Xing Jinglei was no stranger to people from Xin Huo.
After he submitted his mission materials, someone came to meet him and take them away.
But those people were mere underlings, perhaps not even considered peripheral members. What he anticipated was a meeting with an official member of Xin Huo.
Whether they were strong enough.
If not strong enough, then don't blame him for taking the second seat in Xin Huo.
Xing Jinglei at least believed himself to be exceptional!
"Everyone."
A young man in a black combat suit, with a golden emblem on his chest, strode into the room.
His gaze was like a knife, sweeping across the entire hall, pausing slightly at Xing Jinglei, then moving on.
"This special operation mission will be fully commanded by our Special Operations Team. I am the Captain of the Special Operations Team, and you can refer to me by my codename—Luosha!"
As his words fell, a chilling aura seemed to sweep across the hall, leaving many civilian awakened individuals pale and horrified.
This ordinary-looking, even somewhat short man, was actually so terrifying?
They felt as if they were facing a terrifying malevolent entity!
But upon hearing the codename and his position, many veteran hunters understood.
The Special Operations Team, abbreviated as 'Te Zhan Dui'… This department had very few personnel and a simple structure, with three captains at the highest level.
And unlike the Investigation Bureau, the Special Operations Team was purely a meritocracy, with the strong at the top and the weak at the bottom.
A mid-level captain was bound to be stronger than a squad leader, and a captain was bound to be stronger than a mid-level captain.
In other words, Luosha, the unremarkable and somewhat short man before them, was, at the very least, one of the top three strongest individuals in the highly skilled Special Operations Team!
Truly terrifyingly strong!
Captain Luosha merely showed his face and left. Soon, a mid-level captain from the Special Operations Team named 'Hong Yan' stepped out and announced, "The mission this time is to exterminate the tide of malevolent entities located in Baimu Forest in the western part of Yunling Prefecture. Time is of the essence, and we will brief you on the specific details in the vehicles."
Vehicles for transporting soldiers were already parked outside. Although the malevolent entity hunters were somewhat bewildered, since they were here, could they possibly retreat? One by one, they quickly boarded the vehicles.
Xing Jinglei boarded a transport vehicle in the front. Mid-level captain Hong Yan was in this vehicle, along with some other skilled hunters, all from Yunling Prefecture.
Mo Zhengyang and Hu Gaofeng were among them.
"This time, our mission is to clear out the malevolent entities in Baimu Forest starting from the periphery, gradually eradicating them. What I can tell you is that there are more malevolent entities in this forest than imagined, with many extremely large ones. However, malevolent entities only have instincts, and we don't need to face all of them at once; we just need to remove them gradually."
"You all only need to deal with the large and extremely large malevolent entities. You don't need to waste too much life energy on ordinary ones; those will be handled by the Investigation Bureau."
Mid-level captain Hong Yan took out a map and circled a few areas with a pen.
He was primarily speaking to Xing Jinglei, a renowned expert not only in Yunling Prefecture but also throughout the country. The Special Operations Team greatly needed his strength.
Although Hong Yan had not witnessed Xing Jinglei in action and had some doubts.
Could an awakened individual who came from civilian life and received no professional training be as strong as Captain Luosha?
It was probably just inflated by reputation, though he was certainly not weak.
The hunters, such as Hu Gaofeng, the 'Ghost Fire Hand,' and Mo Zhengyang, the 'Nine Heavens Flying Daggers,' listened attentively. After all, it concerned the mission and their own lives, so no one was careless.
Only Xing Jinglei remained expressionless, occasionally letting out an "en."
He was disdainful internally.
Is that all?
He had already obtained this information, and in much greater detail. It was simply that their organization was too low-key, always acting as a hidden guardian.
...
There was little traffic on the road. The transport vehicles sped along, and soon they arrived at a village closest to their destination.
There were no longer any residents here, and the Investigation Bureau had established a temporary base.
The surrounding malevolent entities had been eliminated, and there was no danger, but from here on, they would have to proceed on foot.
Further ahead, not only were the dirt roads difficult for vehicles, but more importantly, there were more and more malevolent entities. Only by walking could they respond to sudden dangers in a timely manner.
Luosha, the captain of the Special Operations Team, carrying a blood-red spear on his back, gazed into the distance.
The forest was deathly silent, with only faint, eerie growls audible.
"From now on, everyone will act in their respective formations and obey command!"
"You are free to engage in combat as you see fit, but remember, do not stray from your teams!"
"Move out!"
Along the way, the Special Operations Team members primarily used thunder talismans and fire orbs against the malevolent entities to conserve life energy. Only when extremely large malevolent entities appeared did powerful individuals take action.
*Swish—*
Luosha's back seemed to sprout a pair of red and black wings. His figure transformed into a beam of dark light, instantly piercing through a large malevolent entity.
Where he passed, the malevolent entity perished.
A clean instant kill.
This move severely deterred some of the malevolent entity hunters who were not so obedient to command.
Fear filled their hearts.
It was too fast; their eyes could only catch a phantom of movement, and in an instant, a large malevolent entity was pierced and killed. Was this the strength of a top-tier expert in Donghuang Nation?
Although firearms also held significant deterrence for awakened individuals, guns alone could not make many defiant hunters submit. Strength could.
This act of piercing and instantly killing was like clouds over a high mountain, awe-inspiring.
It also stirred the blood of some skilled hunters.
"I'll take the lead on this one!"
A massive gray cloud appeared—that was a large malevolent entity. Hu Gaofeng roared, his arm reaching out, and in a flash, it transformed into a giant hand burning with red-black ghostly flames.
Awakened ability—Ghost Fire Hand!
He slammed it down fiercely!
The malevolent entity roared, its silhouette becoming clearer as flames burned intensely on its body.
Mo Zhengyang also stepped forward, and nine flying daggers shot out, gleaming coldly. Together, they eliminated a large malevolent entity without much effort.
Indeed, they were renowned hunters of Yunling Prefecture.
"I don't think so."
A burly man stepped out from the crowd.
He clapped his hands together, and countless sand and soil swirled around him, forming an earth and stone armor.
He himself grew like a small giant.
The malevolent entity hunter 'Chui Shan'! He came from another prefecture and was a nationally renowned hunter. He was also a Second Awakening, and Chui Shan didn't believe he was inferior to anyone.
He crushed a large malevolent entity with an almost overwhelming force, then turned around, his gaze fixed on Xing Jinglei.
You and I, who is the number one civilian?
"Weakling." Xing Jinglei disdained.
"What did you say?"
"Weakling."
"Weakling."
"Weakling."
He held a cigarette in his mouth, shaking his head slowly.
It wasn't genuine contempt, but he genuinely didn't take them seriously. He was waiting for people from Xin Huo, who he heard would come with the Investigation Bureau's team.
Besides Xin Huo, only that five-foot-two individual could pique his interest slightly.
Xing Jinglei strode forward, reaching the front line. "Let's start there," he said, gesturing with his chin towards a large malevolent entity lurking in the trees a hundred meters away.
He stopped advancing and stood in place, slowly raising his hand.
Before others arrived, he wanted to show off the style of Xin Huo members a little.
He bent his elbow, his right fist rotating as he struck.
Cannon Fist—First Form!
The fist wind was like a cannonball, creating ripples. A white wave erupted from Xing Jinglei's fist, streaking across the sky, and exploding with a roar!
BOOM—!!!
The air a hundred meters away caved in and then exploded, shockwaves rippling outwards from the point of impact. Trees shattered and flew up, and a gale swept up fragments of trees and rocks, scattering in all directions.
The white air current emanating from his fist lingered long after.
The strong wind blew past the faces of the surrounding hunters and Special Operations Team members.
Chui Shan was stunned.
Being both Second Awakenings, why was the gap so huge? This was not an awakening!
In the distance, Luosha, the captain, with his hands behind his back and a stern expression, repeatedly glanced down, his peripheral vision sweeping over Xing Jinglei's figure.
Do not misunderstand. As the overall commander of the team, he needed to understand the strength of everyone clearly.
A few glances were necessary for his duty.
Seeing the shockwave travel a hundred meters and instantly obliterate a large malevolent entity, Luosha's gaze sharpened. "Xing Jinglei's fist contains explosive energy, but what is this solidified shockwave? This move is even more impressive than what was seen in the videos."
"No wonder some people laud him as the number one civilian. Compared to other Dual Awakenings, he is indeed far superior."
Chui Shan and Hong Yan, if they were to join forces, wouldn't be enough to fight Xing Jinglei alone.
His abilities were strong, and his fist techniques were also extraordinary!
A simple punch, yet it was clearly the result of countless trials and refinements.
What martial arts family did he come from? With his mastery of fist techniques, he shouldn't have remained obscure before the disaster, should he?
Luosha himself came from a martial arts family. Martial arts masters might not be famous in the outside world, but within their circles, it was difficult for them to remain hidden. Unless one cultivated in seclusion and never interacted with others, how could they improve so quickly?
"But the number one civilian…"
He looked towards the horizon. There were many strong individuals in the civilian sector. To say nothing of others, the Black Blade and Miss An had already demonstrated powerful strength more than half a month ago.
And then there was that immensely mysterious Xin Huo mentor, who had only made one appearance.
He remained an enigma to this day!
Luosha's blood began to boil faintly.
...
"Boss Xing is awesome!"
"Boss Xing is the number one civilian, who disagrees? Who else disagrees!"
"He killed a large malevolent entity with one punch from a hundred meters away. Chui Shan is not on the same level as Boss Xing!"
The renowned hunter and top expert Chui Shan's face flushed red, but he opened his mouth and could not utter a refutation.
He and Xing Jinglei were indeed not on the same level.
The gap was too vast!
Why could you be so strong, being a Dual Awakening just like me?!
Along the way, the malevolent entity hunters became much quieter. There were no longer any dissenters. Many people kept glancing at Xing Jinglei, and female hunters even threw flirtatious glances his way.
Xing Jinglei remained unmoved.
Women only slow down his punching speed.
As they moved forward, they encountered more and more powerful malevolent entities. The hunters had long since lost the desire to show off and became cautious, cooperating with each other and advancing steadily.
Suddenly,
The team stopped briefly. Luosha, who was leading, looked into the distance.
Many hunters followed his gaze.
*Dada da da da—*
Accompanied by a whirring sound, several transport helicopters slowly lowered their altitude. The rapidly rotating rotors stirred up gusts of wind, kicking up dust and stones.
Rappelling lines dropped from the cabin doors.
Investigators and Special Operations Team members landed quickly via the ropes. Some people wearing various outfits, though slightly clumsy, also landed with ease, supported by their strong physiques.
Even more powerful awakened individuals jumped directly from a height, creating craters in the ground.
An Jianyou was much more low-key. She learned from the investigators, put on gloves, and rappelled to the ground using a soft rope, appearing more ladylike and safer.
Not far away,
Huang Hongtian strode forward and shook hands with Luosha. "There are more reinforcements on the way, and they will be responsible for subsequent cleanup. This batch, I've brought many civilian experts."
"Oh?" Luosha looked over.
Huang Hongtian smiled and said, "Miss An is among them. As for the other two, we couldn't contact them, but I heard that the expert codenamed Black Blade is on his way."
Huang Hongtian also held expectations for their strength.
Last time, during the Baijiang incident, he had just undergone his Second Awakening and was in a state of mental confusion. He had no choice but to stay in the Investigation Bureau's quiet room, meditating day and night.
He had missed the opportunity to meet the Black Blade.
Today, he might have the chance.
Based on the newcomers, Luosha rearranged the team.
The veteran hunters of Yunling Prefecture looked on, finding something amiss.
"That person, isn't that the well-known Director Huang? One of the highest-ranking figures in the Investigation Bureau."
"But why does he seem to attach so much importance to that girl? Who is that girl?"
"She doesn't look like an investigator or a Special Operations Team member. She appears delicate, but why did Captain Luosha specifically walk over to speak to her?"
"Our Boss Xing is the number one civilian! Captain Luo and Director Huang are paying too little attention to our Boss Xing."
"Shut up!"
Xing Jinglei roared.
He looked in the direction of An Jianyou, his brow slightly furrowed.
This girl, was she the other official member of their Xin Huo? But she didn't look like a powerful expert at all.
Was she truly from Xin Huo?
At this moment, a Special Operations Team member responsible for reconnaissance in the front shouted, interrupting his thoughts.
"There's a tide of malevolent entities!"
"A tide of malevolent entities is charging towards us!"
Perhaps the noise of the helicopters was too loud, or perhaps too many people had gathered here. The malevolent entities no longer waited for them to be cleared but rumbled down the hillside.
Even awakened individuals without 'special pupil power' could see a dark cloud surging down the hillside, like a cascading gray tide.
To Special Operations Team members with special visual abilities or equipment, it was even more terrifying.
Monsters, some hunched, some tall, some grotesque, some with two, four, or eight legs, were sprinting down the steep slope in strange postures.
They emitted piercing shrieks.
There were too many of them! Especially for the malevolent entity hunters, who were usually used to fighting in advantageous numbers. Never had they seen such a grand spectacle, and for a moment, many panicked.
"We must block the charge of the malevolent entity tide."
"It's easy to kill malevolent entities, but difficult to stop the charge of these irrational beings."
Luosha and Director Huang moved to the very front.
Xing Jinglei also stepped forward. "Isn't it just a tide of malevolent entities? Watch me break through it."
The gray tide approached.
At this moment, An Jianyou also stepped forward.
In her large eyes, the surging tide of malevolent entities was reflected, and a blue luminescence gradually appeared.
Skill—Gui Yu (Malevolent Entity Control)!
A powerful three-star malevolent entity had not yet descended, but an invisible wave spread out, instantly creating a sense of stillness, as if the wind and waves had stopped.
The malevolent entities, which had been sprinting, suddenly froze.
The next moment, they fell like wheat being cut, one after another.