187: Chapter 187 Wholesale Mission

Back at the camp.

Qin Ce watched as military vehicles hurried out of the camp entrance. He watched teams carrying packs and leading Pet Beasts, their faces solemn, expressions a mix of greed and fear.

The entire Wuji Army.

No!

It could be said that the entire North had gone mad at this moment because the ruins had become so apparent!

At this moment, only the twenty-four members of the Seventh Squad stood behind him, their hearts unmoved.

They watched the departing teams.

No one asked, "When do we set out?"

No one said, "Should we go grab some too?"

Furthermore, no one showed an expression of resentment.

The entire squad was waiting for Qin Ce's orders.

If Qin Ce didn't say move, they wouldn't move.

Qin Ce withdrew his gaze from the departing teams and let it fall on the Mission Hall in the center of the camp.

The corner of his mouth curled slightly. There was no mirth in that curve, only an indescribable, cold intent.

"Let's go to the Mission Hall."

Qin Ce walked at the front, followed by the twenty-four people.

Their pace wasn't fast, but it was steady. As they crossed the training grounds, passing teams all looked at them. Some whispered, some pointed, and some scrutinized this team that had just crawled back from the gates of hell with complex gazes.

"Why didn't the Seventh Squad go to snatch crystals?"

"Isn't their captain quite the fighter? Why has he turned coward?"

"What's the use of being able to fight? That's business for the five major powers. Why is he, a commoner, trying to get involved?"

"True. Going there would just be seeking death."

Qin Ce heard those words, but he didn't look back.

His pace didn't quicken or slow; it remained as it was, neither fast nor slow, steady as a mountain.

Inside the Mission Hall, it was packed with people.

Captains from various squads crowded the reception desk, scrambling to take on missions.

It wasn't like before, where they complained missions were too many, too hard, or too dangerous; now, they complained there were too few, too simple, or not enough to go around.

Because those missions were all near the ruin's pillar of light. With a Federation mission, no power could stop them from entering the mission site, which was equivalent to legally joining the struggle for the ruin's opportunities.

"I'll take this two-star mission!"

"Give that three-star mission to me!"

"Your squad has already taken two, leave one for us!"

When Qin Ce walked in, the clamor of the crowd dropped a notch.

Immediately, people made way for him. No one wanted to become one of those three hundred-plus people from yesterday.

Qin Ce walked to the reception desk. When the clerk saw him, his hands began to shake again.

"Cap... Captain Qin..."

Qin Ce placed the mandatory mission slip that had been issued again this morning on the counter.

"Register this mission for me."

The clerk glanced at the mission slip and swallowed hard.

To the North, toward the Space-Time Rift, one-star difficulty.

It seemed to be the same routine as the Yinpinglu mission.

One-star on the surface, but the actual difficulty was at least two stars, maybe even higher.

And there was a deeper calculation; while other teams were doing everything they could to enter the ruin's range,

this one sent him directly out of the Beimang Mountain range.

It was obvious—they didn't want Qin Ce to touch this opportunity.

And this time, Qin Ce had directly accepted it...

"Alright, Captain Qin, it's registered."

The clerk's voice was trembling, but his movements were fast, fearing that a second's delay would result in being pinned to the wall by Qin Ce's gaze.

Qin Ce didn't leave.

He stood there, his gaze scanning the mission list.

A giant electronic screen hung on the wall of the Mission Hall, densely listing the currently available missions.

One-star, two-star, three-star, categorized by difficulty and arranged by region.

The "Acquisition Status" column for most missions said "Taken," with only a few still empty.

And those empty ones were all in the North, far from the ruins.

Qin Ce's gaze swept over those empty missions and then stopped.

To the North, toward the Space-Time Rift.

Most missions in that area were still empty.

That wasn't just because they were far from the ruins, but also because they were too close to the Space-Time Rift; the fierce beasts there were stronger, more vicious, and more unpredictable than elsewhere.

A one-star mission placed there might actually involve encountering a Gold Rank fierce beast.

However, what others saw as thankless chores, Qin Ce saw as prime missions he couldn't wait to get his hands on.

Qin Ce raised his hand and pointed at the electronic screen.

"That one, that one, that one—" His finger tapped the screen a few times, then a few more, "and those three, I'll take them all."

The hall instantly fell silent.

The clerk's mouth fell open and wouldn't close.

He stared at the missions Qin Ce had selected on the electronic screen, with only one thought in his head—this Captain Qin has gone mad!

"Captain Qin, are you sure?" His voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of his throat. "These are all missions toward the North, toward the Space-Time Rift. The difficulty—"

"I'm sure," Qin Ce interrupted him.

The clerk didn't ask again.

His fingers tapped on the keyboard, the system notification sounds chiming as one mission after another was assigned to the Seventh Squad.

Seven one-star missions. Four two-star missions. Two three-star missions.

Thirteen missions.

Qin Ce had taken thirteen missions at once.

This was almost a month's worth of missions for the Seventh Squad.

No, for an ordinary squad, this was two months' worth of work.

The people in the hall seemed to have been hit by a freezing spell, standing there motionless.

Some had their mouths agape, some stared wide-eyed, and some didn't even notice the documents in their hands falling to the floor.

"Is he crazy?"

"Thirteen missions? Just the travel time alone will take half a month!"

"To the North, toward the Space-Time Rift... I almost didn't make it back from there last time."

"The Seventh Squad just got out of the hospital, and they're going back to die?"

"Does he think he's invincible just because he could beat a Gold Rank Pterosaur?"

Discussions flooded in from all directions like a swarm of disturbed bees.

Qin Ce ignored them.

He turned and walked away from the reception desk. The twenty-four members of the Seventh Squad followed him, passing through the shocked, confused, and curious crowd, and walked out of the Mission Hall.

The moment they stepped out of the hall, the sunlight hitting their faces was a bit blinding.

Qin Ce squinted, then turned his head to look toward the Wuji Army Commander's office.

The windows of that building were still closed, and the curtains were still drawn.

The lights were on; the person was definitely inside.

Qin Ce looked at that window, a curve slowly forming on his lips.

There was a chill in that curve, an indescribable sharpness like a blade's edge.

"Chu Mingjue," his voice was very soft, so soft that only Jiang Mo beside him heard it, "you want to suppress me? Can you?"

Jiang Mo was stunned for a moment, not understanding.

Qin Ce didn't explain.

He withdrew his gaze and strode toward the barracks.

"Everyone, pack your gear. We set out in one hour."

Behind him, twenty-four people responded in unison.

Qin Ce walked at the front, his pace much faster than when he arrived.

In his pocket, that diamond-shaped crystal lay quietly, the golden liquid at the bottom emitting a faint glow.

He knew he needed more Gold Rank fierce beasts.

He needed more golden liquid.

He needed to fill that crystal.

Only then could he seize the initiative and stay one step ahead of everyone else.

And those thirteen missions were his beginning.

...