Chapter Forty-Five: [Class B Mission]

Chapter Forty-Five [B-Class Mission]

When the car returned to Ice Soul Town, Xia Zheng took the initiative to get out, and Nalan Sheng hurried after him.

“Shengsheng, when you go to the Professional League for the assessment next spring, I’ll come find you.” Xia Zheng couldn’t say much more at the moment; the Nalan family’s intention to recruit him as a son-in-law was now impossible, but they hadn’t outright opposed his relationship with Nalan Sheng.

Nalan Sheng’s eyes were still swollen from crying, and she nodded earnestly. “Brother, you said you’d marry me openly in the future—do you mean it?”

“Yes, I do. You’re the one I like, but it’s not because you’re the future head of the Nalan family, so I won’t be joining your family as a son-in-law.” Xia Zheng pulled her into his arms and explained gently.

Nalan Sheng nodded. “I understand your feelings, Brother. I’ll work hard—become strong enough so that Father and Grandfather no longer use me as a bargaining chip to decide my fate.”

“Good, I believe in you. If you ever need to talk, you can always reach me by phone. I’ll keep improving myself too, so the Nalan family will have no choice but to accept me.” Xia Zheng had once thought of ending his brief relationship with Nalan Sheng, but seeing her risk everything—even death—to protect him, he decided not to disappoint her feelings. What happened between him and Shen Hua that night was his fault, not Shen Hua’s, and certainly not Nalan Sheng’s. If someone had to suffer, it should be him.

Watching the car disappear into the distance, Xia Zheng composed himself, walked into the inn, booked a room, and planned to stay until next spring before returning. Time was becoming increasingly precious for him.

He opened the Hunter App and checked his account: currently, he was at 3% C-level experience, and his evaluation remained “Dragon” level.

The next step was to advance to C+, then B-class. Once he reached B-class, he’d be qualified to go to the Evernight Outpost and truly fight against the Blood Clan.

“To quickly level up and gain lots of experience, I need to take on high-level missions. I can now accept B-class missions across ranks; only this way will I meet my requirements.” Thinking this, Xia Zheng began browsing various B-class missions. Using location filtering, he found several B-class missions closest to Ice Soul Town.

Mission 1: Slay the high-tier blood beast—Fei. It appears like a bull with a white head, has a single eye, a serpent’s tail, dries up water wherever it walks, kills grass wherever it passes, and spreads deadly plague.

Details hidden: The approximate location, range, and attack characteristics of the Fei beast require a payment of ten thousand credits to unlock. Purchase?

“Damn!” Xia Zheng couldn’t help but curse—these information dealers were truly despicable. He didn’t buy immediately, and kept this as a backup option.

Mission 2: Bounty—B-class fugitive “Wadsworth Walker.” A superhuman-type ability user, possesses brief flight and invisibility, has killed no fewer than ten other ability users, infamous, with a bounty of three hundred thousand credits from the Professional League.

Xia Zheng’s eyes lit up. This was worth considering. The fugitive’s flight ability might be tricky for others, but for Xia Zheng, who could also fly for short bursts, it wasn’t much of a threat. As for invisibility, it was indeed formidable, but against a telepath like Xia Zheng, it fell short—telepaths could sense things invisible to the naked eye.

Thus, Xia Zheng accepted this B-class mission. This time, he didn’t need to pay for special information—the League had already marked several possible locations for Wadsworth’s appearance. He would simply need to search each one. Xia Zheng noticed very few others had taken this mission—less than ten, and all were at least B-class. No other C-class ability user like him had accepted it.

He then took two more missions. One was a gathering quest: he needed to go deep into the nearby snow mountains to find three medicinal ingredients. The first was “Ice Thunder Fruit,” three pieces required; the second was “Fortune Grass,” two stalks; the third was a rare beast, the “Snow Fox of Decision,” from which he needed ten milliliters of blood from its forehead. It seemed a wealthy man, suffering from a terminal illness, had posted this mission through the League, hoping to create a life-saving medicine from these ingredients.

The other mission was a hunt: he needed to slay ten C+-class blood beasts—“Blackstripe King Scorpions.” These scorpions were among the fiercest in the northern lands, highly venomous, fond of living in groups. Besides stinging with their venom, they could also spray an unknown toxic mist. Accidentally inhaling it could lead to various neurotoxic symptoms—complex and dangerous. The League thoughtfully advised: those who took this mission should form teams.

Though all three were B-class missions, the rewards varied. The first—slaying the Fei beast—offered a reward that exceeded the combined total of the next two, at a hundred and fifty thousand credits, due to the beast’s formidable power. The gathering quest had a reward of one hundred thousand credits, since the wealthy client was willing to pay dearly for survival. The bounty mission offered thirty thousand credits—not a small sum, given the difficulty and the fugitive’s infamy, but ultimately determined by market rates. Compared to other bounties, it was already quite generous.

Considering the toxicity of the Blackstripe King Scorpions, Xia Zheng headed to the Hunter Shop to upgrade his gear accordingly.

The shop was small, about a hundred square meters over two floors. Most people placed orders online and came here to pick up or ship, much like a courier service point.

At the counter stood a white woman with a professional smile, blue cropped hair, and a pink long dress. The shop’s temperature wasn’t especially cold or warm, but her dress’s neckline was quite low, the valley before her snowy hills prominently displayed—perhaps to attract customers and more orders?

Xia Zheng approached her and asked, “Hello, I need some ready-made anti-toxin gear and medicines, preferably effective against the venom of Blackstripe King Scorpions and Fei beasts. Do you have any?”

“Honored ability user, thank you for visiting our shop. Let me check for you, please wait a moment,” she replied, her eyes brightening instantly, sensing a big client had arrived.

After searching, she quickly found suitable equipment and medicines.

“Advanced disposable anti-toxin mask HT4009, capable of resisting most biological toxins, with over 50% effectiveness, lasting twelve hours. It can block the unique toxic mist of the Blackstripe King Scorpion,” she explained.

Xia Zheng frowned. “Only fifty percent effectiveness? Isn’t that too low?”

“You can also use this intermediate anti-toxin spray or intermediate detox pills together—the combined effect can reach over seventy percent,” she said, handing him two more products.

Xia Zheng checked the instructions. The spray contained 150 ml, good for ten to fifteen applications, each lasting thirty minutes when applied to the skin. The pills came in a set of ten, each providing thirty minutes of protection when ingested, but Xia Zheng was still dissatisfied.

“Do you have anything more effective?” he asked, setting the products aside.

She thought for a moment and smiled, “Those three are good value, costing only ten thousand credits in total. If you want about ninety percent effectiveness, though, the price is much higher.”

“Let’s hear it. If the products are good, I can afford them.” Xia Zheng sensed she was playing hard to get, certain she had better goods in stock.

Hearing this, she understood immediately. She called over a regular employee to cover the front, then led Xia Zheng upstairs to a private room.

The second floor was far more comfortable: a forty or fifty square meter suite, genuine leather sofas all around, thick carpet on the floor, a burning fireplace, the atmosphere hazy and warm—likely heated by energy lamps, quite luxurious.

“My name is Sigrid. May I know how you address yourself?” She sat down next to him, almost touching.

“Xia Zheng. I’m pretty much a rookie ability user,” he replied simply. Sigrid felt a pang of regret hearing he was a newcomer, thinking she might not profit much.

But as she surreptitiously searched his profile through hidden channels, she discovered that though Xia Zheng was a newcomer with only a few months’ experience, he had advanced from E-class to C-class—a remarkable feat. His evaluation was “Dragon” level, extremely rare, meaning the Professional League valued him highly and saw limitless potential. She immediately decided it was worth investing in him, even if it meant some personal sacrifice.

Sigrid took a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses from above the fireplace, poured two small servings—about a fifth full—and handed Xia Zheng one.

“Sorry, I don’t drink. Besides, I’m not yet of age,” Xia Zheng declined.

“Oh? Forgive my thoughtlessness. It’s rare to see underage ability users, and they’re usually accompanied by elders or teammates, seldom alone,” Sigrid said in surprise. Xia Zheng’s appearance was much more mature than when he was in school months ago, but on closer inspection, traces of youth remained.

The reason Xia Zheng refused wasn’t the age itself, but that he needed to keep a clear head while shopping, not be distracted by wine or beauty.

Sigrid didn’t bring up the products right away, instead complaining about the heat indoors, hinting at taking off her dress, and lamenting how a delicate beauty like herself was struggling in the harsh north for a living instead of enjoying a privileged life—painting a pitiful picture.

Unfortunately, Xia Zheng was immune to such tactics. Having encountered Shen Hua and Nalan Sheng—both exceptional beauties—he’d built up strong resistance to women of Sigrid’s caliber.

He deliberately stood up, feigning anger and preparing to leave. Sigrid hurried to stop him, returning to her professional demeanor.

“Well then, Mr. Xia, let me formally recommend these two products. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.” She produced her phone and projected two items holographically—both clearly extraordinary.