After confirming that something was wrong with the Sealing Pavilion, both men fell briefly silent.
Just then, the Director-General called.
The ringtone erupted in the quiet room like a piercing blade, blaring wildly.
Sitting on the sofa, Old Shi felt everything around him twist. Some nameless, indescribable voice whispered in his ears, urging him to stop resisting and embrace it.
With power, he could resolve every worry.
No scheme or sinister anomaly meant anything in the face of overwhelming power.
Old Shi closed his eyes, sinking into a cycle of blaming himself for not being powerful enough.
As Ke Meng answered the call, he noticed Old Shi's unstable mental state and immediately shook his shoulder.
The Director-General's voice came through the phone. "Ke Meng, the backup base really does have a lot more special items now. Once the Investigation Bureau's barrier is unsealed, we need to transfer them back into the Sealing Pavilion. Oh, wait, no-we only need to wait for the dome overhead to be unsealed. Once the spatial lockdown is lifted, we can use group teleportation to send everything back to the Sealing Pavilion."
A few seconds passed.
"Ke Meng? Are you listening? Hello?"
"Ah, yes. I'm listening," Ke Meng replied.
In those few seconds, Ke Meng had taken a mind-clearing incense from his storage item and held it beneath Old Shi's nose. Old Shi had instantly regained his senses.
The Director-General knew nothing of this. Through Synesthesia, he merely sensed that something was off about the response from the other end.
"Did something happen?"
"Let's talk in person." Ke Meng did not spell it out, remaining cautious.
The Investigation Bureau on Koi Continent had suffered a devastating blow. The Door Organization had left it half-crippled, and most of its S-Class members had fallen inside the Sealing Pavilion.