Fishing

In the Greater Khingan Range, amid a densely forested stretch of mountains, rosy clouds filled the air. The woods seemed to have warped, giving off a sense of bending, blurriness, and chaos.

"Supernatural power!" Qing Mu cried softly. He was certain that a powerful extraordinary force was surging there.

Over the years, the Exploration Organization had encountered more than one or two anomalous phenomena. They were already quite experienced.

Qing Mu ordered everyone not to make any rash moves and to wait and see.

"Roar..."

A ferocious beast roared within the thick fog, shaking the silent mountain depths with rolling echoes. Fallen leaves swirled through the air, and the reverberations continued to crash about like thunder.

Though they were far away and everything was separated by a screen, it still made them feel as if they were there in person.

Wang Xuan was surprised. Could there be some strange beast within that primeval forest where an immortal's corpse might be buried?

What era was this? If Mythological Species—those terrifying beasts from ancient legends—existed, they should have been discovered long ago.

The rosy clouds dispersed, and the twisted, blurry scenery returned to normal. In the distant mountains, a creature had truly appeared. It was enormous, concealed by the dense forest. Its eyes were cold and grim as it glanced in their direction before turning and vanishing.

"Black Tiger!" Feng Zheng shrieked.

"What?" Black Tiger, beside him, turned his head and asked.

Feng Zheng shook his head. "I wasn't calling you. I meant That Monster just now—a black tiger five or six meters long. That gaze was too terrifying, its baleful aura soared to the heavens!"

It was not just him. Wang Xuan and Qing Mu had seen it as well, and they too suspected it was a black tiger. Its body was huge, its jet-black fur marked with faint stripes.

For a moment, several thoughts raced through their minds. Rosy light pervaded the vicinity of an immortal's tomb, great fog steamed forth, and then a black tiger from ancient legends appeared. It truly was rather eerie.

"I never really believed in such things before, but after joining the exploration team, I feel like I'll accept mythology wholesale sooner or later. To think I actually saw a monster like this today." Feng Zheng spoke in a low voice, clearly deeply shaken.

It would have been one thing elsewhere, but this place contained a great immortal's tomb, and clouds steamed while rosy mists billowed. The scene was abnormal.

Wang Xuan looked ahead and said, "This is the Greater Khingan Range. There were already Siberian tigers here. This one might as well have merely mutated."

That Monster moved swiftly and had long since vanished without a trace.

Qing Mu warned them, "Whether it's a Mythological Species or a mutated Siberian tiger, it looks difficult to deal with. There was something wrong with that gaze. When we really head over later, all of you stay alert."

Once he calmed down, he was not overly worried. As long as it was still a living creature, the weapons aboard the spacecraft could definitely kill it.

Even if the information was reliable and there truly was an immortal's tomb ahead, it was no big deal.

Even the immortal himself had died and been buried there. What could other creatures possibly do? Could they be more powerful than the Transcendent Immortals?

Feng Zheng muttered quietly, "Could it have been a black tiger raised by the immortal while he was alive? Thousands of years have passed, yet it still hasn't died. Look, it could spew clouds and exhale rosy mist just now, and even space seemed to Become Blurry. Could it be more powerful than that immortal was back then?"

"Shut up!" Qing Mu slapped him and told him that all the various forces had gathered today. Even if a mythological creature truly appeared, they could blast it into a pile of rotten mud.

"Did the Gray Blood organization dig in the wrong place? People are coming out from the mountain's interior now!" Old Mu stared at the screen, spotting their opponents' movements.

The Gray Blood organization had arrived long ago. They had used several-meter-tall mechs to dig through the mountain's interior, and they had all been underground until now.

Having heard the tiger's roar, some of them came out, apparently arguing about something.

In the end, some mechs were mobilized and headed toward a canyon. The Gray Blood organization believed they might have excavated in the wrong direction, so they advanced toward where the black tiger had disappeared.

"Now this is getting interesting. Let's see whether this group of people will run into trouble when they clash with the mythological creature." Feng Zheng was excited.

This Time, with the mantis stalking the cicada and the oriole waiting behind, it was finally their turn to scheme against the Gray Blood organization. He could hardly wait.

Roar!

An ear-splitting tiger roar rang out from the forest beside the deep canyon. Accompanied by clouds and mist, supernatural power seemed to tremble through the air.

Crackle!

A batch of mechs actually began sparking with electricity. They malfunctioned and collapsed to the ground one after another.

The black tiger flashed across the screen and vanished from the forest. Had it done this?

Even Qing Mu's heart skipped a beat. The black tiger's appearance, accompanied by clouds and mist and supernatural power, had caused a large number of mechs to malfunction.

"Old Mu, let's stay farther away!" Qing Mu warned. Since that power affected mechs, it could naturally interfere with their spacecraft as well.

Now even he felt uneasy. Was it truly a Mythological Species? It did not look easy to deal with.

Old Mu had been staring at the various monitoring data on the screen and analyzing it. "Don't worry. We're far enough away. Besides, the spacecraft has detected anomalous energy. It's mainly caused by those rosy clouds, and their effect on mechs is far greater than that black tiger's."

Qing Mu said, "So the supernatural power expanding out of the immortal's tomb is the main cause?"

At this moment, all the Gray Blood organization members withdrew from the mountain's interior. Some boarded a small spacecraft and headed toward that forest, intending to slaughter the black tiger.

Meanwhile, a group of high-grade mechs, capable of resisting pulse interference, entered the rosy-cloud region without being affected by the supernatural power.

Qing Mu spoke up. "The Gray Blood organization has truly bled heavily this time. They brought a group of elites—those are high-grade mechs. I hear they can reduce the effect of supernatural substances on themselves to the greatest extent possible."

Wang Xuan's heart jolted. Were these mechs newly developed on New Star?

Qing Mu explained, "Ever since New Star successfully obtained elements of supernatural power, they have carried out targeted modifications on mechs and achieved quite impressive results."

"Roar..." A tiger's roar came from the forest.

A Mech wielded a several-meter-long alloy blade and swept it out fiercely. Like a snow-bright bolt of lightning slicing through the sky, it landed on the vicious tiger with a puff.

Though the black tiger was agile, it still failed to evade completely. A bloody gash opened along the rear of its flank, nearly exposing bone.

Wang Xuan's heart tightened. So-called Mythological Species were still flesh and blood after all. It seemed unable to withstand high-grade mechs.

Bang!

A small energy cannon fired a beam. The nearly six-meter-long black tiger was pierced through its body. It let out a fierce roar, swayed unsteadily, then fell to the ground with a thud.

A High-grade Mech stepped forward, and its several-meter alloy blade swept past. The enormous tiger head rolled away as blood gushed forth, dyeing the mountain ground red.

"It died? A mythological creature died just like that?" Feng Zheng cried unwillingly, scarcely able to believe it.

Inside the spacecraft, Black Tiger muttered, "What rotten luck."

Wang Xuan was somewhat lost in thought as well. Was it really a Mythological Species, or merely a mutated Siberian tiger? He could not shake the feeling that it was not as powerful as imagined. It had actually been slaughtered so swiftly.

The Gray Blood organization continued forward, advancing into that deep canyon. Rosy clouds churned and thick fog spread, making that region increasingly eerie.

Boom!

The small spacecraft opened fire, and its Energy Cannons launched a wild barrage. A Major Earthquake erupted within the canyon. The ground split open, the rock wall exploded, and everything was battered beyond recognition.

Suddenly, dazzling rosy light blossomed. The small spacecraft suffered a severe impact, shaking violently as it retreated from that region.

As for the high-grade mechs carrying alloy blades and wielding an Energy Weapon, a batch of them malfunctioned and went on strike there, electric sparks flickering.

"There's intense supernatural power radiation in the valley!" Old Mu spoke with a grave expression. Even they could not casually go over, or they would definitely suffer an impact.

Shadowy shapes appeared within the canyon. Numerous enormous creatures emerged—violent apes covered from head to toe in thick black fur, each three or four meters tall, charging out of the fog.

The Gray Blood organization had mechs clearing the way in front, while some people in protective suits followed behind. When they suddenly encountered this situation, they decisively retreated.

In the distance, spacecraft swiftly rushed over to receive them.

Fierce Energy Beams shot out, blasting dozens of towering violent apes in the canyon into pulp.

"Something's not right." Old Mu frowned.

Those creatures suspected of possessing supernatural power were simply no match for modern weapons. They were all blasted to smithereens and could not stop the Gray Blood organization.

The only thing capable of threatening mechs and spacecraft was the rosy light shooting up from the depths of the canyon. However, that supernatural power could not last, and it now seemed close to being exhausted.

The Gray Blood organization used Energy Weapons to clear the way as they steadily pushed onward. Advanced mecha also appeared; if they wore only protective suits, the canyon was rather dangerous.

"A phoenix stripped of its feathers is worse than a chicken. A dead immortal is no better off." Qing Mu sighed with emotion.

Suddenly, his body shook. His facial expression became serious as a secure line connected in, and an Exploration Organization higher-up began speaking with him.

"Qing Mu, your spacecraft's stealth device is quite good, and its self-protection capabilities are strong. Pay attention now—activate the highest level of self-protection and stealth."

It was an old man's voice.

Wang Xuan was standing close to Qing Mu. His hearing was now extremely sharp, and Qing Mu had not deliberately avoided them, so he vaguely heard it.

Why did that slow, unhurried voice sound somewhat familiar?

He immediately thought of his former colleague. On his first day at work, he had heard him talking on the phone with someone for half an hour, arranging to go fishing.

The two voices truly sounded somewhat alike. Did the person speaking to Qing Mu not use a voice changer? It seemed they knew one another well and trusted each other greatly.

"What do you mean?" Qing Mu asked.

"Another group from the Gray Blood organization is about to arrive. They're preparing an encirclement and suppression against you. Mm, they have a medium-sized warship, and it's nearly at the Greater Khingan Range." The old man relayed the news slowly and without haste.

"I..." Qing Mu wanted to curse. Their escape route had been cut off, and the Gray Blood organization was turning around to wipe them out?

Wang Xuan heard it as well. That mild, unhurried voice made him want to drag that old man over and beat him up. Were they being counter-hunted?

"You stirred the grass and startled the snake when you investigated the Gray Blood organization this time. They deliberately leaked information to you, waited for you to mobilize people and head over, then planned to unleash full firepower in the sky and send all of you on your way."

Qing Mu's body went cold at once. If the other side had mobilized a medium-sized warship, this was no joke. They would most likely all die here.

"Has Old Earth become a sieve, allowing them to swagger in and out as they please?!" Qing Mu was frantic.

Wang Xuan could not sit still either. This news was like five thunderbolts crashing down on his head. They were about to be hunted in return; the enemy had lured them here on purpose.

At a time like this, even if he had cultivated the third level of the Golden Body Art, it was not enough. The road ahead was long and arduous; unless he cultivated ten or more levels, he truly could not ensure his own safety.

The old man said, "Don't panic. Everything is within the plan. You only need to activate the highest level of stealth and defense. The Relevant Department mobilized long ago and is about to strike."

"What's going on? Explain it clearly to me!" Qing Mu felt he had been kept in the dark from beginning to end.

The old man said, "From the very beginning, we decided to cooperate with the Relevant Department this time. We intend to strike at the Gray Blood organization and seize that research institute in the Greater Khingan Range that has been secretly conducting immortal experiments."

Boom!

At that moment, dazzling fire erupted in the extremely distant sky beyond the Greater Khingan Range. A violent explosion occurred, and spacecraft were shattered.

Boom! Boom!

Under those dense, ferocious Energy Beams, the Gray Blood organization's spacecraft and warships all disintegrated, almost instantly wiped out completely.

"What exactly is going on?" Qing Mu was displeased.

The old man gently explained the situation. "There's a very powerful research institute on New Star. It dug up something in the Greater Khingan Range and has been secretly conducting experiments there these past few years without reporting to Old Earth. Naturally, the Relevant Department planned to have a 'talk' with them. This time, we had someone leak the news there to the Gray Blood organization, letting them first probe the exact situation of that underground test site. At the same time, we wanted to teach the Gray Blood organization a lesson in return, so they would understand that they must follow the Rules on Old Earth. Of course, the Gray Blood organization was very cautious and sent only a small portion of its forces, so we had to wrong you. To find a way to fish, we could only borrow you to draw the Gray Blood organization's attention."

"Bastard!" Qing Mu cursed loudly.