Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Mercenary General Corps

WHOOSH—!

In the Spirit Realm training room, Chen Yu thrust out a palm, and a stream of icy air blasted from its center.

Frost immediately coated the air as the blast shot out three meters, a bone-chilling cold filling the training room.

Watching the icy stream, Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

After three days of constant practice, his Freezing Breath Skill had become second nature.

He could not only exhale it from his mouth but also blast the icy stream from both his palms.

The power from his palms was in no way inferior to what he could exhale. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He could even create a veritable ice storm.

With the power of his Freezing Breath, he could instantly encase a Level 3 Mutant Beast in ice.

If he caught a Level 4 Mutant Beast off guard, he could briefly freeze it as well.

His power had grown. Besides practicing his Skill, he hadn’t neglected his martial techniques either.

He had become extremely proficient with his Gale Knife Skill.

With his physical Evolution, he felt his innate talent was also improving, making his training feel as natural as a fish in water.

BZZT! BZZT!

Just then, a sudden vibration sounded.

"Video call request from Li Qing. Connect?"

Chen Yu glanced at his wrist and, with a thought, immediately exited the Spirit Realm World.

Back in his bedroom, Chen Yu tapped his Life Watch, which projected a virtual screen.

On the screen was Li Qing himself.

"What were you doing? Took you long enough to answer," Li Qing’s voice came from the screen.

"I was just training in the Spirit Realm, Captain. Is something wrong?" Chen Yu asked.

Li Qing said, "The roster for the expedition to the Crane Ridge Anomaly has been finalized. You’re on it. Report to the assembly point at Building C of the Mercenary Headquarters at 9 AM tomorrow. Duan Feng will be going with you."

Hearing this, Chen Yu looked at Li Qing on the screen. "Captain, we’re leaving for the Crane Ridge Anomaly as soon as tomorrow?"

"Yes. The initial recon is done, so we’re going tomorrow. Don’t you screw this up, kid," Li Qing said with a nod.

"Alright, I understand," Chen Yu replied with a nod.

Li Qing continued, "I’ll send you a file with information on the Crane Ridge Anomaly in a moment. Take a look, and coordinate with Duan Feng. You’re both from my Team 12, so you need to watch each other’s backs."

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay, that’s all. Remember the time: 9 AM tomorrow. Don’t be late."

"Understood."

...

The call ended, and his Life Watch vibrated.

"You have a new unread message. Please check your inbox."

Chen Yu opened the message and chose to project it as a virtual screen. As the screen materialized before him, lines of text appeared.

It was information about the Crane Ridge Anomaly.

It was similar to the data he’d found online about other Anomaly Realms, but there were some differences.

The Crane Ridge Anomaly was a new Abyssal Realm, and it contained a certain level of cosmic radiation.

For a Martial Artist, however, this level of cosmic radiation was tolerable.

Aside from the cosmic radiation, the file contained mostly information about the mutant beasts within the Crane Ridge Anomaly.

Chen Yu committed the data to memory. There wasn’t much information, so he finished reading quickly.

Even though the file on the Crane Ridge Anomaly was sparse, at least it was something. It would allow him to make some basic preparations.

Inside any Anomaly Realm, the greatest danger always came from the mutant beasts.

The number of mutant beasts in any given Abyssal Realm was always an unknown.

Every new Abyssal Realm required multiple expeditions before its parameters could be determined.

And that was one of the duties of the safe zone’s Mercenary Teams.

The risk was high, but so was the reward.

Every member on an exploratory mission into an Anomaly Realm received a substantial bonus.

This bonus was usually upwards of ten thousand.

That was comparable to a regular Mercenary’s monthly salary.

If they encountered special circumstances, that amount could be even higher.

Furthermore, a standard exploration of an Anomaly Realm could not exceed twenty-four hours.

Abyssal Realms were filled with cosmic radiation. It wasn’t a major issue within the first twenty-four hours, but after that mark, the radiation levels would increase dramatically.

Even Martial Artists couldn’t withstand it.

Of course, cosmic radiation was only one of the reasons.

The other was the Abyssal Demonic Qi.

This Abyssal Demonic Qi permeated the Abyssal Realm. Once the twenty-four-hour limit was passed, the Demonic Qi would surge, corrupting and interfering with any living beings inside.

This corruption was extremely detrimental to Martial Artists. For mutant beasts, however, the Abyssal Demonic Qi actually enhanced their abilities and made them even more ferocious.

Of course, not all Abyssal Realms behaved this way.

However, under normal circumstances, any trip into an Abyssal Realm was limited to a twenty-four-hour stay.

Staying any longer would drastically increase the danger level.

After all, the point of exploring an Abyssal Realm wasn’t to send people to their deaths.

After finishing the file on the Crane Ridge Anomaly, Chen Yu was about to call Duan Feng when a video call from Duan Feng himself came in.

He accepted the call, and the virtual screen appeared.

"Did the captain talk to you?" Duan Feng asked from the screen, sitting on a sofa.

Chen Yu nodded. "Yeah, he did. Told me to report to the Mercenary Headquarters at 9 AM tomorrow."

"Remember the time. Don’t forget," Duan Feng reminded him.

"Don’t worry, I won’t," Chen Yu nodded. He looked at Duan Feng on the screen and blinked. "By the way, Captain Duan, do you know how many people are going to the Crane Ridge Anomaly this time?"

"A dozen or so, I’d say. One from each team. You’re the exception—the Commander specifically added a spot for you. Plus three people from the Superpower Academy,"

Duan Feng said.

"That’s still a decent number of people," Chen Yu mused.

"The situation in the Crane Ridge Anomaly is still unclear, so of course we need more people,"

Duan Feng replied.

"So who’s in command?" Chen Yu asked, curious.

"The Vice-Commander is leading the Mercenary Team contingent. The three from the Superpower Academy aren’t under his command."

"The Vice-Commander..."

"By the way, did the boss send you the file on the Crane Ridge Anomaly?" Duan Feng asked.

"He just sent it. I’ve already read it," Chen Yu confirmed with a nod.

"Alright, nothing else then. See you at Mercenary Headquarters tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good."

After hanging up, Chen Yu glanced at the sky outside.

It was 9:30 PM.

’Time to get a good night’s sleep.’

He got up, took a cold shower in the bathroom, then lay down on his bed and drifted off to sleep.

He needed to rest up and conserve his energy.

—

「The next morning」

After eating breakfast, Chen Yu hailed a cab and headed for the Mercenary Headquarters.

The Mercenary Headquarters was located in the center of downtown Qing City.

The building was magnificent!

It was part of a larger complex, and despite being in the city center, it wasn’t as noisy as the surrounding areas.

On the contrary, it was very quiet.

After getting out of the cab, Chen Yu walked toward the main gate.

"You need to verify your identity to pass through here!"

An elderly man in a uniform called out to him from the security booth.

Chen Yu looked at the old man and, following his instructions, completed the security verification.

"Sir, which way to Building C?"

Chen Yu asked. The old man pointed. "Head in that way, and you’ll find it."

"Thanks."

Following the old man’s directions, Chen Yu walked onward. The headquarters campus was huge, with towering central buildings and dedicated, landscaped pathways.

Compared to the branch team’s station, it was simply on another level.

They were worlds apart.

He entered the main campus and soon reached the assembly point in the plaza in front of Building C.

In the distance, he could already see a few figures.

He didn’t recognize any of them, however.

"Well, look who’s early!"

Just then, a voice called out from nearby. Chen Yu turned to look.

Three figures came into view.

Two women and one man.

One of them was Meng Li, the student from the Superpower Academy he had met before.

The other two were a girl with short hair, a blue t-shirt, and jeans, whose baby face made her look fifteen or sixteen, and a young man with a buzz cut wearing overalls.