180: Chapter 18 Zhenhai City—Fenglei Tavern—Undercurrents Surge!

Zhou Heng emerged from Director Yue Chenyuan's office in a rather good mood.

Not only had he gained the recognition and personal contact information of an Obsidian-rank big shot, but he had also felt the care and support from the higher-ups.

This filled him with anticipation for his upcoming life in Zhenhai City.

"The feeling of having a powerful backer... is really not bad!" he thought happily, returning to the team's residence with a light step.

As soon as he entered, he saw Ji Cang, Lu Chenxin, Chen Ye, and Bai Qianer gathered around the tactical screen in the living room, all with excited expressions on their faces.

"Brother Heng! You're back!" Lu Chenxin was the first to see Zhou Heng and immediately called out, "Quick, come look! The mission settlement is out!"

Zhou Heng leaned in to look, and the screen clearly displayed:

[Mission Name: Dragon Ridge Great Wall Section 7 Defensive Support (Emergency B+ Rank)]

[Executing Team: Donghuang First Team]

[Mission Evaluation: SS Rank!]

[Major Achievements: Successfully repelled a medium-sized beast tide, slew the peak Fourth-Order monster 'Phantom Scale Poison Mother · Ghost Core', saved the seventh defensive line, and discovered and reported major intelligence on Myriad Races infiltration.]

[Merit Rewards: Zhou Heng - 8000 points; Ji Cang, Lu Chenxin, Chen Ye, Bai Qianer - 5000 points each.]

[Special Contribution Reward: The team receives an additional 2000 merit points and a large amount of credits!]

[Demon Slayer Rank Up: Zhou Heng - Refined Bronze 3-Star to Silver 1-Star! Ji Cang, Lu Chenxin, Chen Ye, Bai Qianer - Black Iron 2-Star to Refined Bronze 2-Star!]

[Comprehensive Evaluation: Excellent! Awarded a Collective First-Class Merit once!]

"Refined Bronze rank!" Bai Qianer clapped happily. "We rose to Refined Bronze rank so quickly!"

"SS-rank evaluation... Captain, it's thanks to your lead in the charge again." Ji Cang looked at Zhou Heng, his tone carrying admiration.

A Silver-rank Demon Slayer was already considered a backbone force in Zhenhai City, capable of taking on higher-level missions with greater authority.

"Heh heh, it's just standard operation, don't get too excited." Zhou Heng raised his chin proudly.

"Mainly, it's because you brothers were reliable and helped me block those four Fourth-Order ones; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to focus on dealing with that Poison Mother."

The corners of Chen Ye's mouth also curled up slightly, clearly in a good mood.

"By the way, Brother Heng, what did the Director want with you?" Lu Chenxin asked with concern.

"Nothing major. Director Yue just thinks I'm handsome and have great potential, so he insisted on giving me his private contact info, saying I should contact him directly if anything comes up and not to be polite." Zhou Heng had an "I'm so troubled" expression on his face.

The group: "..."

"For real?" Bai Qianer's sapphire-like eyes widened.

"Of course it's real!" Zhou Heng pulled out that special communicator and waved it around.

"Look, this is the big shot's VIP hotline! From now on in Zhenhai City, we're people with a backer! We can walk a bit more boldly, but don't be too arrogant; after all, I'm a low-key person."

Looking at his smug appearance, the group was both speechless and amused, but they were all genuinely happy for Zhou Heng in their hearts.

Being held in such high regard by the Director would definitely be of great benefit to the team's future development.

"Alright, stop being poor." Lu Chenxin laughed.

"With such a big harvest this time, shouldn't we celebrate? These past few days in Zhenhai City have been nothing but fighting or cultivating; we haven't even had a good look around the Inner City."

"Exactly my thoughts!" Zhou Heng waved his hand grandly.

"Let's go! My treat! Let's go have a great meal! I heard there's a place called 'Wind Thunder Tavern' in the Inner City that's quite famous, specializing in monster BBQ and all sorts of strange wines. Let's go there!"

"Wind Thunder Tavern? I've heard of it!" Bai Qianer said excitedly. "Their Purple Electric Eel skewers are very famous!"

"Fine." Ji Cang was concise.

Chen Ye also nodded.

The five of them tidied up a bit and then left the Demon Slaying Division Branch with high spirits, heading toward the most prosperous area of Zhenhai City's Inner City.

Compared to the solemnity and militarization of the outer walls, the Inner City of Zhenhai City appeared much more prosperous and bustling.

The streets were wide, shops were lined up, and people came and went. Although most people still carried a fierce aura, the atmosphere of daily life was much thicker.

Soon, they found the restaurant named "Wind Thunder Tavern".

The restaurant occupied a large area, with a rough and heroic decoration style, dominated by dark wood and metal.

A flag fluttered in the wind at the entrance, embroidered with patterns of lightning and whirlwinds.

The faint sound of wind and thunder could be heard coming from it, which was quite eye-catching.

Before even entering, a warm atmosphere mixed with the aroma of charred BBQ, the scent of wine, and various clamorous noises hit them in the face.

Stepping into the tavern, it was even more teeming with people!

The hall was extremely spacious, with dozens of thick wooden tables, and at this moment, it was almost completely full.

All sorts of diners gathered here:

There were team members in Demon Slaying Division uniforms laughing loudly, solitary travelers with murderous auras drinking silently,

merchants whispering to each other, and even some mercenaries and explorers with not-weak auras could be seen.

The air was filled with the sizzling sound of BBQ, the clinking of wine glasses, and all sorts of bragging and information-exchanging chatter.

"Man, this place is lively enough!" Zhou Heng's eyes lit up; he liked these kinds of places full of the breath of life.

A waiter with sharp eyes saw that the five of them had extraordinary temperaments and hurriedly welcomed them warmly: "Five guests, please come in! Do you want a private room?"

"No need for a private room, just in the hall, find a lively spot!" Zhou Heng waved his hand; he wanted this exact atmosphere.

The waiter understood and quickly found them a seat by the window that also allowed them to overlook the whole scene.

After sitting down, Zhou Heng picked up the menu and started ordering directly:

"First, fifty skewers of the signature Purple Electric Eel! Then a roasted Thunder Rhino leg... and ten pounds of that... Icefield Yak meat!"

"Also deep-sea lobster, stir-fried Dragon Liver and Phoenix Gall... oh, no Phoenix Gall? Then bring a steamed Phantom Shell!"

"Vegetables? What are vegetables? Don't know them! And bring a jar of your strongest wine! What's it called... 'Wine Steeped with Myriad Races'? That's the one!"

His momentum in ordering even stunned the waiter, who hurriedly took it down and confirmed:

"Guest, this 'Wine Steeped with Myriad Races' is made with materials from various monsters and alien races. It's extremely strong and is marked with a 'danger level'; most people go down after one cup..."

"What's there to fear? I drink for the thrill!" Zhou Heng didn't care. "Hurry up and bring it!"

Ji Cang and the others were already used to Zhou Heng's way of ordering; anyway, this guy had vigorous blood energy and a huge appetite, and he could digest it all.

While waiting for the food, the five of them drank free tea while listening with interest to the surrounding noise.

This place was indeed an information distribution center, with all sorts of true and false information flying everywhere.

"Did you hear? Yesterday at the East Gate pier, a corpse of a Fifth-Order sea monster was fished up! It looked like its blood essence had been sucked dry by something even more terrifying!"

"Tsk, your news is outdated! I heard it was done by the 'Shadow Stings'! They've been clearing out hidden outposts near the harbor recently."

"Shadow Stings? That mysterious assassin organization? They've come to Zhenhai City too?"

"Who knows... the world is getting less and less peaceful."

"Hey, if you want to talk about fierce people, it has to be the one that just started spreading today!"

"Section 7 of the Dragon Ridge Great Wall, you know about it?"

"I heard a few geniuses from the training camp came. One of them named Zhou Heng, an Extraordinary 3-Star, single-handedly slaughtered a peak Fourth-Order Poison Mother! It was freaking awesome!"

"For real? An Extraordinary 3-Star killing a peak Fourth-Order? You're bragging, right?"

"Absolutely true! My brother-in-law's relative is a soldier in Section 7 and saw it with his own eyes!"

"They said that person dual-cultivates Wind and Thunder and is incredibly fierce! Now his nickname is 'wind and thunder god of war'!"

Hearing people discuss him, Zhou Heng rubbed his nose, feeling a bit smug, but on the surface, he maintained a "low-key, must be low-key" look.

Bai Qianer covered her mouth and giggled, while Lu Chenxin and Ji Cang also smiled at each other. Chen Ye silently took a sip of tea.

At this moment, the words of a few people at the next table, who looked like they were dressed as mercenaries, caught Zhou Heng's attention.

"Boss, is the news from 'Dark Tide' accurate? That place... will a 'Sea-Calming Pearl' fragment really appear?" a thin, small man asked in a low voice.

The burly man called Boss glared at him:

"Keep it down! When has 'Dark Tide's' news ever been wrong? Although it's just a fragment, it's still an extraordinary treasure!"

"It's said to be able to calm storms and ward off all evils! For people like us who spend all year on the sea, it's a priceless treasure!"

"But... that place is near 'Ghost Reef', it's very spooky... last time a Silver-rank team went in, they never came out..."

"Wealth is found in danger! If you're afraid of death, don't do this job! I've already contacted a few experts; we set out in three days..."

Sea-Calming Pearl fragment? Ghost Reef?

Although Zhou Heng hadn't intentionally activated his [Omniscient Eye], his super perception allowed him to capture these keywords.

His heart stirred; this sounded like an interesting side quest.

But for now, filling his stomach was more important.

Soon, the fragrant BBQ and fine wine were served.

Those Purple Electric Eel skewers indeed lived up to their reputation; the meat was springy and firm, and biting into them really felt like weak electric currents were dancing on the tip of the tongue, which was very unique and satisfying.

That jar of "Wine Steeped with Myriad Races" was even more potent, the liquid amber-colored,

exuding a complex medicinal fragrance and a hint of wild aura. Zhou Heng took a big gulp,

feeling a surge of heat rush from his throat straight to his dantian, his whole body's blood energy becoming a bit more active. He couldn't help but praise: "Good wine!"

The five of them let loose and feasted, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.

However, beneath this clamor, Zhou Heng keenly felt

that several obscure gazes seemed to sweep over their table from the corners of the tavern, now and then.

In those gazes, there was scrutiny, and even... a hint of indiscernible coldness.

"Heh... it seems the waters of Zhenhai City are even deeper than imagined."