Chapter 9

Meng Li had always been solitary during her time in military school and had no intention of joining any team after graduation. Her first mission was undertaken alone.

The basic task for every C-level ability user was to submit five crystal cores from C-level beasts.

Calm, composed, and patient, Meng Li specifically sought out lone C-level beasts and successfully gathered five crystal cores. However, on her way back, she was targeted by a greedy mercenary team.

The five-person team consisted of four middle-aged combat mercenaries, all of whom were experienced. Meng Li faced considerable difficulty and sustained serious injuries, narrowly escaping thanks to her surprise toxic mist.

Not wanting to worry her family, Meng Li could only go to a clinic for treatment.

Watching the points she had just exchanged turn into medical fees, Meng Li truly understood the significance of recruiting a healer for a team—saving lives and saving money.

Having experienced the dangers of going solo, Meng Li went to the association’s recruitment area.

She didn’t like wasting her breath in interviews with competent teams, only to be scrutinized. Instead, she found a novice team that seemed somewhat agreeable, shared her basic information, and was pleasantly surprised that they could accept her introverted nature. Thus, Meng Li became a member of the “Steady Progress” team.

Meng Li’s first collaboration with “Steady Progress” was both thrilling and safe. The four new teammates appreciated her strong combat abilities, and she was satisfied with their stability.

This Friday marked Meng Li’s third collaboration with “Steady Progress” and her fourth basic task.

The outside world was fraught with danger, and no one could always rely on good fortune. This time, the five of them encountered two B-level beasts.

Meng Li dealt with one on her own while the other four confronted the other. Noticing that her teammates were retreating and casualties were imminent, Meng Li released her Spirit Beast to help.

At that moment, Meng Li thought that as long as the five of them worked together, they had a 70% chance of defeating these two B-level beasts.

Who would have thought that those four teammates would take advantage of the B-level beast being entangled by the Fire Scorpion Spirit Beast to abandon Meng Li and run away themselves? They even believed Meng Li was certain to die and took most of the crystal cores, which she had helped kill the beast, to turn in to their captain and healer first.

Meng Li would not forgive her former teammates for abandoning her, but she also wouldn’t continue to fight alone because of this incident.

Rather than look for unfamiliar strangers, teaming up with someone like Xu Qiao, who was bright and generous and had previous collaboration experience, was obviously a good choice.

Meng Li followed Xu Qiao to the recruitment booth just set up by Sun Fushan. Qin Chi was already sitting beside Sun Fushan, calm and at ease amid the bustling crowd, more fitting of a captain’s image than Sun Fushan.

Xu Qiao smiled as she introduced Meng Li’s abilities to the two: “Fire and Poison dual C-level, even our strongest B-level student from our class has suffered at her hands.”

Although Xu Qiao didn’t exaggerate Meng Li’s abilities, she explained, “He wasn’t prepared at the time; if we faced off again, I might not necessarily win.”

Sun Fushan was dumbfounded.

A C-level facing a B-level opponent not only didn’t directly concede but said “might not necessarily win”? That meant there was still a chance of victory?

She must be a big shot among C-levels!

After the initial shock and excitement, Sun Fushan suddenly calmed down and glanced at the three people around him. He first added Xu Qiao as a friend and then messaged: “You’re all so strong; you could totally form your own team. I don’t mind; just keep recruiting. I’m not in a hurry, and if I really can’t gather enough people, my family has bodyguards to take me along.”

Xu Qiao glanced at the plump captain, who was plain-looking and staring at his communication wristband: “Bodyguards?”

Sun Fushan replied: “Yeah, I’m only C-level, and my family worries I’ll encounter danger outside, so they arrange for bodyguards to accompany me on missions. But I feel like that doesn’t improve my strength at all, which is why I want to form my own team.”

At first, Sun Fushan had wanted to join an established team, but since others looked down on him for being inexperienced and stuttering, he had to become the captain and recruit people himself.

Xu Qiao said: “Your family must be quite wealthy; why didn’t you hire a high-level healer to treat your stutter?”

Sun Fushan explained: “I did, but they said my stutter is caused by psychological factors, and healers can only treat physical injuries.”

Xu Qiao understood: “It’s fine; Meng Li doesn’t talk much either. When we go on missions, we shouldn’t be making loud noises anyway; we should focus on our abilities. Let’s not chat one-on-one all the time. You create a group, and I’ll add Qin Chi and Meng Li.”

Seeing this, Sun Fushan lifted his head, first looking at Qin Chi, who met his calm gaze, then at Meng Li, who looked cold and seemed hard to get along with.

Sun Fushan quickly lowered his head again, silently creating the group, naming it the same as the team.

Xu Qiao gestured for Meng Li to sit inside the booth, where there were two empty chairs.

Once seated, Sun Fushan sent the first message in the group: “Hello, I’m very happy to team up with you. I might not speak fluently, so chatting like this saves time; you can speak directly, and I have no problem hearing.”
—-
The three looked up.

Sun Fushan’s face immediately turned bright red, and he averted his gaze.

Qin Chi said: “It’s fine; typing is convenient too.”

Meng Li added: “Right.”

Xu Qiao: “That’s pretty good; it really fits our team’s name.”

Sun Fushan: “Ah, I just came up with the team’s name randomly. If you have better ideas, we can change it. By the way, let’s change the captain too; you’re all more suitable than I am.”

Meng Li: “I don’t want to be the captain.”

Qin Chi: “I’m a teacher, and grading assignments can be quite tiring, so I’m not suitable for the captain role either.”

Xu Qiao: “@Sun Fushan, I work at a clinic. What about you?”

Sun Fushan: “I’m a librarian.”

Xu Qiao: “Is it busy?”

Sun Fushan: “It’s pretty relaxed, from nine to five.”

Xu Qiao: “Then you should still be the captain; we trust you.”

Qin Chi: “Thanks for your hard work, Captain.”

Meng Li: “Yeah, thanks for your effort.”

Sun Fushan’s face turned red: “Okay, I’ll do my best to be a good captain. By the way, have you all completed the tasks for the first half of the year?”

Xu Qiao: “Qin Chi and I haven’t.”

Meng Li: “What a waste of effort; we’ll have to do it again.”

A team of mercenaries with weaker abilities or bad luck might need to make several trips outside to kill enough magical beasts.

Xu Qiao guessed Meng Li’s experience, while Sun Fushan didn’t think much about it: “Then let’s pick a task to take first, and when we register the team members’ information later, we can collect it directly?”

All three agreed, and they finally chose a task for the following Sunday.

At 10:45, the four of them walked out of the association hall.

Sun Fushan suggested driving Meng Li home but was awkwardly turned down, so he left first.

Meng Li was going to take the subway.

Xu Qiao knew Qin Chi had a lunch appointment, so she told him to go ahead, planning to accompany Meng Li to the nearby subway station.

Qin Chi glanced at his communication wristband and said, “I have a lunch meeting at noon. I need to go home to change clothes; we might as well head back together.”

Meng Li walked away on her own.

Xu Qiao followed Qin Chi into the car, and by that time, Meng Li’s figure had already disappeared from the street outside.

Xu Qiao said, “All three of us are three-point contributors; you really don’t mind?”

Qin Chi laughed, “I was worried you guys would think I’m too old and that there’s a generation gap between us.”

Aside from him, the other three were all in their twenties.

Xu Qiao joked, “How could that be? Besides, having you as the face of the team, other teams won’t dare underestimate us.”

Qin Chi replied, “Hmm, I’ll just consider it as bringing my students for some practical experience.”
—-
At 11:55, Qin Chi parked the car in front of a villa located on a quiet hillside in the central area.

The principal of the Third Military Academy, Dong Mingliang, had already been waiting at the gate for a few minutes. When he saw Qin Chi, dressed in a suit, stepping out of the black car, Dong Mingliang was shocked and opened his mouth in disbelief. He remained in that dazed expression until Qin Chi walked up to him, looking as if he had seen someone dress a missile in a tailcoat.

“Long time no see.”

“You… how have you changed like this?”

Seeing Qin Chi’s warm and gentle smile, Dong Mingliang stepped back three times, covering his goosebumps arms.

He still preferred the cold, stern expression of General Qin, dressed in military uniform, who rarely smiled.

Qin Chi retracted his empty hand and smiled, “Have I changed? Actually, I’ve always wanted to live this kind of life; I just didn’t have the opportunity before.”

Dong Mingliang’s gaze dropped to Qin Chi’s white shirt with one button undone and the beige suit jacket he was wearing.

He still felt awkward but had to admit that the aura Qin Chi exuded now indeed matched his attire better.

“Let’s go inside first; give me a few minutes to get used to it. Also, what are you holding?”

Qin Chi replied, “I remember you like to drink, so I specially bought two bottles. It wouldn’t do to arrive empty-handed on my first visit.”

Dong Mingliang: “…”

Qin Chi admired the scenery around the villa, which felt somewhat mismatched with Dong Mingliang: “Is this your home, or…?”

Dong Mingliang: “Don’t mention it; this villa was allocated by the Third Military Academy for the previous presidents. Uncle Li saw that Uncle Luo passed the position of the Second School’s principal to Old Wei, so he copied him and shoved the Third School onto me, including this villa. It’s so desolate that I usually don’t live here. I know you don’t want to attract attention, so I temporarily came here to host you.”

He was only thirty-eight years old; with military duties keeping him busy, he had to squeeze time to spend with his wife and children. How could he find time to manage the military academy?

But those old-timers said that younger principals were better at connecting with military academy students and would be more suitable for enhancing the army’s appeal, insisting they take the job.

Suddenly, Dong Mingliang’s eyes lit up as he asked Qin Chi, “Since you’re here to rest and are looking for something to do at the military academy, why not come to the Third School and be principal for two years? Being a teacher involves grading assignments and dealing with students, which is far more exhausting than being a principal.”

Qin Chi: “The principal carries the honor of the school; the pressure is too great and not suitable for resting.”

Dong Mingliang: “…”

The two walked into the dining room, where the cook had set up several dishes before leaving.

The talk about principals and teachers was just banter. Dong Mingliang was more concerned about Qin Chi’s health: “Everything is fine; why did you suddenly decide to rest?”

Since the establishment of the base, the threat from magical beasts, especially those from the sea, had never ceased. Whether it was the S-class marshals or the soldiers below, they all held the line. Besides a few brief holidays, soldiers could only leave the battlefield for an extended period if they lost limbs or even died. For other injuries, don’t worry—there are healers!

Therefore, the Northeast base granted Qin Chi a three-year long leave, which must have some underlying reasons.

Qin Chi smiled and countered, “Aside from you and Old Wei, who else knows I’m here?”

Dong Mingliang said seriously, “Don’t worry; just the two of us. Even if others know, it will be through other channels.”

Qin Chi nodded, raised his glass, and toasted Dong Mingliang.

Just as Dong Mingliang was about to inwardly criticize the polite gestures of his former comrade, his pupils suddenly shrank.

Qin Chi’s hand, holding the wine glass, was originally slender and fair, but in the instant Dong Mingliang looked over, golden-red scales rapidly covered the back of Qin Chi’s hand, spreading into the long sleeves of his shirt.

Dong Mingliang stood up in shock: “How could this happen?”

As soon as he spoke, the golden-red scales on Qin Chi’s hand vanished, making it seem like it had been an illusion.

Once Dong Mingliang sat down again, Qin Chi looked at the slightly swaying clear liquor in his glass and said, “Professor Wu said that I’ve committed too many killings in the past ten years. The more rational and calm I become, the more violent and bloodthirsty my spiritual body becomes. When the desires of my spiritual body overwhelm my reason, it will try to take over this body. Professor Wu defined this phenomenon as ‘beastification.’”

Dong Mingliang furrowed his brows tightly: “Can it be treated?”

Qin Chi replied, “There are too few cases; Professor Wu isn’t confident. He just wants me to try it first.”

Dong Mingliang: “Too few cases? So, you’re not the first person to show signs of bodily beastification?”

Qin Chi: “Yes, but the others were all discovered in the early era of the New Century. Due to prolonged high pressure on the front lines, some warriors with animal spiritual bodies exhibited signs of beastification. However, those individuals either sacrificed themselves or chose to hide it for personal reasons due to fear, so there are almost no cases available for research.”

Dong Mingliang released his own bear spirit.

It condensed into a two-meter-tall giant brown bear, which immediately snatched the braised pork from the table and retreated to the other side to devour it.

Externally manifested spiritual bodies cannot truly digest food but can absorb the energy contained within it.

Dong Mingliang felt a mix of emotions: “I’ve killed for many more years than you; I’ve certainly killed more than you. Will I one day also beastify?”

Qin Chi lowered his gaze: “Not necessarily. In addition to killing, whether an ability user beastifies is also related to personality and experiences.”

“Don’t worry too much. Even if there are such symptoms, as long as the ability user can calm down in time, they can regain control of their body. After all, the spiritual body is a part of us, not an enemy.”

Beastification also has its degrees, and Qin Chi’s rest this time was to halt the further expansion of the beastification range.

Dong Mingliang asked, “How far are you now?”

Qin Chi smiled: “A completely controllable level.”