My profession is too unique.

Chapter 24 Setting Up Camp and Launching an Attack (Bonus Chapter! Bonus Chapter!)
The city guards were very skilled; in just over ten minutes, the giant wolf's carcass was skinned and dismembered, and they methodically took out the black bags they had prepared beforehand.

The surface is woven with blue patterns, and when the bag is opened, wisps of cold air escape from it.

The students around them grumbled in hushed tones.

"The first layer of defense is located ten kilometers outside the city, with patrol guards patrolling in between. This gluttonous wolf is only a first-tier mutated species and cannot possibly break through the multiple layers of defense."

"This was definitely done on purpose to scare us."

The man who was speaking pushed up his glasses, which had a clear crack in them, and his analysis was very logical, but he was met with a burst of laughter.

"Anyone can flatter someone after they've done something wrong. I wonder who it was just now who practically buried their head in the ground."

The bespectacled young man, his face flushed, explained, "What do you know? Wolves rely primarily on their sense of smell. I was just masking my own scent."

Everyone burst into laughter. After this unexpected incident, the relationships between the group became much more harmonious. The main reason was that they realized they were all pretty much the same, and no one was any better than anyone else.

"I didn't hear those people who left the city say anything about any mutated species suddenly jumping out to scare people. Are they keeping it so secret?"

After packing up, the team prepared to set off again, and nothing unexpected happened.

As time passed, the grayish-white fog gradually turned black, and visibility decreased, until only two or three people could be seen in front of or behind.

"stop!"

Hu Xiang's powerful voice could still penetrate the fog and reach everyone's ears accurately.

"Prepare to set up camp." He roared in a deep voice, and the students, who had been holding their breath, couldn't help but relax.

The city guards had already started moving, taking out white crystal pillars from their backpacks and first surrounding the entire team in a hexagonal pattern.

Then, with a command, the knob below was turned.

Buzz--
White light, like tassels, weaves through the crystal pillars, then connects with each other to form a milky-white energy shield that covers the entire team, while the mist within the energy shield gradually dissipates.

"This is the camp pillar; it's the first time I've seen it deployed like this..."

The students discussed in hushed tones, as if the knowledge from the books had come to life.

The energy shield gradually expanded, eventually forming a fairly wide area where small tents were quickly erected.

In the central area, the city guards in charge of logistics had already set up metal furnaces, took out small red crystals, lit flames from them, and roasted the previously skinned beast meat, the fat sizzling.

After walking for most of the day, maintaining high concentration, and expending a lot of energy, everyone was starving. At this moment, upon smelling the aroma, their eyes lit up.

"This is quite nourishing for you guys." Hu Xiang took out his black iron dagger, cut off a piece of roasted meat, and casually tossed it to Zhou Zong.

"Thank you, Captain..." Zhou Zong was secretly pleased, but remained humble on the surface.

The others secretly grimaced, filled with envy and jealousy.

Hu Xiang acted as if he hadn't heard, cut off another piece, thought for a moment, and then casually tossed it away amidst the eager gazes of the crowd.

Su Chen unexpectedly caught a large piece of roasted meat, and the others looked at each other in surprise.

Hu Xiang took special care of Zhou Zong, which didn't surprise anyone, since Zhou Zong's father was a big shot in the city.

But what is it about Su Chen that makes Hu Xiang treat him differently?
During the previous wolf attack, this guy openly hid behind Bai Fengxi; he's quite a coward.

Hu Xiang noticed the exchange of glances among the crowd and couldn't help but sigh. This was the little guy's last meal, so letting him eat comfortably would ease his guilt.

Hu Xiang cut off another piece and put it in his mouth. The others also took the meat handed to them by the city guards and stuffed it into their mouths.

"It tastes good..." Su Chen took a bite and found the meat to be tender. Not only that, but his body gradually felt warm.

"It feels almost like I've drunk some blood-activating medicine..."

After taking two more bites, Su Chen noticed the changes in his body and couldn't help but think.

"Could it be that the ingredients for the blood-activating potion are these mutated species? No wonder these city patrol guards didn't even leave the bones behind; they probably have some value..."

Realizing the benefits, Su Chen naturally wouldn't let it pass by. He started eating heartily, stuffing food into his mouth non-stop. His hands were covered in oil, and his unrestrained eating style attracted a lot of attention.

"This guy is really... bold and unrestrained..." someone remarked.

"Liu Liang, we're all classmates, how can you talk like that?" Zhou Zong said, feigning displeasure. "Although Su Chen is a vagrant, everyone has a different way of eating, there's no need to mock him."

The guy named Liu Liang looked bewildered. Who mocked me? I was just making a comment.

Wait... refugees?
"A refugee?" Shen Ying'er, who was not far away, looked over in astonishment. "He's a refugee? How could Teacher Jiang He have taken a liking to him..."

"You guys don't know..." Zhou Zong looked surprised, as if he hadn't expected it.

Su Chen looked up and glanced at him. The student had died outside the city, which seemed to require a very detailed investigation report.

He was stuffing food into his mouth, seemingly only focused on eating, which created a slightly awkward atmosphere.

Everyone noticed that Zhou Zong was targeting Su Chen, but no one spoke up. However, most of the students present didn't seem to have any particular feelings about Su Chen's status as a refugee.

They weren't wealthy families in the city, nor were they poor; they weren't looking down on the homeless, but rather were surprised.

Only a few people looked at Su Chen with a sense of detachment.

Zhou Zong realized that Su Chen was ignoring him, which made him even more unhappy. Because of his father's instructions, he had been holding back for a long time since leaving the city. Now he took the opportunity to suppress Su Chen, but it was like hitting cotton.

"Alright, let's assign the night watch now." Hu Xiang interrupted any potential arguments, stood up and said, "The city patrol guards will be mainly responsible for the night watch, and they will be paired with a student, rotating in three shifts."

This was an important part of the experience, and the students weren't surprised, as they had heard about it beforehand.

Arrangements were quickly made: three batches of fifteen people each, to stand guard and watch over each other within a range of fifty to one hundred meters outside the camp.

Su Chen was in the first batch.

"...Your first priority is danger prevention; even if your companion dies in front of you, don't pay attention..."

Su Chen's companion was an old soldier named Zhao Lei. He asked Su Chen to call him "Old Zhao." His temples were already gray, and he calmly gave Su Chen instructions on what to do.

Everyone else had gone back to rest, while they stepped out of the barrier, dispersed, and headed towards their watch points.

The fog moved faster, and the wind howled.

In the night fog, the firefly behind Lao Zhao could only illuminate a distance of one or two meters, beyond which it was pitch black.

"That's about it..." Old Zhao used a positioning device with a string of numbers on it to pinpoint the location, glanced at Su Chen, and asked with considerable curiosity, "Are you really a refugee?"

"Yes," Su Chen readily admitted.

"Impressive..." Old Zhao exclaimed, showing a hint of admiration. Recalling what happened during the day, he couldn't help but say, "That Zhou Zong seems to be targeting you because of Jiang He. It wasn't easy for you to get into the academy, so just bear with it and it will pass."

"Jiang He?" Su Chen was slightly taken aback. "You mean Bai Fengxi, right?"

These city patrol guards were quite well-mannered, and I didn't deliberately inquire about them on the way. I only heard some things when the meat was being distributed in the afternoon.

It's likely that they mistook Bai Fengxi for Jiang He because they heard the unfinished part of Shen Ying'er's sentence.

"That girl's name is Bai Fengxi?" Old Zhao asked, puzzled. "Then what about the other... girl with such distinctive features? How could Jiang He have taken a liking to you..."

“Jiang He is a teacher at the academy,” Su Chen explained.

"Teacher?" Old Zhao was stunned, as if he realized something, and his gaze toward Su Chen changed several times.

"Yes, she's the one who brought me into the academy." Su Chen explained helplessly when he saw the old man hesitate.

After hesitating for a while, and remembering his earlier instructions, Old Zhao finally uttered two words, "Impressive..."

Su Chen smiled but didn't say anything.

The night watch was quite boring, so the two of them started chatting, making small talk.

……

Meanwhile, another glowing light was also moving forward in the darkness.

"...The city patrol camp is probably not far ahead..." One of them, who was thin, was also holding a positioning device and comparing directions. "According to the information, that guy will be assigned to keep watch in the southeast corner of the camp."

“By 10 p.m., he will be the only one there. We have three minutes to take him away.”

"Damn, this night is really scary..." The other man's features were all scrunched up, and he was quite fat. He complained, "A refugee, and he actually made the two of us fight and suffer this damn pain."

The guy holding the locator frowned and scolded, "Alright, this guy is involved in the deaths of Lao Gui and Da Zhuang, so we must ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"It's eight o'clock now, and it'll still be two hours. Don't get too close and disturb the patrolling guards."

.........

"...You mean ruins..." Old Zhao sighed. "Those things seem to have been left behind a very, very long time ago. There are a lot of good things inside—weapons, materials, technology, and even profession information—almost all of them were excavated from ruins..."

"But it's also very dangerous. Six or seven years ago, I was temporarily transferred to a newly excavated ruin. You wouldn't believe it, it was the carcass of a behemoth bigger than a mountain, and the mutated species inside each possessed the strength of a professional..."

Su Chen listened carefully to learn more.

Suddenly, the positioning device in Lao Zhao's hand began to vibrate incessantly in a peculiar pattern.

His expression shifted slightly, his brows furrowed, and he remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, "Su Chen, something seems to be wrong. I'll go check it out..."

"If I'm not back in three minutes, go and report."

"Shouldn't I come along?" Su Chen couldn't help but ask.

"Follow orders," Old Zhao said in a deep voice, without explaining further. He left the lamp with Su Chen and then carefully made his way into the darkness.

……

Not long after.

"Old Zhao..." The voice suddenly rang out in front of him, startling Old Zhao. After taking a closer look and exchanging the code, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Captain, it's you."

Hu Xiang's expression was complicated, and he did not respond. Old Zhao did not think much of it and turned to go back: "I'll go back first, so that Su Chen won't disturb the camp later."

“Su Chen is dead…” Hu Xiang said helplessly.

"Dead...dead?" Old Zhao stopped in his tracks, turned around in astonishment, and asked nervously, "What happened? What was that?"

He initially thought it was something in the dark, but seeing Hu Xiang remain silent for a long time, he realized what was happening and exclaimed in surprise, "Captain, is that you?"

Hu Xiang took a deep breath and shook his head, saying, "It's the Nightmare of Mist. You tried your best to resist, but there was nothing you could do. I arrived too late and could only save you. Do you understand?"

"Captain...how could you..." Old Zhao's expression shifted, his eyes revealing unspeakable disappointment, but in the end he could only say dejectedly, "I understand."

……

Su Chen looked at the darkness in the distance and hesitated for a moment. This was his first time coming out, so it was better to follow the rules. He was only a first-level professional.

But a moment later, Su Chen suddenly looked in a certain direction, his eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

In his hazy mental perception, he sensed two people sneaking towards him.

His perception range was suppressed to three or four meters, which almost meant that the other party was right in front of him.

"How could two people suddenly appear?" Su Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he became extremely vigilant.

I sensed that the two people had split up to the left and right, coming in a pincer movement.

"Coming for me?" A cold glint flashed in Su Chen's eyes.

Who sent them? Zhou Zong? Qi Chuan? Or... Jiang He?
(End of this chapter)