NOVEL WEB AZI Vol 1 Chapter 6 to 10
Chapter 6
Closing hour arrives and upon giving the café a thorough cleanup, Zhou’er leaves for the day while Long Hua and the Owner heads to the back of the café.
“Right, let’s see what you got for me.”
“Should be to your liking.”
If one considers the front of the café to be spacious in size, the back is more than three times that.
Much of what is placed in the back—outside of café related food supplies and preparation equipment—are advanced computer units coupled with specialized equipment that is designed to cool them off, for these machines are made to be ran 24 hours a day.
A set of stairs leads to the second floor that is being used as the Owner’s bedroom.
Walking pass the café’s supply room and the frigid computer room, the Owner brings Long Hua to a garage capable of fitting three vehicles.
Tools are lined up on the walls, along with a computer unit to the far right.
Parked within the garage at this time are two vehicles.
The first is covered by a black shroud, but judging by its size and two wheels it looks to be a motorized bike.
The second is a vintage sports car without a hint of flaws in its black paintjob. Its chrome wheels and pipes, along with the exposed portion of its engine couldn’t be anything less than eye catching.
“Are you ever gotta take this thing out for a spin?”
“Oh, I’d love to if I could, but many tasks keep me occupied daily.”
Turning his attention to the vehicle that is beside the vintage black car, Long Hua walks over to it and places his hand onto the cover shrouding its body.
Tossing the black shroud off, Long Hua is greeted to the sight of a black bike.
A sharp but flat front head that is often seen on streetfighter styled bikes—along with a clear clutch cover and bar end mirrors.
A twin pipe undertail exhaust system that gives the entire bike a more uniformed look from the front, while a single-sided swingarm gives it a cleaner visual from the right.
“I like it.”
Looking at the bike’s red rims and red forks, along with its entire body that is devoid of the manufacturer’s decals, Long Hua smiles.
“If you take it, it will serve as your next payment for a job.”
“Tch. Can’t you make it a graduation gift?”
“Weren’t you-”
“I was taught that everything in this world has a price to it. Fine.”
Raising a sigh, Long Hua places a hand onto the bike’s gas tank and closes his eyes.
(Tai Xuan.)
Muttering these two words in his head, a sea of information related to the bike instantly floods Long Hua’s head.
“Jiǔlóng (九龙) Heavy Industries, also known as Kowloon Heavy Industries. Model LX-12. So, what’s the story behind it?”
Opening his eyes, and taking a step back, Long Hua turns to the Owner, who says—
“Bike was retrieved by Tiger Team 02 during a recent mission.”
“Was it used as an escape vehicle?”
“Correct.”
“I’m assuming it’s been put through hell, so whoever put this thing back together must have been quite skilled at their job. So, why is it here now?”
“They don’t need it anymore, and since you’ve mentioned in the past that you’ve been wanting a mode of transport, I told them to ship it here.”
“VIN and everything related to registrations done yet?”
“Of course.”
“Give me the key.”
“So, it’s a done deal then?”
“Yeah.”
Walking over to the side, the Owner grabs the key off the table, and hands it over to Long Hua along with three other devices.
“These are graduation gifts.”
“Heh? How nice.”
Sliding his hands through the two black bracelets, Long Hua cuffs the loose black ring around his neck.
(Ergo feels more on the sportier side.)
Is his first impression upon mounting the bike and holding onto the handlebars.
“Ah Dr. Jìng Yáo (静姚) was looking for you to do a checkup.”
Opening the garage gates, the Owner looks back at Long Hua.
“Jing? The last one was only a month ago.”
“Sinners that have their Relics as a part of their body tend to… You know.”
“I’ll see her tomorrow morning.”
Inserting the key and pressing the ignition switch, the bike’s digitalized dash screen lights up while the machine roars to life.
From the black bracelets, malleable black goo spews outwards to cover Long Hua’s hands, and molds themselves into the form of tight-fitting gloves.
Simultaneously, the same goo spews from the metal ring that is hanging around his neck, and as the goo hardens a pitch-black helmet is formed.
“Right, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Pulling in the clutch with the bike in first gear, Long Hua releases the lever gently while the machine begins to move and with that he rides out of the garage.
Hitting the road, Long Hua shifts the bike into second gear while raising its speed.
As Sinners are banned from entering the first and second wards without permission, those similar to Long Hua are forced to get creative with their living environments.
Prior to arriving in this city, the Guild that he is a part of had been able to provide him with a place to stay, and it is located in the third ward’s port.
Chapter 7
Single-gated warehouses stand in abundance.
In the far distance, colossal cranes capable of lifting more weight than the combined efforts of numerous human hands possibly could, stand strongly against the crashing waves.
The air here is pungent with the taste of salt, which is to be expected of a ship port.
As it is currently nighttime, there are no workers here busying about with transporting crates of valuable items from the grounds of the port and onto a vessel that is scheduled for take-off.
“…”
Stopping the bike and shutting it off, Long Hua deactivates his protective gears before drawing in a deep breath and exhaling.
(Home…)
Pushing out the bike’s kickstand, he dismounts the vehicle and stretches his arms.
His home is a 15-meter yacht with its engine removed and is christened under the name “Fortisa.”
The yacht is divided into two floors.
The first floor consists of its deck and cockpit area that is encased around walls. To the side of the yacht’s helm, are the stairs that lead into the yacht’s cabin.
The first half of the cabin consists of a food storage area, along with a decent sized fridge and kitchen.
Other than the fridge, there is also a washing machine tucked to the side. A dryer wouldn’t fit, so clothes have to be dried out in the sun during good weather.
The second half of the cabin is made up of mainly a king-sized bed along with a closet for clothing storage.
“…”
Jumping onto the yacht and entering the cabin, Long Hua heads for his bed and falls right onto it.
(Four years… So, it’s been five years since I’ve arrived in this city. Ai, hard to believe time passed so quickly.)
Taking out his phone, Long Hua types out a message to Jing Yao.
[Ill c u 2morrow mornin gnight]
Sending the message, Long Hua tosses the phone aside and closes his eyes.
Chapter 8
Having parked his bike, Long Hua—whose outfit consists of a fur-hooded black coat with a pair of black jeans and dark sneakers, walked towards the entrance of a three-floored white building.
This is one of the numerous labs that make up the fifth ward, and this one in particular is owned exclusively by Nián (年) Pharmaceuticals Inc. often shortened as NPI, and is also the Guild that Long Hua is affiliated with.
Above the entrance of the building is the company’s logo—that is the character for year (年).
The first floor of this building serves as a hospital with over 200 patient rooms, while ten rooms are used for basic health checkups.
Five of the second floor’s rooms are used strictly for surgical operations, while the rest of the rooms along with much of the third floor are used for research purposes.
“Here to see Dr. Jing Yao.”
Walking over to the counter, Long Hua takes out a black card from his wallet and slides it onto the reception counter.
The young lady dressed in the outfit of a nurse scans the card quickly before returning it through the opening on the transparent glass screen.
“She’s expecting you on the third floor, room 06.”
“Thanks.”
Taking the black card back, Long Hua walks over to the elevator, and waits for it to arrive at the third floor.
Arriving onto the third floor and finding the room had been easy enough, and upon entering Jing Yao’s office—
“Is a checkup really needed this soon?”
“Of course it is. Especially since you’re going to need the papers for your first day at work.”
Sitting on a rolling chair is a woman in her early twenties with short silver hair and is dressed in a lab coat over a white dress shirt and black pants. Her eyes are an elegant shade of green.
Despite the woman possessing a face that would make others of the same gender envious, her default expression ruins that with how cold she appears.
This is the guest researcher of NPI, who is in charge of this research lab and hospital, Jing Yao.
Aside from Jing Yao’s desk and computer, the center of her office is occupied by a motorized medical examination chair.
Mounted onto the ceiling of this room, and positioned above the chair is a movable lamp.
Other than that, there are two rolling stools for a patient and family member.
“Work for the Disciplinary Bureau?”
“They’ll take whatever excuse they can to send Sinners to the frontlines. If your medical reports aren’t up to date, then off you go.”
“…Don’t they still need some around to guard the city?”
Asking this, Long Hua takes off his coat revealing a white shirt beneath the layer and seats himself on the examination chair, while Jing Yao walks over to him and shines the lamp directly onto his face.
“Frontlines need more manpower than the cities. Open your mouth.”
Doing as told, the easier portion of the medical examination is finished quickly, and upon its conclusion a nurse walks in with blood drawing equipment.
“Need some of your blood. Everything’s been prepared beforehand, so you can expect the results in five minutes.”
“Get it over with then.”
With the blood drawn and taken by the nurse, Long Hua sits himself onto one of the spare rolling stools.
“So have things been busy on your end?”
“Hospital work is on the lighter side, which is a good thing, I suppose? Our operating rooms here don’t see much use since we specialize in one field.”
“Is that really something that a doctor should ask if it’s good?”
Towards this question, Jing Yao shrugs her shoulders as she inputs Long Hua’s examination results into the computer.
“And you? Anything feeling odd lately?”
“Not really.”
“Have you used your Relic recently?”
“Yesterday. Before that was a week ago.”
“Why did you use it yesterday?”
“Five assassins came at me for cheating during the ballot drawing.”
“They really are quite desperate for manpower, aren’t they?”
As the two talked about the recent events in their lives, the lab results for Long Hua’s blood were eventually sent over through email.
“Well?”
“Hazard Level 230.”
The higher a Sinner’s Hazard Level is the stronger they are, but it also means the less stable they tend to be.
One to 1,000 are the standard values, while anything higher than 1,000 is enough for the Sinner to be considered a potential danger, and should be placed on a watchlist.
Those that are beyond 2,000 run the risk of—
“If I recall, Apotheosis is anywhere between 2,000 to 2,499.”
“Correct.”
The Sinners who undergo Apotheosis are deemed as an extermination target by the Disciplinary Bureau for upon Apotheosis, they would have already lost their minds, making them impossible to be reasoned with.
“So, I’m still fine then?”
“I’d still try to use your Relic as little as possible. Remember-”
“Those that have their Relics as a part of their body tend to raise their Hazard Levels faster. I remember.”
“Anything that riles you up emotionally can also result in the level being raised.”
Rubbing his neck, Long Hua frowns.
This is the spot where his branding that takes on the form of a bar code like tattoo is located.
Such tattoos are present on all Sinners, but locations vary from person to person.
It goes without saying that most Sinners tend to hide these tattoos as a means to avoid being treated with disdain while out in public—where the majority are non-Sinners.
“Want to hear a funny story?”
“Knowing you, it’s probably not going to be funny, but let’s hear it.”
“Two weeks ago, a family of three came to my office. Their six-year-old daughter had “Sinner’s Branding,” they asked me, what’s wrong with her, and what’s the cure for this illness.”
“Ahahaha…”
Shaking his head, Long Hua finds it difficult to suppress his laughter at the twisted nature of this story.
“So, what happened to that girl in the end?”
When a bar code tattoo appears on a child, who is six to seven years of age, the former’s parents are often left with only one of two choices.
They either keep the child and live with them outside of the second ward, or sell that child to the government for money.
“They sold her.”
“Figured as much.”
Most tend to opt for the second option, as living environments outside of the second ward are harsher, and the money that the parents can get out of the deal tends to be decent.
As these tattoos commonly appear on children of six to seven years of age, six to seven is often the most stressful period of parenthood for couples.
“Ai, Jing.”
“Hm?”
“You want to go out for dinner sometime?”
Towards this question, Jing Yao pauses the movement of her hands across the keyboard, but rather quickly she would resume her task, and answer—
“We’re not in such a relationship.”
“It’s been five years since we came to this city. Don’t you think it’s worth celebrating over some drinks? At this point, we’ve known each other for almost… Uh ten years?”
“A bit more than that actually.”
Truth be told, Long Hua can’t imagine himself ever entering a romantic relationship with someone else as—
(I was taught women are nothing but trouble, so entering a relationship with one requires some seriously thinking.)
Thinking of this, Long Hua can’t help but frown on the inside. His instincts told him that he should try to avoid a romantic relationship as much as possible, else he would be made to suffer for it dearly.
“…”
Thinking for a bit, Jing Yao moves, and clicks the mouse twice, bringing up her schedule, and replies—
“I’m free this Sunday.”
“Alright then. Where do you want to meet?”
“Third ward is the only place we can meet, let’s see… How about the Archaic Wind?”
“Talk about expensive.”
“You’re treating, aren’t you?”
“I was taught that there’s nothing better than to be treated to a meal with someone else’s money. Well fine, Archaic Wind it is, so long as you promise to treat me to something else later.”
“Deal.”
As the medical reports are printed and handed over, Long Hua leaves with them in hand.
Chapter 9
“…”
Standing outside a single-floored building, Long Hua—who had just parked his bike after arriving, can’t help but frown.
Hanging above the entrance of this building is a wooden signboard that reads DB 06-07.
(In the end, I’m still traveling between the third ward and the sixth ward…)
This building is none other than the Disciplinary Bureau office that Long Hua has been assigned to—according to a text message on his phone.
(How old is this building? These walls look…)
Cracks and holes can be seen on the walls of the building, making it questionable as to how long this structure may hold.
Raising a sigh, Long Hua walks up to the building, and upon pressing his hand onto the doorknob—
*Thud…* the door leans forward and falls onto the ground.
“…”
Walking into the building and picking up the door, Long Hua places it back into position.
“Welcome.”
“Good day. Umm…”
Welcoming Long Hua into the office is a young lady dressed in a grey-colored business suit.
A portion of her long black hair is tied into a bundle and held together by an oriental hairpin made from jade.
This traditional hairstyle combined with the air that emanates from her, gives one the impression that she hails from a wealthy family.
Held in her hand is a cup of coffee that she is taking a sip out of without a hint of noise. “Handsome,” could also be used to describe her demeanor.
Placed against the left walls of the office are two computers that look to be well over 20 years of age. One of the monitors even has its screen cracked.
On the right side of the office space is a self-serving bar that looks rather modern, and to the far-right corner of the back are the restrooms.
Positioned in the center of the room is a large square table surrounded by three damaged leather sofas.
On the side that isn’t blocked by a sofa is a large desk. The person occupying the damaged leather rolling chair was facing the other way.
“Captain, at least greet the new recruit.”
Turning towards the large desk, the purple-eyed young lady calls to the person—who seems preoccupied with a handheld game console judging by the noise.
“Hm?”
As the leather chair turns around, a man dressed in a short sleeved black jacket over a black shirt with fingerless gloves looks to Long Hua with his dark eyes.
His bar code tattoo is imprinted onto his right arm, and seeing as how he is leaving it exposed, he probably doesn’t expend any effort to hide it even while out in public.
“First one to show. Welcome to the squad, name’s Yè Chén (夜辰), and hope to see you live through your first year of service.”
Towards Long Hua, the man directs a thumbs up with a cheap smile on his face.
“He’s not very reliable looking, is he? My name is Lǐ Xuě (李雪), pleased to meet you.”
“1029-874, Long Hua.”
“You can burn that card now, since you won’t ever be needing it again.”
“Right…”
As Ye Chen turns his attention back to his phone, Long Hua walks over to the sofa opposite of Li Xue and sits down.
“How many more are there?”
“Not including you, there’s two more. Might be a long wait, you want something to drink?”
“Nah, I’m good. Here’s my medical papers.”
Placing the papers onto the table and sliding it forward, Long Hua leans back on the sofa and closes his eyes prior to dozing off.
“Came prepared. Good to see.”
………
As another half-hour’s worth of time passes, the fragile door is once more dropped onto the ground as two more individuals walk into the office with an expression of bewilderment on their faces.
“Welcome.”
“…Welcome.”
Having heard the sound of the door being knocked over, Long Hua wakes up from his nap and greets the two newcomers with a yawn prior to getting up from his seat and voluntarily fixing the door again.
Rather quickly, the sofas are occupied.
“Do you two have your medical records?”
“Here.”
“…”
As two packets of paper are slid over, Li Xue looks them over and nods.
“Everything checks out then. Err… Yù Jī (玉姬), you’re… Male?”
Towards the question—
“Correct.”
Yu Ji answers with unusual quickness.
A perforated leather glove wraps around Yu Ji’s right hand, most likely meant to hide his bar code tattoo seeing as how his left hand is gloveless.
Black hair and deep blue eyes, cropped black jacket with short pair of black pants that stops below the kneecaps—along with black leather boots, the outfit doesn’t seem to be the issue, but their face can only be described as far too feminine. No doubt, no one would think them to be a man, if they were put into a skirt.
“I see. And Qíng Yuè (情月) you’re… 18?”
“Correct.”
Large newsboy red cap over a head of pale pink hair that reaches halfway down her back. Wrapping around her neck was a white sash. Red coat over a white shirt, coupled with a pair of short pants. Her outfit seems to only make her already short stature shorter than what it already is.
If she were put into a middle school student’s uniform, she could easily fit right into the classroom’s environment.
“…”
Looking around, Li Xue suddenly feels like this entire squad is made up of oddballs.
“Long Hua, do you have something about you that makes you seem… Unique?”
“Hm? My Relic is fused with my body, would that count?”
“How rare.”
Stuffing his phone into his pocket, Ye Chen stands up from his seat behind the large desk and walks over to the sofa to sit down by Li Xue’s side.
“Looks like our squad is made up of a bunch of oddballs. So, for a bit of an icebreaker, tell us about your experience in the ballot drawing.”
As a rule, a single Disciplinary Bureau squad is made up of two Sinners who have been to the frontlines and stayed there for at least five years.
Seeing as how Ye Chen and Li Xue had been here ahead of him, Long Hua surmises them to possess live combat experience against Immortals for at least five years.
“I just drew and got a ballot labeled with D.”
Qing Yue is the first to answer, which is then followed by Yu Ji.
“I took someone else’s ballot, and went through some reassignment papers.”
“…?”
Contrary to Qing Yue, who had a look of shock, everyone else didn’t seem too surprised.
“And you?”
“I kicked the box into the air, and plucked the one I wanted.”
“In front of the person in charge?”
“They did send five guys after me an hour or two later. We talked and… I sent them on their way.”
(These two are dangerous.)
Looking between Yu Ji and Long Hua, Qing Yue can’t help but make an expression of unease. She could easily guess what sending people on their way had meant.
“You two sound promising already. Qing Yue… I guess you’re just really lucky?”
(Fat chance of that being the case. Someone- Maybe her Guild pulled some strings for her?)
“In any case, this person who is giving off a cheap smile is named Ye Chen. He’s the squad leader or captain, whichever you prefer calling him by. Despite how he looks, he does have six years of frontline combat experience. My name is Li Xue, and I shall serve as second-in-command when necessary. I have five years of frontline combat experience.”
(Six years? Wouldn’t a sane person get out of the frontlines after the initial five-year period?)
With introductions now out of the way, Li Xue moves onto explaining the job of this office.
“Rogue Sinners have been rising in numbers over the past few centuries, the job of dealing with them is a part of the Disciplinary Bureau’s mission. Outside of dealing with rogue Sinners, we are also tasked with exterminating any Immortals that may appear near our ward. That’s the general description of our office. So long as we fulfill these two tasks, we can basically do whatever we want.”
“…Not to be rude, but can you really call this an office?”
Looking around and seeing how damaged everything aside from the self-serving bar is, Yu Ji can’t help but frown.
“Which is why, all our hard-earned money will be put into renovating this place. After getting the place looking decent, we can split the pay five ways.”
“…How much do you think that will cost?”
“Probably 700,000 NWD? The government pays each squad 110,000 NWD a month.”
Five years after the start of the Great Immortal Wars, all the world’s currency has been changed into New World Dollars.
“That’s about seven months of pure government salary.”
Doing the calculations in his head, Long Hua voices his answer.
“About 50 rogue Sinner related jobs if it’s something major, 150 if it’s all minor. Ah but if we take down an Immortal, then the issue would be solved in an instant.”
Cutting Ye Chen off, Li Xue says—
“Quit dreaming. I’d rather we take things slow. Once you’ve been to the frontlines, this place looks like heaven.”
“A man can dream, can’t he? I’ll say this again, but I do look forward to seeing you three make it through your first year of service alive.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Among the three who are considered new recruits, the one who looks the most displeased by the situation is Yu Ji.
“C’mon kids, show some spirit. Be glad you get to spend the next five years in this dump—instead of going off to the frontlines like most of your peers. About 450 Sinners are able to get into the Disciplinary Bureau per city.”
“Hey, captain.”
“Ask away, 2nd Lieut. Long Hua.”
A look of surprise appears on Long Hua’s face upon being called a lieutenant by Ye Chen, but then again, once a Sinner has graduated from one of the specialized institutions, they are automatically drafted into the army.
Being called with the lowest rank of a commissioned officer didn’t seem too inappropriate at this point.
“Do you and second-in-command know each other? You two seem rather familiar with one another.”
“I’m glad you aske-”
“This bastard here, is the one who got my father killed when I was about to enter high school. So, I’ll stop at nothing to kill him during our operations. Do be understanding, if he just so happens to die at a critical moment, or one day vanishes from the face of the earth.”
Silence looms in the air upon Li Xue saying these words with a harmless smile on her face.
“…”
“…”
“…Is this squad really going to be okay?”
“Your guess is as good as mine 2nd Lieut. Qing Yue, but let’s make it work, shall we?”
“So other than sitting around and waiting, what else do we do?”
“Not much other than what you’ve just mentioned. Showing up and staying until closing hours is still necessary though. Ah before I forget, shall we exchange phone numbers to keep in contact?”
No one saw any reason not to do so, hence they readily took their smartphones out and began the exchange process.
Upon completion, Yu Ji turns to Li Xue, and asks—
“Renovation costs taken into account; do we still get a salary?”
Noticing the hint of distress in Yu Ji’s eyes, Li Xue thought for a moment.
Different people have different difficulties, and from the looks of it, Yu Ji’s is tied to money, which isn’t uncommon among Sinners.
“I can set some cash aside to give you a normal salary for three months, but you would need to pay it back over time once our office’s situation stabilizes.”
Asking for further details to someone who they have only just met today would be considered rude, hence it would be best to just brush the matter off with a reasonable solution instead.
“I can do that.”
“…”
Glancing at Yu Ji, Long Hua notices the same as Li Xue. However, he was no saint for he was taught to treasure his monetary assets.
“If there’s any other concerns and questions, you can ask them whenever you want. If you need some privacy to raise your concerns that can also be arranged.”
“Office’s hours of operation?”
“9 AM to 7 PM. …Technically hours of operation are 24 hours a day, if a call or order is received from the tenth ward.”
The tenth ward is the smallest ward, and is situated on an island surrounded by a lake. It is also where this city’s main command tower is located.
The chief of GC012, city lord, as people of such position are called is a woman by the name of Fāng Qí (方麒).
Chapter 10
“In the frontlines, I’d ask all those who I’d be entrusting my back to—to tell me what your Relics are, but if you don’t want to right now that’s fine as well. Just know that coordination might become an issue during battle.”
“So, it’s a choice?”
“…”
Contrary to Yu Ji and Qing Yue, who both seem willing to talk about the matter, Long Hua is a bit more on the reluctant side.
A Relic is unique to each Sinner despite how they can all fall into certain categories.
For his tasks that are assigned to him by NPI, he tends to only use his Relic when he knows for certain that the person he is fighting against won’t live to talk about it.
“Long Hua?”
“…Apologies. Mine…”
Seeing the difficult expression on Long Hua’s face, Li Xue shrugs her shoulders.
“If you don’t want to that’s fine. I’ve heard that those whose Relic are fused with their body tend to raise their Hazard Levels faster.”
“Appreciate your understanding.”
Having excused himself from sharing his Relic, the two senior Sinners turned to Yu Ji and Qing Yue.
“Mine is just a bow that is coupled with a quiver that can generate arrows of various elements.”
Having said that, Yu Ji didn’t seem interested in elaborating further, and it was easy enough to understand.
“Mine is… I call it a Summoning Pouch.”
“Hm?”
“What does it do?”
“I often summon Bái Hǔ (白虎) from it.”
“White Tiger as in one of the Four Auspicious Beasts of eastern myths?”
“Not sure if it is one of them. Other than that, there’s also a swarm of crows and a calabash gourd.”
“A gourd? Can I get drinks out of it?”
“It fires a blast of energy and vanishes right after. There’s one more, but that last one doesn’t appear often.”
“…Reminds me of a gacha and speaking of gacha…”
Sliding his phone onto the center of the table, Ye Chen smiles.
Displayed on the screen is a mobile game targeted at a male audience titled “Valkyrie Rhapsody.”
“Luck is one of the greatest attributes a soldier can have.”
“So, you want to see our luck by having us pull units in this game?”
“Ten pulls each. My best one was one SSR, three SRs, six Rs. I have all the SR and R units, still missing six of the SSRs.”
“Second-in-command, you’ve done this as well?”
“Just call me Li Xue or vice-captain. My best pulls were four SRs, six Rs.”
“Wait a minute, doesn’t this game have a notoriously bad rate along with no pity?”
“Exactly, so being able to draw even just one SR is considered decent. Just think of it as another icebreaker to get to know each other better.”
“Doesn’t that mean not pulling a single SR…”
“It’s fine. Most of the R units are usable in the right teams.”
Saying this, Ye Chen slides the phone over to Qing Yue.
Wanting to get it over with quickly, Qing Yue presses the ten-pull icon and skips the animations resulting in—
“Three SRs. Not bad.”
“Let’s see…”
Moving his arm over, Yu Ji goes second and similarly to Qing Yue, he also skips the animation resulting in—
“Two SRs.”
“This pattern…”
As Ye Chen slides the phone over to Long Hua, Li Xue feels like he’s bound to pull just a single SR.
“…”
Looking at the phone for a few seconds, Long Hua dispassionately presses the ten-pull icon. Unlike the previous two, he didn’t bother to skip the animations and the first item to pop up is—
“Oh gold!”
“Wait…”
“Two gold!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Continuously golden lights went off, and with each flash, the quieter the air seems to become.
“…”
Picking up his phone, Ye Chen looks at the screen in silence.
Six of these pulled units had “new” tagged onto their icons, and upon exiting the screen, the achievement reserved exclusively for those who have completed the in-game character collection library appears.
“Please, pull for me at every new banner from now on.”
Without any hesitation, Ye Chen lowers his head to Long Hua. God only knows how much he had spent on this game for his eyes to be wet with tears at this time.
“If I feel like it.”
“Know some shame, you’re an adult for crying out loud.”
Slapping Ye Chen on the back of his head, Li Xue moves the conversation along by introducing her and Ye Chen’s Relics—along with some things to look out for when dealing with both rogue Sinners and Immortals.
The two talked about their combat experiences against Immortals on the frontlines in great detail, while the three newly commissioned lieutenants listened attentively without disrupting.
No one would be idiotic enough to gamble with their life—unless it is absolutely necessary, so learning what they can outside of combat is always ideal.
Immortals are divided by levels with the highest recorded level being level six.
Levels one to two can be dealt with single-handedly with enough experience.
Level three may require an extra set of helping hands.
Level four and five requires a squad or more.
“How many is needed to kill a level six?”
“Over 200 Sinners.”
“…”
Hearing this answer from Li Xue, Yu Ji turns silent, whereas Qing Yue draws in a breath of cold air.
“Quite an explosive increase.”
“Only one has appeared so far during the course of this war and he appeared 50 years ago.”
“50 years ago? Still quite recent.”
“There’s a few survivors that you can ask for more details from. In any case, let’s not talk about something so depressing.”
………
Time passes rather quickly as the office’s closing hour approaches, and it was also then that—
“Hm?”
Picking up his phone, Yu Ji widens his eyes in pleasant surprise.
“I’ll be right there.”
“Something came up?”
“Guild work. My money issues might be alleviated for three months if this goes well.”
“Only alleviated?”
With a difficult expression on his face, Yu Ji nods to Ye Chen before heading out, but on the way out, the door is knocked over once more, prompting him to fix it.
“Ah if your Guilds got any work related to Immortals and rogue Sinners, we can take them as a squad.”
“Got it.”
With the door fixed, Yu Ji leaves for good.
“…About time I went to my part-time job.”
Gulping down a short glass of water, Long Hua also heads for the door.
“Where do you work?”
“A classic café in the third ward.”
“Heh? Sounds nice.”
“I also have to go now.”
“Take care.”
With Qing Yue gone as well, only Ye Chen and Li Xue are left in the office.
“So, what do you think of those three?”
Setting her cup down, Li Xue looks to Ye Chen.
“Shouldn’t you know their backgrounds better than me?”
“Yu Ji, a member of Dainsfield and is often called in to act as a sniper. He’s an assassin, who specializes in killing targets from afar. Qing Yue, a member of Rime Tech. Her situation is… A bit too complicated to explain. You should read the files yourself.”
“I suppose, I will. And Long Hua?”
“Nian Pharmaceuticals Inc.”
“A pharmaceutical company?”
“Other than this company’s name, I couldn’t dig anything else up. Keep in mind, I even went through the effort of using my rank as a Major in the military to do the searches.”
“Don’t they have a lab—that also serves as a hospital—in the fifth ward?”
“Yeah, and with good reviews, but other than that there’s not much else.”
“If your military rank can’t dig anything up, then I doubt mine would either. So, anything else outside of his Guild?”
“He arrived in GC012 five years ago. That’s everything that I managed to gather.”
As silence looms in the air for a brief moment, Ye Chen exhales a sigh.
“Those that don’t have much information on them, either have nothing to hide or… Their records are purposefully hidden and kept away from prying eyes.”
“You seem to be having fun, Colonel Chen.”
Despite each member of his squad possessing a questionable background, Ye Chen is maintaining a smile.
“Heh, why wouldn’t I be? This squad’s got character, I like it. I’ve got a vice commander—who is waiting to off me whenever, a cute girl who looks like a middle schooler, an androgynous assassin who has money issues, and a kid who may as well be RNGesus incarnated. This is just the best, so glad I stayed on the frontlines for another year, otherwise I’d be leading a different squad right now.”