Day 6,
Lan Yuheng stood at the crest of a windswept bluff overlooking the last sector—designated Sector 12B—a barren stretch of broken canyons, collapsed research stations, and shimmering crystalline formations born of mutated geothermic activity. He tightened his grip on the pommel of his dagger, the latent energy tingling along his fingertips.
Zhuang Niao stepped up beside him, his siege hammer slung over his shoulder, gazing out with determined eyes. Xing padded quietly between them in his Celestial Hound form, muscles coiled like springs, senses focused on the terrain ahead.
"KORA," Lan Yuheng said into the vacuum of his internal comm, "deploy protocols. Monitor for any threats. Stand by to deliver Crimson Sword or Siege Breaker within thirty seconds upon command. Repeat—thirty seconds."
A soft chime sounded in his ear. "Confirmed. On standby."
They'd twelve missions left—twelve beast-nest clearances and toxic-resource extraction zones to process. Twelve final tasks in the push that had vaulted LAN-YH-01 into the Rank-3,Elite Specialist Class, Upper–A tier. The mission board pulsed before them: twelve flashing icons, lit red to indicate high-priority targets.
Lan Yuheng exhaled, his breath hanging in the frigid air. "Let's finish this."
Their first Mission lay in a deep canyon littered with translucent quartz spires. Known nests of Crystal Raptors, avian predators with crystalline talons and chitinous wing armor. Capable of slicing through light mecha armor with ease.
Lan switched to his plasma sniper, scanning the ridgeline. Zhuang Niao raised his hammer, eyes narrowed.
The first wave descended.
A pair of Raptors sliced through the canyon mouth like living scythes. Talons gleamed frost-blue. But resistance exploded. Lan squeezed the sniper trigger; a bolt of green energy arced through the mist. It impacted a Raptor's skull—shattering it.
Zhuang leapt forward, swinging the hammer in a horizontal arc that imploded when it hit the second Raptor mid-flight. The beast split in two, crystalline shards scattering like hellish fireworks.
Below, more Raptors circled—nine more of them, focusing on Xing.
The Celestial Hound charged. His golden fur ignited in luminous pulses, creating a blinding flash that disoriented three Raptors. He dove, fangs snapping, tearing one's wing mid-flap. The others retaliated with talon swipes, but Xing dodged with preternatural agility.
Lan picked off Raptors one by one, each shot a kill. Zhuang dropped the final with a devastating ground-pound that shattered the canyon floor. Dust and crystal fragments floated in the sunbeam.
"Sector mission one—cleared," Lan said. Another icon turned green.
Next was mission 2: resource collection from a radioactive wetland nest. Sporeweb Toxins—used in chemical synth. But near spawn were Sporebeasts, fungal creatures that exploded into toxic spores when struck.
Lan advanced with visibility low, scanning terrain via sniper optics. Zhuang held shield and hammer. Xing padded quietly.
"Twelve targets," KORA intoned. "High caution: sporeburst risk zones."
Lan nodded. "Respirators on."
They medic-dosed themselves via nanobot injectors. Filtered their breathing. Gathered rad-resistant cloaks.
They ventured slowly. Fang-snapped vines burst as they passed. Beneath them, spore webs pulsed with glowing blue-green spores.
Lan fired a single plasma bullet into web clump. Instantly, spores erupted—like fireworks. Lan, Zhuang, and Xing ducked behind natural rock ridges.
Through the spores they saw three large Sporebeasts—each bigger than Xing—tentacled with fungal growths ready to burst. Lan crawled upward to high ground, fired sniper shots at heads. One dropped. Another staggered. Zhuang hammered a third, smashing spore sac mid-strike. It exploded, but shield absorbed most toxins.
Xing tore through the second with a leaping bite. Fungal spores scattered harmlessly around. Final beast came from behind—Lan whirled and pistol-shot its spine. Faint hiss, then collapse.
They collected toxin samples into sealed containers. Mission complete.
Mission 3: proceed to lake edge near cobalt mud pits. Mission boards: 5 containment canisters of rare cobalt residue.
Path taken through dead marsh. Ground hissed and boiled underfoot. Lan placed therm-optical goggles over his eyes.
Zhuang stabbed a sensor rod into mud—nox waves confirmed.
Xing sensed movement to the left—subsonic rumble. Behemoth Beast—Mudmaw Goliath, a towering amphibian with suction-cup spear claws and fusillade mud jets. Class C. Capable of disabling even light mecha.
"Take the lead," Lan said. Zhuang raised hammer and rushed in, shield forward. Xing bounded by.
He struck the beast's foreleg—hammer detonated shockwave. Mud geyser erupted. Mudmaw howled.
Lan fired two sniper shots into its head. One impact, followed by a second controlling its neck. The beast reared.
But claws lashed upward. Zhuang caught one with shield—metal shrieked under pressure. He kicked the beast's knee, bringing it down. Xing launched and bit through a second tendon. Beast howled, then collapsed.
They recovered canisters with magnet clamps. Mission completed.
Mission 4: extinguish mutant fireflies near geothermal fissure. Extract Phosphor Bolts.
Cliff glowed hot with steam vents. Fireflies swarmed like living embers. Touch could ignite biotech augments.
Lan and Zhuang donned fire-resistant coatings. Xing's fur glowed protective aura.
They approached under cloak. KORA activated insect-scanners.
Zhuang smeared shield with anti-flam gel. Lan advanced slowly, rifle at ready.
Bees of flame erupted as they approached. Zhuang swung shield in a wide arc—plasma radiator knocked them out of formations. Lan fired pulse rifle, downing fifty flight paths. Circled all around.
They collected bolts via protective siphon rods. Firerains gathered around them, searing the rock. They completed protocol and retreated, extinguishing embers with extinguish grenades.
Mission counted.
Mission 5: salvage mutated alloys from ancient metal ruins in desert ravine. But ruins were infested with Sandmael Stalkers—blended insectoid-rodent creatures that hunted in packs, intelligent and silent.
They approached near sunset. Gusts of dust cliffs. Lan moved via compass. Zhuang advanced with shield. Xing sniffed the wind.
"Pack likely ahead," KORA said. "Infrared shows eight."
Lan tapped opto-visor. Zhuang grip tightened.
The creatures ambushed—burrowing from sand dunes, bursting forward.
Lan fired sniper round through the lead grasper, electropling sparks. Zhuang charged, smashing a Stalker mid-leap. Hammer shattered exoskeleton.
Xing tore through remaining six with fang-and-fire technique, each precision strike to spinal nodes.
They salvaged metal panels, tagged for lift. Mission acknowledged.
Mission 6: clear cave of Frostvine Creepers—ice-spore rider plant-beasts—dangerous if allowed to melt. Yuheng and Zhuang donned insulated suits.
Xing slowed his breaths, adapting to low temperature.
Entering cavern, frost-thorns hung low. Lan used flamethrower to cut web strands.
Two creepers submerged—and launched icy tendrils. Zhuang swung hammer in horizontal arc, breaking vines. Two fell. Flamethrower turned creeper into steam.
They harvested vine sample using vibration-shear cutter.
Mission success.
7–10. The Final Four
They blitzed remaining missions.
Canyon of Echoing Blades: clearing surgically precise Shardspine Beetles that released sonic shards. Zhuang hammered audio-phase cannons to disperse swarms, Lan sniped leaders.
Marsh of Echoing Suns: downed solar-snare Swampfire Sentinels, extinct mutated amphibians with sun-energy sacs. Both worked in tandem to kill and harvest sacs.
Electric Tower Ruin: disabled sentinel towers pulsing with lightning. Zhuang sealed circuits with hammer straps; Lan used sniper to shoot energy nodes.
Glacial Rift: eliminated Icehowl Wolves, subarctic beasts that mimicked Yuheng's howl with ghostly range. Xing roared back, instilling alpha fear; Zhuang shattered their fronts. Final rune etched.
Each mission stripped their stamina—but they pressed on.
Ten down now two missions left–they'd moved from dawn to dusk, adrenaline surging.
Lan Yuheng checked KORA feed: two missions remaining. Sector 12: pack of Midnight Lupines—moonlit wolf-beasts able to phase between shadows and strike silently. And deep-canyon mineral harvest to close.
They rested briefly on a ledge in the moonlight. The air smelled of sugar and ozone. They drank hydration serum. Xing shook out cold dew from fur.
"Last two," Lan muttered.
Zhuang tapped shoulder. "Let's end this."
They descended into ravine.
Canyon darkness, moonlight glinting off fur of lupines—seven of them.
Lan crouched behind boulder. Zhuang shield ready. Xing stepped out.
Pack rushed in silence. Lan fired sniper in burst mode—first bolt cracked a wolf's skull; second struck heart of alpha.
Pack recoiled.
Zhuang leapt forward—hammer smashed through skull of second.
Two wolves lunged at Xing. He morphed mane into blazing aura—protective field—two area-fire breath blasts incinerated them.
Alpha reformed, charging at Zhuang. Zhuang shielded, then hammered down, shattering skull.
Final wolf turned tail.
Lan fired tracked round to spinal cord.
Pack extinguished.
Mission icon green.
Final mission: collect quorum shards, mutated crystal vital for med implants. Glistening cavern, crystals humming.
But as they harvested, ground trembled—a tremor threshold explosion. A largeRavengem Serpent, crystalline snake with energy-fissure body, emerged.
Lan stared wide-eyed. "KORA—deploy mechs?"
KORA tone calm. "Confirmed. 20 seconds to delivery."
Lan nodded. Zhuang braced. Xing positioned.
Ravengem Serpent struck horns forward. The ground cracked further. Crystals exploded, filling air with toxins.
Xing jumped at serpent, lashing bronze bite to neck crystals, tearing them free. Zhuang charged with hammer shield—hammer smashed the serpent's head. Lan fired long-range plasma revolver into eye-lamp.
Serpent collapsed, shards dissolving.
They collected core crystals.
KORA voice: "Crimson Sword ready in 10s; Siege Breaker ready its pod in 15s."
Lan nodded. "Not needed—you two okay?"
Zhuang wiped sweat. "Good."
Xing flicked tail.
"My turn," Lan said softly.
By dawn's first light, last mission icon turned green. Mission board: 0.
KORA announced: "Mission set complete. Total: 1400+ missions in 168 hours. Rank remains High-A Tier."
Lan breathed in the dawn air. Zhuang wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
"We did it," Zhuang said.
Lan closed eyes. "We did."
Xing howled softly, a triumphant tone.
As sunlight broke over Shanghai's skyline, inside the glass-walled command room of the rival Black Lotus Mercenary Guild, masked leader reclined, eyes scanning the mission board data.
"LAN-YH-01… Seven-days sweep, twelve-hour ambush, blitzed 1400+ missions. Reached Rank-3, Elite Specialist Class. Highly efficient."
He pressed thumbs to hologram icons. "They're too skilled. But they moved. And they left territory too—Sector 12B. That's our turf," he said softly.
He stood, red robes flowing. "Prepare to strike."
Lan Yuheng, Zhuang Niao, and Xing trudged toward Void Runner—fatigued but triumphant. They had pressed humanity's edge and survived.
Lan turned to see Shanghai city spark alive by sun—and he knew: this would not be the last wave of missions. A rival guild already plans—and they're coming.
But Lan and Zhuang were ready.