Chapter 165

To reach the third tier at this age, Cai Ju's squad was certainly no ordinary group.

They did not take the Wu Ke Gaokao, but instead awakened their abilities at sixteen.

They were then recruited by the Public Security Bureau and sent to a specialized training camp.

After graduation, they directly joined the Public Security Bureau, making them absolute loyalists of the bureau.

They are still young; after a few more years of seniority, they will be promoted to the bureau's upper echelons.

Additionally, the two major martial arts academies of Great Xia—the Lei Ting Martial Arts Academy and the Storm Bear Martial Arts Academy—also recruit students with outstanding awakened abilities ahead of time.

But when Xu Jingming was sixteen, he only awakened an E-rank ability, so he naturally never had the chance to be recruited early.

"Captain Cai, tell me about the leads you've found on the Tianming Sect."

After introducing themselves, Xu Jingming got straight to the point.

"You're quite direct, Student Xu." Cai Ju nodded slightly.

Though young, Xu Jingming gave him a favorable first impression—very composed.

And such a person was exactly what their squad needed.

"Ya Yan, activate the psychic shielding network."

At Captain Cai Ju's order, Sun Yan, the one beside him wearing gold-rimmed glasses and possessing a psychic ability, immediately activated his power.

Invisible, powerful psychic energy surged forth like a vast net, enveloping the entire private room.

Thus, no one outside could hear anything happening inside.

"We currently have two leads on the Tianming Sect—more precisely, two individuals.

The first is Zhao Wuhao, the leader of the Tiger Gang.

The second is Leng Chang, the CEO of Blue Sea Technologies."

Cai Ju, already prepared, pulled out a small metal sphere and placed it on the table.

There was a soft hum.

Faint blue virtual light projected from the metal sphere, coalescing into two distinct facial images with brief profiles.

Zhao Wuhao, leader of the Tiger Gang, had a muscular build, a fierce appearance, and a shaved head.

Leng Chang, controller of Blue Sea Technologies, was the opposite—wearing a black suit and tie, refined and elegant.

"According to our intelligence, both men are connected to the Tianming Sect in Jin Ning City.

They hold certain authority within the sect; if we capture these two and hand them over to a psychic ability user for interrogation,

we should be able to determine the exact location of the Tianming Sect's Jin Ning branch."

Cai Ju explained briefly.

Xu Jingming nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Altogether, the state's execution order had only been issued four days ago.

To uncover even these faint traces in such a short time proves Cai Ju's psychic squad is highly efficient.

"Let me briefly introduce these two individuals."

Cai Ju tapped lightly on the holographic projection.

The image of the Tiger Gang's leader enlarged, and two similarly fierce men appeared beside it:

"Zhao Wuhao, leader of the Tiger Gang, is a peak third-tier psychic with a C-rank enhancement ability.

He founded the Tiger Gang as a private martial arts academy.

It has two upper third-tier coaches who are his staunch loyalists—possibly also members of the Tianming Sect.

If we move against him, we must account for these two as well."

Cai Ju paused, then tapped again—the holographic image of Zhao Wuhao vanished, replaced by Leng Chang of Blue Sea Group.

"Leng Chang himself is weak—only peak second-tier.

But he has a mid-third-tier personal bodyguard, which we can't easily handle.

Moreover, he's been staying recently inside his heavily guarded corporate tower; outsiders find it nearly impossible to enter, and forced breaches risk alerting him.

So for these two, we plan to strike first at Zhao Wuhao of the Tiger Gang.

Student Xu, you'll join our team tomorrow."

Cai Ju smiled.

Their group consisted of two peak third-tiers, two upper third-tiers, and one mid-third-tier.

Dealing with these three from the Tiger Gang would be effortless.

"No split operations?" Xu Jingming frowned.

By the time we finish Zhao Wuhao and go after Leng Chang, it'll be too late.

Cai Ju looked slightly embarrassed upon hearing this.

His original plan had been to split up.

He had even reported the situation, requesting the Public Security Bureau send a fourth-tier expert for support.

But the bureau unexpectedly assigned the mission to Mo University.

Assigning it to Mo University was fine—any fourth-tier elite from Mo University could easily overpower Leng Chang's mid-third-tier bodyguard.

But instead, they sent Mo University's S-rank Xu Jingming.

At his age, Xu Jingming's true combat power reaching peak third-tier was indeed monstrous.

But asking him to face a mid-third-tier bodyguard was asking too much.

The best solution was to wait for the Public Security Bureau to send another strong operative, then split operations.

But time was not on their side; every additional day increased Zhao Wuhao and Leng Chang's chance of escape.

So he had no choice but to have Xu Jingming join his squad.

'So I've been underestimated, huh.'

Although Cai Ju said nothing, Xu Jingming still deduced the other's thoughts.

He shook his head: 'I'll handle Leng Chang. You go after the Tiger Gang.'

Upon hearing this, Cai Ju and the others froze in surprise.

Leng Chang to him?

Isn't this Magic University S-rank too overconfident?

You know,

Fourth-rank is not like third-rank—each minor advancement brings a earth-shattering leap in power!

Even four or five lower-fourth-rank adepts would struggle to defeat a mid-fourth-rank adept.

Not to mention Xu Jingming is only a lower-third-rank.

Even with an S-rank ability, defeating a mid-fourth-rank adept is as hard as climbing to heaven.

If you assign this mission to him alone, he'll almost certainly fail...

Though they thought this, the group exchanged glances and didn't know how to persuade him.

After all, he was a haughty Magic University prodigy; it was hard to bluntly say he was too weak.

Finally, the only woman in the group, Zhang Tong, stepped forward tentatively:

'You can't handle Leng Chang's mid-fourth-rank personal bodyguard alone.'

'Let's capture Zhao Wuhao first, then go after Leng Chang together—it's safer.'

Zhang Tong was about twenty-five or twenty-six, with an ordinary face but a very tall figure.

Her tone was warm, like an elder sister's.

'Don't worry. It's fine.'

Xu Jingming shook his head, his clear eyes filled with resolve.

I've killed peak-fourth-rank adepts—what's one mid-fourth-rank?

Hearing this, Zhang Tong sighed helplessly; it was clear this S-rank was set in his ways.

At that moment, after a long silence, the team leader Cai Ju finally spoke:

'Then, Xu, you'll handle Leng Chang alone.'

He handed over a black USB drive and a palm-sized communication device:

'Leng Chang has been holed up in the corporate tower. This USB contains the 3D blueprints of the building, plus data on Leng Chang and his bodyguard. Review it tonight.'

'Tomorrow, we'll strike the Tiger Gang around eleven a. m.'

'Your operation should sync with ours.'

'Also, the Jin Ning City Public Security Bureau has a special operations team stationed near Leng Chang's Blue Sea Group.'

'You can contact them via this device and coordinate your actions.'

'Understood.'

Xu Jingming nodded slightly and slipped the USB and communicator into his space ring.

'That's it for today. We've booked you a hotel room. Here's your keycard.'

'Xu, get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a tough fight.'

Cai Ju was clearly a decisive man; once the battle plan was set,

he handed Xu Jingming the keycard and led his team out.

'Xu, goodbye.'

'Goodbye.'

'Xu, we're counting on your good news tomorrow.'

Cai Ju's group had decent character—they all thought Xu Jingming couldn't complete the mission, yet showed no outward sign of doubt.

Only after Cai Ju and the others left did Xu Jingming pull from his space ring an oval black spherical device and place it on the table.

He inserted the USB into the side interface and whispered:

'Eva, analyze the contents of this USB.'

The oval device was specially issued by Magic University to S-rank mission executors, akin to a body camera from his past life.

It had multiple functions: video recording, data storage, and more.

Of course,

its most important feature was its connection to Magic University's top-tier AI, Eva, which could analyze intelligence data.

'Eva received. Analyzing...'

With a soft hum, the oval device activated, emitting a pale blue glow.

Soon, Eva's voice sounded again:

'The USB contains 24 video files and 67 text files regarding Blue Sea Technology and its CEO, Leng Chang.'

'Extracting key content: Blue Sea Technology Group is located...'

Eva's pleasant voice echoed in the room, analyzing data while projecting holographic visuals.

'Having an AI help is so much easier.'

Xu Jingming picked up the coffee on the table, took a sip, then leaned back comfortably in his chair.

If he had to review all these videos and documents himself, it would take hours.

But with Eva's analysis and summarization, the time needed would shrink drastically.

The Eva sub-unit issued to S-rank mission executors was a Level-One AI.

Its processing speed was astonishing—there was no risk of missing critical information.