Zhao Mu had registered his "Engineer" account less than an hour ago, yet the number of private messages in his inbox and replies beneath his posts had already exceeded several hundred.
Almost every trainee at Qingfeng Camp was eager to establish a connection with this Jinhai Master, even if they didn't currently need his services.
However, the sections for Ember Remnant exchanges, custom Ember Remnant orders, and Ember Remnant repairs had received fewer than ten applications.
According to Qingfeng Camp's standards, even exchanging for a low-grade First-Grade Jinhai required as many as 500 academic credits.
Therefore, very few people had enough resources to possess Ember Remnants.
"This job is easier than I imagined."
Zhao Mu smiled.
An ordinary First-Level Jinhai Master could only complete one work every two or three months.
Zhao Mu, however, needed only one day.
Even Liang Gongchi wasn't as fast as him when crafting a First-Grade Jinhai.
Thinking about it carefully, this assignment from the Engineering Department wouldn't put any pressure on him.
On the contrary, it was a good opportunity to get acquainted with various influential figures at Qingfeng Camp.
Before long, Meng Qiuqiu and the others returned.
The moment he entered the room, Meng Qiuqiu walked over with a smile and began massaging Zhao Mu's shoulders.
"Brother Xiao Mu, that Engineer account belongs to you, right?"
Zhao Mu nodded.
"The Engineering Department has certain requirements. Didn't Teacher Liang teach me Jinhai Manufacturing so that I could help reduce her workload?"
"I know, I know."
Meng Qiuqiu quickly replied.
"But we can't neglect the affairs of Tiangong Hall either!"
Hearing this, Zhao Mu rested his chin on his hands and deliberately put on a troubled expression.
"I thought that as my Jinhai Manufacturing skills improved, Tiangong Hall would naturally grow stronger."
"At this rate, I even thought that achieving our goal of going public wouldn't be a problem."
"Who would've thought that earning money would be like digging soil with a needle, while spending money would be like pushing sand with water?"
Meng Qiuqiu comforted him.
"Don't worry. You're still in the early stages of development, so it's normal to make large investments."
"When you become a Second-Grade Jinhai Master, I'll go ask my old man for more investment."
Zhao Mu's eyes immediately lit up.
If he could obtain financial support from the Jiangnan Meng Family, would money even be a problem?
At that point, even eating expensive delicacies every day wouldn't be an issue.
"A Second-Grade Jinhai Master..."
Zhao Mu tapped his fingers against the table as he calculated silently.
He already had a solid foundation in drawing and engraving Spirit Rune Diagram Paths, so mastering them wouldn't take him long.
However, the bone remains required to construct a Second-Grade Ember Remnant started at a Combat Level of over 100.
They were extremely expensive.
If he wanted to improve his proficiency by continuously consuming materials, his preliminary estimate was that it would cost more than 500 million Xuanfeng Coins.
Zhao Mu's eyes twitched violently.
That would mean pouring almost an entire year's worth of Tiangong Hall's net profits into his advancement.
"As expected, why bother making Ember Remnants if you don't have money?"
If other Jinhai Masters heard Zhao Mu say that, they would probably be furious.
Some people remained stuck at the First-Level Jinhai Master stage for their entire lives.
The fastest recorded time for advancing from First-Level to Second-Level was three years.
And what about Zhao Mu?
He had become a First-Level Jinhai Master in just one month.
After another month, he had already laid the foundation for becoming a Second-Grade Jinhai Master.
Now, as long as he had enough materials, he could potentially advance to the enviable Second Grade in less than two months.
Complaining about the cost here was enough to infuriate both man and god.
Putting those matters aside for now, Zhao Mu focused on preparing for the following day's mission.
---
At eight o'clock the next morning, everyone gathered at the Qingfeng Camp helipad.
Qingshan Village was more than two hundred kilometers away from Qingfeng Camp, so the school had arranged for them to travel there directly by airship.
When Zhao Mu and the others arrived at the helipad, everyone was already fully equipped.
They wore the combat uniforms issued by Qingfeng Camp and carried various supplies in bags of different sizes.
Zhao Mu and the others were no exception.
Medicine, compressed food, weapons, and tools required for special situations—such as ropes and steel wires—were all packed onto their bodies.
The equipment weighed several dozen kilograms in total.
When Zhao Mu's group arrived, they first greeted the three senior brothers and sisters, including Liang Zhichu.
Shao Han and his group stood on the other side, deliberately maintaining a subtle distance from Zhao Mu's team.
The division between the two groups was obvious.
Liang Zhichu smiled helplessly.
"Once the mission begins, I hope everyone can work together."
"Regardless of whatever conflicts existed between us before, we have only one enemy now."
"Those rampaging Corpse Ghosts."
He adjusted his glasses, and his expression suddenly became serious.
"If anyone dares to sabotage their own comrades during the mission, I will report them directly to the higher-ups at Qingfeng Camp."
"Qingfeng Camp absolutely does not tolerate infighting among Cadet Soldiers during external operations!"
Shao Han's heart tightened.
Zhao Mu smiled and nodded.
"Of course. We'll give everything we have to deal with the Corpse Ghosts."
Liang Zhichu was satisfied with his response.
He then looked toward Shao Han.
Shao Han curled his lips but nodded.
"Of course. The mission comes first."
Liang Zhichu nodded.
Everyone then boarded the airship one after another.
Before long, the enormous airship rumbled as it took off, soaring into the sky and heading northeast.
Less than an hour later, the airship slowly descended and landed in the middle of a dense forest.
The Xuanfeng Empire was vast.
Because wars had continued for thousands of years, many regions remained untouched and preserved as vast primeval forests.
It wasn't unusual for two cities to be separated by an enormous mountain range.
For that reason, airships had become the primary method of long-distance transportation.
Qingshan Village wasn't particularly large.
It was nestled among several mountains.
Looking down from high above, Zhao Mu could see fewer than a thousand houses scattered throughout the area.
Liang Zhichu smiled and said,
"Missions in places like this usually aren't too complicated."
"If something like this happened in an urban area, it would probably be resolved within half a day."
"Therefore, the real danger of this mission comes from the complicated mountain terrain."
Zhao Mu nodded without saying anything.
After the airship landed, they were greeted by several villagers waiting at the simple airfield.
An elderly man around sixty years old stood at the front.
He wore a stiff suit and had clearly tried his best to comb his gray hair neatly, but several strands still stubbornly stuck out.
Behind him stood a group of villagers.
They wore homemade protective equipment and carried various weapons.
The Xuanfeng Empire had a universal military service system, so these villagers were all retired soldiers.
Each of them possessed a fierce and disciplined aura.
But at this moment, their faces were dominated by exhaustion, anxiety, and sleeplessness.
Seeing the fully armed soldiers from Qingfeng Camp, the old man immediately approached and extended his hand.
"Hello. I'm Zhao Yude, the village chief of Qingshan Village."
Liang Zhichu stepped forward and shook his hand.
"My name is Liang Zhichu. I've accepted the mission on behalf of Qingfeng Camp."
"Please tell us everything about the situation here."
Village Chief Zhao Yude and the villagers surrounded Zhao Mu and the others as they entered the village.
As they walked, the village chief began explaining the strange events that had occurred there.
"About three months ago, we discovered the first mutated Corpse Ghost."
"It crawled out of the muddy ground."
"Its body was already half-rotten, yet it possessed the speed of an ape and the strength of a hunting hound."
"It appeared at night and attacked a household on the outskirts of the village."
"An elderly couple and their grandson were bitten to death."
"After that, more and more Corpse Ghosts began appearing in the mountain forests."
"Every night, they roam around the village and launch attacks on the living."
"Although Qingshan Village has a village defense team that patrols the area, we've struggled to deal with those monsters."
"They don't fear death."
The village chief's face was filled with exhaustion.
"In the past three months, more than thirty villagers have died."
He paused before continuing.
"Those Corpse Ghosts can be killed if we burn them."
"But the problem is the mountain forest."
"There's an endless supply of them."
"Every time we burn one group, another group appears soon afterward."
________________________________________
⚡ Enjoying the story? Don't stop here!
The adventure continues on Patreon:
👉 patreon.com/Obito_uchiha
🔥 Read up to 50 chapters ahead
📚 Get access to 20+ fanfics with a single membership
Be among the first to experience new chapters weeks before they're released publicly.
Join today and start reading ahead!