xinghai looked at them and smiled. "Alright, everyone, go get ready. If we run into trouble, you have to hold out for one minute, no matter what. Within one minute, a Divine Demon Realm mentor from our academy will arrive to provide backup."

"You’re amazing, Boss!" Little Fatty was the first to suck up to him, though this time, he was completely sincere.

The others also showed expressions of immense relief. After all, escaping from a single Fourth Level Mutated Zombie would be incredibly difficult, but just holding out for one minute? That lowered the difficulty by an entire tier.

Everyone went back to make their preparations. Most of them could only check their Firearms and other weapons. The most important thing, however, was waiting for Little Fatty to deliver the equipment.

But Hongyu Group’s efficiency was truly impressive. Little Fatty had said fifteen minutes, and it was exactly fifteen minutes.

When everyone saw the twenty-five Armored Vehicles rolling up in neat formation with Mecha mounted on them, they felt a surge of excitement.

They were, without a doubt, the first student squad where every single member had a Mecha.