C21 This Was a Slander the Mission of the Twocircle

Inside the Job-Changing Hall.

Upon Nangong's arrival, Instructor Qian, a striking figure, was taken aback.

"Lord Mayor!"

"Dispense with the formalities. Gather all the instructors here at once!"

"At once!"

Instructor Qian hurried off to relay the message. Within half an hour, a dozen individuals were arrayed in orderly fashion within the hall.

Nangong addressed the assembled crowd.

"You're all aware of the recent events in Gloomrock City!"

"I'll spare you the details."

"Whatever transpires tonight must not leave this room!"

"Fail in this, and it's a matter of life and death!"

"Ah?"

The proclamation visibly startled everyone.

Instructor Qian, anxious, inquired.

"Lord Mayor, may I ask what's so critical about tonight's events?"

Nangong's response was icy.

"If you're not meant to know, don't ask."

"Let's proceed to the task assignments."

It was no laughing matter. Instructor Qian herself had speculated that the individual in question might be a God General Seed, and Nangong wasn't about to take any chances.

Should this person indeed be a God General Seed and any mishap occur under his watch in Gloomrock, he'd be lucky if demotion was all he faced—exile to the Dark World was a real possibility.

A God General Seed represented a glimmer of hope for Eceosian, a beacon that demanded utmost protection and care.

"Pull up the job-changing records from the Fire Thorn Insect dungeon for the two hours before and after the last refresh!"

"We must determine how the Fire Thorn Insect vanished from the dungeon!"

"How long will this take?"

Nangong questioned.

The beautiful instructor responded promptly.

"The job changes from yesterday were numerous; it could take all night."

"Then prepare for a long night. Get to it!"

"Yes, sir!"

With no room for dissent, they set to work immediately.

The individual who refreshed the records was crucial, but equally important was uncovering how the Fire Thorn Insects disappeared from their dungeon.

This was critical since the Fire Thorn Insect dungeon was currently inaccessible, rendering the One-circle God Stone nearly obsolete.

As the One-circle mission was mandated from above, Nangong had no authority to alter it.

Should the Fire Thorn Insect not be recovered, he would have no choice but to report the situation as it stood.

He knew he might face blame from those above, so he had no choice but to devise a plan to locate the individual and reclaim the Fire Thorn Insect.

The City Lord of Qian Hee quickly returned.

Upon seeing Nangong, he shook his head in resignation.

"The individual did go to the auction house to consign an item, but unfortunately, he wore a mask and possesses skills to conceal his identity, leaving the auction house unable to verify it."

"Doesn't the auction house need to transfer funds to him? Can't they access his bank card information?"

Qian Hee shook his head.

"He's a diamond member of the auction house; he uses a card they provided."

"How about on your end?"

"Give me at most one night, and I'll identify who broke the record. I have a strong suspicion that the same person is responsible for the Fire Thorn Insect's disappearance."

"Even if I do find out, we can't be certain that the one who slew the Goblin Ancestor's projection is the same person," Nangong remarked.

Qian Hee, with a furrowed brow, responded,

"I've got this gut feeling it's him!"

"Once we discover his identity, a face-to-face inquiry will reveal the truth!"

"We can't let such a talent slip through our fingers!"

Nangong agreed with a nod.

An hour later, the Heaven Howling Wolf returned as well.

The Goblins and Werewolves were no match; the Heaven Howling Wolf swiftly dispersed them.

Thus, the Demonic Beast turmoil came to an end.

...

In his room, Faang Chen lay comfortably on his bed, reflecting on a day rich with achievements.

At this rate, he could undertake the Two-circle mission tomorrow.

Upon completion, he'd be ready to break into the Three-circle.

With nearly a month and a half until university admissions, time was on his side.

Before sleeping, Faang Chen routinely browsed the Professionist Forum.

This time, his visit left him feeling both exasperated and thrilled.

The forum was abuzz with three major threads:

"The enigmatic Professionist has shattered the Fire Thorn Insect dungeon record – the powerhouse is among us!"

"Who is the powerhouse that instantaneously vanquished the Goblin Ancestor's projection? Pleading for a keepsake!"

"Could the powerhouse who obliterated the ancestor's projection be the same one from the Fire Thorn Insect dungeon?"

Underneath those three posts, an endless stream of comments poured in, with the count astonishingly surpassing three million.

Faang Chen couldn't be bothered to sift through them. He was on the verge of sleep when a peculiar post caught his eye.

[Prediction!] The Fire Thorn Insect dungeon's glitch could be due to the record refresher stealing the insects!

The name made Faang Chen's calm shatter.

When had he ever stolen insects?

He had legitimately taken control of the dungeon, and besides, the job-changing hall had no rules against attempting to control the Fire Thorn Insect dungeon's creatures!

He clicked to view the responses.

As expected, skepticism was rampant.

"Diagnosis complete: this person's brain has a leak!"

"Exactly. The insects in the job-changing hall dungeon are safeguarded by the job-changing stone. They're unstealable!"

"Not even a Beastmaster could control insects within the job-changing stone!"

"I don't get it. Isn't the Fire Thorn Insect dungeon being unusable actually good news? Do you really want to antagonize eight million of us with secondary professions?"

"Seriously. Do you think it's easy for us with secondary professions to switch jobs? We finally get a chance, and the job-changing hall shuts down in less than a day!"

"This is defamation. Maybe they acquired it fair and square. How can you call it stealing? You weren't even there! And the job-changing hall never said it was against the rules to try and control the Demonic Beasts inside the job-changing dungeon!"

"Huh?"

Faang Chen was taken aback—someone was actually defending him.

He chuckled when he saw the ID.

It was none other than the girlfriend of the dashing Faang.

She was a girl after all. Curious, Faang Chen clicked to check her profile.

But the profile picture stopped him in his tracks.

It was Su Muyu!

"This girl, posing as the girlfriend of the handsome Faang. Did I ever agree to be your boyfriend?"

With that thought, Faang Chen shot Su Muyu a message.

"Thanks for standing up for me!"

Her reply came swiftly.

"?"

"On the forum!"

As he spoke, Faang Chen sent the screenshot over.

Su Muyu, who was grinding levels in the wilderness late into the night, saw the screenshot and her cheeks flushed with color.

"He... He saw it. Then that name must mean..."

"Oh no, how embarrassing!"

With that thought, Su Muyu hastily typed out a response.

"Um... don't get the wrong idea, I just picked that name on a whim!"

A reply came quickly.

"Oh! In that case, never mind. I was actually considering saying yes!"

"What?"

Su Muyu saw the message and hurriedly responded.

"No, I mean it. I didn't just pick it on a whim. So, you'll be my boyfriend?"

"I was about to say yes, but now I'll have to think it over. Off to bed!"

"Think it over?"

Regret washed over Su Muyu. Why had she claimed it was a random choice? Admitting the truth would have been so much better.

She had bungled a perfectly good situation.

"Damn Faang Chen, you're the worst!"

With a pout, Su Muyu had no choice but to keep leveling up in the game.

With the Mercenaries guiding her leveling, she didn't have to lift a finger—just watching her experience soar was enough.

......

The following morning.

As Faang Chen approached the entrance to the job-changing hall,

a new instructor was there, keeping order.

"Why isn't the One-circle God's Stone available yet?"

"Yeah, we're eager to change our jobs!"

"I'm sorry, the Fire Thorn Insect required for the One-circle God's Stone is missing, so it's temporarily unavailable. The Two-circle and Three-circle stones are operating as normal!"

"Please bear with us. We'll make it available again as soon as it's fixed!"

the instructor explained.

Faang Chen was taken aback. He hadn't anticipated that taking control of the Fire Thorn Insect would cause such an uproar.

But he hadn't stolen it, so there was no reason for him to return it.

Besides, having perfect control over the skill was proving to be quite handy.

Dodging the crowd, Faang Chen made his way directly to the Two-circle God's Stone.

As he placed his palm on it,

a voice rang out.

Ding! Congratulations, you meet the requirements for the Two-circle. Would you like to accept the Two-circle mission?

Faang Chen made his decision without a moment's hesitation—he opted to receive it immediately!