Lin Zinuo leaned against a nearby railing, leisurely watching Zi Qing instructing the newcomers.

Her mood was excellent!

They had finally filled all 500 personnel slots for the He Lan, with 100 of them being veterans.

Of course, Zi Qing initially had more people than that at her disposal, but with the option to choose, she naturally optimized the selection.

These individuals were meticulously selected from the elite ground combat group. Although they couldn't yet match the original naval combat group in skill, with a period of training, they would definitely surpass them.

.....

Just then, Lin Zinuo saw Qian Chengxue approaching with a large group.

She took a closer look and realized that Qian Chengxue was followed by members of the other naval combat groups, including Chen Xijie, the leader of the First Naval Combat Group.

To Lin Zinuo's surprise, Zhao Han was also among them.

Lin Zinuo smiled brightly and walked over to Zi Qing, excitedly saying,

"Zi Qing, Xue-jie is here with Chen Xijie and the others. They're probably here to see our progress. We can show off in front of them this time and make them jealous."

Zi Qing was also slightly surprised. She looked towards the harbor.

The leaders and elites of the top six naval combat groups had all come; this was quite a lineup.

Zi Qing vaguely sensed that something was amiss, but what Lin Zinuo said seemed reasonable.

Zi Qing said to Zhang Wenjing, "Zhang Wenjing, you continue teaching them."

"Okay!"

Zhang Wenjing nodded in response.

Soon, Qian Chengxue and Zhao Han boarded the ship. Zi Qing and Lin Zinuo quickly greeted them.

"Xue-jie, are you here to see our training progress? Your timing is perfect."

Lin Zinuo began to boast about their accomplishments.

Chen Xijie and the others looked at Lin Zinuo as if she were a clown.

Zhao Han coughed to interrupt Lin Zinuo's speech.

"Zinuo, stop talking. There's an urgent mission."

"Ah?"

Lin Zinuo was taken aback. They had a combat mission so soon?

Zi Qing's heart sank. She had sensed something was wrong earlier, and it had come true. She calmly asked,

"What mission?"

Qian Chengxue said directly, "It's a mission assigned to us by the Tianlong Guild."

"The Tianlong Guild! Xue-jie, you're not joking, are you?"

Zi Qing and Lin Zinuo both looked shocked.

"That's right, it's the Tianlong Guild, so this mission is very important. If we do well, we'll even receive military merits!"

Qian Chengxue didn't intend to hide anything from them.

"Then what's the mission?"

Lin Zinuo asked excitedly, recovering from her shock. This was like a pie falling from the sky.

"The mission is to support a newly occupied island base of the Tianlong Guild, which is under attack by monsters."

"That's simple. We'll sail over there and provide fire support, and that'll be it."

"It's not that simple. The previous ships that went to provide support were all attacked and destroyed by unknown forces. Even if we can arrive safely, we still have to support the island. Of course, if it's impossible, and the island can't be rescued, then the mission will become a rescue operation."

Qian Chengxue explained the situation simply.

"Then when do we depart?"

Zi Qing asked.

"The sooner the better. The situation there is not optimistic."

Qian Chengxue looked at the time on her wrist and said.

"Isn't this too urgent? Our people aren't trained yet."

Lin Zinuo was confused. These recruits had just been selected and hadn't even started training.

"Zinuo, what time is it? If we wait until your people are trained, it'll be too late. We're here to replace them."

Chen Xijie said with a smile.

"What!"

Lin Zinuo almost jumped up.

"Ahem, Zinuo, don't overreact. In an emergency, we must prioritize the overall situation."

Zhao Han quickly comforted her.

"Okay."

Lin Zinuo deflated like a balloon!

Qian Chengxue turned to Chen Xijie and said, "You guys go replace them yourselves."

"No problem! Leave it to us, Xue-jie."

Chen Xijie and the others unceremoniously walked towards the group of recruits.

All 400 recruits were kicked off the ship. However, because Qian Chengxue was present, the scene wasn't chaotic.

Zhang Wenjing and the others remained silent.

Being replaced was a small matter for the recruits; soon, it would probably be their turn, the veterans.

Although they were also elites, they might not be able to compare to the elites selected from the various groups.

Sure enough, after clearing out the recruits, Chen Xijie turned her attention to the naval combat members behind Zhang Wenjing. Those naval combat members immediately tensed up, afraid of being eliminated. This was a rare opportunity for a mission.

Just as Chen Xijie walked over, Zi Qing said, "Chen Xijie, isn't that enough? The people you brought, the ship can accommodate them, and there's even extra space."

"You're overthinking it. It's not enough at all. Did you think only we were boarding the ship? Team leader Sun Li and the others are gathering elite combat personnel. The He Lan's standard complement is five hundred people. We need to free up at least half of the slots to accommodate the combat personnel."

Chen Xijie said seriously.

Zi Qing didn't refute her, tacitly accepting it.

Lin Zinuo, standing to the side, wanted to speak, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"You, you don't..."

Chen Xijie walked over, picking people off like a general selecting troops.

One of the selected members, a female team member, couldn't hold back her anger and retorted,

"Why are you replacing me?"

Chen Xijie only needed one sentence to silence everyone, "If you're not satisfied, you can challenge anyone among us in a professional skill competition. If you can win, you can stay."

The female team member's expression turned from red to green. How could she possibly win?

The top six naval combat members were already better than them in professional skills, not to mention the elites who had come up. So, she could only leave the ship with tearful eyes.

In a short while, Zi Qing's group of one hundred people was reduced to only thirty.

"Let's leave it at that. The remaining people are barely passable, but I won't say it, Zi Qing, you should know. Within your group, aside from your roommates, there probably aren't even ten truly capable people. But no matter what, this He Lan is still yours, so I have to save some face for you."

Chen Xijie said to Zi Qing with a smile.

"We're not as skilled as you right now, so there's nothing to say, but Chen Xijie, I hope you don't get surpassed by us one day."

Zi Qing retorted without conceding defeat.

"Good, I'm looking forward to that day."

Chen Xijie generously accepted.

Zhao Han breathed a sigh of relief at this scene. In fact, she had been a little dumbfounded when she received Qian Chengxue's notice.

Qian Chengxue looked at her wrist and said to everyone, "Okay, everyone come over here."

Zi Qing and the others immediately gathered around.