On their way to the next mission location, the team stopped by to deliver the two urns containing the mother and child ghosts to the Special Affairs Bureau office, so they could arrange for them to be sent to the capital to be dealt with by the event organizers.
This task has a high score of 180 points. If it's divided among five people, each person gets 36 points. Adding to the previous points, each person now has 50 points.
At first glance, it seems like there aren't many left, but in reality, this is only the second day of the competition.
According to information gathered by Mao Xiaoqian and Lao Bai, nearly a third of the people were still unable to leave the capital. Of course, even those who didn't leave were actively looking for tasks to do in the vicinity.
But can a mission in a place like the capital be so easy to complete? Just look at the two that Ruan Bei and his group encountered; neither of them is simple.
The first female ghost hid in the mirror, and ordinary people couldn't find her at all.
The latter one doesn't seem as dangerous, but that's because the male ghost didn't really make a move. Once the two ghosts team up, the male ghost still has a rope that has become a ghost weapon. Even though the Jiao Yan Squad is already quite strong, they still almost got wiped out.
Their two teams' experiences were not unexpected. According to incomplete statistics, most of the participants who went to carry out the mission on the first day returned with wounded soldiers.
Those who formed teams were alright; if they got injured, at least they had teammates to help them. But there were a few skilled and daring individuals who refused to team up with others and share the points, and they almost didn't make it back.
Even practitioners are human. If they get injured, they still need to take good care of themselves. At most, they have a slightly better physical condition than ordinary people and recover a little faster.
The kind of pill in novels that can instantly heal any injury by taking a pill doesn't exist. Even if it did, it would be extremely rare, not something ordinary people could obtain, and it wouldn't be used in this situation.
So, the competition had barely begun when a considerable number of participants were forced to abandon their tasks due to injuries, and by the time they recovered, at least three to five days had passed.
Some teams wanted to leave the injured members behind and have the rest of them do the mission, but even if they went, the points they earned would still be distributed to those who didn't go.
This is very frustrating, but we can't just do nothing. We can't just stand by and watch other people's points skyrocket while our teams stay put and heal their injuries.
However, with wounded members in the team, their combat effectiveness is inevitably weakened. In addition, the mission is too difficult, so they can only choose missions with very low scores.
As a result, each person received a lower score, causing internal strife in several teams. The injured were ostracized, but they were injured because of the mission and yet they received this treatment. How could they not feel resentful?
In comparison, Ruan Bei's team, with no members injured, completed two missions in one day and even gained unexpected rewards, was truly blessed and achieved exceptionally good results in the competition.
Mao Xiaoqian, who loves to boast, covered his mouth and pounded Yin Kai's thigh with joy when he saw the other contestants complaining in the group chat, but didn't dare to utter a word.
He's not stupid, okay? At times like these, you have to keep quiet and make a fortune.
Instead of showing off, he even complained in the group chat that an accident happened while doing a task, his teammate almost fell off the building, and he also injured his arm.
Jiao Yan, who hadn't spoken much in the group chat, slowly typed a question mark.
However, because there were so many complaints, criticisms of the event organizers, and accusations that the Special Affairs Bureau was doing nothing, and the messages in the group were scrolling too fast, the question mark was neither prominent nor noticeable, and it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
For the next twenty days, the Nguyen Bac team traveled to various parts of the southern province. From being unfamiliar and flustered at the beginning, they gradually became more and more coordinated and completed their missions much faster.
Although each of those backlogged tasks had its own difficulties, it must be said that Ruan Bei's Yin-Yang Eyes were really useful. Some ghosts could even deceive their senses, but they couldn't deceive Ruan Bei's eyes.
Once, they took on a level four mission. The evil spirit had learned a secret technique from somewhere that could cloud the spiritual perception of cultivators.
Ghosts are essentially just energy; if one's senses are clouded, they become completely untraceable.
Yin Kai's blood boiled, his hair stood on end, and he was tense to the extreme, but he still couldn't figure out where the ghost was.
Ruan Bei pretended to be deceived, and everyone cooperated with his act. When the evil spirit got close and tried to launch a sneak attack, he drew Zhao Han Sword and stabbed it through the body.
In addition, he is good at locating ghosts, his umbrella is both offensive and defensive, and he carries a lot of talismans. He is almost as good as a small team.
Mao Xiaoqian boasted countless times about his keen eye for talent, and even shamelessly called Ruan Bei "Brother Xiao Bei," clinging to his coattails with ease.
He realized that if he didn't take advantage of this opportunity to build goodwill, would he have to wait until the end of the competition to meet the big boss and be humiliated in front of all the other contestants?
This time, he was the only one who lost face!
The one who tied the knot must untie it. It seems that the little devil in their team has a good relationship with the big devil. Although he still doesn't understand why the big devil in Ruanbei's words is so kind and gentle, it's true that the two have a good relationship.
Putting everything else aside, just that pile of talismans—if someone didn't really care, even the Great Demon King wouldn't easily take out so many talismans at once; he needs them for his own competitions.
He's won over the little devil's favor enough; he doesn't ask for anything else, just that when the big devil beats him up, he'll say a good word for him...
This was the first time Ruan Bei had ever heard someone call him "brother." He felt both embarrassed and secretly delighted. The two of them called each other "brother" – Ruan Bei called him "Little Brother Bei" and Ruan Bei called him "Little Brother Mao." It was quite interesting.
They also encountered other teams along the way, but the Jiao Yan team was the one they met the most, with both competition and cooperation.
Ruan Bei's identity could not be kept secret after all. Someone learned from other contestants at Xuanqing Temple that the Great Demon King's junior brother would also be participating in the competition this year.
Unbeknownst to Ruan Bei, the Little Demon King's reputation had already spread. Fortunately, no one had yet matched his face with anyone, but Jiao Yan, who frequently interacted with their team, had guessed Ruan Bei's identity.
However, he didn't say it outright, but instead made a few sarcastic remarks about Mao Xiaoqian, saying that he always had good luck and could even gain experience by clinging to powerful figures.
Mao Xiaoqian wasn't angry at all; in fact, he was quite pleased with himself. He thought Jiao Yan was just envious and jealous, wanting to curry favor but failing to do so.
This past month has been incredibly productive for Ruan Bei. His spiritual energy circulation has become much more refined, and the spells and incantations he learned before have become faster and faster after repeated practice.
Most importantly, Ruan Bei felt that he was no longer afraid of ghosts. He had seen all kinds of ghosts this time, including those that were not human-like and those that died ugly and deliberately scared people.
At first, they were genuinely frightened. Mao Xiaoqian and the others never expected that a Taoist priest like him would be scared by a ghost. It was just like a cat being scared by a mouse.
Ruan Bei was shy and embarrassed, but in order to prove himself, he forced the ghost that had frightened him to make faces at him, hoping to build up his courage.
At first, his fear was uncontrollable, but now he has at least improved. When he is scared, his legs don't go weak and he doesn't turn around and run away. He reflexively takes out his sword and stabs people.
The ghost was already ugly when it died, its appearance a hodgepodge, and then he poked it, making a hole with each poke. The ghost was forced to scare people while crying and begging others to catch him quickly, because he wanted to stay in the urn.
Mao Xiaoqian and the others were dumbfounded, secretly marveling at how ruthless he was, even frightening themselves when he got vicious. It was just that this tool ghost was really unlucky.
It's already late April, and the exchange competition will end in three days.
They had already completed all the tasks available to them in the Southern Province, and some had been taken by other teams, but their team had taken most of them.
According to Mao Xiaoqian's intelligence, no team currently known to have a higher score than theirs.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some people lied about their results and deliberately reported their team's score as low to deceive their competitors, but their team's score was much higher.
The good thing about their team is that no one suffered any serious injuries; there were minor injuries, but they didn't affect their operations.
Moreover, with advance planning and well-arranged routes, there was no time wasted on the road, and the number of tasks completed exceeded that of most other teams.
This has led to their team's outstanding performance. Even if someone is concealing their results, based on the current situation, their team has a very good chance of winning the championship.
Mao Xiaoqian had secretly asked Ruan Bei to inquire about Qin Gu's points. Ruan Bei didn't beat around the bush with Qin Gu and asked directly, also asking if he could tell his teammates.
Qin Gu didn't hide anything from him. He checked his points, sent a screenshot to Ruan Bei, and told him to do as he pleased.
Ruan Bei showed the screenshot to his teammates and instantly had a heart attack.
Qin Gu's total score is seven points higher than theirs. Although the competition is not over yet, it will be over soon, and they will not be able to get a suitable task.
Moreover, even if they continue fighting for the remaining three days, Qin Gu will not remain idle.
Qin Gu is a lone individual; once he completes a task, all the points are his own. However, he doesn't take on tasks that frequently, and unlike Ruan Bei and the others, he doesn't stay up all night traveling on a slow train.
"Ah—it was just a little bit short!" Mao Xiaoqian wailed and collapsed onto the bed.
The "Big Boss" represents the pinnacle of achievement; if we can surpass his level, we might actually win the championship.
Although it would be great if Kunkun got first place, Ruanbei also wanted to experience what it felt like to get first place herself.
The team really gave it their all this month, and he felt that such dedication deserved a good reward.
"Don't give up, there's still time!"
Ruan Bei encouraged Mao Xiaoqian: "Let's fight to the last minute, even if we lose, we won't regret it, right!"
"Yes!" Mao Xiaoqian sat up with a jolt, and just as he was about to speak, his phone rang.
His expression turned strange after reading the message.
Conan asked, "What's wrong?"
Mao Xiaoqian said, "Jiao Yan asked us to cooperate, saying he had his eye on a level 6 mission."
"Level six?" Old Bai couldn't believe it. "Is he crazy? Is that something we can afford to touch?"
They completed a month of quests, and the highest level quest they received was only level four, which, in terms of difficulty, could be considered level five.
Conan frowned and took Mao Xiaoqian's phone. The message from Jiao Yan was very inflammatory. The mission points alone were over a thousand. Even with Jiao Yan's team, each person would have over a hundred points.
A hundred points or so are enough for them to complete three or four level 3 missions, but the later the missions go, the harder it is to get them. Now there are no suitable low-level missions to choose from. Going to other places is possible, but you have to compete with other teams that have already arrived, and there's no guarantee you'll get one. You might waste three days on the road.
Not receiving a reply, Jiao Yan seemed to have guessed their hesitation and sent another string of messages.
Ruan Bei glanced at it; it was the information about that mission. Jiao Yan wasn't stupid, nor was he impulsive enough to risk his life. He said he had a private message: if they were willing to join, they could discuss it in person.
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