"I heard that the newcomers to the Fourth Special Operations Group have arrived, do you want to go and see it?"

"Really?" Hilda turned to look at Mark as he walked to the table.

Mark nodded: "The alliance has considerable expectations for the establishment of the Fourth Special Operations Group this time, and the selected ones are elites of all ethnic groups, and it is said that many famous fighters will participate." ”

The lich Jalis, who was floating quietly in her chair, took a sip of the strange green drink, and then said: "The status of the special operations team is extraordinary, and if there are members to join, it will be very beneficial to the clan, and they will naturally choose the best fighters." ”

Shawcony said a little strangely: "I always thought it was just a rumor, and it seems that the league seems to be serious. ”

Mark said: "Recently, there has been more and more friction with humans, and it is already very difficult to rely on the three of us alone, so it is natural to increase the number of people." Let's go, the rest of the group has gone to the hall, don't you want to see who might work with us in the future? ”

"Yes, Jalis, Shawcony, let's go too." Hilda jumped up with a cheer.

Glancing at each other, Shawcony and Jalis left the table and followed Mark to the hall on the side of the lounge.

*********************************************************************

In 1909, the great industrial revolution entered the 20th century, and the whole world strode forward with the roar of the internal combustion engine. Advances in technology have made social changes that used to take hundreds of years to complete change dramatically in just a few decades.

And in this profound change, not only human society, but also the non-human race that has been fighting with it for thousands of years cannot help but sink deeper and deeper into this torrent of history.

In addition to continuing to maintain their own unchanged traditions, non-human races have also begun to consciously come into contact with human technology. The non-human coalition, founded in the early 19th century, was at the vanguard of resistance to this change.

The Elders have sent races close to humans and intelligent people, such as the Blood Race and the Elven Race, to study in famous colleges such as Oxbridge, but because the non-human race is not naturally good at technology, the effect is not great. Therefore, at the suggestion of a non-human, the Coalition began to directly capture or secretly fund undesirable human scientists to serve the Coalition, and legend has it that the scientific madman who created Frankenstein received funds from the Alliance.

However, in any case, the non-humans of the mysterious world, which has only focused on demonism and power, have also begun to come into contact with this new thing called "science". As telegraphs, firearms, ZHA medicines, and new forms of transportation became more and more used by the races, non-humans began to unconsciously become more and more dependent on them.

At the same time, due to the convenience of communication and transportation, the hunter organization that came into being against the inhuman alliance also began to spread its influence all over the world. And the first alliance between the East and the West decades ago posed a great threat to the non-human race. Against this backdrop, there is also increasing friction between humans and non-humans.

It was in this context that the well-known Special Operations Group emerged.

Initially, with the idea of using elites to carry out special tasks and reduce casualties, the alliance formed the first two special operations groups. They are served by the top players of the Snow Maiden, Ghoul, Giant, Fox Demon Clan, Werewolf Clan, and Beast Spirit Clan.

Later, in actual operations, the Elder Group found that the Special Operations Group was like the strongest blade, often able to play an unexpected role, so more than ten years later, a third group composed of lichs, machine spirits and elves was added.

Since then, the Special Operations Group, as an increasingly important combat force of the Alliance, has made great achievements in the struggle against humanity, and the members of each group have also become special beings with respected status within the Alliance.

Therefore, when the alliance announced the news and decided to set up a fourth special operation group, it immediately attracted great attention from all ethnic groups. Those non-human races who did not make it to the top three groups are all aiming at this selection, and it is conceivable that the competition will be unprecedentedly fierce.

Perhaps because there were too many masters participating in the election this time, the alliance summoned all the members of the first three groups to the headquarters in the center of the Australian desert for this selection based on various considerations.

So, the opening scene appeared.

*********************************************************************

A short time later, Mark and the others entered the circular corridor that surrounded the hall, where the members of the other group had already gathered.

This is an extremely large two-story hall, and dozens of people of different races of different heights and heights are gathered below, and it is the elite of all ethnic groups who are participating in the election. On the second floor, which is seven or eight meters above the ground, a circular corridor surrounds the entire hall, from which you can see the entire bottom of the hall.

"Pirov, where is Ruri?" Mark asked a tall white man.

The other party is very strong, with a Russian-style beard and sideburns, and thick body hair, it is simply a humanoid polar bear, which is the second group to form the Russian beast spirit clan - Pirov.

Taking off the cigar in his mouth, Pirov said, "She has something to do, and she will come in a moment." ”

Hilda was already attracted by the candidates waiting below, and she leaned on the railing with great interest and began to examine everyone one by one. Jalis and Shawcony came to her side, one left and one right.

Walking up to Pirov, Mark glanced down and whistled: "Garrick of the Phantom Clan, oh, isn't that Stephen of the Sphinx, who has been in the limelight lately, it seems that there are really a lot of good players this time." ”

"Hey, Mark, who do you think has the best chance?" Next to the two, Vera from the first group turned her head and asked.

"I just came, I'll have to take a look, what do you guys think?" Mark shrugged and asked rhetorically.

Vera touched her bald head and pointed to the corner of the hall, "I'm not sure about the others, but I think this guy has a better chance." ”

Vera refers to a one-eyed man with a scar on his face, he is tall and wears a large fur coat from the Nordic side, which is not only not bloated, but gives people an extremely heroic feeling. This person has black hair and a shawl, and carries a large black sword with a sheath on his back, and his image is extremely eye-catching.

"Oh, is that Captain Kidd the Ghost? I didn't expect him to come. Mark squinted.

"Twenty years ago, he made a name for himself by holding down four fleets of hunters near the North Sea, buying enough time for the alliance to seize the treasure wrecks of the Vikings. The year before last, he killed Kabir the whale who defected and regained control of our Icelandic waters, and this guy should be strong enough to advance to the fourth group. ”

"Hmph, Kidd is a guy who can't do anything without the sea, what qualifications does he have." Jing Yiyao, who was sitting high on the shoulders of the giant Gangluo, turned around and said.

"Oh? Xiao Yao, who do you think has a chance? Mark asked.

Jing Yiyao's face showed disdain: "I'm not interested in this kind of stupid speculation. ”

After a pause, she said again: "Don't call me Xiao Yao again, otherwise don't blame me for turning my face." ”

Vera spread her hands helplessly at Mark, as if sorry for her rudeness. Mark didn't care, and he said to Gonro, "What do you think, Gonro? ”

After a while, Gang Luo said angrily: "The one of the Gu Ghost Clan." ”

Gonro was referring to a pale, emaciated man who was mostly covered in tattered khaki robes. He huddled alone in a corner of the hall, like a leper who didn't dare to blend in with the crowd.

"It's impossible, even if he can already use the special grade demonic beast eggs, but the Gu Demon Clan's warriors' mobility is too poor and is not suitable for the pace of our special operations team, he will definitely not succeed." Sida said at this point.

Mark snorted, and was about to ask Shaw Coney and Jalis's opinion, when suddenly his eyes glanced at a person, and he couldn't help but be surprised: "What's the matter, why is even the stinky bat here?" ”

In the center of the hall, a young white man sits quietly in a Victorian-style high-backed chair. He was very handsome, with sunny blonde hair draped over his shoulders, and a well-fitting black dress that made his complexion extremely fair. An innate elegance that seemed to make him look out of place among the warriors of all races with their strange shapes, and in a trance, it was like a medieval nobleman who had rushed into this place.

Everyone present recognized it almost immediately as a purebred vampire, and immediately showed a surprised expression like Mark. As one of the largest non-human races, the importance of the Bloodlines within the Alliance with a long history is undeniable. However, due to the innate nature of vampires that cannot touch sunlight, Blood Clan warriors cannot move during the day, which is why the important Special Operations Group has no Blood members.

But this time the selection of the blood clan also sent representatives, I really don't know what Justice Parrid is thinking. Could it be that the Bloodlines are ready for the Alliance to elect a member of the Einsatzgruppen who vaporized in the sun on their first mission? Or do they want this vampire to be in charge of the night's operations only?

"Hey, it seems that our special operations team is really popular, even those stinky bats can't help but go crazy." Looking at the vampire below, Mark said sarcastically.

As if sensing his malicious gaze, the young man looked up in this direction. It is worthy of a feud, and the moment the vampire and the werewolf collide with each other, an invisible spark immediately explodes in the air.

With a lewd gesture to the young man of the Blood Clan, Mark said sarcastically: "I bet this guy is definitely the first to be eliminated, who wants to bet with me... Hey, look, that girl is so pretty! ”

As he spoke, he ignored the vampire and looked in the other direction with a confused expression.

In the eastern corner of the hall, a red-haired girl leaned against a pillar, looking at the crowd with an indifferent expression. She was petite, with an expression as cold as ice, but her hair color was as striking as a flame, and a pair of purple-red eyes were slightly retracted in her sockets.

"Is that from the Harpy? I remember that only the patriarch's eyes and hair would be the same color. After looking at it for a moment, Jalis said.

Mark touched his chin and smiled, "Harpy? No wonder it's so beautiful, it's a pity that the expression is too cold. This clan has been very low-key in recent years, and I didn't expect to send members here. ”

Hilda pursed her pretty little mouth and snorted, "What's so great about being beautiful, this is not a beauty pageant." ”

Haha, Mark was about to speak, when suddenly the door behind him opened, and the fox demon Ruri had walked in. Seeing her, Mark immediately said, "Liuli, I've been waiting for you for a long time, and we're discussing which person has a chance to be promoted." ”

Liuli looked uninterested: "You guys are really idle...", she still walked over.

Suddenly, her eyes glanced at the corner of the hall, and she immediately exclaimed, "Zhang Lie!?" ”

I didn't expect Liuli to have such a big reaction suddenly, everyone was stunned and followed the prestige, and it happened that a black-haired young man in a Chinese-style robe also looked at this side.

He was quite young, with a tall body rarely seen in the East, and a cardigan robe was extremely eye-catching among the foreigners around him, and at this moment he also looked at the glass on the second floor with a stunned expression.

"This guy is here!" Liuli said angrily, seemingly excited.

The people near the left side of the hall all noticed the movement here, and the young man of the Blood Clan and the girl of the Harpy Banshee Clan also looked over, and the black-haired young man named Zhang Lie stood in the center of everyone's attention.

"Ruri, do you recognize him?" Mark was surprised by the intensity of Ruri's reaction.

Unexpectedly, Liuli's next action surprised everyone even more, she actually jumped down from the upstairs and rushed towards Zhang Lie, it seemed that she wanted to do something here.

Shocked, Mark and Pirov hurriedly chased after him, but at this moment, Liuli was already in front of Zhang Lie's eyes, and he was ready to make a move. Although facing the attack of a member of the Special Operations Group, Zhang Lie was still calm, and he didn't know if he didn't take Liuli seriously, or if he was already stupid.

Seeing that he couldn't stop it, Mark seemed to be able to see the next blood-spattered scene. At this moment, two figures suddenly flashed up from the side, and they could be stuck between Zhang Lie and Liuli.

Startled, Ruri saw that the other party was the harpy and vampire. Her face immediately sank: "Get out of here, you don't need to meddle here." ”

The vampire didn't have the slightest intention of retreating, he said calmly: "This is the headquarters of the Alliance, please go outside." ”

The harpy sneered, "Do you want to do whatever you want just because you're a special operations group?" If you like to fight so much, I can accompany you. ”

Zhang Liexian didn't expect that two nosy people would suddenly appear, and he didn't know how to react for a while. At this time, Mark and Pirov had caught up and leaned into Liuli's ear, and Mark whispered: "Liuli, calm down, that stinky bat is right, this is not a place for fighting." ”

The expression changed several times, and Liuli was still a little jealous in the end. Staring at Zhang Lie viciously, she said in a deep voice: "I only want to ask you, where is our patriarch?" ”

Zhang Lie sighed helplessly: "Don't you still believe that this matter has nothing to do with me? I just didn't want to have a pointless dispute, so I left China, and I didn't expect that after so long, you still think I did it. ”

Liuli snorted coldly: "Do you want to protect yourself by being a special operations group?" I'm telling you, it's better not to let me know that you have something to do with it, or I'm going to kill you!" ”

Zhang Lie didn't seem to have anything to say, just shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile.

Only then did he turn his gaze back to the two people in front of him, and Liuli said, "Who are you?" ”

The Harpy replied coldly, "Harpy, Anne." If you want to trouble me, feel free to accompany me. ”

After a moment's hesitation, the vampire also said, "Blat." ”

"Okay, I'll remember you." Ruri nodded, turned around and left.

Smiling apologetically to Zhang Lie, Mark and Pirov also chased Liuli away.

As she walked, Ruri said, "Mark, aren't you guessing who will make the cut?" I don't dare to say anything else, but that monster named Zhang Lie must be a member of the Fourth Special Operations Group. ”

"Oh? Are you so sure? Looks like you're having a bit of a holiday. Mark said with interest.

"It's none of your business. Want to bet with me? Ruri said coldly.

"Okay, how about a bet you spend the night with me?" Looking at the curvaceous back of the glass in a daze, Mark couldn't help licking his tongue.

"Cheng, if you lose, I'll ask for that thing under you."

Mark smiled wryly and raised his hands: "That's still it." ”

As he spoke, he glanced back at Zhang Lie again and muttered, "Will there be him among the guys you work with in the future..."

Here, Zhang Lie was also saying to Anne and Blatter: "Thank you so much just now." ”

Anne snorted, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in your business, I'm just not used to seeing those guys' domineering attitude." With that, she walked away.

Blatter politely replied, "You're welcome." He walked away.

Looking at the two, Zhang Lie couldn't help but touch his chin: "Oops, it seems that there are a lot of interesting guys this time." ”

As he spoke, he suddenly showed the appearance of listening attentively, as if someone was talking to him. After a while, Zhang Lie whispered to himself: "Okay, Xiaoyu, I know, Liuli won't find out about that." When I join the Einsatzgruppen, I won't have to worry about those fox demons getting in trouble with me again. ”

Just then, a giant and an elven elder entered the hall, surrounded by guards. Seeing them, all the candidates stopped talking and all turned away.

The Elder of the Giant Clan coughed lightly, and after attracting everyone's attention, he said in his loud voice, "Hello everyone, I guess the purpose of coming here is very clear to everyone. I have no doubt that you are all good fighters of all races, but the Einsatzgruppen can only have three members, so we will put you to the test to pick the best fit. ”

The elven elder continued: "The content of this test is to complete an investigation mission, we will divide you into groups of three, and the team that can successfully complete the task will be directly promoted to the special operations team. If there are more than two winning groups, the next test continues until the final winner is selected. ”

As he spoke, his voice became stern: "What should be noted here is that private fights are strictly prohibited between groups, and if anyone is found to have such behavior, the alliance will give the most severe punishment. We are already under a lot of human pressure, so we don't want this kind of behavior to happen internally. ”

Afterwards, the elder of the Giant Clan said to everyone: "A few months ago, the indigenous activities in the depths of the rainforests of Central and South America became very strange, and a large number of mutated demonic beasts appeared in the dense forest, which has threatened the territory of the Feathered Serpent Clan, and even their high priest has disappeared recently. The Quetzalcoatl sent warriors to investigate several times but never returned, so they turned to the alliance for help. The Coalition has decided to make this investigation a candidate for you, and the first group to investigate the matter will be deemed the winner. ”

After a pause, he added: "The Quetzalcoatl Clan is an important member of the Alliance, and the Hunter Organization is not aware of this matter yet, so I hope you will solve it as soon as possible, so as not to take the opportunity for the other party to interfere." Finally, we want to say that we use a random selection method in this group, and we hope that everyone in the same group can work together, otherwise even if a single person wins by relying on his own ability, we will also regard it as a failure. ”

"And what if the same group member dies?" One candidate asked.

The elven clan elder smiled meaningfully: "This is exactly what you want to avoid, what we need is three people who can work together and rely on each other, not individual heroes." ”

"Alright, let's start grouping." The Giant Clan Elder said loudly.

Then, he began to read out the list of members of each group. This time, there were a total of twenty-one candidates, divided into seven groups, Zhang Lie listened carefully, and found that Blatter was in the second group, Annie was in the sixth group, and he was in the last group with the Gu Ghost Clan member and a Gangkui Clan warrior.

After the grouping was completed, the elven clan elder said: "Tomorrow the alliance will send you to the territory of the Feathered Serpent clan, and now the members of each group will be regarded as a whole, and you can use this time to get acquainted with each other." ”

After the two elders left, the candidates in each group began to make initial contacts. However, these people are the elite of their own clan, and no one will be easy to convince people on weekdays, although they have been divided into a group, but in addition to exchanging names, there is nothing to say, and the atmosphere in the hall seems to be even more restrained.

Condescending to see this situation in his eyes, Mark couldn't help but laugh and said: "The situation doesn't seem to be good, it seems that none of these seven groups will win." ”

Pirov spat out the chewed tobacco leaves in his mouth, and looked disinterested: "Didn't we do the same at the beginning, if these guys weren't stupid, someone would always win." ”

"How long are you going to watch it? The Elders also have tasks assigned to us. Ruri said to the two.

Mark lamented: "I thought I could have a few days off this time, but I didn't expect to have to work hard." ”

"Let's go, who told us to do this." Pirov reached out and forcibly dragged him away.