Cultivation Online

Chapter 2598: Weapon of Choice

"Wu Wang’s right. There’s no point in staying out here longer than we need to. It’s unnecessary risk," Shi Fa said.

"I have my own reason for wanting to continue cleaning up these Void Specters," Yuan said. "But we can head back for now."

"A reason to hunt Void Specters, huh? That’s the first time I’ve heard such a thing," Sergeant Quang remarked. "Everyone I know considers this mission a punishment because of its nature."

"Then let’s head back now. I want to wash myself as soon as possible," said Sergeant Bing.

They immediately started making their way back to the city.

As they traveled, Yuan asked, "How often do soldiers come out here to clean? And how are they picked?"

"Soldiers have to come out every other week for cleanup," Shi Fa replied. "As for who gets picked, there’s a rotation, and it just happened to be our turn this week."

"In that case, when will it be our turn again?"

"We usually do this twice a year, so you can expect our next cleanup in half a year."

"Half a year? That’s too long." Yuan frowned.

"Well, if you really want to, you can request to join the other squads for their cleanup," said Wu Wang.

"I can do that?"

"Sure..."

Wu Wang paused briefly before continuing, "Probably."

He shook his head and clarified, "Nobody has ever tried it before, so I can’t really say for sure, but it’s common to have additional soldiers or replacements for missions."

"I see. I will ask General Mei later."

"What is your reason for wanting to clean these Void Specters, anyway? They are literally just trash that needs to be cleaned every so often," Shi Fa asked.

"Trash that can kill you if you let them touch you..." Sergeant Bing added.

"It’s a bit of a personal reason, so I’ll keep it to myself for now," Yuan said.

"Is that so?"

Realizing that Yuan didn’t want to talk about it, they stopped talking about the subject altogether.

Eventually, they returned to the city walls.

"Uh... are we going to have to climb this to return to the city?" Yuan asked as they stood at the very bottom of the towering walls.

"Unfortunately," Wu Wang sighed.

Without another word, all of them started flying to the top of the city walls.

Fortunately, they were still able to use their cultivation, allowing them to reach the top without any effort.

After reaching the top of the walls, they used the teleporter to return to the military base.

"It’s my turn to do the report this week, so you guys can go ahead," Sergeant Quang said to them as they entered the military base.

"See you guys later."

Wu Wang and Shi Fa went their own ways after they reached the residential area.

"When are you going to meet with General Mei?" Sergeant Bing asked Yuan as she escorted him back to his living quarters.

"Tomorrow," he said.

"Alright. See you tomorrow. If you wish to go anywhere today, let either me or Sergeant Quang know."

"I won’t go anywhere," he assured her.

Once Yuan entered his home, Sergeant Bing returned to her own living quarters.

The follow day, Sergeant Bing and Sergeant Quang escorted him to General Mei’s office.

"Welcome back. How was the mission?" Mei Feng asked him.

"Pretty good."

"Really? Most soldiers hate it," she remarked.

"Well, I am not most soldiers," he replied with a smile.

"In fact, I want to talk to you about putting me on more of these missions."

"Excuse me?" Mei Feng muttered with raised eyebrows, wondering if she’d heard wrong.

"I want to keep doing these cleanup missions," he repeated in a slightly louder voice to ensure she heard him properly.

"This is a first," Mei Feng said after a moment of silence. "But just in case, you want to do the same mission, not a different one?"

"That’s correct. I want to be sent outside the city to deal with the Void Specters," he said, making it as clear as possible so there was no way to misunderstand his desire.

"If that’s what you really want..." Mei Feng nodded.

"How often do you want to do these missions?" she then asked.

"If possible, I would like you to put me on the next one."

"Huh? The next one?" Mei Feng raised her eyebrows.

"The next cleanup mission is scheduled to start in two days, but it’ll be performed by another squad," she said.

"That’s fine."

"No, it’s not. In case you forgot, there are two soldiers currently protecting you. If I send you on a mission, they will have to come with you, so I won’t just be sending a single soldier."

"Actually, I was going to talk to you about that," Yuan suddenly said. "I don’t need any guards while I am outside the city since my cultivation isn’t restricted out there, and I am more than capable of protecting myself."

"You—"

Mei Feng opened her mouth to speak, but Yuan interrupted, "I understand that you’re only looking out for me, but I don’t need a babysitter everywhere I go. If you don’t think I can protect myself out there, I am more than willing to prove myself."

"..."

Mei Feng fell silent, her eyes narrowing as she pondered his words.

Eventually, she spoke, "If that’s what you want, I have no obligation to refuse. However, if anything happens while you are outside, you’ll have nobody but yourself to blame."

Yuan nodded.

"Thank you, General."

"Then I will add you to the next cleanup mission and notify the soldiers doing it. Anything else?"

"One more thing. Do you think it’s possible for me to carry a weapon?" Yuan then asked.

"A weapon, huh? Normally, only Sergeants are allowed to carry them, but since you’re already doing missions..."

Mei Feng spent another moment pondering before giving a response, "Alright, I’ll approve of it. You can visit the armory after this and request a weapon."

"I will."

"If there’s nothing else, you can leave."

Yuan left the room shortly after.

"Where is the armory?" Yuan asked Sergeant Quang as they walked.

"I guess the General agreed to let you carry a weapon," he said with a smile.

"Not only that, but she agreed to let me go on the next cleanup mission, which will happen two days from now."

"Huh? That means we’ll also have to—"

"No, you don’t have to come with me," Yuan quickly interrupted. "I’ve told the General that I don’t need any bodyguards while I am outside since I am more than capable of protecting myself."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

"As long as you’re sure—not that I am complaining, since this means more free time for me."

They arrived at the armory half an hour later.

"This is the armory. Just approach any of the available counters and tell them you’re here to receive your weapon," Sergeant Quang said to him.

Yuan followed his instructions and approached one of the counters.

"I’m here to receive my weapon."

The man working behind the counter gestured at the machine on the table between them.

A moment later, Yuan’s information appeared for the man to see.

The first thing that came up was Yuan’s rank, and when the man saw this, he immediately frowned.

"Listen here, Corporal—"

However, he suddenly stopped midway when he noticed that despite being a Corporal, Yuan had permission to carry a weapon.

’A Corporal with a weapon? Who gave him the permission?’

Out of curiosity, the man checked the individual who signed off on it.

"General Mei?!" he exclaimed in shock after seeing her name.

After snapping out of his daze, the man turned to look at Yuan and swallowed nervously before speaking, "W-What kind of weapon are you looking to carry, Corporal Yuan?"

Yuan did not immediately respond.

Before arriving, he’d already decided to pick what he was used to the most—a sword. However, now that he was moments away from receiving his weapon, he suddenly had an urge to use a different weapon.

"You got guns?" he asked.

"Of course, we do. What kind of gun do you want?"

"Whatever lets me shoot the fastest."

"That would be a minigun, but this kind of weapon is only really used for training since it exhausts your Limitless insanely rapidly, and most people run out of Limitless in a few seconds."

"I want it," Yuan quickly said.

"You want... the minigun?" The man asked just in case he heard wrong.

"I do."

"Uh... sure...? Give me a moment..."

The man disappeared into a room at the back before returning with a minigun nearly as large as he was.

"Here you go."

"Thanks," Yuan said, casually holding the minigun with one hand.

"There’s no way you actually picked that as your weapon..." Sergeant Bing remarked with a dumbfounded face when Yuan returned to them with his new weapon.

"What are you thinking, picking that weapon?" Sergeant Quang shook his head. "Fortunately, you can change your weapon at any time."

"I wanted something that would help me clean up the Void Specters as fast and efficiently as possible," Yuan explained.

"While I can’t deny the minigun can do that, you’ll run out of energy in a matter of seconds," said Sergeant Bing.

"I should be fine," Yuan responded with a confident smile.

"..."

"..."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Sergeant Quang sighed, "I know you said you don’t need a bodyguard outside the city, but I am going to follow you anyway."

"Me too," said Sergeant Bing. "Not only am I concerned, but I am also curious."

"If that’s what you want."

Yuan nodded, not refusing their company since it was their own decision to follow him.