Chapter 306 – The Team's First Mission

Tianfeng Dragonheart District, Professional Assistance Center.

Today, He Zhaoyi was once again at her designated counter position, handling paperwork day after day, year after year for Professionals seeking assistance.

“Hello, how may I help you?”

Comrade Xiao He’s professional sweet smile and clear voice once again attracted a large amount of work, forming a familiar long queue before her counter, while the neighboring counters remained relatively sparse, creating a rather peculiar scene.

Regular visitors here weren’t surprised by this sight at all, having grown accustomed to it.

Several security guards even frequently patrolled nearby, seemingly ready to spring into action at any moment, paying excessive attention to He Zhaoyi’s counter area.

There was no helping it.

Ever since Comrade Xiao He started working here, situations requiring security intervention would occur from time to time.

For instance, some unrestrained Professionals enjoyed causing trouble here, even coming to show off in front of He Zhaoyi when they had nothing better to do, or specifically queuing up just to chat with her, disrupting official business, or outright hitting on Comrade Xiao He, seriously affecting work and order in the area. This small office space had unexpectedly become a place of some disputes and chaos.

The security guards, well aware of this situation, naturally couldn’t help but frequently patrol the area to monitor things, ready to intervene immediately when disturbances arose.

Of course, whether some among them had ulterior motives was known only to themselves.

Regarding this, whether He Zhaoyi was aware but chose not to mention it, or genuinely hadn’t noticed, she always silently persisted at her post, repeating her work.

For this sweet-looking young beauty, this had become her daily routine, something she had grown accustomed to, even numb about.

Thus, He Zhaoyi had mastered the skill of maintaining her professional smile under any circumstances.

“Hello, how may I…”

Seeing another figure approach her counter, He Zhaoyi prepared to deliver the greeting she had repeated countless times, wearing her long-practiced professional smile.

However, this time, He Zhaoyi actually encountered an acquaintance who wasn’t here to pester her.

“Hello there, lovely counter lady, we meet again.”

When this young voice reached He Zhaoyi’s ears, carrying a somewhat amused tone, she slightly started.

Only then did Comrade Xiao He clearly see the person who had appeared before her.

It wasn’t one person, but a group of people.

Several figures stood together before He Zhaoyi’s counter.

It was a combination of one male and four females.

The one who had just spoken was the only male in the group, standing at the front as if he were the leader.

He Zhaoyi had some impression of that young, somewhat handsome face.

It was unmistakably Su Ming, the One-Star Sorcerer who had come a few days ago to apply for team formation.

“It’s you?”

He Zhaoyi was surprised.

Not because she saw Su Ming here, but because of the females surrounding him.

The scene of women of various ages and types – from mature ladies to lolis – made He Zhaoyi, who had previously seen Su Ming alone, somewhat stunned.While He Zhaoyi was lost in thought, some commotion gradually emerged around them.

“Hey, isn’t that…?”

“No way?”

“Am I seeing things?”

“Is it really them?”

Some Professionals seemed to recognize the identities of the women surrounding Su Ming, expressing surprise and astonishment.

People around began frequently glancing in their direction and discussing among themselves, causing the disturbance to gradually spread.

In contrast, the women at the center of this attention acted as if they noticed nothing, or perhaps were accustomed to others’ discussions and gazes. They didn’t even glance around, simply following beside Su Ming with an air of complete deference.

He Zhaoyi felt somewhat curious about these clearly female Professionals, even finding them vaguely familiar.

Unfortunately, before He Zhaoyi could recognize anyone, Su Ming spoke up.

“That’s right, it’s me.” Su Ming said with a cheerful smile. “We agreed I’d come find you for help when collecting missions, and here I am. Am I welcome?”

Hearing this, He Zhaoyi snapped back to attention.

“Of course.” Comrade Xiao He replied with a smile. “You’re here to collect missions today, correct?”

As she said this, He Zhaoyi began pondering to herself.

Since he’s here for missions, does that mean these somewhat familiar-looking sisters are members of Mr. Su’s team?

As the staff member who helped Su Ming apply for team establishment, He Zhaoyi naturally knew his background.

Eighteen years old this year, a freshly graduated newcomer, a standard One-Star Sorcerer. His team was just established a few days ago, currently at the lowest E-Rank, ranking at the bottom among Tianfeng City’s numerous teams.

In He Zhaoyi’s view, such a novice team shouldn’t easily recruit members, let alone quickly become operational enough to accept missions.

Yet now, after just a few days, this E-Rank team actually had quite a few members?

And all of them women?

He Zhaoyi couldn’t help feeling this was rather strange.

After all, the scene looked exactly like some young master bringing his lovers out to collect missions for fun.

If He Zhaoyi hadn’t seen Su Ming’s license and known his basic information – that he came from another Base City and wasn’t some local Family’s young master – even she might have thought so.

Though thinking this internally, He Zhaoyi showed nothing on the surface.

She was professional and wouldn’t casually comment beyond her work responsibilities.

Others’ affairs didn’t interest her.

Even if Su Ming truly were some young master planning to establish a team with his lovers for amusement, what did it have to do with her?

Still…

(Since you have so many outstanding women around you, you shouldn’t casually tease people.)

Remembering the previous incident, He Zhaoyi silently grumbled to herself.

Unaware of this, Su Ming calmly handed his Terminal to He Zhaoyi.

“Yes, we’re here to collect missions.” Su Ming said. “But we need to register team information first, correct?””Yes.” He Zhaoyi nodded and said, “We need to register your team’s information first, to understand the basic details of your team.”

The Professional Center typically registers information for every team, such as the team’s Rank, number of members, their Star ratings and Professions, etc., in order to assess the team’s capabilities and strength for management, investigation, and contact when necessary.

He Zhaoyi briefly explained this, then took Su Ming’s terminal while glancing at the women beside him.

“Please have your team members present their terminals as well.”

Upon hearing He Zhaoyi’s words, the girls stepped forward and handed over their terminals.

“Please wait a moment.”

He Zhaoyi took them one by one, bowed politely out of courtesy, and began scanning the licenses bound to the terminals.

So far, everything was proceeding smoothly.

But next, He Zhaoyi was destined to be shocked.

On the registration device, information about Su Ming’s team began to appear.

“Team: Azure Mercury.”

“Rank: E.”

“Commander: Su Ming, 18 years old, One-Star Sorcerer.”

“Member: Chi Qian, 33 years old, Five-Star Hunter.”

“Member: Mu Yan, 28 years old, Four-Star Hunter.”

“Member: Feng Qing’er, 24 years old, Four-Star Hunter.”

“Member: Tong Xinyao, 14 years old, Three-Star Sorcerer.”

When this information appeared, He Zhaoyi couldn’t help but widen her eyes.

A Young Miss at the adjacent counter even gasped in surprise.

“Three Upper-Rank Professionals? And a fourteen-year-old Three-Star Sorcerer? This is an E-Rank team? How is that possible!?”

The Young Miss’s voice was quite loud, clearly audible to everyone nearby.

Including the Professionals who had been continuously observing the situation, they all began to murmur in astonishment.

He Zhaoyi repeatedly confirmed the information on the screen, especially the names and photos of the female Professionals.

She remembered!

These female Professionals were members of the highly controversial B-Rank team ‘Crimson’ that had met with disaster a year ago!

Especially Chi Qian—this rather legendary name directly awakened He Zhaoyi’s memory!

“You… you are Chi Qian? The Commander of ‘Crimson’?”

He Zhaoyi could no longer maintain her professional smile, looking at Chi Qian beside Su Ming with immense surprise.

Staring like this, He Zhaoyi confirmed that this female Professional with a fierce scar on her face did indeed bear a striking resemblance to that beautiful and powerful legendary woman.

Chi Qian slightly lifted her eyelids.

“There is no ‘Crimson’ anymore, and I am no longer any Commander,” Chi Qian said indifferently. “Please proceed with our registration.”

“O-okay!”

He Zhaoyi set aside her astonishment and quickly completed the registration for Su Ming and the others.

Thus, the fact that Chi Qian and the others had joined Su Ming’s team was undeniable, officially recorded as such.

“Registration is complete, and your team information has been updated. You can now accept missions directly at the Professional Center counter or through your terminal. If you choose to do so here, we can also offer some advice and provide consultation services. If needed, please come here in person to handle it.”He Zhaoyi returned the terminals to Su Ming and the others one by one. Though still inwardly astonished, she handled the task with practiced ease and smoothness, clearly demonstrating her professionalism.

“Thanks.” After retrieving his terminal, Su Ming asked, “Let me ask you this—what difficulty level would you recommend for a team like mine to take on?”

This question genuinely stumped He Zhaoyi for a moment.

Logically speaking, for a low-tier E-Rank team like this, unless they had sufficient members and well-rounded team composition with thorough preparation, from the perspective of a Professional Center staff member like He Zhaoyi, it would be safest to take on missions matching their team’s Rank to minimize risks.

In other words, as an E-Rank team, they’d be better off accepting E-Rank missions.

Especially since this was Su Ming’s team’s first time accepting and executing a mission. By all reasoning, He Zhaoyi should recommend the lowest difficulty E-Rank missions as the most appropriate choice.

But Su Ming’s E-Rank team… defied conventional logic!

What E-Rank team could possibly have three Upper-Rank Professionals and one Spirit Bearer with limitless potential joining them?

Moreover, Chi Qian and the others weren’t ordinary Upper-Rank Professionals either.

Particularly Chi Qian—already at Five-Star level and reportedly not far from Six-Star. Such powerful individuals would typically either lead large teams themselves or join high-ranking major teams if they joined others. Who would join a low-tier E-Rank team like this?

Wasn’t this just absurd?

He Zhaoyi smiled wryly to herself.

Fortunately, her adaptability was quite good. Faced with such an unexpected situation, she wouldn’t be without her own perspective.

“Although your team’s Rank is low, you possess exceptionally talented members. Given this circumstance, you could appropriately increase the difficulty level for your first mission—choosing something challenging for the team while still minimizing risks.”

After some thought, He Zhaoyi offered this suggestion.

“My recommendation would be to accept missions around C-Rank difficulty. As for the mission location, how about choosing the Red Soil Wasteland area?”

Before Su Ming could respond, Chi Qian, who was standing nearby, spoke up.

“The Red Soil Wasteland lies south of Tianfeng City, facing away from the Chaos Demon Cave. It’s relatively distant from the Chaos Demon Cave and is itself a wonderland, though the environment isn’t particularly harsh. Humans can operate there smoothly. While it hosts numerous Phantom Demon species, only a few Hazardous Species inhabit the area, each occupying territories and competing with one another. Natural resources aren’t scarce there, so many missions are issued targeting that location, and many teams enjoy adventuring there. The wonderland’s Rank is only C-Rank, making it relatively safe among wonderlands.”

Of course, the safety Chi Qian referred to was relative to their team.

A C-Rank wonderland meant that at minimum, C-Rank teams were required to operate there safely, and having at least one Upper-Rank Professional in the team was advisable for security.

Yet ‘Azure Mercury’ had more than one Upper-Rank Professional—venturing into a C-Rank wonderland would be quite safe for them.

Still, Hazardous Species did inhabit the area, so challenges could potentially arise.But as He Zhaoyi had said, having some challenge would actually be better for Su Ming’s team.

As for the mission difficulty…

“C-Rank would be fine too,” Chi Qian remarked. “If it were B-Rank, we might need to exert our full capabilities. Without having developed basic coordination and formation during our first mission, it would be better not to take on such a difficult task.”

The former ‘Crimson’ had been a B-Rank team and had undertaken numerous B-Rank missions.

For a team, taking missions that match the team’s Rank is ideal—it offers the most appropriate rewards without major risks. Accepting missions beyond the team’s Rank would involve certain dangers.

Now that ‘Crimson’ had been destroyed, only a few elites like Chi Qian remained. Their overall strength couldn’t compare to before, so taking on B-Rank missions would entail relatively significant risks.

Therefore, C-Rank difficulty missions were just right for ‘Azure Mercury’.

(End of Chapter)