Chapter 57

Fei Xiu sat composedly in the car, paying no mind to the wary, disdainful, or scrutinizing looks cast by the elite bodyguards around him.

Most of these bodyguards were Class B or C mental ability users. Intent on giving this newcomer a warning, they released subtle but oppressive energy in his direction. 

Yet, Fei Xiu remained unperturbed, as if completely unaffected. His calm, collected demeanor only spurred the bodyguards’ competitive spirits, causing them to intensify the pressure.

In the confined space, an intricate, sharp net of mental energy formed, enveloping everyone and making the air thick and immobilizing.

The faint presence of murderous intent seeped through, causing the driver to feel a chill run down his spine; even his hands began to tremble slightly.

“Reel it in a little, don’t forget your duty.” Came the displeased voice of Qian Gesi, the mustachioed man.

The bodyguards wanted to withdraw, but by then it was too late; their mental energy had tangled together like hemp ropes, difficult to separate. 

Ironically, the one holding the threads was the man they had tried to intimidate. Yet they didn’t believe he was particularly strong, assuming instead that the confined space had caused an overload of energy, trapping them in a web of their own making.

With Qian Gesi’s reminder, the bodyguards worked to steady their minds and control their energy, but the situation only worsened, becoming more chaotic.

Just as everyone was nearing a breaking point, a calm voice broke the tension in the cabin: “About three miles ahead on the mountain road, there’s an ambush of ten mechanical beasts.”

At these words, the chaotic mental energy immediately dispersed, rippling out like water and then settling back to normal.

The bodyguards shuddered slightly, all revealing expressions of relief as if they’d just escaped death.

Currently, Fei Xiu’s mental strength was only at a Class B level, but thanks to recent training, his precision control had reached an impressive degree. Against anyone below Class A, he was practically unbeatable in mental prowess.

“Are you certain?” Qian Gesi asked, his face solemn as he looked at Fei Xiu.

“I’m certain. The intel comes from my team.” Fei Xiu replied.

“I see.” Without further questioning, Qian Gesi instructed the bodyguards to prepare for combat.

Having just suffered a defeat, the bodyguards dared not make any more mischief, quietly checking their gear and taking up advantageous positions.

Fei Xiu added, “These ten mechanical beasts are likely just a scout force; their numbers are few, and they’re not very powerful.”

Qian Gesi nodded seriously, already suspecting that this journey wouldn’t be a peaceful one.

As they drew closer to the coordinates Fei Xiu provided, the tension in the car mounted. 

Only Fei Xiu continued to sit quietly, gazing out the window as if admiring the scenery.

When the convoy cautiously arrived at the specified coordinates, they were greeted not by an attacking swarm of mechanical beasts, but rather a field of mechanical remains.

Everyone who had been fully armed and ready for a fight was left in stunned silence. ???

What happened? Had someone already taken down these mechanical beasts?

“It was probably my team.” Fei Xiu observed, judging by the state of the mechanical remains.

Qian Gesi was briefly taken aback before breaking into a delighted grin, giving Fei Xiu a thumbs up. 

Who would have thought that the mercenary group they’d hired for thirty thousand was this efficient, clearing the obstacles without needing anyone else to lift a finger.

“Tch, how do we know he’s not just putting on a show?” Lund muttered under his breath.

Fei Xiu pretended not to hear, only warning, “Ten mechanical beasts are usually just probing our strength. If they think we’re weak, they’ll send in the main force.”

“So, do you think…” Qian Gesi asked, glancing at the wreckage, “they’ve assessed our strength?”

“Clearly not.” Fei Xiu replied coolly. 

“So I estimate they’ll send around twenty mechanical beasts next, or set up traps along the way.”

“Traps?” Lund asked in disbelief.

“Yes.” The virus AI’s traps are all learned from humans. Although not as refined, they’re surprisingly effective. 

“Their traps primarily involve minefields, electronic jamming, and mental simulations.”

Hearing this, Qian Gesi and Lund went pale. Minefields could still be managed, their trucks had been modified to withstand most explosions. 

But electronic jamming and mental simulations? The former could cause vehicles to lose control, while the latter could incapacitate mental ability users.

“Mercenary 2333, are you sure you’re not joking??” Qian Gesi asked, his voice trembling.

“No need to worry too much, Mr. Qian. Those traps are generally reserved for larger groups.”

Qian Gesi and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Their group was small and wouldn’t likely warrant such measures.

At that moment, Fei Xiu received another message. 

He glanced at it and said in a steady tone, “There are twenty mutated mechanical beasts lying in ambush ahead, at coordinates xx:yy.”

“Twenty? Alright, everyone, prepare yourselves.” Qian Gesi said casually.

After seeing the first ten dispatched so easily, another ten didn’t seem like much.

But then Fei Xiu added, “One of those mechanical beasts is equipped with a mental simulator, and they’ve installed a signal jammer at their location.”

Gesi and his team: ...

Didn’t you just say that these traps are only meant for mid- to large-sized teams? You slapped yourself in the face with that remark a bit too quickly, didn’t you???

“Stop the car!” Gesi ordered, his face pale.

“What should we do now?” Lund asked.

“We’ll have to send someone to deal with the danger first.” Gesi looked over at Fei Xiu. 

“Mercenary 2333, what do you think?”

“Yes, I think so too.” Fei Xiu glanced at the bodyguards. 

“But they might not be able to handle the mental interference.”

The so-called mental interference involves creating a magnetic field that disrupts one’s mind. 

From the mental showdown Fei Xiu had with these bodyguards earlier, he could tell their mental stability wasn’t very strong. 

Of course, he was evaluating them by his own standards; by normal standards, these bodyguards were already quite capable.

Fei Xiu had learned mental control from his original instructor, and the primary goal was to improve mental stability. 

The more stable the mind, the stronger the control, and the less susceptible it was to interference.

However, his honest words provoked quite a bit of resentment.

These elite bodyguards, each worth 300,000 credits, were just disrespected by a rookie mercenary worth only 30,000. How could they stand it?

“Mr. Gesi, we’ll handle it ourselves.” The head bodyguard volunteered.

“Are you sure?” Gesi looked at the head bodyguard, then at Fei Xiu, hesitating.

“We’ve undergone mental interference training. As long as we finish the fight quickly, we’ll be fine.” The bodyguard captain assured him confidently.

Seeing his confidence, Gesi nodded in agreement.

And so, the bodyguard captain led eight of his team members, jumping out of the car and sprinting toward the ambush point of the mutated mecha-beasts.

“I hope they can get the job done.” Gesi murmured anxiously, glancing over to where Fei Xiu was sitting. 

“Huh? Where did he go?”

Somehow, Fei Xiu had quietly left his seat and disappeared.

Half an hour later, as Gesi and the others waited impatiently, they finally received a message confirming everyone’s safety.

[Threat neutralized.]

Gesi was overjoyed and immediately ordered the driver to start the vehicle and proceed at full speed.

When they arrived at the designated coordinates, the scene before them filled them with unease.

Pieces of broken machinery were scattered all over, and the bodyguards were lying on the ground. 

Only Fei Xiu sat calmly by the roadside, drinking water. His clothes were slightly disheveled, with injuries on his arms and legs, blood slowly trickling down. 

He seemed utterly unconcerned, allowing his wounds to be exposed as if he wasn’t hurt at all.

“Are you all okay?” Gesi asked, jumping out of the car in surprise.

“We’re fine.” Fei Xiu said, glancing at the bodyguards on the ground. 

“They’re just unconscious.”

Gesi checked on the bodyguards and found that they indeed had no serious injuries. 

In fact, they didn’t even have a single wound, save for some bruising on the backs of their necks, as if someone had knocked them out.

Gesi gave Fei Xiu a questioning look.

Fei Xiu admitted frankly, “I knocked them out. They were starting to lose control and nearly turned on each other, so I had to knock them out.”

Finally understanding, Gesi looked at Fei Xiu with amazement, as though he had discovered a hidden treasure.

Before long, under the care of the medic Lund, the bodyguards began waking up.

“Mercenary 2333!” The bodyguard captain glared at Fei Xiu. 

“Why did you attack me and my team?”

Fei Xiu replied calmly, “You were affected by the mental simulator. Should I have left you to hurt each other instead?”

“Half of us weren’t even affected yet!” The bodyguard captain protested.

Fei Xiu’s gaze turned cold. 

“I didn’t have time to figure out who was affected and who wasn’t.”

Gesi: … So you just knocked everyone out, huh?

The bodyguard captain was left speechless, his gaze sharp with anger, as if he would rush at this man who had utterly humiliated them at any moment.

Fei Xiu stood up, holding a few items in his hand, and said to Gesi, “Mr. Gesi, I’m keeping these. You don’t mind, right?”

He was referring to the signal jammer and the mental simulator.

“Of course, take them.” Gesi agreed readily. He was beyond satisfied with this mercenary he’d hired for 30,000 credits; a small request like this was a no-brainer to grant.

The other bodyguards’ expressions weren’t so bright. Each of them was hired for 200,000 to 300,000 credits, yet they had been rendered useless, handled by a rookie. It was downright embarrassing.

After dealing with this encounter, the rest of the journey went smoothly, and everyone arrived at their destination safely.

At the end of the mission, Gesi gave Fei Xiu an additional 20,000 credits and rated his service with a perfect score, throwing in some generous praise as well.

“Thanks, Mr. Gesi. Feel free to reach out if you have another mission.” Fei Xiu waved his hand, getting ready to leave.

Chengis quickly stopped him, saying enthusiastically, “Let’s exchange contact info. I’ll contact you directly next time to save on agency fees.”

Fei Xiu thought about it for a moment and agreed. They exchanged contacts, and then he left casually.

Chengis glanced down at the contact info and froze in shock. They had exchanged personal terminal contact numbers, which were unique identifiers that displayed the real name of the contact.

The name Fei Xiu stood out clearly in Gesi’s contacts.

“Fei Xiu??? Could it be that Fei Xiu I know???” Holy... Did he really hire a major general as his bodyguard for just 30,000 credits?!

After completing his first mercenary mission, Fei Xiu returned to the manor, looking fresh and spirited.

“Master, you’re back.” A familiar figure appeared at the door, welcoming him as always.

“I’m back.” Fei Xiu gave his robot a hug.

“You’re injured.” Yuan Chu quickly performed a full-body scan on him.

“I ran into a few troublesome bodyguards and got accidentally hurt by them.” Fei Xiu replied, unconcerned.

Yuan Chu asked, “What level were those bodyguards’ mental powers?”

“Three B-levels, seven C-levels.”

Yuan Chu expertly tended to his wounds, commenting calmly, “It seems we need to increase your training intensity.”

Fei Xiu: “...What made you reach that conclusion?”

Yuan Chu: “If your mental control were strong enough, no mental power user below A-level could accidentally injure you.”

Fei Xiu: ...

A strict robot instructor, clearly dissatisfied with Fei Xiu’s training progress, ready to push him harder!

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Fei Xiu: My robot would never be so harsh to me!

Yuan Chu: The strict instructor system is now activated. Please choose from the modes: Merciless, Madly Ruthless, or Eliminate All Weaknesses.

Fei Xiu: ...

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