First Steps into the Special Operations Bureau

"So this is the Special Operations Bureau?"

Li Yao stood before an ordinary gate, a question forming in his mind.

He had imagined a place like the Special Operations Bureau would be extravagantly lavish.

Golden gates, Spiritual Power fountains, pillars carved with dragons and phoenixes—the more over-the-top, the better.

But what did he find?

A little farmhouse courtyard.

Earthen walls surrounded it, with a few withered vines climbing over them.

The gate was wooden, its paint almost entirely peeled away to expose the darkened timber beneath.

There wasn't even a sign above it. Just a rag hanging there, swaying whenever the wind blew.

"Don't tell me the Special Operations Bureau went out of business."

Li Yao took out his phone and checked again.

No, this was right. He had specifically asked Principal Shi, who had told him this was the place.

He hadn't gone to the wrong address.

"Well, I'm here now."

Li Yao put away his phone and walked forward.

He stopped as soon as he reached the gate.

Two fearsome stone lions sat before it.

Their mouths gaped open, baring fangs, and their eyes bulged like brass bells. Just looking at them made his skin crawl.

Li Yao's gaze swept over the two stone lions.

He could sense that they were somehow alive.

Grrrk, grrrk.

The sound of stone grinding against stone reached Li Yao's ears.

To his shock, the lions' heads, which had been facing forward, turned toward him!

"Holy shit!"

Li Yao stumbled back a step.

The two stone lions did nothing else. They simply stared straight at him, as if sizing him up.

Just then, the gate swung open with a clang.

A delicate-looking young man stepped out.

He looked seventeen or eighteen, dressed in white, with skin as pale as tofu and a hint of baby fat in his cheeks.

After coming out, he said nothing. He just stared straight at Li Yao.

That stare made Li Yao's skin crawl.

"Hello?"

Li Yao spoke first.

If he won't say anything, I might as well.

At Li Yao's greeting, the young man opened his mouth to speak.

"Urgh!"

The moment he opened his mouth, he vomited.

He bent over, bracing himself against the doorframe, and threw up something awful.

"Urgh... urgh..."

Li Yao stared in disbelief.

Good grief, what's going on?

Am I that disgusting to look at?

The young man finally finished and recovered his composure.

"I'm never taking a teleportation array out here again. Urgh..."

He nearly threw up again.

"Oh, man... cough, cough."

It took the young man a while to recover. He wiped his mouth, then finally looked Li Yao in the eye.

"You're Li Yao, right?"

The young man spoke.

"If you mean Li Yao, the dashing, handsome young master of the Imperial Capital's finest Great Family, defenders of the Dragon Nation, whose looks make flowers bloom and everyone else feel inadequate, then that's me."

Li Yao blinked and said it with a perfectly straight face.

The young man rolled his eyes.

"What a clown."

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Bai Yu, and I'll be showing you into the Special Operations Bureau."

"Elder Shi prepared your file and sent it here several days ago. I thought you'd come right away, but it's been three days."

"Give me your Recommendation Letter."

Li Yao did as asked. He pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it over.

Bai Yu took it and gave it a quick glance.

"Mm. Everything's in order."

"Come in."

Bai Yu invited Li Yao inside as he spoke.

Li Yao didn't hesitate.

"Coming."

He stepped through the gate.

Only after entering did Li Yao realize how much lay hidden inside.

From outside, it had looked like a tiny farmhouse courtyard.

But stepping in felt like entering another world.

The grounds were enormous, with pavilions and towers scattered throughout.

Flowers, shrubs, and trees filled the courtyard. A bluestone path ran down the middle, flanked by houses with ornately carved beams.

In the distance lay a small lake. A few lotus flowers floated on it, and faint ripples of Spiritual Power shimmered across the water.

"Now that's more like it!"

Li Yao couldn't help saying it.

"This is what the Special Operations Bureau should look like!"

Bai Yu walked ahead, talking as he went.

"Master Yuan, an expert in space, used his spatial Superpower to create this separate little realm. Think of it as one of those blessed cultivation havens in immortal-cultivation novels."

"You'd never know it was here from the outside."

"The Special Operations Bureau's full name is actually the Special Operations Administration Bureau."

"Generally, we handle..."

Li Yao's predecessor had memories of what Bai Yu went on to say.

So Li Yao tuned him out and kept looking around instead.

A burly man in a black uniform passed by carrying a greatsword over his shoulder. When he saw Li Yao, he gave him a nod.

A woman in a long white dress sat reading beside the lake, a sword resting next to her.

He also spotted an old man dozing by a wall, a pipe in his hand and smoke rings drifting from his mouth.

There really are all kinds of people here.

Li Yao marveled to himself.

Beside him, Bai Yu kept chattering away.

"Our Special Operations Bureau mainly handles matters within the Dragon Nation. If members of the Demon Race turn up somewhere, or rogue cultivators appear, or some family starts plotting trouble, it's our job to deal with them."

"Of course, we also have the authority to act first and report afterward."

"That means we can kill them first, then file the report."

"That's a lot of power."

"...Right, that covers it. Next is how promotions work in the Special Operations Bureau."

That caught Li Yao's attention, and he listened carefully.

This was something he genuinely didn't know.

"New recruits like you all start as trainee administrators, regardless of your cultivation level."

"Martial Master or Martial Venerable, it doesn't matter. You're still a trainee administrator."

"Once you've completed ten trainee assignments and reached the Martial Venerable Realm, you'll be promoted to junior administrator."

"After that, it works the same way. Junior administrators who complete ten junior assignments and reach the Martial King Realm become intermediate administrators."

"Intermediate administrators who complete ten intermediate assignments and reach the Martial Sovereign Realm become senior administrators."

"The highest rank is chief administrator, which requires the Martial Emperor Realm."

Li Yao listened intently.

This Special Operations Bureau is more like a sect with structure and discipline.

That was what he thought.

"Well? Sounds exciting, doesn't it?"

"Complete assignments and you get promoted, with more resources and more authority."

"The benefits here at the Special Operations Bureau are excellent."

"You get a monthly Spirit Stone allowance, generous rewards for completed assignments, and access to all kinds of classified information."

"So? Tempted?"

Li Yao nodded.

"It does sound tempting."

"So when do we start taking assignments?"

Bai Yu waved a hand.

"Don't rush. First, come register and collect your ID badge and uniform."

"Then I'll show you your dorm."

"Your official assignment schedule starts tomorrow."

Li Yao nodded.

"Sure. Let's go."

He followed Bai Yu deeper inside.

They crossed the bluestone path and arrived before a three-story building.

A plaque above its door bore three large characters: "Registration Hall."

"We're here."

Bai Yu pushed open the door and went in.

Li Yao followed him inside.

The Registration Hall was spacious. A long desk stood in the center, with a bespectacled middle-aged man seated behind it.

"Old Wang, I've brought the new recruit."

Bai Yu called out to the man.

The man looked up and glanced at Li Yao.

"Oh, you're Li Yao?"

"Shi Jian told me you were coming a few days ago."

"Come on, fill out this form."

Li Yao stepped forward, took the form, and began filling it out.

Name, age, sex, cultivation level, Spiritual Root... When he was done, Li Yao handed it back.

Old Wang took the form, looked it over, and nodded.

"Mm. Everything's in order."

"Here's your ID badge."

He took an iron badge from a drawer and handed it to Li Yao.

Li Yao looked at it. Engraved on the badge were the words "Special Operations · Trainee · Li Yao."

"And here's your uniform."

Old Wang took out a black uniform and handed it to Li Yao.

"Put it on, and you're one of us."

"Remember, from today onward, you represent the Special Operations Bureau. Watch everything you say and do."

Li Yao accepted the uniform and nodded.

"Got it. I'll remember."

"All right, I'll show him the dorm now."

Bai Yu said that, then pulled Li Yao toward the exit.

"Hey, Old Wang, thanks!"

"No problem. Do your best."

They left the Registration Hall, and Bai Yu led Li Yao toward the dormitory building.

"Oh, right, Li Yao."

"What's your cultivation level?"

Bai Yu asked out of the blue.

"Ninth Rank Martial Master," Li Yao answered honestly.

"Ninth Rank Martial Master? Not bad."

"That puts you among the best of the interns."

"Keep up the good work, and you'll soon be promoted to junior administrator."

"The Special Operations Bureau places a lot of value on strength."

"If you're strong enough, you can climb even higher."

Li Yao nodded.

"Mm, I understand."

Ding! Congratulations, host! You have joined the Special Operations Bureau. Mission complete!

Reward: 20,000 Background Value!

Ding! Host's current Background Value balance: 142,000!