Chapter 254 - 193: Forming a Team

Words : 2323 Updated : Oct 12th, 2025

Chapter 254: Chapter 193: Forming a TeamJi Xinghuo arranged a meeting place with Jing Ji, hung up the phone, and opened "Tianlai". This was an internal software of Sword Bureau, he sent a message to a supervisor in the Intelligence Information Department, asking them to investigate Jing Ji. One must always be wary of others. Although Jing Ji was a friend he had made in the Star Realm and had been through life-and-death situations together, accidents could still happen, especially considering Jing Ji had a daughter, which was his greatest vulnerability. If he really was going to Africa, and leaving the boundaries of Chang’an, he would have to return the Purple Lightning Sword to the bureau. That would be the perfect opportunity for an enemy to strike. It could even be a trap specifically laid for him. Ji Xinghuo took a quick shower, changed into clean clothes, entered the study, and while waiting for the Swordsman’s investigation result, he began searching online and quickly found the video. It was first posted on a domestic website last week, with over 300,000 views. In this era, slightly popular videos count their views by the billions. A few hundred thousand views barely make a ripple. But that was normal. Mainstream media on Earth always focussed on the most powerful countries, and the major social platforms of various countries only paid attention to what happened in a handful of countries. Africa had always been a place overlooked by people. Even if Africa experienced catastrophes, wars, coups, and even tens of thousands of deaths and injuries as a result, it still wouldn’t attract as much attention as a street brawl or entertainment gossip in the major countries. Life is priceless. But sometimes, life’s value can be drastically different based on nationality and race. Reflecting upon this, Ji Xinghuo used keywords to find a few more videos. All were taken in Africa of the creature, with the earliest dating back to the year before last, all with very few views. However, last week’s video was the clearest and filmed from the closest distance. He carefully looked through the comments below a few videos; most were from netizens in Africa. Someone claimed to be a resident of the East Africa Kingdom, saying that about four or five years ago, there were already rumors of a man-eating creature appearing. According to eyewitnesses, the creature was a gigantic amphibian. It resembled a crocodile, and some said it was a giant lizard. It could lurk in the river, underwater, had the ability to manipulate water currents, could release lightning, was capable of invisibility, and was very fast. It often attacked cities and tribes, devouring humans. Some also saw it preying on wild animals in the wilderness. There were even claims that the creature could shapeshift, morphing into other animals! Several hunting teams of Mutants had pursued it, but all had come back empty-handed. There were many more dubious rumors, becoming more outrageous as they spread, making it hard to distinguish truth from fiction. Ji Xinghuo organized the information he had collected. Based on the addresses of the video posters, picking out some credible rumors, he marked a circle on the map. "Such a large area..." He felt a headache coming on. The map showed that the creature had appeared around Lake Victoria and the Nile River north of it, including its tributaries. Sometimes it would go west, out of the borders of the East Africa Kingdom, into the territory of the Zaire Tribe Chief Country, which was the former Congo Basin. The area covered three to four million square kilometers. Finding one creature in such a vast area was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, the African wilderness was not a safe place. Ever since the Star Gates opened two centuries ago, allowing a continuous influx of Ether Energy onto Earth, it didn’t just change the history of human society, but also caused a radical transformation in the global natural ecology. Africa was originally a massive animal kingdom, replete with a rich and primitive ecosystem. Countless wild animals absorbed Ether Energy over the years, and after generations of propagation, began to experience genetic mutations. There were mutations and evolutions. Almost all animals became stronger and more dangerous, some even evolved into monsters. Initially, many creatures from the Star Realm entered this continent through the three Star Gates in Africa, cohabiting and merging with the wild animals until today, when the African Continent’s environment is almost indistinguishable from that of the Star Realm. Of course, the danger level is definitely not as high as the Star Realm’s. Even so, for ordinary Africans, it is very difficult to survive in the wilderness. This is one of the reasons why the population of African countries has always been relatively low. Apart from warlord conflicts, local residents can only live within cities protected by walls, with very limited living space. Due to some historical reasons, the major powers of Earth, under the pretext of protecting the environment and wildlife, forcibly had all nations sign the "African Natural Conservation Convention," prohibiting African local countries or forces from using heavy weapons to massively clear dangers in the wild, only allowing them to develop within designated areas. This convention was effective. As a result, over 70% of the region south of the African Sahara Desert is now a nature reserve covering over 15 million square kilometers, occupying half of Africa. However, at the same time, the convention had many loopholes, for example, not prohibiting the hunting of monsters. It also did not prohibit foreign citizens from entering. In the face of danger, people had the right to kill the attacking creature under the pretext of "emergency avoidance". Sёarch* The ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Many Mutants who dared not venture into the Star Realm, or whose strength was still relatively weak, would first practice in the nature reserve to accumulate some experience, and then transition into the Star Realm. Ji Xinghuo compared the info. The activity range of the creature was mostly within the nature reserve. After studying for over two hours, his phone rang. The Intelligence Information Department sent the investigation result—there was no problem with Jing Ji, at least not currently. Ji Xinghuo was not surprised. Just now, finding the video from the year before last confirmed the existence of the creature. At that time, he was not yet a Mutant, and it was unlikely that the enemy could travel through time to lay a trap years in advance for him. Ji Xinghuo went downstairs and out the door. A moment later. He met Jing Ji in a private room of a coffee shop. They had last met two months ago, and Jing Ji looked even healthier than before. "How’s your recovery going?" Ji Xinghuo asked as soon as he sat down. During the battle that killed the Legendary Dagon, Jing Ji was the most severely injured and nearly lost his life. At the time, it was estimated that he would need a full year to fully recover. Now it’s only been just over seven months. "I’ve been well for a while now, hopping about and feeling like a new man," Jing Ji replied confidently but then shook his head, "My strength has recovered to about ninety-five percent. It doesn’t affect combat, so I’m a bit restless. I want to go back to the Star Realm but can’t bear to leave my daughter." Ji Xinghuo nodded, "Then rest for a few more months, there’s no rush." "That’s what I’m thinking." Jing Ji sized up Ji Xinghuo and a strange smile appeared on his face, "You’ve been living it up these past few months, haven’t you?" "Not bad," Ji Xinghuo laughed. "Catching the fancy of a global goddess, all the men on the internet are nearly sour with jealousy, and you say it’s just ’not bad’?" Jing Ji sounded envious, clicking his tongue. Ji Xinghuo tapped on the tabletop, "Let’s talk business." "Okay." Jing Ji relayed all the information he had collected, which was basically the same as what Ji Xinghuo had found but more detailed. "Regarding this monster, I’ve learned from other channels that there are already quite a few people eyeing it," Jing Ji finally said. Ji Xinghuo nodded. He could tell that it was a Transcendent Ability Electrostatic Field; others could figure that out as well. If the video content was verified, then that monster had at least two Transcendent Species abilities, Invisibility and Electrostatic Field, each worth hundreds of millions. It had already been a week. Organizations, companies, and hunting teams from all over the world were probably already scouring Africa. "What do you think? Shall we also go to Africa to join in the fun?" Jing Ji was eager, "The nature reserves aren’t as dangerous as the Star Realm, and even if we don’t find anything, we can treat it as a trip to the wilderness, to take in the magnificent scenery of the African savanna." "The greatest danger comes not from monsters but from humans," Ji Xinghuo murmured thoughtfully. "Indeed." Jing Ji nodded, "So we need to form a team." "That works," Ji Xinghuo thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have any suitable candidates in mind?" "You’re the most famous and the strongest right now, so you’ll naturally be the captain, and the choice of team members will be yours," Jing Ji said with a smile, "I’ll only recommend Yuan Chongzhen. He’s a half-orc and has a big advantage in Africa, teeming with wildlife. We all trust him too." "Okay." Ji Xinghuo didn’t demur, "Chongzhen is still in the Star Realm, right?" Yuan Chongzhen was single and, like Ji Xinghuo, a public child who had spent the past few years amassing resources in the Star Realm to challenge for the Legendary Rank. He had only returned to Earth once in the past few months, met up with friends, stayed for two days, and then went back to the Star Realm. "I’ll send someone to the Star Realm to call him back in a bit," Jing Ji said. "Then we have three people." Ji Xinghuo thought it over, began to shake people up, and picked up his phone to dial Chi Zhonglin’s number. "Hello, Xinghuo." Chi Zhonglin appeared on the screen, with a background of pink flashing lights and the sound of booming music. He was already halfway drunk, his head lolling about as if on the verge of collapsing, and he asked, "What’s up? You have time to call me today?" "There’s a hunting target in Africa, are you interested?" Ji Xinghuo went straight to the point. "Africa?" Chi Zhonglin’s mind spun for a moment before he remembered what place it was, shaking his head like a rattle-drum, "No beauties, no go!" "You can use the Sky Fury Green Blood Spear during the hunt," Ji Xinghuo said indifferently. "Where are you? I’m on my way!" Chi Zhonglin immediately sobered up and shouted excitedly. Ji Xinghuo hung up, sent him the address, and then dialed Jiangnan Caiyi’s number. She answered happily, "Good evening, Xinghuo-kun!" After hearing his intentions, Jiangnan Caiyi’s face showed an apology, "Xinghuo-kun, I’m having the Star Gland implant surgery in a few days. I’ve been preparing for this promotion for a long time, and I really can’t leave, I’m truly sorry." She made several deep bows in succession. "No problem, I wish you a successful promotion!" After finishing with her, Ji Xinghuo hung up. "We’ve got four people. Since Caiyi can’t make it, let’s replace her with a healing profession, someone with a bit more strength." Before he finished speaking, Chi Zhonglin’s voice came from outside, "I know just the person." He walked in reeking of alcohol. "You arrived so quickly?" Ji Xinghuo was somewhat surprised. "Heh, the bar I was in is not far from here, just over a thousand meters away, so I ran over," Chi Zhonglin sat down, caught his breath, looked at Jing Ji, and said, "And you are?" Ji Xinghuo introduced the two to each other. "Brother Jing." "Just call me Jing Ji." Once they got acquainted, Ji Xinghuo asked, "Zhonglin, who’s the person you mentioned?" "A friend of mine," Chi Zhonglin chuckled, "He’s a Battle Priest with strong capabilities, a high-level player just like you on the ladder. He was by my side when you called, we were having a drinking contest, and he almost knocked me out." Ji Xinghuo’s eyes lit up. A Battle Priest? This was a very rare advanced profession, derived from "White Knight" and "Black-clothed Bishop." Both basic professions had healing capabilities as well as their drawbacks, but upon advancement, the healing power improved markedly and the weaknesses complemented each other, leading to a surge in combat capability. "What’s he like as a person?" Ji Xinghuo asked. "Er..." Chi Zhonglin suddenly didn’t know what to say, thought for a while, and then chose, "Honest? Straightforward? Anyway, he’s a simple guy with hardly a mind for tricks. His biggest strength is his drinking capacity—he can outdrink three of me!" Ji Xinghuo was speechless, "Can you call him over now?" "No problem." Chi Zhonglin immediately made a call, speaking hastily, "He said he’ll be here soon." A few minutes later. A thickset man with a build like a wall walked in. His muscles expanded laterally, standing at about 1.8 meters tall, roughly the same height as Ji Xinghuo, but likely twice Ji Xinghuo’s weight, nearly bursting the seams of his clothes, with a buzz cut that made him look exceptionally fearsome, like someone who could make children cry just by walking down the street. But the moment he spoke, he emitted a trustworthy vibe; his voice was deep, he wore a kind smile, and extended his palm as large as a fan. He introduced himself, "I’m Zhuo Lige, I’ve long admired Brother Ji’s reputation."

Chapter 254 - 193: Forming a Team

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