First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!
Chapter 276: I've located the Fireball Children, full assault!

Lu Ding pressed his earpiece and switched channels: “Keep the ten-step-per-person formation. Split off one thousand investigators to head to...”

Lu Ding was coordinating the investigator deployment of Yunhai 749.

Suddenly, a mess of footsteps echoed in.

Lu Ding couldn’t fly too high—he’d be too conspicuous.

He had to twist his body to dodge.

“Did they notice me already?”

“Mm... fair enough.”

Even though he avoided being tagged when he entered, energy fluctuations couldn’t be hidden.

Maybe most people would, upon seeing only one marker, assume it was a false alarm.

the head of Huokang Village wasn’t “most people.”

“Hey, youngster, what are you doing here?”

In a village alley, an old man popped his head out through a window he’d opened from a completely unexpected angle in the wall.

Lu Ding was genuinely impressed.

What kind of messed-up village was this?

Why were there holes everywhere?

He twitched his nose—

smelled something off—and smiled, saying, “I’m a tourist, just wandering around. Got a little lost.”

The old man’s expression changed to a grin. “Oh, lost, huh? I’ll take you to the square. Too many dogs in the village—it’s not safe to wander.”

The old man stepped down from the window sill.

Lu Ding walked up. “Your village is huge. Last year—yeah, I got lost last year too. Hey, Uncle, you look kind of familiar.”

“Haven’t we met somewhere before?”

“Seems like... seems like...”

As they spoke, Lu Ding was already at the old man’s side.

And in that moment—

they both struck, murderous intent rising, guts fueling aggression.

The old man flipped his palm, pulling out a sharp Emei Spike and stabbed it toward Lu Ding’s chin,

intending to pierce straight through his skull.

But Lu Ding blocked it mid-way,

broke the old man’s arm, snatched the Emei Spike, and drove it in from his left temple through to the right.

Blood sprayed violently as the old man mumbled, “You... how did you...”

“Shhh... don’t talk. Save your energy. Dizziness is normal.”

With Lu Ding’s words, the old man slowly collapsed, dying with eyes wide open.

And just then,

Lu Ding heard the sound of many footsteps rushing to surround his position.

He could even sense the stench of monsters closing in.

“Killing silently is really hard, huh.”

To stay hidden, he hadn’t even used the Path of Jinche.

Still ended up alerting them.

Well, if that’s the case, then no need to hold back.

He’d gathered enough intel anyway.

And he was about to run into monsters.

Wherever there were monsters, there would be 749—it was a law.

Looking up, he saw two childlike figures—one red, one white—perched on a rooftop.

Lu Ding tapped his earpiece: “I've located the Fireball Children. Full assault. Sound the People-Guiding Drum, fire the Soul-Hooking Smoke.”

People-Guiding Drum, Soul-Hooking Smoke—

these didn’t target Cultivators of Qi. They were used on civilians.

Together, they could lure civilians away from the battlefield to ensure their safety.

As he spoke, a fireball came flying.

Lu Ding tilted his body to dodge, graceful as ever.

The fireball zipped past and blasted a massive crater in the ground behind him.

The white-clad child said blankly, “Human, this is not a place you should be.”

“So are you going to let me leave?”

The red-clad child gathered fire in his hand. “In your dreams!”

With those words—

Lu Ding, still visible a second ago, vanished in an instant.

When he reappeared, he was behind them.

Both hands lifted, zero startup delay.

Dark red waves of energy surged in his palms.

“Then what’s the point in talking?”

BOOM BOOM!!!!!!

A burst of light lit up the world.

Explosions boomed across all of Huokang Village.

Battle had begun!!!

Those twin blasts lit the fuse.

At the heart of the village, everyone froze.

That dark red light was tearing at the night.

In that moment,

every Tianli Cult member on-site recognized that glow and its spell effect—

one of Lu Ding’s signature attacks.

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned deathly still.

The two Deputy Leaders of Tianli Cult exchanged glances.

The word “run” hadn’t even left their mouths when—

The sound of cannons and drums erupted.

Dozens of shells trailed long smoke tails as they exploded above Huokang Village.

Smoke and dust rained over the village.

All the ordinary villagers of Huokang,

as if their souls had been hooked,

began to stagger out of the village in a daze.

“People-Guiding Drum. Soul-Hooking Smoke. Great—749's full force is here. And you two Deputy Leaders told me the loose ends were cleaned up?!”

Feng Shang seized the momentum, his face dark.

The two Deputy Leaders of Tianli Cult were speechless.

No way!

How could this happen!!!

We were careful!

How did 749 find out!?

At this point, there was no time to run.

All they could do was...

“Hey, Old Zhou, Old Wang, long time no see. Wanna grab some tea with me over at 749?”

From the crowd of villagers flowing outward,

a lone armored figure moved against the tide.

Raising shield and spear, his aura surged like a lion awakening from slumber.

Taiji and Imperial Rank backed away half a step, faces tense.

That “Old Zhou” and “Old Wang” from Deputy Director Chu’s mouth—were them.

Old rivals, all three of them former deputies.

The third, Guo Wuji, was dead.

The three of them had been thrashed by Chu countless times.

Now, it was just the two of them. Two vs. one...

They beat the retreat, backing off a step.

Feng Shang grabbed their shoulders from behind. “749’s main force has surrounded us. Escape is basically impossible. Stall him. After midnight—we win!”

The two Tianli Cult Deputy Leaders turned to Feng Shang.

Though they said nothing, their eyes screamed one question:

Us?

Stall him?

Do you not realize how lethal Deputy Director Chu is?!

But Feng Shang’s eyes were unwavering.

They had no choice but to comply.

“Fine!”

Just as they turned to go all out against Chu,

Feng Shang quietly slipped into the shadows.

The Fireball Children were getting wrecked—he had to go save them!

Scene change.

This side of the village—Lu Ding’s turf.

The buildings around were already reduced to rubble.

He walked forward calmly.

Ahead, the once-arrogant twin figures—

one had a hand severed, the other a leg blown off.

They were backing away.

Their eyes, locked on Lu Ding, were filled with terror.

Compared to them,

this human was the real monster!!

Just moments ago, the battle had been intense.

Reinforcements from Huokang Village’s Cultivators of Qi had just arrived to help kill this guy.

But they’d barely raised their hands when—

this human flicked his sleeve.

Said nothing.

Dozens were pulled in instantly.

From the wide sleeves came the crackle-crunch of grinding stone and crushed bones.

Moments later—

shattered flesh and bones rained across the ground.

These monsters had lived in the village for years.

They’d seen the Cultivators of Qi here as family.

Now, they’d watched them all die right in front of them.

The two children remembered peaceful days past—

Uncle Zhang, always flirting.

Brother Li, who peeked at the widow bathing.

Grandpa Zhao, who bragged nonstop about his grandson.

Old Grandpa Wu, who gave them snacks every time he passed...

Everyone...

Everyone was dead...

Their physical wounds weren’t even one-tenth as painful as the grief in their hearts!!!

The white-clad child supported the heavily injured red-clad one, backing away.

Shouting loudly:

“Aren’t you a 749 investigator!? Why are you slaughtering innocents!?”

Lu Ding shook his sleeve, flinging blood beads onto the ground—

the scent of blood thick enough to make one vomit.

“Innocents? The people who died in the explosion at Broken Bridge Pier—they were the real innocents.”

How did he know!!!?

The Fireball Children were stunned.

That incident happened years ago.

Other than Feng Shang, no one else should’ve known!

If it were exposed, how had 749 not come for them?

If not exposed, how did he know!?

Lu Ding’s voice came again, like a demon’s whisper.

“Sad? Heartbroken? In pain? Watching your loved ones die right in front of you, unable to save them—helpless?”

“If you feel that way—good.”

“The victims of the Broken Bridge Pier explosion—their families felt the same way. So why is it, when it’s your turn, you scream 'innocent'?”

“Can’t take it?”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA……”