From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword

Jian Qing understood the meaning of these words and fell into deep thought.

Lu Heng continued, "If you're willing to come over, the captain's position is yours, and you can also participate in selecting the members."

Jian Qing was actually tempted, but her personality was cautious. She followed up with a question, "What would I have to sacrifice if I agreed?"

Lu Heng thought for a moment and replied, "Nothing special, the only thing to note is that this team is directly responsible to the Southern War Zone Command Center. To put it bluntly, only Li Guining and I can mobilize this Special Forces team."

"So, if you agree to join, you won't need to report to any departments outside of the Southern War Zone Command Center in the future, and all information related to the Special Forces team will be classified."

Jian Qing raised an eyebrow and revealed a smile, asking, "What if I refuse to join?"

Lu Heng spread his hands and said, "Then it's fine, but you have to forget the things we discussed today and can't reveal them to anyone."

Jian Qing tapped her two fingers back and forth on the desktop, thought through the matter clearly, weighed the pros and cons, and finally nodded in agreement, "Alright, I agree. Can I participate in the discussion about the Special Forces team members now?"

"Of course," Lu Heng finally showed a smile, having found the first satisfactory candidate.

"Who do you have in mind right now?" Jian Qing immediately got into work mode.

"I think Chen Zihang would be a good fit; his abilities are quite rare with potential combat power worth looking forward to. Besides, several former comrades are also possibilities, it's just a matter of whether they are willing to join. I still hope they join voluntarily, rather than being coerced," Lu Heng shared his thoughts.

Jian Qing nodded, "Let me talk to Chen Zihang; I think he will agree."

Lu Heng harbored the same thought.

Chen Zihang hadn't come from military service but had joined the Defense University on academic merits. Yet, he was steady and liked taking risks.

So, with his personality, there was a high likelihood he would be willing to join.

As for comrades like Wu Weibing and Tao Yalun, with whom he had fought side by side...

Lu Heng trusted them but didn't think each one was suitable for the Special Forces team.

This Special Forces team would undertake extremely dangerous missions in the future, demanding very high combat power.

Wu Weibing, Tao Yalun, and others had been promoted to junior officers and assigned important positions in various units.

They each had their strengths, but none stood out in terms of combat power.

Some were suited to be super soldiers, while others were better for logistic support.

Everyone had their own areas of expertise and staying in the right positions was the best for their development.

In the afternoon...

Chen Zihang had some free time, and after getting the notice, he arrived at Dragon Power Base, waving his hand to greet the two upon entry.

Qi Jinhui, a staff officer from the battle zone, first showed some documents, explaining, "Today's conversation is classified, and these are the confidentiality documents."

Chen Zihang waved his hand dismissively, "There's nothing in the battle zone that isn't classified; I know the rules."

His words were indeed accurate.

In the military base of the battle zone, almost all matters were classified.

Lu Heng beckoned him to sit down, repeating what he had said earlier to Jian Qing, but omitting the part about skill upgrades.

It was better to keep that secret not leaked.

Jian Qing was the first person he had to convince, so he had to use that bargaining chip.

As for the secret about skill upgrades, it might be better to wait until the chosen people agree to join before bringing it up.

Chen Zihang turned to Jian Qing, asking curiously, "Have you joined?"

Jian Qing nodded as if it were a matter of course, "Of course."

Chen Zihang was actually already considering joining, but he was still curious, "I knew before that the battle zone was setting up a Special Forces team with a unique system, but such special teams don't always have a guaranteed future. You're willing to join?"

In fact, his doubt was valid.

Anyone with insight could see that Jian Qing's career prospects were bright.

With powerful combat power as a foundation, being a Captain at such a young age, and just a few more commendations shy of a promotion to the rank of a junior officer, her future was boundless.

Under such circumstances, she had absolutely no need to take the risk of joining an uncertain special team.

Jian Qing turned her head to take a look at Lu Heng and asked with a smile, "Shall we tell him the secret?"

Lu Heng joked with a relaxed tone, "If we tell him, he'll have to join us; otherwise, we'll have to silence him."

Jian Qing nodded and said, "Right, if we tell you the secrets of the Special Forces, you'll have to join, or we'll have to silence you. Now you can choose whether to listen or not."

Chen Zihang rolled his eyes and said, "After you've said all that, how could I not listen to the end and leave?"

His personality was just like that, the more curious he became, the more he wanted to know. Even if he found out joining the Special Forces was a bit of a trap, he would still jump in with tears.

Jian Qing had guessed his answer from the start and pointed to her own file, "When Lu Heng invited me, he offered a condition I couldn't refuse. He said as long as I joined, he would help me upgrade these skills."

"These few?" Chen Zihang widened his eyes, emphasizing the word "few."

"Yes, the very ones he mentioned." Jian Qing pointed at the screen three times, highlighting the three D and C level skills.

"What about me? Jian Qing gets to upgrade her skills; surely I deserve... two?" Even as Chen Zihang found it somewhat unbelievable, Jian Qing was not one to make meaningless jokes.

So as incredible as it seemed, he was sure it was true and started to negotiate terms directly.

Lu Heng smiled and replied, "As long as the skill proficiency is maxed out, and you have enough divine energy, as many as you have can be upgraded."

Jian Qing suddenly realized something and followed up, "Wait, my 'Wind Acceleration' skill, if I upgrade it to C level, does that mean there's a chance to upgrade it to B level in the future?"

Lu Heng nodded with a smile, "Like I said, as long as the skill proficiency is maxed out and you have enough divine energy, it's all upgradable."

Jian Qing was almost too excited to sit still.

Chen Zihang widened his eyes in surprise and said, "No wonder, I've noticed that many of your and Su Muyu's skill effects are stronger than the first time I saw them. You have a way to upgrade skills!"

Chen Zihang was among the power users he had known the longest.

The first time they were recruited, they were rescuing Quenching Castle on the Abyss Battlefield, and that was when he met Chen Zihang.

Thus, Chen Zihang had seen Lu Heng's initial state and was probably familiar with Lu Heng and Su Muyu's skill effects.

At that time, Su Muyu had control over the scouting eagle and invisibility skill.

Back then, the scouting eagle was just a summoning with no attack power, serving primarily a reconnaissance role.

But what about the scouting eagle now?

The Chongming Bird!

Flapping its wings could conjure a solar wind of scorching flames over ten thousand degrees. As a Perceiver, it even possessed a flame attack power stronger than Elemental Masters of the same class.

Chen Zihang asked in amazement, "Su Muyu's Chongming Bird, it didn't evolve from the scouting eagle, did it?"

Lu Heng nodded in affirmation, "You could say that, but the Chongming Bird isn't a normal skill upgrade. It's undergone two class enhancements, so the Chongming Bird can be seen as a summoning with two types of source material abilities."

"So Su Muyu's invisibility skill must have been upgraded, right?" Chen Zihang compared in his mind Su Muyu's first invisibility skill on the Abyss Battlefield to the current version, and the difference was like night and day.

Lu Heng nodded and responded, "Right, Mu Yu's invisibility skill did indeed come from upgrades."

Chen Zihang tapped the table and complained, "I thought you all relied on world task rewards to upgrade skills, but turns out you have a special method of upgrading."

Lu Heng acknowledged, "Yes, we have methods of upgrading skills, but the process can fail. It's something to be aware of. If it fails, the divine energy will be wasted, and in a worse case, the skill could be ruined."

Chen Zihang dismissed the latter part without a care, "On the path to greater combat power, not everything is plain sailing. The higher the risk, the greater the return. No more talk, I'm joining the Special Forces, but I want a top-ranking position."

Lu Heng and Jian Qing exchanged glances, then in unison, they said, "Deputy Commander, it doesn't get any higher than that."

"Deal!" Chen Zihang decided without hesitation.

He was still one year away from graduating from college and had been thinking about his post-graduation plans.

Now, joining the Special Forces perfectly resolved his concerns.