[Application approved. Please proceed to the Fearless Warband’s A-9 Teleportation Zone to assemble within ten minutes.]
Qin Feng didn’t delay. With a flicker, he vanished from his dorm room.
「Fearless Warband, A-9 Teleportation Zone.」
Elite squads, fully armed and exuding powerful auras, assembled or departed amidst the shimmering light of the teleportation rings. The face of every member carried the calm and indifference of a seasoned veteran.
Qin Feng’s figure materialized out of thin air at the designated meeting point.
His gaze swept over the area, and he immediately spotted three figures already waiting there.
Two of them were quite familiar to him.
One was his teammate from ten years ago, a muscular, mixed-race man built like a mountain, with dark skin and a completely bald head—Mike.
He still wore his signature gray-green heavy assault armor, but the scratches and battle damage on it were far more numerous than ten years prior, adding to his ferocious air.
The other person was a slight surprise to Qin Feng.
He was a young man with a square-jawed face and a calm, steady demeanor.
Although Qin Feng had never teamed up with him, he had a deep impression of the man.
This was Zheng Dong, the top-tier expert who had been constantly suppressed by Zhou Run in the Fourth Level Division back in the day, earning him the title of "perennial runner-up."
And standing between the two men was a Female Martial Artist.
She wore a form-fitting, sleek, silver-white powered inner suit, without any external heavy armor.
She had a tall, slender build, neat, short hair, and a cold expression. Her eyes were like a bottomless, icy pool, making it impossible to gauge her true strength.
Her aura was perfectly restrained, like a piece of the finest, polished, uncarved jade. It revealed no hint of its edge, yet one could instinctively feel the terrifying power contained within.
This, clearly, was the captain for this mission.
"Qin Feng, long time no see!"
Mike was the first to spot him. A hearty smile broke out on his dark face as he gave a wave.
They hadn’t seen each other in ten years. Mike had been constantly on missions, so his life force index hadn’t increased much, but his aura had grown much deeper.
"Hey, Qin Feng. Ten years is a long time. How many aperture mergings have you done?"
"Fifty-four."
Qin Feng smiled, not bothering to hide it.
"Oh?!"
Mike’s eyes widened. "You rascal, have you not been doing any missions? No, that can’t be right. Your reputation has spread throughout the Fearless Warband; everyone says you’re a trustworthy teammate. You’ve been doing missions and cultivating at the same time? And you managed fifty-four aperture mergings in ten years?"
"That’s right."
Qin Feng chuckled. "I’m carrying a blood feud, so I have no choice but to push myself."
"Impressive."
Mike praised him sincerely. "Your life force index is already catching up to mine. It seems the rumors about you are true—you’re an absolute monster. At this rate... aperture opening in forty years, aperture merging in sixty, finishing a three-hundred-year journey in just one hundred... that’s just insane."
"You’re too kind."
Qin Feng said, "I’m carrying a blood feud. I have no choice but to give it my all."
"Keep fighting."
Mike, who naturally knew about the Shi Dang incident, clapped Qin Feng on the shoulder with an encouraging look in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Zheng Dong, who had been standing to the side, flashed a playful smile after seeing Qin Feng and took the initiative to speak. "You must be Junior Brother Qin Feng. I’ve heard a great deal about you. Speaking of which, I really ought to thank you."
"Oh?"
Qin Feng was slightly taken aback.
Zheng Dong let out a hearty laugh, his tone a mix of self-deprecation and relief. "Back when I was in the Fourth Level Division, I was also thinking of farming the rookie tournaments for some easy prizes. But every single time, I was pinned down by that ’Old Lai Zi,’ Zhou Run, and could only manage to take second place. It was so damn frustrating. I eventually just gave up and ranked up. Then I heard you came out of nowhere, knocked that guy off his pedestal, and took the championship. You really helped me vent some old frustrations! HAHAHAHA!"
His laughter was filled with genuine delight, showing he had long since moved on from what happened back then.
"Haha, Senior Brother Zheng, the pleasure is all mine. I’ve heard much about you as well."
Qin Feng also laughed and cupped his fist in a gesture of greeting.
Just then, Mike, who had been standing nearby, found the right moment to speak up and make the introduction. "Qin Feng, this is Senior Sister Wan Shuang. She’s the captain for this mission."
"Senior Sister Wan Shuang, hello."
Qin Feng nodded at the Female Martial Artist with the profound aura.
Wan Shuang merely gave him a brief glance, her gaze as sharp as a knife, as if trying to see through his very soul.
After a moment, she gave a slight nod in response.
Her voice, like her demeanor, was cold and concise.
"Everyone’s here. I’ll keep this brief."
Without wasting any words, she brought up a detailed mission briefing.
"The mission’s target is Planet Y-34. Its former name on the imperial maps was ’Hope V.’ Eight hundred years ago, it was a prosperous Educational Planet with a population of over three billion, dedicated to cultivating foundational talent for the Empire."
"But 763 years ago, a sudden ’Green Tide’ completely destroyed everything there. The Imperial Star Realm Army has been fighting the Greenskins entrenched on this planet, on and off, for nearly four hundred years."
She pointed to the planet on the map, which was marked as a warzone.
"Strangely, for some high-level strategic reason, the planet has never been completely abandoned by the military, nor has it been designated as a Trial Planet open to students. Over the past eight hundred years, the Empire has gone through more than a dozen Planet Governors, and the sole order has always been the same: reclaim the planet at all costs."