Chen Gu drew his sword; the recently learned "Rage Skyburst Blade" rang out fiercely! He didn’t really intend to kill anyone, but this particular set of sword techniques was inherently imbued with rage, dominance, and cruelty. It instantly intimidated the four Xeno-hunters as Chen Gu unsheathed his weapon.
They too had faced death in the wilderness many times and quickly sensed the danger, struggling on a mental level to break free from this state of intimidation.
But they were out of time. Chen Gu turned his blade sideways and delivered four resounding slaps across the Xeno-hunters’ left cheeks.
How formidable is "Rage of the Empty Sky"? Chen Gu controlled his force so it wasn’t fatal. Nevertheless, it still made their heads buzz, shattered all the teeth on one side of their mouths, and caused blood to stream out.
After smacking them, Chen Gu felt his thoughts had cleared, so he sheathed his sword and walked away with a smile, standing beside the cleric. "I passed."
The cleric stared, speechless, and after a while muttered, "Is this the state of young people nowadays? The more beautiful they are, the more irritable? Is violent beauty trending among the younger generation?"
Qing Ruyan approached the four Xeno-hunters, who were now sitting on the ground, battered by Chen Gu, and asked with concern, "How are you all? Feeling any better?"
The four wobbled their heads and slowly stood up, mumbling indistinctly, "We’re... we’re alright..."
"Alright then? Good that you’re alright. Now, if I hit you, it won’t be considered taking advantage of you while you’re down."
The Xeno-hunters thought they’d misheard. Then they saw Qing Ruyan extend an arm, which instantly multiplied into four!
Those four arms swelled in an instant like the limbs of a colossus, aimed at the hunters’ right cheeks, and smacked down harshly.
The four impacts sounded as one sharp crack. Then, the four men were sent tumbling cleanly through the air by Qing Ruyan’s strike!
This time they collapsed completely onto the ground, their faces swollen like pigs’ heads, unlikely to wake up any time soon.
Qing Ruyan’s four arms vanished as swiftly as they appeared, returning to her original single arm. Chen Gu’s eyelid twitched at the sight. How many scumbags has this girl slapped in her life to have developed such a divine skill!
He looked at that arm and felt a vague sense of fear, as if facing a natural predator.
Then, Chen Gu silently cursed. What am I afraid of? I’m not a scumbag, hmph.
His second thought was: What kind of profession is this? What skill? I’ve never heard of it before.
Qing Ruyan’s smile was enchanting as she asked the cleric, "I passed the assessment too, right?"
As she approached, the cleric stepped back in fright. Chen Gu thought scornfully: Definitely a scumbag! Otherwise, why would he be so scared?
"You two..." the cleric said helplessly, "both passed the assessment. How about forming a team to complete this mission?"
Before Chen Gu could speak, Qing Ruyan had already agreed happily, "Sure."
Chen Gu felt a surge of vigilance, a nagging feeling that her "jade hand" was aiming for his face.
Just then, a burly and strong cleric came out from inside and asked with displeasure, "Why the delay? I’ve been waiting to assess you for a long time."
The first cleric—the one Chen Gu considered a scumbag—hurried forward and whispered a few words. The burly cleric glanced at Qing Ruyan and subconsciously stepped back. "Heh, no need for an assessment. Please, feel free to proceed."
Chen Gu and Qing Ruyan completed the simple mission registration procedures inside the church and then came out together. Chen Gu couldn’t help but ask, "Why did you come here too?"
Qing Ruyan put on a pitiful expression. "I’m short on money, and the Atomic Holy Church offers very generous compensation."
Chen Gu knew this well. His goal was the "Nuclear Combat Technique," so his main concern was merit points, but the cash rewards for the missions were indeed substantial.
For example, finding Dilina’s whereabouts would earn a reward of two hundred thousand Starshields.
The ultimate mission objective: Retrieve the "World-Ending Sacred Hand," with a cash reward of up to three hundred million!
But Chen Gu looked at Qing Ruyan’s devastatingly beautiful face—the kind that could topple nations and bring disaster—and just couldn’t bring himself to trust her. He remembered a maxim from his past life: The prettier the woman, the more deceitful she is!
"Heh heh," Chen Gu chuckled. "The agency’s salary isn’t low, is it?"
"It’s not bad. My annual salary is five million Starshields, but a girl has lots of expenses, you know: cosmetics, skincare products, clothes, jewelry, jewelry, jewelry, jewelry, jewelry..."
Chen Gu listened in astonishment, nearly blurting out the joking phrase "I’ll be your sugar daddy then," but he managed to swallow it back down.
An annual salary of five million...
Even though your old man here has a billion, I wouldn’t dare be so bold as to try and keep a career woman like her.
What if she actually agreed? It’d cost me tens of millions a year, at least. Surely... I can’t have my son pay for his old man’s mistress, right?
Chen Gu tilted his head, seriously mulling over the possibility. The issue isn’t whether I can be shameless enough, but whether my adult son would agree.
"Heh heh, if an annual salary of five million Starshields isn’t enough for you, then two hundred thousand Starshields must be like a drop in the bucket, right?"
Qing Ruyan nodded like a chicken pecking at grain. "Exactly! That’s why my target is the final mission reward of three hundred million!"
The two chatted idly as they left the church and walked down the street. As Qing Ruyan was talking, she suddenly fell silent. Chen Gu turned his head and saw that her fangirl tendencies had flared up again; her head was swiveling to follow a handsome man walking by.
Only when he had turned the corner and was out of sight did she snap back to reality and discreetly wipe away a trace of drool. "So handsome!"
Chen Gu was disgruntled. "Is he more handsome than me?"
Qing Ruyan looked at him seriously, then answered with great certainty, "Actually, no, you’re more handsome. But I see you all the time, so I’m experiencing some aesthetic fatigue."
Chen Gu instantly felt that although this young woman often lied, she was remarkably honest at crucial moments.
Chen Gu had driven there, so he offered Qing Ruyan a ride. "Where are you headed? I’ll drop you off."
"I’m going back to the sub-office."
On the way, they discussed the mission. However, Chen Gu was preoccupied with the "President’s" gender. With Qing Ruyan accompanying me, could I perhaps get her to pose as the "President"?
But how would I explain the social media communicator issue to her?
Chen Gu didn’t act rashly. After dropping Qing Ruyan off, he went home. Once there, he took out his social media communicator. As soon as he turned it on, messages from Big Rabbit with a gold tooth and cowboy hat started popping up one after another:
"Mr. President, the mission time is approaching! Big Rabbit is so excited to finally meet you in person!"
"The client has everything ready on their end. The first payment has been transferred. Shall I send it to you?"
"Waaah! Begging for a reply, Mr. President!"
"You... you... you... [Shyly Poking Fingers Emoji] ...you haven’t changed your mind about doing this mission, have you?"
"[Kneeling and Begging Emoji] Please don’t say no! [Kneeling and Begging Emoji]"
"If you have any other requests, we can discuss them!"
"No need to discuss! Even if you, Mr. President, want to play with my little bunny, I’ll satisfy your request!"