"Captain Zhou, you don’t seem to be in the best state?"
Inside the operating room, the operating doctor glanced up at Zhou Ling, a hint of warning in his tone.
"No...it’s nothing, keep going."
Zhou Ling shook his head, his face becoming somewhat somber and grim.
On the light screen before him, the young man he had been watching intently had now walked right up to the Cave Mouse Monster.
He was positioned directly between the Cave Mouse Monster and the black box. Judging by his eager, fist-clenching appearance, he seemed determined to confront the Cave Mouse Monster head-on.
Zhou Ling couldn’t help but swear.
The invisible earpiece implanted under his skin immediately relayed a cold, angry voice.
"Zhou Ling, you dare swear at me?"
Only then did Zhou Ling remember that he had not yet ended the earlier phone call.
"No, I wasn’t talking about you," Zhou Ling hurriedly explained, though his expression turned even uglier.
The strength of this Cave Mouse Monster, according to initial estimates, had reached C-, roughly equivalent to an ordinary Evil Divine Servant.
A minion of an Evil God at this level couldn’t be dealt with using just a standard beginner’s trapping device.
Strictly speaking, it already qualified to be added to the organization’s kill list and could become the target for the next mission he would lead.
And faced with such a powerful opponent, Lu Yuan actually chose to forgo the trapping device, intending to fight it hand-to-hand? Did he have no discernment at all? What did I praise him for just now? Level-headedness?!!
What’s he thinking? With his superficial grasp of the True Martial Skill of the Heaven Water Crane Sect, he plans to confront a Divine Servant-level opponent head-on? Has practicing martial arts at such a young age addled his brain?
Zhou Ling was still ranting internally, but he quickly composed himself and spoke with a grave expression, "Gao Qing, are you still listening?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?" The cold female voice on the other end of the earpiece was beginning to sound irritated.
"Are you on a mission right now? Still in Burnt Rock? How many people can you mobilize? Rush to the coordinates I’m about to give you immediately, I’ve run into some trouble..."
Zhou Ling’s mind raced, hoping to find the most appropriate solution as quickly as possible.
He didn’t want to deal with Lu Yuan anymore; he couldn’t anyway. If this kid was determined to get himself killed, he couldn’t stop him. He’d initially thought Lu Yuan was a promising talent who could be recruited into the organization, but now...
"...I’ll send you the target’s detailed information now. You’d better lead the team yourself..."
As Zhou Ling spoke, he operated the transparent light screen before him, his gaze periodically flicking to the image on the main display.
During one such casual glance, his attention was suddenly captivated.
The scene currently displayed showed the C-rank Cave Mouse Monster launching an attack, fiercely pouncing at the youth’s slender figure.
Zhou Ling instinctively initiated data collection, watching with a frown, his expression solemn and grave. He could almost picture what was about to happen.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind—
Did this kid bring an expert from the Heaven Water Crane Sect with him again? Is that why he’s so fearless? Just like last time, when he managed to survive an encounter with a Strong Divine Servant from the Crow God Sect?
This thought was like a flash of insight, illuminating Zhou Ling’s mind in an instant.
But before this insight could fully register, what he saw in the very next second left Zhou Ling completely dumbstruck and frozen for a long moment—
On the screen, the youth’s figure suddenly seemed to subtly bulge outward, his muscles rippling and coiling, and he unleashed a fierce punch.
The Cave Mouse Monster charging straight at him had its head instantly explode without so much as a whimper. The remnants scattered everywhere, like a watermelon bursting open under the scorching sun.
The headless Cave Mouse Monster’s body froze, then swayed, its massive frame collapsing limply to the ground.
The blood-splattered youth’s eyes were closed as he calmly retracted his fist, standing his ground, his face serene.
From start to finish, he had made only a single move—a punch! And with that, he had cleanly ended it all.
Zhou Ling gazed dumbfounded at the scene unfolding before him.
His entire body was rigid, as if he had been injected with a potent muscle hardener, frozen in place. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ Nove1Fire.net
Countless newly collected data points scrolled like a waterfall down the screen before his eyes.
He heard the warning from the operating doctor, "Captain Zhou, your heart rate and blood pressure are rising rapidly... I demand an immediate halt to the surgery!"
And then there was the cold female voice from his earpiece, "Zhou Ling! Zhou Ling, are you even listening to me?"
Unfortunately, Zhou Ling couldn’t hear a thing by now.
His eyes were fixed on the image of the handsome youth standing calmly, serene and tranquil, looking utterly harmless.
The waterfall of data gradually paused its scrolling, and a new profile finally appeared before Zhou Ling.
Male, Seventeen years old...
Strength Assessment: C
Potential Assessment: A+"
"Evaluation: One in ten thousand!"
Finally, it’s settled.
Lu Yuan felt a profound sense of relief and exhilaration. It was like waiting a month for the results of a major exam, and then finally seeing them posted—and the results were even better than he had dared to hope!
On the Fighter panel, the fully unlocked Crane Cry Punch skill shone brilliantly, hanging high like the morning star.
No, it shouldn’t be called Crane Cry Punch anymore. It now has a name of its own.