Chapter Seventy-Three: Investigation

"There's no rush," Du Huaishan replied calmly, taking the incident list from Li Anqi's hands and studying it carefully. "When faced with a situation, one must think it through. These military orders may seem numerous, but in reality, they fall into three categories."

"First: combat missions, which involve executing enemies or repelling invading demons and spirits. These tasks are generally short in duration, the intelligence provided is detailed, the difficulty moderate, the rewards average, but they carry significant risk. Second: defense missions, such as guarding mines, fortresses, or escorting convoys. These tasks are typically longer, involve no intelligence gathering, are the least challenging, offer the smallest rewards, but are the safest. Third: investigation missions, which require cooperating with special ops to probe enemy raids, scouting demon activity in the wilderness, or inspecting railway equipment. These tasks are of medium duration, provide the least intelligence, present the greatest challenge, offer moderate basic rewards but high hidden gains, and their risks are uncertain—potentially extreme."

Wu Ming and the others were left speechless.

Even Li Anqi, who had just been teased for being careless, forgot all about it.

"That's incredible, Du Huaishan. How did you figure out the patterns in these tasks so quickly?" Chen Jun gazed at Du Huaishan with envy.

He couldn't understand why, though they were all sixteen or seventeen-year-old trainees, someone else's mind could be so sharp.

"Practice makes perfect," Du Huaishan replied.

Recognizing patterns is, after all, one of the cornerstones of modern education. From language classes in primary and secondary school, to taking notes in university lectures, even to the civil service entrance exams after graduation, nothing escapes the mantra: 'comprehend, summarize, and synthesize.'

"Du Huaishan, which type should we choose?"

"Could you help our First Training Squad as well?"

"Yes, for Old Wu's sake, give us a recommendation!"

Seeing Lin Sizhi ask, the members of the First Training Squad who followed Old Wu couldn't help but seek Du Huaishan's guidance.

Apart from his keen intellect, they had already benefited from secretly learning his 'breath control strategy' during the Qingshi Mountain assessment, which was enough to win their complete trust.

Du Huaishan squinted and said seriously, "If it were up to me, I'd choose the investigation type."

"Investigation?" Li Mingcheng was puzzled. "But didn't you just say the investigation missions are the most dangerous?"

"High risk comes with high reward," Tan Hai pointed to a note at the end of one investigation mission. "'The reward increases based on the value of findings.' That line is significant. If we discover major demon activity and report it to the military government, the credit will be immense. Huaishan is considering our squad's strength. Don't you want to earn military merit?"

Li Mingcheng hesitated, glancing at the bronze blood-and-iron medal pinned to Du Huaishan's chest.

If he could earn a third-class merit, perhaps his family could finally afford a new house.

But the words 'extremely dangerous' meant they could die at any moment.

Du Huaishan, seeing Li Mingcheng's inner struggle, knew he was timid—he'd seen him, during the Qingshi Mountain incident, cower with his arms over his head and his legs turning to jelly when surrounded by demons, only to be pulled up by Chen Jun.

Chen Jun, on the other hand, was a bit too eager for quick success, often urging them to hurry during the breath control test and fretting when other squads overtook them.

Everyone had their flaws.

Recalling Chang Suian's advice to remain steady and not arrogant, Du Huaishan pressed his lips together. "It's just my suggestion. If anyone has a different idea, please speak up."

"I disagree."

To his surprise, a voice of refusal came from within the squad.

A dark-skinned, freckled female soldier raised her hand. "I think investigation missions are too dangerous. With so little intelligence, if we run into a demon ambush, we'd all die."

She was Jiang Qian, the new recruit who had replaced Sun Tian.

Du Huaishan remembered that her previous squad had all perished, leaving her as the sole survivor, so her fear was understandable.

Jiang Qian's words made Li Mingcheng even more anxious.

Even Chen Jun and the members of the First Training Squad wavered.

"I think our squad's average strength isn't low, and we have strong members like Du Huaishan and Xu Yuan. Why not take a chance? We joined the army to grow stronger and achieve distinction. If we only care about safety, why not just become merchants from the start?" said Li Anqi, suddenly speaking up as morale dipped.

For all her carefree bravado, her words brimmed with fighting spirit.

"I agree with Anqi, and I trust Du Huaishan's choice," Lin Sizhi added firmly.

"To be fair, let's put it to a vote," someone suggested.

Seeing disagreement within the squad, Du Huaishan proposed a vote. "All in favor of taking the investigation mission, raise your hand."

As soon as he'd spoken, Xu Yuan's hand shot up first, followed by Li Anqi, Tan Hai, and Lin Sizhi. Including Du Huaishan himself, that made five votes—enough to carry the decision, even without Chen Jun.

With someone as capable as Du Huaishan, surely they'd be able to turn danger into safety—as long as they stuck close to him! Sun Tian's sacrifice, after all, was due to being too far away.

Thinking of Du Huaishan's performance on Qingshi Mountain, Li Mingcheng took a deep breath and, together with Chen Jun, also voted in favor.

"Jiang Qian, don't be afraid. If worst comes to worst, just stick close to me," Li Anqi said, throwing an arm around Jiang Qian's shoulders.

Jiang Qian instinctively shrank away, like a wary kitten, but finally sighed, "Alright, I agree too."

"Excellent! Unanimously approved!" Li Anqi patted Du Huaishan's shoulder. "Come on, let's pick the mission already!"

As everyone looked at him expectantly, Du Huaishan pointed to an investigation mission in the center of the incident list:

"Investigation Order: Baiongsan Incident, Yanshun City District.

On March 23rd, Year Six of Anguo, the Yanshun City Police Department reported multiple strange disappearances of hunters and herbalists in the Baiongsan region to the military government. The 57th Brigade's first battalion reconnaissance platoon was dispatched to patrol the area, suffering heavy casualties. The next day, the military government declared martial law and sent troops to sweep the area, but nothing unusual was found. On April 5th, a merchant caravan passing near Baiongsan reported strange tremors, raising suspicions about the mountain. Now, three elite training squads are needed to conduct a new investigation in the Baiongsan area, within a half-month deadline. Four third-class bronze medals will be awarded, and additional rewards may be given based on the final findings."

"Yanshun City is east of my home!" Wu Ming exclaimed, clapping Du Huaishan on the shoulder. "I'm familiar with the place, and mountain work is my specialty. Huaishan, I'm with you on this one. We're only missing one more squad... Let's call Tingyu. That'll make up half of our old Eighth Squad. Tingyu! Tingyu!"

Not far away, Guo Tingyu's Seventh Training Squad was huddled together, deep in discussion. Hearing Wu's shout, Guo Tingyu walked over. "What is it, Old Wu? Have you decided on a mission?"

"We're just discussing it now! Take a look at this—interested?"

Guo Tingyu took the incident list and muttered to himself, "You're choosing this one with Huaishan?"

"That's right! Huaishan says investigation missions have the highest rewards and aren't too long. If we make a big discovery, we'll be promoted instantly!"

"I'll ask my teammates," Guo Tingyu replied, since he couldn't decide alone.

When Tan Hai saw Xing Zhenhao and Cai Zhizhong approaching, he nudged Du Huaishan.

Du Huaishan gave him a reassuring look.

In truth, during the Qingshi Mountain incident, Xing Zhenhao had changed Du Huaishan’s impression of him by saving Guo Tingyu at a critical moment and then helping the instructor team. Xing Zhenhao was loyal and capable, although sometimes a bit rigid, but that was no great flaw.

"Baiongsan investigation order... Tingyu, doesn't this seem extremely dangerous? An entire reconnaissance platoon was wiped out—what chance do us rookies have? Could this be a setup?" Cai Zhizhong glanced at the mission details, his narrow eyes sharp with skepticism.

"Setting us up with our own lives? Cai Zhizhong, did you hit your head on Qingshi Mountain and lose your wits?" Tan Hai retorted, unable to stand his sarcasm.

"You—!"

Cai Zhizhong’s most humiliating moment had been the time he ran out of breath chasing Tan Hai and fell out of a tree. Now, with his old wound reopened, his anger flared.

Just as he was about to explode, Xing Zhenhao cut him off with a deep voice: "Enough."

Xing Zhenhao took the incident list and studied it, nodding. "I think this mission is doable."

What!?

Cai Zhizhong could hardly believe his ears—his boss wanted to cooperate with Du Huaishan and Tan Hai, their supposed rivals? "But boss, why? It's so dangerous..."

"Just days ago, a whole reconnaissance platoon was lost, and the next day, the military found nothing. Strange. Very strange!" Xing Zhenhao set the list down, looking at Cai Zhizhong and the rest of the Seventh Training Squad. "But strange means something big is afoot. As long as we can get a share alongside the military government, it'll be more than enough for us!"

He turned to Du Huaishan. "Du Huaishan, we've had our differences, but since you came to me, I'm not a petty man. I give you my word, I'll cooperate and Cai Zhizhong will too."

Huh?

When did I come to you? Wasn't it Old Wu who called Tingyu over?

Du Huaishan was a little bemused by Xing Zhenhao’s final words, even finding them a bit amusing—the man was clearly prideful, giving himself an out.

But truth be told, there weren’t many options for a third squad. Aside from Xing Zhenhao and Guo Tingyu’s Seventh Squad, the only other choice was He Zongtai’s Third Training Squad.

Du Huaishan had chosen this mission for two main reasons. Among all the investigation tasks, Baiongsan was the only region they were relatively familiar with, thanks to Old Wu’s background as a hunter, which would aid their search.

From Sun Jianheng, Du Huaishan had learned the importance of intelligence. Old Wu was their main source for both terrain and practical experience.

The second reason, which Xing Zhenhao had half-guessed correctly, was: strangeness.

The entire affair was shrouded in oddity.

The three provinces of Yingzhou boasted two scenic wonders: the White Mountain and the Black Water. The latter was the Black Tiger River, famous for its dark waters; the former was Baiongsan, near Yanshun City in Jiwu, named for its perpetual snow, which resembled an old man’s white beard. It lay on the border between Chiyu Empire and Nipaan.

With its high, treacherous terrain and sensitive location, the Yingzhou Army had never conducted a thorough investigation of the area. Human activity was minimal, so demons and spirits seldom appeared, making it a haven for wildlife.

Many hunters frequented Baiongsan, as did herbalists seeking rare medicinal plants.

Given all this, Du Huaishan’s instinct told him the incident could only be related to one of two things: demons, or Nipaan.

The latter seemed more likely.

The Yingzhou Army’s intelligence branch wasn’t foolish; they’d likely begun their own investigation long ago. Issuing the mission order was probably a way to use rookie squads as bait in the open, while their own agents worked in secret, lulling the enemy into complacency.

Such deep waters promised rich rewards.

Even if things went wrong, the intelligence branch was backing them up, making this the investigation mission with the highest "value for risk."

"Alright, Tan Hai and I will work with you in good faith," Du Huaishan agreed. He had been able to drink and reconcile with the veteran soldiers, so he had no qualms about working with Xing Zhenhao, as long as there was no backstabbing.

"That's the spirit! We're all soldiers of Yingzhou Army—our blades should all be pointed at the demons!" Li Anqi declared with hands on her hips, laughing heartily.

With everything settled, Du Huaishan, Wu Ming, and Xing Zhenhao took the incident list to Instructor Chang Suian. "Instructor Chang, our three squads wish to accept this mission."

Chang Suian's gaze sharpened at the mention of Baiongsan, but finally he simply recorded it in his notebook and handed the three of them an official mission order, which would allow them to leave the academy and take the military train to Yanshun City.

At his side, Zhou Zhongai picked up a red brush and circled the Baiongsan investigation order on the posting board.

Once the three left, she asked, "Suian, this Baiongsan mission is especially difficult and sensitive—why not have Du Huaishan pick another?"

"It’s no use," Chang Suian replied, shaking his head. He’d wanted to say something, but seeing the resolve in Du Huaishan’s eyes, he knew the boy was like Junjiang—once he set his sights on a goal, he wouldn’t easily change course.

After leaving the training grounds, the squads agreed to return to their quarters and requisition the necessary equipment from logistics, then rendezvous at the academy gate at one o’clock in the afternoon to head together to the military garrison’s train station.

On the way back, Du Huaishan passed many new recruits from the infantry and artillery branches, all carrying bundles, making it clear that not just the elite trainees, but the entire 173rd class was being deployed.

Halfway back, he patted his dress uniform and said, "You all go ahead. I’m heading to logistics to see what I can exchange for with my military merits."