Chapter Forty-Nine: A Brazen Demand? (Please Recommend and Add to Favorites!)

A week later, Yunnan, Tengchong.

Yang Fan looked at the people before him, his expression darkening.

Mu Qingshan, Xie Sihua, Jiang Chao, Jiang Xiaoyi.

The more Yang Fan looked, the more he felt that Zhou Yiyi had deceived him!

These were the teammates she had promised? These were the ones she claimed weren’t weak?

Fine, among this year’s freshmen, these four truly weren’t weak—in fact, they were outstanding. But in Yang Fan’s eyes, not one of them had ever bested him in battle. Except for Xie Sihua, the remaining three hadn’t even managed to withstand a single move from him; even Xie Sihua had only survived two.

Standing next to Yang Fan, Zhou Yiyi saw his face grow increasingly sour, and she felt helpless.

She had no choice; these were the best candidates she could find for the mission. She didn’t know many people with overwhelming strength, nor did she want to seek them out—after all, the stronger they were, the more they’d claim from the spoils. Anyone too weak would be useless. After careful selection, these top students were her best options.

Besides, Yang Fan was the main force. His lightning abilities were formidable.

Yang Fan had no idea what Zhou Yiyi was thinking. He was already considering returning to the city.

What kind of mission team was this? Completely unreliable.

Mu Qingshan and the others noticed Yang Fan’s gaze and felt indignant.

What’s with that look? What’s with that attitude?

How could he be so dismissive of them? They were all second-grade martial artists—why was he so contemptuous?

Zhou Yiyi sensed the mood was slipping and spoke up, “Let’s find a place to stay for the night. I’ll go over the details of the mission with everyone.”

Yang Fan frowned slightly but said nothing more. Since he was here, he should at least understand the mission before deciding whether to proceed.

Mu Qingshan and the others nodded in agreement.

...

The group found a guesthouse and checked in.

After cleaning up their travel dust, they gathered in the first-floor lounge to discuss.

Zhou Yiyi began, “This mission was issued by the military. It took considerable effort for me to secure it. We need to head to the area near the Nujiang River in Yunnan. The military has marked the approximate range on the map.”

She distributed several maps.

Once everyone had received theirs, Zhou Yiyi continued, “We don’t have exact photos of the mutated beast, but witnesses say it’s large. While size doesn’t fully represent strength, giant beasts do possess formidable attack and destructive power. The estimated strength of this beast is between the peak of second-grade and the early stage of third-grade.

Our task is to locate and eliminate this beast. As for the reward, I’ve already told you—I only want the Qi Sea Fruit, nothing else. The rest you can divide as you wish.”

After Zhou Yiyi finished, no one replied immediately. They examined the maps in their hands.

Yang Fan stared at the map, then rubbed his temples.

This girl was mad.

The marked area on the map was nearly nine hundred square kilometers, and it was mountainous terrain. Finding a single mutated beast in such a vast area was harder than searching for a needle in a haystack.

It was just like the time Yang Fan had pursued Liu Qiang. Looking for someone in the mountains, if luck wasn’t on your side, you might never find them in your lifetime.

The last time, Liu Qiang had been in Mang Mountain—much smaller than this area in Yunnan.

Yang Fan was already thinking of backing out.

This mission was impossible.

He frowned and said, “With such a vast area, in the mountains, our chance of finding the beast is too low. I don’t think we can complete the mission.”

Xie Sihua, Mu Qingshan, and the others had similar thoughts. Searching blindly was not a reliable strategy.

Hunting a wild beast in the Ten Thousand Mountains? Ridiculous.

Zhou Yiyi’s expression remained calm, as if she had anticipated their doubts. She explained, “You’re right—searching aimlessly would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But who says we’re searching blindly? The beast has been sighted four times, and every time, it was near water. We only need to search the water sources in this area. This region is some distance from the Nujiang River; aside from underground water, the exposed sources are limited. We just need to wait at those spots.”

Everyone felt somewhat reassured after hearing this.

If they approached it that way, it would still be uncertain, but it was better than searching at random.

Seeing their mood improve, Zhou Yiyi continued, “Although the beast has gained intelligence, its animal instincts remain. It generally won’t stray far from its territory unless forced by disaster or irresistible force. We should focus on the water sources where it has been sighted. Rest assured, I wouldn’t have called you here unless I was confident.”

Yang Fan chuckled.

This girl had said the same thing while he lay in the hospital, promising her recruits weren’t weak. Yet when he arrived, all he saw were defeated opponents—how could she claim they weren’t weak?

But Yang Fan’s resistance eased. At least Zhou Yiyi wasn’t a fool; she wouldn’t waste effort on pointless things.

“If no one has any other questions, shall we discuss the division of the spoils?” Zhou Yiyi asked again.

This time she was in charge; she had to consider everything, especially since it was their first time working together. The rewards needed to be settled in advance.

“I want the beast’s corpse to craft a set of leather armor, and I want sixty thousand in cash,” Yang Fan declared.

At this, Mu Qingshan and the others protested. There were only so many rewards—the Qi Sea Fruit was for Zhou Yiyi, which they accepted since she had arranged the mission and that was her goal.

But Yang Fan was demanding the beast’s body—which, regardless of its type, was valuable according to their textbooks—and he wanted sixty percent of the cash reward. That was too much.

If they agreed, the remaining four would each get just ten thousand. For such a dangerous mission, ten thousand per person was hardly worth it.

Mu Qingshan couldn’t resist, “Yang Fan, you’re asking for too much!”

Xie Sihua chimed in, “That’s right, it’s too much. If you take all that, the four of us get nothing—only ten thousand each. For such a risky mission, ten thousand isn’t worth it.”

Jiang Chao and Jiang Xiaoyi nodded in agreement. They felt Yang Fan was being overly greedy.

Yang Fan listened to their objections and smiled.

He looked at their serious expressions and thought: If you’re dissatisfied, why not negotiate? If you don’t agree, make a counteroffer. What’s the point of just objecting? If you want to bargain, name your price.

With a smile, Yang Fan said, “My strength is the greatest, and I’ll be the main force in this mission, so I’ll face the most danger. I don’t think my demands are unreasonable, nor is this division unfair.”

Mu Qingshan and the others were at a loss. He sounded so reasonable—if he kept talking, they might actually be convinced.

Just as Mu Qingshan and Xie Sihua struggled to rebut, Zhou Yiyi interjected, “Yang Fan is right—his ability is the strongest, equivalent to a third-grade. I have no objection if he takes the largest share.”

At this, Xie Sihua was furious. He grumbled, “Fine, Yang Fan is strong. Why did you recruit us? If he’s so capable, you two handle the mission yourselves.”

He turned to leave, with Mu Qingshan and the others uncertain of what to do. It was their first official mission, and walking away felt unsatisfying, but Yang Fan and Zhou Yiyi were infuriating—every word hit a nerve.

Seeing Xie Sihua about to leave, Yang Fan spoke up, “Enough. I won’t give up the beast’s body, but for the cash, I’ll take twenty thousand. Each of you gets twenty thousand. That’s my bottom line—take it or leave it.”

After he spoke, Zhou Yiyi tugged at him: Couldn’t you be more diplomatic? Why so blunt? If he chased everyone off, the two of them couldn’t complete the mission alone.

Xie Sihua paused, and Mu Qingshan and the others started considering.

Everyone knew Yang Fan’s strength; they’d all sparred with him. Among their cohort, he was the top—this was already recognized after the recent freshman competition.

They expected him to claim the largest share. His earlier aggressive stance had rubbed them the wrong way, but his willingness to compromise soothed them somewhat.

At least Yang Fan wasn’t trying to take everything.

Had Yang Fan known their thoughts, he would have laughed. He never intended to take it all; he had waited for them to negotiate, but Zhou Yiyi’s words had provoked Xie Sihua before they could.

Turning around, Xie Sihua said, “You want to craft leather armor, but the beast’s corpse will have leftovers. I need some bones to make a weapon—metal alloys are too expensive for me, but adding beast bones to ordinary metal will improve its toughness. If you agree, I’m in.”

Mu Qingshan and the others quickly indicated they wanted some too, and if Yang Fan agreed, they had no objections.

Yang Fan thought for a moment, then nodded, “I can spare some bones, but in that case, I want thirty thousand in cash. The rest you can split.”

The four exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

With the arrangements settled to everyone’s satisfaction, they broke up and went about their own business.

For Mu Qingshan and the others, it was their first mission, and nerves ran high—they retreated to their rooms to adjust.

For Yang Fan, missions were routine; Zhou Yiyi likewise. Any anxiety had long since faded.

The two sat on the sofa, chatting idly and watching television.