"Captain, what's the mission this time that's so urgent?"
After First Squad boarded the plane, team member Black Shark was the first to speak up and ask.
"See for yourselves."
Dragon Soul handed the tablet in his hand to the four of them. It contained the mission details sent by Dr. Zhang.
The four of them started off looking quite relaxed, but after reading for just a few seconds, their expressions all became extremely serious.
After finishing, Black Shark was simply incredulous: "Two thousand victims? And the stronghold location is in the Yongzhou Mountain Range, just over a hundred kilometers from the capital? Captain, what organization is this, daring to be so audacious?"
"You're asking me? Who should I ask?" Dragon Soul said. "This is also something we need to focus on investigating at the scene, in addition to rescuing people. Night Owl, the on-site intelligence gathering work is handed over to you."
"Yes."
The taciturn Night Owl replied once and then fell silent. Everyone was used to his personality. Compared to humans, Night Owl preferred dealing with electronic equipment. He was previously an expert in the electronic warfare department in the military.
"I, Black Shark, Flying Eagle, and Silver Fox will each lead an armed unit to complete the cleanup of personnel inside the base as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Captain."
The plane carrying Dragon Soul's team arrived at the target location at the fastest possible speed.
After they landed, they waited for the other armed units to arrive before acting together.
However, just as they approached the base from a distance, they saw many people wearing gray uniforms scattered and walking out.
When these people saw Dragon Soul and the others, their first reaction was shock and fear. Thinking they were reinforcements from the base, many collapsed to the ground.
Dragon Soul hurried forward to help one person up, saying, "Don't be afraid, we are officials sent to rescue you. Are you all people imprisoned in the base?"
"Yes, yes..." The young man who was helped up, hearing Dragon Soul say they were officials, immediately teared up. "Finally saved... half a year... I've been locked up for a full half a year..."
Half a year?
Dragon Soul's heart sank. It was now January 2041. The first Doomsday Rule descended in April 2040 last year. That meant this young man was captured and brought here not long after the Doomsday Rules began.
"How did you escape?" he continued to ask. "Did something happen at the organization's stronghold that was imprisoning you?"
The young man shook his head. "No... don't know. It seemed like someone broke in... a lot of people died, the guards all died... no one was in charge, we... all escaped..."
Looking at the young man who was speaking somewhat incoherently, Dragon Soul knew now was not a good time for questioning.
He arranged for some people to receive and care for these escaped individuals, while his own team hurried to the stronghold location as quickly as possible.
When they arrived at the entrance of the base inside the mountain, they couldn't help but feel shocked.
A heavy, several-meter-high blast-proof door was embedded within the mountain body. It was now completely opened inward, revealing a long vehicle runway inside, as well as parked armored vehicles and more.
"Captain, this... how could this possibly be a stronghold that civilians could create?" Black Shark looked utterly bewildered.
Dragon Soul also realized there was a big story behind this base. His face darkened. "Go in."
Everyone poured into the base. Meanwhile, somewhere far in the distance of the mountain range, Guan Tong, who had restored his original form, was fully covered in Shadow Armor, watching the situation over there.
"It's official personnel... In that case, the follow-up probably doesn't require my handling anymore."
After eliminating the people inside the base, the surveillance Shadow placed outside the base detected the arrival of official personnel. Therefore, Guan Tong immediately withdrew from the base.
However, he did not use the shelter to take Chen Na away.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he felt doing so would have a consequence: it would not be easy for Chen Na to return to normal life afterward.
Because there were a lot of surveillance cameras in the base, the official investigation afterward would definitely trace Chen Na. If Guan Tong took her away, the officials would definitely continue to pursue her whereabouts. That way, if she wanted to meet her mother, she would be taken away, and it would be difficult to explain clearly.
So Guan Tong left her inside the base. This way, after the officials found her, she only needed to tell the truth and explain everything clearly.
Guan Tong believed that with her ability and potential, plus the fact that she was previously unaware of the base's evil nature and tried to notify the outside world immediately after learning about it... once the officials investigated all this clearly, they would absolutely treat her well.
As for his own identity, Guan Tong wasn't worried about exposure either.
All his actions inside the base, while exposing the fact that he was the Shadow, his appearance was maintained throughout as the image transformed by the [Passerby Transformation Device], so there was no need to worry about being traced.
After the official investigation, aside from knowing that the Shadow eliminated the base personnel, they wouldn't learn much more in other aspects.
Guan Tong watched for a moment, then silently used Body Swap. The next moment, he had vanished without a trace. Only a swiftly retracting black shadow appeared in his original spot.
...
Late that same night, at 3 a.m.
The preliminary investigation work concluded. Relevant personnel returned to the underground base where the Countermeasures Research Office was located, bringing the collected materials and some important video data.
The captain of First Squad, Dragon Soul, served as the representative and was questioned.
After he entered the room, besides Gao Liangwei and Dr. Zhang from the research office, there were two other people inside.
One was a young man in his thirties wearing a crisp uniform and a tie. The other was a middle-aged man wearing glasses who looked refined and scholarly.
Gao Liangwei said, "Let me introduce them first. These two are both from the capital. This is Investigator Wu Zheng, sent by the higher-ups to collect information related to this incident."
The man wearing the tie nodded.
"This is Li Meng, the deputy leader of the team responsible for investigating the Ascendant kidnapping cases."
The middle-aged man wearing glasses smiled slightly.
Dragon Soul acknowledged each with a glance, then sat down.
Gao Liangwei said, "First, report the overall investigation results."
"Yes," Dragon Soul said. "After we arrived at the target location, we discovered a large number of imprisoned Ascendants escaping. The target organization's stronghold had been swept clean by someone in advance. The armed personnel inside the stronghold were completely wiped out. Only a few organization members hiding in the underground drainage channels and a girl named Chen Na survived."
"Based on questioning and reviewing the surveillance records inside the base, we learned that the one who swept through the organization was none other than the famous 'Shadow' among the Ascendants."
As soon as Dragon Soul said this, the other four people's expressions shifted.
Dr. Zhang asked in surprise, "The Shadow? Did the surveillance capture the Shadow's appearance?"
"Yes. According to the surveillance footage, the Shadow is a woman in her twenties."
The four fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. Gao Liangwei said, "It's unlikely the Shadow is a woman. Based on previous intelligence, he should be a man."
"That's correct. However, the abilities used by the woman captured on surveillance are all those possessed by the Shadow. It might be someone else with similar abilities, or it might be that the Shadow used an item to change his appearance. This point is currently unclear."
Dragon Soul paused, then added, "However, we found a mobile phone at the scene. The phone recorded words spoken by the Shadow. The content was: 'The Shadow is never just one person. The Shadow is a group. Everyone in the group is the Shadow.'"
"'The Shadow is a group'... That's quite interesting..." Dr. Zhang pondered.
Li Meng then asked, "Captain Dragon Soul, may I ask, were those Ascendants you rescued at the scene all captured from various cities?"
Compared to whether the Shadow was male or female, one person or a group, Li Meng was more concerned about the major serial kidnapping case he had been following since Yunhua.
"Yes. And many were captured early in the Rules period," Dragon Soul replied.
"It seems it was them!" Li Meng said excitedly. "The major serial kidnapping case spanning multiple cities, targeting High Mind Power Individuals that our team has been chasing, was done by this organization! We've finally found them."
The investigator named Wu Zheng then asked, "May I ask, did you investigate the identity of the organization's controller at the base?"
Dragon Soul shook his head. "We only know that a woman named 'Han Ling' was the base manager. Based on the examination of her body, she was not killed by the Shadow but died by self-administered poison."
"What about her communication device?"
"It was examined. There were no relevant call records inside. It's possible the device was changed after each call, or other secure communication methods were used."
"Hmm." Wu Zheng nodded. "So, we still don't know who founded this organization."
Dragon Soul said, "We also discovered the bodies of several well-known entrepreneurs at the scene. Their death locations were all in the management offices. Therefore, we speculate that the base's creator might be related to business circles."
Dr. Zhang said, puzzled, "Business circles? Could it be they were dissatisfied with the officials taking over factories and not giving them special privileges, so they joined together to do this sort of thing?"
Gao Liangwei, however, denied this. "I don't think so. That base absolutely couldn't have been handled by any businessperson. Investigator Wu, if you want to investigate the organization founder's identity, I think you should start by investigating the origin of this mountain base and its usage records."
Dr. Zhang and Li Meng exchanged a glance. Both vaguely sensed that Gao Liangwei's attitude toward Wu Zheng, the investigator sent by the higher-ups, seemed somewhat displeased.
Wu Zheng, however, appeared completely unaware. His expression unchanged, he nodded. "That point is currently under investigation. We are waiting for results. Captain Dragon Soul, please transmit a copy of the materials to me."
"This..." Dragon Soul looked at Gao Liangwei. Seeing the latter nod, he agreed. "Alright, I'll transmit it to you after the meeting concludes."
"Good. Then I'll go organize things first." After saying this, Wu Zheng left the meeting room.
Li Meng then said, "On behalf of the kidnapping case investigation team, I'd like to talk with those victims. That should be acceptable, right?"
"Acceptable." Facing Li Meng, Gao Liangwei's attitude improved significantly. "I've heard you say these people specifically kidnapped those with Mind Power Upper Limits exceeding 80 points?"
"Yes."
"What a bunch of bastards!" Involved with issues concerning Ascendants, Dr. Zhang couldn't help but curse. "In the early Rules period, those with Mind Power Upper Limits exceeding 80 were all promising talents with potential. Yet this bunch of bastards wasted several precious months of their development period!"
"Indeed. However, wasting the development period isn't even the main issue now. The most important thing is to first let these victims undergo psychological treatment and return to normal life."
After saying this, Li Meng shook his head with a bitter smile. "Speaking of which, with one rule after another now, what normal life is there left?"
"That's true too... sigh." Dr. Zhang sighed, feeling pity for these victims.
Gao Liangwei then said, "This time, the Shadow alone eliminated all the armed personnel in the base. Has his strength already become this powerful? Are there any among our people who could achieve this?"
Dr. Zhang and Dragon Soul exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads.
"Not likely. What the Shadow eliminated wasn't just several hundred armed personnel, but also several powerful Ascendants. What's terrifying about this person isn't just his ability, but also his Mind Power... If other Ascendants used abilities like the Shadow does, their Mind Power would probably be depleted long ago."
"So, the Shadow possesses a very high Mind Power Upper Limit."
"Unless his ability consumption is extremely low, but that's unlikely. The more powerful the ability, the more Mind Power it consumes. This is almost an ironclad rule."
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