Preperations II

The new recruits followed Instructor Hord outside the armory towards the spot where they landed earlier. They observed the proceedings in amazement, as the employees began to properly stand at attention. Bai Jingshen noticed how everyone knew their position, sorted after strength and division. The instructor led them to the back of what was obviously the RSS division's group.

For the first time the new recruits got a better understanding of Thobar Bionics' strength. Since they were set to join the RSS, it was also this division which made up the biggest part of the search party. Bai Jingshen counted two teams of ten cultivators in the Qi Gathering Realm, and two teams in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Their division seemed to be led by two Golden Core Realm cultivators.

After putting them in position, Instructor Hord talked to the team standing in front of them. Their leader gave a metallic cube to another member before making his way over. Bai Jingshen was glad the instructor didn't talk to Bloodsaber's team.

Just as the young man stood in front of them and opened his mouth to introduce himself, he suddenly shut up and became weirdly quiet. At the same time Bai Jingshen felt a strange sensation from behind and turned around to have a look. He noticed a tall, blond man coming towards them.

Without using any Qi, this man still produced some strange fluctuations around his body, telling Bai Jingshen that he was in the same realm as Titus Gaian. Analyzing the blond man closer, he had to admit that he was impressed by the latter's bearing. To describe it in one word it would be immaculate. His short, blond hair was strictly combed backwards, his whole body posture perfectly straight. Every movement of his gave one the feeling as if it was patiently rehearsed a thousand times. Together with his strict, beardless face and his armor styled to look like a suit, he made everyone around him automatically put on their best behavior.

A second later the blond man came to a halt next to the RSS division. He looked at Bai Jingshen as he began to speak:

"Bai Jingshen, Sam Immartokav, Ryan Zun-Gora. Come with me!"

The tree young men were slightly surprised, but followed almost automatically. Only Bai Jingshen realized that this was a passive effect of this man's cultivation. He grew curious about which law or genetic ability brought about such an effect, and what more it could do. From the aura surrounding this man and the respectful looks on other employees faces, Bai Jingshen easily understood that he had a high position in Thobar Bionics.

The trio followed this man before they came to a stop next to the protector. At this point almost all employees already stood in position and questioningly looked at the three men who suddenly appeared at the very front. Instructor Hord was probably the most surprised as he silently complained about management seemingly forgetting to tell him something.

Bai Jingshen grew confused as the protector and the blond man silently ignored them. Only after the old man looked at them again with a soft sigh, did Bai Jingshen realize that those two just communicated in their minds. He was intrigued about their conversation, but he naturally couldn't ask. Afterwards the blond man nodded once at the protector, turned around and entered the main building.

Seeing the confused looks on the young men's faces, the protector lightly shook his head while eyeing the blond man's back. Afterwards he turned his gaze away and looked at the new recruits while explaining:

"That man was Johann Tal. He was the assistant to young Miss's Parents. After they… went missing… he kept this company together and assists the young Miss now. He does everything by the book and loves order. He only has one major flaw. He has such bad social skills."

Saying so, the protector even let out a small laugh. If Bai Jingshen would have observed the employees close to them however, he would have noticed their eyes widen and their heads turning red. Obviously they tried to hold in their laughter with all their might. Luckily they were distracted soon after as two Gene Activation Realm cultivators slowly flew over and landed behind the protector.

Just as Bia Jingshen wanted to observe the new arrivals, he seemed to notice a flicker of hostility in one of their gazes. The former emperor instantly put up a guard. The Gene Activation Realm cultivator himself didn't even realize that he just unconsciously showed hostility. Normally a random recruit wouldn't have noticed something like this either, but fortunately Bai Jingshen was anything but normal.

He suddenly realized that he was a bit too relaxed since grouping up with Thobar Bionics. Although Elena and her trusted aids seemed genuine so far, no organization could be completely harmonious. Especially if it was in a weak state like this company right now. Since the White Illusion Sect was rather small and cohesive, Bai Jingshen wasn't fully used to not trusting people in his sect. However, he naturally knew that most sects would have internal strife. Even fellow disciples killing each other was sadly rather common. Therefore he had to remind himself to keep up his vigilance from now on.

The two newly arrived cultivators ignored the three recruits as they slightly bowed towards the protector.

"Apologies for our late arrival, Sir. We were still searching the deeper parts of the forest when a weird sensation made us leave our path, causing our delayed return. As I can see however, we have found the missing recruits. Since that is the caser, may I ask what the purpose of this new arrangement is?"

Bai Jingshen listened closely as the speaker was the man who just showed some hostility. He realized that this rather small, brown haired man seemed to lack slightly in respect as he asked questions towards a much stronger cultivator. His assumption proved to be true, as the protector furrowed his brow and let out the tiniest bit of his aura before answering:

"You will see when we get there, Manager Naarus."

The old man especially stressed the word manager, but Bai Jingshen was surprised as Manager Naarus only smiled slightly, while the other Gene Activation Realm cultivator seemed to be used to this scene. The young man branded Manager Naarus into his mind as the other cultivator turned around and spoke to the gathered employees:

"Sorry for the delay everyone. Team leaders, take out your flying devices and follow the Protector."

Finally, some movement ensued among the employees. Among the gathered teams fourteen leaders took out small, metallic cubes like the one Bai Jingshen saw earlier. Those quickly unfolded into similar platforms to the one Phill used during the newcomer competition. Only the Golden Core Realm cultivators all seemed to have their own storage devices, from which they took out all kinds of different vehicles. However, the form of a small spaceship proved to be the most popular, making up four out of the seven aircrafts.

Without any waring, the three new recruits were once again embraced by the protector's Qi as he was the first to take flight. Under the eyes of the curious adventures which were obediently standing to the side under some remaining employees' watch, all the gathered cultivators flew up on their team's platforms and followed behind the old man and the two managers.

After a few seconds of flight, Bai Jingshen looked behind him. He noticed the slight uneasiness among employees, as all of them seemed prepared for battle. He himself wasn't too concerned, as he knew the lake they traveled to was at the outer parts of the forest. They shouldn't meet any strong beasts and he also couldn't imagine that any organization had enough cultivators on standby. After all, Thobar Bionics could only field this impressive lineup since they were searching for their missing recruits.

Knowing their destination, Bai Jingshen almost grew a little bit impatient as the protector matched those platform's speed. He really hoped he could fight a few beasts around the lake and gain some Qi from them. As so many strong cultivators were there it would be perfectly save anyways. As if knowing about his wish, the old man suddenly sped up. The three young men's faces turned pale, while being dragged behind the old man. Who could blame them, however? The old man had suddenly accelerated like crazy, even flying at higher speeds than before when they returned to the camp.

Only as the man abruptly stopped could Bai Jingshen take in his environment again, finally understanding why the protector traveled as such shocking speeds. Looking in front of him, he realized that they arrived close to the lake. However, this part of the forest didn't have any beauty of nature anymore. Trees were splintered, plants ripped apart, as strong shockwaves advanced from one point in the air. Bai Jingshen noticed two people fighting, moving faster than his eye could see. Suddenly an angry shout echoed through the forest, as someone streaked through the air and crashed into the ground. A big crater opened up in the forest, as dust covered their sight for hundreds of meters.

The former emperor looked up and found Elena valiantly standing in the air. With her serious expression, drawn weapons, and her body which didn't even receive a scratch despite her fierce fight, this woman looked unbelievably heroic. As the cloud of dust finally settled down, Bai Jingshen also got a look at her enemy. Contrary to the beautiful woman, this man's hair was disheveled, his arms trembling, and blood ran down from one obvious cut on his shoulder. Bai Jingshen had to observe the panting man for quite a bit before he recognized the Dragon's Tail logo on his chest.

Although the winner in this fight couldn't be clearer, this man still puffed up his chest and shouted angrily:

"How shameful. You only won because you had your men distract me. Is this how the genius Elena Thobar fights? Just you wait. I will come back with reinforcements too."

With those words he threw a vigilant look at the old man, before he turned around and hurriedly escaped.