Nightmare’s Call

Everyone in the team shared a common goal, and so there was a sense of identity among the team members. The job was dangerous, but not as risky as the other missions.

“Speaking of which, I wonder what happens to the Paragon of Destiny in Pine Town. It has taken so long, yet they haven’t found it,” Melissa whispered.

“I heard my uncle said, the Paragon of Destiny is hidden in a mouse in Pine Town, and the mouse is mutating and digging holes everywhere. So that the professors are too cautious about using more damaging techniques for fear of destroying the thing.”

“No wonder it’s been dragging on for so long.”

“Think about it. They have sent three Suppressor-class professors, yet nothing has come out of it yet. This is still within the area under our university’s control. Had it been in other places, it would already attract a lot of attention.”

Listening to the chatter of the team, Lin Sheng stayed quiet. He raised the dark energy in his body to about seven hundred. According to the established categorization convention, 200 to 2,000 was within the realm of One Wing. So his current 700 was not too eye-catching but would come in handy when he needed it.

The bus passed through a dense pine forest after half an hour of travel. The driver produced his pass as an officer and his men came on board for inspection. Lin Sheng and the others produced their student IDs before they were allowed to pass through.

They were on their way again. Occasionally, Lin Sheng saw armored vehicles and troop carriers parked on the side of the road. Sometimes, he saw dark energy-reinforced battle vehicles with white discs, like the ones Redwin had and he had seen in Xilin before.

They looked similar, but still, it evoked in Lin Sheng a sense of nostalgia for Xilin. After all, he had been living there for over ten years.

Melissa did not look particularly beautiful. Like an ordinary country girl, she was simple in the way she dressed. Naive and casual, and not manipulative, Melissa was very open while chatting with Lin Sheng. She never minced her words when it came to her opinions about other students and professors.

Lin Sheng talked to her as the bus ground ahead. Because of the many roadblocks, it was not until the afternoon that the team finally arrived at Pine Town, the location of the mission.

Pine Town was just an ordinary town with a small population. If not for the discovery of the Paragon of Destiny in the mine, no one would have heard of this place.

The place they had arrived at was a defense station. Just like a police station, but the Asterism had taken over the place. They handed over the job right away as soon as the team arrived.

The job was not complicated. The first patrol was from eight to ten in the morning. And the second patrol was from eight to ten in the evening. And the Asterism had sent the patrol route to Lin Sheng, the team leader, via phone. They had also handed over a three-story mansion with over ten bedrooms to choose from. There were cooks to take care of their food, and laundry service too. It looked really not bad.

“Nothing is good about this place except for the cheap land prices. It would have cost an arm and a leg to stay in this kind of mansion,” someone in the team lamented.

“It would take at least a year of my pocket money!” Another member sighed.

“I’m better. I can earn enough for this if I’m lucky with the poker game. It’s just a few million.”

“You parvenus! It costs three years of my pocket money to buy this! Stop bragging in front of a broke person like me!”

Lin Sheng did not know what to say as he listened to the sarcasm. They were a privileged team and each of them was obviously freaking wealthy.

After looking around the mansion, he instructed Melissa to assign rooms for the team members. He then took a stroll outside.

Their main threat was monsters called wildlings. These monsters were invisible. Only the transcendent could see them. But even so, any ordinary humans could kill these monsters with a stick if they could see them. That was how puny these monsters were.

However, when the monsters came in hordes, they would pose a threat. But generally, they were timid creatures as an individual but would become gutsy once they were in groups.

Such was the situation in Pine Town. The wildlings attacked towns and villages in groups.

A thin strip of pine forest surrounded the mansion on all sides. Yellow pine needles and cones were everywhere, covering the forest like a thick blanket on the ground. Black pine trees were unique to this place. Their trunks were full of burls, and their bark was dark with white spots. From time to time, small ants and bugs could be seen climbing up and down the pine trees.

The pine trees emanated a unique rosin scent. As the wind blew through the forest, the rosin scent would permeate the air.

Lin Sheng took a tour of the surroundings. The mansion was located in the middle of a pine forest. A highway was on the periphery leading to the town. And the straight line distance between the mansion and the town was less than a hundred meters. At the rear of the mansion was a large expanse of black pine forest. A wooden house of the forest ranger could be seen half-hidden in the forest when looking from afar.

Done with the tour, Lin Sheng headed to the ranger’s house. He wanted to see if he could meet the ranger, from whom he might get a better idea of the terrain of the area.

Before he barely made out some distance, Lin Sheng saw two outsiders in front of the ranger’s hut. The easiest way to distinguish between outsiders and locals was to look at their attire. Outsiders were more fashionable, which was apparent at a glance.

It looked like the outsider, one stood while the other squatted, was looking for something on the ground. At first, Lin Sheng thought they were tourists. But as he drew closer, he sensed a trace of dark energy wafting from far away.

His heart missed a beat. And before he could ask, the two persons saw him and ran away.

“Hey, stop!” Lin Sheng gave chase for a while, his voice loud, but it was just a show. This was only a credit mission. There was no need to be so serious. As he came closer, he saw a monkey-like, yellow-haired monster lying at the spot where the two persons were a while ago. The monster’s chest was cut open. It was dead. It looked like it was a golden monkey with four hands.

“Is this a wildling?” It was a place under the control of ​​Baine University, yet it had been trespassed by outside Darksiders. The attraction of the Paragon of Destiny was remarkable.

Lin Sheng examined the monster’s corpse for a while. He could not care less after he determined that it was the work of the One-wingers. A One-winger could range from 20 to 200 in their level of dark energy, which was wide a gap. His team of ten consisted of all One-wingers. They might not possess any actual combat ability, but they could definitely protect themselves with their dark energy, which could be pushed to the limit when they needed it.

“I need time to digest the alien powers of the Heart of the Damned. It seems that I would be able to finish that in two weeks. Besides, I also need to convert the newly gained soul power into the blood of the Rock Dragon. The Crystal Warrior also needs detailed build. I mustn’t leave it as an empty shell.” Lin Sheng had many things to do, so he did not bother about those little bugs. As long as those things did not interfere with his credit mission, he could turn a blind eye to them.

…

“They are the dark-energy students from Baine University. It’s already the third group. It looks like it will take some time to get the things from the hole.”

Outside of the forest, two persons in camouflage uniform were whispering to each other.

“There is a patrol team here. We may have a problem getting in there now,” one said helplessly.

“Don’t worry about the rookies. They are just a group of students. Should worse comes to worst, I will shoot them one by one. Dark energy is nothing if they couldn’t master its power. When Rev. Yang Hui arrived, getting the thing would be a piece of cake.”

“Baine University is getting too close. We must act fast. Otherwise, we may lose everything.”

“Let’s see when the pastor could make it here. Hopefully soon. If not, we would be in even bigger trouble when those barbarians from the Sect of Circular Heart arrive.”

“It doesn’t matter. Since many people have arrived in the town, it makes no difference if more sects come. When Rev. Yang Hui arrives, everything will fall in place. Let’s go!”

After that, the two individuals disappeared into the forest.