155: Chapter 155 The Trapped Beast Begins

By the time the recruitment ended, most of the crowd on the training grounds had already dispersed.

The recruitment points for various squadrons were being withdrawn one after another, leaving only a few scattered groups still performing final registrations.

Qin Ce's recruitment point was also packed up; the broken tables and chairs were moved back to the barracks. The wooden board covered in recruitment conditions leaned against the wall, its charcoal writing barely legible in the twilight.

Qin Ce stood at the front of the queue, flipping through the roster.

Twenty-three names.

This was the result of his entire day's work.

It wasn't many; compared to other squadrons that easily reached sizes of forty or fifty, his number was even a bit pathetic.

But Qin Ce knew that these twenty-three people were picked one by one from thousands of refugees.

He wasn't picking conscripts; he was picking talent.

Every single one had been screened by Nine-Star Insight, and every single one possessed potential that others couldn't see.

He hadn't filled the squad to its full capacity.

Firstly, because after he switched to an invitation-only system, the further he went, the higher his standards became. The more hidden talents he saw, the harder it was to actually make a choice.

He kept thinking he should look a bit more, just a bit more, as there might be even better candidates.

Secondly, the people who had joined were all carrying injuries, illnesses, or hidden risks; not a single one possessed full combat capability.

Healing, restoring, and training them one by one would require a massive amount of time and resources.

Biting off more than one can chew—Qin Ce still understood this principle.

He closed the roster and looked up at the reviewing stand.

On the stage stood a middle-aged man in his forties with a burly build, a square face, thick eyebrows, and lips pressed into a thin line.

He wasn't wearing a military uniform but a grey-black combat suit with the collar open, revealing a section of his sturdy neck.

His Pet Beast crouched at his feet—a large, pitch-black cat. It was shaped like a leopard but more slender, with amber eyes that scanned the crowd below lazily.

This was the current commander of the Wuji Army, Commander Chu Mingjue.

Before Qin Ce could follow the procedures to become commander step-by-step, this man held the position.

Qin Ce's gaze lingered on him for a moment.

This was the first time he had met the highest-ranking officer of the Wuji Army.

Before coming, he had viewed Commander Chu Mingjue's file in the commander's medallion—a High-Grade Gold Beast Tamer who had been in the Wuji Army for eleven years, climbing up from the bottom step by step.

The photo in the file was black and white, making it hard to see his expression, but those eyes were the same as they were now: heavy, like a pool of stagnant water.

Commander Chu Mingjue stood firm on the stage, his gaze sweeping across the entire field.

When it swept over to Qin Ce's side, it paused for a moment.

That pause was very brief—so brief that if one wasn't observing deliberately, it would be impossible to notice.

But Qin Ce noticed.

The way Commander Chu Mingjue looked at him wasn't the scrutinizing gaze of a superior to a subordinate, nor was it the indifference of a stranger to a stranger; it was something more complex, a coldness carrying a certain preconceived stance.

Qin Ce's heart stirred slightly.

In the entire Wuji Army, only Commander Chu Mingjue knew his true identity.

When the military headquarters arranged for him to take office, they must have briefed Commander Chu Mingjue.

This commander, who had been in the Wuji Army for eleven years, knew he would eventually be replaced by an eighteen-year-old youth. His attitude was quite intriguing.

Qin Ce withdrew his gaze, his expression remaining normal.

Commander Chu Mingjue spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was deep, like muffled thunder rolling in from the distance, suppressing all the ambient noise in the field.

He had no script and no nonsense; his first words were: "A few days ago, we buried five hundred and seventeen people."

The entire field fell silent.

"In this beast tide, they defended our home for us. I hope to see a return on their sacrifice through you later." His voice was flat, almost devoid of emotion, yet its authority was soul-shaking.

Qin Ce noticed that no one below was whispering, no one was moving, and no one even coughed.

Hundreds of people stood there like hundreds of wooden stakes driven into the ground.

"Newcomers." Commander Chu Mingjue's gaze swept toward the refugees who had just been recruited. "Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, the military will uniformly activate your Soul Talismans. Don't be late. If you're late, no one will wait for you."

His gaze shifted back to the captains of each squadron: "The rules for beast egg distribution have changed this year. In addition to each team's contribution points, military merit exchange will be added. As for the specific ratios, captains will go to the military headquarters after the meeting to collect the documents."

Qin Ce's brow furrowed slightly.

Military merit exchange.

This was equivalent to saying that previously, if your team's contribution points were high, you could get good beast eggs. Now that wouldn't work; you had to pay with your own military merit.

This meant nothing to those established squadrons with deep foundations, but for the other squadrons, it was a form of extortion.

And as for him—others might not know, but this commander certainly knew that Qin Ce held a massive amount of military merit.

This felt somewhat targeted at him.

He looked at the other captains around him.

No one frowned, no one whispered, and no one even showed a look of surprise.

Clearly, everyone's interests were being infringed upon.

Yet everyone maintained that expressionless look, as if this unreasonable rule was perfectly natural.

Qin Ce's heart stirred once more.

He remembered what Staff Officer Sun had told him on the way.

"The Wuji Army doesn't have any deep connection with the Federation." It wasn't that there was no connection, but that they had their own set of rules.

And the core of this set of rules was not fairness or rationality, but obedience.

If those above spoke, you listened.

Unreasonable?

That's your problem.

Qin Ce felt this even more deeply now.

Commander Chu Mingjue continued speaking, his voice still flat, as if arranging a most ordinary matter: "As for the missions for the next month, each team can look for themselves."

With a wave of his hand, the adjutant behind him unfolded a massive map.

The map marked the terrain of the North, the distribution of ferocious beasts, and—mission points.

"Each team must complete at least one three-star mission, two two-star missions, and three one-star missions. Every month, five thousand military merit must be handed over to the military headquarters. For every mission not completed, an additional one thousand military merit will be added."

The field remained silent.

Qin Ce did the math in his head.

The base military merit for a three-star mission was three thousand to three thousand five hundred; a two-star mission was fifteen hundred to two thousand; and a one-star mission was between three hundred and one thousand.

By the lowest standards, the total military merit for completing all missions would be at least seven thousand.

Handing over five thousand seemed like it wouldn't be too difficult and was reasonable.

However, you also had to consider the members' salaries, the consumption of supplies, and pension compensation.

Those five thousand became extremely heavy.

This meant that each team had to over-complete missions, take on more missions, and go to more dangerous places.

For every mission not completed, add another thousand military merit.

This wasn't a punishment; this was a death sentence.

Qin Ce's gaze swept over those established squadrons.

Their captains were expressionless, but their eyes—Qin Ce saw them clearly—held a sort of resigned calm, their sharp edges already worn down.

It wasn't that they didn't find it unreasonable; they had simply grown used to it long ago.

In this place, the only way to survive was to complete missions, hand over military merit, and then continue to take the next mission.

Complaining was useless, and resistance was useless. What was useful was strength, merit, and making oneself indispensable.

Commander Chu Mingjue spoke again: "Also, the location for exchanging military merit has been changed from Zhenhuang Pass to Suoqiu Pass."

He paused, his gaze once again sweeping toward Qin Ce's direction.

This time, it lingered a bit longer than before.

"Zhenhuang Pass is now privately owned. Federation regulations state that an individual cannot simultaneously hold a military position and the management rights of a military merit exchange point. Therefore, the location has been changed."

Someone below whispered something, but it quickly went silent again.

Qin Ce stood there without any expression on his face, but his heart churned.

Zhenhuang Pass—that was the pass in his special privilege plan.

The Wang family had specifically allocated it to him; he hadn't expected it to be the mission exchange point for the Wuji Army.

Now, the exchange point had been moved from there to Suoqiu Pass, which was the Wang family's territory.

He would still have to deal with the Wang family after all.

He remembered something.

Ever since he signed that plan and his position in the Wuji Army was finalized, the Wang family had never looked for him again.

The Wang family, who had previously run around for him, helped him secure the position, and been as attentive as a biological uncle, seemed to have vanished overnight.

No phone calls, no messages, no contact whatsoever.

Qin Ce understood now.

The Wang family's goal was simply to stuff him into the Wuji Army and tether him to the North, making it impossible for him to move an inch.

As long as he came to the North, their goal was achieved.

As for what followed, he would just have to keep watching.

Qin Ce was worrying about the Wang family, but the soldiers behind him were worrying about the present.

...