Chapter 1406: Blue Boiling Point
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Xia Fan had been lying on a sofa reading a book when Candy Dad Jerry opened his door and called him in. “Xia Fan, come into my office for a moment.”
Closing his book, Xia Fan got up and looked around. He suddenly had a sensation of reluctance wash over him. Dad had been waiting for a reply from Blue Boiling Point training camp for the entire week. Since he was suddenly calling for Xia Fan’s presence, he must have gotten an answer!
Working for the Brenia Special Bureau station had been good. This was a very small residential planet in the Union, and there was usually not much work to do. Everyone had meals together and joked around, spending their time training in the training center, pa.s.sing their time away carelessly.
Jerry had an amiable personality, and his demands of Xia Fan were very relaxed. As long as what he did would not get in the way of his duties, then it did not matter if they spent their time in the station watching movies or reading books. Even if they gathered and played cards, Dad was not the sort who would ask too many questions.
Xia Fan walked into Dad’s office and closed the door behind him.
!!
Dad glanced at Xia Fan and pulled open his desk drawer. From inside, he retrieved a letter sealed with the Special Bureau Headquarters’ seal and placed it in front of Xia Fan.
“This is your letter of recommendation. There’s a set of coordinates for the rendezvous, with approximately twelve days until the time for a.s.sessment. Because Brenia is a part of a fairly remote star region in the Union, I suggest you leave early. Given your current status as a trainee investigator, there’s no need for you to buy yourself a s.h.i.+p ticket. All you need to do is tell the transportation company your route in advance, and they will automatically arrange everything for you,” Dad told Xia Fan.
Xia Fan opened the letter and saw his name given as a candidate recommended from Brenia. After being given approval from Headquarters, he had been awarded the chance to join the Blue Boiling Point training camp. Xia Fei had to be present in the Trident Star Region before the specified date.
Xia Fan found himself rather happy. After all, becoming an official investigator meant he would be given even greater authority, which would help Xia Fan find out more of his clan’s history after they arrived in the Ashen Moon Universe forty thousand years ago, and also learn the whereabouts of the Skywing Token his clan had left behind.
Though Xia Fan would not recognize his own parents or fellow clansmen, that did not stop his desire to find his way back to them!
Xia Fan laughed, “Dad, if I fail to make it for the a.s.sessment this time, you’ll have to take me in.”
“Tsk!” Dad waved his hand dismissively, “You’ve not even been with the Bureau for four months, yet you’ve already cracked three C Tier cases one after another, while maintaining a 100% case closure rate. I’d be the one finding it strange if Blue Boiling Point did not accept you!”
The Special Bureau sorted their cases as: C tier cases were called big cases, while B tier cases were called major cases. A tier cases were pinnacle cases that could cause a stir across the entire Union, or even the universe. Xia Fan was just seventeen, and he had already cracked three consecutive C tier cases. He would be regarded as an exceptional investigator compared to anyone across the entire Union!
Dad’s face turned stern as he spoke to Xia Fan in a serious voice, “No one will doubt your capabilities, but I am still a little worried about your personality. Don’t think I have no idea about the deeds you and Qin Zimo have done. I know them all too well.
“Given your hard-edged personality and clear separation between grudge and grat.i.tude, you can very easily offend others. When I’m not around you in the future, you better be more careful with what you do.”
…
Xia Fan sent Rodun off at the s.p.a.ceport. They were off to two different destinations. Xia Fan was off to the Blue Boiling Point Training Camp, where cadets would be eating in the mess and living in dormitories; there was no use for Rodun and his many areas of expertise, so he was returning to the Ro Clan.
As before, Rodun’s hair was immaculate, and he was holding onto a black leather suitcase. After realizing that he would no longer get to eat Rodun’s exquisite food, Xia Fan felt somewhat reluctant to see him go.
Rodun handed the final bill to Xia Fan, listing in detail the expenses he had incurred during the four months he had been working as a butler for Xia Fan. It was a clear accounting; the figures from Xia Fan’s account had a balance of 6.32 million Union dollars.
That was the amount Xia Fanhad earned as a bounty hunter during his spare time. The largest sum he had earned was from Jiang Chunwen, which had been ten million Union dollars.
With a 70:30 split, Xia Fan had received seven million dollars, while Cheyenne took three. As for the other bounties, they were much smaller. Regardless, Xia Fan could now be considered as an individual from the wealthy cla.s.s, with sizable a.s.sets to his name.
“What are you doing?” Xia Fan. “I have absolute faith in you.”
Rodun’s eyes softened and he patted Xia Fan on his back, “Taking care of my master and making sure all accounts are fair and proper is part of my duties as well!”
“Have you taken down my contact number?”
“I did!”
“If you have any trouble in the future, do not hesitate to give me a call.”
After repeated instructions, Rodun boarded his pa.s.senger s.h.i.+p. Xia Fan felt something akin to what his grandparents had once mentioned, a social relations.h.i.+p. The Ro Clan was a wealthy elite clan of the Union, and his insistence on keeping Rodun at his side was not for the present, but the future.
Given the friends.h.i.+p Xia Fan had shared with Rodun, whether it was Xia Fan needing the Ro Clan’s aid in the future or the other way around, either circ.u.mstance would now be simpler as a result.
The Ro’s were a clan that could stand firm in the Union, so the way they acted was of course unexpected to others.
The flight Xia Fan needed to board was at another terminal. He met up with his colleagues from the Brenian station, and after a reluctant goodbye, Xia Fan boarded the s.h.i.+p headed to the Trident Star Region.
…
A week later…
A gentle female voice was heard over the broadcast system, “Dear pa.s.sengers, the s.h.i.+p will be landing on the Blue Boiling Point planet in thirty minutes. All pa.s.sengers looking to disembark, please make preparations accordingly.”
The moment Xia Fan heard the announcement, he looked out through his cabin porthole and saw a blue planet. The sea covered a good eighty percent of the planet’s surface, making it look like a big blue sapphire floating in s.p.a.ce.
The winds on the sea were powerful, and the rolling waves made it look like the seawater was boiling. Incidentally, that was how the planet, Blue Boiling Point, got its name.
Because of the spatial ring that Blind Grandpa had given him, Xia Fan had no need for any carry-on luggage, so he very casually strolled off the s.h.i.+p and headed to the local customs, easily locating the pa.s.sage dedicated to the Special Bureau through the signs around.
There were long queues in the arrival pa.s.sages for the normal pa.s.sengers, but the dedicated pa.s.sage reserved for the Special Bureau was quite empty. The custom staffers were all smiles as they expertly completed all the custom procedures in under a minute.
That was what having privilege meant. Xia Fan did not even pay for the ticket for the long-distance journey from Brenia to the Trident Star Region, and the interstellar transportation company had provided a comfortable and luxurious cabin for free. There were many other privileges that members of the Special Bureau enjoyed, and were the reasons why youths in the Starcloud Union were so pa.s.sionate about getting into the Bureau.
Special ability users were the most respected people in the Union, and the Special Bureau was the organization in charge of managing them, so the authority and social standing they had were fairly noticeable.
…
There were plenty of unmanned hovercars outside the s.p.a.ce port. After Xia Fan chose his destination, he was quickly shuttled to the Special Bureau’s compound.
Although the training camp covered a large area, the highest building there did not rise past three floors, and large swathes of the forest separated the buildings. It was impossible to move around the compound without the use of transportation, and so every new arrival was given a small hovercar.
——
Xia Fan pretty much managed to familiarize himself with the campgrounds after three days, and it was time for the camp to officially begin.
Early in the morning, after Xia Fan was done with his breakfast, he changed into a light blue uniform and drove to the auditorium.
The uniforms of the training camp were separated into three colors: the novice cadets wore light blue uniforms, the intermediate cadets wore deep blue, and the advanced cadets wore black.
The rankings of the training camp were determined by individual performance. If anyone showed excellent accomplishments, they would find themselves rising up to the advanced rank in several months and obtain an official investigator badge. But if they performed terribly, they might not even rise in rank after several years, before ultimately being cruelly ejected. That was not a rare occurrence, either!
Cheyenne had already told Xia Fan that the Blue Boiling Point Training Camp implemented a policy of lenient entry and strict elimination. This meant it was not difficult to get in, as any one who was qualified as a special ability user and had the recommendation from a school or a station as the bare minimum would be accepted.
However, the true challenge lay in the h.e.l.lish course the cadets were expected to undergo after joining the training camp. There was a mini-test every three days and a big one every week. This had been the norm since its inception, and there were people eliminated daily. It frantically made the cadets compete brutally, forcing them to unleash their fullest potential.
There were a hundred thousand new cadets joining the camp every handful of months, but only a slim minority of them would be able to make it through and officially be accepted as official investigators. Back then, Cheyenne had to go through four grueling years of constant compet.i.tion before she managed to graduate from Blue Boiling Point. She had warned Xia Fan to mentally prepare himself for a long, hard fight.
The auditorium was already packed with people. The Blue Boiling Point Training camp did not have any set time for the camp opening; it would instantly begin the moment the number of eligible cadets reach a hundred thousand. Normally, there would be two inductions in a year, and if enough people sought to apply, three or four inductions could be expected. That was also very possible!
Xia Fan found a corner to sit in. The new cadets present were all rather young, and everyone was bursting with excitement. Everyone was chatting, making quite a din.
For some unknown reason, aside from the new cadets wearing light blue uniforms who had gathered here in the auditorium, there were several thousand individuals wearing casual clothes who were scattered about. There happened to be a young la.s.s who looked to be about twelve sitting beside Xia Fan. She was wearing a pink hairpin and even carrying a schoolbag.
Xia Fan sniffed, and looked at the girl suspiciously. She was very pretty, with s.h.i.+ny eyes and a small b.u.t.ton nose. She had fair skin and was short in stature, sitting on a chair as she kicked her feet back and forth playfully.
This smell…
Xia Fan’s mind was in a state of chaos. He had smelled something very frightening from inside the young lady’s school bag, which reminded him very much of explosives!
—
More and more people gathered. The entire auditorium seemed to be packed full of people, but Xia Fan’s eyes were still trained on the young lady. He was discovering more and more things about her that he found suspect. At the same time, Xia Fan’s staring was making that girl feel very uncomfortable.
The girl lifted her chin and asked in a very precocious voice, “Why are you always staring at me?”
Xia Fan did not answer, but his eyes were still locked on her.
*Zing*
The little girl bounced up as if suddenly somewhat fl.u.s.tered, leaping out of her chair and angrily shouting at Xia Fan with her hands on her hips, “Hey, I’m talking to you! What are you staring at me for, pervert?”
Her voice drew the attention of the others around. With so many young special ability users around, Xia Fan staring at a frail young girl was obviously very inappropriate, and many sitting around Xia Fan were already wrinkling their brows.
The situation became very awkward, but that was when something unexpected happened!
Six rows in front of where Xia Fan was seated was a pale faced youth with squinted eyes. This teenager suddenly moved and lunged at a middle-aged man not too far from him, and the two were instantly locked in battle!
At the same moment, Xia Fan also went pouncing toward the girl to his left. Further away, other students were attacking the people in casual clothes near them. The entire auditorium instantly erupted into a frenzy, with someone even using their Fire ability, throwing out a dragon that burned with great intensity as it flew up into the sky!
*Crunch!*
When a speedster struck, they did so at lightning speed!
In a thousandth of a second, Xia Fan grabbed a hold of the girl’s slender arm and with a burst of strength, he threw both his hands up and did a hip toss on her!