On the morning of November 18th, Chen Chu had breakfast at the third-floor cafeteria, returned to his room to put on his battle armor and pick up his saber, and took the elevator down to the first floor with Xia Youhui.
When they stepped out, they found that there had been significant changes in the layout of the first floor overnight.
Several additional staff members were present at the reception area, and on the counter were signs indicating “Mission Locations.” A huge LCD display screen was mounted on the wall behind them, showing a high-definition map of the Leisteru city area and surrounding towns.
Liu Feng and the others were gathered around the counter, discussing something.
Curious, Chen Chu walked over and asked, "What's this 'Mission Locations' thing?"
"Chen Chu, you're here," Liu Feng said. "We just asked around. It looks like the Federation got all of its data together and got the intelligence department for Kyrola set up. Now, instead of running around and trying to find Blood Cultists ourselves, we can just wait for the authorities to get that information and pass it to us in the form of missions, which we can complete for contribution points. It sounds like there’s also going to be missions that don’t involve killing cultists.”
"That does make things a lot more convenient." Chen Chu nodded in agreement.
The situation in Leisteru had felt like a tangled mess to him. Official institutions had been paralyzed, law enforcement agencies were just being reestablished, and rebel cultists lurked about, occasionally engaging in skirmishes with the military. Now, after about a dozen days, the situation had finally stabilized.
Looking at the mission counter, Chen Chu couldn't help but feel a sense of dissonance. Why did he feel like he was going abroad to work as a mercenary during winter break?
Bai Mu spoke up. "Hey gorgeous, any new missions yet?"
The female staff behind the desk smiled politely and said, "I'm sorry, we’re currently synchronizing data from various departments. There are no mission updates in the backend at the moment."
Liu Feixu walked out of the elevator and waved her hand, shooing them away. "Alright, don't all crowd around here. Data organization takes some time," she said.
Just as everyone dispersed, Liu Feixu called out to Chen Chu. "Chen Chu, wait a moment."
"Yes, ma’am?" Chen Chu stopped in his tracks.
Liu Feixu smiled and said, "Perfect timing, I have a mission here for you."
"About two hours from now, a group of freshmen will arrive in Leisteru by plane. They come from two second-rate high schools, totaling around thirty people. Senior Colonel Zhang Hong and I were supposed to go to welcome them, but we have some last minute matters to attend to, so I'm assigning this task to you.
"Gather a few people to welcome the new students. Introduce them to the situation here, inform them of any important matters to note, and just generally guide them around. Let’s make the reward 5 contribution points."
After saying that, Liu Feixu left the lobby in a hurry; it seemed she really did have some urgent matter to attend to.
"Chen Chu, Chen Chu, pick me!"
"Chen Chu, aren't we good buddies?"
"Ah Chu, I want to go too..."
As soon as Liu Feixu left, Chen Chu was immediately surrounded by a group of classmates, each one eagerly volunteering to join him in welcoming the new students.
Not only would they get 1 contribution point just by going for a stroll, they would also get to show off in front of the students. Just thinking about it got them excited beyond measure.
Chen Chu cleared his throat. "Guys, this mission only gives 5 contribution points. That’s not enough to split between all of us."
"No worries, we don't need them."
"I don't want any either."
"We mainly want to show off... I mean, explain to the new students how to hunt down those Blood Cultists."
"I want to go and show off my wings to the new pretty girls."
"What's so special about wings? Is it as cool as my golden battle armor?"
With everyone so enthusiastic, Chen Chu naturally couldn't refuse. He could only reluctantly accept all the rewards, then set out with ten eager classmates, including Xia Youhui, Liu Feng, Bai Mu, Li Meng, and Yuan Chenghuang.
Not all the classmates were interested in welcoming the newcomers. Some went back to cultivate, while others waited in the lobby.
Since they were all wearing battle armor, it wasn't convenient to ride in cars or buses. Chen Chu arranged for three transport trucks and drivers from the base, and they headed straight to the airport. After about ten days, the destroyed road had been repaired enough that they could drive all the way.
As they passed through the small town, Chen Chu glanced around, but everything seemed normal. The military airport had also been repaired, looking a little less rundown, and the same squad was still stationed there.
By the side of the runway, everyone leaned against the trucks, bored. Liu Feng enviously remarked, "I heard that Li Hao’s strength skyrocketed after absorbing that mutated beast’s essence."
Yuan Chenghuang nodded. "Yeah, he's incredibly strong. The day before yesterday, I tracked down a Blood Cultist at the Second Heavenly Realm with him. The cultist was trying to escape in a vehicle, and Li Hao just smashed both the person and the car with one smack of his pillar. He's like a monster."
"Damn, that's intense," Li Meng exclaimed in surprise.
"I think he's already broken through to the Third Heavenly Realm," Yuan Chenghuang speculated.
"No way, that fast?" Liu Feng asked in doubt.
"It's possible," Xia Youhui replied. "He absorbed all seven portions of that essence, he has perfect affinity with his arts, and on top of that, there’s all the resources he’s probably exchanged for.
"As the school's second-ranked genius, it's not surprising for him to break through to the Third Realm by now. An Fuqing broke through a few days ago."
Li Meng openly expressed his admiration. "These guys are exceptional, it's only been a little over a month since they broke through to the Second Heavenly Realm.
"Coming to Kyrola was definitely the right choice. If I was still back at school, even if I cultivated diligently, it would have taken me at least half a year to break through to the Third Heavenly Realm. But now, as long as the cultivation resources keep up, it feels like I can probably break through to the Third Heavenly Realm within two months."
Liu Feng nodded. "Me too. My efficiency with the energy crystals is several times higher than usual, especially right after a fight with the Blood Cultists or rebel forces. It’s almost like my entire body and the true power in my dantian have gone into overdrive, and they’re just absorbing energy and growing stronger like crazy."
Xia Youhui nodded. "That's the purpose of these trials, to bring us close to death, so that we can witness it and evoke the instinct in our genes to carry on."
During the ensuing wait, the group exchanged their recent battle experiences, discussing how cunning and treacherous some of the Blood Cultists they had encountered were.
A low hum filled the air, and in the distance, a massive transport plane descended slowly from the sky. As it approached, it dropped its landing gear and touched down.
The aircraft taxied down the runway, whipping up a roaring wind, before finally coming to a gentle stop not far from where everyone was standing, guided by the control tower. The prepared mobile staircase was moved into place, and the cabin door opened.
Two middle-aged men came down first, followed by a group of young people. Excitement and curiosity were evident on their youthful faces, just like Chen Chu and the others had been when they first arrived in Kyrola.