When Su Aoxue returned home, he found two strangers standing next to his family, just as expected.
One of them immediately pulled out a photo and began comparing it to Su Aoxue the moment he arrived.
“Hello, are you Su Aoxue?”
“We are from the City Guard. You are now a member of the protection list. If there are no issues, please follow us to the Martial Arts Association.”
As he spoke, the man flashed his work ID to prove his identity.
“Understood… fine.”
Su Aoxue showed no surprise and agreed immediately, as if he had known this would happen all along.
Ling Feng, who was standing nearby, grumbled to herself, “How does little Aoxue seem to know people would come to the house? Was it that little guy named Shen Yan again?”
The possibility made Ling Feng freeze for a moment.
‘Why do I feel like that little guy would know?’
‘But if that kid is also on the protection list, doesn’t that mean his Talent is also quite high?’
‘If I can trick him into joining us, my performance targets will… skyrocket!’
The Truth Society spent a vast amount of time every year searching for geniuses, especially research-oriented ones.
Consequently, Ling Feng, who had been forcibly sent out on this assignment, had nothing but performance targets on her mind.
The Su family quickly piled into the car Ling Feng had driven. They followed the City Guard’s vehicle toward the Martial Arts Association.
……
On the South City Wall of the Base City, Xiong Ye, the Section Chief of the City Guard Department, stood with his hands behind his back.
He watched the dark mass of Gray Mist Creatures below as they attempted to approach the wall.
However, before they could get close, they were repelled or even killed by the Close-in Weapon System on the wall.
Unfortunately, the power of the Close-in Weapon System was not yet enough to deal with Mist Wraiths above the Elite-level.
Furthermore, the main force of the Gray Mist Tide—the Elite Mist Specters—seemed to have no intention of moving. They remained hidden within the Gray Mist, out of sight.
This gave Xiong Ye an ominous feeling.
Usually, when a Gray Mist Tide appeared, the high-rank creatures would lead the charge.
He hadn’t expected the Elite-grade Gray Mist Creatures to be so cunning this time, hiding within the mist.
“Has it really come to the worst-case scenario…?” Xiong Ye took a deep breath and scratched his hair in frustration.
The words he had spoken yesterday were still fresh in his mind, and he felt a stinging embarrassment.
Not only did his face hurt, but the lives of everyone in the Base City were now in danger. The pressure on Xiong Ye was mounting rapidly.
“How many hunting squads have yet to return?”
“Reporting to the Section Chief, two teams have not returned. However, the Martial Arts Association has already arranged for teams to provide support. I believe they will be able to take a detour and return soon.”
“Understood. Increase the fire coverage to draw the attention of these Mist Wraiths and cover the teams trapped on the perimeter so they can return.”
“By the way, what are the ranks of the hunting squads that have withdrawn? How much combat power do they have left?”
“It’s not looking good… Of the hunting squads that returned—four A-rank squads and two B-rank squads—almost every one suffered heavy casualties. It will be difficult for them to be combat-ready again in the short term.”
“Four A-rank squads were decimated? This is trouble.”
To be rated as an A-rank Hunting Squad, a team had to have at least one A-rank Warrior.
Even though their Base City claimed to have a double-digit number of A-rank Warriors, that was mostly for show.
In reality, there were fewer than twenty A-rank Warriors capable of fighting.
As Xiong Ye stared grimly at the Gray Mist Tide below, a man covered in bandages and appearing to have lost an arm limped past the guards.
He leaned on a crutch as he entered the command center.
In a raspy voice, he shouted, “Reporting to Section Chief Xiong, I want to file a report!”
Xiong Ye turned back toward the newcomer in confusion. Noticing the man’s bloodshot eyes, Xiong Ye’s expression immediately turned serious. “Who are you reporting?”
“An hour and a half ago, some animal drove a car and lured the Gray Mist Tide toward us! They brought two waves of small-scale Gray Mist Tides right to our position!”
“Our team couldn’t resist. Two of my brothers died on the spot to cover our breakout. I must get justice for those two brothers!”
“Our team was already trapped by the Gray Mist Tide and isolated. We barely managed to hold on after activating the light beam while waiting for support from the Base City. Just as support was about to arrive, that animal saw our light beam and lured the Gray Mist Tide toward us just to save his own skin!”
“Then he just turned around and left! A heartless bastard like that should be shot!”
The man made his accusation with a voice full of rage.
Xiong Ye’s brow furrowed. “Did you see the person?”
“No. The visibility in the Gray Mist was too poor, so I didn’t see them. But I heard the engine of a single car. If you investigate the teams that entered the city within the last two hours, the one with only one car is definitely the one!”
Hearing a lead, Xiong Ye suppressed his anger and looked at his deputy. “Go check the city entry records.”
After giving the order, Xiong Ye said furiously, “Dammit! In all my life, I, Xiong Ye, have hated nothing more than dogs who betray their teammates to save themselves. If I find out he really did betray his comrades to survive, I will make sure he receives the punishment he deserves.”
Without much thought, Xiong Ye slammed his hand on the table and snarled, “Hmph! Since he wants to live so badly, I’ll put him in the Death Squad. He can be the first one to charge the front and take on an Elite Mist Specter one-on-one!”
In the current emergency, it would be a waste to simply shoot someone who had committed a crime.
Using them as cannon fodder was much more appropriate.
At the same time, before coming to the wall, Xiong Ye had already gone to the prison to pull out a group of death-row inmates to form the Death Squad.
Hearing Xiong Ye’s solemn promise, the man who came to report felt slightly better. “Section Chief Xiong, I’m counting on you.”
……
Meanwhile, inside the lounge of the Martial Arts Association building.
Many Academy students who had been suddenly called in were already gathered here. Shen Yan’s family was among them.
At that moment, a middle-aged man with a determined gaze who bore some resemblance to Shen Yan spoke up. “Yan, do you know why they suddenly called me back?”
This man was Shen Yan’s father, Shen Yaohua.
He had originally been stationed on the South City Wall.
With the Gray Mist Tide at the gates, he had been preparing for battle when he was suddenly summoned to the Martial Arts Association by a high-level order.
Shen Yaohua had wanted to refuse, but since it was an order from the Mayor, he had no choice but to follow.
After arriving at the Martial Arts Association, he was surprised to see his family there, which confused him even more.
The strange situation gave Shen Yaohua the faint feeling that something big was about to happen.
Shen Yan looked at his father, a trace of pain flickering in his eyes. “It’s hard to say. You’ll find out soon enough, Dad.”
If he hadn’t already seen his father when he first reincarnated and lost control of his emotions then, Shen Yan would likely have lost it again. Fortunately, he managed to steady his mind quickly.
However, scenes from his past life—of his father refusing to yield even in death—still flashed through Shen Yan’s mind.
Before the father and son could talk for long, the Mayor’s secretary walked over. “You several, please follow me. The Mayor has something to discuss with you.”
“The Mayor? A private, face-to-face talk?”
Shen Yaohua looked at the secretary in shock, then at his son, then at the others in the lounge.
Given the circumstances, the only thing he could think of was that something might have happened to his son.
Shortly after Shen Yan’s family left the lounge, Su Aoxue’s family arrived.
“It looks like a lot of people have already gathered?”
Su Aoxue scanned the people in the lounge and saw many familiar faces. They were mostly people who had ranked high in the practical theory assessments.
However, he didn’t see Shen Yan, nor did he see Ye Yao.
‘Is Old Shen not in the lounge?’
While Su Aoxue was wondering, the member of the City Guard who had brought them spoke up.
“Please wait here for a moment. The Mayor will be coming to give a speech shortly. You’ll find out exactly what’s happening then.”