CHAPTER 36: CH 23 - WELCOME TO HELL, TEAM EDITION

"Your first task starts now," he said. "Sector 43. Newbie Zone. Bring back Azure Vein Root. Alive or crushed, doesn’t matter — just don’t die doing it."

Nice. First mission and they already added the "don’t die" part like it’s optional.

He turned and walked off like he’d already written our names on the dead list.

Didn’t even check if anyone here knew where Sector 43 was.

I looked down and the card blinked — blue hologram popped out like some sci-fi movie. Great, now it’s showing off.

Map, mission details, reward — all floating right there in front of my face.

Five thousand credits. Not bad, if it doesn’t eat me before lunch.

I pocketed it and sighed.

First day on the job and they’re already throwing us into a death zone.

Guess this is what they call a warm welcome in the Guide Division.

And that was it. No pep talk, no "you can do it rookies," not even a fake smile. Just — "get lost."

Fine by me. I like quiet exits.

Or at least I would’ve liked one... if I wasn’t stuck walking with these three clowns.

I sighed. "Great."

I heard a crunch and turned — the funny guy again.

Where the hell did that chip packet come from?

I swear his hands were empty a second ago. Did he pull that out of thin air or what?

He looked right at me, mid-bite. "What? Breakfast."

...Yeah. Priorities.

I stared. "Yeah, sure. Keep it up. Maybe the monsters’ll smell you first."

Perfect.

The silence dragged on so long I started counting. One... two... three... yup. Still awkward.

Then Ice Queen finally spoke.

"You," she said, eyes landing on me like frostbite. "Try not to die first."

I blinked. "Wow. Morning greetings are getting friendly these days."

She didn’t flinch. "If you slow me down, I’ll freeze your legs and leave you."

Behind me, Liu Cheng coughed and almost inhaled his chip. "H-hey, that’s a bit much, don’t you think—"

She turned, her tone flat enough to kill sound. "And you. Stop eating. You’ll smell like food and get us killed."

He froze mid-bite.

Looked at the chip. "...But it’s barbecue flavor..."

I lost it. A short laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

"This is going great. We’ve got a starving comedian, a walking fridge, and..." I turned to the quiet one in the back, still spinning his knife, eyes half-lidded.

"...whatever he is. Background horror, maybe."

Zhao Rui looked up just once, met my eyes, then gave a small nod.

Not friendly. Not hostile. Just noted. Like he’d already guessed how we’d die.

I sighed, scratching the back of my neck.

"Can’t wait for the therapy session after our first near-death."

I cleared my throat. "So... names?"

Yeah, I already knew their names.

Perks of having Predator Sense and a System that spoils everything like a nosy aunt.

But you can’t just say that out loud.

"Hey, I know everything about you — bloodline, rank, skill cooldowns, even your body temperature."

Yeah. Sounds real normal. Totally not serial-killer energy.

So I went the polite route.

Fake ignorance. Human interaction 101.

She crossed her arms and said, "Lin Xue. Next time don’t dare talk to me, or I’ll freeze your heart. I only ask questions when I want answers."

Her voice was flat. Cold. No joke in it. I felt a little chill crawl up my spine.

"Noted," I said, smiling small. "I’ll try not to be heartwarming, then."

"Liu Cheng!" the chip addict yelled, grinning ear to ear like we were old friends. He waved the packet in his hand like a flag.

"Bloodline — Mudtoad! Defensive specialist, thank you very much. You want some?"

Before I could answer, he shoved the open bag toward me. "Seriously, try it! It’s crunchy, see? Don’t worry, I’ve got, like, five more in my bag. You wouldn’t believe the flavor — barbecue, spicy, sweet, all in one bite."

He didn’t stop. Just kept talking, chewing, and breathing somehow all at once.

I blinked slowly. "Yeah... thanks, man."

He smiled wider. "So you’ll try one?"

I sighed. "No. I’ll just... watch you eat."

He nodded proudly, munching louder.

Yeah. I immediately regretted asking his name.

Then I looked at the quiet one. He looked back. Didn’t say a word. Didn’t even blink.

I swear even statues breathe more.

"Zhao Rui," he said finally — like each syllable cost him a lung.

I nodded slowly. So that’s the team, huh? A girl who will freeze my legs and leave me to die if I slow down, a guy who won’t stop eating chips, and a silent one who already looks like he planned our funerals.

Perfect.

We headed out after that — first mission, big deal, I guess.

Instructor was saying something about teamwork, safety, communication... whatever. I zoned out right after "teamwork." I already failed the group project before it started.

Yeah, again that same nostalgia hit the moment we stepped in.

Same feeling, same smell, basically everything same.

Didn’t matter it was a different sector — all Zones felt the same in the end.

Just another kill zone with a different name.

Lin Xue walked ahead, cold mist trailing off her steps — like winter decided to follow her around.

Behind her, Liu Cheng was still at it with that chip packet.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

We’re walking into a death zone, and this guy’s over here having breakfast.

And then there was Zhao Rui.

Didn’t talk, didn’t blink. Just... existed.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was guarding my back.

But that silence... yeah, felt like he was measuring my back — just in case he ever needed to stab it.

We were running fast, too fast for my morning brain to keep up.

Branches kept smacking my arms, one even hit my cheek. Yeah, nature’s got it out for me too.

The wind hit my face, sharp and cold — way better than coffee, and cheaper too.

Up front, Lin Xue was kind of... skating.

Yeah, actually skating. Like she made her own snow just to show off.

I could see frost spreading where she passed — not much, just enough to make me think, yeah, she’s showing off.

She looked back once to check on us, and that’s when I saw it — that blue glow in her eyes, breath turning to mist.

Great, we’ve got a walking freezer as our front liner.

Yeah, scary too and kind of impressive at the same time.

"Hey, Lin!" Liu Cheng gasped behind me, almost tripping. "Can you not freeze the floor while I’m still on it? My shoes don’t have winter mode!"