Chapter 18: Training Mission (1/2)

Lu Yin only spoke up once he was done robbing all of Jeraldine’s crystals, “My name is Lu Yin, not Yatar. Don’t call me by the wrong name.”

“Lu Yin? Is that your Earth name?”

He didn’t answer that question, but rather gave her an order, “Log into the universal network and mark Nanjing blue under you.”

Jeraldine chuckled but otherwise ignored him.

He sighed, “You know, I don’t actually like torturing people, but this is a military base and they have all sorts of ways to get you on board.”

“These natives will pay the price for that!” she barked.

That anger was met with a cold glare, “Sure, but your price will be much more terrifying and immediate.”

Jeraldine matched his gaze for a while but eventually caved in. In the end, she was just a student; though she could be proud, cold, and even cruel to the natives of Earth, that was merely due to the difference in their status. When that difference was taken away, all that was left was a normal schoolgirl like any other. Lu Yin watched as she logged in and turned Nanjing blue, noticing that a good portion of the planet had been marked by these aliens. Situations like Jeraldine’s were bound to be exceptional, but large swathes of China, Europe, Africa, and the Americas had changed color. The area that stood out to him most was Hubei; had Liu Shaoge surrendered to a student? Was he killed?

He turned to Jeraldine, “Who is the strongest in this batch of students?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. The Empire itself initiated this evolution, so the students can be from many different schools. Terence was one of the strongest from mine, but I have no idea about the others.”

Lu Yin held back from asking further questions. He was confident in dealing with the current batch of students, but he also knew the true challenge would only begin in two months. With everyone one else busy, he gave himself the task of clearing out any mutant beasts he could detect with his scanner that were in the Realm of Sky. Finishing that task in five days, he called upon all remaining captains, even calling back Luo Yi and Xu San from the frontlines. The latter was dumbstruck to find out that his new master was now stepping in for the Executioner with full control of Nanjing, but that only made him certain that his future looked promising.

Lu Yin had supported Xu San quite a bit already, helping him become a Seeker in this time. He knew that the man’s value would skyrocket once he became a Sentinel, but Xu San simply reveled in the preferential treatment and resolved himself to grow stronger quickly. He believed that the best way for him to aid Lu Yin was to grow more powerful, at which point his own gains would improve as well.

“The most important order of business is to give up on expansion efforts and focus on fortifying Nanjing,” Lu Yin announced to the eight remaining captains.

Someone hesitantly replied, “Carving a path towards the capital was the foundation of the Executioner’s strategy. It wouldn’t be good to stray from his goals.”

“I agree with Lu Yin,” Qin Xuan countered, “Nanjing is too weak to connect to the rest of the country right now; we need to first stabilize this place to ward off external threats.”

Seeing the nods from Feng Hong and the others, Lu Yin stood up, “Then it’s decided. All of the camp’s soldiers are going to be recalled, we’ll begin heading west to reclaim the lost parts of the district.”

The last bit was said as he was leaving the meeting, leaving the others silently looking at each other. Qin Xuan fell into deep thought as she watched Lu Yin leave. She felt that he was even more bold than the Executioner while still wanting to help Nanjing, but the supposed temporary caretaker of the city was overruling Zhou Shan’s strategies. Although she agreed with this change, she wondered how the Sage would react when he awoke.

“Feng Hong, stay close to the Executioner for a while,” she whispered.

Feng Hong was puzzled, “Why?”

“An abundance of precaution. Just protect the Executioner.” She feared that Lu Yin would harm or even kill the Executioner to gain complete control over the camp.