Boom—!
With an earth-shaking explosion, a hundred-meter-tall building collapsed like a chopped-down tree, crashing violently to the ground.
A massive cloud of dust spread in all directions, as terrifying as the coming of doomsday. The nearby spectators quickly fled into surrounding buildings. Strangely, however, no one was hurt… or at least, that's how it should have been.
"Cough, cough! Everyone okay?"
"Captain, we're fine! But we failed again this time…"
"Damn it! We still couldn't catch that guy!"
Several voices echoed from the ruins. Judging by their voices, they were quite young, but their tones were full of determination. They were clearly not ordinary people.
Ding—!
A flash of purple light shone through the smoke. Even from a distance, it was clear this was the glow of a Millennium Soul Ring—someone was about to release a soul skill.
Whoosh—!
About five seconds after the purple glow appeared, a whirlwind emerged from the same location, gradually drawing the previously scattered dust back together. In this world, where Martial Souls exist, dealing with such debris wasn't difficult—especially with Soul Tools around.
As the dust completely settled, a seven-man team slowly emerged from the ruins. Their faces were covered in soot, and their tone carried helplessness. Still, notably, none of them were actually injured.
After all, to Soul Masters—especially a Soul Armor team whose average level was over seventy—a collapsing building wasn't enough to cause real harm. But the mental exhaustion was another matter entirely. This was the thirteenth time this month.
"It's always the same! That Hanabi actually dares go against the Federation? Isn't she afraid they'll send a Titled Douluo to deal with her?"
"I think Hanabi is a Titled Douluo herself—maybe even a powerful Mecha Soul Master. Otherwise, how could she toy with us so easily?"
"These Evil Soul Master groups are seriously disgusting! Looks like we'll need backup. At this rate, the Federation doesn't have enough buildings for her to blow up!"
It had all started a few months ago, when the Federation began receiving some rather ridiculous letters. A person calling herself Hanabi claimed she was an Evil Soul Master, and that she was going to blow up one of the Federation's buildings.
At first, everyone thought it was a joke and didn't take it seriously. But once it actually happened, the Federation realized Hanabi was serious.
Yet… something about it felt off.
She claimed to be an Evil Soul Master, but all she did was destroy buildings—no casualties, not even one. Her actions were entirely unlike any known Evil Soul Master. And after all the dispatched investigators were thoroughly messed with and humiliated, the Federation finally realized the truth:
She was just a prankster brat!
Giving you face?
The Federation resolved to capture you before you dared say the words "small fry" again!
And then came the next stage—no need to say much. When the next "small fry" warning letter arrived, the Federation already knew they were completely outmatched.
But admitting defeat? Never!
There was still another way: call in outside help!
If we can't handle you, then surely Shrek Academy can!
Thus, the Federation brought the case to the Sea God Pavilion of Shrek Academy, requesting assistance from its Inner Court students.
And when Lord Hanabi left her "inspiring message" in the Sea God Pavilion's toilet, the Inner Court disciples of Shrek were also pulled into this grand farce, joining the Federation's investigation.
"Just thinking about those Shrek Academy people pisses me off. Sure, they're geniuses—but do they have to be so condescending?"
"Exactly! When we shared intel with them, they acted all high and mighty. If they don't catch Hanabi, I'm going to roast them hard!"
Though Shrek Academy came to assist, it was clear that these Inner Court disciples didn't know how to get along with outsiders—or maybe they simply looked down on others. Their attitudes during collaboration were particularly arrogant, which created resentment within the Federation's investigation team.
"Alright, let's drop it."
Seeing his teammates complain, the team captain couldn't stay silent. Though he also disliked Shrek's attitude, ultimately, they were on the same side.
"Shrek Academy is a major power on the continent. Even the Federation can't fully control them. If we mess up this relationship, higher-ups will have a hard time dealing with it. Besides, the core of the matter is—we couldn't catch Hanabi, which is why we asked for their help in the first place, right?"
"Captain, I know you're right, but those Shrek guys… sigh…" A team member wanted to say more but could only sigh in the end. The others echoed with helpless expressions.
"Remember who we are—we are Federation Investigators, not some street thugs here to start fights! Finishing the mission is our true goal!"
"Yes, Captain!"
But as things stood, the mission had officially failed. No one was injured, but the building couldn't be saved. Worse still, they got pranked again—Hanabi had left behind Hanabi dolls in the building that exploded and startled everyone.
"We've failed on our end. I wonder how things went for Shrek?"
"Probably about done too, right? Their investigation site wasn't far—want to go check it out?"
"Of course we will!" the captain declared firmly. "We're Federation Investigators. It's our duty to follow through! If Shrek's not done yet, we'll assist them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the team flew toward the other investigation site, piloting their Soul Armor suits.
The journey wasn't long. With Soul Armor, it only took five minutes. But when they finally arrived… the scene before them left them completely stunned. None of them dared take a single step forward.
"Captain… if I remember right, the place Shrek Academy was investigating… was an abandoned building, correct?"
"You're not wrong…"
"And that building was… located in a sewage treatment plant, wasn't it?"
"Yeah…"
"Then what's this in front of us?"
"…Looks like Shrek Academy failed too."
Inside the facility, several sewage storage tanks had exploded. Filth was flowing down the pipes and spreading across the floor. Fortunately, since the plant was at a low elevation, the flow was slow.
What was truly eye-catching, however, were the seven unconscious figures lying on the ground. Some had half their bodies soaked in the waste.
"These Shrek people… are heroes, man…"
"Brothers, salute!"
Looking at the scene before them, the captain took off his hat and gave a deep salute to the Shrek students who had "fought valiantly in the battlefield of filth." The rest of the team followed suit in solemn silence.
Unbeknownst to them, in a place where no one could see, the captain's eyes briefly flashed with a strange red light…