The night was as dark as ink, and a torrential downpour began.
The old silver van struggled to crawl through the torrential rain, its headlights piercing the rain and illuminating the muddy mountain road ahead.
" Black Pipe, give me a hint!" the blond boy started making conversation.
"What did you reveal!" the rough-looking man sighed. "Damn it, I should have just stayed out of the way!"
"Hehe, you're one of Lu Zhong's people. Everyone knows Lu Zhong's eldest sister; her family's influence extends far beyond just the industry. She's only being given a lower position as regional head."
Wang Zhenqiu made a heart shape with his hands and leaned closer, saying, "What others may not know, she might not be able to say. Didn't she reveal some inside information to you?"
The air inside the car instantly froze.
Several sharp gazes simultaneously pierced the rough-looking man, like old women eavesdropping on gossip at the village entrance.
The Black Pipe was sweating profusely from being stared at so intently, and felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Don't look at me like that! Old Meng, drive carefully!"
Under the expectant gazes of everyone, Black Pipe slowly spoke, "Let me put it this way: if this mission were written as a story, we would be the villains."
"The villains? Us?"
"Yes! I went directly to ask my supervisor!"
The Black Pipe paused, seemingly considering whether he should continue, but ultimately spoke anyway.
"You guessed partly right. The board does indeed intend to use your failure as an opportunity to hold the current temporary workers accountable, but... the board doesn't want you to fail either."
"The real reason for deploying all temporary workers this time is that the board of directors has no other resources available."
"The head of a region was killed by his own temporary employee, but that's not the real headache for the board. What they're facing... is the population red line, a crisis that could be breached."
This sentence reminded everyone of that mission information.
Regardless of life or death, dismantle the New Jie Sect and destroy their headquarters, Biyou Village.
Zhang Chulan!
The Black Pipe tilted his head slightly to look at the young man sitting in the middle row and asked, "Do you know how many people there are in our country right now?"
Zhang Chulan replied, "It seems to be around 1.4 billion."
"And what about extraordinary individuals? There are currently no more than 15,000 recorded cases, and those who are difficult to record are usually a very small minority."
"Based on this calculation, the current population ratio of superhumans to ordinary people is approximately one in 100,000 to one in 90,000."
"It looks harmonious, so what is the maximum acceptable proportion of people with supernatural abilities?"
The Black Pipe held up a rough finger. "One in fifty thousand—that's a population ratio that's been studied and accepted by countries around the world. This is called the population ratio red line."
Xiao Zizai continued, "Once the proportion exceeds the red line, the proportion of loosely organized superhuman consciousness will increase, and the chances of ordinary people detecting superhumans will also increase."
"So!"
Black Pipe continued, "The board believes that a power exists in Biyou Village capable of freely transforming ordinary people into superhumans. If this power spreads, the population red line..."
Ring ring--
The Black Pipe's words were interrupted by a sudden cell phone ring.
He frowned and took out his phone; the words " Ren Fei " flashed repeatedly in the darkness on the screen.
The blond boy tilted his head, glanced at the phone, and couldn't help but whistle, saying teasingly, "Oh~ the boss herself is calling?"
"Shut up... hey?"
The Black Pipe pressed the answer button, his gruff voice unconsciously lowering a few decibels.
The carriage fell silent instantly; even breathing became faint, with only the sound of raindrops pattering against the windows continuing.
"The mission has changed. I'll send you a phone number in a bit. Call this number when you get close to Biyou Village, and someone will contact you afterwards."
A cool, clear female voice came from the other end of the phone.
Black Pipe's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. "Could you explain more clearly?"
"Not now..."
The other party ended the call abruptly.
Everyone frowned, just about to speak, when they heard the roar of an engine pierce through the rain, growing louder as it approached.
Three dark green military helicopters skimmed low over the treetops, the wind whipped up by their rotors causing the roadside trees to sway violently.
The conspicuous military insignia on the fuselage gleamed coldly in the lightning flashes, quickly disappearing into the depths of the rain.
"The military... that direction, Biyou Village!"
Black Pipe squinted, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his phone screen.
"Things are more serious than we thought."
Zhang Chulan stared in the direction the helicopter had disappeared, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.
He might still harbor thoughts of exploiting temporary workers, but with the military... wouldn't that be suicide?
Moreover, matters in the world of supernatural beings have always been resolved by the supernatural beings themselves; the higher authorities have never intervened, let alone mobilized the military.
This is troublesome!
Interesting! Something must have happened that we don't know about!
Wang Zhenqiu pressed his head against the glass, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
" Old Meng, drive faster, drive faster!"
After hearing this, Old Meng stepped on the gas.
The van sped along the muddy mountain road, the windshield wipers swung wildly but still couldn't keep up with the torrential rain. The mud kicked up by the wheels slapped against the doors with a 'splat' sound.
Half an hour later.
A glaring red warning light illuminated in the middle of the road ahead.
"Stop! Military control zone!"
A fully armed taxi driver stood in the middle of the road, holding a warning light, with a makeshift roadblock beside him.
In the woods behind him, more dark figures could be vaguely seen moving about, the metallic gleam of guns glistening in the rain.
brake--
Old Meng slammed on the brakes, and everyone's bodies lurched forward due to inertia.
"Something's not right. Why would the military set up a checkpoint here?"
Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, the rustling sounds from the woods grew closer and closer.
At least a dozen soldiers surrounded them in a fan shape, wearing full rain combat gear, their guns pointed downwards but ready to be raised at any moment.
The leading officer approached the driver's seat and knocked on the window.
Old Meng rolled down the car window, trembling, and rainwater immediately poured in.
"Military exercise area ahead, please turn back."
"Wait, we have Nadutong, can I make a phone call?"
After receiving permission from the officer, Black Pipe slowly took out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the number that Ren Fei had sent him, all in front of everyone.
"Beep... beep..."
The call was connected very quickly.
The Black Pipe simply stated, "We're stuck in a military-controlled area."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then a deep male voice came through, "Understood!"
After saying that, the call was immediately disconnected.
Less than a minute later, the officer's earpiece suddenly rang, and he immediately turned around and shouted to the taxi driver behind him.
"Let them through!"
The roadblocks were quickly removed, and the soldiers put away their weapons and retreated back into the woods.
The officer added, "Turn right in 500 meters ahead; there will be someone to meet you there."
The van restarted and slowly drove over the roadblock.
The atmosphere inside the car was extremely tense; even the most unreliable Wang Zhenqiu dared not fool around.
After all, not everyone can remain calm and composed when a dozen guns are pointed at them.