From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword

Liu Haiyang raised his hand and said, "Report! I have something to say."

"Speak."

"I was able to come back so quickly, actually, because teammates helped me find the rubber ball. I hope they can also receive a reward."

"The rules of the training were set from the start, only recognizing the order of those who bring back the rubber ball. How you thank each other privately is your business, but once rewards are issued, they cannot be transferred to others. If you don't want it, you can choose to give it up." Jian Qing emphasized the discipline again.

Liu Haiyang spoke briefly with two teammates and said, "I pick the Deep Sea Lord Source Material."

Lu Heng gestured for the logistics personnel of the special forces to open the briefcase and issued the Deep Sea Lord Source Material to him.

Following that, Jian Qing announced the second-place result, "Second place, three hours, five minutes, and twenty-seven seconds, Cao Lixiong, step forward!"

Cao Lixiong stepped forward and saluted, "Present!"

"There is still the Wave Summoner Source Material and a chance to upgrade a skill, which one do you pick?" Jian Qing asked him about his desired reward.

At that moment,

From behind, Jiang Shaoran raised her hand to report, "Report, instructor, I have a word to say."

"Speak!"

"I am of the Spiritual system, and my only target is the Wave Summoner. I have finished speaking." Jiang Shaoran shared her thoughts.

She originally wanted to strive for a higher rank, but Cao Lixiong's level was too high, his combat power too strong; she couldn't compete.

Cao Lixiong already possessed the Third Transition Class Energy Shield Guard, which meant, if he wanted to use the Wave Summoner Source Material, he would have to give up his existing Energy Shield Guard Class.

Giving up a class is not a decision to be taken lightly, because relinquishing an existing class would lead to a drop in Source Energy Level.

Cao Lixiong's current Source Energy Level was 40. If he chose to give up the Energy Shield Guard Class and absorb the Wave Summoner Source Material instead, his Source Energy Level would drop to 30 or even lower.

Lu Heng opened Cao Lixiong's file to look and said, "The Wave Summoner Source Material is more suitable for the Spiritual system, but the rule is that those with higher ranks get priority in choosing rewards, so Cao Lixiong, it's still your pick."

Cao Lixiong stood at attention and asked, "I heard that giving up an existing class can lead to a drop in level, is that true?"

Lu Heng nodded and replied, "It's true. According to your situation, you will likely drop to level 30. And with level 30, you might not be suitable for this Deep Sea Mist operation."

Cao Lixiong continued, "Instructor, do you have any advice?"

Lu Heng smiled and answered, "The Energy Shield Guard Class belongs to the Defense System and can also protect your comrades. As military personnel, you should understand the importance of systemic combat.

"If you're asking for my advice, I suggest you upgrade the Ice Crystal Harpoon. The Wave Summoner has certain auxiliary abilities and does not match well with your strengths."

Cao Lixiong nodded and replied, "Understood, then I'll choose a skill upgrade."

Finally, the remaining Wave Summoner Source Material was issued to Jiang Shaoran.

Relatively speaking, the competition for the Wave Summoner Source Material wasn't as fierce this time.

Among the ten ocean warriors, only two were of the Spiritual system, and Jiang Shaoran was one of them.

Once the rewards had been distributed, Lu Heng cleared his throat and announced the end of the training:

"This training is now concluded. According to the original plan, you will depart for the Malacca Sea Area in three days to address the fog crisis there.

"Before leaving, Liu Haiyang and Jiang Shaoran need to absorb the two pieces of Third Transition Source Material and get accustomed to the abilities of both Source Materials."

"Yes!" all ten people answered in unison.

...

Three days later.

The Hidden Dragon Superpower Special Team assembled fully, with 60 members in the combat team and 30 in the logistics team, all present.

This Malacca Strait fog crisis required the full deployment of the special forces.

While the main issue was the fog crack in the deep sea, other military personnel were needed to provide support on the surface vessels, so this mission was not only for the ten Ocean System Warriors but for the whole team.

However, not all of the logistics group needed to be mobilized; 20 people would stay at the Dragon Power Base, with the other 10 following the combat team to the Malacca Sea Area.

Before departure,

Captain Li Guining personally came to motivate all the combat personnel with words that made the blood of the entire Special Forces team boil.

Following that, Lu Heng spread out the map and drew a circle on it, "After reconnaissance, the underwater crack is roughly in this location. Our navy ships are already docked at the Lion City port.

"After departure, you will all take a plane to land in Lion City. After meeting with the navy ships, you will head to the target sea area for reconnaissance.

"The specific combat plan will be commanded by Captain Jian Qing. The underwater team will be led by Team Leader Cao Lixiong and Deputy Team Leader Liu Haiyang.

"Chief Li and I will wait for your updates at headquarters. Understood? Then depart."

Lu Heng said that it was after reconnaissance that he circled the approximate location of the sea rift, but in reality, this was additional information from his memory.

This information didn't need much explanation. There are many reconnaissance methods available to superpower users; as long as the information provided is correct, that's all that matters.

"Yes, sir!"

The entire Special Forces team stood at attention and set off at a run, heading to the airport and flying toward Lion City.

...

This mission was highly difficult because the White Eagle Federation's bases located in that sea area had been swallowed by fog and no solution for the fog crisis had been found.

Not just the White Eagle Federation, Lion City had splurged money to hire the world's top-ranking mercenary organizations. Whether it was the Round Table Knights of the Lion Heart Empire or the Ghost Warriors from Fusang, they all met their defeat in that sea area.

In addition to that, mercenary organizations represented by delegates from the White Eagle Federation, among the top five ranked in Blue Star, with the exception of Dragon Power from Da Xia, had all taken action but still failed to dispel the fog engulfing the shipping lanes.

These world's top five mercenary organizations weren't foolish; they all brought in ocean system superpower users to explore the seabed, but suffered heavy casualties and still couldn't locate the source of the sea fog.

One of the reasons for this was the current incomplete state of the ocean system superpower soldier framework.

At present, ocean system superpower soldiers are not very strong, leading to their Source Energy Levels being relatively low.

A bit of thought makes it clear.

Would power users with resources, Talent, and strength voluntarily choose the ocean enhancement path?

To take the ocean enhancement path, one first has to use up two Skill Slots to learn Underwater Breathing Skill and Underwater Action Skill.

For superpower users who average only 2.15 Skill Slots at the start, using two Skill Slots on skills that don't enhance combat power is akin to courting death in this dangerous Abyss Era.

Hence, current ocean system superpower users are generally those forced onto this path and have very low combat effectiveness on land; superpower organizations aren't inclined to cultivate them.

Under this vicious cycle, present ocean system superpower users are generally weak.

The White Eagle Federation and other nations recruited ocean system superpower users merely to explore underwater, not treating them as important forces for cultivation.

This led to those ocean system power users, upon encountering deep-sea Abyss Demons, not even having the chance to flee.

...

This time, when Da Xia took action, things were different.

Lu Heng specially picked ten Ocean Warriors and even helped them with Skill Upgrades while the Southern War Zone provided them with resource allocation.

Not to mention anything else, just in terms of swimming speed underwater, these ten surpassed the ocean system superpower users from other nations.

At this stage, the first-tier ocean system superpower users could only move underwater at the speed of dolphins, which is about 10 meters per second.

However, after Skill Upgrades, the ten members of the Hidden Dragon Special Team started at the shark speed of 20 meters per second.

Among them, those with better Talent moved even faster.

Coupled with the formation of the power structure that included an Ocean System Shield Guard such as Cao Lixiong, they were incomparable to the useless creatures from other nations.

Moreover, Lu Heng had circled the approximate location for this mission; there was no need to search aimlessly in the vast ocean.

With the capabilities of Liu Haiyang and the other ten Ocean Warriors, they could find the sea rift causing the fog within five to six days at most.

Lu Heng believed that with leaders like Jian Qing and Chen Zihang, coupled with the strongest undersea force at this stage, they were more than capable of completing the mission.