"Heave-ho~ Heave-ho~~"
It had been three days since their return from Lungmen.
Jessica's leg injury had fully recovered. Although they say it takes a hundred days for bones and muscles to heal, Jessica's Terran physiology, coupled with the fact that the injury wasn't severe to begin with, meant it only took a week to completely recover since leaving Lungmen.
And after a few days of slacking off, she needed to make up for her daily training with extra effort today.
Under Lucas Reeve's supervision.
Jessica was in her villa's strength training area, continuously doing pull-ups, while Lucas Reeve floated out of the necklace, acting as both her training partner and coach above her head.
Blacksteel Worldwide was quite lenient.
Unlike a normal company, mercenaries generally didn't need to clock in and out. They just needed to be on call when it was time to go out on a contract. After completing each contract, they would get a little over a week of vacation. Aside from the life-and-death nature of being a mercenary, it was a job that ordinary office workers would greatly envy and desire.
Freedom, lots of vacation, and good pay.
Of course, you had to be alive to spend it.
Lucas Reeve hadn't been idle these past few days either. He conducted various tests on how to obtain Prayer Power.
Ultimately, he came to a relatively accurate conclusion.
Either.
The wisher signs a contract with him, and after fulfilling the wish in the contract, he obtains a certain amount of Prayer Power. Or, if the wisher, without making a wish, expresses sincere gratitude to him for something he did, he can also obtain a certain amount of Prayer Power from it.
For example, as he helped Jessica continue to transform, when Jessica noticed the changes in herself, she would feel an uncontrollable sense of gratitude in her heart, and Lucas Reeve could obtain a certain amount of Prayer Power from that.
Furthermore.
After returning from Lungmen.
Lucas Reeve spent some more Prayer Power to derive the Breath of the Beast from the Sun Breathing.
Although Sun Breathing, as the original breathing style, was the most comprehensive, the other derivative styles had their own areas of expertise.
For example, Thunder Breathing's instantaneous burst and single-point execution.
And now, Lucas Reeve needed the spatial awareness of the Breath of the Beast.
If he had known the Breath of the Beast back in Lungmen, he could have directly sensed the location of the mission target instead of nearly getting into trouble.
As they say, you live and you learn.
But, on second thought.
He needed other abilities as well.
Relying solely on breathing styles made his methods of attack too monotonous and limited in strength. But now, Lucas Reeve faced another problem.
He didn't have a physical body.
Jessica's physical strength was limited. Even with the enhancement of his Spiritual Power, her body couldn't even fully withstand Thunder Breathing. The bone fracture she suffered while using [Godspeed] was the best example. If he acquired a very powerful ability in the future, Jessica's body would inevitably be unable to bear it.
He had to think of a solution.
"Um... Mr. Reeve~"
After finishing the last set of pull-ups, Jessica sat on the floor, panting, and gulped down the mineral water next to her. She spoke to Lucas Reeve beside her, a little shyly.
"Hm?"
"Um... this morning, I received a message from my family. There's going to be a relatively large gathering in about two months, and I have to go home to attend."
Lucas Reeve didn't know why Jessica was telling him this. He was already bound to her, so he didn't need to approve wherever she went.
"Um... can I introduce you to my parents?"
Jessica's cheeks were flushed red. She looked like she was about to introduce her boyfriend to her parents.
"We'll see when the time comes."
Lucas Reeve gave a noncommittal reply. Other people's children brought home gifts, local specialties, or significant others—some even brought home kids. Jessica was going to bring a ghost home... She would definitely be the star of the family gathering.
"Okay!!!"
Just then.
The sound of footsteps coming upstairs could be heard from the staircase outside the training area.
Jessica didn't need to look to know it was her seniors, Franka and Liskarm.
After all, only the two of them had a key to her house.
Click~
The door to the training area was pushed open.
Franka and Liskarm glanced around, greeted the levitating Lucas Reeve, and then got straight to the point.
"Little Jessica, we've got a mission. We're heading out this afternoon."
Jessica asked cautiously, "Senior Franka, how come there's another mission?"
Although there was a week's rest after a mission, it didn't mean a new one would come immediately after.
Generally speaking.
Elite Operators only took on high-paying and high-difficulty contracts. Normally, they might only have one mission every two months. Now, for some reason, they'd had three missions in half a month, which was a bit ridiculous.
"Who the hell knows. The other elite operators are all out on other contracts. One group has been out for half a year with no news; I'm starting to wonder if they kicked the bucket. It seems like Blacksteel Worldwide only has two available elite squads right now. Since we completed the last two missions with high efficiency, the higher-ups just threw this one at us."
Franka shrugged.
She didn't mind.
As long as she could make money, she could even work without a day off. They were all just struggling workers, after all~
Not everyone was like Jessica who didn't lack money, or like Lucas Reeve, a soul who didn't need it.
One didn't lack money, the other didn't need it. The combination of these two was something else.
A true "I have no interest in money" duo.
Her own retirement goal of one hundred million was probably just pocket change to Jessica. Was this the gap between people?
Lucas Reeve asked, "So, what's the contract this time?"
"Let me see."
Franka looked at her phone and said.
"An escort mission."
"The client is our next-door neighbor, Rhine Lab. You've probably heard of Rhine Lab's Miss McCree, Jessica. She's a pretty famous explorer and scientist there. Miss McCree is preparing for a trip to Bolívar, and we need to provide full-time escort to ensure her safety."
Jessica was stunned. "McCree?"
"Rhine Lab has an explorer named McCree? Senior Franka, that name sounds like a man's, doesn't it?"
Franka scratched her head.
"I remember it was McCree. Anyway, it started with 'Mc'."
Jessica had a sudden realization. "Senior, you even got her name wrong. Her name is Miss Medivh."
"Is it?"
Franka couldn't quite believe she had remembered it wrong.
Liskarm, beside them, said helplessly, "Miss McDonald might get angry if she heard that."
Lucas Reeve: "???"
"I say... is it possible that this explorer's name is Magallan?"
All three of them said in unison, "Absolutely not!"
"But..."
Lucas Reeve materialized a finger and pointed to the group chat on Jessica's phone.
"The contract clearly states her name is Magallan, doesn't it?"
"Does it?"
Lucas Reeve was now starting to suspect that this Miss Magallan might be a mage who could perform a six-hit combo and ran a fried chicken and burger joint on the side...