Mission

As a receptionist and guide for the Martial Arts Guild, Su Ya encountered countless new martial artists every day, which had honed her keen eye for observation.

The young man before her, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, caught her attention the moment he stepped into the hall.

His gait was composed, his blood and energy were solid, and every gesture revealed a deep foundation in martial arts. Such a character usually appeared among elite freshmen who had received systematic training from a young age at various Martial Arts University institutions.

The smile on her face softened slightly: "May I ask if this is your first time at the Martial Arts Guild? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Li He steadied himself and replied: "Hello, I would like to register my martial artist information and accept missions."

"Understood, please follow me, I will take you to the certification window."

She turned to the side with a welcoming gesture, walking with a light step half a pace ahead of Li He, introducing the facility as they moved:

"Sir, our hall primarily serves first-rank martial artists. The center of the hall is the holographic mission release area, where all public missions scroll in real-time. The surrounding areas are service windows, including registration, certification, resource exchange..."

Su Ya's speaking pace was moderate and concise, giving Li He a basic understanding of the hall's layout.

Soon, the two arrived in front of a window.

There were a dozen people queuing here, most of them young people around Li He's age.

"The registration and certification window is right here in this line." Su Ya stopped and smiled. "You just need to have your identity card and the proof of identity issued by your martial arts hall ready. The registration fee is 100 Federation Credits. When it is your turn, the staff will guide you through the subsequent information collection and identity card production."

"Okay, thank you, Miss Su Ya." Li He said. The service provided by this receptionist was truly comfortable.

"You're welcome, it's my job." Su Ya bowed slightly, "I wish you a smooth registration. If you have any questions later, you can always find me at the information desk."

The line moved quickly.

It was soon Li He's turn.

He walked up to the window and handed in his identity card and documents.

The staff member quickly completed the data entry.

[Affiliated Institution: Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall]

[Institution Type: Private Martial Arts Hall]

[Student Name: Li He]

[Cultivation: First-rank]

Su Ya, who had been standing not far away pretending to organize brochures while actually watching, let her gaze sweep over the window's display screen.

When she saw the words Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes.

"A private martial arts hall?" This was vastly different from her previous guess, causing her to lose interest in further conversation and walk away, feeling somewhat bored.

"Hello, this is your martial artist hunter identity card." The staff member handed the card to Li He, "The relevant information has been synchronized to your personal terminal, and you can now freely accept missions."

"Thank you." Li He took the card, feeling a slight chill upon contact.

He instinctively turned his head, wanting to find Miss Su Ya, the enthusiastic guide from earlier, to ask where it was most convenient to accept missions.

His gaze swept across the information desk and saw Su Ya smiling as she patiently answered questions for a well-dressed young man who looked like the son of a wealthy family, completely unaware of him.

Li He was slightly stunned, then felt relieved.

The guild was busy, and a guide couldn't just focus on one person. He stopped overthinking it and turned to walk toward the mission release area in the center of the hall.

It was bustling with noise, far livelier than the window area. Beneath the screens, various martial artists gathered; some discussed in low voices in groups of three or five, some watched intently on their own, and others were directly accepting missions on their phones.

Only then did Li He see a huge notice board at the mission acceptance point, which clearly stated: Please scan the code to download the Martial Arts Guild APP to view and accept missions anytime, anywhere! A prominent QR code was attached next to it.

Li He scanned the code to download and logged in. The interface was very simple, and the homepage was the mission hall section.

[Suburban Safe Zone - Zone 7] Extermination: Drive away low-rank monsters harassing the experimental fields, specifically Iron-Backed Mountain Boar cubs. Reward: 150 Federation Credits.

[Suburban Safe Zone - Zone 3] Collection: Collect twenty stalks of Moonlight Grass; must be collected at night. Reward: 90 Federation Credits.

[Urban Area] Security Patrol: Assist the Public Security Bureau in patrolling designated commercial districts. Reward: 120 Federation Credits.

Li He scanned through them; these low-risk missions had rewards that were simply too low. At most, completing three missions would only net about four hundred credits.

His gaze shifted to the medium-to-high-risk mission area.

[Safe Zone - Zone 11] Search: Search for missing Federation geological survey team members. Investigation confirms that a first-rank beast, a Golden Rabbit, exists in the area where the last signal disappeared. Reward: 1500 Federation Credits + 15 Guild Points.

[Safe Zone - Zone 19] Beacon Placement: Enter the Abyss and place environmental monitoring beacons at designated coordinates. Intelligence indicates signs of unidentified biological activity in the area. Reward: 2000 Alliance Credits + 20 Guild Points.

[Urban Area] Gang Suppression: Coordinate with the Public Security Bureau special task force to suppress the illegal armed group, the Black Snake Gang, entrenched in the Old Harbor District. Targets are confirmed to be in possession of standard pistols, shotguns, and other light weapons, and core members include martial artists with a vitality of around 15 points. Reward: 2500 Alliance Credits + 25 Guild Points.

Li He's gaze lingered on the gang suppression mission. The reward of 2500 Federation Credits and 25 Guild Points far exceeded low-risk missions like driving away boars or collecting herbs.

But what tempted him even more was the key information in the mission description: illegal armed group, in possession of standard pistols, shotguns, and other light weapons.

Having guns and martial artists meant that this group was essentially a mobile vault of weapons, cash, and even some high-priced contraband.

After the suppression, the Public Security Bureau special task force would seize the main evidence and the ringleaders, but for those scattered spoils that were difficult to account for, there was significant room for maneuver.

"The risk is very high. I currently lack defensive hard-body techniques and cannot withstand bullets, but the profit... could far exceed 2500 Federation Credits." A bold idea took shape in Li He's mind.

He no longer hesitated and accepted the mission.

Without taking risks, how could he rise rapidly from such a resource-deprived starting point?

The moment he accepted it, his backend received the mission briefing and a gathering notice: gather at 21:00 tomorrow night in front of Warehouse 3 at Pier 7 in the Old Harbor District to rendezvous with the Third Special Task Force of the Public Security Bureau.

Li He did not rush to leave; he walked to the electronic inquiry area in the corner of the lobby to pull up the public intelligence files on the Black Snake Gang.

The leader, nicknamed Black Mamba, had unknown specific strength but was suspected to be a peak Tier 1 martial artist; he was ruthless and his whereabouts were mysterious.

There were about 10 core members, all of whom were Tier 1 martial artists, and around 200 ordinary members.

They usually used abandoned warehouses and fishing boats in the Old Harbor District as cover, were highly mobile, and their main crimes included smuggling contraband, collecting protection fees, and violently monopolizing parts of the port labor market.

It was confirmed they possessed standard-issue pistols and shotguns, and the possession of homemade explosives could not be ruled out.

Li He pondered slightly, turned to leave the lobby, and merged into the city lights; he needed to make some preparations for tomorrow night's operation.

At the guild information desk, Su Ya was smiling as she saw off the wealthy young man, her gaze inadvertently sweeping toward the direction where Li He had disappeared.

She possessed mission information query privileges and easily found out that Li He had accepted the gang cleanup mission.

"Another newcomer who thinks he can make quick money just because he has a bit of strength," she shook her head lightly. There were examples like this every day, and most of them either failed the mission and returned in defeat, or remained at the mission site forever.