Zhao Mu glanced at the mission details, and information about Qingshan Village and the Corpse Demons immediately surfaced in his mind.
Meng Qiuqiu looked surprised.
"Corpse Demons? That sounds terrifying. I'm already feeling a little scared."
Zhao Mu glanced at him and calmly explained, "There's nothing particularly strange about them. Corpse Demons are simply corpses buried underground under specific environmental conditions. After being parasitized by bacteria, they undergo mutations and become monsters."
In this world, where Spiritual Abilities existed, almost any living thing had the potential to mutate.
Even ordinary flowers and plants grown at home, or pets kept as companions, could suddenly awaken Spiritual Abilities one day.
Because of this, the mission hall frequently posted missions involving mutated creatures.
Qingshan Village was located in the northeastern part of Lujiang City, more than two hundred kilometers from the city center. It was an extremely remote village situated near the outskirts of the Blood Bone Mountain Range.
The region was humid, covered in thick miasma, and had a particularly harsh environment.
Ten years ago, after the Demon-Sealing War, countless corpses and bones had been buried around the outskirts of Lujiang City.
Under such circumstances, it wasn't particularly surprising for corpses to mutate.
When Bu Yanhuan had first taken Zhao Mu to the Blood Bone Mountain Range, they had already encountered Corpse Demons there.
Under normal circumstances, the strength of these monsters wasn't particularly impressive.
That was why Zhao Mu felt there had to be some special reason for this mission to have been classified as a Level 2 mission.
He voiced his doubts.
Liu Xu explained, "There are too many Corpse Demons this time. According to our investigation, the original mutant may have been a Spirit Power User who died in battle at Blood Bone Mountain."
"After mutating, that corpse became a kind of matriarch and began producing large numbers of Corpse Demons."
"Given the strength of Qingshan Village's local guard team, they're simply incapable of dealing with the situation."
Zhao Mu shrugged.
"There's nothing we can do about that. There are only five of us. That's obviously not enough."
Just as he finished speaking, a cheerful voice came from nearby.
"Junior Brother Zhao Mu, why wouldn't it be enough? We've been waiting for you!"
Zhao Mu and the others turned around.
Three seniors wearing the combat uniforms of the Primary Camp were approaching them.
There was one Senior Brother and two Senior Sisters.
The person leading them was a refined-looking young man wearing black-rimmed glasses.
He stared at Zhao Mu with an expectant expression.
"The three of us have already signed up for this mission, and we're still seven people short. If we add your group, we'll have almost everyone we need!"
Realizing that he hadn't introduced himself, the young man laughed.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Liang Zhichu. I'm a third-year soldier in the New Recruit Camp."
He then pointed toward the two people beside him.
One was a tall young woman with a long ponytail, while the other was a young man with a buzz cut.
"These are my teammates, Gao Ping and Yan Fangfang."
As soon as Meng Qiuqiu heard the name, his eyes immediately lit up.
"You're Liang Zhichu, Senior Brother? I've heard so much about you!"
Zhao Mu glanced at Meng Qiuqiu curiously and lowered his voice.
"You know him?"
Meng Qiuqiu looked at him suspiciously.
"Brother Xiao Mu, don't tell me you never visit the Qingshui Forum?"
He pointed excitedly toward Liang Zhichu.
"Senior Brother Liang is one of the top experts in the entire Primary Camp!"
As he spoke, Meng Qiuqiu opened his electronic wristband and displayed the Qingfeng Camp's mission-point rankings.
"The Qingfeng Camp Mission Office has three major leaderboards. They correspond to the Primary Camp, Intermediate Camp, and the overall rankings."
"The rankings record the mission points earned by students each quarter. I've heard that anyone who enters the top ten each month receives substantial rewards."
Meng Qiuqiu spread his hands and continued mysteriously.
"Actually, the three Qingfeng Camp rankings are modeled after the military's merit rankings."
"The military rankings are even more competitive. It's not just a competition within one province. There are national rankings as well!"
Zhao Mu was too busy with his own affairs to pay much attention to such things.
Meng Qiuqiu pointed toward the enormous screen hanging on the second floor.
Zhao Mu looked over.
The screen continuously displayed new missions. Occasionally, however, it switched to show the three enormous leaderboards.
Meng Qiuqiu explained, "Senior Brother Liang Zhichu has been a long-time expert on the Primary Camp's mission-point leaderboard!"
Liang Zhichu scratched his head awkwardly.
"Long-time expert? It's only been a year or two. That's nothing worth bragging about."
He smiled.
"Besides, I'm about to be promoted to the Intermediate Camp. Once that happens, I'll naturally have to give up my position on the Primary Camp leaderboard."
Zhao Mu became curious and opened the rankings.
The top three were:
First Place: Huo Jingyun — 512 mission points
Second Place: Nan Hong — 423 mission points
Third Place: Liang Zhichu — 298 mission points
It was currently October, and half of the third quarter had already passed.
In other words, Liang Zhichu had earned nearly 300 mission points simply by completing missions.
That was roughly equivalent to the credits earned from six compulsory courses!
Zhao Mu and the others politely greeted them.
"Hello, Senior Brother. Hello, Senior Sisters."
Liang Zhichu was very friendly toward Zhao Mu and his companions.
"You must be Zhao Mu, Mo Guanguan, and Lu Yan. I've heard your names for quite some time."
"I've heard that you three are among the most talented New Recruits to join the camp this year."
Liang Zhichu looked them over appreciatively.
"Now that I've seen you in person, you really do seem to have tremendous potential."
He smiled.
"So, how about joining us for this Qingshan Village mission?"
Zhao Mu frowned slightly and thought for a moment.
"Senior Brother, please give us a moment to discuss it."
He turned around and asked the others for their opinions.
"What do you think?"
Meng Qiuqiu was already scrolling through the forum. He quickly showed everyone the information he had found about Liang Zhichu.
"Senior Brother Liang has always had an excellent reputation. He's never bullied New Recruits or taken advantage of them."
"I think teaming up with him is a good idea."
Zhuo Yun crossed his arms and spoke with some concern.
"But there will be too many people. If the rewards are divided equally, each person will only receive around twenty academic credits."
Lu Yan thought about it before saying, "If we can complete the mission quickly, the cost-effectiveness is still quite good."
"After all, completing a compulsory course every six months only gives us fifty academic credits."
Mo Guanguan smiled.
"The academic credits aren't necessarily divided equally. The final distribution depends on everyone's contribution."
"If we perform well, shouldn't we be able to earn more?"
Zhao Mu nodded.
"Then it's decided."
He turned back toward Liang Zhichu.
"Senior Brother, we're willing to cooperate."
"However, after the mission is completed, we'd like the academic credit rewards to be distributed according to everyone's contribution."
Liu Xu smiled from the side.
"You don't need to worry about that."
"We'll evaluate everyone's performance based on the information provided by Qingshan Village and the actual results of the mission. Everyone will receive the rewards they deserve."
"We guarantee that the distribution will be fair."
Zhuo Yun suddenly frowned.
"Even so, we still don't have enough people."
Liang Zhichu smiled confidently.
"Don't worry about that. We've already contacted another team."
He opened his electronic wristband and called someone.
"Shao Han, our team is complete!"
Zhao Mu was speechless.
Shao Han?
How could it be such a coincidence?
Not long afterward, Shao Han arrived at the mission hall with four other people.
The moment he saw Zhao Mu, he had exactly the same thought.
How could it be such a coincidence?
However, it wasn't really a coincidence.
The number of missions available at Qingfeng Camp wasn't particularly large.
If there were countless missions available every day, it would only mean that the world was already in complete chaos.
Therefore, the number of missions suitable for New Recruits was naturally limited.
Their choices had always been rather narrow.
As a result, it was inevitable that different teams would eventually cross paths.
And this time, the mission that had brought them together was the same one—
the Level 2 mission at Qingshan Village: the Calamity of the Corpse Demons.
________________________________________
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