After three days of rest at the military camp, orders finally came from the military district: the mission was over, and everyone could return to Jiangnan Base City!
Before leaving, everyone gathered in the main conference room.
"Thank you all once again! Thanks to everyone's combined efforts, this mission was a complete success!" The people on the stage applauded the teams, shook their hands, and expressed their gratitude.
To be honest, the other teams were probably still dazed. They'd come to take part in an exploration mission in a fog, then seemed to have explored nothing at all, and somehow completed the mission just as foggily.
"Your military merit will be issued in the form of merit points later. You can use them to exchange for treasures in the military merit exchange system, or convert them into money!"
"Only an idiot would convert them into money! The military merit exchange system has plenty of good stuff you can't buy elsewhere!"
"Hahaha..."
"Exactly! Special weapons and ammunition. A lot of it is exclusive to the military. Some things can't even be found at the HR Alliance or Limit Home."
After the rewards were handed out, the other teams were led to the tarmac by officers, one after another.
"Wang Ji, stay behind!"
Wang Ji was surprised. The other teams had already left, and even the members of his own team were heading out. Chief Xu had singled him out.
After everyone else had left the conference room, Chief Xu smiled as he walked down from the stage and patted Wang Ji on the shoulder. "Well done, young man! What happened this time is top secret. Don't tell anyone anything about the ruins. That includes your teammates!"
Wang Ji nodded firmly. "Understood!"
It was a little disappointing. There was an instance right there, but he hadn't had a chance to enter it. An area within fifty kilometers of the site had been sealed off. Not even a fly could get in.
As for keeping things secret, God of War Pei Yong had already ordered Wang Ji to keep quiet before he left that day. Zhang Lan and the others still didn't know the details.
They only knew that there was probably something extraordinary beneath the water. At first, Wang Ji had worried that everyone would ask him about it and wondered how he could refuse to answer.
But to his surprise, none of them asked. They were all seasoned fighters, and their sense of secrecy was much stronger than Wang Ji's. They didn't even ask!
Chief Xu continued, "Just now, I applied for 6,000 merit points for everyone, with an extra 4,000 for the spirit readers! And now, I'm going to secretly give you an additional reward!"
Wang Ji said, "It was what I should have done!"
"Haha! Contributions deserve rewards. That's our principle! Even if we can't make this public yet.
"This is the Three-Star Medal! It's for your discoveries and bravery during the exploration. Without your throwing knives to hold them back, your exploration team would have lost half its members. And there's also a reward for discovering that crystal. I heard you're cultivating Mist Sword. The military has sent the complete Mist Sword manual to your Warrior Residential Area. You can sign for it when you get home. There's another reward, too, which our Chief Li Dawei will present to you once you return to Jiangnan Base City! Hahaha!"
Mist Sword! A manual worth three billion! What an enormous reward! The military really was generous. One hundred million yuan worth of merit points, plus a manual worth three billion. Not bad!
"Go on, young man. Keep working hard and strive to become a God of War soon. Become a pillar of the nation!"
Wang Ji suddenly asked, "Chief, can I take part in exploring the ruins? I feel as if something there is faintly calling to me."
"Oh?" Chief Xu was moved. Sometimes, certain things really did choose specific people. But this was too important for him to give an answer. All he could say was, "I'll submit a request. Whatever the outcome, don't let it weigh on you."
"Understood!"
Ten thousand merit points! Wang Ji felt rich again!
He sold his Type 5 combat suit and the Type 6 protective vest he'd barely had time to warm up. They were in excellent condition, so he got back more than thirty-eight million. What a shame. Even at half price, they'd been worth fifty million when he bought them!
He'd only gotten that much because he was trading them in. Then came the spending!
A full Type 6 protective suit was worth eighty million at half price. He replaced the protective vest with a Type 7 one, which cost another fifty million!
And just like that, it was gone! His money had vanished in an instant!
Wang Ji had gone from being a rich man with over a hundred million to a pauper worth only a few million.
A fighter's equipment and manuals were bottomless money pits. No matter how much you had, it was never enough.
Now that he was broke, Wang Ji had no interest in staying there. He soon headed home.
"Ah! Little brother!" Wang Yan shrieked and threw herself at him. Wang Ji said helplessly, "Mom! Look at my sister!"
Their mother watched the two of them fool around with a kind smile. "All right, all right! Dinner's ready!"
"Right! Dinner! Little brother, look at this super luxurious seafood noodles! Mom's so biased toward you, she nearly cooked all the seafood in the fridge!" Wang Yan put on an indignant act, but her face was beaming.
Wang Ji understood what he was striving for. His family could laugh freely and never have to worry about material things. Wasn't that the greatest meaning of it all?
"Good thing you came back today!" Wang Yan said as she ate.
"What's up?" Wang Ji asked, puzzled.
"What do you mean, 'what's up'? You're a high school senior, aren't you? The college entrance exam is tomorrow! Did you know that?" Wang Yan glared at him.
"Huh?" Wang Ji looked completely blank.
"Mom! Look at him! He doesn't have to take the college entrance exam. It's so unfair!" Wang Yan whined to their mother.
"Mhm, I'll give her a beating in a minute!" Wang Ji's mother said with a smile.
"Heh..." Wang Yan was the first to laugh.
The next day, Wang Ji drove Wang Yan to the college entrance exam. "Little brother, wait, wait! Let's pick up Xia Ning!"
Wang Ji looked confused. "Xia Ning? Is she... the Xia Ning who used to work part-time with you at the milk tea shop?"
"Of course it's her! Who else could it be? I only just found out she lives in our residential area, too!"
"Huh?" Wang Ji was genuinely surprised. "No way. She lives in Mingyue Residential Area? Then why was she working part-time at a milk tea shop? A rich girl trying out life? That doesn't seem right!"
"Come on, don't say such nonsense! Her family situation seems a little unusual... Never mind. Why are you, a boy, so nosy? Hurry up! The last row of the residential area!" Wang Yan urged him.
Mingyue Residential Area was quite large, and the last row was a ten-minute walk from Wang Ji's home. Wang Ji drove over, picked up his sister, then picked up Xia Ning, and headed for the exam venue.
"Here! This is water! These are chocolate energy balls! And here's some spare stationery. Do you have all your supplies?" Wang Ji fussed over them.
Wang Yan said dismissively, "No, no! We've got everything!" She was such a proud girl now, nothing like the weak, helpless girl she'd once been.
Xia Ning watched with envy. Wang Ji noticed and stuffed everything into her hands. "If you don't want them, I'll give them all to Xia Ning!"
Xia Ning's face flushed. She didn't know whether to accept them or refuse.
In the blink of an eye, it was the third day.
"Someone's collapsed! One of the students has collapsed!"
Before you continue