Chapter 45 – What an Unfathomable Man

After another round of banter, Su Ming’s group ultimately accepted an extermination mission.

The mission was rated C-Rank, targeting a Blade Demon located in an abandoned factory within Huaming District.

This was a brutal Phantom Demon whose limbs were entirely composed of blades, capable of effortlessly tearing human bodies apart.

Not only were this Phantom Demon’s limbs formed from blades, but its body was also as sharp and hard as steel blades. An ordinary Hunter’s full-force strike might only produce a burst of sparks upon impact, completely failing to inflict any actual damage.

Combined with the remarkable regenerative abilities inherent to the Phantom Demon race—allowing them to recover from injuries—the Blade Demon was considered an extremely challenging target among lower-ranked Phantom Demons. With high attack power, strong defense, and swift speed, many were reluctant to hunt such difficult and dangerous Phantom Demons.

Consequently, before the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance was detected, this Blade Demon had been roaming freely in that abandoned factory, remaining unsubdued.

It wasn’t until now, to counter the impending threat, that the Base City authorities decided to clear out these previously unsubdued Phantom Demons remaining in Huaming District. This was to prevent them from causing disruptions during critical moments, particularly during defense line construction, which could lead to losses in personnel, resources, and time.

Thus, the Blade Demon extermination mission was posted here, awaiting “fated individuals” to accept it.

And Su Ming’s group happened to be the long-awaited fated ones.

Presently, the six of them boarded a military-provided off-road vehicle designated for Professionals and headed toward the factory.

The factory’s location wasn’t particularly remote, nor was it far from the Academy District. With the off-road vehicle, they reached their destination in approximately half an hour.

“This is the place, right?”

Lei Hao, sitting in the driver’s seat, steered the off-road vehicle to the front of a deserted abandoned factory.

“I-Is this really it?”

“Suddenly feeling a bit nervous…”

Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu instinctively held An Zijin’s hands on either side, their pretty faces filled with tension.

It couldn’t be helped.

Although the place seemed to have been abandoned not long ago, unknown events had left bloodstains visible everywhere, along with obvious battle marks, transforming the area into what resembled an ancient battlefield. Even the air carried a bloody scent.

Such an environment naturally held a certain intimidating effect for the girls, especially since Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu were on their first mission. Despite their previous confident declarations, they couldn’t help feeling nervous at this moment.

In contrast, An Zijin maintained complete composure on her adorable face, closely following behind Su Ming as if drawing great courage from his presence, appearing entirely at ease.

Unaware of the thoughts swirling among the girls behind him, Su Ming observed the surroundings and spoke thoughtfully.

“It seems this place has witnessed a massacre.”

This was something clearly evident to the eye.”According to the intel, this place hasn’t been abandoned for long. There wasn’t originally any plan to abandon it, but the Blade Demon suddenly broke in here, hunting all the workers as prey, which led to its abandonment.”

Ye Bai was checking something on his phone, his expression somewhat heavy.

“An entire factory’s worth of people were killed?” Su Ming muttered. “No wonder the Blade Demon has been hiding here without leaving.”

The location wasn’t particularly remote, and the factory’s scale wasn’t small either—there must have been many people working here originally.

Now that the Blade Demon had hunted so many people, obtaining a large amount of food at once, it made perfect sense for it to occupy this place as a base and slowly consume the substantial blood feast it had acquired.

Otherwise, given the Phantom Demons’ brutality and bloodlust, they would never remain holed up in one place while lacking blood sustenance.

“The higher-ups probably know this too, which is why they didn’t prioritize this mission and send people to exterminate it immediately, right?”

Lei Hao jumped down from the off-road vehicle, carrying his beloved greatsword with a carefree demeanor.

“Since it’ll stay put here, slowly digesting the blood feast it obtained, leaving it alone for a while before it finishes consuming the food and leaves this place isn’t entirely unreasonable.”

Ye Bai put away his phone.

Watching Su Ming, Lei Hao, and Ye Bai standing in front of the abandoned factory casually discussing without any signs of tension, Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu couldn’t help but exchange glances.

“Aren’t the seniors nervous at all?”

Jiang Wanyu couldn’t resist asking.

Hearing this, Su Ming and the other two exchanged looks and smiled simultaneously.

“Don’t underestimate us, juniors,” Lei Hao laughed heartily. “Although we’re not top students or elite students at the Academy, we’ve been at this for a year now. We’ve been on countless Phantom Demon extermination missions—why would we feel nervous?”

“More like we’re used to it,” Ye Bai shrugged with composure. “We were extremely nervous at the beginning too. If it weren’t for the seniors guiding us back then, we probably wouldn’t have dared to step into Phantom Demon territory at all.”

“Now it’s our turn to guide you,” Su Ming reached out and patted An Zijin’s head. “Just stay behind us, watch carefully, learn well, and don’t take any reckless actions, understood?”

“Understood, Brother Su Ming,” An Zijin replied obediently.

Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu also nodded repeatedly, their gazes toward the three seniors carrying a new nuance.

Before this, the three seniors had merely been one enemy and two oddballs in the girls’ eyes. Since they weren’t particularly famous figures at the Academy, the girls hadn’t really felt the authoritative presence of Su Ming and the others as seniors.

It was only at this moment that the girls began to sense the reliability of Su Ming and the others as seniors.

This eased much of the tension in Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu’s hearts.

“Then let’s get ready to start the raid!”

Lei Hao acted as if preparing for a dungeon run, hefting his greatsword while heading directly toward the abandoned factory.

“Su Ming, we’ll take the rear.”

Ye Bai called out to Su Ming.

“Alright.”Su Ming naturally had no objections.

An Zijin, Yao Beibei, and Jiang Wanyu were all newcomers, so their safety needed to be prioritized to prevent any accidents.

Therefore, with Lei Hao taking the lead, both Su Ming and Ye Bai would cover the rear, keeping the three junior female students protected in the middle.

“Zijin, stay between us.”

“That’s right, we’ll protect you.”

Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu positioned An Zijin securely between them.

“I just want to follow Brother Su Ming!”

An Zijin voiced her objection but was promptly restrained by Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu. Helpless, she was led away with teary eyes, resembling a young calf about to be sold off.

The group of six officially entered the abandoned factory, embarking on their first mission in Huaming District.

……

At the same time, in a room on the top floor of the Dormitory Building in the Academy District, a beautiful young woman was answering a phone call.

“Is that so?” Xu Qianqian murmured, “So he’s started too?”

“Yes, Young Miss,” a respectful voice came from the other end of the line, “Your friend has just begun his first mission. Should we continue monitoring and report the latest updates to you?”

“Mm,” Xu Qianqian responded indifferently, “Tell your people not to let anyone disturb him. Just keep an eye on the situation in Huaming District and monitor my surroundings. Focus on rooting out those rats who ambushed me before.”

Xu Qianqian hadn’t forgotten her previous ordeal, nor would she allow anyone to think they could take advantage of this opportunity to harm her again.

Thus, she had already made arrangements for continuous support and investigation.

Just now, she had been listening to the investigation report and “incidentally” checking on Su Ming’s movements.

The person reporting on the other end of the call was one of Xu Qianqian’s trusted aides.

“Understood, Young Miss,” the reporter replied with unwavering respect, “I will restrain the others and ensure they do not disturb Young Master Su.”

Among his subordinates, there were indeed quite a few restless individuals.

Their loyalty to Xu Qianqian was beyond doubt.

As trusted aides specially cultivated by the Xu Family for Xu Qianqian, these people had been instilled with the principle of prioritizing her since childhood and would never harbor disloyal thoughts.

However, excessive loyalty didn’t necessarily mean no trouble would arise.

At the very least, after news spread among these people about how Xu Qianqian had been publicly scolded by Su Ming on the train yesterday, many had erupted with Killing Intent on the spot, vowing to tear Su Ming to pieces.

If not for Xu Qianqian restraining them, would the prestigious Xu Family simply ignore their treasured daughter being publicly berated?

Impossible.

Su Ming remained unaware that he had already caught the attention of many in the Xu Family.

And it wasn’t just these fiercely loyal subordinates.

“I will enforce strict discipline on my end,” the reporter whispered, “But Young Miss, it seems your siblings also have some thoughts about Young Master Su.”

A faint cold glimmer flickered in Xu Qianqian’s eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Xu Qianqian said calmly, “They wouldn’t dare cause trouble openly.”

In other words, the possibility of covert interference couldn’t be ruled out.

But there was nothing to be done about that.After all, it wasn’t certain that Xu Qianqian’s siblings hadn’t engaged in underhanded schemes themselves.

Take, for instance, the ambush that left her severely wounded.

“Keep a close watch on Su Ming’s situation. If you notice anyone from our side trying to interfere with him, report to me immediately,” Xu Qianqian instructed. “Be careful—that man is extremely cautious and vigilant. Don’t let him detect you.”

“Yes,” the informant promptly replied.

Only after the call ended did Xu Qianqian set down her phone.

The first thought that surfaced in her mind wasn’t the impending battle in Huaming District, nor the intricate power struggles within the Family, but Su Ming.

“I never imagined there would come a day when a man would dare to scold me so bluntly,” Xu Qianqian murmured softly, a sudden smile gracing her lips.

“What an utterly unpredictable man.”

(End of Chapter)