Something's Not Quite Right

Nine Rivers Corporation was located in the south of the city, its headquarters a hundred-story skyscraper.

It was less a company and more a military base, with heavily armed soldiers guarding the entrance, and visitors subjected to strict checks.

Looking up, the upper floors of the building were connected to numerous skybridges, crisscrossing with surrounding annex buildings. If one were to ride a maglev car, they could even reach the upper floors directly.

Unfortunately, Grandpa Lei's ride was a four-wheeled vehicle, so it could only travel along the ground, obediently driving into the underground parking garage to be parked.

"Don't envy those flying cars, they're impractical. Flying in the air makes you an easy target. I'm taking you to your onboarding, this is the closest route."

Grandpa Lei grumbled a bit sourly, forcing out a reason, and instead of taking the elevator, he led Xu Jiang up five floors to the HR department.

The distance wasn't far, and with Grandpa Lei's escort, the onboarding process was quite simple.

After all, he was just a Wilderness Hunter and wouldn't have access to core secrets, so the contract terms weren't too strict.

As for compensation, there was a base salary of 3,000 Credit Points per month, with additional income based on commission.

In a daze, Xu Jiang was transported back to his previous life, buried in work as a programmer.

Grandpa Lei quickly explained from the side, "The current benefits are low because I want you to develop discreetly. Just stay with Team 17, and starting tomorrow, I'll provide you with individual training. Once you're more capable, I'll transfer you to a stronger team."

To appease Xu Jiang, Grandpa Lei even requested a batch of equipment from the company under his own name, which could be collected immediately.

"Really? Free to collect? No money?" Xu Jiang asked doubtfully.

"Of course, I still have some influence. And your spoils from last time, I'll take you to sell them tomorrow. Don't worry, the price will definitely be higher than the market rate."

He flagged down a passing robot, requested two sweeping-machine-like transport vehicles, and slowly glided towards the annex building.

It was clear that Grandpa Lei was indeed planning benefits for him, but that so-called influence was really just that.

The Nine Rivers Corporation's armory was, of course, tiered. Grandpa Lei's influence was limited only to the beginner equipment armory for level 15 and below.

As soon as he entered, Xu Jiang was captivated by the dazzling array of weapons.

Rockets reaching 4 meters in length, chainsaw greatswords that could chop through people like vegetables, big and small, they had everything.

He even saw a level 15 power mech of blue quality, with 6 weapon slots and a short-range propulsion device, capable of mounting a small laser cannon. Its attributes were very good.

"How is it? Feeling tempted?" Grandpa Lei said proudly. "You could spend a whole day here and still not see all the equipment. Let me give you some recommendations."

"With your combat talent, choosing a bulky power armor would be a complete waste. I suggest you choose Nano Armor."

Nano Armor was a type of liquid armor. While not as flexible as liquid armor, its plating was sturdy and could be fitted with a micro power core.

Of course, this was still far from the level of self-evolution that Qianji possessed.

"For weapons, I recommend you use these two level 15 revolvers. They are a green quality set. Once you're familiar with them, I can also teach you my ultimate techniques."

Green quality items, individually, only had slightly better stats than white quality items, but equipping several pieces together provided additional set bonuses with considerable attributes.

It was evident that Grandpa Lei had fully embraced the role of a mentor, ready to impart his most treasured skills.

Imparting skills was another method of learning besides skill stones, but it took more time, and whether one could comprehend it depended on the teacher's strength and the student's aptitude.

It was a pity that he couldn't use any of these weapons.

Looking around the warehouse, there were at least tens of thousands of level 10-15 equipment pieces, but the General's Order didn't react at all. Weapons that couldn't be summoned were no different from trash, were they?

Last time, the Desert Eagle mentioned that only weapons that had achieved merit and possessed a Mech Soul could be summoned.

Was it because the weapons here were too low level? Or perhaps new weapons lacked the necessary experience and required some old relics?

Xu Jiang couldn't figure it out and had to find another way.

"Old Master Lei, the equipment here isn't suitable for me. Can I exchange it for other materials?"

Grandpa Lei frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Not suitable?

He glanced at the tens of thousands of equipment pieces here and knew they weren't suitable? Was it a talent issue?

He knew Xu Jiang must have hidden some talents, but he wouldn't pry.

After all, in these chaotic times, who didn't have secrets? Exposing one's trump cards would only lead to a quicker death. He was satisfied with Xu Jiang's caution.

But for now, it seemed Xu Jiang's talents weren't suited for ordinary equipment.

"What do you need?" Grandpa Lei asked.

"Can these be exchanged for me?"

Xu Jiang listed the materials needed for upgrading. Grandpa Lei frowned slightly after looking at them.

The materials on the list were not cheap, especially the level 20 purple mech, which was already considered a low-tier peak item.

With Xu Jiang's talent, giving him a set would be fine, but it would require an application to the higher-ups.

Any significant action could attract the attention of the company's senior management, which would be detrimental at this stage.

After thinking for a moment, Grandpa Lei said, "How about this, Xu Jiang, I can get you the Colorless Crystal Shards here. As for the other materials, I'll find a way to help you slowly."

"Okay, thank you."

Seeing Grandpa Lei bustling about, Xu Jiang was quite touched. Although he hadn't officially taken him as a disciple, he was already helping him plan his future.

Thinking about it this way, the 'Team 17' that Grandpa Lei introduced should also be a very good position, worth looking forward to.

As Xu Jiang pondered, the armory keeper, who was watching over the weapons, nudged his arm.

"Hey, brother, you're new here, right? Seeing as Steward Lei cares about you so much, which department are you in?" the keeper asked gossipily. It was rare for someone like Xu Jiang to receive attention from a steward right after joining the company.

Xu Jiang smiled slightly and replied, "I've joined the Wilderness Hunter department."

"Wilderness Hunter department, that's great!" The keeper's tone was envious. "I also really want to join the Wilderness Hunter department. The pay is good, and you can constantly improve your strength, but unfortunately, my abilities aren't enough. Oh right, which team are you on, brother?"

"Team 17."

As soon as he finished speaking, the keeper's expression instantly changed, and his legs weakly parted a step.

This reaction made Xu Jiang nervous too. This was his first job! He hoped Grandpa Lei wasn't trying to set him up.

"Is there something wrong with Team 17?" Xu Jiang quickly asked.

The keeper hesitated for a moment, glanced around to see no one was nearby, and said in a low voice, "Generally speaking, the Wilderness Hunter department is fine, but only Team 17 has two terrifyingly high metrics."

"What metrics?"

"The first is the mission failure rate, which is as high as 72%. Its reputation is the worst in the entire Wilderness Hunter department."

"Out of 10 missions, they fail 7?" Xu Jiang was also stunned.

Such a high failure rate wasn't just a matter of ability; it was about slacking off and not doing the work.

However, on second thought, it probably wouldn't affect him much.

He was only going to stay for a while anyway, to learn. If it really wasn't suitable, he could be transferred after completing Grandpa Lei's training.

Unexpectedly, the keeper leaned in more mysteriously, a hint of fear in his voice.

"You don't know, brother! Its second metric is the highest death rate in the entire Wilderness Hunter department. People die even on routine patrols."

"It can't be that exaggerated."

"It's true. Two people who barely survived applied to leave the team in less than a week. According to them, Team 17 is full of lunatics. You'll have to fend for yourself, brother."