Chapter 39: Give the Order, Captain!

Chapter 39 Take Command, Captain!

Mess Hall Serving Line

Wu Chong looked worried, "I wonder how Wu Yue is doing."

Jian Suiyu replied, "My mother said she's already out of the treatment pod and is healthy now."

Wu Chong cheered, "That's great! She should get some rest."

Jian Suiyu, "...Speaking of which, she's on her way to the cafeteria right now.

You and Jie Chen, gear up."

Jie Chen shot a sideways glance, "Coming to eat?"

Jian Suiyu’s face spasmed, "No, she said she's taking you both to pick up Richard.

She arrives in three—be ready, full morale. Especially you, Jie Chen."

Jie Chen tossed the serving spoon aside, the spoon crumpling in his grip, his face twisting into a feral grin, "She’s begging for death this time. This time, I’ll just kill her outright."

Jian Suiyu smiled, "That spoon belongs to Ms. Chen Ou. If she finds any signs of deliberate damage..."

Jie Chen paused, then hastily bent the spoon back into shape, ensuring it worked even better than before.

Wu Chong cocked his head, "But Wu Yue didn’t want to attend Richard’s mental training before. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Jian Suiyu relayed, "Wu Yue’s exact words: ‘Cut her some slack—she just got out of the ICU.

Especially you, Jie Chen—you started this, you killer.’"

Jie Chen really wanted to rip Jian Suiyu’s tongue out, but the image of Wu Yue covered in blood flashed through his mind.

…Whatever.

Taking off his apron, Jie Chen said surprisingly calm, "Alright. Let’s go."

Wu Chong was utterly shocked, "You’re saying YES?! Since when?!

When I asked you to take me to the Moshi River to catch mutant toads, you refused without hesitation and beat me up for three hours as punishment for bothering you!!!"

Jie Chen shot him a sidelong glance, "First, mutant toads are disgusting.

Second, you’re a pest."

Wu Chong wailed, "Jie Chen… am I not your precious little buddy anymore?"

Jie Chen, "Never were. Piss off before I kill you."

When Wu Yue arrived, she saw Wu Chong bruised and sulking on the ground drawing circles, while Jie Chen stood there in his usual training attire.

Pleased with the sight, Wu Yue clenched her fists, "Alright! Move out!"

Aside from Wu Yue, Wu Chong, and Jie Chen, Jian Suiyu also assigned Wu Yue a 20-man escort squad.

"Jian Suiyu: Try not to die."

Seeing Jian Suiyu’s unconditional support, even deploying so many personnel without asking for a reason.

Even Wu Chong excitedly raised the rocket launcher in his hand,

"Damn, the vice-captain's going all out this time! The latest rocket launcher—this is my first time seeing it!

Last time I just wanted to touch it, and he refused!!"

"Check out this flamethrower!! So powerful, it can shoot up to 50 meters in one go!!"

"But mine takes the cake—laser sword! Laser gun!

I heard even the toughest mutant beasts can be pierced through!!"

"If we take this gear into an instance run, we’ll steamroll everything!!"

"This is next-level opulence, really next-level opulence!! This isn’t just equipment for an instance run!!

This is the kind of top-tier setup you’d use to storm the Alliance’s big boss or tackle an endgame raid!!!"

This time, they were even provided with Blaze’s flagship-class airship, capable of carrying over a thousand people.

Every member had their own private resting quarters and training room—a privilege usually reserved only for captain-level deployments.

In her past life, Wu Yue had never even seen, let alone participated in, such an exaggeratedly luxurious display. She felt like a backwater hick, too awestruck to even breathe on anything.

Standing inside such a massive, extravagant airship, Wu Yue felt completely out of her depth.

Gradually, the banter trailed off, and Wu Yue realized everyone was looking at her.

Wu Yue blinked in confusion, "Wait, what?"

Wu Chong was the first to rush to the pilot’s console, bouncing with anticipation. "Wu Yue! Let’s get started! I’m already pumped up!!"

Wu Yue still didn’t understand, "Wait, what?"

Jie Chen then walked toward the airship’s control panel, but to Wu Yue’s surprise, he took the co-pilot’s position.

Jie Chen also turned to look at Wu Yue, frowning.

"What are you standing around for? Blaze protocol states: whoever calls the mission leads it.

Once you agree to come along, you fall in line by default.

So, starting now, Captain Wu, we’re all under your command. Every one of us is entrusting our lives to you.

That punk Richard probably never dreamed in his wildest dreams that so many people would come to pick him up.

So give the order, Captain. Everyone’s chomping at the bit."

Every word Jie Chen spoke hit Wu Yue like a hammerblow. As the most experienced and capable person here, his words carried full recognition of her.

Wu Yue blinked once, then again, blinking away the sting before nodding firmly.

"Let’s go!"

Wu Chong jammed the throttle. "Let’s go!!"

With a whoosh, the airship lurched skyward, and crushing g-forces kicked in as zero-g took hold.

Target: Frostrend Canyon!

....

Richard never expected his sky skimmer to be shot down by aberrations over Frostrend Canyon. These mutated beasts had evolved far beyond the size of ordinary birds, their forms now nearly rivaling those of the Cretaceous Quetzalcoatlus in scale.

After being struck down by the unknown flying mutants, Richard crashed at the canyon's rim.

To his surprise, he discovered that the aberrations usually confined to the canyon were now streaming out in mass exodus.

Judging by their crimson eyes, Richard deduced that a new S-class anomaly was likely about to emerge within Frostrend Canyon.

Thus, Richard sent a message to Jian Suiyu, informing him that his return to base would be delayed.

If a new top-tier rift did appear, he would then call for backup from Jian Suiyu.

To confirm his suspicions, Richard had maintained surveillance for 36 hours.

However, before the anomaly could manifest, Richard was ambushed by berserk mutants, plunging him into a vicious fight for survival.

"Hypnosis!"

"Screech!!"

Another failed attempt at hypnosis left Richard gritting his teeth in frustration.

The aberrations of Frostrend Canyon were all tough-hided and ironclad, adapted to the extreme cold with coarse fur and external bone spikes sharper than steel.

To ensure survival, their neural nuclei were buried deep within their bodies, making it nearly impossible for Richard to penetrate their defenses with his psychic abilities.

Yet, despite these challenges, the endless sea of mutant corpses surrounding Richard stood as grim evidence of his devastating prowess.

His mental energy was completely depleted, and Richard was constantly replenishing it while fighting by extracting mental energy cores from the alien beasts.

To his immense surprise, these mental energy cores were astonishingly pure, like arctic sapphires, utterly devoid of impurities.

Moreover, compared to ordinary alien beasts, these cores were at least five times larger!

Based on the number of beasts Richard had eliminated so far, the extracted cores alone could fully replenish the mental energy of at least ten S-rank mental energy users simultaneously.

And yet, within the Frozen Rift Canyon, there were easily a hundred times more of these alien beasts.

If all these cores were harvested, the staggering quantity would defy imagination!