Chen Gu was utterly depressed. Ironically, the idea had been his own; he had lifted a rock only to drop it on his own foot.
Qing Ruyan, clad in a black evening gown, appeared at the entrance to the hotel’s most prestigious banquet hall.
Chen Gu, in a simple suit, was immediately met with Qing Ruyan’s frown. "What are you wearing? Are you some fresh graduate who just found a job?"
Dragging Chen Gu straight to the hotel’s first-floor shopping mall, she swiftly outfitted him in a fashionable deep purple suit. Paired with a pale gold skinny tie and maroon leather shoes, his entire ensemble proclaimed a simple truth to everyone: I am merely a vase.
The President’s vase. Discover more novels at novel•fire.net
Qing Ruyan nodded in satisfaction. "This is more like it."
Chen Gu rolled his eyes and consoled himself internally, Well, as an Oscar-winning actor, I can play any role, even that of a male vase.
Inside the banquet hall, everyone had arrived. Dora and two other uniquely dressed professionals sat at one table, while the "hosts," Delai and Liu Shichan, were seated at the central table.
At another table sat a team of five in uniform, apparently another group of professionals hired by the employer.
The President, arriving fashionably late with her personal vase in tow, caused some quiet dissatisfaction among the members of the other professional team. However, they were here on business and, considering the high risk of the mission, were not about to start squabbling at their first meeting.
Still, the team exchanged glances, muttering among themselves, "Her style is quite frivolous."
"So relaxed at the Second Energy Level. It seems this is as far as she’ll go in life."
"Don’t provoke her. We might not respect her lifestyle, but we must respect her power."
The only woman in the five-member team was bald, her body pierced wherever possible. Her face and scalp were covered with mysterious and eerie tattoos. She looked greedily at the President’s vase, licking her lips with apparent desire.
"Huo Mei!" the captain chided her sharply. "Don’t provoke her! We might need her to save our lives in the Yingudusi Devil’s Pit!"
Huo Mei muttered discontentedly but stopped staring at Chen Gu.
When Chen Gu walked in, Liu Shichan’s face briefly registered shock, but the girl was quick to suppress it, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Dora eagerly ran over to pull out a chair for the President. "Please, take a seat."
Qing Ruyan offered a disingenuous apology. "Sorry for the delay, something came up. Please forgive my tardiness."
Leder, with a smile, stood up. "We don’t mind at all, President. The purpose of getting everyone together today is to get to know each other a bit, so we can cooperate more effectively in the upcoming mission."
He continued, "Let me start by saying our boss has hired a 40-man army to provide logistical support for everyone. The boss is very generous. All you need to do is solve those... problems; the army will take care of the rest of the minor inconveniences."
The other team stood up first to introduce themselves.
Each of the five members was at the First Energy Level, but the leader, Hu Ling, candidly admitted he was at the limit of the First Energy Level and was just waiting to accumulate enough money to advance to the Second Energy Level.
His profession was Hell Titan, an Old Profession granting exceptionally strong physical strength. Chen Gu had once fought alongside a Hell Titan at the Zhaojieze City branch and was therefore familiar with the profession.
Another member, "Glove," was a Medium Instructor, a New Profession capable of manipulating various "mediums." Many forms of energy, like sound waves, require a medium, and this profession utilized such characteristics for combat.
"Boluo" was an Alchemist. However, unlike team leader Marcus, he focused on using his abilities to create various explosions, specializing in one direction rather than developing broadly like Marcus.
In some respects, he could be considered a watered-down version of a Nuclear Explosion Nun.
Chen Gu disagreed with Boluo’s professional choice because, no matter what, playing with explosions simply couldn’t compare to professions specializing in nuclear-type effects.
Boluo’s approach seemed to lead to rapid development in the early stages, allowing him to quickly secure a foothold within the team and become an indispensable part of their combat strength. However, by narrowing his path, he would become increasingly marginal in the future.
"Old Desert" was a Sand Demon of the Ancient Deserts, a rather rare Old Profession with the ability to turn oneself into flowing sand. In this state, one could take on various forms made of sand, significantly increasing strength and resilience to damage.
However, this profession was also known as a heavily downgraded version of a Multistate Special Agent.
The only female in the group, Huo Mei, was a Magnetic Converger, with the ability to control various magnetic forces.
This was a very powerful New Profession. From her casual self-introduction and the indulgence of her teammates, Chen Gu could tell that this woman actually held a high status within the group.
But what was the deal with her covertly throwing a flirtatious glance at me during her introduction? It’s not that I’m prejudiced against your looks; it’s just that your... style is totally not my type.
After Hu Ling’s team finished introducing themselves, it was Dora’s turn.
Dora, hoping everyone would cooperate to complete the mission, stood up proactively. "My name is Dora, and I am a Guardian Elf, First Energy Level."
Chen Gu nodded to himself, acknowledging that this was an Old Profession whose practitioners possessed an extremely high talent for shooting. Big Rabbit probably specialized in long-range attacks.
Two people standing beside Dora stood up, hand in hand—a couple.
"I am a Paradox Architect."
"I am a Microscopic Analyst."
That’s right, both were male. Chen Gu paused a moment and almost laughed out loud. Locke sounds like ’lock,’ and Ken sounds like ’key,’ doesn’t it? From their names alone, one could discern their roles in this relationship! How intriguing!
Paradox Architect is a New Profession with many limitations. The practitioner needs to construct a "paradox" out of thin air to use their ability.
If they couldn’t find the right paradox in a fight, then the practitioner was just a slightly more powerful warrior at best.
But if they created just the right paradox, a fight that was evenly matched could turn into a one-sided slaughter.
In terms of traits, it was somewhat similar to Melincha’s Relative Arbiter.
The Microscopic Analyst, however, was much more convenient. As long as they could see through the "microscopic" truth of their target, they could make any changes to it.
Finally, it was the President’s turn. She stood up and said plainly, "Psychological Spy, Second Energy Level."
Then she sat down. No one dared to stand up and accuse her of arrogance. Even though a Psychological Spy doesn’t have strong direct combat abilities, merely being at the Second Energy Level allowed her to prevent all the professionals present from attacking. She could even use psychological suggestion to make anyone commit suicide on the spot!
Then, it seemed the President realized the banquet hall was still silent; everyone was waiting for her to introduce the decorative vase beside her.