As Xu Que and Shen Mengchu discussed the future direction of HR, Kun Shao, accompanied by thirteen young members of the Yue family, arrived at the top floor.
Upon seeing these familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar faces, Xu Que gestured for the thirteen to take a seat.
"Introduce yourselves," Xu Que instructed, gazing at the group.
"I am Yue Gang, the eldest nephew of Yue Xiaohu."
"I am Yue Shan, the younger nephew of Yue Xiaohu."
"I am Yue Xiaoqin…"
As the introductions continued, Xu Que gained a general understanding of their roles within the Yue family. However, what caught Xu Que's attention most were Yue Shan and Yue Qing.
In his past life, Shen Yin had promised to look after the Yue family's descendants, only for all of them to be ruined. By the third year of Tian Yuan, only Yue Shan and Yue Qing remained of the thirteen.
But after years of bloody battles, these two had become Shen Yin's trump cards—though even the strongest of aces could fall.
Xu Que remembered well that in the eighth year of Tian Yuan, Shen Yin's twenty-four super-A-class hunters had ambushed a group of super-A-class Soul Eaters. Despite winning, they had lost everything, as none of the hunters survived, and both Yue Shan and Yue Qing had perished in the battle.
In the end, the younger generation of the Yue family was utterly wiped out.
"Do you know why I've summoned you here?" Xu Que asked, looking at the group.
The thirteen exchanged confused glances; they had no idea.
Seeing their lack of awareness of the danger they were in, Xu Que spoke in an icy tone, though his words were paradoxically warm.
"Congratulations, you've all been chosen for my Death Training!"
The group was stunned, failing to comprehend what this 'death training' meant.
Without hurrying to explain, Xu Que casually tossed a prepared file onto the table. When they looked at it, their faces instantly turned to shock—this wasn't death training, this was clearly a mission to send them to their deaths!
"Well? If you wish to join the upper ranks of our company, then sign it, and await your assignment. If you're too afraid to die, you may leave now," Xu Que said nonchalantly.
"I'll sign!" Yue Xiaoqin immediately signed without hesitation.
Seeing the woman sign, the others followed suit and signed their names without delay.
"What about you three?" Xu Que smiled, turning his gaze to the three girls.
"We'll pass on the training. We don't want to throw away our lives for nothing," Yue Qianyu stated.
"Yeah, this is clearly a death trap. You want us thirteen to defend? No way," Yue Qianxue said.
"I'm just plain scared to die!" Yue Lingshan meekly raised her hand.
"Alright, I respect your decision. In a moment, I'll have someone escort you back to the manor. You can explain things to Yue Xiaohu when you return," Xu Que said, waving his hand. The three contracts instantly flew back to him.
The remaining ten were left speechless, having never witnessed such a display of power.
"Kun Shao, please escort them back. Tell Yue Xiaohu that the manor can be occupied for three more years. No need for any special arrangements," Xu Que instructed.
"Got it. I'll take care of them now," Kun Shao replied.
With the three girls escorted away, Xu Que turned his attention back to the remaining ten.
"Congratulations," he said with a smile, "You've chosen to challenge death!"
"I'll have someone take you to choose D-class weapons soon. As for when we depart, you must be ready at all times. But I advise you not to leave this building, as I have no patience for deserters!"
The ten felt uncomfortable under his cold yet confident words but dared not respond, well aware of Xu Que's overwhelming power, as Zhao Xian had warned them.
"Now, I'll leave the floor open to you. Feel free to ask me anything," Xu Que said.
"Xu, I'd like to ask," Yue Xiaoqin began, "If I survive, will I be treated the same as Zhao Ge and the others?"
"Yes," Xu Que nodded.
"In that case, I have no further questions." Yue Xiaoqin sat up straight, awaiting Xu Que's next command.
Xu Que smiled and glanced at the others.
"I have no questions," Yue Gang said, sitting up straighter.
"Neither do I," Yue Qing quickly added.
Seeing no one else had any questions, Xu Que picked up the phone and dialed.
Once the call was answered, Xu Que simply said, "Come up."
Moments later, Huang Bo and Qi Kai arrived.
"Take them downstairs to pick their weapons, then let them rest," Xu Que instructed.
With the ten leaving under Huang Bo and Qi Kai's guidance, Xu Que let out a deep sigh. Honestly, he wasn't used to such situations.
Just as he was lost in thought, Zhao Xian's call came through.
"Xu, Chen Daguo has already ranked the helicopter, and we expect to have Qi Shan sent over within three hours."
"Good. Set up a room for Qi Shan and have two people attend to him. By tomorrow, he should be ready for new missions," Xu Que instructed.
Zhao Xian acknowledged, but after hanging up, he couldn't shake his unease. Though Xu Que had explained what would happen, the notion of Qi Shan getting better... was it too much to believe?
…
Z Country, Xiang City International Airport.
A private flight landed at the airport without prior declaration.
As the plane came to a stop, three black cars swiftly arrived, collected the passengers, and disappeared from the other side of the airport.
Throughout the entire event, the four people in the control tower seemed to have seen nothing.
"What do you think their risk is all about?" a middle-aged man with a square face asked.
"Who cares, as long as the money's good. Besides, we each stand to make a hundred million Y-Country Yuan," a rotund man responded nonchalantly.
The other two didn't speak but exchanged looks before leaving the control room.
Xiang City International Airport, welcoming avenue.
The three black cars sped forward, and in the middle car, Maier admired the crumbling view of Xiang City.
"How's the operation going?" Maier asked, cigar in hand.
"The Night Butterfly organization is all set. They now have seventy-two members. But just yesterday, in the other-dimensional space, Night Butterfly's team wiped out a small group of special forces. According to their intel, the group were from a Z Country martial arts family, something called the Xingyi Alliance," a black-suited bodyguard reported.
"Z Country martial artists, huh?" Maier sneered. "Interesting. I'm curious to see whether their martial arts or my abilities are superior."
"Boss, Miss Lacy advised you to avoid stirring trouble. If Z Country's government notices us…"
Before the bodyguard could finish, Maier interrupted him, "Don't worry. We're here for profit, not to cause trouble."
"Oh, by the way, have we settled on the company's location yet?" Maier asked.
"It's all set. We're just waiting for your announcement," the bodyguard replied.
"Excellent. Once everything is arranged at headquarters, we'll make the announcement here," Maier said with a pleased look, gazing out at the view.
Morning arrived, and Xu Que rose from the company sofa.
He hadn't returned to the Shen family because he had more important business to attend to today.
Checking the time, Xu Que washed up and headed to Qi Shan's room on the sixth floor.
Seeing Xu Que arrive so early, Qi Shan was about to greet him when a mechanical female voice suddenly rang in his ear.
Simultaneously, all humans on Blue Star received the same message!
"Congratulations to the surviving human players. You have successfully completed the Tian Yuan beginner phase. The trading hall, friend connections, warehouse, honor store, territory store, living store, and mysterious store are all now open."
"After big data analysis, the monthly Tian Yuan dimensional rift will erupt in seventy-two hours. Millions of alien creatures will breach the rift barrier. Please be prepared to defend, human survivors."