Deep Night in the Danger Zone

Late at night.

A modified armored vehicle and two buses drove out of An Ding District, heading toward the Danger Zone that everyone avoided.

On the bus.

Under the care of Xu Ming, Li Yi and Zhang Gao were specifically assigned to the same group. The Spirit Medium Realm practitioner leading them was a man of about thirty, chewing on a cigarette and exuding the dullness typical of a middle-aged man.

"Neither of you has opened your Spirit Medium yet, so your eyes can't see many things. Once we enter the Danger Zone, follow my arrangements and don't run around. Be sure to avoid certain special areas. The route planned by Yang Yilong is very safe; they go in and out of the Danger Zone often and almost never have issues. Those who work for Yang Yilong often know that those who give up this opportunity are the ones who lose out. By the way, my name is Li Tao, you can call me Brother Tao," the Spirit Medium Realm practitioner said.

"We aren't complete novices who don't know anything, Brother Tao, don't worry," Zhang Gao said with a smile.

Brother Tao nodded: "That's for the best. Let me give you one more piece of advice: if you truly encounter danger, ignore everything else and run immediately. No one will hold your mistake against you. Yang Yilong isn't a narrow-minded person; he is very generous and broad-minded, so he won't care about such things."

"Many thanks for looking out for us, Brother Tao. I thought the same before coming to join this mission. For small fries like us, we're just here to collect a paycheck, so we'll bolt if anything happens," Zhang Gao said.

Li Yi remained silent on the side, listening quietly.

Brother Tao puffed on his cigarette and said: "My strength isn't much higher than yours, so I'll have to run if I encounter danger too. But Yang Yilong doesn't intend for us to do the heavy lifting this time. All I can do is act as a camera to observe the surroundings."

"He only wants the eyes of us Spirit Medium practitioners."

After saying this, he pointed to his own eyes.

In the dim carriage, his eyes, just like those of Old Crow and the mysterious woman Li Yi had encountered before, were glowing with a faint light.

"So my task is to keep an eye on the movements in a certain area and report the situation. That is all."

Brother Tao said: "Unlike you, who only earn 800,000 for this trip, I'm getting 1.2 million. Just for the personnel configuration, Yang Yilong spent tens of millions. You can tell he is determined to gain something this time."

"If he really hunts an Extraordinary Creature, this expenditure is not worth mentioning."

Li Yi suddenly thought of something and asked curiously: "Why do Extraordinary Creatures only stay in the Danger Zone? Won't they enter the city?"

Brother Tao smiled, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said: "You're wrong. It's not that Extraordinary Creatures stay in the Danger Zone, but rather that wherever these things are, that place becomes a Danger Zone. Of course, Extraordinary Creatures do enter the city, but the probability is quite low. Those things are territorial and won't change locations easily. Besides, the environment of our world is very complex now; Extraordinary Creatures won't rashly expand their range of activity before confirming their position in the food chain of this world."

"But as a precaution, once a practitioner reaches a certain realm, they are forced to handle dangerous incidents and hunt Extraordinary Creatures. Last time, Yang Yilong hit a snag while on a mission and almost died in the Danger Zone, unable to return. It was the friend next to him who risked her life to drag him back."

"Is it that woman wearing the special tight-fitting suit? Her eyes are very unique; I noticed them. They are cyan, and they are slit pupils," Zhang Gao asked immediately.

Brother Tao nodded: "That's right, it's her. Her name is Qin Qing, and she is also a very strong practitioner. You noticed her eyes too, right? Cyan slit pupils. Tsk tsk, it's truly frightening. Scientifically speaking, the pupils of animals in nature are divided into three types: horizontal, vertical, and round."

"Horizontal pupils mostly appear in herbivores because they provide a wide field of vision, allowing them to see the surrounding environment better, making it easier to detect enemy movements and escape at any time. Therefore, most animals with horizontal pupils are at the bottom of the food chain."

"But slit pupils are different. The field of vision for slit pupils isn't large, but the precision is extremely high, which can increase the success rate of hunting. Therefore, generally, only top predators can evolve such eyes, such as crocodiles, venomous snakes, and some legendary Extraordinary Creatures, like the Jiao or the Qiu."

Zhang Gao felt a chill in his heart: "So, Qin Qing evolved slit pupils, meaning she is at the predator level among humans, and we are all prey to her?"

"You could understand it that way," Brother Tao nodded.

Zhang Gao asked again: "What about Yang Yilong? Why doesn't he have slit pupils? His strength should also be very strong. In terms of evolutionary degree, he should be higher than that Qin Qing."

Brother Tao glanced at him: "How do you know Yang Yilong doesn't have slit pupils? Do you believe that once Yang Yilong enters 'hunting' mode, his pupils will shrink and immediately turn into slit pupils? Every practitioner is an independently evolving individual, so everyone's evolutionary direction is different. Just because it isn't manifested doesn't mean it hasn't evolved. Isn't nature full of diverse species?"

"Brother Tao, what about round pupils? Can you tell us about them?"

Li Yi asked curiously, feeling that this Brother Tao knew a lot about cultivation knowledge and was not simple, so he humbly asked for advice.

Brother Tao said: "We humans have round pupils. The vast majority of creatures with these eyes are destined to be mediocre because these eyes are neither wide-ranging nor precise. Therefore, creatures with round pupils have poor survival skills and poor hunting abilities. However, nothing in the world is absolute. When an individual's strength no longer relies on eyes to gain an advantage, then such creatures are destined to be terrifyingly strong."

"Lions and tigers have round pupils. Their individual strength is too great, and they have no rivals in nature, so their eyes stopped evolving. Because they don't rely on their eyes to hunt, but on pure power."

"I see. Many thanks for the explanation, Brother Tao."

Li Yi suddenly realized and felt he had learned a lot. As expected, a slightly older practitioner is different.

While they were talking, the vehicle had already driven out of the city.

There were not even streetlights on the surrounding roads; it was pitch black.

After driving for another two or three kilometers along this dark, abandoned highway, the vehicle stopped.

The road ahead had been deliberately blocked. Cement blocks were placed on the road to prevent vehicles from entering, and various warning signs were set up on both sides of the road, all with dangerous slogans written on them.

"Everyone, get off."

Someone said in a low, suppressed voice. Then, the vehicles cut their engines and opened their doors.

"Li Yi, Zhang Gao, you two follow me. Don't get lost. If you get separated, turn back and give up on this mission. You are young; don't die in the Danger Zone in a muddled way."

Brother Tao might look dull, but he was actually quite a good person and looked after the two newcomers, Li Yi and Zhang Gao, very well.

"Understood," Li Yi nodded.

After everyone got off the bus, they didn't linger in place. Each Spirit Medium practitioner took two practitioners and quickly left the road, not saying a single word during the process.

Brother Tao did the same, moving quickly in one direction.

Watching the crowd scatter, Li Yi understood in his heart that this mission had already begun, even though they didn't know the specific details. Only the practitioners who had opened their Spirit Medium knew, and the fact that they didn't say anything beforehand was likely because they had signed a non-disclosure agreement.

"Pick up the pace. We need to reach the designated location within fifteen minutes."

In the night, Brother Tao was like a leopard, running at an extremely fast speed. Even when encountering obstacles, he leaped over them with ease. His agility didn't look like that of a middle-aged man around thirty at all.

Li Yi's physical fitness was also very high.

His figure moved quickly along the abandoned road, his steps light, making almost no noise. Even while running at high speed, his breathing remained steady, and his eyes were glowing with a faint light, seeing everything in the dark night clearly.

Zhang Gao was slightly inferior, but his physical fitness was not bad either, running with power and excellent endurance.

"Go around the front."

Brother Tao suddenly gave a warning. Even though there was a wide, abandoned road ahead, he chose to take a detour, actively avoiding the easy path.

"Is there danger ahead?"

Zhang Gao asked in a low voice, his gaze fixed on the area, which appeared perfectly normal to him.

"Don't speak. That place back there is haunted."

Brother Tao's expression was extremely grave. In his vision, that stretch of the abandoned city district was exceptionally eerie; red lanterns hung along the streets, and red ribbons fluttered between the buildings, as if some lively celebration were taking place. Furthermore, he could vaguely see some illusory figures shuttling back and forth in the middle of the deserted streets.

Clearly, it was a Ghost Domain occupied by an evil entity.

"I can't see anything." Li Yi took a look. Although his eyes could see in the dark, without activating his mediumship, he remained unable to perceive certain truths.