The Specter Extermination Squad, or SES for short, was officially formed. The squad consisted of the Chief Instructor's disciples and apprentices, a veteran intelligence team, and the Purple Mountain Tribe.
Just like its name, the purpose of the SES was to exterminate the specters. And the one in charge of the team was the Chief Instructor himself, Xing Heero.
Today, the Hero League officially announced SES as an independent squad. No other authority could interfere in the affairs of the SES, without exception, be it the executives or even the Supreme Guardians.
It was more of an independent organization than a squad. Many disagreed with the plan, but the complaints died down when the Supreme Moon, Kim Jung-Mun, expressed his support for the SES.
Wearing his suits, Heero accepted the congratulations from the upper echelons of the major forces. He was accompanied by Kang Seo-Yeon and Bai Xin Yue.
By this time, the rumor about the three of them had spread. No one was surprised, but many cursed Heero behind his back for taking the two goddesses at the same time.
During the official banquet, many men shot dagger glances at him. Of course, the jealousy did not bother Heero. He just wanted the banquet to be over quickly and went back.
But he knew that this was not possible. And as the main character of the event, he could not leave early either.
He sighed and just as he was about to sit down, a father and son came towards him. Heero recognized the son, Yang Mushen, the winner of the Elemental Broadsword with 93.2 billion.
Heero recognized Yang Mushen not as a Gold Class Hero - Rank 1, but as a Whale customer. He naturally smiled at the young man, and Yang Mushen smiled back as he extended his hand.
"Congratulations, Chief Xing!"
Heero extended his hand for a handshake and thanked him, "Thank you."
"This is my father, Yang Jiang Wen!" Yang Mushen introduced his father to Heero.
"Hello, Mr. Yang, nice to meet you," Heero offered a handshake to the man in his fifties.
-Yang Jiang Wen, Emperor Class Hero - Rank 10. The head of the Yang family.
Bai Xin Yue whispered. She knew that the man next to her paid too much attention to the rank. Therefore, she whispered to him every time people approached them.
"Hello, Chief Xing! Nice to meet you too, and congratulations!" Yang Jiang Wen extended his hand with a broad smile on his face.
"If you need anything or even help, don't hesitate to call the Yang family!"
Heero nodded in return. After a short exchange of pleasantries, Yang Jiang Wen said goodbye to Heero.
This was what he had done at the banquet. Quite boring and tiring for him.
Again, just as he was about to sit down, a pair came towards him. They were dressed in traditional Japanese clothes, an old man and a middle-aged man in his late forties.
-Hanzo Hayashi, Emperor Class Hero - Rank 14, the next head of the Hanzo Clan.
Bai Xin Yue and Kang Seo-Yeon whispered in rhythm. They did not wait for the pair to approach Heero, but informed him as soon as they were in sight.
Hanzo Yori stopped in front of Heero, but he did not greet or congratulate like the others. He just stood there and looked into Heero's eyes with his sharp gaze.
"Does my face remind you of an acquaintance of yours?" Out of the blue, the old man asked an unexpected question.
Heero lifted the corner of his mouth and seemed to consider the question seriously.
"I wonder... I've met so many people, but I can't remember meeting anyone as familiar as you, Elder."
That was Heero's answer to the question, polite and calm.
Hanzo Hayashi frowned at Heero but made no comment. He just stood silently next to his father as if he was a decoration that always followed Hanzo Yori.
The old man stood there as if they were having a staring contest.
"Know when to retreat and when to advance, young man! Then you will last long..."
After Hanzo Yori threw these words at Heero, he turned around.
Kang Seo-Yeon and Bai Xin Yue took this as a threat, not a warning or a friendly reminder. Their eyes turned sharp and the same as Hanzo Hayashi's.
He stayed where he was and met the gaze of the two women. The tension between them grew as if the fight would break out at any moment.
Heero stopped the two women with a gesture of his hand and opened his mouth, "Thank you for the advice, Elder! But I also have some words for you, leniency for those who confess!"
Hanzo Yori paused for a moment as these words reached his ears. Only for a moment before he continued to walk away from Heero with Hanzo Hayashi following him closely.
The boring banquet ended two hours later. Heero was glad that he was finally free of the boring event.
As soon as the banquet was over, he went to the Hero League headquarters. Now that the SES was formed, Heero immediately set the squad in motion.
*** ***
The 31st floor of the Hero League, an operations office exclusively for the SES was established. This office was for the intelligence team.
Bai Xian Ming chose the experts among the experts and put them into the intelligence team before handing the team over to Heero.
As soon as Heero, Bai Xin Yue and Kang Seo-Yeon entered the office, everyone inside stood up from their chairs and greeted Heero.
"Chief!"
Heero nodded in return as he told them to get back to work. These people were working on locating the mutant village and watching the Specter's movement through the satellite.
He went straight to the main office. A middle-aged man was working inside.
When the door opened, he was annoyed to be disturbed while he was working. But when he looked up and saw that it was his boss, he stood up and said, "Chief!"
"Mnn, so you found the specters, Team Leader Luo?" Heero nodded and asked.
"We detected two suspicious movements through the satellite. Here!" Teamleader Luo pointed to two screens.
"We don't know where they're coming from, but they seem to be heading toward the middle of the mutant village!"
On the screen, a huge group wearing a black cloak rushed towards a direction. A direction where the mutant lived.
After that, Team Leader Luo pointed to the second screen. It was the same as what appeared on the first screen. A huge number of people were moving in a group, wearing a black cloak to hide their appearance.
"Notify Team 1 and Team 2, the work has arrived. Send team 1 to this location and team 2 to this location!" Heero pointed to the first screen and then to the second one.
"Huh? Only two teams?" Teamleader Luo was surprised by the choice.
There were only five squads available in SES at the moment. Squad 1 and Squad 2 consisted of ten people, while Squad 3 to 5 consisted of fifteen people.
Team leader Luo looked at the screen. The black-cloaked group consisted of over fifty people. This number was five times higher than that of Squad 1 and Squad 2. He wondered if he was hearing things.
"Yes, send Squad 1 and Squad 2 to intercept those suspicious groups. Don't worry about them, they can handle that much" Heero confirmed with a nod.
Sun Zhou Yi was the leader of Squad 1 while Musashi Hirata was the leader of Squad 2. Heero felt comfortable sending them over.