Chapter 60

"Furthermore, it's uncertain when the Tongbao Spirit Realm will open. Only after the realm opens can those holding the token enter to explore for treasures. The opening date could be next month, a year from now, or even ten years from now."

"Before the Spirit Realm opens, this token is useless to him. But quite a few people are willing to gamble on this time, so the token isn't cheap on the market. You can get a lot of money by selling it."

So, it turns out He Yingjie isn't stupid after all.

Compared to being demoted in rank, losing a token whose usefulness is uncertain is definitely a less significant loss.

Xu Jintang silently put the token into his spatial storage.

That afternoon, Zhou Yu and his friends, having lost the bet, began to fulfill their promise. They stood as punishment at the entrance of the logistics area, and with each person passing by, they chanted in unison, their faces dark. "We're not as good as the logistics team."

Yan Yuting, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, burst out laughing.

Xu Jintang, with a smile on his lips, squatted under a big tree to enjoy the shade, chewing on snacks he had brought from the Federation Star Region, watching with great interest.

Xue Zhongqi had just finished his internship, dragged his weary steps toward this place. "My god, I'm exhausted. This army is no place for a human being."

Xu Jintang glanced up at him, noticing his exhausted expression, and asked curiously, "Is the men's team training that tough?"

Xue Zhongqi cried, "You didn't participate in the beast fighting training? I spent the whole afternoon in the beast fighting training arena. Because of my special ability, the older brother who trained me forbade me to use that Life Sharing technique. So I could only run around the arena dodging monsters. My legs cramped up, and I only managed to last three minutes."

Yan Yuting quietly interjected, "Then your training requirements are the same as ours."

"However..." she changed the subject, "Today, the class monitor did something really gratifying, and Captain Miao was so happy that he gave us both a half-day off."

"I've heard about it." Xue Zhongqi took a deep breath, relaxed his body, and picked up his folding fan again. "That's why I dragged my tired body over to see what was going on."

After saying that, he walked over to Xu Jintang's side, fanning himself, and squatted down with her, looking at Zhou Yu and the others with a smile.

"We're not as good as the logistics team."

With each shout, passersby couldn't help but glance over with amusement.

A moment later, Luo Yingtong walked over with a beaming smile, glanced down at Xu Jintang and the other two, and said, "You three come with me. I asked Captain Miao for half a day off, so I'll take you three to the city for a nice meal."

The food in the military camp was usually different kinds of nutritional drinks, and after a while, everyone got tired of it. So, being able to go out and go back to the city for a good meal was a luxury for Luo Yingtong and the others.

Xu Jintang smiled, clapped his hands, and stood up. "Okay."

Soon, Luo Yingtong led the three of them away from the military camp.

The Border Defense Star City is quite lively; Myriad Treasures Pavilion even opened a branch here, which has quite a few customers.

After strolling around, Xu Jintang and his group decided to eat at the most famous restaurant in the area.

Xu Jintang ordered a few of his favorite dishes and handed the menu to Yan Yuting beside him, "Order a few more."

"Okay." Yan Yuting eagerly opened the menu and began browsing the dishes.

Xu Jintang withdrew his gaze and took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Luo Yingtong: "Sister Tong, to get promoted to the rank of Captain Miao, you need a lot of combat merits?"

Luo Yingtong nodded, "Of course. A First Tier demonic beast is worth ten battle merits, Second Tier demonic beast is worth fifty battle merits, and so on. The higher the tier of the demonic beast, the more battle merits you can earn. For a captain like Captain Miao, you need at least tens of thousands of battle merits to achieve that rank. Moreover, to get promoted, you also need to consider your leadership, management skills, and so on."

"Take He Yingjie for example. With his abilities and military achievements, he could have been promoted to lieutenant long ago. But because of his bad reputation, many people in the army are dissatisfied with him, so he hasn't been promoted over the years."

Xu Jintang stroked his chin and nodded. "I understand."

Luo Yingtong looked her over curiously. "So, after graduating from military academy, you want to join the army directly?"

"That's a plan," Xu Jintang nodded.

Luo Yingtong responded, "The army is indeed a good choice. Although it's dangerous, as long as you have the ability, you can rise quickly."

After saying that, she turned to Xue Zhongqi and Yan Yuting, "Where are you two?"

Xue Zhongqi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "I'm not sure yet. Let's take it one step at a time."

Yan Yuting put down the menu and thought seriously for a while. "Actually, I'm not quite sure what I want to do either. But this internship at the military has been pretty good, and maybe I'll join the military in the future and work in logistics."

After speaking, she looked at Luo Yingtong, "Sister Tong, do you have any suggestions for us?"

Luo Yingtong shook her head. "No advice is 100% correct. Just do what you want to do."

After chatting for a while, the dishes they had ordered were served one after another.

The hot food was steaming, and its aroma filled the air.

Xu Jintang took a big gulp of soup, and his body immediately felt warm.

At that moment, Luo Yingtong's communicator suddenly beeped.

It was a message from Miao Ruijia: [Return to the army immediately, there is an emergency meeting.]

Before she left, she specifically asked Captain Miao for leave. If it weren't for a very serious situation, Captain Miao probably wouldn't have been in such a hurry to call her back.

Luo Yingtong's brows furrowed with a hint of seriousness.

"What's wrong?" Xu Jintang put down her soup bowl and looked up.

Miao Ruijia replied, "Captain Miao wants us to return to the army immediately."

Xue Zhongqi looked over as well, "What happened to the army?"

"Let's go back first, we need to eat faster." After replying to the message, Miao Ruijia picked up her chopsticks and began to devour the food.

Upon hearing this news, Xu Jintang and the other two also quickened their eating pace, finishing the food on the table in just five minutes.

The leftovers were packed up by the waiter.

Upon returning to the army, Xu Jintang quickly noticed that the atmosphere was different from before they left.

Everyone who came and went had a solemn expression, and the atmosphere was very tense.

"With everyone like this, are we really going to start a fight?" Yan Yuting had a bad feeling.

Xu Jintang remained relatively calm. "Don't scare yourself. Let's wait for news from Sister Tong and Captain Miao."

Xue Zhongqi's eyes turned serious. "I'll let Song Tianqi and the others know first."

"I have good news and bad news, both related to your military camp. Which would you like to hear first?" The Ice Soul Dragon within your spiritual sea suddenly spoke.

Xu Jintang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Good news."

"In the Extreme Cold Forest where I used to live, a ten-thousand-year-old snow lotus is about to mature. This snow lotus is a great tonic for ice-attribute monsters and supernatural beings. Of course, it will also be of great help to you. If you are willing to take the risk, I can take you back to the Extreme Cold Forest to pick this snow lotus."

Xu Jintang's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly regained her composure and tentatively asked, "What's the bad news?"

Ice Soul Dragon: "Besides me, several other lord-level demonic beasts living in the Extreme Cold Forest have also learned of this. Currently, three Peak Eighth Tier lord-level demonic beasts have begun to expel other lower-tier demonic beasts from their territories in order to compete for ownership of this ten-thousand-year-old snow lotus. After a large number of demonic beasts are driven out of their original territories, they may riot and attack human cities."

"This means that your Sector S Border Defense Star City, is about to face a major battle."

A deep glint flashed in Xu Jintang's eyes.

No wonder Captain Miao and Sister Tong were suddenly called to an emergency meeting.

It is estimated that they have already noticed the changes in the monsters of the Extreme Cold Forest.

"Why drive away other demonic beasts when high-level demonic beasts are fighting over the snow lotus?" Xu Jintang asked again.

Ice Soul Dragon: "To prevent sneak attacks from demonic beasts, high-level demonic beasts have developed intelligence, becoming no different from humans. In terms of thinking, they have also become more selfish."

So, do you want to compete for this snow lotus?

Xu Jintang pondered for a moment, and a hint of excitement gradually rose in his eyes.

The rarity of the ten-thousand-year-old snow lotus, which even Peak Eighth Tier demonic beasts would fight over, goes without saying.

"Of course we should fight for it!"

Chapter 60

That evening, after the emergency meeting concluded, the entire Area S border defense system sounded a level-one alert.

Within the military region, alert levels are divided into three categories:

Level 3 alert: The battle situation is quite tense; the frontline troops are on standby.

Level 2 alert: The battle situation is extremely tense; both frontline and logistics teams are on high alert.

Level 1 alert, critical situation, request combat support from the center if necessary.

This is the first time that a Level 1 alert has been issued since the establishment of the Sector S Border Defense Star City.

Less than half a minute later, the piercing alarm sounded throughout the entire military region.

"Has a monster invaded?! Level one alert! I've never seen anything like this since I joined the army."

"It's ruined, really ruined. We were just talking about how we'd be able to take time off next month during our lunch break, and suddenly we're on high alert."

"Stop dawdling, Captain Miao wants us to assemble. Hurry up, don't be late."

Inside the logistics area, many people ran towards the assembly point in unison.

Yan Yuting's expression was one of grave alarm. "All twenty-six border defense districts combined haven't even been out of the highest alert level more than a few times, have they? And yet we've managed to get caught up in it."

Xu Jintang raised his hand and fastened the top button of his military jacket. "Let's go, let's go to the assembly point too."

Xue Zhongqi snapped his fan shut in frustration. "Our luck is just unbelievable."

Ten minutes later, Xu Jintang, Yan Yuting, and the other two gathered at the logistics team.

Apart from the three, the more than one hundred members of the logistics team stood in a neat square formation, waiting for Miao Ruijia to speak.

"Everyone knows what a Level 1 alert means, so I won't hide it from you." Miao Ruijia said solemnly, "This morning, our military region's satellite detected a large-scale riot and outburst of monsters from within the Extreme Cold Forest. The specific reason is still unclear, but we suspect it may be related to the Ice Soul Dragon that has already escaped."