An Unexpected Arrival

Inside the secret meeting room, a red carpet was laid out, and a long mahogany table was set up. Several figures sat around the table.

The ceiling chandelier, damaged by someone's emotional outburst, flickered twice before going out completely.

It was raining outside, and the sky was gloomy.

Those present seemed to be blurred into the dim environment of the room, their faces indistinct.

"It's completely confirmed. Our Research Institute No. 7 has been wiped out. One of the Shadow Assassin was captured alive, tortured, and revealed many secrets."

"What? The Shadow Assassin is our Jinling Branch's most successful creation. In terms of stealth, he's at the pinnacle. Even Zhang Tao couldn't capture his shadow; he'd only be able to use the shadows throughout the city to shake him off..."

"That's the truth, don't deceive yourselves. We underestimated Chu Tianshu. He used some kind of secret technique to empower Chu Yannian, enabling Chu Yannian to remotely sense shadow traces."

The ethereal voice carried a hint of regret, as if it felt a little remorse for its earlier hasty decision to send the Shadow Assassin.

He had repeatedly used Shadow Assassin in the past, and they were always successful.

They could even severely injure Yu Nanfeng's son on Zhang Tao's territory, within ten meters of Xia Ningning, and then disappear without a trace.

This inevitably made the creator of Shadow Assassin feel a sense of complacency.

Recently, the creator suffered two consecutive defeats against outsiders like Chu Tianshu, prompting him to reiterate his caution.

"It seems our plan to control the situation in Jinling with minimal cost has failed. Should we resort to force?"

Someone at the table said, "Should we mobilize our agents planted in various locations, and launch a joint attack with our main force?"

"No!"

The ethereal voice rejected the proposal.

"The Forerunner of the Gods has not yet fully transformed. To find this target, the Shadow Assassin is the most suitable candidate."

"They are turning the Shadow Assassin into Dharma Corpse, which will take seven days. We can wait seven days before we act."

"Furthermore, over the past three years, we've gathered more intelligence on the Jinling Spirit Realm Landform No. 7, since we're more familiar with it than they are, and it's a better place to operate."

"Also, remember, this operation will only utilize the most elite combat personnel. Other personnel cannot play a crucial role at this time, so there is no need to expose them too early."

The ethereal voice concluded the conversation.

"The Jinling Branch is the most powerful branch besides the commander-in-chief himself; we cannot afford to squander this strength."

Those present all agreed and nodded in agreement.

Someone mentioned it.

"Chu Tianshu's strength is probably very close to the Taboo realm. He is young and strong, and now he has the support of local forces and is not short of resources. We must be wary of whether he will make a breakthrough within these seven days."

"If he shows any signs of a breakthrough, we must act immediately, even if it means sacrificing the advantages of Landform No. 7."

"We must not allow the local forces in Jinling to have another Taboo pillar."

The ethereal one agreed, "This person deserves our utmost attention; I will be ready to intervene at any time."

Raindrops outside hit the window, gathering into tiny streams that trickled down the glass.

The sky grew even darker, and the clock began to tick toward six in the afternoon.

The rain wasn't heavy today; it only lasted for less than two hours before stopping.

But recently it seems to have been stuck in a continuous rainy weather, with an average of three or four rain showers per day for the next five days.

The sun would occasionally shine through, but it never lasted long before being disrupted by dark clouds again.

Many tents along the riverbank have been moved several kilometers away, closer to the construction site and the fortified defenses.

After all, there was a Dharma Corpse buried in the grass on the shore. If the enemy were to take action on this side, ordinary people who got too close would easily be implicated.

Now, only six or seven tents remain on the riverbank.

Chu Tianshu, Yannian, Zhang Tao, and Yu Shi and her son lived there.

There's also Song Changle, the president of the New Energy Association.

This person arrived here the night before, keeping a low profile and without any helpers or attendants.

"I have dispatched people to join forces with Food Is Heaven and South Wind to conduct a more thorough reconnaissance of that base in the mountain, to see if we can find any new clues. In addition, we have strengthened the defenses, and the three companies have jointly dispatched patrol teams to patrol various parts of Jinling."

Song Changle is a very talkative and frank person.

He was wearing a suit and a burgundy tie. He looked to be in his prime, but his hair and eyebrows were snow-white.

Even his face had a white tinge, not the usual fair skin, but rather like the white hair on his body.

That makes one wonder if he has some kind of illness, or at least if he has practiced some kind of martial art that makes his constitution different and gives him an icy aura.

But his voice was very gentle, and his temperament was both calm and upright.

It was as if he was using his usual excellent conduct to temper the icy style of the technique, achieving a state of ease, harmony, and balance.

"In other places, the more manpower the better, but here on the shore, we already have a few of us stationed there, so we don't need more people."

This was Song Changle's view at the time.

Chu Tianshu and Zhang Tao both agreed with this.

If the enemy dares to attack knowing that these people are there, they must be highly skilled. In this situation, the more people sent, the more likely things are to go wrong.

After careful consideration, Yu Nanfeng dismissed a large portion of the troops that had already been transferred, but some snipers were still stationed around the area.

After all, her son was here too, and he wasn't too keen on leaving, so they had to leave some people behind to look after him.

Xia Ningning stood by the river, glanced at the mechanical watch on her wrist, and saw it was a little past two in the afternoon.

It wasn't raining, but the sky was overcast, and the wind was stronger near the river.

The wind blows the water eastward, and makes the green grass ripple like waves.

In the grass ahead, the red hair that stood upright was about two feet long.

"It seems the people behind the scenes will at least wait until the Dharma Corpse has finished training before taking action. They also need to control the shadows to find the Forerunner of Ghosts and Gods."

Yu Wanzhuo spoke as he approached.

"Either we wait until the crucial seventh day to attack, or we ambush them there when we reach the Spirit Realm."

Xia Ningning turned her head to look, some strands of hair were blown by the wind and brushed past her cheeks, her tone was smiling.

"Us? Do you really think Boss Yu would let you go to Landform No. 7?"

She tidied her hair, tucking it behind her ear, and looked on with curiosity.

"To be honest, I already find it strange that Boss Yu has kept you here instead of letting you live in a more secluded place elsewhere in South Wind."

Xia Ningning originally thought that apart from sending him over every day to have Chu Tianshu teach him boxing techniques, Yu Wanzhuo would definitely be sent away at other times.

"Because I told my mother..."

Yu Wanzhuo laughed, "She used to never let me take any risks, yet I still have a knife in my chest. If she continues to protect me like that, maybe one day, that knife will be on my neck."

"Since I'll die anyway if I cower, why not let me gain some experience?"

Xia Ningning shook her head. "You were injured last time, wasn't it because you yourself diverted the bodyguards that Boss Yu sent?"

"Can those bodyguards really block out shadows?"

Yu Wanzhuo countered, "The examples I gave aren't important; what matters is the principle."

"It's like going to a magic show; the illusion isn't important..."

He took out a handkerchief and covered his left hand, then suddenly lifted it, revealing a small bouquet of flowers in his left hand.

The important thing is to be happy.

Xia Ningning looked at the bunch of wildflowers. "This is so old-fashioned, does it really make me happy?"

Yu Wanzhuo handed the flower over. "Have a taste."

Xia Ningning met his gaze for two seconds, then lowered her head and bit a small flower.

The tiny grass stalk snapped with a crisp sound, and a small flower fell onto the tongue.

Xia Ningning covered her mouth, surprised, "Made of sugar... it is indeed the flavor I like, but how could you sculpt sugar so well that even I can't tell the difference between the real and fake?"

Before it entered my mouth, this bunch of wildflowers looked exactly like real wildflowers.

Even when the wind blows, the flower branches sway slightly.

Yu Wanzhuo chuckled and said, "I may not be able to do it now, but I'm sure I will be able to in the future. As for the benefits of receiving them in advance, well, that's one of the perks of becoming an apprentice."

Xia Ningning looked at the largest tent.

"Tianshu made it for you, you wouldn't have used that divine weapon he has, would you?"

Xia Ningning's surprise remained undiminished. "He practices martial arts almost every day, yet he'd help you with such a trivial thing?"

Yu Wanzhuo his head. "You don't go into his tent often, do you? Who said he practices martial arts every day?"

"Besides drinking blood every day, he also often painted, although his paintings were very abstract, making it hard for me to tell whether they were human hands and feet or the outline of a cliff city."

"Moreover, every day just as night falls, he would go to the construction site and wander around, often bringing over some soda and randomly distributing it."

As Yu Wanzhuo spoke, he seemed to express a hint of envy.

"He lives a very carefree life. Although he only frequents these places with relatively simple conditions, it makes me realize that I've never understood what hobbies or enjoyment are in the first half of my life."

Xia Ningning seemed to be deep in thought, then smiled.

"It seems you made the right choice in choosing him as your master; you can learn more than just martial arts from him..."

Yu Wanzhuo's eyes lit up. "You smiled! This candy must make you happy."

Xia Ningning lowered her head and took another bite of the flower, then looked up with a hint of provocation. "It's not like you made it."

Who said that?

Yu Wanzhuo hurriedly said, "I mixed the flavors entirely!"

Xia Ningning crunched on the flowers, laughing happily, her gaze unconsciously drifting to that strand of red hair.

"Sigh, Tianshu is younger than me, yet he has such composure, living a carefree and unburdened life."

Xia Ningning said, "Even though I guessed they would most likely make their move after seven days and seven nights, I still can't stop worrying about it every day."

Yu Wanzhuo picked up a sugar-coated grass stalk and bit it in his mouth.

"Perhaps it's not that Master wasn't concerned, but rather that he was enjoying life, which meant he was always prepared for battle."

"The world is full of surprises; something might happen before seven days are even up."

"Instead of setting a mental expectation and keeping it in mind, which might frighten you when the time comes, it's better not to set any expectations at all and to cultivate yourself in every aspect of life."

Xia Ningning smiled, "If someone is unfazed by any situation, then unless they are dead, they are a perfect person."

"I don't think my master is perfect either."

Yu Wanzhuo ate another blade of grass, "But wouldn't it be quite romantic to pursue a goal that's completely unattainable and therefore more perfect and flawless, like he did?"

Downstream of the great river, also downstream of the wind, a voice drifted by.

"Wrong."

The two people on the riverbank were startled and turned to look at each other at the same time.

About two miles away, a person was walking this way.

The man was tall, slightly hunched, barefoot, and his trousers were somewhat torn. His upper body was wrapped in a thick, brownish-yellow cloth.

His head was also covered with cloth, and he wore a large straw hat cut from sheet metal on top of his head, making it difficult for others to see his face.

All I could see was a large, gray-white snakeskin bag in his hand, making him look like a scavenger.

"Hey buddy, you're not quite right. A target that's always out of reach isn't fun."

The man, who was more than two miles away, seemed to have heard their conversation. He spoke in a rough voice and struck up a conversation as if they were old friends.

"You can't touch it right away, but you can meet it often, gradually explore it, and reveal the answer when it surprises even the target itself."

"This is the true joy of life interacting with life."

The two men on the riverbank stood guard, their eyes wide open.

Behind them, Yu Nanfeng lifted the tent flap and came out, his face showing surprise and a serious expression.

"So you couldn't wait seven days? Who are you?"

Her voice carried with the wind, much more easily than the other person's voice carried against the wind.

The sound was mixed with internal force, which was released when it reached the target's vicinity, causing the fine grass at the person's feet to snap and break.

The person himself was unharmed.

The large iron straw hat seemed to vibrate slightly under the sound waves, appearing even more blurry and shiny.

Yu Wanzhuo's attention was drawn to the tin hat, where he saw what appeared to be a large, silvery-white shimmering light.

When they came to their senses, they realized that the tin hat had already been shot at them.

Yu Nanfeng reached out and grabbed the bamboo hat, swaying slightly backward.

The violent sonic boom in the air, and the shriek of the sheet metal cutting through the air for kilometers.

That's when it finally reached people's ears.

The strange figure downstream had disappeared.

The two people next to them instinctively tried to back away.

They realized that the person had probably jumped into the water and, once back on land, would be within their immediate vicinity.

However, as soon as Xia Ningning stepped back, she remembered that the Dharma Corpse was buried by the river.

She was a step slower than those around her, still near the river, her hands forming a hand seal.

But the other party appeared faster than she expected.

With a splash, half of his body was already above the water.

The person no longer had their straw hat, and the cloth covering their head seemed to have been lifted due to moving too fast in the water, revealing not a human face...

It has the face of a wolf!

The wolf is laughing!

Startled, Xia Ningning suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

This aura... this is definitely not the product of genetic modification.

He is a species from the Spirit Realm, the target within the Jinling Spirit Realm Landform No. 7.

They were the ones who were overlooked when everyone was on guard against the mastermind behind the scenes.

That creature, which had not yet transformed into Forerunner of Ghosts and Gods, came to humanity on its own initiative!

(End of this chapter)