Chapter 303 - 302: Evlyn, Due to an Unexpected Turn of Events

The task posting hall on the fourth floor of the Kregar Adventure Guild is much quieter compared to the ground floor.

However, there are still many people conducting business here.

All sorts of people gather here.

Here, you can see successful businessmen in suits, weary travelers, and even people of high status followed by bodyguards.

One can assume without a doubt, the tasks they are posting are not of the most respectable nature.

If it were a respectable task, and they had money, there would be no need to come to the Kregar Adventure Guild.

This leads me to the advantage of the Kregar Adventure Guild.

Even with public tasks, the requester’s identity is concealed.

The only difference is that a private task would have the Adventure Guild hand-pick the executioners, while public tasks can be chosen freely by adventurers.

The task posting process in the Adventure Guild is very formal.

As soon as you step out of the elevator, you’ll see a display directing you, informing you of the process.

Li Jing arrived at the fourth floor and took his time studying the guide.

Once he understood the process of task posting, its limitations, and its methods, Li Jing went straight to the non-public task registration booth, which was marked by a high-hanging sign.

The people on the fourth floor who come to post assignments are mostly focused on regular tasks.

The non-public task window is currently unused.

After all, the former is cheaper.

Unless it’s a task that violates too many taboos, people generally wouldn’t choose to go through a non-public task.

The one sitting at the non-public task window is a foreign beauty with black hair and blue eyes.

Upon seeing Li Jing, the mixed-race beauty showed a very professional smile.

"Hello, sir. How can I assist you?"

"Well, I’m here to register a non-public task as a guild member."

Li Jing replied as he took out his not-yet-warm S-grade adventurer certificate.

"Please wait a moment."

The foreign beauty took the adventurer certificate, looked at it, and her face visibly changed.

An S-grade adventurer?!

She unconsciously raises her eyes towards Li Jing. Her face changes again and she quickly stands up.

Seeing this, Li Jing frowns and turns his head.

Following that, what catches his eye is the silver-haired woman he was about to meet on the lower levels, but just missed.

Li Jing has not encountered this silver-haired woman before, but the moment he saw her, he was deeply attracted.

The silver-haired woman was stunningly beautiful.

A pure beauty.

Without any trace of vulgarity or sensuality.

At a glance, it gives people the feeling that this kind of beauty should not exist in the human world.

She was tall and extremely eye-catching.

The form-fitting silk robe, while indicating her status as a practitioner of the faith system, shows her slender legs, with her steps intermittently revealing them, igniting unlimited imagination.

The only regret was...

Hers were a bit flat in the front...

Otherwise, she would be perfect.

But that’s not the point.

What attracted Li Jing wasn’t her appearance or figure, but the health bar above her head.

That’s right.

This silver-haired woman, she has a health bar above her head.

And the length of her health bar broke through the sky, showing a huge 10387.

Late-stage Seventh Realm.

Seeing this at first glance, Li Jing was taken aback.

There should be no Seventh Realm in the Adventure Guild, after all.

Without warning, one appears, who also has a health bar on her forehead...

What’s going on here?

Could it be that she’s here to conduct business in the Adventure Guild because it is not convenient for her to do it herself?

That can’t be!

Looking at the look on the mixed-race beauty’s face, it’s clear that she recognizes this woman and is very respectful towards her.

As he was stunned, the voice of the mixed-race beauty behind the counter sounded respectfully.

"Vice Chairman."

?

Li Jing slowly formed a question mark.

Vice Chairman?

Are you serious?

Randomly encountering a Seventh Realm isn’t surprising.

The restrictions on the Seventh Realm are not in life, but that they cannot engage in work that requires a high cultivation level.

Their days go by just like anyone else. In their lives, they are the same as ordinary people, except that their overly formidable cultivation levels can’t be used at will, they just hide in plain sight.

The Seventh Realm, equivalent to human-shaped nuclear warheads, whether they are on their own turf or someone else’s, if they fight, they will pose a huge threat to the local area, and can cause devastating damage.

So, generally, the Seventh Realm are more conscious.

Not only for work, they generally stay hidden if they can avoid exposure to avoid unnecessary trouble from breaking things from not being able to hold themselves back.

The silver-haired woman in front of him was not here to post a task, but as the vice-president of the Kregar Adventure Guild.

This is clearly against the rules.

Does the White Hawk official know about a Seventh Realm being the vice president of the Kregar Adventure Guild?

Probably not...

If they knew, they would have acted already.

First, this is their territory; second, adventurers are generally lawless, and they might just start fighting over a disagreement, they would never allow a Seventh Realm to do this kind of work.

Most importantly, the long health bar above this woman’s head clearly indicates that she is not human in essence.

Over there, the silver-haired woman approached, responded lightly to the greeting from the mixed-race beauty at the counter, then turned her soft eyes towards Li Jing, smiled, and extended her hand.

"Hello, Archer, I’m Evlyn, the president of the Kregar Adventure Guild."

"Ah, hello."

Li Jing instinctively responded, shaking her hand.

The moment he touched her hand, he felt a stirring in his heart.

So soft.

I want to play...

The sudden thought left Li Jing stunned.

This isn’t a thought he would usually have.

Evlyn is indeed very beautiful, but her figure isn’t to his preference.

Could it be the influence of charm?

No.

With his Limit Breakthrough skill of still water like mirror, he is completely immune to such influences.

Even Yulian, with her powerful natural charm, can no longer shake his state of mind.

But this silver-haired woman did it...

Why?

How did she do it?

Li Jing was bewildered.

At this moment, Evlyn withdrew her hand.

Then, his unusual thoughts disappeared.

Faced with this change, Li Jing maintained his composure on the surface, but he was full of doubts within.

Without a doubt, the problem was in Evlyn’s hand.

Only when he physically touched her hand did his mindset undergo such a subtle change, suggesting it wasn’t just simple charm.

So what was it exactly?

Over there, after shaking hands with Li Jing, Evlyn turned to the mixed-race beauty at the counter.

"Register Mr. Archer, please. And get us a private room. I’ll handle his business."

"Yes, vice president."

The mixed-raced beauty promptly agreed and immediately began to work on the computer.

Seeing this, Li Jing frowned slightly.

He had intentionally released some of his energy on the first floor to prevent it from influencing the upper floors. But it must’ve been Alice who reported his registration as an S-grade adventurer to the higher-ups.

Having the authority and if they should be informed are two different matters.

The higher-ups finding him is not a concern.

What truly mattered was that it turned out to be a non-human vice president of the Seventh Realm who came to find him and intentionally sought him out for private communication.

After glancing at the seemingly reticent Evlyn, who had greeted the mixed-race beauty at the counter and then remained silent at his side, Li Jing returned his gaze without engaging further.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Since he had encountered someone like Evlyn, there was no harm in talking to her.

On one hand, he was not afraid of her; on the other hand, Evlyn, having reached the Seventh Realm and being an alien species as vice president of the Adventure Guild, had already crossed the White Hawk’s line and thus couldn’t make any public moves.

...

Soon, the mixed-race beauty at the front desk had completed Li Jing’s registration and in addition to returning his adventurer certificate, she also handed a room card to Evlyn.

Receiving the room card, Evlyn nodded at a certain someone.

"Please follow me, Mr. Archer."

"Ok."

Li Jing responded.

...

Two minutes later.

Under Evlyn’s guidance, Li Jing and her walked to the door of a closed room at the back of the fourth floor hall.

Evlyn swiped the room card to open the door, then gestured for him to enter.

Li Jing nodded silently, entered, and sat down on the sofa.

Evlyn followed him into the room, closed the door, then sat down on the opposite sofa and opened the conversation.

"Mr. Archer, please hold off on the private task you want to post for a moment. There’s something I would like to discuss on behalf of the Adventure Guild."

In response to her straightforward and rather headstrong proposition, Li Jing crossed his legs.

"Alright, Vice President, go ahead."

"We currently have a secret task from the White Hawk Officials. They are offering a high price and are very eager. The task is quite challenging, and we in the Adventure Guild are gathering manpower."

When Evlyn started to tell her story, she said,

"At present, we have at least seven S-grade and SS-grade adventurers from three adventurer teams confirmed to participate, but that’s not enough. We need more manpower. Therefore, we would like to invite you, Mr. Archer, to join us. You are free to accept or decline, I won’t force you."

After she finished speaking, she added,

"I’m personally involved as well, with my own team. If you need to, you can temporarily join my team. I think highly of your personal strength, Mr. Archer. Once the mission is successful, I promise to give you 20% of the reward, which is about one million Spirit Crystals. Of course, the premise of all this is that we can achieve results before the other teams."

Listening to Evlyn’s account, Li Jing looked strange.

Her words were extremely clear, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

But with careful consideration, the content of her words was incredibly heavy in information content.

The reward was 20% of what?

One million Spirit crystals!?

Based on the current rate for Spirit Crystals, that’s over 130 billion...

God damn!

What kind of mission did the White Hawk Officials put out?

Li Jing considers himself wealthy now, but all he owns is just over three million Spirit Crystals.

The mission from the White Hawk Officials starts at five million Spirit Crystals?

Gosh!

Even if the White Hawk Officials have money to spare, they shouldn’t be squandering it like this!

What caused the White Hawk Officials to be so extravagant?

Li Jing was clueless.

But two things he knew for sure.

Firstly,

The non-public task Evlyn mentioned is the same task that Basaka is part of for the Broken Stars mercenary group.

Secondly,

The team led by Evlyn herself is not affiliated with the Broken Stars mercenary group, they are one of the three teams participating in the task.

Looking at the calm-faced Evlyn, Li Jing had to admit, he was attracted to her.

Money? He didn’t care.

With Xiao Ai’s management, the number of Spirit Crystals in his pocket would only increase.

The question was, he was very interested in this non-public task from the White Hawk officials.

Letting the people from Kregar Adventure Guild do it for money, it definitely was the "dirty work" that the officials couldn’t handle.

Under Chen Jing’s instruction, the purpose of Li Jing’s visit is no longer investigating, but to find means from those laboratories to counter White Hawk.

In other words, finding a leverage.

To keep White Hawk quiet and not use the extermination of their team in Longyu against them.

This leverage, does not necessarily have to be related to the laboratories.

Getting involved in this matter at hand and understanding it might have significant advantages to the mission he is carrying out on this trip.

After a moment of silence, Li Jing said,

"Vice-President Evlyn, your conditions leave me no room to refuse. I agree to join your team temporarily for the task assigned by White Hawk officials."

If Evlyn was only from Six Realm, Li Jing would not willingly join her team.

Either way, he could accept the task himself for a deeper understanding.

But Evlyn was from Seventh Realm, and that changed everything.

A Seventh Realmer is participating.

Not only bringing her own team but also personally recruiting people.

This indicates that the mission is highly dangerous and she can’t handle it on her own.

There is another thing that is very clear.

Evlyn is not participating in this for the money.

Her position as the Vice President of the Kregar Adventure Guild alone is already against the rules.

Going out to participate in an extremely dangerous task is simply courting death.

If discovered by White Hawk officials, she would immediately be dealt with by the White Hawk Guardian Gods.

You have to understand, she is not human.

If a Seventh Realm human in their own territory is causing trouble, as long as it doesn’t cause too much chaos, there is always room for manoeuvre.

If a non-human from Seventh Realm causes trouble, there’s only one outcome - being dealt with.

If Evlyn is taking such a risk, there must be reasons other than money.

Regarding this, Li Jing is quite interested.

In this aspect, it could, supposedly, be considered his "professional disease."

When encountering people with a Health Bar above their heads, he can’t help but take notice.

If there is no intersection, then it’s fine.

If there is a possibility of crossing paths, he can’t help but want to explore deeper.

Seated opposite, Evlyn shows no surprise at Li Jing’s direct acceptance.

After all, adventurers are meant to work for money.

With the outrageous price offered by White Hawk officials, no adventurer would refuse.

Being too weak to participate is another matter.

"Good, with that settled, Mr. Archer, could you please stay in Kregar City for the time being?"

With a nod, Evlyn smiled.

"If all goes well, the participating teams will make a move within two days. I will find you then."

"Understood."

Li Jing responded before asking,

"Can I know the task details in advance?"

"Yes."

Evlyn responded as she took out a folder and placed it on the table.

"This is rather sensitive. To be on the safe side, you need to sign a confidentiality agreement. You can sign with your alias on the agreement, Mr. Archer. If any problem arises, we at Kregar Adventure Guild can find you."

"Understood."

Without hesitation, Li Jing took out a pen from his storage space and signed his alias on the document.

The Kregar Adventure Guild relied on their own skills to find people, which was quite convenient for him.

His current appearance was not his own and he was a Daohe citizen. So, signing the document wasn’t straining at all.

But you have to agree, this seemingly perfunctory agreement was highly threatening.

The faces and figures of the Adventure Guild weren’t to be trifled with.

They often succeeded in matters that professional intelligence agencies failed at.

Once things go wrong, people might trace back to him using these clues.

If it wasn’t for the backing of Longyu, Li Jing would not dare to provoke them.

He had Longyu supporting him, so it didn’t matter.

Even if the Adventure Guild were to confirm his identity with some godlike power, there was nothing they could do.

Longyu was off-limits for mercenaries.

Nobody from the Kregar Adventure Guild would dare to mess around in Longyu’s territory.

On the White Hawk’s side, there wasn’t much to say.

Even if the Adventure Guild were to report him to White Hawk, provided they didn’t catch him in person, the worst they could do was shouting across the sky at Longyu.

It was just part of the daily routine between White Hawk and Longyu.

Since it’s routine, there’s no need to fuss about it, right?

Seeing that Li Jing had already signed the agreement, Evlyn picked up the document for a look, stored it away, and then looked over.

"Basically, the situation is that a White Hawk’s important institution deep in the Kregar desert lost contact with the outside world three days ago, involving dozens of cutting-edge scientific and technological research. Due to the delicate situation faced by White Hawk recently, it’s not suitable for launching a large scale official operation, so the matter was entrusted to the Kregar Adventure Guild."

As Li Jing listened to Evlyn’s description, he didn’t raise his eyelids, but his heart was filled with peculiarity.

The important institution deep in the Kregar desert, is it not one of the laboratories on his agenda to visit Kregar?

It lost contact three days ago, and White Hawk is in a peculiar situation.

TM...

Was this an arrangement made against Longyu?

Other than the official Chen Yihuan delegation, Li Jing, Li Qidao, and Mu Baichen infiltrated the area secretly for investigation.

The White Hawk’s high-ranking officials aren’t fools. They must have anticipated this.

The jollier they appeared in exterior relations, the more effort Longyu would exert to find retaliation measures to avoid losing in the competition between them.

This is an unwritten understanding among superpowers.

This crap happened to be bumped into by Li Jing, quite coincidentally, but not entirely so.

No one would care about what the Kregar Adventure Guild does.

After all, many adventurers go to the Kregar Desert for "exploration". What does it matter if some strong teams go?

Under the current circumstances, Longyu can’t possibly care about the Adventure Guild...

Yet Li Jing specifically targeted the Adventure Guild, going as far as to register as an adventurer and exposing his cultivation level, which caught Evlyn’s attention.

What seems oddly coincidental is...

Li Jing’s original intention was not to investigate the Adventure Guild but to obtain intelligence to betray the White Hawk Official with substantial rewards through the Adventure Guild.

With this harvest, Li Jing affirmed one thing.

The White Hawk side is indeed hiding something.

Biochemical experiments probably do exist.

The laboratory deep into the desert lost contact presumably due to this reason.

Not just that, the impact of the laboratory losing contact is colossal- so much so that the White Hawk had to resort to all measures to try to cover it up.

Even the product suspected from the biochemical experiment went to Longyu to kill the White Hawk people...

Think about it, think carefully.

Looking back.

The group of seven led by Augustus went to Longyu targeting Quan Chang. Their true identities could not have been simply trade envoys.

They have something to do with the biochemical experiments, and there is a high probability that they are from the desert laboratory.

They targeted Quan Chang, not for acquiring direct benefits.

If you put it that way...

It would make sense if they were killed in Longyu...

A scene of the laboratory’s modified humans retaliating against their creators appeared in Li Jing’s mind.

Before crossing over, he had seen many similar movies.

Interestingly enough...

Such movies often originate from a particular country...

Across the table, after hearing Li Jing’s silence following her narrative, Evlyn spoke blandly.

"Mr. Archer, if you think this is too risky, it is perfectly fine for you to withdraw now. As long as you comply with the confidentiality agreement and not spread the information, that’s okay."

"No, I didn’t mean to quit."

Li Jing lifted his eyes and said with a smile.

"I have heard about something in the depths of the Kregar desert. Your narration is too visual and easy for people to imagine, making it hard for me to digest."

Hearing his words, Evlyn showed understanding.

"Since Mr. Archer has heard about what’s in the deep desert, I believe I don’t need to explain further. Since you have no intention to quit, that settles it. Just wait for my contact."

Saying this, she got up, nodded, turned around and left.

Watching her leave without another word, Li Jing blinked in surprise.

Didn’t she say she would handle my private mission release? Why did she just leave?

Her way of handling things is truly unique.

However, it doesn’t matter.

With the information from Evlyn, he no longer needs to release the task.

Wait for two days and go together, looking for an opportunity to take back something of substantial value.

There is no point in just bringing back the news.

He needs evidence.

Going directly to the desert laboratory was not an option.

The White Hawk must know exactly what’s in the desert laboratory.

The Adventure Guild was so careful, not launching any actions, and carrying a heavy selection, indicating that the White Hawk has warned them.

If he were to charge in, he might end up with nothing but stench.

It would be more appropriate to act along with the people from the Adventure Guild.

...

After the exchange with Evlyn, Li Jing didn’t stay long in the Adventure Guild. He went straight to the streets of Kregar City and opened up his wireless earpiece.

"Xiao Ai, you must have heard the conversation in the secret room. Make a record of the conversation and encrypt it to Chen Jing’s supercomputer. Then give him a subtle hint."

"As you wish, Master."

Xiao Ai responded.

Chen Jing had a clone of Xiao Ai in his supercomputer, this was quite convenient.

Otherwise, going through White Hawk’s local network to communicate would probably be under surveillance, without any chance to avoid it.

Looking at another laboratory, Dex Biological Technology, Li Jing contemplated for a moment but decided not to go.

If one were to explore the laboratory, traces would inevitably be left behind.

White Hawk was on high alert now.

It’s better to leave it for now to avoid alarming the enemy.

If he doesn’t get any substantial gains from the desert laboratory with the Adventure Guild, he can always consider going for a visit after coming back.

With the plan in his mind, Li Jing casually headed towards a nearby hotel.

He had to wait in Kregar for two days, and therefore he needed accommodation.

In these two days, he could also wander around.

Since he’s already in White Hawk, it wouldn’t be bad to pick up some "specialties" of White Hawk.

In White Hawk, he could buy a lot of things that were banned in Longyu.

The goods in Kregar City were incredibly diverse.

Since he had come, how could he not take a look?

...