Homework

A few hours later, deep underground in Kyoto Base City, at the scientific division where Feng Qingmo had once come for an examination, Dr. Long stood accompanied by Huo Haitian, gazing at a Silver Moon Fierce Wolf inside an alloy cage.

"Which War God captured this?" Dr. Long's cool, detached voice could not help but carry a hint of excitement.

One had to understand that while Soldier-level monsters were easy to capture, General-level ones were far more difficult—let alone a royal-blooded monster of the wolf species.

A living General-level monster could be used for various experiments; for instance, which drugs would affect them, or what frequencies of sound waves would cause them distress or even fear?

Experiments like these all served a single purpose: to find the optimal means of dealing with large-scale monster hordes.

Of the five great nations remaining on Earth and their twenty-three base cities, every city—save for those housing the headquarters of the Limit Dojo and the Thunder Dojo—had to face multiple monster hordes of varying intensity every year.

If a method could be found to counter large-scale hordes, it would be an achievement of immeasurable merit. Not only would it greatly reduce the defensive pressure on the base cities, but it would also free up more manpower to deal with the monsters in the oceans.

Countless warriors sacrificed their lives to these hordes every year, and even more were injured; if a way to contain or disperse these hordes could truly be found, it would undoubtedly be the military's most fervent desire.

"I don't know either, let me ask..." Huo Haitian took out his communication watch and quickly dialed a number.

"Brother Long, it's Haitian... No, nothing's wrong, I just wanted to ask: the guy who delivered that Silver Moon Fierce Wolf earlier said you were the one who sent it. Did you capture it yourself?"

"Not me, I just went to pick it up..." Guan Chenglong's voice came through the watch. "Since when did you become so nosy, kid?"

"Hehe..." Huo Haitian chuckled.

"Come to think of it, you know this person too," Guan Chenglong said, clearly in a great mood. "Remember that kid you went to pick up from Jiangnan Base City twenty-some days ago?"

"Ah!" Huo Haitian certainly remembered. He had a deep impression of Feng Qingmo and immediately blurted out, "Is it Feng Qingmo?"

Dr. Long, who had been intently observing the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf in the cage, suddenly turned her head at the sound of Huo Haitian's exclamation.

"How is that possible? He only passed the martial artist practical examination last month. How could he have the strength to capture a General-level Silver Moon Fierce Wolf alive... Could he have cooperated with another squad?" Huo Haitian was skeptical.

"No!" Guan Chenglong stated. "It was indeed him alone who captured this Silver Moon Fierce Wolf alive. I went to pick it up personally, and after reporting to the commander, I had it sent over to your side..."

Hearing the name Feng Qingmo, Dr. Long's mind conjured the image of that young man with the unfocused yet mysteriously profound gaze.

"I didn't expect his strength to be quite so good..." Recalling her promise to tell him her name the next time they met, a faint smile touched the corner of her lips before she composed herself and returned to studying the giant wolf.

After the battle with the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf, Feng Qingmo's sword techniques and movement skills had improved significantly. After resting for a night, he spent the following days continuing to search for suitable monsters in the city to hone his skills.

Seven days passed quickly. With his backpack full of monster materials, he set off on the road back to the Huashan Training Camp.

The experience of surviving alone in the Wilderness Zone for these seven days had helped him grow considerably. It wasn't just his external sword and movement skills; most importantly, his inner self had become tougher and more composed.

He might not have noticed such changes himself, but his parents had perceived them with great sensitivity. When he spoke to them on the phone last night, Feng Jiansong had said with great relief that he had finally grown up and was no longer a flower raised in a greenhouse.

When he returned to the Huashan Training Camp, the sky had already darkened. He went to the department that specialized in purchasing monster materials and sold the materials from three mid-level General-grade and two low-level General-grade monsters.

The materials from the three mid-level Generals sold for 120 million, and the two low-level Generals for 18 million, totaling 138 million. Of course, the bulk of the payment for the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf had not yet arrived; including that, Feng Qingmo would earn at least over 500 million this time.

The next morning, in room 301 of the Central Building, Feng Qingmo stepped inside, followed by the other trainees arriving one after another.

"Aha, Brother Mo!" As soon as Zuo Mingkun saw Feng Qingmo, he ran over. "You have no idea how we spent these past seven days..."

"Cut it out," Feng Qingmo said, lightly punching him on the shoulder. "Didn't you come back in one piece? Tell me, how many monsters did you kill?"

"Hehe," Zuo Mingkun said, becoming excited at the mention of it. "We killed quite a few monsters these past few days. It works out to several hundred thousand for each of us. By the way, how about you?"

"Need you ask?" Zheng Hu chimed in. "With Brother Mo's strength, he must have killed at least a few General-level ones..."

Feng Qingmo smiled. "It seems everyone adapted quite well..."

"It's all thanks to Brother Canyang," Guo Hui said. "Brother Canyang is truly worthy of someone who has entered the Wilderness Zone before. If it weren't for him, Chu Xinming wouldn't have just suffered a minor injury..."

Chu Xinming had a bandage wrapped around his left arm, clearly injured. Hearing Guo Hui say this, he nodded. "That's right, I was a bit careless. It was Brother Canyang who saved me..."

Chu Xinming had originally been somewhat impetuous, but after this week of wilderness training, he was clearly much more steady than before.

"We are teammates, after all; helping each other is only natural!" Li Canyang said quickly.

"You all did well!" Guan Chenglong's voice came from the doorway. Everyone looked over as he walked into the room, nodding to acknowledge them.

"I won't even mention Feng Qingmo; he hunted several mid-level General-grade monsters and completed the mission perfectly," Guan Chenglong said, walking over to the group and addressing the others. "You all did well, too. Although Chu Xinming was slightly injured, he'll recover in a couple of days..."

He paused and pointed to the seven tables arranged in the room. "We won't be doing sparring this morning. Instead, I'm giving you an assignment. Each of you take a table and write down your experiences, gains, lessons learned, and so on from this past week..."

"Huh?" Zuo Mingkun let out a strange cry. "We have to take a test?"

"It's not a test!" Guan Chenglong shook his head. "It's a summary. Especially since this is the first time most of you have experienced the Wilderness Zone, a post-action summary is essential. It will help you better understand your own strengths and weaknesses, and clarify the direction in which you need to strengthen and improve in the future..."

He chuckled. "Hand them to me when you're done. If I feel your writing isn't profound enough, you'll be rewriting it!"

The group looked at each other in dismay.

"Teacher Guan is doing this for our own good. This is indeed a good way to reflect and absorb experience." Feng Qingmo was the first to find a table and sit down.

The others nodded one after another, each finding a table to begin their 'homework.'