Her first mission

The two excitedly huddled together. Ye Buyu, who had nowhere to go, had run into Qiu Zhi, who desperately needed a guinea pig, and they hit it off instantly.

Qiu Zhi looked at her earnestly. "Ye Buyu, I need people. I need a healer!"

Ye Buyu was deeply moved. "I'm free. Super, unbelievably free!"

Two restless souls collided in a dazzling shower of sparks, sending their hearts bursting with joy.

Everyone nearby thought they were nuts.

Qiu Zhi gathered up his materials. "Come with me. We're short one support, and our captain's been worrying about where to find someone. Your timing couldn't be better."

Ye Buyu followed him. "Captain? Are you heading out on a mission?"

"Right. A small one, nothing hard. We're going to a Level Three Zone to find some materials to upgrade our teammates' equipment," Qiu Zhi said with a smile.

"Our support went home for the break. Since it's an easy mission, we figured we'd be fine on our own, but having a support to clear away the calamity aura would still be helpful.

"Oh, right, Ye Buyu. Would you be willing to come with us?"

Only then did Qiu Zhi realize he hadn't even asked whether she wanted to go. He'd gotten ahead of himself.

"Of course."

With an older student guiding her and a very simple mission, it couldn't have been more suitable for Ye Buyu, who wanted to practice using her abilities.

She couldn't get any missions on her own anyway. Running into Qiu Zhi this time really had been a stroke of luck.

Her luck was finally turning around.

Following Qiu Zhi to the departure point, she heard him call out to his team from a distance. "Captain, I'm here! I found us a support!"

"Really? That's great... uh..."

Captain Hao Liang turned around and fell silent, his delighted smile freezing on his face.

At the same time, Ye Buyu spotted Captain Hao Liang.

She immediately recognized the older student she'd put through the wringer before.

Their eyes met, and only awkward silence spread between them.

Qiu Zhi looked from one to the other. "What's with those expressions? Do you know each other?"

Captain Hao Liang slapped his forehead. "Yes, of course. She's our specially admitted junior. Glad to see you again."

Ye Buyu laughed. "Yes, very glad."

"..."

Oh no. We've killed the conversation.

The young man behind Captain Hao Liang finally remembered something. "Oh, aren't you the one who got the better of our captain? Welcome, welcome. I'm Liao Yong. You can call me Brother Yong."

The young woman beside Liao Yong blinked. "I'm Wang Yajing. Welcome to our team. But... please don't heal me unless I ask for it."

Ye Buyu nodded. "I definitely won't."

She inwardly sighed with relief. She'd thought she might have to turn around and go home again.

Liao Yong gave Captain Hao Liang a thump. "Don't be so petty. You're not going to chase away the support we finally managed to find, are you?"

"Am I that kind of person?" Captain Hao Liang shot him a glare, then turned to Ye Buyu. "I'm just a little surprised. You were still first tier when I last saw you, and now you've reached second tier in such a short time. Congratulations."

Captain Hao Liang changed the subject. "Does your Compulsory Cost increase after you advance a tier?"

"No. It's still the same as before."

Ye Buyu shook her head, feeling deeply guilty. She'd actually left him traumatized.

"Then we're good." Captain Hao Liang relaxed. Paying a cost or whatever wasn't important.

They were traveling together anyway, and they'd have to split the spoils at the end. It made no difference.

What mattered was that they were going to find specific materials. Having a support who could clear away or suppress the calamity aura on them would give them some protection.

Captain Hao Liang called out, "Let's get ready to go, then. We'll make it quick."

Entering the Space Elevator again, Ye Buyu braced herself, ready at any moment for that sudden sensation of weightlessness and the awful feeling of being abruptly hurled out to fall from the sky.

Wang Yajing reminded her, "Ye Buyu, you don't need to be so tense. The Assessment used a special deployment method, so it was a bit more intense. Normal trips to explored Blue-Label Zones aren't like that."

"Oh."

Just as Wang Yajing had said, nobody was tossed out high in the air this time. Instead, they smoothly crossed the boundary and arrived at the marked level-three Blue-Label Zone.

Stepping out of the Space Elevator, Ye Buyu saw a steady stream of people coming and going. It wasn't exactly crowded, but it wasn't deserted either.

"These people are all here to explore and find materials," Captain Hao Liang explained. "This area is called the Corrosion Swamp. There's a kind of Calamity here called a Corrupt Corpse Crocodile. The material we're looking for is its tears."

"Tears?"

Ye Buyu was stunned. They actually wanted the proverbial crocodile tears?

Qiu Zhi explained, "That's right. A Corrupt Corpse Crocodile's tears are excellent crystals that can amplify the attributes of weapons and equipment.

"Next, we'll defeat the Corrupt Corpse Crocodiles and get their tears. Then we'll just need you to clear away the calamity aura clinging to them.

"Since we need more than one, carrying them around without promptly clearing away that aura would expose us to erosion from calamity power. Thanks for your help, Ye Buyu."

"No problem. Leave it to me." Ye Buyu clenched her fist.

A little excitement stirred in her heart. This was her very first mission.

She followed the four of them deeper into the area. Before long, a vast swamp came into view.

No trees blocked their view, and no bushes grew there. There was only an unobstructed expanse of swamp, with bubbles rising from it every so often.

Around the swamp's entrance, wooden boats were lined up neatly. A temporary building stood beside them, and a woman in work clothes was working at its simple service window.

Captain Hao Liang walked up to the window and held out his wristwatch. "One wooden boat, please."

"All right. Payment received. Please take one from over there and return it afterward."

This was Ye Buyu's first time seeing any of this. Everything piqued her curiosity, and she looked all around.

Taking a closer look at the sign by the window, she saw the Tidewater Workshop's emblem engraved on it.

"Oh, this is part of Mu's family business."

She glanced back at the endless swamp, then turned to the woman working at the window, gaining a profound understanding of what it meant to own a sprawling business empire.

"Ye Buyu, stop looking around. Let's go."

"Coming."

Once aboard the wooden boat, Ye Buyu gazed at the bubbling swamp, reached out, and touched it. It felt like slick moss, surprisingly pleasant to the touch.

Liao Yong was about to warn her not to touch it, only to discover that she was completely fine.

Remembering the rumors circulating around campus, he asked curiously, "What do you see?"

Ye Buyu turned back. "Nothing special. Just a swamp, with a layer of clear water on top and some green algae."

Qiu Zhi, who was propelling the wooden boat, gaped. "Not layers of rotting flesh floating on the surface?"

Ye Buyu said, "..."

She silently withdrew her hand. The difference was far too great.

The moment she pulled her hand back, a crocodile clambered onto the stern. The wooden boat rocked, and Captain Hao Liang quickly steadied himself, severing the Corrupt Corpse Crocodile's head with a single slash.

The corpse crocodile dissolved into black smoke and vanished. A crystal slipped from its eye and fell into the wooden boat.