“My name is Zhao Jun. I hope you aren’t lying to me and truly possess the strength of a B-rank Martial Artist.”
“Now, follow me.”
The scarred-faced man, who introduced himself as Zhao Jun, took a step forward as he spoke.
“Su… Xue. How do you want to verify my strength?”
Seeing this, Su Aoxue also offered a name, though it was not his real one.
After all, his current identity was a complete fabrication.
“Su Xue, is it? Just follow me and you’ll find out.”
Following Zhao Jun, Su Aoxue realized that there was more to this dilapidated warehouse than met the eye.
There was actually a small training field hidden in the back, filled with a pile of self-made training equipment.
Su Aoxue also spotted three other people there.
However, because his cloak’s hood was pulled down very low, he couldn’t see their faces clearly, just as he hadn’t been able to see Zhao Jun’s clearly at first.
But he could roughly confirm that, including Zhao Jun, this so-called private team currently consisted of one woman and three men.
The other three didn’t seem particularly well-acquainted with each other either; even though a stranger had just arrived, the three of them didn’t exchange a single word.
Zhao Jun pointed to a very worn-out dummy nearby and said, “Hit that dummy with your full power.”
As Zhao Jun spoke, the other three people on the field merely glanced at Su Xue.
None of them intended to take the initiative to strike up a conversation.
Instead, they chose to move away from the dummy area.
Su Aoxue withdrew his gaze from the other three and turned to look at the dummy not far away.
‘It looks a bit like the Intermediate Training Dummy from school, but it seems even more dilapidated.’
With that thought, he made a judgment regarding the dummy’s durability.
A brand-new Intermediate Training Dummy at school could barely withstand a full-power strike from a B-rank Martial Artist.
He probably just needed to blow this training dummy apart.
Thinking this, he used the skill he had tested the night before.
“COLD DISASTER!”
Su Aoxue didn’t speak loudly, but the power contained within his fingertips made the hearts of the other four people present skip a beat.
‘Such intense power.’
The only woman on the field aside from Su Aoxue felt her pupils contract upon seeing the power he was manifesting.
However, Su Aoxue was in no hurry to release this extreme cold energy.
Instead, he used his peripheral vision to observe the reactions of those around him.
The hood of the cloak that had been covering half of his face had fallen back when he condensed that extreme cold energy, as if by design.
With his vision no longer obstructed, he could take in every expression of the four people around him.
‘They seem surprised? It looks like my strength indeed exceeds their expectations.’
Su Aoxue was very satisfied with their reactions.
This meant that his situation would be very advantageous going forward.
Of course, this wasn’t an intentional attempt to show off, but rather a test.
“ZERO MOMENT!”
As those two words left his lips, the extreme cold energy condensed at Su Aoxue’s fingertip streaked toward the training dummy like a ray of light, leaving a trail of heavy frost in its wake.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion suddenly rang out, and the other four people present immediately widened their eyes.
In the spot where the dummy had been, a massive area of frost remained, but the dummy was nowhere to be found.
It seemed like even the wreckage had vanished.
Not only that, but the concrete wall behind where the dummy had stood had been blasted through, leaving a large hole.
A straight line of frost remained on the ground, stretching at least 100 meters away.
“This…”
Standing next to Su Aoxue, Zhao Jun was already beyond shocked.
After freezing for a good while, he finally snapped out of it.
The strength Su Aoxue had displayed was enough for him to ignore the other person’s breathtaking beauty!
Not only was the person strong, but also beautiful!
At the same time, Zhao Jun noticed that he was covered in quite a bit of frost.
It was so cold that his original posture—standing with his arms crossed—instinctively gave way to a hunched back as he hugged himself tightly.
Cold. It was simply too cold!
Zhao Jun felt that for a brief moment, the heat within his body and the surrounding area had been sucked away!
Was this the price of observing from such a close distance?
He shook off the frost covering his body and looked at Su Xue in astonishment.
“This is what you meant by being able to go toe-to-toe with an A-rank Warrior?!”
“This is just straight up an A-rank Warrior!”
Zhao Jun was a B-rank Martial Artist himself; otherwise, he wouldn’t have the courage or the confidence to form a private team and head out of the city for missions.
But he could never achieve the kind of destructive power Su Aoxue just had.
This was practically the same power as a standard defense cannon on the city walls!
Following Zhao Jun’s shout, the other three people on the field finally snapped back to their senses.
Simultaneously, they all began patting away the thin layer of frost covering them.
During this time, their thoughts seemed to have slowed down by half a beat, yet none of them noticed the abnormality.
“Holy crap, so strong! And she’s a super high-tier beauty too!” one tall man with bulging muscles exclaimed.
The other two remained silent, but without exception, they were all staring at Su Xue with varying expressions.
“Well? Is this level of strength enough to join?”
“It’s enough… it’s more than enough,” Zhao Jun replied hurriedly, involuntarily swallowing his saliva.
He had originally thought the newcomer was lying and overstating their strength, but it turned out this person was actually being modest.
Fortunately, he had been smart enough to keep an eye out and hadn’t offended the other person.
“So, next we should…”
Su Aoxue looked at Zhao Jun, leaving his sentence unfinished.
After he paused, Zhao Jun decisively picked up the conversation.
“Ahem, our team distributes profits based on contribution points. Of course, the missions I have—as well as extra hunting income—are all taken from the Guild. All sources are verifiable; I won’t embezzle a single cent!”
As Zhao Jun spoke, he pulled a prepared contract from his coat, walked over to a side table, and began writing.
Seeing this, Su Aoxue walked over and took a look. He found that the other party was writing clauses regarding profit distribution.
He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: ‘Good grief, is he adding this on the spot? His bottom line is quite flexible!’
Soon, Zhao Jun finished the contract and handed it to Su Xue.
“Ahem, right. Since none of the four of you have entry or exit permits, it’s not a problem for my compensation to be an extra 10% on top of my base contribution points, right?”
After all, Zhao Jun had formed this team with the intention of making more money. If he could push for a bit more, he naturally would.
Hearing this, Su Aoxue frowned slightly but said nothing. Without this man, he might not even be able to get through the gates of the Base City.
Having read the notice about the mandatory real-name registration, Su Aoxue knew that with his level of strength—not too high, but not low either—and a mysterious identity, he would be considered a potential threat.
If he appeared in the public eye, he would definitely be subject to heavy supervision.
Therefore, wanting to hide his identity to avoid affecting his original self, Su Aoxue could only seek out these kinds of private teams.
However, before signing the contract, Su Aoxue pointed at the large hole in the wall and asked, “Do I need to pay for that? Let’s get this straight—I don’t have any money!”
“Ahem, look at what you’re saying. No need, you don’t need to pay. This area was already abandoned anyway.”
“Oh, then that’s fine.”
Hearing that, Su Aoxue finally began to review the contract. After finding no issues, he signed the name.
Watching Su Xue sign the contract so cleanly, Zhao Jun could only feel a sense of confusion.
‘How did someone with the strength of an A-rank Warrior end up finding a private team like mine? There are only a two-digit number of A-rank Warriors in the entire Base City.’
‘If she’s short on money, wouldn’t it be better to go to a large Guild? Even if they’d be strictly monitored for lacking an identity…’
But Zhao Jun didn’t dare say it out loud. He was afraid that a single slip of the tongue might lead the other person to kill him.
After all… it was easier to invite a god than to send one away.
For someone like him who had barely reached the level of a B-rank Martial Artist, going up against a powerhouse like this was no different from seeking death!