Fishing

In the Greater Khingan Range, amidst a densely wooded mountainous area, clouds and mist permeated the air. The mountains and forests seemed to warp, giving a sense of bending, blurring, and distortion.

"Supernatural power!" Qing Mu exclaimed softly, convinced that a potent transcendent force was surging.

Over the years, the exploration organization had encountered more than one or two anomalous phenomena and had gained considerable experience.

Qing Mu ordered everyone to remain still and observe the situation.

"Roar..."

From within the dense fog, a ferocious beast roared, causing the silent, deep mountains to rumble. Fallen leaves swirled, and echoes reverberated like thunder.

Although they were far away and everything was viewed through a screen, it still felt as if they were there.

Wang Xuan was surprised. Could there be some strange beast in the primeval mountain forest where the immortal's corpse might be buried?

What era was this? If mythical species or terrifying beasts from ancient legends existed, they should have been discovered long ago.

As the clouds and mist dispersed, the distorted and blurred scenery returned to normal. In the distant mountainous area, a creature had indeed appeared. It was massive, partially obscured by the dense forest, with cold, piercing eyes. It glanced in their direction before turning and disappearing.

"Black Tiger!" Feng Zheng yelped.

"What?" Black Tiger, standing beside him, asked, turning his head.

Feng Zheng shook his head. "I wasn't calling you. I was talking about that monster just now, a black tiger about five to six meters long. Its eyes were terrifying, radiating immense malevolence!"

Not only Feng Zheng, but Wang Xuan and Qing Mu had also seen it and suspected it was a black tiger, large in size, with black fur and faint stripes.

For a moment, several thoughts raced through their minds. The vicinity of the immortal's tomb was shrouded in mist and glowing with auspicious clouds, and then an ancient legendary black tiger appeared – it was indeed quite bizarre.

"I didn't believe in such things much before, but after joining the exploration team, I feel like I'll eventually accept mythology wholeheartedly. To actually see such a monster today," Feng Zheng murmured, clearly deeply shaken.

If it were anywhere else, it might be understandable, but here, there was an immortal's grand tomb, and the scene was filled with swirling clouds and mist, an unusual spectacle.

Wang Xuan looked ahead and said, "This is the Greater Khingan Range, where Siberian tigers are known to roam. This one might just be a mutated one."

The monster had moved quickly and had long since vanished.

Qing Mu cautioned, "Whether it's a mythical species or a mutated Siberian tiger, it doesn't look easy to deal with. Its eyes seemed off. When we actually go over there later, everyone needs to be careful."

Once he calmed down, he wasn't too worried. As long as it was a living creature, the weapons on the spaceship could definitely kill it.

Even if the information was reliable and it truly was an immortal's tomb ahead, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Even the immortal themselves were dead and buried there. What could other creatures do? Could they be more powerful than the Immortal Lords?

Feng Zheng mumbled softly, "Could it be a black tiger that the immortal kept when they were alive? Now, thousands of years later, it's still alive. Look, it could spew clouds and mist just now, and space seemed to blur. Could it be more powerful than the immortal back then?"

"Shut up!" Qing Mu slapped him, telling him that with all the factions gathered today, even if mythical creatures appeared, they could be blasted into a pulp.

"Did the Gray Blood organization dig in the wrong place? Someone is coming out of the mountain now!" Old Mu stared at the screen, noticing the movements of their rivals.

The Gray Blood organization had arrived earlier and had used mechs several meters tall to bore through the mountainside. They were all underground now.

They heard the tiger's roar, and some of them emerged, seemingly arguing about something.

Finally, some mechs were deployed and headed towards a canyon. The Gray Blood organization believed they might have miscalculated their excavation direction and were proceeding towards where the black tiger had disappeared.

"This is interesting. Let's see if anything happens when these people clash with the mythical creature," Feng Zheng said excitedly.

This time, they were the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind. It was finally their turn to scheme against the Gray Blood organization, and he was getting impatient.

"Roar!"

A deafening tiger roar echoed from the mountain forest adjacent to the deep canyon, accompanied by clouds and mist, as if supernatural power was vibrating.

Crackling!

A batch of mechs suddenly sparked and malfunctioned, collapsing to the ground.

The black tiger flashed across the screen and disappeared from the forest. Was it responsible?

This made even Qing Mu's heart skip a beat. The black tiger appeared, accompanied by clouds and mist, with supernatural power vibrating, causing a large number of mechs to malfunction.

"Old Mu, let's keep our distance!" Qing Mu warned. If that power could affect the mechs, it could also interfere with the spaceship.

He was also starting to feel a bit uneasy. Was it truly a mythical creature? It didn't seem easy to handle.

Old Mu kept staring at the various monitoring data on the screen, analyzing it. "Don't worry, we're far enough away. Also, the spaceship detected abnormal energy, mainly caused by that cloud and mist, which had a much greater impact on the mechs than the black tiger."

Qing Mu asked, "So, it's mainly the supernatural power expanding from the immortal's tomb that's causing this?"

At this moment, all the people from the Gray Blood organization had retreated from the mountainside. Some were piloting small spacecraft and heading towards the forest to hunt down the black tiger.

Another group of advanced mechs, resistant to pulse interference, entered the cloudy area and were not affected by the supernatural power.

Qing Mu commented, "The Gray Blood organization has really spent a lot this time. They've brought a group of elites – those are high-level mechs, said to minimize the impact of supernatural substances on themselves to the greatest extent."

Wang Xuan's heart skipped a beat. Were these the newly developed mechs from New Star?

Qing Mu explained, "Since New Star successfully acquired supernatural power elements, they've been modifying mechs with that in mind, achieving considerable results."

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

A mech, wielding an alloy saber several meters long, swept it with great force. Like a flash of brilliant lightning across the sky, it landed on the fierce tiger with a thwack.

Despite the black tiger's agile movements, it couldn't completely dodge. A bloody gash appeared on its hindquarters, revealing bone.

Wang Xuan was startled. The so-called mythical creature was merely flesh and blood. It seemed it couldn't withstand the advanced mechs.

Bang!

A beam of light shot out from a small energy cannon, piercing the body of the Black Tiger, which was nearly six meters long. It let out a fierce roar, its body swaying before it fell to the ground with a thud.

A high-level Mech stepped forward, its alloy saber, several meters long, slashing through the air. The massive tiger head rolled off, blood gushing out and dyeing the mountainside red.

"It's dead, a mythical creature just died like that?" Feng Zheng exclaimed in disbelief, unwilling to accept it.

Inside the spaceship, the Black Tiger grumbled, "What rotten luck!"

Wang Xuan was also lost in thought. Was it truly a mythical creature, or just a mutated Siberian tiger? He felt it wasn't as strong as he'd imagined, being slaughtered so quickly.

The Gray Blood organization continued their advance into the deep, dark canyon. As they did, colorful clouds surged and a dense fog rolled in, making the area increasingly eerie.

Boom!

The small spaceship opened fire, its energy cannons unleashing a barrage. The canyon floor shook violently, the ground cracking open and the rock walls exploding, leaving the area unrecognizable from the impact.

Suddenly, a blinding ray of light erupted. The small spaceship suffered a severe impact, shaking violently as it retreated from the area.

As for the high-level Mechs carrying alloy sabers and energy weapons, a batch of them malfunctioned and went on strike, sparks flying.

"There's strong supernatural energy radiation in the canyon!" Old Mu said, his expression grave. Even they couldn't easily pass through, as they would surely be affected.

Shadowy figures appeared within the canyon, numerous massive creatures. They were a pack of ferocious apes, their bodies covered in dense black fur, each standing three to four meters tall. They charged out of the mist.

The Gray Blood organization's forces advanced with Mechs leading the way, followed by some individuals in protective suits. Faced with this sudden situation, they promptly retreated.

From a distance, spaceships were rapidly arriving to provide support.

Fierce energy beams were unleashed, reducing dozens of tall, ferocious apes in the canyon to pulp.

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

These creatures, suspected to possess supernatural powers, were no match for modern weaponry. They were all smashed to pieces and couldn't stop the Gray Blood organization.

The only threat to the Mechs and spaceships was the colorful light surging from the depths of the canyon. However, that supernatural power seemed unsustainable and was now nearly depleted.

The Gray Blood organization pressed forward, clearing the path with energy weapons. Advanced mechs also appeared. If one were only wearing a protective suit, it would be quite dangerous in the canyon.

"A phoenix with fallen feathers is worse than a chicken; dead immortals aren't much better," Qing Mu mused with some emotion.

Suddenly, his body trembled, and his expression turned serious. A secure line connected, and the leadership of the exploration organization was communicating with him.

"Qing Mu, your spaceship's stealth device is excellent, and its self-protection capabilities are strong. Pay attention now: activate the highest level of self-protection and stealth."

It was the voice of an old man.

Wang Xuan was close to Qing Mu. His hearing was extremely sharp now, and Qing Mu hadn't made any special effort to shield them, so he vaguely overheard the conversation.

This slow, deliberate voice sounded familiar.

He immediately thought of his old colleague, whom he'd heard spending half an hour on the phone with someone on his very first day at work, arranging a fishing trip.

The voices were indeed quite similar. Had the person talking to Qing Mu not used a voice changer? It seemed they knew each other well and trusted each other implicitly.

"What do you mean?" Qing Mu asked.

"Another contingent of the Gray Blood organization is arriving, preparing to surround and eliminate you. Yes, a medium-sized warship is already close to the Greater Khingan Range," the old man informed him unhurriedly.

"I..." Qing Mu felt like cursing. Their escape route was cut off, and the Gray Blood organization was now planning to annihilate them?

Wang Xuan also heard this. This slow, unhurried voice made him want to grab the old man and beat him severely. They were being counter-hunted?

"You stirred up trouble by investigating the Gray Blood organization this time. They deliberately leaked information to you, waiting for you to mobilize your forces before preparing to unleash full firepower from high altitude and send you all on your way."

Qing Mu's body instantly turned cold. If their medium-sized warship was mobilized, this was no laughing matter. They would likely all die here.

"Has Old Earth become a sieve, letting them act so arrogantly, entering and exiting as they please?!" Qing Mu was enraged.

Wang Xuan also couldn't sit still. This news was like a bolt from the blue. They were about to be counter-hunted; their arrival was intentional.

At this moment, even if he had mastered the third level of the Golden Body Art, it wouldn't be enough. The road ahead was long; without mastering over ten levels, he couldn't truly guarantee his safety.

The old man spoke, "Don't rush, everything is proceeding according to plan. Just activate your highest level of stealth and protection. The relevant departments have already been dispatched and are about to take action."

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

The old man said, "This time, we decided from the beginning to cooperate with the relevant departments to crack down on the Gray Blood organization and also to take down the research institute in the Greater Khingan Range that is secretly conducting experiments on immortals."

Boom!

At this moment, far away in the sky outside the Greater Khingan Range, a blinding flash of fire erupted, followed by a violent explosion. A spaceship was shattered.

Boom! Boom!

Under the dense and fierce energy beams, the Gray Blood organization's spaceships and warships disintegrated, almost instantly wiped out.

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

The old man calmly explained the situation: "A very powerful research institute from New Star dug up something in the Greater Khingan Range and has been secretly conducting experiments there for the past few years without reporting it to Old Earth. The relevant departments naturally planned to 'have a talk' with them. This time, they found someone to leak the information to the Gray Blood organization, letting them first test the specific conditions of that underground testing ground. They also wanted to teach the Gray Blood organization a lesson and make them understand that they must abide by the rules in Old Earth. Of course, the Gray Blood organization was very cautious and only sent a small portion of their forces. So, we had to inconvenience you. In order to devise a plan to lure them out, we had to borrow your presence to attract the Gray Blood organization's attention."

"Bastard!" Qing Mu cursed loudly.