Four-Person Squad

A Land Rover sped along the level road.

Director Liu was still driving, while Xiao Yuan sat in the passenger seat, his tall frame looking somewhat cramped.

In the back sat Qi Tian, Fang Bai, and A Xiu.

All the Special Enrollment Students being picked up by the martial academy had now arrived!

Yet the atmosphere between them was rather strange.

Fang Bai had his eyes closed, lost in thought.

Qi Tian, sitting in the middle, still had not recovered from the swelling on his face, while his shifty eyes kept darting about.

A Xiu by the window tilted her head as she stared blankly outside, one small hand clutching the Crescent Pendant around her neck.

Fang Bai was currently immersed in the System Space, looking at his Virtual Panel.

He still had ten days before the deadline to complete his mission.

Having witnessed how outstanding his teammates were, Fang Bai would be lying if he said he was not anxious.

But as long as he could kill monsters, he would be able to catch up quickly!

With that thought, Fang Bai suddenly asked Director Liu, who was driving, "Sir, what exactly is this assessment about?"

Director Liu smiled. "Naturally, killing monsters!"

The moment those words came out, everyone else in the car sharpened their gazes.

Killing monsters?

"Wait, we're killing monsters right from the start? Isn't that just delivering ourselves on a platter?"

Qi Tian finally reacted, his face full of shock.

Of everyone present, he had dealt with monsters the most, so he naturally understood what that meant.

They were all rookies without any actual combat experience!

Director Liu said with a smile, "Relax. I'm not sending you to the front lines. You'll only be dealing with the lowest-level mutated monsters."

He continued, "Fang Bai applied for the Second Year Assessment. This standard is actually in line with the assessment requirements."

Qi Tian stared at Fang Bai in disbelief. "No way, Old Bai, you actually applied for the Second Year Assessment?"

Fang Bai was puzzled. "Is there a problem with that?"

"The problem is huge! Do you know anything about the martial academy? Do you know what kind of monsters the second-years are? You're a First Order Beginner with no training, and you dare charge straight toward the front lines? You're this! Thumbs up!"

In Qi Tian's eyes, Fang Bai was the weakest member of their team. On top of that, he was a newcomer who had never endured any brutal beatings. Facing monsters like that—wasn't he simply courting death?

Fang Bai shrugged. "We have to face them sooner or later. What's there to panic about?"

Qi Tian's expression turned strange. "Do you know what kind of freaks are capable of passing the Second Year Assessment at the martial academy?"

Fang Bai was confused.

Qi Tian pointed at himself and A Xiu. "People like us."

Fang Bai: "..."

A Xiu glanced at him without saying anything.

Director Liu looked into the rearview mirror and smiled. "Qi Tian is right, which is why I confirmed it with you several times back then."

Fang Bai's mouth twitched. He had to admit that he was feeling a little uneasy now. Going by that, even taking down an ordinary monster with his own strength might be difficult. But he had no way out. Compared to dying for no clear reason when the system self-destructed, dying gloriously in battle was still preferable.

Qi Tian looked at Fang Bai sympathetically. "Old Bai, good luck. This time next year, I'll burn paper offerings for you."

Fang Bai's face darkened. "Get lost!"

"Um, let me make this clear. All four of you will be taking the Second Year Assessment!"

Director Liu's leisurely voice drifted over.

Qi Tian's face stiffened, then his eyes flew wide open. "What the hell?!"

Director Liu smiled. "I already submitted a request to the higher-ups. Since your circumstances are special and you're Special Enrollment Students, the academy decided to give you a test. Of course, the first-year class is already full, so advancing to the second year is your only path."

"Damn it! You can't play it like this!"

Qi Tian let out a miserable howl.

A Xiu shot him a displeased glance. "You're too loud!"

Qi Tian lowered his volume and looked toward Director Liu, trying to negotiate. "Old Liu, my second uncle is a vice principal. If I accidentally die, he'll definitely hold someone accountable."

The unspoken meaning was: Could you just turn a blind eye and let him sneak through the assessment through the back door?

Director Liu revealed a strange smile. "Sorry, but having all of you take the assessment together was your second uncle's idea!"

"Nani?!"

Qi Tian immediately broke down. "Damn Qi Baichuan and his second granduncle! He clearly wants me dead so he can inherit my property!"

The corner of Director Liu's mouth rose. "Since you want to join the martial academy, you must be prepared to face danger at any time. The martial academy is not somewhere just anyone can enter."

Qi Tian wilted completely. "I was careless. I should've known to stay in the villa and enjoy life."

Other than Qi Tian, everyone else remained very calm upon learning they had to take the assessment.

Fang Bai had no other choice.

Xiao Yuan was illiterate and did not understand a thing.

A Xiu simply did not care.

Fang Bai patted Qi Tian on the shoulder. "Old Qi, accept your fate. Let's give it a shot together. Maybe we still have a chance."

Qi Tian sprawled limply across his seat and gave up. "Don't talk to me. I want some peace and quiet."

"Who's Peace and Quiet?"

Xiao Yuan innocently turned around to look at him.

Qi Tian: "..."

Fang Bai smiled, then asked, "Sir, give us a hint about this assessment!"

Director Liu glanced at him, then slowly said, "You may not know this, but recently, quite a few spatial fluctuations have appeared across the outskirts of Magic City."

"Other spaces?"

Fang Bai and Qi Tian's expressions turned solemn.

They both knew about other spaces. Blue Star had fallen because of the arrival of other spaces!

Could an army of monsters have invaded?

Director Liu seemed to know what they were thinking and said calmly, "Don't worry. The appearance of other spaces across human territory is not necessarily a bad thing. Thanks to the resistance of humanity's predecessors, those powerful monsters have all been blocked outside the 'wall.' The ones appearing within our borders are only small other spaces, and the monsters inside are not too strong."

"Moreover, this is not a bad thing for humanity. In a sense, these other spaces are treasure troves! Not only are there many low-level monsters inside, and killing them can yield plenty of useful materials, but there are also large quantities of Natural Treasures within them. They can greatly strengthen humanity as a whole."

Fang Bai asked in confusion, "Then wouldn't the appearance of other spaces within the country bring disaster upon ordinary people?"

"That's right. Even with our current technology, we cannot predict with absolute certainty where other spaces will appear. As a result, many civilians die at the hands of monsters. That is why we exist!"

"Our mission is to cooperate with the Monster Slaying Army and hunt the monsters in the other spaces that appear within the country! Naturally, there will be casualties. But comparatively speaking, this is already the best possible outcome."

Fang Bai understood.

Director Liu slowly said, "The location of your assessment this time is a place called Willow Leaf Town. A C-Class other space appeared there. The Monster Slaying Army has already intervened, and the civilians have been evacuated. Your mission is to cooperate with the Monster Slaying Army and clear out the monsters inside the other space!"

"Huh? Us?"

Fang Bai and the others wore strange expressions.

With their strength, were they sure they would not just become monster feed?

Qi Tian said gloomily, "In a C-Class other space, the strongest monsters have reached the third order, and there's more than one of them. There are countless second-order monsters too. Can we really come back alive?"

Director Liu smiled faintly. "Otherwise, how could it be worthy of a second-year advancement assessment? Pick any team from the martial academy's second year, and they could solo a C-Class other space."

Fang Bai was rather surprised. He had not expected the people in the martial academy to be so formidable.

"From this moment on, you are a team! Cooperate with each other. Fang Bai, you're the captain. You'll be responsible for commanding the other three."

Director Liu suddenly announced.

"Huh? Me?"

Fang Bai's mouth twitched. "Sir, I'm the weakest in the team. Are you sure they'll listen to me?"

He was confident about Xiao Yuan. As for the other two, each was more of an uncle than the last!

Director Liu smiled faintly. "Being powerful does not mean one knows how to command. Choosing a captain requires considering many factors. Your mind works well. If you command them, your chances of survival will be higher."

He had already figured it out. In the entire team, Fang Bai was the only normal one.

Whether such a team could even develop any coordination was a problem.

Qi Tian shrugged. "I don't care."

A Xiu thought for a moment, then nodded.

Xiao Yuan gave a simple, honest smile. "Same here!"

Thus, this bizarre little squad was born.

Director Liu checked the time, then said, "There's still half an hour until we reach our destination. You have some time, so hurry up and get familiar with each other. Because in half an hour... you'll be fighting for your lives!"

The atmosphere in the car immediately grew heavy.

Fang Bai narrowed his eyes, then said, "Sir, stop the car."

The corner of Director Liu's mouth lifted as he stepped on the brakes.

A moment later, the four-person squad sat in a circle by the roadside.

Director Liu leaned against the vehicle, watching them with a smile.

Fang Bai spoke first. "Dear classmates, you all heard it. Our upcoming assessment carries a risk to our lives, so we need to take this seriously."

Qi Tian suddenly raised a hand to interrupt him. "Um... shouldn't the person in the most danger among us be you?"

Fang Bai: "..."

He rolled his eyes. "No time for jokes, buddy. We're short on time and unfamiliar with one another, so let's first introduce our own situations."

"I'll go first. Fang Bai, Lightning Element Awakener, currently First Order Beginner. Combat experience: zero."

Xiao Yuan glanced at the others, then smiled honestly. "My name's Xiao Yuan. I'm... um, an Earth Element Awakener. What order am I? Let's just call it first order. I'm strong, and I can control earth elements."

"So you're really good at playing with mud, huh?"

Qi Tian grinned, then lifted his chin. "I am Qi Tian, Qi Tian the Great Sage's Qi Tian, a Dual Element Awakener. Second-order Light Element, first-order Wood Element. My skills are [Eight-Part Light Wheel], [Holy Light Ash], and [Healing Technique]."

Fang Bai was somewhat envious. "Three skills?"

[Eight-Part Light Wheel] was clearly an offensive skill from its name alone, and Qi Tian had even awakened the Wood Element's unique skill, [Healing Technique]. That was undoubtedly extremely important for a team.

The three of them turned their gazes toward A Xiu.

Her face remained expressionless as she put on a cold, aloof act and said in a voice still carrying a milky softness, "A Xiu. Space Element Awakener. First Order Advanced. My specialty is [Teleportation]. My current teleportation range is forty-three meters."

Upon hearing that skill, Fang Bai and Qi Tian immediately became envious.

Wasn't that utterly overpowered?

Fang Bai cleared his throat, then declared loudly, "Since everyone has introduced themselves, we need to work together properly from here on! Whether we can pass the assessment and successfully enter the martial academy depends on this attempt!"

Qi Tian: I'll spend money. I'm guaranteed to get in!

Xiao Yuan: I have to work hard! I want to enter school and learn knowledge!

A Xiu: Whatever.