Accepting a Mission: Tracking the Monster in the Western Outskirts!

"Our Special Operations Bureau dorms come with private rooms, even for trainee administrators. Of course, if you're close to someone here and want to live together, that's fine too."

Bai Yu talked as he walked, gesturing with his hands.

"If you find a partner here, you'll get a villa together in this Pocket World. The state will even provide you with a small villa outside."

Li Yao smacked his lips.

"That's a perk? I'd better hurry up and find someone."

"Then you'd better get moving. There are plenty of pretty girls at the Special Operations Bureau, but their standards are high."

Bai Yu chuckled.

"Oh, right. Add me on WeChat, and I'll send you the installation package for our bureau's app."

Bai Yu suddenly pulled out his phone and turned to Li Yao.

"No way. There's a signal in here?"

Li Yao was stunned.

He had assumed his phone would lose its signal once he entered the Pocket World.

But when he took it out, he found a network named "Special Operations Bureau"!

"Don't look so surprised. Phones are convenient. Why wouldn't we use them? When Master Yuan built this Pocket World, he set up Wi-Fi across the whole place while he was at it. The password's eight eights. Connect yourself."

"Here, scan mine."

Bai Yu pulled up a QR code.

Li Yao opened WeChat, scanned it, and sent a friend request.

Bai Yu accepted at once, then sent over an installation package.

"Only Special Operations Bureau personnel know about this app or can download it."

"You can accept missions on it or find people to team up with. There's a forum and all sorts of other stuff too. Oh, and you can browse the bureau's Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. If you have enough contribution points, place an order in the app, and logistics will deliver it to your door."

Li Yao listened as he downloaded it.

"Let that download. I'll add you to this year's trainee administrator group."

Bai Yu's fingers moved quickly as he spoke.

Before long, Li Yao was in a group chat with over a hundred members.

"Bai added someone. A newcomer? Welcome!"

"Welcome, newcomer."

"Finally, another newcomer this year. Took long enough."

"Newcomer, say hello! What's your name and cultivation level? We can go on missions together sometime."

Messages flooded the chat.

Li Yao's arrival had stirred the stagnant group to life. Whenever someone new joined, they reacted as though it were a holiday.

After a moment's thought, Li Yao sent a brief introduction.

"Li Yao. Ninth Rank Martial Master. Third-year student at Imperial Capital University."

"Ninth Rank Martial Master? That's a big shot!"

"Li Yao? Imperial Capital University? Are you the Li Yao who won this year's Imperial Capital University Martial Arts Tournament?"

Li Yao replied, "Yes, that's me."

The group chat exploded.

"Forget big shot. He's a legend!"

"I watched this year's Imperial Capital University Martial Arts Tournament. Your strength was incredible—on par with a Martial Venerable."

The chat stayed lively for a while before gradually quieting down.

Bai Yu put away his phone and glanced at Li Yao.

"Look at you. You've made a name for yourself before you've even joined the Special Operations Bureau."

"It's nothing much." Li Yao smiled.

"No, you really are impressive. Strength on par with a Martial Venerable puts you among the very best trainees."

As Bai Yu spoke, he pointed to a building ahead.

"We're here. That's your dorm."

Li Yao looked up at a small three-story building.

"All the trainee administrators live here. The conditions are pretty good."

"Your room is 208. I've already registered you."

Bai Yu took a key from his pocket and handed it to Li Yao.

"Here's your key."

Li Yao took it and nodded.

"Thanks, Bai."

"No need to thank me. We're both with the Special Operations Bureau. We'll look out for each other."

Bai Yu waved a hand.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to it. Go have a look around. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me or someone in the group."

"Will do. See you, Bai."

Bai Yu turned and left.

Li Yao took the key upstairs. Room 208 was at the far end of the second floor. A number plate was fixed to its wooden door.

He slipped the key into the lock and turned it.

The lock clicked, and the door opened.

He pushed it open and entered a room of roughly sixty square meters.

It had a bed, a desk, a chair, a wardrobe, and a bathroom. There was even a kitchen.

The conditions were good, but they were nowhere near as good as his home.

Li Yao tossed his backpack onto the bed and flopped down.

"Comfy."

He picked up his phone and took another look at the Special Operations Bureau app.

It had sections for missions, the forum, the store, and his profile.

He opened the mission board. It held plenty of missions, sorted into difficulty levels.

Trainee mission: Find traces of the monster spotted in the Imperial Capital's western outskirts. Reward: 100 contribution points.

Junior mission: Eliminate an Evil Cultivator stronghold in the Imperial Capital's eastern district. Reward: 500 contribution points.

Intermediate mission: Investigate abnormal energy fluctuations in the Imperial Capital's northern outskirts. Reward: 2,000 contribution points.

Advanced mission: Assist border forces in repelling a Monster Beast Tide. Reward: 5,000 contribution points.

Li Yao looked them over. Trainee missions were the easiest, but they paid the least.

He had no choice, though. Trainee administrators could only accept trainee missions.

He opened one of them.

"Find traces of the monster spotted in the Imperial Capital's western outskirts."

Mission description: Several villagers have gone missing in the Imperial Capital's western outskirts over the past few days. A monster is suspected. Investigate the area, find traces of the monster, and report them to the Special Operations Bureau.

After reading it, Li Yao tapped Accept.

"Ding! Mission accepted." The system notification sounded.

Li Yao put away his phone and considered his plans.

I'll check out the western outskirts tomorrow. I've got nothing else to do anyway.

After lying there for a while, he sat up and opened the Special Operations Bureau store.

It offered all kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, medicinal herbs, cultivation techniques, Spirit Artifacts, and pills.

But everything had to be exchanged for contribution points.

Li Yao checked his balance: zero.

He closed the store and opened the forum.

There were plenty of posts: mission discussions, cultivation tips, and idle chatter.

He sent Bai Yu a message.

"Bai, how do I get out?"

Bai Yu replied at once.

"Remember that metal post where we came in?"

Li Yao thought back. There did seem to be one.

"I saw it."

"That's the access gate. Scan your ID badge there when you want to leave."

"Got it. Thanks, Bai."

He rested a little longer, then got ready to leave. This place couldn't compare to his own home.

Besides, he had the Special Operations Bureau app now. Anything he needed to do here, he could do on his phone.

Once he got home, he could have Li Wenbin look for traces of the monster. All he had to do was wait for news.