Chapter 61: Voice Transmitter

After the prayer ceremony ended, Lei En followed Polok back to the Third Squad's assembly room.

"From now on, whenever we go on a mission, unless it's an emergency, we'll gather in this assembly room," Polok said, walking around the second‑floor room with Lei En. "Normally, a mission comes about once every half month."

"The Demon Extermination Squad's five teams take turns on night watch, at least three people each time; our squad now has six members, so we only stand watch once every ten days."

"All the facilities in this building are at your disposal, and the training costs are provided free of charge by the Public Security Bureau."

"Also, go find Lao Ma Ding as soon as possible and have him train you to ride a griffin; it's not hard, even simpler than riding a horse."

Lei En nodded in understanding and asked, "What about the rest of the squad?"

"At this time, they should be occupied with their own affairs," Polok thought for a moment and said, "If you're free tomorrow night, we'll set a time and hold a welcome banquet for you."

"Tomorrow night works; thank you, Captain," Lei En said, knowing he needed to get along with his teammates.

"No need for formalities; it's only proper."

After watching the recent battle, Polok's demeanor toward Lei En grew friendlier. He recalled something, turned, and took a palm‑sized object from the room's secret cabinet, handing it to Lei En. "This is your Voice Transmitter; don't lose it."

"Voice Transmitter?"

Lei En looked puzzled.

The object in his hand resembled a pocket watch, though slightly larger, entirely silver; opening the lid revealed a dial with a moving hour hand that displayed the time precisely.

"It really is a pocket watch, but there's more to it."

As Lei En examined it, it was clearly an alchemical device; a faint mechanical whirring came from within, and the inner side of the lid was engraved with runes showing traces of soul energy flow.

On one side of the dial were three metal buttons.

The whole piece looked like an exquisite artwork, evidently of great value.

"The Voice Transmitter is a joint product of the Mechanical Guild and the Alchemy Association, using a magical material called Voice Stone; it allows us long‑distance communication," Polok explained. "It's simple to use."

He picked up the Voice Transmitter and gave a brief demonstration.

Lei En immediately understood; it was a simple intercom, its effect achieved through magic.

The three side buttons control the Voice Transmitter.

Press and hold the top button to speak and transmit your voice; hold the middle one to hear incoming messages; the bottom button adjusts the time and has nothing to do with transmission.

If a message is received, the Voice Transmitter will vibrate lightly a few times, and the middle button's color will brighten to indicate incoming audio.

Its functions are simple, but it has notable limitations.

The Voice Transmitter can only receive sound from a fixed target; when one speaks, the other transmitters hear it as if on a shared channel. Control of that channel is bound to a single transmitter and can be used by only one person.

Members of the Demon Extermination Squad use the Voice Transmitter for rapid communication.

Lei En didn't grasp the principle at all, but it didn't affect his use of the device, and he asked curiously, "Captain, what is the effective range of this Voice Transmitter?"

"Around three hundred li; beyond that it stops working."

Polok said, "This is the lowest‑grade Voice Transmitter; legend has it that the most powerful ones can converse across continents, but I've only heard rumors and don't know if they're true."

Lei En thought to himself, this is basically a satellite phone!

He had never known the existence of Voice Transmitters before; now it seemed that although this world's transmission tech wasn't as convenient or widespread as the telecommunications of his past life, information still traveled quickly, never lagging because of distance.

Polok saw his interest and smiled, "This Voice Transmitter isn't cheap,

not only is it used for squad communication, it also serves as a symbol of the Demon Extermination Squad's identity, and must be carried at all times to avoid loss."

"Alright."

Lei En slipped the Voice Transmitter into his pocket and suddenly asked, "Captain, what's De Li Si's background?"

He had asked before the earlier trial.

At the time Polok interrupted him, and he forgot; while selecting gear in the armory, he hadn't had a chance to inquire further.

Polok had nothing to hide and said, "De Li Si is of noble birth, from the Li An Sai Er family. His father, Viscount Pei Li, is the deputy director of Longshande's Finance and Tax Bureau and also a wealthy magnate; the family owns many enterprises, primarily operating Demon Soul breeding farms."

"Demon Soul breeding farms..."

Lei En realized; no wonder De Li Si is only a fourth‑level Demon Swordmaster yet possesses several Elements, clearly far stronger than other fourth‑level professions.

Polok continued, "Viscount Pei Li is merely a commoner, but shrewd; he's even more adept in commerce, having contributed vast wealth to His Grace the Duke, earning the Duke's trust, which is why he was ennobled as a Viscount."

"How does this involve the Duke?" Lei En said, feeling a bit headache.

Duke Yin Xing is far too money‑obsessed, openly selling offices and titles—granting both official posts and peerage—blurring the line between bureaucracy and commerce; doesn't he fear that such practices will hollow out Longshande's governance system?

But on closer thought, Duke Yin Xing is a Holy Soul Wizard; his great power resides within himself, mastering ultimate force, so he isn't afraid of such petty schemes.

Perhaps the Duke hopes to cultivate a batch of such individuals and then harvest them like chives.

"Does the Li An Sai Er family have other super‑humans?" Lei En asked, noting the family's apparent influence and feeling the need to prepare.

Polok thought carefully and replied, "As far as I know, none."

"Nobles find it somewhat easier than commoners to cultivate their offspring into super‑humans, yet it's still difficult. Viscount Pei Li has only three legitimate children; De Li Si is the eldest and the sole one who became a super‑human. Whether Viscount Pei Li has any illegitimate children, I don't know."

Lei En gave a slight nod.

In this regard, he recalled Viola saying that even among the Duke's family—several hundred members—fewer than one‑tenth become super‑humans.

Viscount Pei Li, as a commoner and rising noble, used money to forge his eldest son De Li Si into a fourth‑level Demon Swordmaster; that's already quite fortunate.

However, the fact that the Li An Sai Er family lacks super‑humans doesn't mean Viscount Pei Li can't hire other super‑humans.

Money can make ghosts turn mills; even Duke Yin Xing spares no means to amass wealth, let alone other super‑humans.

Polok guessed Lei En's thoughts and reassured, "You needn't worry too much; having joined the Demon Extermination Squad, those nobles wouldn't dare act against you lightly."

"Moreover, you know Master Luo Jie; as long as you leak a bit of information to Viscount Pei Li, his cautious nature will prevent him from harming you."

"But when De Li Si returns, you two will have a fight waiting."

Lei En laughed indifferently.

De Li Si was hammered by Lei En and will need three to four months of recovery; when he returns, his strength will surely surpass his current level, so there's no need to fear his troublemaking.

If there's another chance, he'll definitely look for an opportunity to eliminate that annoying fellow.

Lei En bid farewell to Polok, left the Public Security Bureau, and returned to his apartment.

He changed into a new set of clothes and, as usual, went to the Violet House to practice the lute.

Because he was delayed, Lei En arrived more than an hour later than usual, and Viola asked about it concernedly; he only said that he had joined the Demon Extermination Squad and did not mention De Li Si.

The next evening, Lei En went to a pre‑booked hotel to meet his teammates.

Upon entering the private room, he found that the teammates had already arrived.

Besides the captain Bo Luo Ke, the Holy Swordsman Fu Li Da, and the Berserker Ha Geluofu, there were three strangers he was meeting for the first time.

Lei En scanned them with his Soul Eye and identified their classes.

The couple huddled by the doorway were both under thirty; the man was a Level‑3 Wizard and a rare Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard, while the woman was a Flame Mage of only Level‑2, with delicate looks, petite figure, faint flame runes flickering beneath her skin, and eyes crimson like two flames.

The two were joking with a plain‑looking, jet‑black‑haired young man, who was a Level‑2 Shadow Warrior.

There were six people in the room; aside from Bo Luo Ke, everyone else was a novice supernormal.

Moreover, each person's class was different.

Level‑4 Ranger, Level‑3 Holy Swordsman, Level‑2 Berserker, Level‑3 Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard, Level‑2 Warlock, Level‑2 Shadow Warrior, Level‑1 Battle Wizard.

"This must be a deliberate arrangement by the Demon Extermination Squad," Lei En thought, noting that coordination among different supernormal classes, with complementary strengths and weaknesses, often yields unexpected results.

"Lei En, you're here."

Bo Luo Ke said with a smile, and the others, upon seeing Lei En, stopped talking and all rose to welcome him.

They had already heard about yesterday's events, and their eyes could not hide surprise and curiosity; defeating De Li Si's Level‑1 supernormal across a rank felt like listening to a legend.

Especially Fu Li Da, the Holy Swordsman, also recalled Lei En's identity.

Just a few weeks ago, Lei En was an ordinary person, yet now he had become a teammate with such overwhelming strength; the huge contrast left her in disbelief.

A smile appeared on Lei En's face as he gave Fu Li Da a slight nod.

He formally bowed to everyone and politely said, "Everyone, I am Lei En; please look after me from now on."

The teammates responded in turn; seeing that Lei En was easygoing, the atmosphere instantly relaxed.

"Everyone, please sit down."

Bo Luo Ke was the happiest; once everyone was seated, he said, "Lei En, let me introduce you. This is Fu Li Da, whom you've already met twice." He pointed at the towering man over two meters tall, "This is Ha Geluofu; you saw him the night before, he's a Berserker, so his temper is a bit hot‑tempered, Lei En, please be more understanding."

Ha Geluofu clearly had been warned beforehand, looked a bit sour, forced a nod toward Lei En, and kept drinking.

Lei En didn't argue with him.

Because of the class trait, the "Rage" Element affects a Berserker's emotion, so most Berserkers are hot‑tempered guys.

At the Basil Inn, Berserkers often start brawls over a lingering glance.

Bo Luo Ke continued, introducing the couple: the Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard was named Mi Er Dun, the female mage was Al Bo Na; the Shadow Warrior's name was Yi Lai.

Aside from Mi Er Dun, the other two were somewhat reserved toward Lei En.

Lei En, however, was curious about Mi Er Dun.

This Level‑3 Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard was very powerful, still young, with talent clearly surpassing the others; perhaps only Fu Li Da could make a slight comparison. Such a wizard prodigy usually studies under a master in the Wu Shi Ta, with limitless prospects—how could he have joined the Demon Extermination Squad?