Deep into the night.
An armored vehicle and two buses drove out of An Ding District, heading toward the Danger Zone everyone avoided like the plague.
Inside the vehicle.
Under Xu Ming's arrangements, Li Yi and Zhang Gao had deliberately been assigned to the same group. Their leader was a Spirit Medium practitioner around thirty years old. He had a cigarette hanging from his mouth, radiating the characteristic gloom of a middle-aged man.
"You two haven't awakened your Spirit Medium abilities yet, so there's a lot you won't be able to see. Once we enter the Danger Zone, do exactly as I say. Don't run off recklessly, and watch out for certain special areas. Yang Yilong's route is highly secure. They go in and out of the Danger Zone all the time and almost never run into trouble. The people who often work for Yang Yilong all know that those who give up this opportunity are the ones missing out. Oh, right, my name is Li Tao. You can call me Brother Tao." The Spirit Medium practitioner spoke.
"We're not completely clueless rookies, Brother Tao. Don't worry," Zhang Gao said with a smile.
Brother Tao nodded. "That's good. Let me remind you of one more thing. If you really encounter danger, don't concern yourself with anything else—run immediately. No one will hold it against you. Yang Yilong isn't narrow-minded like that. He's generous with his money and broad-minded too. He won't care about something like this."
"Thanks for looking out for us, Brother Tao. Before I came to take part in this mission, I thought the same thing. Small fry like us are just here to collect a paycheck. If trouble comes, we run," Zhang Gao said.
Li Yi remained silent beside him, quietly listening.
Brother Tao puffed on his cigarette. "My strength isn't much greater than yours. If danger comes, I'll have to run too. Besides, Yang Yilong never intended for us to fight in the Danger Zone this time. All I can do is serve as a camera, observing the surroundings."
"All he wants is the eyes of Spirit Medium practitioners."
As he spoke, he pointed at his own eyes.
In the dim carriage, his eyes glimmered just like those of Old Crow and the mysterious woman Li Yi had encountered before.
"So my task is simply to watch what's happening in a certain area and report it. That's all."
Brother Tao continued, "Unlike you, who'll only earn eight hundred thousand for this trip, I'll earn one million two hundred thousand. Just the personnel arrangements alone cost Yang Yilong tens of millions. You can tell that he's determined to gain something this time."
"If he really hunts an Extraordinary Creature, this expense will be nothing worth mentioning."
Li Yi suddenly thought of something and asked curiously, "Why do Extraordinary Creatures only stay in the Danger Zone? Don't they enter the urban districts?"
Brother Tao smiled, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "You've got it backward. It's not that Extraordinary Creatures stay in the Danger Zone. Wherever one of them is, that place becomes the Danger Zone. Of course, Extraordinary Creatures can enter urban districts too, but the chances are fairly low. Those things are territorial. They won't change locations at will. Besides, the environment of our world is extremely complicated now. Until an Extraordinary Creature confirms its place in this world's food chain, it won't rashly expand its range of activity either."
"But to prevent trouble before it happens, once a practitioner reaches a certain realm, they're forcibly assigned to deal with dangerous incidents and hunt Extraordinary Creatures. Last time, Yang Yilong suffered a setback on a mission and nearly died in the Danger Zone. He only made it back because the friend beside him risked her life to pull him out."
"Was it the woman in the specially made bodysuit? Her eyes are very unusual. I noticed that they were cyan, with vertical pupils," Zhang Gao immediately asked.
Brother Tao nodded. "That's right, it was her. Her name is Qin Qing, and she's a very powerful practitioner too. You noticed her eyes as well, didn't you? Cyan vertical pupils. Tsk, tsk, they're truly frightening. Scientifically speaking, animals in nature have three types of pupils: horizontal, vertical, and round."
"Horizontal pupils are most commonly found in herbivores. Since horizontal pupils provide a wider field of vision, they allow animals to see their surroundings more clearly and spot danger, making it easier to flee at any moment. That's why most animals with horizontal pupils occupy the lower end of the food chain."
"But vertical pupils are different. Their field of vision isn't very broad, but their precision is extremely high, which improves hunting success. That's why only top predators can generally evolve eyes like these—crocodiles, venomous snakes, and even some legendary Extraordinary Creatures have vertical pupils, such as Jiao and Qiu."
Zhang Gao's heart tightened. "So Qin Qing evolving vertical pupils means that among humans, she's at the level of a predator. To her, we're all prey?"
"You can understand it that way." Brother Tao nodded.
Zhang Gao asked again, "What about Yang Yilong? Why doesn't he have vertical pupils? His strength should be impressive too, right? In terms of evolution, he should be further along than Qin Qing."
Brother Tao cast him a sidelong glance. "How do you know Yang Yilong doesn't have vertical pupils? Do you believe me when I say that once Yang Yilong enters a 'hunting' state, his pupils contract and immediately become vertical? Every practitioner is an independently evolving individual, so everyone evolves in a different direction. Just because it hasn't manifested doesn't mean there's been no evolution. Aren't the species in nature diverse as well?"
"Brother Tao, what about round pupils? Could you tell us about them?"
Li Yi asked curiously. He felt that Brother Tao knew a great deal about cultivation and was no simple man, so he humbly sought his guidance.
Brother Tao said, "Humans have round pupils. Most creatures with this type of eye are destined to be mediocre, because these eyes can neither see broadly nor precisely. That means creatures with round pupils aren't good at preserving their lives or hunting. But nothing in this world is absolute. When an individual's strength no longer relies on its eyes to gain an advantage, then creatures of this type are destined to become terrifyingly powerful."
"Lions and tigers have round pupils. Their individual strength is simply too great, leaving them without natural enemies, so their eyes stopped evolving. They don't rely on their eyes to hunt, but on pure strength."
"I see. Thanks for explaining, Brother Tao."
Li Yi suddenly understood, feeling as though he had learned a great deal. Sure enough, older practitioners really were different.
As they spoke, the vehicles had already driven out of the urban district.
There were no streetlights along the surrounding roads. Everything was pitch-black.
After traveling another two or three or four kilometers along the pitch-black abandoned highway, the vehicles came to a stop.
The highway ahead had been deliberately sealed off. Concrete barriers had been placed across the road to prevent vehicles from entering, while various warning signs stood on both sides, all covered in ominous slogans.
"Everyone, get out."
Someone barked in a low voice. The vehicles then shut off their engines and opened their doors.
"Li Yi, Zhang Gao, stay with me. Don't get separated. If you lose track of me, turn around and go back. Give up on this mission. You're both so young—don't end up dying in the Danger Zone in a daze."
Brother Tao seemed gloomy, but he was actually a good man who looked after the two rookies, Li Yi and Zhang Gao, quite well.
"Understood." Li Yi nodded.
After everyone got out, they didn't linger. Each Spirit Medium practitioner took two practitioners and quickly left the highway. Not a word was spoken during the process.
Brother Tao did the same, swiftly heading in one direction.
Looking at the people scattering in all directions, Li Yi understood that the mission had begun. However, these people knew nothing about its specific details. Only practitioners who had awakened their Spirit Medium abilities knew, and the reason they hadn't told them in advance was probably because they had signed confidentiality agreements.
"Pick up the pace. We have to reach the designated location within fifteen minutes."
In the night, Brother Tao was like a cheetah, running at incredible speed. Even when he encountered obstacles, he easily leaped over them. His movements were so nimble that he hardly seemed like a middle-aged man around thirty.
Li Yi's physical fitness was also excellent.
His figure sped along the abandoned road, his footsteps light and making almost no sound. Even while running at full speed, his breathing remained steady. His eyes were now glowing faintly as well, allowing him to see everything clearly in the darkness.
Zhang Gao was somewhat weaker, but his physical fitness was still good. He moved with strength and possessed remarkable stamina.
"Go around ahead."
Brother Tao suddenly warned them. Although there was a broad, abandoned road ahead, he chose to detour around it, avoiding the easy path.
"Is there danger ahead?"
Zhang Gao asked in a low voice. As far as he could see, everything ahead was normal.
"Don't talk. That place was haunted just now."
Brother Tao's expression was extremely grave. In his field of vision, the abandoned urban district was bizarre beyond words. Red lanterns hung along the streets, and red ribbons drifted between the buildings, as though some lively celebration were being held. He could even vaguely see illusory figures weaving back and forth through the abandoned streets.
Clearly, it was a Ghost Domain occupied by evil entities.
"I can't see anything." Li Yi glanced over. Although his eyes allowed him to see in the dark, without awakening his Spirit Medium abilities, he still couldn't touch certain truths.
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