Chapter 29
Chapter 29: A Mission Arrives
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Two days later, in Mo Yanshao’s office…
The quantum encrypted video conferencing system of the National Order Council was on.
A man in his mid-30s appeared on the video conferencing system in front of Mo Yanshao. He had a head full of white hair, yet his appearance was unusually handsome.
Mo Yanshao was frowning as he listened to the man detailing the situation.
“Within the province, the situation is the same as Xinchuan City. The Devil’s Eye rituals are popping up in increasing density. This is not a good sign. Two hours ago, in a rented house in Xinchuan City, we discovered the second Devil’s Eye. The victims were a family of six who was renting the house. It had been more than 24 hours since the victims met their fate. Before they died, they were under the effects of the technique that sharpened the senses.
“Judging from the comprehensive analysis of the site, this Devil’s Eye that appeared in Xinchuan City should have been set up by the same member of the Devil’s Eye that set up the one in Xianghe City a few days ago. The current situation is dire. The Devil’s Eye is conducting large-scale operations in the Great Flame Republic.”
Xinchuan City was the capital of Yizhou Province. It was more than 300 kilometers away from Xianghe City and was the commercial and cultural center of Yizhou Province. It had a larger population and had a more developed economy than Xianghe City. The provincial branch of the National Order Council in Yizhou Province was naturally established there.
“You mean to say that that member of the Devil’s Eye has already left Xianghe City and arrived in Xinchuan, is a serial criminal, and that this is a group operation by the Devil’s Eye?” Mo Yanshao scowled.
“I am not implying it. It is the conclusion drawn by headquarters after analysis,” the man emphasized.
“This will be troublesome.”
The man continued, “From the information and reports from headquarters, in the last two weeks, the activities of the members of the Devil’s Eye have become frequent in the Great Flame Republic. Aside from the Yizhou Province, the other provinces have also recently found many cases of the Devil’s Eye ritual. The number of victims in the last two weeks has already reached several hundred.”
“That’s why I said that in the near future, the situation appears bleak. The risk of dimensional invasions and their frequency is increasing. Xianghe City will most likely face a dimensional invasion of an even larger scale.”
“Hmm, the Devil’s Eye is up to something big. The provincial branches and headquarters have already killed some members of the Devil’s Eye who had their whereabouts exposed. However, their movements have not stopped. Their hidden members have been called to act. There might be more than one of their members hiding in Xianghe City. You had best be prepared.”
Mo Yanshao said, “Yes, it has not been peaceful in Xianghe City for the past few days as well. These past few nights, while we were igniting the light, we kept discovering bizarre divine power waves. However, by the time we rushed over to the scene, we found nothing. They are testing us. The number of missing persons’ cases that have been reported to the police in Xianghe City has also recently skyrocketed. The numbers are somewhat unusual. We are already looking into it, but are unable to ascertain as to whether it is the work of a member of the Devil’s Eye or whether members of other groups have managed to infiltrate the city.”
For ordinary people, everything in Xianghe City was peaceful. However, for those at the center of all this commotion, the bizarre occurrences in Xianghe City had never ceased.
These bizarre occurrences were not reported by the media. Ordinary people would not know about them. For a metropolitan like Xianghe City with a population of over a million as well as large numbers of tourists, no one would notice if one or two people went missing each day.
“Aside from the Devil’s Eye, other forces, organizations, and individuals who picked up the scent of the aura might also arrive in Xianghe City,” the man added. “They can sense the strange movements of the Devil’s Eye recently. They might even know of the most recent ritual of the Devil’s Eye and might be ready to make their own moves.”
“I know. If these forces and organizations only wish to kill dimensional invasion creatures and salvage boundary beads, that wouldn’t be a problem. If we discover targets who threaten the order of Xianghe City, we will show no mercy,” Mo Yanshao said as his voice turned cold. It contained murderous intent.
“By the way, I heard that you have a new recruit who perfectly merged with a divine fire boundary bead. I believe he was called Xia Ping’an and was someone you managed to find?” the white-haired man asked as he suddenly changed the subject.
“Hmm, he also completed merging with the divine altar boundary bead yesterday morning and also obtained the Requiem Banner. I have already reported this to the provincial branch.”
“He has done a fine job to have merged with two boundary beads and obtained the Requiem Banner.” The white-haired man who appeared cold and handsome raised an eyebrow. He revealed a smile on his face and said, “I have a mission on hand that coincidentally requires someone like him. Send him to the provincial branch to accept the mission.”
“You have so many people at the provincial branch. Can’t you find someone suitable there?” Mo Yanshao said cautiously. “You aren’t poaching my man, are you? He is the only one here who has the Requiem Banner. I don’t approve of him transferring to the provincial branch.”
The white-haired man pouted and said, “Am I such a person?”
“You are!” Mo Yanshao replied as he nodded his head with certainty.
The white-haired man fell silent for a few seconds. In the end, he revealed, “A scumbag just used a visa obtained through legal means to enter Xinchuan from Europe. This scumbag has some background in Europe. The national police can’t find anything to pin against him, and it is not convenient for the members of the provincial branch to intervene directly. The scumbag has been in Xinchuan’s Death Coliseum for the past few days. I do not wish to allow him to leave Xinchuan alive. However, I do not wish for rumors and disputes to cause the higher-ups to trouble me, so this matter needs to be dealt with elegantly.”
“If it is just a scumbag, wouldn’t it be easy to find a few combat specialists to deal with him?”
“It would be easy. However, once I send combat specialists that can surely kill that scumbag, he will not join the fight. He is a cautious one, so it would be best to send a new recruit who has yet to make his debut and cleanly deal with the scumbag in the Death Coliseum.”
“Xia Ping’an is about to merge with the divine being boundary bead. Right now, if he were to enter the Death Coliseum, who can guarantee that he can make it out alive? Why should I risk him for a scumbag? It is not worth it. Isn’t it too risky?” Mo Yanshao complained as he shook his head.
The man coaxed, “If a provisional summoner who merged with two boundary beads still fears the Death Coliseum, then he is useless. He will see blood sooner or later. Why don’t we start him off with this scumbag? Consider it a warm-up after joining the National Order Council. The scumbag will only be in Xinchuan for two days. If he does not find a suitable person to fight against in the next two days, he might leave. Who knows how many young girls will fall victim to him in the future?”
“Young girls?” Mo Yanshao asked with a stern gaze.
The corner of the white-haired man’s mouth formed into a smile. He knew that he had convinced Mo Yanshao. He continued, “Why would I call that fellow a scumbag otherwise? The scumbag has legal identities in many countries in Africa and Asia. He has committed many crimes and has raised a bunch of lawyers and traitors around him. He has bought over many local bureaucrats and politicians, so he has remained unscathed. He should not have come to the Great Flame Republic.
“If we let him leave the Great Flame Republic alive, the image of the National Order Council will be tarnished. In the future, if such scumbags come running to the Great Flame Republic and decide to commit evil, can you imagine the consequences? It is impossible for us to protect every young girl, so it is best to send out a warning to all of them.”
“Is this the old man’s intention?”
“If the old man did not acquiesce, I wouldn’t dare to mess around under his nose.”
For some reason, Mo Yanshao suddenly recalled the tattoo of Achala on Xia Ping’an’s back that he saw in the Thousand Dragons Temple as well as the people related to the 819 Incident who died due to various “accidents”.
Xia Ping’an had never displayed his fighting ability, yet Mo Yanshao could instinctively tell that Xia Ping’an would not be a pushover.
There was also the Black Cobra steel whip that Big Zhou gave Xia Ping’an. The Black Cobra steel whip was very special. Big Zhou had kept it for many years. Prior to this, there had been people who wanted it, but Big Zhou had never taken it out before. He merely said that he was saving it for the most suitable candidate.
Mo Yanshao only remained silent for a few seconds before he nodded his head in agreement. He then consented, “Alright, I agree. When is the mission?”
The white-haired man replied, “Tomorrow. Send him to the provincial branch before 1 p.m. He only needs to join the fight. I will settle the rest.”
“He needs to merge with the divine being boundary bead tomorrow,” Mo Yanshao firmly reminded the other party.
“After he settles the scumbag, he can merge with the bead here at the provincial branch. I’ll personally monitor his progress. Are you at ease now? I’ll settle the necessary paperwork to apply for a divine being boundary bead for him at the provincial branch.”
“Alright.”
After Mo Yanshao ended the video call, he was in deep thought for a moment. Then, he took out a remote control and pressed a few buttons.
The live recording of the situation in the multipurpose training ground immediately appeared on the screen in Mo Yanshao’s office.
On the screen, Xia Ping’an was dashing through the 400 meters military obstacle course in the multipurpose training ground. His speed was astonishing. He advanced like a cheetah. He ran, leaped, climbed over, planked, balanced, and crawled under different obstacles quickly.
Two days ago, the result of Xia Ping’an’s second physical assessment had been announced.
He ran 100 meters in 8.46 seconds.
He ran 10,000 meters in 21 minutes and 38.56 seconds.
He could squat 510 kg, bench press 175 kg, deadlift 385 kg, hanging leg lift 92 kg; and his sweeping kick could deal 950 kg of force.
Compared to his results from the first assessments, clearly, Xia Ping’an’s physical abilities had improved once again after merging with the second boundary bead. Let alone ordinary people, even top athletes among the ordinary people could not achieve such results. Xia Ping’an’s extraordinary strength as a summoner had begun to show.
Exactly because Xia Ping’an had such incredible physical fitness, he could now advance through the military obstacle course as casually as walking on a flat surface.
The 400-meter military obstacle course in the multipurpose training ground was more hardcore than normal ones.
The ordinary military obstacle course usually had eight sets of obstacles, including pillar hopping, ditches, traverse walls, box jump pyramids, monkey bars, balance beams, high walls, and wire crawls. However, the course in the multipurpose training ground had additional obstacles on top of the usual ones. Some of the obstacles included cargo net climbs, log carries, pole climbing, rock climbing, and swimming.
Moreover, the difficulty level of all the obstacles was higher than in an ordinary military obstacle course. Participants also needed to endure the disturbance of high-pressure water cannons while going through most of the obstacles.
In the activity of pillar hopping, one of the easiest obstacles, usually, the pillars would not be higher than 0.5 meters and had a diameter of around 0.3 meters. Instead, on the multipurpose training ground, the pillars were 4 meters off the ground and had a diameter of 0.15 meters. The pillars became true quincuncial piles, and high-pressure water cannons were spraying from the sides.
Passing through one level of pillar hopping was like stepping on the bottom of beer bottles at the height of a one-story building while avoiding people throwing rocks at the same time. The physical fitness requirements to complete the task were obscene.
These past two days, aside from practicing at the shooting range, Xia Ping’an spent most of his time training alone at the multipurpose training ground’s obstacle course without any distractions.
Xia Ping’an’s training was very tough. In Mo Yanshao’s eyes, he always felt as though Xia Ping’an had something indescribable about him. Aside from shooting, Xia Ping’an trained with all his might in these events. It was as though he was training so that he could escape faster to save his life.
As for the Black Cobra steel whip that Big Zhou gave Xia Ping’an, Mo Yanshao had never seen Xia Ping’an train with it.
After Xia Ping’an finished running two rounds and was covered in sweat from head to toe, Mo Yanshao immediately sent Xia Ping’an a message asking him to come to his office.
After 10 minutes, Xia Ping’an appeared in Mo Yanshao’s office dressed smartly.
“Director, did you want to see me?”
“I have a special mission for you,” Mo Yanshao said directly once Xia Ping’an entered the office.
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