Qinghe Village, a region frequently plagued by strange creatures, had long been designated a hazardous and uninhabitable zone by the Investigation Bureau.
The villagers had been relocated a month prior, leaving the area desolate. Not a soul or animal could be seen, yet piercing roars occasionally echoed through the emptiness.
A special operations squad, comprising nine members clad in specialized combat gear and armed with various new-model weapons, moved cautiously through the village.
Even though all nine were Awakened individuals.
Special Operations!
This was a distinct department, separate from the Investigation Bureau, and along with the Bureau and the Research Institute, it formed the "Three Mysterious Departments."
However, the Special Operations Department had only been established less than a month ago.
It was created specifically in response to the increasing number of Awakened individuals and the emergence of difficult disaster events like "Hell's Gate."
The Investigation Bureau focused internally, tasked with maintaining societal stability.
Special Operations focused externally, exclusively handling complex disaster incidents.
The Special Operations personnel were few in number, but every member was an Awakened individual, equivalent to a special investigator. Typically, Special Operations missions were carried out by small teams of three, unless the mission was exceptionally, exceptionally difficult.
"According to observations, this wave of strange creatures has moved to within three kilometers of Qinghe Village and will endanger Dongtian City in another six to seven days."
"Our mission this time is not only to investigate the situation of this wave of creatures but also to weaken it."
"The bad news is that there will inevitably be a super-large strange creature within the wave, but the good news is that these creatures lack intelligence and are not entirely cohesive. We can lure some away and eliminate others. If it takes a day, fine; if it takes two, fine; if it takes three."
"Of course, if there's an opportunity, we must find a way to eliminate that super-large creature. If we can eliminate it, the entire wave of creatures might disperse further, allowing us to join forces with our brothers from the Investigation Bureau to eradicate them."
The captain of the special operations squad said this.
His face was resolute, and his right arm was exceptionally thick, the entire limb exposed. Veins bulged beneath the skin, as if magma flowed within.
This mutated arm brought him much pain, requiring him to use ice packs to cool it down before he could sleep at night, but it also granted him immense strength.
The captain, codenamed 'Red Rock,' was among the top powerhouses in the entire Special Operations Department.
Today, he intended to add to his combat record with the blood of a super-large strange creature.
"Things aren't looking good, Captain,"
the observer suddenly said. "I've detected two super-large strange creatures, and for some unknown reason, they're completely stuck together, their necks intertwined. It doesn't look like they intend to separate."
"Wait, Captain, the creatures seem to be fighting!"
"Are those two super-large creatures having a spat?"
"No, no! Another super-large creature has appeared. I can't tell its species, but it's very dark, very big, and very round."
In the distance,
over a thousand meters away,
the colossal Black Pupil, in its giant form, had become a ball. Was this cat really fat?
But fatness had its advantages; its hide was thick. Black Pupil immediately engaged the two three-star strange creatures, resembling three colossal beasts, their struggle pushing them forward and crushing the smaller creatures around them.
Amidst the tide of strange creatures,
Fang You, in his 'No Light' state, was inconspicuous until he began to gather his palm lightning. A cerulean glow emerged from his palm, continuously lengthening.
Lightning eight and a half feet long!
This time, it wasn't fired but resembled a slightly vibrating laser sword, compressing, compressing, continuously compressing!
The lightning shifted from cerulean to blue-purple.
The moment the lightning appeared, he could no longer remain hidden. However, with the promise of a laptop and two days of leave, Black Pupil unleashed 150% of its combat power, engaging the two three-star creatures head-on.
Fang You agilely dodged other creatures. After three to four seconds of compression, the blue-purple light sword, or rather, light spear, about three meters long, was aimed at a three-star creature and thrust in!
Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-!
The three-star creature howled. Fang You, gripping the light spear, violently thrust it back and forth, stabbing, stabbing, stabbing.
In the blink of an eye, he had pierced through one three-star creature. The blue-purple light spear in his hand remained, and he plunged it towards another three-star creature.
His marksmanship was not precise, but at this moment, speed and ferocity were enough. Black Pupil, with its fur bristling, dodged to the side.
After dispatching two three-star creatures, Fang You, with Black Pupil, swept through the tide of creatures, eliminating seven or eight two-star creatures before making his exit.
"It's a shame, there are still many two-star creatures, but my life energy is completely insufficient."
"Unlike Black Blade and An Jianyou, Black Pupil and I are high-burst types; our endurance is ultimately lacking."
"But we have advantages too. In my 'No Light' state, my presence is extremely low, allowing me to infiltrate the creature tide and assassinate the Boss."
One output, one tank; he and Black Pupil were indeed a good partnership.
Fang You glanced into the distance, picked up the now-shrunken and reverted Black Pupil, tucked it into his robes, and drifted away.
More than a thousand meters away,
a special operations member with enhanced vision opened his mouth. "You might not believe me when I say this, but I just saw a human figure in the wave of creatures..."
For four consecutive days, Fang You and Black Pupil traveled, venturing into many desolate mountains and infiltrating numerous waves of strange creatures.
"The scale of group missions has increased. Are the convergence and movement of strange creatures truly just due to human attraction?"
"Besides being the basic behavior logic of strange creatures, does hunting humans also provide benefits to the creatures themselves?"
"Even though strange creatures lack intelligence, the movement of a creature wave often centers around a three-star creature."
Through his vision, Fang You had Xiao Huan record this information one by one.
It served as valuable data for the "Spark" research.
Then, it was time to kill!
Limited by his life energy, the number of creatures he could eliminate was not large. And since creature waves often involved group missions, such as "Group - Many" and "Group - Numerous," his combat style of "infiltration and assassination" often meant he couldn't complete a mission.
But it didn't matter.
He had tested it: as long as he participated in a mission, even if the creatures were later eliminated by others, he would still receive mission rewards, albeit with a slightly lower yield.
However, by assassinating in the creature waves, he had "tagged" many missions, and his actual gains might even be higher.
Provided, of course, that these creatures could be eliminated by others.
"I've assassinated the Boss and many elite monsters. The rest should be manageable for the Investigation Bureau and Special Operations, right?"
"You guys need to work harder."
"Although I wish I could eliminate more, but..."
It wasn't that he wasn't diligent; combat might only take a few minutes, but he needed several hours of rest afterward to recover.
Fang You was also helpless.
At this moment, golden light particles projected from his phone screen, converging to form the White Silk Spirit.
Xiao Huan spoke, "Master, there's good news. Yin Ling's research project has made a breakthrough. Should we return?"
Upon hearing this, Black Pupil, whose head had been drooping, suddenly perked up!
Fang You looked at the 'Fatigue' status on his character panel and thought for a moment. "Alright, since Black Pupil has been clamoring to go back, let's make a trip."
Training Base No. 1.
Yin Ling presented two new types of potions. "Come, come, these are the stamina potions and energy recovery potions I just made. They're still warm."
"You can try the stamina potions. With the recovery from these potions, your training efficiency should increase significantly, right?"
"Of course, these potions are a bit bitter, but good medicine tastes bitter; you understand, don't you?"
Of course, of course!
Luo Rui, exhausted as a dog,'s eyes lit up at the mention of these magical potions.
This way, he no longer had to worry about his poor stamina preventing him from keeping up with training.
As for the bitterness? What medicine wasn't bitter!
Luo Rui declared it a non-issue.