In the eyes of the instructor, the Celestial Assembly is nothing more than a ragtag group of troublemakers.
Yet, it's precisely this group that has managed to infuriate the military as of late. Setting aside their cunning tactics, they engage in activities like abducting other people's spirit beasts, forcibly taking both contracted and non-contracted creatures for experiments, and even attempting to manipulate beast tides—all with the twisted ambition of ruling the world.
They are a bunch of naive yet cruel outlaws.
"That's right," the young man sighed. "That dumbass cult."
The instructor fell silent for a few seconds before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.
"Damn it," he swore under his breath.
"Those little bastards."
Then, realization struck him.
"Wait, you don't think they've already infiltrated our team, do you?" His voice darkened. "Wouldn't that be a problem?"
Most of these instructors were handpicked from the military, each with their own unique spirit beasts. If those criminals managed to slip in among them…
Never mind the students—even the instructors might not be on guard against these disguised "students."
He took a deep drag from his cigarette, his expression obscured by the swirling smoke.
As he was lost in thought, a timid voice suddenly interrupted.
"Um… hello?"
A young girl, barely in her teens, clutched a canine spirit beast in her arms, looking visibly frightened but forcing a polite smile at the two men.
"Excuse me… do… do you know Instructor Chen Bin?"
The instructor glanced up at the girl in the white dress, then at the young man beside him—dressed in a crisp green military uniform, his features refined and dignified.
Meanwhile, he himself was slouching in loose, shabby hip-hop attire, squatting like a ruffian, a scar running from the corner of his eye all the way to his lips, smoke curling from the cigarette between his fingers…
Hell.
She must've mistaken him for a thug.
The instructor's face darkened.
And sure enough, the girl only grew more uneasy. She hugged her spirit beast tighter and took a hesitant step back.
"…Pfft."
The instructor shot the young man a glare. "Shut it!"
"Laugh again and you're dead."
"Cough, sorry, I couldn't help it." The young man cleared his throat and quickly reassured the girl, "Don't be scared, little miss. He is Instructor Chen Bin—really not a bad guy, just looks a tiny bit intimidating."
The girl dared a sidelong glance at the instructor.
A tiny bit? More like terrifyingly intimidating!
Seeing she still wasn't fully at ease, the young man took it upon himself to ask, "Are you here for the training, young lady?"
"Yeah." She nodded timidly. "My name's Yao Chen. N-Nice to meet you."
"Oh, it's you." Chen Bin stubbed out his cigarette and narrowed his eyes. "How'd you know I was here?"
"I don't recall sending any messages about the meet-up time in the group chat."
Yao Chen shifted nervously. "I saw the other students had already left, but we hadn't heard anything, so… I asked my dad about it."
Chen Bin froze.
"Your dad? What's his name?"
"Yao Liang."
The moment the words left her mouth, Chen Bin's phone rang—an upbeat ringtone that might as well have been a death knell to his ears.
He pulled out his phone, staring blankly at the caller ID: Regiment Commander Yao.
For a second, the whole world seemed to twist into absurdity.
"Man, you've got… great luck," the young man said, not even trying to mask his sympathy as he clapped Chen Bin on the shoulder.
"Of all people, you had to run into Regiment Commander Yao's daughter… Tsk. No way you're wriggling out of this dereliction of duty charge."
Most instructors would've notified their teams at least a week in advance.
But not Chen Bin.
Nope.
He had to buck the trend, party too hard, and completely forget about it.
And instead of owning up to it, he doubled down, claiming he was testing the students' observational skills. To cover his tracks, he'd even snapped a photo outside the police station and posted it on social media, hoping his trainees would "figure it out."
"Anyway, I'm outta here."
The words barely left his mouth before the young man slipped out of Chen Bin's grasp like a greased eel—complete with a spirit beast's agility boost for good measure.
What a guy.
Chen Bin gritted his teeth, oblivious to the way his expression was making Yao Chen inch further away in alarm.
This instructor…
Is he actually a criminal?
Meanwhile, Li Miao and her oversized husky, both stuffed full from their meal, were ambling toward the police station at a snail's pace.
From a distance, Li Miao spotted a girl standing at the entrance—a girl her age, clutching a red-furred pup, a backpack slung over her shoulders, luggage in hand.
And looming over her was a rough-looking man holding up his phone, his demeanor so menacing that the poor girl shuffled back in fear.
Without hesitation, Li Miao bolted forward, dragging both her husky and her luggage behind her.
"Stop right there!"
"How dare you hit someone!?"
"This is a police station—no violence allowed!"
The sheer absurdity of Li Miao's dramatic entrance—luggage in one hand, dog in the other—left Chen Bin speechless.
Yao Chen blinked, equally stunned.
Then, glancing between the bewildered instructor and Li Miao, the self-proclaimed heroine, she quietly tugged at Li Miao's sleeve.
Thinking she was scared, Li Miao immediately reassured her, "Don't worry, little sis! Big sis is here—no creep's touching you today!"
As if that wasn't enough, she even shoved her husky toward Chen Bin. "Er Ha, sic 'em!"
Er Ha: "?"
Dangling midair, tail tucked between its legs, the dog looked utterly lost.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
No sane person lifts a dog and commands it to bite someone, right!?
Obviously not.
But Li Miao was oblivious. It wasn't until Yao Chen desperately pulled her back, stammering, "N-No! He's not a bad guy! He wasn't hitting me!" that Li Miao finally froze.
Her gaze slowly turned toward Chen Bin, now brimming with suspicion.
Chen Bin's temple throbbed.
And then—just his luck—the voice of Regiment Commander Yao crackled from his phone's speaker.
"Oh?"
"Did I just hear something about you scumming my daughter?"
Chen Bin: "... That's slander!"
"Sir, no way! I would never!"
"Heh."
Regiment Commander Yao hung up without another word, leaving Chen Bin in cold sweat, his stomach in knots.
Chen Bin roughly raked a hand through his buzz-cut.
"Damn it all!"
Sighing, he shot a wary glance at Li Miao, who was still eyeing him like a potential felon.
Yao Chen quickly explained, painstakingly convincing Li Miao that the intimidating man before them was, in fact, their assigned instructor for the next three months.
Li Miao bowed smoothly in apology. "Sorry, Instructor. I didn't recognize you."
"I just didn't expect you to be so… mature-looking."
Chen Bin's eye twitched.
Wow. Thanks for the backhanded compliment about my scary face.
"Whatever. Your name? How'd you find this place?"
Li Miao answered seamlessly. "Li Miao—'Li' as in 'dawn,' 'Miao' as in 'sleep.'"
"As for how I got here…"
She smirked. "I saw your social media post."
Setting Er Ha down, she flashed Chen Bin a grin.
"Y'know, the one public post you made? Any idiot could tell it was meant for us. So here I am."
Chen Bin's eyes flicked to Yao Chen.
Yao Chen silently looked away, refusing to acknowledge that she'd been outsmarted by literal idiots.