25 Investigative Mission

A couple of weeks after the incident with Mu Rong Shao, we were finally assigned a mission. Prior to that, there were a few cleaning up missions where we were sent as a class to clear areas of zombies. We had to wait for Qi Ren and the rest to return first, of course.

That meant squad missions were put on hold for a longer period than I thought they would be. It sucked, but we didn't have a choice. The authorities' word was absolute. There was a reason why we obeyed what they told us to do – it was for the good of humanity. Besides, I needed some time to rest after the whole farce involving the Mu Rong family.

Mu Rong Zhu was still trying to repair relationships with the outside world. Even though disowning his son helped a little, not everyone trusted him. The Mu Rong family's subsidiaries and companies lost a lot of money over the last few weeks, and unrest continued. The authorities put a stop to the rioting and looting, resorting to heavy-handed measures that saw many of the rioters and looters injured. I will refrain from commenting on whether I supported or disapproved of the looting and rioting.

Well, the Mu Rong family had nothing to do with me. As long as they didn't attack me for no reason or tried to kill me like Mu Rong Shao did, I wouldn't bother with them. I wasn't the type to go all ham like some cultivation story protagonists and insist on killing entire clans or families just to "cleanse the root" or some bullshit like that. Usually that was just excuse used by authors to justify their self-insert protagonists' heinous acts of slaughter and mass murder. We were civilized people.

Also, Mu Rong Zhu was not Mu Rong Shao. Perhaps the son learned some things from the father, but people should not be held responsible for the crimes of their family members. Should my parents have to die because I murdered someone? Of course not. That was just absurd.

Putting such moral rhetoric aside, I was a little disappointed when we were sent out on some class mission to kill zombies. Even though I managed to kill about 20 or so, it was a drip compared to the points I would otherwise earn in squad missions involving warrior-category mutants. But it was better than nothing.

Raising my finger, I called up the holographic window to check my stats. They were all around 50 right now, including my Ability, which was at 60. That meant I needed about 190 more to unlock the second stage. There was still a long way to go.

"They have been putting us on high alert for a while now, but none of these so-called commander category mutants have shown up," Pang Fei complained, sprawled on his desk. "It's just nothing but minion-level zombie fodder."

"Maybe intelligence was wrong. They are making the best guesses that they can, but that doesn't mean they will be correct all the time." Nian Qing shrugged.

"But a commander ranked mutant, huh…?" Lei Shu whistled as he looked out of the window. "I wonder how one would look like. It would be cool if we could actually get a glimpse of one."

"Are you crazy?" Pang Fei stormed. "We'll die if it even so much as looks in our direction! We're talking about commander level here! It's capable of laying waste to entire cities!"

"Right. I remember how Bo City fell to a single commander ranked mutant leading a bunch of warrior and minion class mutants." I nodded thoughtfully. "Even the protagonist, Mo Fan, could do nothing about it, despite having cheats and plot armor and dual elements."

Everyone stared at me. "What in the eighteen blazing hells are you talking about?" Lei Shu finally asked.

"Uh, Versatile Mage." I shrugged. "We even have the official web comic translated and published here in the Webnovel website, you know?"

"Dude." Nian Qing shook his head.

"Dude~" Pang Fei dragged out the word, his tone filled with warning.

"Well, anyway…" I cleared my throat. "Let's focus on class for now. Hopefully Instructor Jiao will announce something."

"Do you know something?" Lou Qian asked from the other side of the room, her expression quizzical. I shook my head.

"No, but it's been too long since the last squad mission."

"From what I've heard, things have quieted down on the frontline, thanks to the increased mission frequency and manpower dispatched to the wasteland." Lou Qian was well informed, as usual. "That means we might not have any squad missions for now. The authorities are thinking of dropping the alert level by one stage, from amber back to green."

"Oh, that's good news. So there's no commander ranked mutant after all." Pang Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn," Lei Shu muttered, disappointed. That earned him a smack from Pang Fei.

"Don't go hoping for a commander ranked mutant to show up! Even if you want to die, don't drag everyone else into it!"

"Now, now…" Nian Qing raised both hands and chuckled, trying to placate the chubby guy.

Inwardly, I was just as disappointed as Lei Shu. Though I agreed with Pang Fei that no news was good news, it meant that I wouldn't have much of a chance to increase my Kill Count and improve my Ability. Where was I going to get 200 points from at this rate? Clearing out minion category zombies was too slow and would take too long.

Well, it wasn't as if I was in any rush. Slow and steady progress was still good. I was falling into the trap of wanting instant gratification, forgetting that reality never proceeded the way I wanted to. As they said in the army, it was always "hurry up and wait." Most combat missions were spaced out by long periods of doing nothing but waiting for the actual fighting to take place. Zombies and mutants wouldn't conveniently show up just so I could increase my attributes. Life simply didn't work that way, and the world didn't revolve around me and my needs.

As it turned out, there was no announcement, but once class ended, Instructor Jiao called for Qi Ren, me and the other squad leaders to speak to him and the principal in individual sessions. I had to wait for my turn, but judging from Qi Ren's jubilant expression when he left the principal's office, I could tell that it was good news. Or bad, depending on one's perspective.

"Student Feng Zhi Ming! Please come in."

"Yes, Instructor Jiao." I went inside, and he nodded at me. At the opposite side of the room, Xiao Zhang waited at his massive desk.

"Student Feng Zhi Ming, we have a new mission for your squad."

At his words, I couldn't help but feel excited. Finally! A chance for me to raise my Kill Count. Unlike class missions, individual squad missions tended to request for the extermination of warrior ranked mutants. Given that each of them was worth 50 points for my Kill Count, this would be an excellent opportunity for me to level up my Ability.

"What is it, sir?"

Xiao Zhang took a deep breath, looking a little sallow and stressed out. I felt a little anxiety at his expression. Despite the opportunity that this mission presented, anything that could weigh down on the old man meant that it was pretty dire.

"This morning, we lost contact with the Bai Zeng research facility. All communications over there went down, and despite repeated attempts, we were unable to establish a connection. We have decided to assign a squad to make a trip there and investigate what happened. If necessary, rescue any survivors and evacuate the facility. Escort them back to District 4 safely."

"Yes, sir."

"You know the nature of Bai Zeng research facility?" Jiao Guan asked. Before I could reply, he continued anyway. "They conduct research on zombies and mutants, as well as experiment on the development of bioweapons. That's why the authorities are…concerned. They suspect that an accident might have happened."

"I see." I knew what he meant by "accident." Probably one of their bioweapons escaped, or the zombies or mutant specimens they had been experimenting on broke out of containment and wreaked havoc on the place.

"The research is of utmost importance," Xiao Zhang said, steepling his fingers. "That's why the authorities want the researchers rescued. They might possess knowledge that will go a long way in helping us find a cure for the zombies or to reverse mutations. It is also possible that they have advanced evolution for evolvers…improvements to their abilities. Whatever the case, it is imperative that you bring them – and what they have learned – back."

"We'll do our best," I promised, though I wondered what would happen if there were no survivors. Well, there was nothing we could do in that case then.

"Prepare your team," Jiao Guan told me. "You set out immediately tomorrow morning. Bai Zeng Research facility is pretty far from District 4 or any of the walls of the fortress city. So it'll be a long trip there and a long trip back. Remember to stock up on water and rations. The school will sponsor you for it, as usual, so don't be stingy. You also need to consider bringing enough supply for any survivors you rescue."

"Understood, sir." I saluted.

With the briefing done, I was dismissed. I immediately gathered my squad, who were waiting eagerly in class after hearing Jiao Guan summon the various squad leaders. Qi Ren, Cheng Yan, Xin Xia and the rest of their squad were gone, already preparing for whatever mission it was that they were assigned.

Surprisingly enough, Lisa was here too. Apparently Lou Qian had called her over. The two girls had become quite close despite them supposedly being rivals as campus flowers or whatever that term was. They were seated next to each other, glancing up when I walked into the classroom. Pang Fei waved for me to join them and I sat on a chair between him and Lisa.

"So what's the mission this time?" He asked eagerly the moment I was seated.

"Are we hunting a warrior ranked mutant again?" Lei Shu asked enthusiastically. I shook my head

"Not this time, I'm afraid. We're doing an investigative mission tomorrow. Here are the details." I tapped my smartphone and sent the mission details to each of them. As they read the digital briefing overlaid in a holographic window, I summed it up as best as I could. "Apparently they lost all contact with Bai Zeng research facility, so we're going to check it out. And if necessary, we'll rescue the researchers in there."

"Rescue…" Nian Qing trailed off, and then turned pale. "You mean the zombies and mutants they were experimenting on in the facility broke free and ran loose?"

"I don't know. Nobody does, it seems. The higher-ups lost all contact with the research facility, remember? Nobody knows what's going on. That's why we're being sent there…to find out what happened." I sighed. "We're going to need a lot of supplies, apparently. Not just for ourselves, but also for the people we might have to rescue."

"I can take care of that," Pang Fei offered. He usually handled the logistics. I nodded gratefully. It would be a pain to order and buy all that stuff, so I was glad my chubby friend was doing it for us.

"Thanks. I'll be counting on you."

"I'll heal whoever needs healing…if there really is an accident in the research facility." Lisa took a deep breath and steeled herself. She didn't seem enthusiastic about this, but she was determined to follow us everywhere we went. That was a relief. Her healing abilities would be vital to our survival, especially when we had no idea what happened.

"All right then. Then let's gather tomorrow and head to Bai Zeng research facility!" Standing up, I raised a fist to the air. The others answered with their own cheers and fists.

I was glad to have such a reliable squad watching my back.