"I have a few good news for you and one bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Kai and Michelle were the first to close their eyes as if they didn't want him to come at this timing. Kai had his hearing, so he noticed at the last minute because Nathan was trying to camouflage himself with the other students loitering around their corridor. As for Michelle, she had been with him since she was born, her instinct was like a metal detector finding the metal.

The two turned around, leaving Nathan only to look at the other three girls along with the couple.

He pouted and asked, "What is this? Don't you want to see me, my beloved granddaughter? Come here and hug your grandfather."

"You should just hug your own pillow back home." Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Fine… I know you are in your rebellious phase, so I won't be persistent." Nathan shrugged, treating it as nothing.

Kai then greeted him with a slight nod. "It's been a while, Sir Nathan. I think it's better if we can cut to the chase."

"You two are so cold… Even the little boy was crying when I hugged him."

"I think it's because you are a bit too excessive." Kai twitched his eyebrows, correcting his problem.

"There is nothing bigger than grandfather's love. You say that motherly love can let you grow into a good child, while fatherly love is so strong to the point it makes you stronger as well. Since I am your father's father, AKA your grandfather, the grandfather's love is far stronger than this. No, it's the strongest!" Nathan puffed his chest, feeling very proud.

"Fine fine. If that is the case, then you should also consider your granddaughter's feelings. For now, let's get into the business, shall we?" Kai smiled.

"Fine." Nathan shrugged. "So, which one do you want to hear first."

"Since there is only one bad news, I want to hear it first."

"Alright then. I have a mission for you guys."

"Us? Do you include Evan right now?"

"Ehm… No." Nathan shook his head, already knowing why he asked such a question.

"Alright. What is the mission then?"

"It's a simple but hard mission. Due to some parts, we can't really send you to any ancient structures that might have the answer to what is happening to our planet right now. Hence, we decide to station you on the north, specifically in Yukon Territory.

"There is a sign of that volcano is going to erupt soon. And I think I don't need to explain what will happen if the volcano erupts, right?" Nathan put on a solemn expression.

Kai narrowed his eyes and nodded. "I understand. Every time a volcano erupts, the monsters will migrate to a safer place. And at one point, our base is considered one. That's why there will be a huge monster horde coming to our frontline located on the border of British Columbia and Yukon Territory.

"They will be the first to get the impact, and if the incoming magical beasts are too many, they will most likely get wiped out."

"That's right. That's why this mission is perfect for you."

"Hmm?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.

"This is the mission." Nathan put down a paper on the table, piquing everyone's interest. They took a look and only found a number.

3000.

"Sir Nathan. What is this?"

"This is your mission. B rank beast is one point, A rank beast is five points, intelligence beast is ten points. Your job is to kill those magical beasts until you get three thousand points."

"You serious?" Kai widened his eyes before slamming his table. "We need to kill three thousand magical beasts alone in that area. We can use the military, right?"

"Nope. You can't. This mission is only for your group. In other words, you can either kill three thousand B rank magical beasts, six hundred A rank beasts, or three hundred intelligent beasts. Your choice."

"What if we meet a B rank intelligent beast?"

"You can sum both points together."

"Oh, one magical beast like that is worth fifteen points?"

"Yes."

"It looks easier, but this is still hard. Do you know how long it will take to complete this mission? I need at least two weeks."

"That is your mission. If you succeed in this mission, the next mission won't be that hard, and you will be promoted to Colonel. I don't think it will be that hard to get a star on your shoulder within half of the curriculum."

"I can understand that, but I can't really sacrifice everyone's time just for me."

"I think it's fine. I want to practice, and having a living being as my opponent is welcome." Michelle stopped him before pointing her finger toward the other teammates. "I think they have the same opinions as me."

"Indeed. I can be a bit more reckless in this mission." Tasha grinned as if she wanted to create big trouble for the magical beasts.

Ayaka also nodded her head while Sofia shrugged as if she had no choice.

He stared at them for a few seconds before nodding to Nathan. "Alright. We will go. It's dangerous because we might gather many magical beasts, you know."

"It's fine. You can escape to the front line and ask for the help of soldiers at that time. Of course, you are not allowed to do this intentionally."

"I understand. I will play with your rule, so you don't need to worry about it." Kai nodded. "Besides, I can see that you want me to fight those beasts that are lower than B rank, right? Their number is far higher than the targets, so you want our group to at least kill five to ten thousand magical beasts, no?"

Nathan smirked. "So, you have realized it. That's right. Even though you can kill those many strong monsters, they are still low in number. Think of it like this, the record said there are one million billion ants living before the apocalypse. And there are approximately nine million species living on Earth.

"I am not saying they have the same number as the ant, but there are too many magical beasts on Earth. Three thousand are too low… In fact, we are killing around fifty thousand a day in the north and one hundred thousand in the south. That is only those on the surface, not underground and sea. If we calculate the other bases as well, we kill around one million magical beasts every two days.

"But if you consider the ant population alone, you need one billion days to wipe them out." Nathan sighed.

"Still, the population and territory are growing, so I think we can speed up in the future," Kai added.

"Fair enough. Well, you must have noticed there are numerous creatures crawling beneath the US Base, right?"

"Yes. But they are unlikely to come out." Kai nodded.

"In a normal circumstance, that is…"

Kai narrowed his eyes. "I just hope there won't be such a thing. Creatures from the sea and underground are far more numerous in this world, so it will be troublesome if they are coming out."

"Yeah. At most, a few of them are appearing around the base because they have sensed the surface. In the base, there are police maintaining the public order while there is another special unit that handles the appearance of these monsters. Well, they are not that many, so you don't need to care about them."

"I understand. In any case, you want to tell me that I need to kill many beasts while I live, right?"

"Yes. I know that some species of fish can't go to the surface like those crabs and their friends. We can assume that they are the same unless there is a trigger. At the very least, a man-made trigger won't be able to cause it unless they drop an S rank magical beast in the middle of the US Base."

"I know." Kai nodded. "Anyway, we should stop talking about the mission here."

"Indeed." Nathan handed the document to him. "You are going to go to the British Columbia Military Base and head to Yukon Territory to fulfill your mission. You can activate the video function to record everything live because there will be someone monitoring you behind the screen.

"This mission is crucial because we need to thin their number, especially their strong monsters, so when the volcano erupts, we won't face complete annihilation. That's why I am handing this mission to you, Kai Carter and Lion Group."

"Yes, Sir." Kai saluted with a serious expression.

The group's expression turned serious as they finally understood the seriousness of this matter. They never expected they were living on top of so many magical beasts. In fact, Kai might be hearing all those creatures crawling underneath this building.

Of course, most of the creatures that are close to the surface had been exterminated, leaving only those in a deeper area.

"When will we set off for this mission?" Kai asked.

Nathan looked at Evan and Isabelle. "Kids, when are you leaving?"

"In five days, Sir."

Nathan nodded and turned back to Kai, "Hereby, you are to set off within three days."

"Understood." Kai knew Evan and Isabelle were going to use their helicopter because Eagle Group had their own helicopter to transport the other four.

"That's good then."

"How about the good news?" Kai asked.

"The good news… Well, I bring a few good news with me from school, mission, activity, and promotion. Which one do you want to hear first?" Nathan smirked.

Kai thought for a moment and answered.