Chapter 22 : Chapter 22
Chapter 22 Call You Big Sister? Asking Someone to Look After a Student?
The deeper they went, the thicker the faint gray mist in the air became.
The ground was utterly devoid of life, a scene of rotten wasteland and decay.
After passing through a gloomy stretch of forest, Ye Ze followed Ruan Xiaoyou to a temple steeped in fiendish aura.
No. 19 Contaminated Land had originally been a scenic area, and the temple within it had now become a fiend stronghold.
The temple was not small. A few of the lowest-level Corpse Fiends wandered near the main gate.
Ruan Xiaoyou lowered her voice and said, "Do you remember that bounty task to search for the missing supplies?"
It was the one she had accepted back at the bounty task station. Ye Ze had a good memory, so he nodded.
Ruan Xiaoyou began explaining the real purpose of this trip.
"That batch of missing supplies was originally a shipment of special goods being transported to Dongwu City."
"During the transport, the Contaminated Land happened to spread into the area. The transport team was attacked by Fiends, and the goods were lost here..."
Ye Ze's expression changed at once.
"Special goods being transported to Dongwu City?"
Dongwu City was the largest central city in the East China Region, with the richest resources and the strongest armed forces.
It could truly be described as vast and richly endowed, more than dozens of times stronger than Linyuan City.
Even East China Martial University, the best university in East China, was located in Dongwu City.
Which meant...
"What kind of special goods would be important enough to transport into Dongwu City from somewhere else?"
And on top of that, the military had put up a bounty of 500 Military Merit for this task.
Ye Ze's curiosity was instantly piqued, and he asked, "Are those missing supplies inside this temple?"
Ruan Xiaoyou nodded. "Mm-hm."
"What is in the shipment?"
Ye Ze was certain that she knew.
The bounty task had only mentioned missing supplies, yet she even knew where they had come from.
On top of that, she was a student of East China Martial University and was originally from Dongwu City. Ye Ze suspected that this was exactly what she had come here for.
A sly smile suddenly appeared on Ruan Xiaoyou's delicate, lovely face.
"Call me big sister and I will tell you~"
Ye Ze fell silent.
A true man stands between heaven and earth!
How could he sell out his dignity over something this small?
At the very least, she would have to offer a little more...
Once I get inside, I can just use Eye of Insight and find out for myself.
Ye Ze answered in righteous refusal, "No chance."
"Not even a little curious?"
Ruan Xiaoyou still tried to tempt him, but Ye Ze remained unmoved. She was not disappointed, though.
Instead, she pointed toward the temple.
"Once we go through the main gate, there are east and west courtyards inside."
"Each has at least six elite fiends, plus some ordinary Fiends..."
Ye Ze followed the direction of her finger and looked over. Sure enough, the fiendish aura in those two courtyards was even stronger than outside.
It was obvious that he and Ruan Xiaoyou would each have to deal with one side.
Ruan Xiaoyou urged him seriously, "If you think you cannot hold out until I get there to support you..."
"We can leave now. We still have a chance to find another teammate."
Judging by the strength she had seen from the Shadow Squirrel, it would still be difficult for Ye Ze to hold back an entire group of Fiends by himself.
Yet at the mention of that many Fiends, Ye Ze only grew more excited.
Those were all walking bundles of experience.
If there really were that many elite fiends, then he might even have his next level within reach.
Ye Ze said eagerly, "If I leave now, I will wake up in the middle of the night and slap myself twice for it."
"Pfft..." Ruan Xiaoyou covered her mouth and laughed softly. "All right, all right."
"Then let us give it a try."
The moment she decided to act, her expression immediately turned serious.
She flipped out a dark gray energy sphere and hurled it straight toward the temple gate.
"I will take the left. You take the right."
The instant her words fell, her figure vanished and appeared directly at the temple entrance, exactly where the sphere had landed.
So that was a Teleportation Spirit...
Ye Ze had seen the skills of a Dark Spirit Assassin before, so he naturally knew what that energy sphere was.
As long as the Teleportation Spirit did not dissipate, a Dark Spirit Assassin could consume mana and teleport repeatedly within its range.
For a rare class, its combat strength really was not bad.
A short dagger appeared in Ruan Xiaoyou's hand. A flash of dark light swept out, and the few Corpse Fiends at the entrance were sliced into countless thin strips.
Then she shot Ye Ze a look that clearly said do your best before charging into the courtyard on the left.
Of the two courtyards, the fiendish aura on the left was stronger.
She had deliberately chosen the more dangerous side for herself.
Ye Ze did not waste any time either. He stepped forward and called out, "Panda."
A Taiji-patterned summoning array lit up, and the black-and-white Kung Fu Panda appeared, dressed in a small Daoist robe.
This was Ye Ze's true combat strength.
The dozen or so Fiends in the right courtyard were already rushing toward the left, intending to surround Ruan Xiaoyou, who had entered first.
But Panda stepped in front of them and raised the opening stance of White Crane Spreads Its Wings.
"Hoh—"
Among the more than ten Fiends were six elite fiends.
What reassured Ye Ze somewhat was that all six of them were Blood-Skeleton Fiends.
As long as the Blood-Skeleton Fiends were not allowed to wound him, they were not much of a threat.
Ye Ze instructed, "Squirrel, do not attack. Send your clones to search the area for treasure."
The squirrel happily threw both paws into the air and gave a cheer.
For some reason, ever since it had gained the Treasure Sniffer Trait, the squirrel had become visibly more interested in finding treasure.
It felt as if: Fighting was only work. Treasure hunting was life.
Then the squirrel split into four Shadow Clones, which darted toward the temple at top speed.
In the courtyard, battle was about to erupt.
The six Blood-Skeleton Fiends and eight Corpse Fiends had just been about to surround Panda when their movements suddenly slowed.
Although Kung Fu Panda had a round, plump body, its techniques were extraordinarily agile.
Its two paws moved in flowing succession like drifting clouds and running water. First came Cloud Hands, and the slowing force it released enveloped all of the Blood-Skeleton Fiends.
Then both palms struck together. Twin Peaks Pierce the Ears. A fierce blast of Taiji Inner Force roared outward.
SLAP—
The four Corpse Fiends at the very front were blown apart on the spot, their bodies collapsing into heaps of mangled flesh.
【Killed Corpse Fiend x4. EXP +360!】
【Level: 6 (1570/3100)】
An effortless instant kill!
Of the elite fiends, only three remained completely unharmed. The other three had been caught in the blast of Twin Peaks Pierce the Ears and were severely wounded.
Unfortunately for them, injuries inflicted on one another could not trigger their frenzy characteristic.
Panda was fighting one against six, yet it still held the absolute upper hand.
Suddenly, a sharp sound tore through the air.
The Blood-Skeleton Fiends even began launching sneak attacks, ripping out ribs and forming a Bone Spike that shot toward Panda.
But Panda possessed Battlefield Legend. Its combat experience was second to none.
And on a battlefield, what there was never any shortage of was hidden arrows and dirty attacks.
Something like this was child's play.
Panda shifted aside, caught the Bone Spike, borrowed its momentum, and flung it at another wounded Blood-Skeleton Fiend.
It moved so quickly that the other fiend had no time to react.
SHNK—
The Blood-Skeleton Fiend's own skill ended up killing one of its own kind instead.
【Killed Blood-Skeleton Fiend (lv.15). EXP +375!】
Without their frenzy being triggered, Blood-Skeleton Fiends were like tigers without teeth.
Panda's black-and-white figure flashed and took the initiative, charging straight into the fiend pack.
With a single SLAP of its paw, it smashed one heavily wounded Blood-Skeleton Fiend to death on the spot, Bone Shield and all.
The remaining Fiends flew into a rage and counterattacked.
Panda accepted every attack with ease, handling them effortlessly.
With the exclusive Spirit Pact Set, its damage multiplier had risen to 150 percent.
Added to that were the double legendary auras, a 50 percent attack bonus, and an 80 percent attack speed bonus...
Even at level 6 against level 15 enemies, cutting them down was as easy as slicing melons and vegetables.
In less than two minutes, all six elite fiends and eight Corpse Fiends had been reduced to a field of shattered flesh and wreckage.
【Ding! You have leveled up to: Level 7!】
【Talent — You have gained one Infinite Golden Traits draw chance!】
Meanwhile, in the monitoring department of the Scout Camp, more than a dozen military clerks continuously checked the data from the monitors, recording the progress of the clearing operation in No. 19 Contaminated Land.
Beside the sand-table model, Xu Feng wore a troubled expression.
"What on earth is going on in No. 19 Contaminated Land?"
"The clearing progress is actually twice as slow as No. 18!"
After nearly a full day, dozens of scouts had still not cleared even thirty percent of it.
The only thing that gave him any comfort was Ye Ze.
Compared to everyone else, he had already left them in the dust and pushed all the way into the depths of the Contaminated Land.
At that moment, the clerk specifically responsible for monitoring Ye Ze suddenly cried out,
"Commander! Come look at this!"
Xu Feng's face tightened. "Something happened? Did Ye Ze run into elite fiends?"
"Give me his location. I am going over there right now!"
The clerk shook his head, but there was still shock written all over his face, as if the situation were even stranger than running into elite fiends.
Xu Feng immediately strode over.
The clerk swallowed and said, "Look... according to the badge readout, Ye Ze is level 7!"
Xu Feng was speechless. He scolded him irritably,
"Do not make a fuss over nothing. I thought it was something serious. What is so strange about level 7?"
"Level 7..."
As he said it, he suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed drastically in an instant.
"Level 7?!"
"When he said it last time, was he not only level 5?"
Xu Feng pointed at the clerk, nearly ready to demand whether he had reported it wrong.
It had only been a little over two hours, and he had gone up two full levels?
Back when he had been leveling for the college entrance exam, being able to gain two levels in a day already counted as highly efficient!
The clerk quickly repeated it with a wronged look, "There is really no mistake. Ye Ze was level 4 when he came to the Scout Camp."
"After the first hour of clearing, he reached level 5..."
"And now, after another little over two hours, he has gained two more levels! He is already level 7!"
Xu Feng sucked in a sharp breath. "Good heavens."
If this equipment had not never made an error before, he would even have suspected that there was something wrong with the data.
Three levels in just over three hours!
That leveling speed...
"Wait!" Xu Feng suddenly jolted again. "Could it be that he has not run into elite fiends at all?"
The clerk let out a bitter laugh. "At that leveling speed, not only has he run into them, he has probably killed more than one."
Commander Xu Feng's expression froze.
The clerk explained his reasoning.
"If he did not kill elite fiends, then he would need to kill fifty-eight ordinary Fiends in a row to gain two levels."
"But with a summoned beast's stamina, there is no way he could grind monsters at that intensity."
"And judging by the fiend density, I would guess that he has already killed more than seven elite fiends!"
Hearing such explosive news, even the other clerks working nearby could not help stealing glances over.
Xu Feng did not even know what to say anymore. He let out a long sigh.
"How many levels does he even have right now? And he already has this kind of combat power!"
"Where in the world did this little monster come from?"
With that thought, Xu Feng immediately contacted the personnel responsible for temporary scout identity registration.
"Hurry! Check where he came from for me!"
The registration officer at the Scout Camp asked, "Ye Ze?"
"Yes! Check his background, and find out who approved his entry. I want all of it!"
"Understood!"
Xu Feng now seriously suspected that Ye Ze was some genius disciple being secretly trained by a major figure.
Just then, the door to the room was pushed open.
A military officer in his fifties walked in, his presence imposing and naturally commanding.
Xu Feng was startled. "Commander! What brings you here?"
The man before him was Chang Zhengping, commander of the Zhubei Regiment of the East China Army.
Although Xu Feng's Scout Camp did not belong to the same chain of command, Chang Zhengping was still one of the top decision-makers in the East China Army.
Xu Feng immediately snapped off a salute.
Chang Zhengping waved it off again and again. "Personal business, personal business."
The two of them found a quiet place to sit, and only then did Chang Zhengping continue.
"An old comrade of mine who retired because of an injury has never once asked me for a favor. But today, out of nowhere, he asked me to help look after one of his students."
"So I hurried over right away."
The moment he said that, Xu Feng immediately understood. "Someone in the Scout Camp?"
Chang Zhengping nodded.
Looking after a junior for someone inside the military was hardly uncommon.
It was not considered a violation of regulations, but even within the allowed limits, there was only so much help one could give. At most, one could ensure that the person did not die.
And that was precisely what Chang Zhengping meant.
"He is in the team clearing the Contaminated Land today."
"My old comrade said that his student is only level 4 right now. He is young, proud, and prone to taking dangerous shortcuts. I am afraid something might happen to him..."
"He asked me to make absolutely sure the boy returns safely."
The moment Xu Feng heard that level, his previously calm expression turned excited.
Level 4... could it really be that much of a coincidence?
He cautiously tested the waters. "May I ask, what is the student's name...?"
"His name is Ye Ze. He is a senior in the ordinary class at War Academy."
After saying that, Chang Zhengping still sounded uneasy. "Nothing has happened to him, has it?"
Xu Feng's eyes instantly went as round as brass bells.
It really was him!