Chapter Thirty-Six: Random Recruitment Scroll

Six limbs twisted and struggled in place, black blood streaming down the pale gray face of a woman. Coupled with the horrifying joints connected to her hair, the sight was enough to ruin anyone’s appetite.

“Screeeech...”

“It’s coming again!”

Mu Chen covered his ears, but it didn’t help much.

[You are under a sonic attack and have entered a state of dizziness.]

For a moment, everyone came to a halt, including Number Five, as all but the monster writhed in place.

After two seconds, their minds cleared.

Number Five, terrified, took off running without hesitation.

“So it does possess reason. No wonder I sensed a trace of anxiety in that wail.”

“Number One, Number Two, take aim and fire!”

The trio moved forward, firing at the creature writhing on the ground as they advanced.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

With the aid of black pupils, the monster could do nothing but struggle. Its pale gray face quickly turned black as fluids soaked over it.

Soon, a notification sounded in his ears.

[You have slain the monster: Alley Creeper.]

Level up, now level 6.

Gained 1 potential point.

Working in tandem with firearms is unexpectedly effective. I wonder if a Barret would work just as well.

Mu Chen walked over to Number Five, whose legs were still shaking. He patted his servant on the shoulder.

“Well done!”

“Thank you, my lord, for saving my life! Number Five is willing to give his life for you at any time!”

Mu Chen waved his hand.

“The three of you return to base first. For the next actions, follow Mu Jiu’er’s instructions.”

After sending the servants away, Mu Chen briefly explained the next steps to Mu Jiu’er in the friends’ channel, then walked straight to the corpse of the monster, Alley Creeper.

“Ugh... This is truly disgusting. To think it’s labeled ‘Little Spider.’”

Muttering to himself, he took out his workbench and began to dismantle the corpse.

“Obtained [Alley Creeper’s Spikes] x4, stored in backpack.”

“Obtained [Dark Matter Soul] x3, stored in backpack.”

“Obtained [Resentment Crystal] x3, stored in backpack.”

“Obtained [Source of Turbidity] x8, stored in backpack.”

He let out a breath. On the ground, only pits and black blood remained. While dismantling, he worried the limbs would separate but the head would be left behind—he would never be able to handle that himself.

After sorting his backpack, he held a black, gleaming diamond-shaped crystal in his hand.

[Resentment Crystal: Can be used to enhance containment items’ level and quality.]

[See those question marks in your eyes? That’s right, use these to gradually unlock them. It may take a ridiculous amount, but one day you’ll succeed.]

He returned the [Resentment Crystal] to his bag.

“A ridiculous amount? If I manage to unlock even one name, I’ll be grateful.”

He didn’t use it immediately, planning to study it later when he had time to rest. After all, plenty of matters within the territory awaited his attention.

Though basic construction was progressing rapidly, the territory’s strength was still lacking, and its safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

Back at the small courtyard of the base, Mu Chen regained his motivation seeing the servants fervently collecting resources and building structures.

Every servant he passed bowed respectfully on his return.

...

It seemed that Mu Jiu’er had already completed the deployments. After a moment’s silence, Mu Chen returned to the base’s main hall.

“Creak...”

The door to the lounge was suddenly pushed open. Mu Jiu’er, mid-bite into a chicken drumstick, nearly choked, her face flushing red as she failed to swallow.

Mu Chen pressed a hand to his forehead, twisted open a bottle of water, and handed it to her.

“Jiu’er.”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Due to some mismanagement, we’ve run short of food in the territory today.”

“...”

“I know you have a habit of stockpiling, right?”

“...”

Five minutes later.

“My goodness, over thirty chicken drumsticks, a dozen loaves of bread—this girl must be part hamster.”

Transferring the food to his backpack, Mu Jiu’er watched from the corner, her large eyes brimming with grievance.

“All right, all right, I left you all the snacks in your bag. When food is plentiful again, I’ll make it up to you, okay?”

Seeing that still didn’t console her, Mu Chen hurriedly changed the subject.

“We still have a special recruitment scroll. Shall we try recruiting someone?”

“No!”

“Uh... Why not?” Mu Chen asked, surprised.

“Every time we recruit someone new, they arrive famished and eat a lot of our good food! I’ve noticed this pattern for a while!” Mu Jiu’er’s pretty face was full of grievance.

Mu Chen was astonished.

He was aware of this because he personally used every recruitment scroll, and only he could see the servants’ information. He hadn’t expected Mu Jiu’er to be so observant.

Composing himself, Mu Chen said, “The territory is newly established and lacks defensive measures. Manpower is also scarce. I know you want us to live peacefully, but as today shows, without military strength, all of that is just wishful thinking.”

Persuaded by his reasoning, Mu Jiu’er finally followed him to the base entrance.

Taking out the [Random Recruitment Scroll], Mu Chen hesitated as he read the information on it.

[Random Recruitment Scroll: Allows you to recruit a random unit under your command. Unit quality is random, maximum grade is 3, minimum is 1. There is a chance of recruitment failure.]

Note: The recruited unit’s initial loyalty is 50. If loyalty drops below 30, they may leave at any time.

Mu Jiu’er’s attention was fully drawn to the card.

“Brother, there’s actually a chance to fail? Hmm, you’re not that unlucky, are you?”

She tilted her head, sizing Mu Chen up.

“Ha, don’t underestimate me. If you think you can do better, go ahead.” He gestured with the card.

“No thanks, you do it yourself. I hope you recruit a giant turtle so we can make a stew.”

Always thinking about food, Mu Chen rolled his eyes at her.

“If I had a choice, I’d hope for a combat unit, especially a ranged one, considering the size of our territory. As long as it’s reasonable, I’ll be satisfied.” With that, Mu Chen activated the recruitment scroll.

As he did, he suddenly thought of the carrion beast...

“And one that doesn’t eat too much, preferably...”

At that moment, intricate patterns appeared on the ground and rose up, forming a cylindrical space. Within, light particles rapidly converged, gradually shaping into a graceful figure.

“A woman?”

The siblings were stunned by the sight before them.

The formation slowly faded.

Through the haze, a striking female figure emerged. She wore a white clerical robe, stood about one meter seventy, with long, wavy chestnut hair and delicate features. In her hand, she held a splendid cross.

On seeing Mu Chen’s face, she paused, then drew a cross over her chest with her right hand, bowed her head slightly, and spoke in a gentle voice:

“I am the Evangelist, Ivy Victoria. You may call me Ivy, my lord.”