Gao Neng tapped on the system panel, returning to the home screen.

Sure enough, at the very bottom, he found a button to post a mission.

Tap!

An input box appeared, prompting him to enter the mission’s name.

"I can really post my own missions?" Gao Neng was genuinely surprised now. ’Post my own mission, complete it myself... isn’t that just unbeatable?’

But what kind of mission should he post?

’Catch ten rats?’

’Ugh...’

’Too boring.’

Just as he was thinking this, Kong Kun and Feng Qingqing arrived.

As fellow freshmen living in the same dormitory area, they arrived quickly. Both of them had changed into casual clothes.

"Tangtang, what did you call us for?" Feng Qingqing’s brows furrowed slightly when she realized this was Gao Neng’s room, but she didn’t say anything more.

"To form a team, of a course!" Fang Tangtang said excitedly.

"You called us all the way over here just to talk about forming a team?" Feng Qingqing was a little speechless. ’Didn’t we just talk about this today?’

’Why bring it up again?’

Feng Qingqing looked at Kong Kun.

Kong Kun glanced back at Feng Qingqing before speaking up. "We’re still thinking about forming a team. There’s no need to rush, is there?"

"What do you mean, no need to rush? Gao Neng says we’re fighting our way onto the battle rankings in two days!" Fang Tangtang retorted immediately.

"In two days?!"

Feng Qingqing and Kong Kun were both shocked.

They both looked at Gao Neng at the same time, but they quickly realized what was going on. ’Does this mean Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang have already teamed up?’

"So, are you in or not? Just give us a straight answer. Either way, we’re definitely challenging the battle rankings in two days!" Fang Tangtang declared with absolute certainty.

"Well... alright, I’ll join!" Kong Kun nodded. As a fellow prodigy, he wouldn’t admit to being inferior. If Fang Tangtang and Gao Neng had the guts to take on the challenge, so did he.

"Feng Qingqing, what about you?" Fang Tangtang looked at her.

"I’ll join too, but shouldn’t we first decide who’s going to be the captain?" Feng Qingqing said, biting the bullet after a moment’s hesitation.

"I’ll be the captain," Gao Neng said, speaking up.

"You?" Feng Qingqing’s expression flickered.

"And I’m the vice-captain!" Fang Tangtang chimed in immediately.

"Alright, Gao Neng can be the captain. So, what’s the team name?" Kong Kun had no intention of arguing over the captaincy. He had lost to Gao Neng, so it was only natural for Gao Neng to lead.

"The Invincible Team!" Fang Tangtang announced proudly.

"..." Kong Kun was taken aback.

And it wasn’t just Kong Kun.

Feng Qingqing also had a strange look on her face. She wasn’t too surprised about Gao Neng wanting to be captain, but wasn’t this team name a bit too arrogant?

The Invincible Team!

’If we get defeated, won’t that be humiliating?’

"On the path of the strong, if you don’t advance, you fall behind. Since there’s no retreat, the only option is to be invincible! We are invincible, so our team should be the ’Invincible Team’!" Gao Neng said offhandedly.

"Fine, the Invincible Team it is. I have no objections. Feng Qingqing, how about you?" Kong Kun fell silent for a moment before finally nodding.

"Do we really have to use that name? Can’t we consider something else, like... the Cyan Snake Team?" Feng Qingqing looked mentally drained as she stared expectantly at Fang Tangtang and Kong Kun.

"’The Cyan Snake Team?’" Kong Kun felt even more drained.

’Give me a break!’

’You’re a top graduate from Eastern Capital High School, for crying out loud!’

’You were even the campus belle!’

Kong Kun was truly speechless. He’d wondered what kind of suggestion Feng Qingqing would make, and she came up with the Cyan Snake Team. At this point, the Invincible Team was definitely the better option.

With that, the team matter was settled.

An idea finally formed in Gao Neng’s mind. ’Since we’re going to challenge the battle rankings in two days anyway, I might as well post a mission for it.’

"Challenge the Battle Rankings!" While Fang Tangtang and the others were still discussing team details, Gao Neng found a moment to quickly type four words into the mission creation field.

’This mission shouldn’t take any extra time!’

Just as he was about to hit confirm...

A thought suddenly struck him. ’Something feels off...’ After a moment, he modified the mission he was posting, changing it to "Challenge the D-Rank of the Battle Rankings!"

’That should be fine, right?’

"Please input the mission reward."

Another input box popped up.

’Huh, this is great! I can even set my own reward? What should I put... Right, Energy Pills! That’s what I need most right now. How about ten Energy Pills? Nah, that reward is too small. A hundred? Still seems a little low... Screw it! Fortune favors the bold, and the timid starve to death!’ Gritting his teeth, Gao Neng typed in "1,000 Energy Pills."

’It’s just challenging the D-Rank, right?’

’How hard can it be!’

"DING! Host has posted a mission: Challenge the D-Rank of the Battle Rankings!"

"Mission Description: You are the undefeated War God of the battle rankings. You are destined to stir up a storm on the D-Rank and become a truly invincible existence."

"Mission Completion Conditions: Host must challenge 20 teams from the D-Rank within 30 days and maintain a 100% undefeated win rate." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Mission Reward: 1,000 First-Grade Energy Pills."

"Mission Penalty: A debt of 1,000 Energy Pills of random grade. (The system will automatically withdraw Energy Pills from the Host’s possession, taking pills of any grade until the debt of 1,000 is paid.)"

"..."

"..." Gao Neng froze.

The mission he’d posted was to challenge the D-Rank, not to steamroll all twenty teams on it! Besides, he couldn’t steamroll them even if he wanted to!

’The lowest-ranked team on the D-Rank...’

’...has a captain who’s already Third-Order.’

’So what about the team at the very top?!’

’Don’t tell me they have a Fourth-Order!’

Gao Neng felt like he was going to lose his mind. Defeating twenty D-Rank teams in one month meant he’d have to fight a new challenge almost every single day. And he had to win every match?

’So...’

’...this is how the "post your own mission" feature works?’

’Nightmare-level evolution... So, here’s the question: can I get a do-over? I think I’ll just pick "Excellent Evolution"... no, wait, "Average Evolution" is good enough for me!’

No voice answered him.

There was only a countdown timer, which read: 30 days.

Meanwhile, in the room, Fang Tangtang, Kong Kun, and Feng Qingqing were still discussing the finer details of the team’s formation, such as who would be the main attacker, who would be support, and so on.

"Can I just cut in for a second?" Gao Neng interrupted their chat, his face a mask of bitterness.

"If you have something to say, spit it out. What are you interrupting for?" Fang Tangtang shot back casually.

"If I said... and I’m just saying, hypothetically... if I wanted to fight all twenty teams on the D-Rank in one month... what would you all think?" Gao Neng asked tentatively.

"???"

All three of them stared at Gao Neng.

Kong Kun’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

Feng Qingqing’s eyes showed confusion, which quickly morphed into disdain. ’Is this guy kidding? Does he really think I’d believe that?’

It wasn’t just Kong Kun and Feng Qingqing who were skeptical.

Even the normally fearless Fang Tangtang was left speechless for a moment, her mouth agape.

Then, all three of them burst out laughing.

"Hahaha..."

"That joke isn’t funny at all!"

"Let’s get back to discussing our fighting styles and special abilities. Since we’re aiming to take the lowest spot on the battle rankings, we should at least get familiar with each other’s skills first."

The three of them turned away from him and resumed their conversation.

"I’m being serious. I really have to defeat twenty D-Rank teams within a month. And... I can’t lose. Not even once. What do you say to that?" Gao Neng knew they didn’t believe him. To be honest, he could hardly believe it himself. ’Is this even f*cking possible?’

’It’s a suicide mission!’

Even though it was just the D-Rank, once a team was on the battle rankings, they weren’t weak. Furthermore, winning twenty straight victories... it was basically a hopeless endeavor.

"Hahaha... Gao Neng, keep on bragging. We’re all listening," Fang Tangtang said, unable to stifle her laughter as she looked at his dead-serious expression.

Feng Qingqing also turned her head away.

’He’s lost his mind!’

’We haven’t even beaten a single team yet, and he’s already talking about taking on twenty. The teams on the battle rankings aren’t made of mud! We’re just first-year freshmen.’

’And what Order is he? First-Order, that’s what!’

’Beating us Second-Orders already makes him a super prodigy. What is he thinking? There’s a limit to how conceited one person can be, isn’t there?’

Feng Qingqing ignored Gao Neng.

But Kong Kun stared at Gao Neng for a long moment. He couldn’t see any hint of a joke on his face. "Gao Neng, are you serious?"

"I am," Gao Neng replied with a bitter smile.

"Gao Neng, have you lost your mind?!" Feng Qingqing couldn’t hold back any longer. "Don’t you know that you have to wager Merit Points to challenge the battle rankings? It’s a minimum of 100 Merit Points per challenge!"

"I’m not crazy. As for Merit Points... I have them!" Gao Neng gritted his teeth. He actually hadn’t known about this, but if there was a wager... ’Does that mean I can use these challenges to farm a bunch of Merit Points?’

’This sounds like a pretty good deal!’

Of course, that was all on the condition that he could actually win.

"What are you getting at? Now that we’re a team, if we lose, the Merit Points cost will be split among us. My point is, there’s no way we can win, so why should we go and throw away our points?" Kong Kun said, sounding a little disgruntled.

"I’ll put up all the Merit Points. If we win, I take eighty percent of the winnings. If we lose, it’s on me, you guys don’t have to pay a thing. How about it? You in or not?!" Of course, Gao Neng couldn’t tell Kong Kun, ’I f*cking did this to myself by creating this stupid mission.’

’Once I get through this...’

’I’ll never let my itchy fingers get the best of me again. I’m never, ever posting my own mission again, not if you beat me to death.’

’But the question is...’

’...can I even get through this one?’

’If I can’t, the penalty is 1,000 Energy Pills! That’s a death sentence! When would I ever be able to earn 1,000 Energy Pills to pay back the system?’

"You... really want to do this?" Kong Kun fell silent. He truly hadn’t expected Gao Neng to offer such terms, shouldering the entire Merit Point risk himself.

"Yes!" Gao Neng affirmed.

"What do you two think?" Kong Kun looked toward Feng Qingqing and Fang Tangtang.

"I, Fang Tangtang, am no coward who hides in her shell! If we’re going to do this, then we should contribute Merit Points proportionally. It feels pointless to not contribute at all. Here’s my proposal: if we lose, we’ll cover half the cost. If we win, we take half the winnings. How’s that?" Fang Tangtang was no longer laughing; she was completely serious.

"You’re all insane! A bunch of lunatics! How did I, Feng Qingqing, end up teaming up with you... Ah, my boobs ache! It hurts, it hurts... Fine, let’s do it! We’ll register the team tomorrow and then issue the challenges! And... I’m posting this to my social media right now. I, Feng Qingqing, am going to challenge twenty D-Rank teams in one month! Yay!" After saying her piece, Feng Qingqing whipped out her phone, threw up a peace sign, and snapped a selfie.

"Alright, let’s do it!" Kong Kun also gritted his teeth, then grabbed his phone and quickly typed out a post.

Gao Neng glanced over.

Kong Kun seemed to be posting on a forum. If Gao Neng wasn’t mistaken, the title at the top read: The Eastern Capital Military Academy’s Internal Discussion Forum.

"I, Bone Kun, have arrived! All you scrubs on the D-Rank, tremble in fear! Because within a month, I’m going to beat every last one of you until you’re picking your teeth up off the floor!"

"..." Gao Neng watched as Kong Kun clicked ’post’ with a smirk. He suddenly had a feeling that things were getting a little out of hand.

And more importantly...

He saw that Fang Tangtang had also picked up her phone.

"Hey, Sister Ning’Er! I’m forming a team with your husband tomorrow! And we’re going to defeat all twenty teams on the D-Rank of the battle rankings within a month, hahaha! Wanna come and watch? Huh? You don’t know who your husband is? That’s impossible! Your husband announced it in front of all the academy instructors at the freshman orientation assembly. Grandpa Song was there too! Didn’t he call you to confirm it?"

"..." Gao Neng.

Gan Liniang!