Volume II: The Youth of a Thousand Faces, Truth or Illusion Chapter Sixty-Four: Hunting the Ultimate Form

Jiang Feng was ready to offer his own points, but Huo Ye would never actually accept them—what kind of arrangement was that? Just then, Ke Zhen suddenly spoke up, “Have you all forgotten that clubs can take on missions?”

“Missions?” Huo Ye asked, “What kind of missions?”

Ke Zhen explained, “Disaster extermination. The academy, to train its students, collaborates with the Hunter Corps to transfer some missions that aren’t too dangerous, then posts them on the academy website. Completing them earns points. Usually, these missions require a team, not lone wolves like Tan Xiao—though, your father is one.”

“Ah, that’s perfect,” Huo Ye suddenly grew excited.

Everyone except Alice stared at him, dumbfounded. Brother, seriously? Disasters can actually eat people. Why are you so eager?

Huo Ye looked back at them, puzzled, “Isn’t the job of a psychic walker to hunt disasters? You guys haven’t gotten too used to the safety of the academy, have you?”

Only then did everyone realize the difference in values between themselves and Huo Ye. After all, Huo Ye was the child of a soldier who often went to battle, and his father, Eddie Halls, had survived countless carnage. For Huo Ye, even the battlefield probably felt more like home than Bancroft.

Huo Ye pinched his chin thoughtfully, then glanced around at the group. “With our abilities, taking down an ultimate form shouldn’t be a problem.”

Jiang Feng felt as if his scalp was about to explode. “Boss…boss, I, I, I… I have an objection…” he trembled, raising his hand.

Huo Ye shot him a look, “Just…say what you want to say.”

Mimicking Jiang Feng’s stutter, Huo Ye nearly choked him up. Jiang Feng gathered his words, “Boss, I think we shouldn’t go after the ultimate form. We’re just here to earn points—there’s no need to risk our lives. After all, it’s the ultimate form; who knows if there’ll be casualties?”

“What are you afraid of? If a group surrounds an ultimate form, I’ll be your meat shield. I’m not afraid of getting hurt.”

Huo Ye’s words stunned everyone. It made sense—they’d been thinking of his explosive power, but forgot about his uncanny healing. He could totally be the tank!

But Ke Zhen interrupted, “Not to dampen your enthusiasm, but I checked this morning—there are no ultimate form missions.”

Huo Ye gasped. What was going on today? Nothing was going right!

He refused to accept it. “Let’s see about that. Counting Old Ke, there are seven of us. Let’s vote—minority obeys the majority. Those in favor of hunting the ultimate form, raise your hand.”

No sooner had he spoken than Huo Ye and Alice raised their hands without hesitation. After a moment’s hesitation, Shangguan Yudie raised hers as well, indicating agreement.

Three votes.

Jiang Feng was overjoyed—there was hope. Four to three, they’d won.

Huo Ye continued, “Now, those against, raise your hand.”

Jiang Feng hurriedly interrupted, “Boss, there’s no need. It’s clear now. Let’s play it safe—what’s wrong with that?”

But Huo Ye just smiled, speaking with mysterious confidence, “Let’s vote anyway. There might be a surprise.”

---

Jiang Feng didn’t understand, but raised his hand anyway, showing he didn’t want to face the ultimate form.

To his surprise, only Ke Zhen joined him. Kazama Liuli, sleepy-eyed and yawning, showed no intention of voting. Reilimi hesitated, seeming to want to raise a hand, but something held him back.

Jiang Feng looked at the two, suddenly unsure—were they abstaining?

Huo Ye smirked, coughed, and said, “All right, except for Jiang Feng and me, everyone explain your reasoning.”

“I—I—me first!” Alice shouted, hand raised, “Hunting an ultimate form! How exciting! I used to only see these with my father. Now I finally get to do it myself. I have to go!”

“Good, driven by interest. Next, Yudie.”

Shangguan Yudie pursed her lips, unable to speak. She gestured in the air, impossible to decipher.

Huo Ye took a deep breath and handed her a notebook and pen from his storage box. Everyone knew that Yudie had trouble speaking after days of silence, but through her alter ego Night Rain Crow, Huo Ye had realized she was fluent when writing.

Yudie looked at him, stunned, then smiled sweetly—a smile like thawing spring water after a harsh winter. She took the notebook and quickly scribbled, “My mentor assigned me a semester project: hunt fifty A-level or one S-level disaster, any method allowed, teamwork permitted.”

Everyone gasped. Fifty A-levels or one S-level—either task was nearly impossible. Was her mentor out of their mind?

“Academic requirement. Next, Old Ke.”

Ke Zhen patted his beer belly, “Ultimate forms are too dangerous. I don’t want you all risking yourselves. I’m a teacher, after all—if anything happened, how would I answer to your parents? Back in the day… never mind.”

“Responsibility as a teacher. Thanks for your concern. Liuli?”

Kazama Liuli, ever drowsy, rubbed her eyes, “Me? I don’t care either way. Go or not, I’ll leave it to you guys. I’m too lazy—just wait for your decision.”

“So, abstaining?”

“Yeah.”

Huo Ye’s stomach hurt again. Could she be any stranger? This level of laziness—yet she’s full of energy when eating. She’s practically a certain animal now.

Finally, it was Reilimi’s turn.

Reilimi, seeing everyone’s eyes on him, grew nervous. He intertwined his fingers, finally saying, “I support hunting the ultimate form. With everyone’s abilities, I think we can do it. But I’m afraid I’ll hold you back, so I abstain.”

“Understood,” said Huo Ye. Reilimi’s personality was a big flaw limiting his performance. Huo Ye made a note to help him regain confidence in the future.

He gave Jiang Feng a meaningful look, but spoke to everyone, “All right, voting’s done. Three in favor, two against, two abstentions—the proposal passes.”

---

“But even if it’s passed, there’s no ultimate form mission now. As far as I know, there’ll only be two or three in a semester. The first went to Tan Xiao; who knows when the next will appear,” Jiang Feng protested, making one last effort.

Huo Ye was calm, “That’s easy.”

He removed his headset and started a voice call.

“Hey, Dad, it’s me.”

“No big deal. I started a club and want to take on missions to earn points. We’re short on points at the start, you know. So, I wanted to ask—does the Reaper Hunter Corps know of any ultimate forms? We want to give it a try.”

“All right, got it. Please contact the academy, otherwise we won’t get points for killing the ultimate form. Thanks, Dad.”

He hung up and looked around at the stunned group, grinning, “Is it really that hard to find an ultimate form?”

Jiang Feng was floored. Was this even possible? That call came out of nowhere! Even as the Reaper Hunter Corps’ vice captain, turning Hunter Corps missions into academy missions for himself—that was wild.

Ten minutes later, the academy website featured a mission bounty: “Ultimate form spotted in New Delhi. Abilities unknown. Disaster level 127. Mission exclusive to the Star Society.”

Jiang Feng nearly lost it. Exclusive to the Star Society? He had collected ten years of Bancroft records and had never seen a mission exclusive to any club. How powerful was their boss?

Huo Ye recited the mission details: “At the outskirts of the New Delhi colony, established as the new capital after the original Indian capital, an ultimate form has appeared. Attributes and abilities unknown. Seems challenging.”

Everyone was speechless. Disaster level 127—this was just ‘challenging’?

Ke Zhen stood up, “Well, since you’ve decided, I’ll say no more. Good luck.” With that, he left.

Huo Ye finished reviewing the details and told everyone, “If we travel at full speed, it’ll take a day round trip. Everyone gets one day to prepare. Meet at the academy’s south gate this time tomorrow. Dismissed.”

Meanwhile, the mission on the academy website caused a sensation.

A mission to hunt an ultimate form, exclusive to the Star Society?

Those words raised countless questions in everyone’s minds. When they finally searched the club page, they realized—oh! So Huo Ye’s club is the Star Society!

Now it all made sense. Newly formed club, immediately daring to accept an ultimate form mission, and even have it exclusive—Huo Ye is awesome!

That night, Ke Zhen sat drinking alone, sighing, “Ah, why do all the promising ones love adventure so much? Please, don’t let me feel any more guilt in my heart.”