Kai walked out of the combat power testing area. In a corner where no one noticed, he took out the Lone Wolf Medal, transformed it into a mask, and put it on his face.
The mask was cyan - based, with the character "一" written in the lower - left corner, representing Kai's strength: first - rank soldier.
After putting on the mask, Kai's clothes also suddenly changed into a slightly loose, black combat suit.
In this way, even acquaintances would find it difficult to recognize Kai from his appearance.
When Kai walked towards the [Mission Collection Area], many eyes were cast in his direction.
"Look, it's a member of the Lone Wolves!"
"He's really amazing. He doesn't look very old. He must have passed the soldier test recently, right?"
"To choose the path of the Lone Wolf, he's got guts! I want to be a Lone Wolf in the future!"
"....."
These people whispered, for fear that Kai would hear what they said.
Lone Wolves were among the most powerful group of soldiers!
Precisely because there were few external restrictions, when Lone Wolves carried out their operations, their methods could be more intense, even cruel!
No one wanted to offend a Lone Wolf, even if he was currently only a first - rank soldier!
"This is the place, the Wolf's Den?"
Kai looked at the name of the mission collection area and smiled slightly. "This is kind of interesting."
Entering the Wolf's Den, the layout here was completely different from the outside.
The Wolf's Den was more like a bar with a sluggish business. It had a European - style classical decoration, dim lighting, slow music, and tables and chairs were placed messily. The guests gathered in groups of three or five, forming their own small circles.
The bar counter was in the very center of the Wolf's Den, and above it hung four large screens, alternately displaying the currently available missions.
As soon as Kai entered the Wolf's Den, someone in the corner suddenly shouted.
"A new guy is here."
Instantly, Kai became the focus of everyone in the Wolf's Den. A handsome - looking man raised his wine bottle.
"This round is on me!"
"The consumption for this round is paid for by Mr Smith!"
Soon, the robot bartender served each person a small bottle of beer, and Kai was no exception.
Picking up the wine bottle, Kai nodded slightly to Mr Smith, then raised his head and drank it all in one gulp.
The refreshing beer went down his throat straight to the depths of his soul, making him couldn't help but let out a moan of comfort.
"So straightforward!"
"Kid, I'm optimistic about you. Come to the capital and have a drink with me!"
After a few words of excitement, the bar returned to its previous calm.
The Wolf's Den was the lair where Lone Wolves gathered, and it was also a small community they formed spontaneously.
People who chose the path of the Lone Wolf always recognized their kind more!
Among the three paths for soldiers, the casualty rate of Lone Wolves had always been the highest!
After all, whether it was the legion or the mercenary corps, they had the backing of official forces, with absolute and sufficient medical support, so the safety factor was higher.
Of course, while Lone Wolves had the highest casualty rate, they also had the most terrifying rate of success in becoming outstanding!
The strength of those who chose to be Lone Wolves increased much faster than their peers!
This was one of the charms of the Lone Wolf!
Putting the empty wine bottle on the table, Kai looked up at the large screen. There were quite a few missions on it.
The top - most and pinned one was:
[Hunt down the leader of the Fourth Demon Sect!]
"Provide valuable clues, and you will be rewarded with 100,000 - 10,000,000 gold coins!"
"Capture the leader of the Fourth Demon Sect alive, and you will be rewarded with an SSS - grade weapon of the same level and 10 points of War God Merit!"
"Provide the body of the leader of the Fourth Demon Sect and confirm his death, and you will be rewarded with an SSS - grade piece of equipment of the same level and 2 points of War God Merit!"
"..."
In addition to the leader of the Fourth Demon Sect, there were also wanted missions related to the deputy leader and core members.
However, most of these missions far exceeded Kai's current strength.
The weakest ones were at the warlord level!
If he encountered them on the battlefield, Kai might lose his life just by being glared at by them!
"Let's see which missions are suitable for me."
Kai's eyes moved down, and he started rummaging through the missions that a first - rank soldier could receive.
...
In the corridor outside the director's office in the combat power testing hall.
A bald - headed manager was pacing back and forth, with a struggling expression, clearly engaged in a fierce mental battle.
"To tell or not to tell... this is a question...."
If he concealed it and pretended nothing had happened.
In case the matter was exposed and it was discovered that a mysterious genius had slipped through his hands, when the time came for retribution, the bald - headed manager couldn't afford it!
If he reported this matter to his superiors, although the bald - headed manager was at fault first, there was still room for remedy. Considering that he took the initiative to confess, he should be given a lighter punishment!
Finally, the bald - headed manager summoned up his courage, raised his slightly trembling hand, and knocked on the door of the director's office.
"Come in."
Creak -
Like a primary school student who had made a mistake, the bald - headed manager hung his head and stutteringly explained everything that had happened earlier.
From the new employee setting the wrong difficulty mode, the angry geniuses gathering to cause trouble, to deleting the video in private to cover up the accident.
He didn't dare to hide anything from the director.
The director was a warlord who had retired from the front line and had a close relationship with the legion commanders. Both in terms of strength and connections, he was someone the bald - headed manager had to look up to.
To play tricks in front of the director was simply courting death!
After listening to the bald - headed manager's report, the director, contrary to expectations, didn't fly into a rage as expected. Instead, he pointed to the sofa.
"Why are you standing? Sit down and talk."
"Yes... yes!"
The bald - headed manager nodded repeatedly. He only dared to sit on the edge of the sofa, with his back straight. His chubby belly pressed against his legs, making him look like a ball, which was rather comical.
The director picked up the teapot, took a sip of tea, and said unhurriedly.
"The fact that you came to report to me means that, at least, you're smart. If you dared to hide something like this, you really should go to the Abyss Plane to dig stones."
"I was muddle - headed for a moment and deleted the video. I deserve to die!"
The bald - headed manager said, hating himself for his incompetence. "Director, if we go to the technical department to recover the video now, it should still be in time!"
"Recover the video? Who said anything about recovering the video?"
The director's words left the bald - headed manager stunned.
If they didn't recover the video, how could they find out the identity of the mysterious genius?
A person with the overall quality of only a first - rank soldier who could pass the neural reaction test of a third - rank soldier.
If this wasn't a genius, what was it?!
The bald manager sat blankly on the sofa, his eyes confused, and he felt like he unknew what he was doing.
"This time, you only saw the first layer, but not the third layer."
The director put down the teapot.
"The video you deleted, it was a good move. Not only should the test video be deleted.
Keep a backup of the video from the moment they entered the testing hall and report it to the superior department. Delete the rest!"
"Ah?"
The bald - headed manager was completely confused, feeling that his IQ wasn't enough.
"But, but why?"
"Old leader, please don't keep me in suspense. Hurry up and tell me!"
"These videos must be deleted!"
The director stood up, flicked a cigarette out of the cigarette box, and threw it in front of the bald - headed manager.
The bald - headed manager caught the cigarette and was about to light it when he was reminded.
"No smoking in my office."
The bald - headed manager quickly put the cigarette behind his ear.
The director lit a cigarette, exhaled a smoke ring, and said confidently.
"Xiao Yu, let me ask you, does our human race lack a third - rank soldier?"
"No, it doesn't!"
"Exactly. This mysterious genius, whether he's a third - rank soldier, a third - rank general, or even a ninth - rank warlord, so what?
To reverse the situation of the war, it's definitely not one or two warlords who can do it. We need higher - order powerhouses!"
Speaking of this, the director's expression dimmed a bit.
At his peak, he had also possessed the strength of a warlord, charging into battles and killing enemies recklessly.
But after being severely injured, he was no longer as brave as before and could only retreat to the second line to handle some logistical work.
It was precisely because he had once stood high enough that the director had a broader vision and a more thorough way of looking at problems!
He could cut to the chase and be incisive.
The director continued.
"This mysterious genius's current combat power is still weak, and he has a long way to go.
If we pay too much attention to him too early, it will be like pulling up the seedlings to help them grow, which will bring more harm than good.
We just need to know that he's a genius of the human race. That's enough. As for how far he can go, it depends on himself."
"But, but..."
The bald - headed manager subconsciously retorted.
"But if we can find him and provide him with more resources, wouldn't it make him grow faster?"
"Normally, that would be the case, but you've overlooked a very important point."
The director had a crafty smile on his face and said meaningfully.
"Think carefully about that group of young people with extraordinary backgrounds you mentioned earlier, those difficult - to - get - along - with guys.
Wasn't it them who gathered to cause trouble and forced you to delete the video?"
"Yes, yes!"
"Because the video was deleted, and that genius chose the [Lone Wolf] camp, making it impossible for you to find out any information, right?"
"Exactly!"
The bald - headed manager kept nodding. He seemed to have thought of something.
Could it be.....
"Is all this really just a coincidence? Haven't you ever thought that the mysterious genius might be hiding among this group of young people?"
Hiss -
The bald - headed manager gasped, feeling a chill run through his body.
Could it really be like this?!
Under the director's reasoning, the truth was perfectly restored.
This was a big game!
The bald - headed manager couldn't help but sigh.
What a meticulous - minded and flawless - calculating genius!
A tree is hidden in the forest, and a stone is hidden in the mountain!
"That is to say, this genius doesn't want to expose his strength and true identity at all!"
The director said confidently.
"He must come from a warlord, or even a war - god family. The resources he has on his own are enough to meet his growth needs!
At the same time, if he shows too strong a talent and strength, he will instead put himself in a more dangerous situation!"
The bald - headed manager was completely convinced!
The director's analysis was flawless, with no loopholes at all!
"Since he doesn't want to expose his identity, there must be a reason for it."
Finally, the director made a final decision.
"We'll help him make a backup of the other videos on a hard drive and delete them from the cloud.
Submit the hard drive along with the report of this incident. Leave the rest to the superior department to handle."
"Director, your insight is amazing!"
The bald - headed manager nodded in praise and then asked curiously, "Which department usually takes care of this kind of thing?"
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."
The director stood by the window, crushed out the cigarette butt, and his slightly thin lips moved a few times, but he ultimately didn't say the name.
Since human soldiers could choose the [Lone Wolf] camp and grow up alone in the dark.
How could they be completely left alone to struggle on their own?
Even the loneliest wolf has a shadow.
"Shadow."
Just thinking of these two words made the director's heart throb.
The secret organization [Shadow] created by the most powerful figure, which escorted and silently watched over the [Lone Wolves].
Just waiting for a new wolf king to be born.
"Will Shurason be the new wolf king, the new most powerful figure?"
No one could answer this question. Only time could tell.
...
"Achoo!"
Kai sneezed. "Who's thinking of me?"
He rubbed his eyes. There were so many first - rank soldier tasks that Kai was almost dazzled.
Finally, he had to narrow down the scope of the tasks.
"First - rank soldier, Aurora City, today!"
After setting the filtering conditions, dozens of tasks were presented in front of Kai.
"Assist the city defense department in routine patrols, duration half a day, reward 3 gold coins!"
"Assist the emergency support team of the city defense department, duration one day, reward 5 gold coins, and an additional amount will be added according to the difficulty of a single emergency mission!"
"Go to the Third Central School in Aurora City to teach students combat skills, duration three hours, reward 6 gold coins, and an additional 2 gold coins per hour for overtime!"
"....."
Kai excluded the tasks that took too much time. After all, he still had to go to school and couldn't spend the whole day on missions.
He couldn't forget his primary job!
"Exclude all auxiliary - type and life - type tasks."
Finally, only three tasks were left for Kai to choose from:
Cooperate with the city defense department to encirclement and suppression the followers of the Fourth Demon Sect. The opponents are equipped with light and heavy weapons. There are three first - rank soldiers. The operation time is uncertain. Reward in gold coins, 50 gold coins for each soldier killed!
Track down the missing follower of the Fourth Demon Sect, [Maxwell Johnson]. Provide clues and get a reward of 200 gold coins, 50 gold coins for the body, and 100 gold coins for capturing him alive!
Cooperate with the city defense department to hunt down the followers of the Fourth Demon Sect, be responsible for the defense of a certain area. The time is undetermined. Reward 30 gold coins, and 200 gold coins for killing the opponent.
"These three tasks all have opportunities for combat, which can just let me test the results of this period of time."
Among the three tasks, the first one was the first to be excluded by Kai.
Most likely, their operation time would be during the day when Kai was still busy with school.
At the same time, collaborating with the city defense department was not good news for Kai to hide his identity!
Kai's eyes fell on the name [Maxwell Johnson].
[This is a big fish. He's not pretending anymore. He's revealed that he's the son of the leader of the Fourth Demon Sect!]
"Son of the leader? I can't afford to mess with this. I'll pass!"
Kai was about to skip this option.
[He once received the baptism of the demon god. Now he's seriously injured, suffering from a backlash of magic power, paraplegic, and only has the strength of a second - rank soldier. There are no guards around him.]
Kai's eyes narrowed slightly. He was a bit tempted.
A second - rank soldier. Kai did have the strength to fight. And the other party was the son of the leader. Just this identity was invaluable!
The leader of the Fourth Demon Sect was seriously injured and was currently on the run.
Now the Fourth Demon Sect was like a tree that had fallen and its monkeys scattered. Even the son of the leader didn't have strong guards around him.
While Kai was still hesitating, a new line of prompt popped up.
[Maxwell Johnson has clues to tracking down the leader.]
The leader of the Fourth Demon Sect!
Kai's eyes lit up. He had seen the wanted notice of the other party before. Just providing clues could get a sky - high reward of at least 100,000 gold coins!
Fortune favors the bold.
Moreover, in this battle, the enemy was in the open and Kai was in the dark. If the situation was not right, Kai could run away at any time!
Low risk, high return.
Kai walked straight to the bar counter and looked at the equally masked lady.
"Hello, I want to receive the task numbered NJDS."
"Okay, please wait a moment. The Lone Wolf Medal is being scanned."
"The task has been successfully received. Complete it within 7 days to get the corresponding reward. If it's not completed on time, it will be recorded in the file."
The lady's voice was very sweet. She bowed slightly to Kai.
"I wish you an early completion of the task and a triumphant return."