Su Mo retraced his steps along the path he had come, encountering quite a few members of the Ye family along the way. However, most of them pretended not to see him and walked past without a word.
As he neared the foot of the mountain, a car pulled up beside him, and Ye Wei’s voice called out from inside: “Qingyi, where are you going? Why are you leaving so soon after just arriving?”
“I’ve finished what I came to do, so it’s time to go back. My leave is up, anyway.” Su Mo greeted her with a smile, careful not to let his darker emotions show.
“Did my brother say something to you again? Come on, I’ll take you to confront him. If that doesn’t work, we’ll go to my dad—he’ll put my brother in his place!” The young girl flung the car door open, hopped out, and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him into the vehicle.
Su Mo couldn’t help but laugh. He patted her head and replied breezily, “You’re overthinking it. I really do have something urgent to take care of. If I don’t leave now, I won’t graduate on time.”
“Who’s your principal? If he dares to hold you back, I’ll send someone to beat him up!” Ye Wei clenched her fists, fuming.
Her outburst lifted Su Mo’s mood a little, but it didn’t change the fact that he had to leave.
Ye Wei insisted on driving him, but he refused.
After packing up his things at the villa, he bought an afternoon train ticket.
……
The train station was packed, as troublesome as the overcast sky outside. Su Mo found an empty seat in the waiting area and sat down, immediately drawing the attention of nearly every man around.
“Bro, look at that girl—she’s so pretty, like a celebrity!”
“She is, but it’s a shame she’s dressed so conservatively…”
“She’s still gorgeous!”
“You’ll understand when you’re older, kid.”
“Oh…”
Ever since the soul swap, Su Mo had dressed in a more androgynous style. While it helped him avoid unwanted exposure, his striking looks and figure still turned heads.
Sure enough, a cocky young man soon approached to hit on him, while his buddies lurked nearby, waiting to see how things played out.
“Hey there, beautiful. Wanna get to know each other?” The guy was clearly no stranger to flirting—his tone was smooth, without a hint of nervousness.
“No.” Su Mo shut him down instantly, cutting off any chance for a follow-up, and turned his face away. Unfortunately, the group of boys sitting on the other side immediately blushed and looked flustered.
Undeterred by the rejection, the guy tried to press further—but before he could even open his mouth, Su Mo shot him a murderous glare. “Don’t make me see you again. I’m not in the mood.”
Su Mo wished the train would leave immediately so he could reach his destination faster. The longer he waited, the more trouble seemed to find him.
Bunch of useless men…
Just as his train was about to board, his phone suddenly rang. Su Mo checked the screen—it was Wang Er calling.
Why is he calling me? Does he still expect me to help revive the Qingyu Society?
After a brief hesitation, he answered.
“Uncle Wang, what’s up?”
“Be careful these next few days. Someone might come after you.” Without another word, Wang Er hung up, leaving Su Mo no time to react.
???
Su Mo opened his mouth, then bit his lower lip awkwardly, pretending nothing had happened.
He decided to take Wang Er’s warning neither lightly nor seriously—he’d just wait and see.
Why would he say that? Does he know something I don’t?
The boarding announcement blared over the loudspeaker, cutting short his thoughts. Su Mo quickly joined the moving crowd.
Just then, an older woman behind him tapped his shoulder and held out her ticket. “Miss, could you check if this is my train? I can’t read.”
Su Mo glanced at it and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. You’re in Car 3.”
Coincidentally, Su Mo was also assigned to Car 3.
He followed the flow of passengers onto the train, found his seat, and sat down. The elderly man beside him couldn’t help but grin, clearly pleased.
The train lurched forward, speeding across the plains like a steel dragon, the scenery outside the window blurring past.
5:30 PM.
Su Mo stepped out of Jingcheng Station and was about to hail a cab when he received a message from Wang Ye. The gist of it was that he didn’t need to attend further training and could return to campus directly.
At the same time, Wang Ye sent a link, instructing him to open it. Su Mo complied, and an installation page for an app called “North Star Organization” popped up.
He followed the steps to install, register, and log in. The app’s interface wasn’t overly complicated—its main features included task assignments, mission selection, and a chat function.
Under the friends tab, a notification appeared. Su Mo clicked it and saw a friend request from someone with the username “The Prince.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out this was Wang Ye. After accepting, he was promptly added to a group chat titled “Special Ops Team.”
The previously silent group exploded the moment the newcomer joined.
Young Marshal: “Holy crap, what’s going on lately? Another newbie?”
A’Kun: “Newbie, are you a dude or a girl? Say something!”
Yi Ge: “Newbie, post a selfie!”
Veteran Driver: “I second that.”
Eighth Day: “I third that.”
A’Kun: “Same here.”
……
Su Mo hadn’t expected the group to be so lively. He didn’t reply immediately—instead, he hailed a cab first and only opened the chat again after getting in.
Yi E Ye: “Hello, everyone. [Salute]”
A’Kun: “Newbie, post a selfie!”
Veteran Driver: “I second that.”
……
Su Mo was speechless. Do these people have nothing better to do than demand photos from newcomers? Ignoring them, he switched to the mission tab.
The task section was divided into three categories: Mission Board, Post Mission, and My Missions.
The Mission Board was where users could browse and accept tasks of all types. Claiming a mission required three consecutive confirmations, and once accepted, it couldn’t be easily abandoned without affecting one’s Trust Score.
Su Mo guessed the Trust Score worked similarly to reputation points in games—if it dropped too low, restrictions like temporary mission locks or reduced rewards might apply.
Post Mission was a feature only available to team leaders and above, so it was useless to him for now.
When he opened My Missions, he found a Newcomer Notice and clicked to read it.
[Newcomer Notice]
-
Missions are divided into Assigned Tasks and Free Tasks.
-
Assigned Tasks are mandatory missions tailored to the user’s skill level.
-
Free Tasks are optional missions users can take after completing their assigned tasks.
-
Usernames serve as official aliases during missions and cannot be changed freely.
-
Beginner Mission
All new users must complete a Beginner Mission, which the platform uses to determine future assigned tasks and set base compensation.
Beginner Mission?
Su Mo closed the notice and checked the pending tasks. Sure enough, there it was.
[Beginner Mission]
-
Difficulty: E-rank
-
Type: Exploration
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Description: Jingnan Third Hospital, abandoned for years but never demolished, has recently regained attention due to paranormal activity…
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Objective: Gather useful intel. Evaluation will be based on performance.
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Time Limit: Within 3 days (countdown starts 24 hours after account registration).