Chapter Thirty: Novice Tasks and Grade C Missions

Chapter Thirty: [Beginner Tasks and C-Rank Missions]

After making all necessary preparations, Xia Zheng opened the Hunter App to search for suitable tasks. His current rank was E, but thanks to his “Dragon” level evaluation, he could accept C-rank missions—a privilege reserved only for those with such status.

After browsing for a while, Xia Zheng discovered an inconvenient truth: E and D-rank tasks were mostly trivial odd jobs, such as missing person notices, lost-and-found requests, serving as a mentor for apprentice Espers, helping various branches of the Professional Alliance or local Hunter shops transport goods (courier? deliveryman?), or collecting materials listed by the Alliance. Only at C-rank did missions begin to require combat, with B and A-rank assignments being primarily combat-focused.

“I’ll start with a beginner’s mission to get a feel for things, then challenge myself with a C-rank task,” Xia Zheng decided, setting his goal and direction before continuing his search.

After some time comparing tasks across different ranks, he stumbled upon something interesting.

“Huh, this E-rank beginner task—‘Searching for Beloved Daughter Xiaolian’—seems connected to the C-rank mission ‘Investigate the Truth Behind Recent Disappearances of Young Women.’ The E-rank mission describes a middle-aged couple whose high-school daughter, Mo Xiaolian, lost contact a week ago; all efforts to find her failed, and even the police had no leads, so they turned to the Esper Professional Alliance for help. Apparently, the last place their daughter was seen was a nightclub she frequented on weekends—a place called Midnight Mary, which only opens after midnight and closes at dawn. It’s a members-only venue, so not just anyone can enter.” Xia Zheng printed out the mission details and pinned them to the wall before printing the other task.

“The main suspect in the series of disappearances is also this ‘Midnight Mary’ nightclub. Among the missing girls is Mo Xiaolian, along with seven or eight other young women of similar age, all under twenty-four. Most are high school or college students, or young workers. Is that just a coincidence?” Xia Zheng shook his head; he doubted such coincidences existed—the odds were simply too low. There must be something wrong with that underground bar.

Thus, he accepted both missions. The location was Haideburg, a coastal metropolis in the eastern Federation—one of the Federation’s ten most developed cities, with a population exceeding ten million, though still incomparable to Evernight City before its fall.

Traveling from Polant City to Haideburg meant a journey of over a thousand kilometers; the best options were by plane or the State Rail High-Speed Rail. Xia Zheng chose the latter, as he had a fear of flying, and the tedious security checks at the airport were unbearable.

He bought a second-class ticket through the Hunter App, surprisingly only a third of the normal price—about two hundred Federal Crowns, which was still quite expensive. The train departed early the next morning, so he had plenty of time to inform his parents, Captain Chu, and his master.

Once everything was set, Xia Zheng began to pack lightly. During this time, he received a call from Nalan Sheng, and the two talked for over an hour—a luxury only possible now that her family approved their relationship.

Hearing that Xia Zheng was heading to Haideburg for training, Nalan Sheng reminded him to be careful and gave him a contact—the Nalan family’s representative in Haideburg. If he encountered trouble, he could reach out and avoid unnecessary complications.

“All right, all right—I’m just going for some entry-level tasks, no need to be so dramatic. You focus on your training, and when the spring assessment comes next year, I’ll pick you up and we can explore the city together,” Xia Zheng finally began to act the part of a boyfriend. Nalan Sheng was delighted, wishing spring would come sooner.

“By the way, Xia Zheng… have you seen the news lately?” Nalan Sheng suddenly seemed hesitant.

Xia Zheng was puzzled. “I don’t really watch the news—more into novels and movies. I only keep up with Esper community updates. Why?”

“It’s… it’s nothing…” Nalan Sheng faltered, clearly wanting to say more but stopping herself.

“All right, then, focus on your training. I’ll call you whenever I can.” Xia Zheng found her reaction odd, but didn’t dwell on it.

“…Xia Zheng, no matter what others say, I believe in you. That’s all—bye!” With these words, Nalan Sheng seemed to summon her courage and hung up.

Xia Zheng was momentarily stunned, but gave it little thought. He then called his parents and Captain Chu. He told his parents he was going on a business trip—as he had once before for his Esper assessment, so they weren’t particularly worried. Their son was grown, after all, and couldn’t be tied to their side forever.

Captain Chu reminded him to keep a low profile in the field, and if the mission was too dangerous, to withdraw—after all, he was still E-rank and skipping a high-level assignment or two was no big deal.

Xia Zheng agreed verbally, but in his heart, he was reluctant. He didn’t want to give up on a mission, especially not his first C-rank task. If he abandoned it, wouldn’t that prove he wasn’t capable of handling higher-level assignments? Wouldn’t that make his “Dragon” evaluation seem undeserved?

Unless absolutely necessary, Xia Zheng resolved not to give up.

Finally, he called his master, Shen Hua, to inform her of his mission and journey to Haideburg, expecting it to be a simple matter. Instead, his master insisted on joining him, much to his annoyance.

“Master, do you doubt my abilities?” Xia Zheng protested.

Shen Hua snapped back, “Don’t be ungrateful, brat. Training and assessments are two different things. No matter what, I’m coming with you this time.”

“You can come, but only in your true, regal form—not as a little schoolgirl,” Xia Zheng retorted, determined not to give in so easily.

“You… I’ll think about it,” Shen Hua grumbled before hanging up. Xia Zheng paused—she hadn’t refused outright. Did that mean she’d agreed? Wasn’t her true form supposed to be more taxing on her spiritual energy?

The next day, upon learning Shen Hua would accompany Xia Zheng to Haideburg, Chu Yan felt reassured. Xia Zheng was now the treasure of their Celestial Blade team. Chu Yan brought in Shen Hua both to mentor him and, secretly, to serve as his bodyguard—something known only to Shen Hua and himself.

With all preparations complete, Xia Zheng continued practicing the Soul Refinement Technique while also comparing it with the God-Tempering Method, training in both. For other telepaths, cultivating two radically different systems simultaneously was a recipe for disaster, but Xia Zheng, after careful comparison, realized they were simply different approaches to the same essence—spiritual power. Because his own spiritual attribute was unique, he could use Soul Refinement to rapidly increase his power, and then purify and mitigate side effects with the God-Tempering Method, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

Beyond training, he began collecting news reports on the missing girls and gradually formed a general impression of the case, making some initial deductions.

According to media reports and online analyses, these young women were generally quite attractive with good figures, not wealthy but vain and fond of luxury.

Before vanishing, each had been approached by a mysterious, handsome blonde or red-haired man—exceptionally good-looking, well-dressed, charming, and generous, the kind of man many girls dreamed of.

After initial contact, the girls would be invited to the Midnight Mary nightclub and then vanish mysteriously. Some claimed to have seen these girls later, but their appearance was drastically changed—decked out in gold, acting flirtatiously with young men, all still under twenty-four. Yet when someone tried to track them down, they were never found, and a few people even got hurt.

“It seems this is the work of a secret organization—first controlling a batch of beautiful, vain girls, then luring in more inexperienced men. What could their true motive be? Surely not matchmaking?” Xia Zheng chuckled as he closed his notebook. Over the course of the day, he’d compiled a substantial dossier on the case. With more information, he was confident he’d solve the mystery.

After dinner, he indulged in some light reading, only to be interrupted by a message from an old classmate, Chen Xiu, who asked if he really was going to marry into the Nalan family.

“What? Who said that?” Xia Zheng replied, annoyed.

Chen Xiu sent him several news articles—all from prominent media outlets, each headline more infuriating than the last.

“Shocking! Mysterious Young Man Turns Out to Be Nalan Family’s Live-in Son-in-Law—His True Identity Will Astound You.”

“Star Performer of the Professional Exam Surrenders to Power, Willingly Becoming a Live-in Husband?”

“Specially Admitted by the Military but Rejected, He Marries into the Nalan Family in Defiance—Is This Moral Decay or Human Depravity?”

Xia Zheng’s anger flared. He searched his own name online and found a flood of similar reports, along with pointed comments from people who clearly hated him:

“As Nalan Sheng’s childhood friend and Haideburg’s richest heir, Bi Wens vows to teach Xia Zheng a lesson if he dares show his face in the city.”

“Oscar, young master of the Feikete family, now considers Xia Zheng his greatest rival after being spurned by Nalan Sheng.”

“Recently decorated with second-class merit in Evernight City, Captain Dias of the Federation Army describes Xia Zheng as vindictive, narrow-minded, and rebellious. The Nalan family has made a grave mistake choosing him.”

As the reports poured in, Chen Xiu comforted him briefly. Xia Zheng, after putting down his phone, calmed himself. He was no longer the impulsive boy he once was.

“So that’s what Sheng’er was worried about. No wonder she was hesitant, trying to encourage me instead.” Remembering Nalan Sheng’s words and her final message, Xia Zheng gained clarity.

To think he’d gone from an ordinary civilian to a public figure overnight—though not a popular one. Many netizens now branded him a lackey of the wealthy, or worse, a disgrace among Espers. Of course, it was Espers saying so. In truth, it was common for Espers to sell their services to large corporations, so Xia Zheng couldn’t understand their self-righteousness.

He opened his phone, found Nalan Sheng’s contact, and after a moment’s thought, typed: “Unafraid of storms and rivals, I’ll soon give you reason to be proud of me—not because of the Nalan family, but because of who I am. My feelings will never change.”

Soon, Nalan Sheng replied with a flurry of loving and touched emojis, and just one line: “If you never abandon me, I’ll be with you till death.” That was all Xia Zheng needed. Having his beloved’s understanding and support mattered most—gossip was only fleeting smoke.