In the heart of Feiniaoshi City stood a towering twin skyscraper, made entirely of reinforced glass. This magnificent structure was the headquarters of the renowned Lin Group, a city giant responsible for constructing half the new buildings in the city—practically a city tycoon!
Zhao Manyan led the group directly here, and after speaking to the building's secretary, they made their way to the top floor.
When the secretary informed Lin Junxian of the group's request, he couldn't help but think his secretary lacked common sense.
Still, he wouldn't berate his pretty secretary. Instead, he fixed his sharp gaze on this group of young-looking people like Mo Fan and the others, then spoke sternly, "I hope you're not wasting my time. The waters around Feiniaoshi are infested with a sea demon clan. There were signs of their presence seven or eight years ago, and in recent years, their numbers have exploded. The city government has sent hunters to exterminate them, but with very little success!"
To Lin Junxian, this group looked like a team of college students on a field trip. Magic academy students might be strong, but they didn't have the experience or expertise of professional hunters. Fighting demons requires brains, experience, and real combat knowledge—skills that don't come from fancy magic certifications.
Though Lin Junxian wasn't a magician himself, as a member of a prestigious family, he knew enough to realize that just being powerful wasn't enough to defeat demons. Especially not a whole clan of sea demons. Without a full-fledged mage army, heading into those waters would likely result in a total wipeout!
But Jiang Shaoxu, always proud and fiery, was unimpressed by Lin Junxian's tone. She retorted sharply, "You don't need to worry about us. If we've taken this job, we're confident we can handle it. Stop doubting us. Just give us all the information you have on the sea demons, prepare the necessary supplies, and then you can sit back in your fancy office with your pretty secretary and wait for our good news."
Lin Junxian's mouth twitched slightly at this. After a moment, he replied, "Fine. But let me make this clear: you're doing this of your own accord. If your parents, your school, or your backers come after me later, I'm not taking the blame. This is a bad investment for me, but I still care about my reputation."
Though this mission felt like a loss for him, he knew he could recover in the future. He also knew these young mages must come from powerful backgrounds. No one of their age would dare venture beyond the safe zones unless they were from major magical families.
So, he had to make sure they understood the risks upfront.
The group, however, wasn't bothered by his warning.
After their discussion, Lin Junxian generously arranged for them—along with Liu Meng, making it thirteen in total—to stay in the building's hotel. He also ensured they were supplied with all the necessary tools for hunting sea demons. The most important items were medicines—especially antidotes. They carried at least a dozen or so different antidotes, as the toxins didn't just come from demons. Special environments often harbored toxic air, poisonous plants, or venomous mist, and even touching certain vegetation could cause poisoning.
While they didn't need that much just for a sea demon hunt, Nan Jue had them prepared for future encounters too. Essentially, she was treating Lin Junxian as a fat sheep ready to be slaughtered, making sure to take full advantage of his resources.
Soon enough, Lin Junxian had everything delivered to their hotel. Afterward, Ai Jiangtu and Nan Jue began strategizing.
Mo Fan, on the other hand, didn't care much for strategy. Strategy was only crucial when you were at a disadvantage, but when you had the upper hand, it wasn't necessary at all.
After resting for a day, the thirteen of them, along with the captain, set off for the waters beyond Feiniaoshi City the next morning.
Though the area beyond Feiniaoshi was indeed a sea, it was dotted with many uninhabited islands. These islands used to be ecological preserves and were part of the safe zone, popular with tourists who liked natural environments. However, after several incidents in recent years, the islands were abandoned and became desolate. The safe zone's boundaries were pulled back to the coastline, and those scattered islands turned into territories ruled by demons.
With the safe zone shrinking, local fishermen and merchants suffered greatly. It also severely affected the city's trade routes. No one dared conduct business in those waters anymore. Ships would disappear without a trace, along with the valuable cargo they carried—like throwing money into the sea.
In recent years, major investors had pulled out of Feiniaoshi City. Only a few wealthy families, like the Lin Group, stubbornly hung on, trying to maintain the illusion of prosperity with their money. They kept building luxury ocean-view properties and skyscrapers, but anyone who knew the situation wouldn't want to live there.
After all, why would anyone stay in a place where safety couldn't be guaranteed?
The city government wasn't ignoring the problem either. They had sent teams to exterminate the sea demons multiple times, but none had succeeded.
Sure, if you offered enough money, there would always be hunters willing to take the job. The problem was that the cost was enormous. Neither the Lin Group nor the city government could afford it anymore. Worse yet, they'd often pay, only for the demons to survive, and everything would end in failure.
At that moment, on the slightly murky sea, a white ship slowly moved, gradually leaving the boundaries of the safe zone behind.
Unlike on land, where safe zones could be fortified with watchtowers, strongholds, and outposts to block demons, the sea was different. The so-called safe zone at sea was merely marked by a few sea towers, with maybe a few military mages stationed there—nowhere near enough to form a real defense.
Thankfully, sea demons weren't as common as land demons. Most coastal cities and towns could rely on a small military force to stay safe.
Feiniaoshi City, however, was an exception. The waters here had seen increasingly frequent appearances of sea demons over the years, and these demons were exceptionally powerful.
Their presence had driven the city into decline. And yet, because they didn't pose an immediate catastrophic threat, there hadn't been any large-scale appeals for aid.
As they passed through the safe zone, they soon spotted some scattered reefs sticking out of the water—weather-beaten rocks, smoothed over by years of wind and waves.
These reefs shouldn't have been there. They posed a major hazard to cargo ships, but with the economic downturn, no one had bothered to clear these obstacles.
Seeing the reefs, Liu Meng shouted for the captain to steer clear of them.
(End of Chapter)