"What's wrong?"
Xu Yuqin looked at Shen Heng with some confusion.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Heng decided to put Shen Shuning's matter aside for the time being and see how things went later.
"She doesn't know yet."
"Then don't let her know yet, otherwise she'll definitely worry," Xu Yuqin advised.
Shen Heng nodded silently.
"By the way, Xiao Heng, you guys..."
"Boom--"
The plane roared as it soared into the clouds.
Dahuang sat on the ground, silently watching the plane disappear into the distance until it was completely out of sight, then it turned its gaze away and looked to the side.
It paused slightly, then paused for a moment.
Wei Leyang stared blankly at the sky, his face filled with indescribable sadness.
It had only seen that expression once before, a few months ago.
For a moment, Dahuang panicked. It opened its mouth, as if to say something, but it didn't know what a dog could possibly say.
Just as it was pondering whether it should act on its instincts and try to win favor, a sudden inspiration flashed through its mind.
"Woof, why are you sad? You should be happy!"
Dahuang paused, anticipating Wei Leyang turning to ask why he was happy, but the expected happy event didn't happen, so it could only continue:
"See, this counts as achieving one of your long-held goals, right? Becoming one of the highest-ranking officials in Linhai City!!"
"Isn't this something to be happy about?"
So, cheer up!
"Besides, they just left, they didn't..."
Dahuang racked his brains and said everything he could think of, but Wei Leyang didn't react at all.
Finally, it gave up.
It looked at Wei Leyang and asked weakly:
What's wrong? Why are you so sad?
This time, Wei Leyang finally reacted.
He remained staring blankly at the sky where the plane had just flown away, unable to contain his emotions, and said:
"I'm the only one left in Linhai..."
Of the six people who started out, only I am left...
As soon as he finished speaking, the tarmac fell silent.
Dahuang opened its mouth, but eventually slowly closed it.
This time, it really didn't know how to persuade them...
" Haji Huang."
A slightly different sound rang out.
"What's wrong?" Dahuang raised his head and saw that Wei Leyang's face had a firmness he had never shown before.
Wei Leyang said in a deep voice:
"Let's go back. From now on, we really need to get serious..."
"Click click..."
The dark green military off-road vehicle moved forward across the grass.
There was originally no road on the grass, but it seems that many cars have driven on it, leaving behind a series of overlapping ruts.
Shen Heng sat by the window in the back seat, gazing out the window.
From near to far, the landscape unfolds: withered meadows, snow-capped mountains, and a low-hanging sky...
Just then, a dark figure that did not belong to the plateau appeared in Shen Heng's field of vision.
Shen Heng shifted his gaze and looked in that direction.
On a hillside nearly a kilometer away, a row of heavy weapons covered in camouflage netting stood silently, their cold metal barrels appearing and disappearing in the thin air.
In the dim light, one could still see a dozen or so figures standing beside those weapons.
In the passenger seat, a middle-aged man in standard combat uniform, his face tanned dark by the high-altitude ultraviolet rays, noticed Shen Heng's gaze and began to introduce himself:
"This is one of our five lines of defense, the closest to the Erosion Zone, and also the one that has suffered the most casualties so far."
"How many more firing positions like this are there?" Shen Heng's gaze remained fixed on the firing positions in the distance.
"This defensive line is still fifteen kilometers away from the location of the Light Gate," Qin Ye explained.
"Therefore, in order to complete the encirclement, eighteen such firing points were deployed."
"Its main function is to provide long-range fire support and initial early warning, while also delaying potential large-scale attacks from Calamity Beast."
"A large-scale attack by Calamity Beast?" Shen Heng turned his gaze to Qin Ye in the passenger seat. "Has this happened yet?"
"Initially, the Calamity Beast did attempt one, but they were stopped by a colleague from the Supervision Bureau. Since then, there haven't been any large-scale Calamity Beast attacks," Qin Ye replied.
"Some S-Class one?" Shen Heng asked. "Do you know who stopped them?"
"I don't know his exact name, but I do know that he was wearing a suit, glasses, and holding a book," Qin Ye replied.
Lu Zhaoming? Shenzhen is indeed the closest city to the plateau, so it doesn't seem strange that he's in charge of this area... Shen Heng lowered his eyes and pondered.
Qin Ye turned his head and glanced at Shen Heng, seemingly realizing what Shen Heng might be thinking, and said:
"It was that person before, but they changed a couple of days ago."
"Who did they replace?" Shen Heng looked up in slight surprise.
"We've changed to a different, older Daoist priest," Qin Ye said.
Oh? The Daoist priest has come this way?... Shen Heng asked, "Do you know why we changed it?"
"I don't know, that's beyond our knowledge," Qin Ye said.
Shen Heng nodded slightly and didn't ask any more questions. He would just ask the Daoist priest when he saw him later.
Just then, a very soft "whoosh" sound came from ahead.
Shen Heng looked up.
Qin Ye glared sternly at the soldier driving the car, then glanced back to check the situation.
He froze for a moment when he realized that Shen Heng was also looking at him.
Then, seemingly after an internal struggle, he spoke:
" Inspector Shen, may I ask you a question?"
"Hmm, go ahead." Shen Heng nodded slightly, wanting to see what kind of code the two had just been exchanging.
"Within the Supervision Bureau, aren't the stronger ones all a bit... different?" Qin Ye said.
"The difference?" Shen Heng repeated, not entirely sure.
"Yes, for example, the chief inspector in front, and this chief Daoist priest, they don't seem to fit our understanding of martial artists and inspectors. They don't look like they're here to fight or command," Qin Ye nodded.
Shen Heng paused for a moment, then asked, "So what do you think martial artists and inspectors should be like?"
"Of course, it's the kind with a fierce aura, eyes like knives, the kind that makes you feel pressured just by standing there!" the young soldier driving excitedly interjected.
"Shut up, Xu Ruiyu! Who told you to talk? Can't you shut up while driving?" Qin Ye snapped.
Upon hearing this, Xu Ruiyu, who was driving, immediately shut his mouth.
Seeing this, Qin Ye turned his head.
"I'm sorry, I'll punish him when I get back."
"There's no need for that," Shen Heng shook his head slightly, then thought of the question they had just raised.
He had only met three S-Class inspectors.
Of the three I've met, only one is Jiang Xingwei.
The Daoist priest and Lu Zhaoming do not seem to fit the typical image of an inspector and a martial artist.