Chapter 9: Task Reassignment

As soon as Li Mingxing returned to the entrance of his neighborhood, he sensed that something was off about the atmosphere. Activating his Sinister Eye, he noticed that the building housing the Russians had lost half of its natural, wild, icy aura—evidently, the bodyguards stationed outside had already captured half of them during his absence.

He also observed that all the windows in that building were covered by drawn curtains, yet through the gaps, he could discern eyes watching him from within.

Li Mingxing, holding his bottle of cola, was contemplating his next move. He needed to pour all the poison he’d brought right at the Russians’ doors, and he absolutely couldn’t let anyone else discover it.

Having made up his mind, he strolled back to his apartment as if nothing was amiss. Inside, he changed into his disguise and quietly hid in a safe spot to wait.

He remained there until night fell. Only then did he transform into a wisp of black mist and sneak toward the Russians’ building. Although he lacked true stealth abilities, he still employed some techniques he’d learned from the battle leopard. Cautiously, he crept to each door where the Russians lived, listening briefly at each before pouring out his freshly concocted poison.

About fifteen minutes later, Li Mingxing cautiously approached one of the rooms and kicked the door open with a single blow. He darted to the stairwell, and when he heard no movement inside, he rushed in.

There he found four or five burly Russians glaring at him, but their utterly immobilized states struck him as rather amusing. After considering for a moment, Li Mingxing took out his liquid poison and fed each of them another drop before moving on to the next room.

After clearing out every room, he didn’t bother dragging these Russians back to his own unit. Instead, he rummaged through their luggage. Soon enough, he found several guns, bullets, and some medicines—clearly, these Russians had come prepared for a major operation. Unfortunately for them, they’d chosen the wrong place to stay and were now trapped.

Now their luck had worsened: felled by Li Mingxing’s poison, all they could do was watch helplessly as he rifled through their possessions.

At this moment, Li Mingxing’s mentor, Raymond, emerged. Casting a glance at the incapacitated Russians, he said, “You did well this time.”

“This was just a coincidence. If I hadn’t stumbled into this, I might’ve been off hunting lions on the African savannah instead,” Li Mingxing replied humbly.

“Hunting lions would benefit you as well. Many of your skills relate to lions, and learning from them would serve you well,” Raymond replied bluntly. “So, what do you plan to do with these people? Bring them all to your city?”

“I plan to select the best twenty. As for the rest, I’ve considered killing them, but I worry it might attract unwanted attention,” Li Mingxing said.

“You mean the ones guarding outside the complex? They’re a bit capable, but don’t worry—once you reach the level of an ordinary hero, you won’t need to fear them at all. As for these men, let me help you. How about letting them make a suicidal charge?”

Li Mingxing glanced at the Russians, understanding that there was little alternative. He selected the twenty strongest, then nodded to Raymond.

Raymond smiled faintly and produced a black-covered book. The moment he opened it, Li Mingxing heard the wails and screams emanating from its pages. The book was bound in black leather, with yellowed parchment inscribed in black, red, and green ink detailing various spells.

Raymond found a particular spell and pointed gently. Instantly, Li Mingxing saw a giant green hand appear above the Russians left behind. The paralyzed men suddenly sprang to life, grabbed their weapons, and charged out frantically.

As they rushed out, Raymond took out a sack, quickly stuffed the selected Russians inside, and pulled Li Mingxing along—next moment, they found themselves back in Li Mingxing’s apartment.

At that moment, Li Mingxing heard gunfire erupt at the entrance to the neighborhood. It rang out briefly before ceasing. Seizing the opportunity, Li Mingxing glanced outside and saw the bodyguards carrying out the Russians’ corpses—none had survived.

Raymond, however, paid the Russians’ fates no mind. Seated in Li Mingxing’s room, he casually grabbed each of the surviving Russians and tossed them into a scroll he held.

After repeating this twenty times, Raymond handed the scroll to Li Mingxing. “This is the blueprint for a training ground. Build it as instructed, and these twenty men will become your training tools.”

Taking the scroll, Li Mingxing didn’t open it right away. Instead, he said, “Mentor, I’d like to take on a mission in the real world.”

Raymond was rather surprised. He regarded Li Mingxing for a long while before finally smiling. “It’s good you have such ambition. There are two available missions— which will you choose?”

“I can’t decide yet, so I’d like to know the differences between the Beast Pen and the Resource Warehouse,” Li Mingxing hesitated. “And, of course, I’d like to know why you offered me these two options.”

“You’ve figured out a few things, haven’t you?” Raymond replied. “These choices are meant to help you maximize your abilities. The Beast Pen is for training mounts and mobile transports. It relates to that giant elephant you received—having it will increase your Beast Pen’s growth by about ten percent compared to others, which is why I’d recommend it.”

“As for the Resource Warehouse, it corresponds to the marketplace. Only with a warehouse can you subdivide your resources, rather than calculating everything as a single unit.”

“Subdivision? Is that really useful?” Li Mingxing asked.

“Of course it’s useful. Imagine a bag of gems is one unit. But if you want to create a single gargoyle, you only need one gem. What about the rest? You wouldn’t waste a whole unit just for one gargoyle. With subdivision, you’ll know exactly how many gems a gargoyle requires.”

With that explanation, Li Mingxing understood. After thinking seriously for a while, he asked, “Which do you think I should choose?”

“That depends on your plans. If, after this mission, you intend to enter the Inner World, then I suggest the Beast Pen—you’ll need a mount there. But if you want to continue with real-world missions, the Resource Warehouse is the better choice.”

After Raymond’s explanation, Li Mingxing nodded firmly. “Then I’ll choose the Resource Warehouse. I hope it won’t be too difficult.”

Raymond smiled. “It won’t be hard. You’re still just an apprentice hero; no one will make things difficult for you.”

Li Mingxing accepted the mission from Raymond. After reading it, he realized his mentor was telling the truth—the task wasn’t difficult. He simply needed to acquire a set of measuring tools for subdividing resources.

If he wanted to finish quickly, he could just visit a gold shop and buy plenty.

Still, Li Mingxing sensed it wouldn’t be so simple. He shared his thoughts with Raymond, who chuckled. “Good—you’re not being reckless just because the mission seems easy. Every mission has layers. If you only bring ordinary tools, you’ll only complete half the mission. The other half…”

“The other half involves magic, doesn’t it?” Li Mingxing interrupted. “If you use these resources as the foundation for a building, there must be a universal power unknown to people in the real world. We can call it magic, or any other name. Am I right?”

“Exactly. So think carefully about how to complete the mission in the best possible way.”

With that, Raymond waved his hand and vanished before Li Mingxing’s eyes. Seeing his mentor’s uncanny abilities, Li Mingxing finally understood just how vast the gap between them truly was.

He also realized that, for now, it would be wise to heed Raymond’s advice—perhaps, with his mentor’s guidance, his path forward would become much clearer.