10: Chapter 10, Second Trainee

"I won't die."

Zhao Ye answered quickly, so quickly it was as if he were trying to convince himself.

After the grey mist completely dispersed, he first stretched his limbs, then reached out to touch his back.

Feeling his hand covered in blood, his face turned noticeably paler, yet he still stood straight.

The face of the man behind the stone tablet could not be seen clearly, but his voice sounded younger than in the grey message.

"Are you the Fire Keeper?" Zhao Ye asked.

"Yes."

"Is this Xinhuo Hall?"

"Yes."

"Are there any doctors?"

Lu Chen was silent for half a second.

"Not at the moment."

Zhao Ye closed his eyes. "Then why did you ask about my injuries first?"

Lu Chen was left speechless, only able to point to the sealed bag in his hand. "Submit the mission item first, I'll find a way."

Zhao Ye placed the box containing the black rusty curved nail in front of the stone tablet, not letting go immediately.

"I'm handing this over to you, how will it be handled later?"

"Recovered, sealed, and analyzed. It won't flow back into the hands of ordinary people."

"Can you guarantee that?"

"I can."

Zhao Ye finally let go.

The grey mist lifted the box, and the black rusty curved nail disappeared into the firelight.

The front of the stone tablet displayed the mission settlement, while the back revealed resource information visible only to Lu Chen.

[Abnormal Residue: black rusty curved nail.]

[Recoverable source essence: 20.]

[Organization retention 70%: 14 source essence.]

[Member contribution conversion 30%: 60 contribution points.]

[Original source essence: 2.]

[Current source essence: 16.]

The front of the stone tablet revealed content that Zhao Ye could see.

[Candidate test complete.]

[Contribution points obtained: 60.]

[Permission update: Candidate → Apprentice.]

[Official Mark of the Torch generating.]

The temporary Fire Seal on the inside of Zhao Ye's right wrist lit up again, the lines much more stable than before, then faded into his skin.

"Can I exchange contribution points for medicine?" he asked directly.

"Yes."

"Do you have any now?"

Lu Chen glanced at the empty exchange catalog.

"There will be shortly."

He placed his hand on the stone tablet and consumed two points of source essence to temporarily construct a basic hemostatic agent.

[Constructing basic hemostatic agent.]

[Consumed source essence: 2.]

[Current source essence: 14.]

A transparent medicine tube condensed inside the stone cabinet.

[Basic hemostatic agent]

[Price: 20 contribution points]

[Stock: 1]

Zhao Ye looked at the price, his brows furrowing. "I risked my life to earn sixty, and you're selling a bottle of medicine for twenty?"

"Raw materials, construction, and subsequent inventory all require source essence."

"So, no reimbursement then."

"There are no reimbursement rules during the Candidate test phase."

"Your rules sure know how to pick places to save money."

Lu Chen heard the sarcasm and could only pretend not to hear it.

"Are you exchanging it or not?"

"Exchange."

[Consumed contribution points: 20.]

[Current contribution points: 40.]

The medicine tube fell into Zhao Ye's hand. He pulled out the stopper and poured the liquid directly onto the wound on his back.

A burning sensation exploded instantly; Zhao Ye arched forward, his palms bracing against the edge of the stone tablet, his teeth clattering together.

"You didn't say it would hurt this much."

"It's my first time making it too."

Zhao Ye slowly looked up. "You'd better not say that a second time."

A few seconds later, the bleeding stopped, and the edges of the wound began to close. He touched his back and looked at the empty medicine tube.

"The effect is good."

"So, what about your previous evaluation?"

"Pain and effectiveness are not mutually exclusive."

After confirming that Zhao Ye was not in immediate danger, Lu Chen began to analyze the black rusty curved nail.

[Analyzing black rusty curved nail.]

[Consumed source essence: 3.]

[Obtained low-level protection scheme: black rust guard plate.]

[Obtained Ability Seed prototype: Iron Oath-Keeper.]

[Current source essence: 11.]

In the firelight, the black rust on the curved nail was peeled away layer by layer. The relatively stable parts condensed into two thin plates, their edges still tinged with a dull, rusty color.

[black rust guard plate stock: 2.]

[Function: Withstand one low-level metal contamination erosion.]

The Iron Oath-Keeper was still just an ability prototype and could not be exchanged. Lu Chen temporarily locked the full description in the backend, not wanting to dangle a carrot in front of Zhao Ye that he couldn't currently provide.

Just then, the grey mist on the other side of the hall churned.

Shen Qinghe walked in.

She had originally come to check for updates to the exchange catalog, but the first thing she saw was Zhao Ye covered in dust, his uniform torn, and a bloody medicine tube lying by his feet.

"Did you walk in, or were you beaten in by something?" she asked.

Zhao Ye looked at her. "Who are you?"

"An Apprentice who arrived earlier than you."

"Not by many days, though."

"At least I wasn't bleeding when I came in."

Zhao Ye looked down at his back, which had already stopped bleeding. "I'm not bleeding now either."

The two stared at each other for a moment; the atmosphere was nothing like the camaraderie of a first meeting that Lu Chen had envisioned.

He had originally intended to make a formal introduction, but Shen Qinghe had already walked to the exchange catalog and seen the newly added black rust guard plate.

"Was this analyzed from the thing he brought back?"

"Yes," Lu Chen said.

Hearing "analyzed," Zhao Ye immediately turned his head. "That nail from earlier turned into this?"

"The controllable rules within it were reconstructed into a protective item."

"Then what is the Iron Oath-Keeper?"

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat.

Did he see the backend notification?

Zhao Ye pointed to the words that had flashed across the stone tablet. "My eyes aren't bad."

"An Ability Seed prototype; it cannot be exchanged yet."

"Will it be possible later?"

"Maybe."

Shen Qinghe said from the side, "What he usually means is that the feature isn't ready yet."

Lu Chen looked at her across the firelight.

"You know him well?"

"He said the same thing when the exchange System wasn't open earlier."

Zhao Ye showed a hint of a smile for the first time. "Understood."

Lu Chen decided to end this topic as soon as possible.

He consumed six points of source essence to upgrade the basic mission module.

[Unlocked: Official mission posting, team suggestions, basic grading, extra recovery settlement.]

[Current source essence: 5.]

The patterns on the stone tablet spread outward, and a new mission immediately appeared.

[Official mission: The Sleepwalking Mirror.]

[Rank: E-Rank, pending review.]

[Location: Nan'an Residential District, Qinghe City.]

[Incident: Three residents have been sleepwalking at night consecutively, one of whom attempted to jump from the seventeenth floor.]

[Objective: Confirm the source of the anomaly, prioritize recovering the complete mirror body; if recovery is impossible, obtain mirror fragments.]

[Suggested number of people: 2.]

[Basic reward: 30 contribution points per person.]

[Hint: Do not look in the mirror alone after midnight.]

Zhao Ye only finished reading the key lines before asking, "Can I smash the mirror?"

Shen Qinghe turned to look at him. "Do you think about smashing everything you encounter first?"

"If I hadn't smashed the one at the construction site, I would have already fallen off the building."

"Mirror anomalies might turn fragments into even more sources of contamination."

"So I can't smash it?"

"I mean, check the scene first."

"Then you're responsible for looking, and I'm responsible for smashing it when it's truly necessary."

Shen Qinghe wanted to retort, but ultimately found that this division of labor didn't have any problems for the time being.

"Send the real-world meeting location to the mission channel," she said. "Also, change your clothes first. If you enter the residential district dressed like that, the property management will call the police first."

Zhao Ye looked down at himself. "This is my only work uniform."

"Go buy one."

"Can it be reimbursed?"

Both of them looked at Lu Chen.

Sitting behind the firelight, Lu Chen felt for the first time that the most troublesome part of establishing an organization might not be the anomalies.

It was reimbursement.

"Not for the time being," he said.

Zhao Ye sighed. "I knew it."

The corners of Shen Qinghe's mouth twitched, as if she wanted to smile but held it back.

They continued to discuss the route. One insisted on checking the resident information first, while the other only cared about where the mirror was placed and whether it could be moved; within a few sentences, they had already clashed twice.

It was discordant, yet it felt more like a real team than two people who were always correct and always obedient.

Lu Chen did not interrupt.

The first temporary team of the Xinhuo Council was barely formed amidst the sounds of arguing over who would pay for the cab fare and who would be responsible for explaining things to the property management.