My Job Is Quite Unique Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Setting up Camp, Ambush (Extra chapter! Extra chapter!)

The city guards were very skilled. In just over ten minutes, the giant wolf’s body was skinned and dismembered, and they meticulously took out the pre-prepared black bags.

Blue patterns were woven onto the surface, and when the bags were opened, wisps of cold air emerged.

The students around them murmured complaints.

“The first line of defense is ten kilometers outside the city, and there are city guards patrolling in between. This Gluttonous Wolf, being only a first-order mutated species, couldn’t possibly break through such heavy defenses.”

“This must be deliberate, to scare us.”

The guy who said this pushed up his glasses, which had a clear crack. His analysis was clear and logical, but it was met with a burst of laughter.

“Who can’t be wise after the event? Who was it just now, practically burying their head in the ground?”

The spectacled young man’s face flushed as he explained, “What do you know? Gluttonous Wolves rely on their sense of smell. I was just covering up my scent.”

Everyone burst into laughter. After this sudden incident, the relationships between them had actually improved. Mostly because they realized that everyone was pretty much the same, and no one was better than anyone else.

“I haven’t heard anyone who went out of the city mention that there would be any mutated species suddenly appearing to scare people. Is the secret kept that well?”

After packing up, the team regrouped and set off again. There were no more surprises after that.

As time passed, the grayish-white mist gradually turned black, and visibility became lower and lower. It was almost impossible to see more than two or three people in front or behind.

“Stop!”

Hu Xiang’s powerful voice could still penetrate the mist and accurately reach everyone’s ears.

“Prepare to set up camp,” he roared in a deep voice. The students, who had been holding their breath and concentrating, finally relaxed.

The city guards had already sprung into action, pulling out white crystal columns from their backpacks. First, they formed a hexagon to enclose the entire team.

Then, at a command, they twisted the knob at the bottom.

Buzz—

White light, like tassels, shuttled through the crystal columns, then connected to each other, forming a milky white energy shield that covered the entire team. The mist within the energy shield gradually dissipated.

“This is a camp pillar, it’s the first time I’ve seen it unfold this way…”

The students discussed in low voices, feeling as if the knowledge from books had become reality.

The energy shield’s range gradually expanded, eventually forming a rather spacious area. Small tents were quickly set up.

In the central area, the city guards responsible for logistics had already set up a metal stove, taken out red crystal blocks, and drawn flames from them to roast the previously skinned beast meat. The fat sizzled.

After walking for most of the day, their minds had been highly concentrated, and their physical strength was greatly depleted. Everyone was already starving. Now, smelling the aroma, their eyes gleamed.

“This stuff is very nourishing for you,” Hu Xiang pulled out a black iron dagger, cut off a piece of roasted meat, and tossed it to Zhou Zong.

“Thank you, Captain…” Zhou Zong secretly gloated, but his expression was humble.

The others secretly curled their lips, full of envy and jealousy.

Hu Xiang acted as if he hadn’t heard. He cut another piece and, after a brief thought, casually threw it among the eager gazes of the crowd.

Su Chen unexpectedly caught a large piece of roasted meat. The others looked at each other, quite astonished.

It was no surprise that Hu Xiang selectively favored Zhou Zong, as his father was a prominent figure in the city.

But what was so special about Su Chen that earned him special treatment from Hu Xiang?

During the Gluttonous Wolf attack, this guy was conspicuously hiding behind Bai Fengxi. He seemed like quite a coward.

Hu Xiang inwardly observed the subtle glances exchanged among the crowd. He couldn’t help but sigh, thinking this was the little guy’s last meal, so letting him eat comfortably would ease his conscience.

Cutting another piece, Hu Xiang put it into his own 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 had just tasted a bite. The meat was tender, and not only that, but his body gradually began to feel warm.

“Why does it feel almost like drinking Blood-activating Potion…”

After two more bites, Su Chen noticed the change in his body and couldn’t help but think.

“Could it be that the ingredients for Blood-activating Potion are these mutated species? No wonder these city guards didn’t even spare the bones, they’re probably valuable too…”

Realizing the benefits, Su Chen naturally didn’t let up. He gorged himself, constantly stuffing his mouth, oil dripping from his hands. His wild eating style drew quite a few curious glances.

“This brother, really… unrestrained…” someone said with emotion.

“Liu Liang, we’re all classmates, why are you talking like that?” Zhou Zong feigned 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 was mocking? I was just expressing a sentiment!

Wait… a vagrant?

“A vagrant?” Shen Ying’er, who was not far away, looked over in astonishment. “He’s a vagrant? How could Teacher Jiang He…”

“You didn’t know?” Zhou Zong looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected it.

Su Chen looked up and swept his gaze over him. A student dying outside the city seemed to require a very detailed investigation report.

He continued to stuff food into his mouth, seemingly only focused on eating. The atmosphere became a bit strange for a moment.

Everyone noticed that Zhou Zong was targeting Su Chen and remained silent, but most of the students present had no particular feelings about Su Chen’s status as a vagrant.

They were not prominent families in the city; their financial situations were neither good nor bad. They wouldn’t look down on vagrants; it was more surprise.

Only a few looked at Su Chen with aloofness in their eyes.

Zhou Zong felt increasing annoyance when Su Chen ignored him. Due to his father’s instructions, he had restrained himself for a long time since leaving the city. Now, he seized the opportunity to suppress him, but it felt like hitting cotton.

“Alright, let’s assign night watch now.” Hu Xiang interrupted a potential argument, stood up and said, “The main night watch will be handled by the city guards, supplemented by one student. We’ll rotate in three shifts.”

This was an important part of the experience, and the students were not surprised this time, having heard about it beforehand.

The schedule was quickly arranged: three shifts, with fifteen people per shift, guarding within a radius of fifty to one hundred meters outside the camp, helping each other.

Su Chen was in the first shift.

“…Your first priority is danger prevention. Even if your companions die in front of you, don’t worry about them…”

Su Chen’s partner was an old soldier named Zhao Lei. He told Su Chen to call him “Old Zhao.” His hair was already white, and he calmly advised him on precautions.

Everyone else had gone back to rest, while they walked out of the barrier and dispersed, heading to their night watch positions.

The mist’s flow accelerated, and the wind howled.

In the night mist, Old Zhao’s glowing lamp on his back could only illuminate a distance of one or two meters, beyond which was pitch black.

“This is roughly it…” Old Zhao used a positioning device with a string of numbers in his hand to anchor their position. He glanced at Su Chen and asked curiously, “Are you really a vagrant?”

“Yes,” Su Chen admitted frankly.

“How impressive…” Old Zhao sighed, feeling a bit admiring. Remembering what happened in the daytime, 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.”

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

These city guards had decent training, and they hadn’t deliberately inquired about their affairs on the way, only hearing a few things during the meat distribution in the afternoon.

He probably overheard Shen Ying’er’s unfinished sentence and mistook Bai Fengxi for Jiang He.

“That girl’s name is Bai Fengxi?” Old Zhao was puzzled. “Then the other… a distinctly featured girl said something like, ‘How could Jiang He look at you…'”

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

“Teacher?” Old Zhao froze, as if realizing something, his gaze at Su Chen changing several times.

“Yes, she’s the one who brought me into the academy.” Su Chen explained helplessly when he saw the old man wanted to speak but hesitated.

Old Zhao held it in for a long time, then remembered his earlier warning, and finally uttered two words, “Impressive…”

Su Chen smiled, but said nothing.

The night watch was quite boring, and the two of them opened up, chatting idly.

……

At the same time, another glow advanced in the darkness.

“…The city guard camp should be not far ahead…” One of them, a thin figure, also held a positioning device, checking the direction. “According to the intelligence, that guy will be assigned to a night watch post in the southeast corner of the camp.”

“By ten o’clock tonight, he’ll be the only one there. We have three minutes to take him away.”

“Damn, it’s really scary tonight…” The other person, whose facial features were all bunched together and who was quite obese, grumbled, “Just a vagrant, and they made the two of us do it, suffering this damn hardship.”

The guy holding the locator frowned and scolded, “Alright, this guy is involved in the deaths of Old Ghost and Big Strong. We must ensure foolproof success.”

“It’s eight o’clock now, we still have two hours. Don’t get too close and disturb those city guards.”

…………

“…You’re talking about the ruins,” Old Zhao said with a sigh. “Those things seem to have been left a long, long time ago, and there are many good things inside. Weapons, materials, technology, and even professional information, almost all of them were excavated from the ruins…”

“But it’s also very dangerous. Six or seven years ago, I was temporarily reassigned to a newly discovered ruin. You wouldn’t believe it, it was a beast carcass larger than a mountain, and the mutated species inside, each of them had the strength of a professional…”

Su Chen listened carefully, learning more information.

Suddenly, the positioning device in Old Zhao’s hand vibrated continuously with a peculiar rhythm.

His expression stirred, his brows furrowed, and he remained silent. After a moment, he spoke, “Su Chen, it seems there’s a situation. I’ll go check…”

“If I don’t come back in three minutes, you go report it.”

“Am I not going with you?” Su Chen couldn’t help but ask.

“Obey orders.” Old Zhao said in a deep voice, without further explanation. He left the lamp with Su Chen and cautiously crept into the darkness.

……

Not long after.

“Old Zhao…” the voice suddenly sounded before him. Old Zhao was startled. He looked closely, and after confirming the secret signal, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, “Captain, why is it you?”

Hu Xiang’s expression was complex and he didn’t respond. Old Zhao didn’t think much of it and turned to go back. “I’ll head back first, so that kid Su Chen doesn’t disturb the camp later.”

“Su Chen, he’s dead…” Hu Xiang said helplessly.

“D-dead?” Old Zhao’s footsteps halted, and he turned back in surprise, asking nervously, “What happened? What was it?”

He thought it was something from the darkness, but then he saw Hu Xiang not speaking for a long time, and only then did he realize, exclaiming, “Captain, was it you?”

Hu Xiang took a deep breath and shook his head, “It was the Mistmare. You tried your best to resist, but to no avail. I arrived a step too late, but I could only save you. Do you understand?”

“Captain… how could you…” Old Zhao’s expression changed, and a subtle disappointment flashed in his eyes. In the end, he could only say dejectedly, “I understand.”

……

Su Chen looked at the distant darkness, hesitating slightly. This was his first time out, so it was better to follow the rules, and he was only a first-order professional.

But a moment later, Su Chen suddenly looked in a certain direction, his eyes becoming uncertain and surprised.

In his blurred mental perception, two people were stealthily approaching his direction.

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

“How could two people suddenly appear?” Su Chen’s heart tightened, his vigilance reaching its peak.

In his perception, the two people had actually split up, coming from left and right, forming a pincer attack.

“They’re 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)