By the time Zhou Chen was woken by his phone's ringtone, it was already dark outside.
"The mission is starting soon. Get to the assembly point within ten minutes." Jiang Che's cool voice came from the other end of the line.
"I'll be right there."
After hanging up, Zhou Chen went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. He gave his reflection a quick fist pump, then rushed out the door toward the assembly point.
When he got to the assembly point, he was surprised to find he was one of the first to arrive.
"Hey, this kid looks familiar."
A weathered-looking man, who was smoking and shooting the breeze with a few veteran Operators, eyed Zhou Chen. He then pulled a phone from his pocket, scrolled through it, and had a moment of realization. "Oh, he's the rookie I'm supposed to be taking."
"You're… Zhou Chen, right? Go grab your gear." The melancholic, stubble-faced man pointed to some tables in the distance, near a few Star Association staff members. They were covered in all sorts of weapons and equipment.
Zhou Chen saw several types of notoriously lethal firearms with just a quick glance.
Neither an Ascender nor a Corrupter would walk away unscathed from a hit by one of these. An unlucky shot to a vital area could mean instant death.
After getting a full combat suit and putting it on, Zhou Chen requisitioned an automatic rifle, a pump-action shotgun, two pistols, and ample magazines. Apparently deciding that still wasn't enough firepower, he clipped a few smoke grenades and hand grenades to his tactical vest.
To his surprise, they were also issued an unknown, tube-shaped potion. A red liquid, viscous as mercury, swirled gracefully inside the transparent glass vial.
He asked a staff member and learned it was an Alchemy Potion used for healing injuries. In short, it was a Blood Bottle—a lifesaver in a pinch.
Fully armed, Zhou Chen walked up to the weathered-looking man and struck up a conversation.
"What should I call you?"
"Yang."
The weary, melancholic-looking man stubbed out his cigarette. "Just call me Yang."
"I'm in charge of you for this mission. When it starts, stick with me and don't wander off. Be sharp. It makes your life easier, makes my life easier. Better for everyone."
Zhou Chen nodded. "I appreciate it."
While they were speaking, the other team members began to trickle in.
This mission was a special case. A few veteran Operators were leading new Ascenders—a "rookies-and-vets" setup. It was a time-honored tradition for the Special Operations Team.
It served as both a test of the veteran Operators' skills and an assessment of the rookies' practical combat abilities.
Including Zhou Chen, there were seven new Ascenders in total. With their veteran counterparts, the entire strike team comprised fourteen Ascenders!
Of course, if they were facing Xi Feng's Restricted Area smuggling team, a group this size wouldn't stand a chance.
Those guys could steal things from right under the Holy See's nose; there was no way they were weak. They could slaughter this whole team in minutes.
The crucial point, however, was that every member of Xi Feng's Restricted Area smuggling team was a wanted criminal. They wouldn't dare set foot in Jinzhu. Instead, they had to use various methods to get their cargo inside, where their contacts in Jinzhu would take over. From there, the goods were smuggled to the rest of the World through a network of secret channels and shady deals.
In other words, Zhou Chen's team was only tasked with taking down Xi Feng's local contacts. According to intel, this group included only four Ascenders, all of them Tier One. The rest were just regular people.
The difficulty suddenly dropped to easy mode.
But that didn't mean they could let their guard down. Even a regular person with a gun could pose a lethal threat to an Ascender.
During the final prep phase, Zhou Chen checked his gear and adjusted his earpiece. He glanced over at his other teammates and noticed the other six seemed to know each other, forming a tight-knit circle that excluded him. They kept their distance, showing no intention of interacting with him.
Zhou Chen didn't think much of it. 'Maybe they already know each other. No reason for a stranger like me to butt in.'
But his heightened Ascender senses told him something was off about the way the six of them were looking at him.
Scrutiny, confusion, contempt, jealousy…
Zhou Chen was bewildered. 'I haven't even done anything. How did I already make enemies?'
'Is this the price of excellence?'
Yang, smoking beside him, chuckled and said quietly, "Your story is already all over the Special Operations Team. The guy whose Soul was shattered but didn't die, who then awakened as an Ascender and even became a direct subordinate to the new leader… You've had all the damn luck.
You've become quite the celebrity around here lately. There are plenty of people who are envious, jealous, and full of hate.
How many people do you think are eyeing your position right now? How many are just waiting for you to die?"
Zhou Chen was at a loss for words.
'He has a point. A dying man isn't worth getting close to, especially one who's hogging a spot as the new leader's direct subordinate. It's only natural they'd resent me.'
'They're probably all hoping I'll just hurry up and die so they can have my spot.'
"Relax. Lighten up. Everyone dies eventually, it's just a matter of when." Yang clapped him on the shoulder and teased, "If there's really no hope for you, I suggest you go find out what a woman feels like. Dying a virgin would be just too tragic."
"Er…"
"Don't 'er' me. This is a friendly warning. Don't you think dying like that would be a tragedy?
No need to explain. A virgin stands out like a lipstick stain on a white shirt. Out of everyone here, guess who the only virgin is?"
Yang whistled cheerfully.
"Yooou~"
As a dark look crossed Zhou Chen's face, Yang grinned, crushed his cigarette under his boot, and climbed into the armored vehicle.