Martial Arts Master

As he was about to return from his two-day trip in Huiyuan, Lou Cheng received a call from Empress Luo.

“The military has assigned you a mission,” said Ning Zitong directly.

“What mission?” Lou Cheng wasn’t foolish enough to accept right away.

Ning Zitong chuckled.

“It’s nothing difficult. There’s a drug cartel operating in the war-torn zones in the southern regions of China. They have severely disrupted the peace and stability of the borderlands. After prolonged negotiations, we’ve reached an agreement with America to organize a joint raid.”

“Did America have a hand in this previously?” asked Lou Cheng shrewdly.

“How else do you think the Ta Gu gang grew stronger while being on our radar? Converting enemies, subversion, disrupting order, funding factions, brewing chaos, it’s what the American Intelligence Agency does,” said Ning Zitong mockingly. “Anyway, the Ta Gu gang is no longer valuable to them.”

“So what do I need to do?” Without wasting his breath, Lou Cheng inquired about his role.

“You’ll assist them and see to it that the Ta Gu gang members are all captured,” said Ning Zitong.

Understanding, Lou Cheng mused,

“Are there Physical Invulnerability experts among the enemy?”

“According to our current intel, no,” said Ning Zitong.

Puzzled, Lou Cheng asked,

“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to send an Inhuman who is adept at tracking, or a supernatural ability user with relevant skills?”

This isn’t my area of specialization!

“Rest assured, we have such talents on the team,” chuckled Ning Zitong.

“Then wouldn’t I just be an extra?” asked Lou Cheng, none the wiser.

With or without me, I wouldn’t make a huge difference…

“Better safe than sorry,” said Ning Zitong with a smile. “We are giving you more opportunities to complete missions and rack up contributions so you can qualify to access the Forbidden Sect, Yuqing Chapters. Your Master has been nagging about it nonstop.”

“So that’s why…” muttered Lou Cheng.

At the thought of gaining access to the Forbidden Sect, Yuqing Chapters, he felt eager and motivated for the mission.

I can’t lose to Priest here!

So, sorry in advance, Mr. Ta Gu!

Then again, death is too light of a punishment for you.

Ning Zitong went on.

“You understand now, right? Anyways, it’s only a simple mission. You’re there mainly to prevent accidents, so there’s a chance you won’t even have to do anything.”

“A simple mission…” Lou Cheng felt a chill down his spine. Half-joking, he said,

“Maybe I watch too many movies, but usually whenever they say the mission is going to be simple, it turns out to be difficult.”

“Like you said, that only happens in movies. Reality is rarely dramatic, no?” said Ning Zitong, amused. “Plus, it has more to do with one’s luck, compared to the difficulty of the mission.”

My luck has always been, thought Lou Cheng, remarkably bad…

“Alright, anyways, come back to Huacheng as soon as possible. You’ll leave from the military base. It will take only two or three days, so you don’t have to worry about your holidays being disrupted.”

With that, Ning Zitong hung up.

Phone in hand, Lou Cheng pondered for a moment. He then made a call to his mother, informing her that something came up and that he would be returning a few days later than expected. After that, he told Yan Zheke. Because of the non-disclosure agreement, he couldn’t mention the details and merely said it was a mission for him to rack up contribution.

With all that done, he asked Auman to handle the flight change procedures.

“Did something come up?” Cai Zongming asked curiously as they pulled up to the metro.

Lou Cheng nodded solemnly.

“Yup,” he said as he got off the car and retrieved his belongings.

His solemn attitude startled Xiao Ming, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say.

Wheeling around, Lou Cheng waved and beamed.

“See ya! I’m off to save the world!”

Save the world…? Damn it, you made me worry for nothing!

“Get lost!” cursed Cai Zongming, flipping him off.

…

Temporary US-China Allied HQ in the middle lake region hidden in mountains and valleys.

Clad in a dark military uniform with his hair combed back, Smith put on his sunglasses and white gloves. He examined his surroundings with curiosity, excited and nervous.

Heeding Lou Cheng’s advice, the ex-Spiderman had sought the mentorship of a strong priest from the Mission Sect. Through methods that were borderline self-abusive, he had trained his physique and refined his spirits over a long period of time. Eventually, he evolved. Now, he was nearing Danger Grade expert level.

Because of this, the NSA made him a priority for growth and sent him on an exchange program to the Foreign Intelligence Service for two years, then deploying him to the war-torn zones for more experience.

“First time?” smiled a brawny black military officer beside him.

“Yeah,” Smith nodded honestly. “I used to do monitoring and security missions. Just been here for a week.”

The black military officer reached out and patted him on the shoulder, then laughed heartily.

“Relax, these group missions tend to be safe. You’ll get used to it easily.”

“For real?” exclaimed Smith, rather surprised.

“Absolutely,” replied the black military officer, pointing around him. “Look closely at those people from the HQ. Their conditions, standards, and skills have already decided the difficulty of this mission.”

“I know that…” muttered Smith.

His boss had explained this to him just before.

Half of the members in the Allied HQ were commanders and staff, none short of Danger Grade experts. The other half were the upper echelon of the special forces, some experienced in jungle warfare and others in martial arts. However, only a few of them were Danger Grade.

So, it appears that the difficulty of the Allied Raid Mission is around Danger Grade?

With his current standard and enhanced spiderwebs, he was certain that he could ensure his safety as long as he didn’t act impulsively.

As these thoughts flashed through Smith’s mind, the military officer led him to the door.

“You already know it, huh? Good. That saves us some time. Anyways, remember this. This assessment level has taken emergency situations into consideration, so the actual risks could be even lower. Have a good sleep. You’ll need the energy to stay sharp for the mission.”

“Ah, that makes me feel better,” said Smith, visibly relieved.

As a newcomer, it’s best to start with simple missions.

Looks like the higher-ups are making this easy for me!

The door of the Allied HQ was suddenly pushed open. A number of Chinese figures entered from outside. The person in the lead leapt into Smith’s focus.

Defined features, dark and profound eyes, a buzzcut, plain looks that still had a mature attractiveness… Smith was stunned as he stared at the familiar figure. Certain words came into his mind:

Lou…Terror Grade…troublemaker…Terror Grade…again?

“Oh!” cried Smith, staring blankly. Silently, he muttered a Chinese word, “MMP…” which translated roughly to “Shit…”