25: Chapter 25 Wildfire Mercenary Group

Fire borrows the wind's momentum, and the wind aids the fire's might.

The tornado instantly transformed into a towering firestorm, completely engulfing the Mist Beast.

The shrill screams lasted less than three seconds in the storm before coming to an abrupt halt.

Wang Lin withdrew his hands, panting heavily.

The firestorm slowly dissipated, and a charred corpse fell from mid-air, crashing onto the ground.

He walked over and dug out a walnut-sized crystal core from the corpse.

It was a Level 2 beast crystal, more than twice the size of the previous ones, emitting a faint blue glow in the darkness.

Wang Lin put the crystal core into his pocket, not in a rush to absorb it.

He looked down at his own hands.

Level 2 [Infinite Evolution], with both his Fire and Wind Element Superpowers upgraded to Level 2 simultaneously.

He could feel that his control over these two Superpowers was much more proficient, and their power had more than doubled.

He then extended his right hand, which transformed into several Tentacles that pierced into the corpse, activating his devouring ability.

Before long, the corpse shriveled up.

Within his body, there seemed to be a faint, almost imperceptible trace of energy fluctuation.

Wang Lin was silent for a moment, not delving further into it.

Now was not the time to study this.

He turned and disappeared into the night.

On the evening of the fourth day, shortly after Wang Lin returned to his room, that skinny boy came again.

"That... Commander Leí Héng's men were asking about you today."

"They seem to know that you're not in your room every night."

Wang Lin raised an eyebrow: "Did they follow you in?"

"No," the boy shook his head.

"I've repaid your favor; don't come looking for me again."

After saying this, he turned to leave.

"Wait."

Wang Lin took the Level 2 beast crystal from his pocket and tossed it to the boy.

A Level 2 beast crystal was worth 1000 points.

The boy caught it clumsily, and upon seeing what it was, his eyes went wide.

"Th-this is..."

"Consider it an extra reward," Wang Lin said indifferently.

"You can go now..."

The boy stared at him blankly, nodded, tucked the Level 2 beast crystal away, and scurried off.

Wang Lin closed the door and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He was now at Level 2 with both Fire and Wind Element Superpowers, while his opponent was a Level 3 [Blade God].

In terms of sequence ranking, Fire Element was 036 and Wind Element was 045, both far higher than Commander Leí Héng's 067 [Blade God].

The wind aids the fire's momentum, and the fire borrows the wind's might; his lethality had at least doubled.

Theoretically, he could contend with the Level 3 067 [Blade God].

As for physical strength...

Commander Leí Héng had injected a Level 3 genetic serum and had his physique strengthened three times.

But he was a Calamity.

A Calamity's physical strength was inherently higher than an Awakened's, and their recovery rate was worlds apart.

Therefore, in a one-on-one fight, he didn't fear Commander Leí Héng.

But the opponent wouldn't be stupid enough to engage in a one-on-one duel.

...

Early the next morning, Wang Lin stepped out of his room.

He headed toward the central square of the camp, where the Wildfire Mercenary Group's base was located.

He hadn't walked far before he stopped.

Across the street, a few people in mismatched clothes were buying things at a small stall.

Their gazes swept over Wang Lin inadvertently, then shifted away as if nothing had happened.

The corner of Wang Lin's mouth twitched, and he continued walking forward.

The Wild Wolf's people were really keeping a close watch.

He ignored them and headed straight for the square.

The Wildfire Mercenary Group's base was a small two-story building with a wooden sign hanging at the entrance, depicting a burning flame.

Two people, a man and a woman, were standing at the entrance. Seeing Wang Lin approach, they instinctively gripped their weapons.

"Stop, who are you?"

Wang Lin stopped: "I'm looking for Deputy Leader Su Muqing."

"Who are you? Our Deputy Leader doesn't just meet anyone."

Wang Lin glanced at them and said indifferently: "Tell her that Wang Lin is here."

The woman was stunned and whispered something to the person beside her.

The man nodded and turned to run into the building.

A few minutes later, Deputy Leader Su Muqing walked out of the building.

She was wearing a black combat uniform today, her hair tied in a high ponytail, and her face showed a hint of surprise.

"Wang Lin? Why are you looking for me?"

Wang Lin looked at her and got straight to the point: "Commander Leí Héng wants to kill me."

"I know."

"Your Wildfire has a grudge against Wild Wolf."

"Yes."

"Let's cooperate," Wang Lin said, "I'll deal with Commander Leí Héng, you deal with his men."

Deputy Leader Su Muqing stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly laughed.

"You, by yourself, against Commander Leí Héng?"

"Yes."

"He is a Level 3 [Blade God], and you are only Level 1."

Wang Lin didn't speak, but simply raised his hand.

A cluster of blue flames ignited in his palm, brighter and hotter than three days ago.

Deputy Leader Su Muqing's eyes narrowed.

"Level 2?" She was somewhat surprised, "You leveled up in three days?"

Wang Lin withdrew the flames and raised his other hand.

Six Wind Blades formed at his fingertips, rotating and whistling.

Deputy Leader Su Muqing's pupils contracted slightly.

"Wind Element? You're actually a dual-ability user?"

Wang Lin didn't explain, just withdrew the Wind Blades and looked at her.

"Now, do you think I can handle Commander Leí Héng?"

Deputy Leader Su Muqing was silent for a few seconds.

Then she laughed.

"Interesting. Come in and talk."

She stepped aside to clear the path, gesturing for Wang Lin to follow with a tilt of her chin.

Wang Lin stepped inside.

The Wildfire Mercenary Group's base was larger than Wang Lin had imagined.

The first floor was a large hall with several long tables and chairs, where a dozen members were eating or cleaning their weapons.

Seeing Wang Lin walk in behind Deputy Leader Su Muqing, everyone's gazes fell on him in unison.

Wang Lin ignored those gazes and just followed Deputy Leader Su Muqing up to the second floor.

The second floor was a small meeting room with a long table, a few chairs, and a hand-drawn map of Mist Camp hanging on the wall.

Deputy Leader Su Muqing sat at the head of the table and gestured to Wang Lin with her chin: "Sit."

Wang Lin sat down opposite her.

"Speak," Deputy Leader Su Muqing said straightforwardly, "How do you want to cooperate?"

Wang Lin looked at her and asked: "What's the strength of the Wild Wolf side?"

Deputy Leader Su Muqing was silent for a second, her expression darkening.

"There are over thirty people in total."

"Seventeen Awakened and Calamities combined."

"Ten of them have injected a Level 1 genetic serum, and five have injected a Level 2."

Wang Lin raised an eyebrow: "What about the rest?"

"The rest are ordinary people," Deputy Leader Su Muqing said.

"But to be able to survive in Mist Camp, ordinary people are not so ordinary."

"When a real fight breaks out, they aren't much worse than the Awakened."

Wang Lin nodded and asked again: "How many capable fighters does Commander Leí Héng have under him?"

"Five squad leaders."

"Zhou Lie was one of them, and you killed him."

"The remaining four: three are Level 2, and one is Level 1, but his ability is very troublesome—he can turn invisible."

"Invisible?"

"Sequence 89, Shadow Element," Deputy Leader Su Muqing said.

"He's not strong in a head-on fight, but his sneak attacks are deadly."

"Commander Leí Héng treats him as a confidant and takes him wherever he goes."

Wang Lin took note of this information.

"What about you? How many people are in Wildfire?"

Deputy Leader Su Muqing didn't hide it: "Twenty-three official members."

"Fifteen can fight. Nine Awakened and Calamities in total: six Level 1, three Level 2."

Wang Lin looked at her without speaking.

"I know we have fewer people and our strength is not as good as Wild Wolf."

"But Wildfire has been able to survive in Mist Camp until now, and it's not because we have many people."

"Then what do you rely on?"