“Hello, miss. My name is Shi Lei.”
“I originally planned to join this team just to make some money, since I haven’t gotten a Resident Permit for the Base City yet… I didn’t expect to run into a big shot like you.”
“I hope you won’t think I’m a burden when the time comes.”
A muscular man who looked to be nearly 2 meters tall—much taller than Su Aoxue, who barely stood over 170 centimeters—walked over.
An embarrassed expression appeared on his face as he scratched the back of his head.
Su Aoxue could vaguely see bandages wrapped around Shi Lei’s chest.
It looked like he was carrying some injuries.
From his tone, it wasn’t hard to tell that his strength had likely taken a hit because of them.
However, the fact that Zhao Jun had allowed him onto the team meant that either his strength was still sufficient or his awakened talent was extremely useful.
After a moment of thought, Su Aoxue spoke in a flat tone, “Su Xue.”
Her calm, cold face revealed no emotion, marking her as a textbook ice-type beauty.
Nevertheless, Shi Lei broke into a happy grin.
“As long as you don’t mind me, Miss Su.”
Following Shi Lei’s lead, the only other female member of this temporary team walked up to Su Aoxue. “Hello, I’m Lin Lu. Light System.”
As Lin Lu spoke, she extended her hand.
Seeing the hand reached out toward her, Su Aoxue hesitated for a moment.
Then, her expression remaining unchanged, she gave a slight nod as she shook it.
‘So cold…’
Lin Lu thought to herself as she watched Su Aoxue’s reaction.
“Hello, Jiang Yi.”
Su Aoxue looked toward the voice and gave a slight nod in greeting.
Su Aoxue was naturally cold toward strangers, and now that she was using the Witch’s Power, she appeared even more frigid.
Despite her cold attitude, none of the three people present showed any dissatisfaction.
They were a temporary team to begin with, and since Su Aoxue was powerful, they naturally wouldn’t harbor any ill feelings.
“Alright, the new member is here. It’s time to get ready to head into the Grey Mist.”
At that moment, Zhao Jun stood in the center of the group and spoke.
“Miss Su just demonstrated her talent type; she’s an Ice System ability user.”
“Shi Lei, enhancement-type talent, Muscle Strengthening, B-rank Martial Artist.”
“Jiang Yi, enhancement-type talent, Firearm Empowerment, B-rank Martial Artist.”
“Lin Lu, ability-type Light System, B-rank Martial Artist.”
“As for me, ability-type talent, Earth System, B-rank Martial Artist.”
“Looking at it this way, our team’s composition is quite well-rounded.”
Zhao Jun introduced each person’s abilities to Su Aoxue, his gaze lingering on Lin Lu for a moment longer.
Light System abilities could be incredibly effective within the Grey Mist, sometimes proving as valuable as a high-rank Martial Artist.
“Get ready, and then we’ll head out. If we’re lucky, we can be back before 10:00 PM.”
The mission Zhao Jun had accepted was an outer perimeter patrol.
Their primary way of making money was hunting Grey Fog Creatures; a special organization specifically purchased the corpses of these creatures, which was where the real profit lay.
The patrol was secondary, mainly because for the past thirteen years, these Grey Fog Creatures had weirdly shown no large-scale desire to attack.
Only a few scattered Grey Fog Creatures would wander near human-inhabited territories.
In contrast, those Abyssal Creatures were becoming increasingly aggressive, launching attacks from the Abyss to the surface every few months.
Many weaker Base Cities had fallen under the sudden raids of Abyssal Creatures, causing many refugees to flood into the surrounding Base Cities.
Meanwhile, Su Aoxue stood in place, watching the other four people pick up their backpacks, weapons, and gear. She was momentarily stunned.
‘Oh no, I didn’t bring anything!’
‘You didn’t say we were going straight to work today!’
‘You guys barely even talked; how are you all so coordinated in grabbing your bags?’
“You didn’t mention that we were heading out of the city today,” Su Aoxue said to Zhao Jun with a cold, dissatisfied look.
To this, Zhao Jun replied politely, “Ahem… of course, I know what you want to say. But it’s fine. I’ve prepared a share of supplies for you. I’ll show you that the extra 10% I’m earning is well-deserved.”
This entire warehouse was his base of operations, so preparing an extra set of supplies for someone was no trouble at all.
The reason he was so easy to talk to was based on Su Aoxue’s strength and… her unknown background.
Someone with no official identity but great strength was most likely a powerhouse who had fled from another Base City!
“Here’s a backpack. Pack the items yourself; they’re all over there.”
“I’ll go out and pull the car around.”
In Zhao Jun’s view, a person who had fled to this Base City should know how to survive in the Grey Mist World, so he didn’t take the liberty of packing for her.
“Fine.”
Su Aoxue gave a small nod and took the backpack.
She turned to look at the compressed food and emergency medical kits sitting on a nearby shelf, feeling somewhat impressed.
‘Having strength is great. I haven’t even started working yet, and I’ve already gotten free supplies.’
Items like those on the shelf weren’t cheap, at least not to Su Aoxue.
But for a veteran B-rank Martial Artist like Zhao Jun, these supplies were likely nothing. Therefore, Su Aoxue took them without hesitation.
Once the supplies were ready, a car horn sounded outside the warehouse, followed by Zhao Jun’s voice. “If you’re ready, come out and get in the car.”
……
Because Zhao Jun possessed an entry and exit permit, the City Guard let them through after a quick glance.
As the off-road vehicle drove out of the city, they lost the protection of the canopy over the Base City, and ash began to drift down from the sky.
It gradually began to affect their vision, reducing visibility to less than 20 meters. The Grey Mist World had earned its name because of this constant falling ash.
Furthermore, if a regular person inhaled too much of this ash, it would cause severe lung disease. Fortunately, it wasn’t like decades ago; they now had corresponding medications and protective measures.
After going through an evolution of their life force, those who had awakened talents were no longer very afraid of this ash, though staying in the Grey Mist World for long periods would still have an effect.
This was precisely why mercenary teams like theirs, patrolling the perimeter, wouldn’t stay out for long. Usually, they would return within one or two days.
Su Aoxue sat by the window, with the other girl, Lin Lu, sitting to her right.
For no other reason than her cold demeanor, powerful strength, and mysterious background, the men instinctively didn’t dare get close to her.
Lin Lu was forced to take the pressure and sit next to Su Aoxue.
However, Su Aoxue was just quietly looking out the window.
‘This is my third time entering the Grey Mist World…’
Watching the drifting ash outside the window, many memories flashed through Su Aoxue’s mind.
Her family hadn’t originally been from this Base City.
As for why they had come here, Su Aoxue had forgotten the specifics; she only remembered that they had arrived as refugees.