Wu Yan's face showed his anger somewhat abated as he gestured to Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen with a shake of his head.

Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen brought the corpses of Zheng Huan and Qin Jin before Li Jing.

"Curse Transformation Technique!"

Upon seeing the corpses of Zheng Huan and Qin Jin, Li Jing's expression changed instantly, and he looked at Wu Yan with a grim face, complaining, "Group Leader Wu, the frequency of your team members encountering mishaps is too high, no? How come another two have fallen to the people of the Curse Gate?"

"Just bad luck," Wu Yan said lightly.

"Heh, I think it's more than just bad luck," Li Jing sneered, "Why is it that the people from Team Two never seem to have such bad luck, and only your Team One does?"

Wu Yan was displeased and retorted angrily, "What are you, providing support for the task force or here to manage the task force?"

"I was just asking casually, why so irritable, Group Leader Wu?" Li Jing replied nonchalantly.

"Casually asking, you Li Jing don't have that privilege. If you want to inquire, wait until you become the leader of the Great Tang Ruins," Wu Yan shot back bluntly, not sparing any feelings.

Li Jing's face showed he was slightly unable to maintain his composure, he forced a smile saying, "Since that's the case, bring the people into my office then."

"Group Leader Wu, don't say I didn't warn you, there have been too many deaths in your Team One recently. At this rate, I don't think you'll be group leader for much longer."

Wu Yan responded coldly, "You're worrying about things that are none of your business. Whether I, Wu Yan, am removed from my position as team leader has nothing to do with you. Even if I am removed as the leader of Team One, it won't be your place, Li Jing, to take over."

Li Jing sneered, "Ingrate, since you, Group Leader Wu, won't listen, then let's pretend I, Li Jing, didn't say anything."

Wu Yan looked at Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen and casually ordered, "Take the corpses of Zheng Huan and Qin Jin to his office."

Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen picked up the corpses again and proceeded towards Li Jing's office.

"Hmm? Newcomers?"

Li Jing glanced at Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen, immediately identifying them as fresh recruits to Task Force One, "Be extra careful when you do tasks, I hope I don't see your corpses a few days from now."

How does this guy talk like this?

Xiao Mu felt dissatisfied internally, but he didn't voice it.

Du Wenzhen gave Xiao Mu a grin; knowing him well, he could tell Xiao Mu was surely cursing Li Jing in his head.

Li Jing, being a peak expert of the Yin God Realm, was not someone either of them planned to provoke directly.

Wu Yan, however, was furious and shouted, "Li Jing, do you dare to curse my team members?"

Li Jing defended himself, "It was just a reminder, it doesn't count as a curse, does it?"

"Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? Li Jing, if you dare speak like that again, don't blame me, Wu Yan, for being rude to you," Wu Yan's stern gaze fixated on Li Jing, ready to start a fight at any disagreement.

Li Jing obviously didn't want to start a conflict, "Forget it, you're worked up, I won't provoke you."

"Hmph!"

Wu Yan snorted angrily, no longer paying attention to Li Jing, and said to Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen, "After you put down the corpses, come to my office, I have something to say to you."

After speaking, he turned and walked out of the courtyard, heading back to his own office.

"What are your names, you two newcomers?"

As Wu Yan left, Li Jing asked Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen, leading them towards his office.

"Xiao Mu."

"Du Wenzhen."

Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen said their names.

Li Jing, with a serious and earnest demeanor, sighed, "The task force is not an easy place to get by, especially Task Force One. You two, be cautious, and don't blame me for not reminding you if you end up dead during a task."

"I have no grudges with Li Jing, and even less so with you, I certainly don't hope to see your corpses here one day."

Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen could not fathom what Li Jing meant, nor could they understand why he was so earnestly telling them this.

They casually thanked him and said no more.

"Old Xiao, the more I think about it, the more I feel that joining this Task Force One is not going to be easy," Du Wenzhen couldn't help but complain to Xiao Mu as they left the great courtyard of the support department.

"If you really feel like you can't stay, you could go to Team Two,"

Xiao Mu thought for a moment, then replied to Du Wenzhen.

Regardless of his motives, he himself would never leave Team One for Team Two, yet there was no need to drag Du Wenzhen with him.

"I was just speaking off the cuff, how could I possibly go to Team Two? Besides, am I, Du Wenzhen, the kind of person to abandon a brother and run away?" Du Wenzhen exclaimed.

In the midst of their conversation, they arrived at Wu Yan's office.

Without looking up, Wu Yan instructed Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen, "Sit down!"

Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen sat down side by side on the sofa opposite Wu Yan.

With a serious expression, Wu Yan said, "Xiao Mu, Du Wenzhen, as you have both witnessed, our team members Zheng Huan and Qin Jin encountered people from the Curse Gate while searching for information, were struck by the Curse Transformation Technique, and were both killed."

"As for this matter, what are your thoughts? Speak freely, don't worry—even if you're wrong, I won't blame you."

"If you're afraid and want to leave the task group, I can let you go now."

Xiao Mu smiled, "Chief Wu, you underestimate me. If I were afraid, I wouldn't have joined the task group in the first place."

Wu Yan nodded kindly at Xiao Mu, then turned to Du Wenzhen, "And you, Du Wenzhen? I won't blame you if you want to leave, do you?"

Du Wenzhen looked visibly upset as he shouted, "Chief Wu, don't underestimate me. Do I, Du Wenzhen, look like someone who can be scared off?"

Finally, a smile appeared on Wu Yan's face as he said with a slight grin, "I am relieved that you can maintain such an attitude, especially after seeing the tragic state of Zheng Huan and Qin Jin."

"As for what happened to Zheng Huan and Qin Jin, you don't need to worry too much. As your team leader, I will do my utmost to ensure your safety."

"However, you've seen the situation of our Team One. I won't hide it from you—the recent situation of our team is indeed not very good, mainly because we have encountered people from the Curse Gate too often."

"The Curse Gate's methods are devious and too much for ordinary people to handle. This is also the main reason for the casualties among our team members."

"In the future, when you are executing tasks, you must be extra careful. Try not to act alone and report immediately if there is any danger. Upon receiving the information, I will support you as soon as possible."

Xiao Mu and Du Wenzhen nodded at the same time.

As a team leader, Wu Yan was at least responsible.

Xiao Mu thought for a moment, "Team Leader, does our task group have any Secret Manuals that can resist the Curse Power after cultivation?"

"Secret Manuals that resist the Curse Gate's Curse Power?"

Wu Yan thought for a moment, then asked Xiao Mu, "Are you talking about the Secret Manual of Sacred Power?"

Sacred Power and Curse Power are two forces that restrict each other. Secret Manuals of Sacred Power inherently have a resistant effect against the Curse Gate's methods.

However, the Secret Manual Xiao Mu was talking about was clearly not the Sacred Power Manual. Shaking his head, he said, "It's other powers that can be cultivated through Secret Manuals, like the Five Elements Power, Yin Yang Power, or even Netherworld Power, and so on."

Wu Yan shook his head and said, "The kind of Secret Manuals you're talking about are extremely rare."

"As for whether they exist, I'm not particularly sure. But even if they do, Secret Manuals related to the Five Elements Power and Yin Yang Power wouldn't be very effective in resisting Curse Power."

Whether the effect was significant or not wasn't Xiao Mu's main concern; he just wanted the Secret Manual itself to have the ability to resist Curse Power.

As long as the Secret Manual itself had the function of resisting Curse Power, he could use the Mutation Technique to mutate it, ultimately mutating a Secret Manual capable of resisting Curse Power.

Xiao Mu then said, "Team Leader, may I look at the list of Secret Manuals that our task group possesses?"

Wu Yan nodded kindly, "The Secret Manuals of the task group are open for everyone to view. If you wish to see them, you can go to the Book Collection Room."

"However, looking at the Secret Manuals in the Book Collection Room is not free. You have to exchange them for Merit."

"Once you've earned some Merit, you can come to me to apply for it."

"Thank you, Team Leader!"

A trace of joy appeared on Xiao Mu's face. Being able to exchange Merit for Secret Manuals was a good arrangement.

After leaving Wu Yan's office together with Du Wenzhen, who was eager to enhance his strength and promptly returned to his residence to absorb Five Elements Dust, Xiao Mu headed straight for the Book Collection Room to search for the Secret Manual he needed.

With Team One frequently encountering individuals from the Curse Gate, although the reason was still unclear, Xiao Mu now had to make preparations in advance.

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