Chapter 165 Humanitarian Division Infiltration Operation 1

Lu Youxun gripped my hand tightly.

At that moment, I felt as if some kind of spiritual connection had come between us. Because it's something that doesn't exist in the material world, it's not easy to describe. If I had to describe it, it would be like the paper cup telephone we played with in elementary school; the thin string connecting the two paper cups is what exists between us now.

A thin string can transmit sound signals from one paper cup to another through vibration, but this "thin string" is not vibrating, and Lu Youxun has not yet transmitted the information in his consciousness.

He paused for a second or two, seemingly tugging gently on the "string" to confirm the reliability of the connection.

"...It actually connected." He said in a strangely complicated tone, "So you really do consider me a partner."

"I didn't really consider them partners," I said.

“At least they didn’t treat us as enemies…that’s enough.” He smiled. “Let’s begin.”

As he spoke, he released his left hand, letting the white jade counting rods fall to the ground.

Counting rods look very similar to chopsticks, both being thin sticks, except that chopsticks usually come in pairs, while counting rods are made up of many sticks. Ancient people began using these for mathematical calculations at least from the Spring and Autumn Period; the "rods" in the phrase "strategizing within the tent" refer to counting rods.

In ancient times, calculation tools were often closely related to divination. People believed that mathematical tools could be used to predict an individual's future, the fate of the world, and the answers to difficult puzzles.

The white jade counting rods did not shatter upon landing; instead, they arranged themselves into an intricate pattern. In primitive tribal times, people would try to interpret the cracks in tortoise shells caused by heat, believing that these seemingly random shapes held unseen revelations. The random arrangement of the white jade counting rods on the ground also seemed to represent a kind of random calculation, containing equations for predicting the future.

Lu Youxun examined the white jade counting rods with a profound gaze, much like a tribal shaman scrutinizing the cracks in a tortoise shell.

I started to get a little nervous.

Will it succeed?

If this method works, I won't have to take Ma Zao to that dangerous old Humanitarian Division outpost. Although I'm very interested in the divine seal fragments there, it would be best to use Lu Youxun's divination illusions as a breakthrough point. That way, I'll be the only one taking the risk.

Moreover, he risked his life, even his reputation, because of my words, and it wouldn't do to fail like this.

Gradually, his gaze became unfocused, and his expression became dazed, as if he were seeing scenes that normal people could not see.

Zhu Shiwei was slightly moved.

Meanwhile, Mazao quietly put down Chenlong's severed arm and slowly approached me, seemingly intending to help if anything unexpected happened.

"...Success!"

Lu Youxun seemed to be in a trance, his mind clearly no longer in the room.

However, his mouth moved, clearly speaking to me, his voice revealing excitement: "It worked! I saw it! Zhuang Cheng, I'll transmit the image into your consciousness right now!"

As he finished speaking, I felt my consciousness being gently shaken, like a ceramic jar filled with water. The surface of the water rippled, with countless lines crisscrossing, outlining the sketch of the scene; while the shimmering light reflected different colors, coloring and filling in the sketch.

I hallucinated a scene from somewhere unknown—

It was a dimly lit passageway with large, square mechanical devices standing like tombstones in the middle. These devices were slowly moving forward as if riding on a conveyor belt, and there were some figures around them.

The footage wasn't very clear; it looked like someone was diving into a swimming pool without goggles, trying to see underwater with the naked eye. The mechanical devices were unclear, and the people's faces were even more difficult to discern.

Speaking of which, Lu Youxun had previously mentioned that he could only vaguely see the scene at the Humanitarian Division's secret outpost, and couldn't clearly see the faces of the kidnapped demon hunters. It seems that's exactly what happened.

Could I teleport myself there in this situation? I've never tried it before. Fortunately, although my vision was blurry, I could still concentrate. In the meantime, the mechanical devices and figures quickly disappeared from the screen, leaving only an empty passageway in front of me.

That's fine. Since this is my first time venturing into unfamiliar territory, I still want to place my teleportation point in a secluded spot. I focused my attention on a corner of the screen. This location seems to be unnoticed; I plan to focus on stealth operations from now on.

Although I'm not good at infiltration, and there's probably a lot of surveillance inside the Humanitarian Division's secret outposts, how will I know the outcome if I don't try?

Infiltration operations—just thinking about it makes my heart race.

Lu Youxun's slightly apprehensive voice rang out.

"So, did you see it? Can you teleport there?"

“Okay,” I said, uttering the lines I had prepared long ago. “Then, I’ll be right back.”

After saying that, I activated the Flame Teleportation.

Humanitarian Affairs Department secret outpost infiltration operation begins!

Suddenly everything went black.

It's not a description; it really was a sudden blackout. My vision went completely dark, like a light bulb suddenly losing power.

Things don't seem to be quite the way I imagined.

The skill "Flame Teleportation" is different from spatial teleportation. If I want to teleport from location A to location B, I first need to construct my consciousness container at location B using flames, and then transfer my spirit to that consciousness container, much like shifting my weight from my left foot to my right foot. Also, because I left "Fireflies" around Ma Zao, Zhu Shi, and Lu Youxun, I won't lose sight of the Luoshan office area even after completing the teleportation.

However, this time there was clearly a problem. As soon as I "shifted my weight from my left foot to my right foot," I felt as if the ground under my left foot had suddenly disappeared, like a plank being pulled away, and the view of the Luoshan office area also disappeared.

At the same time, I felt as if my body was being roughly bound to some very uncomfortable place, and I was swaying around, with a dull ache all over my body. A few seconds later, my vision slowly cleared, and I could see things again.

Upon seeing this, I was speechless.

Let me first describe the scene I am in.

I was in a spacious but dimly lit corridor, with a few broken light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, their lights flickering on and off. On both sides were gray walls, which had probably originally been painted white, but hadn't been cleaned in a long time and were covered with dark, rotten bloodstains.

Every so often, you could see a rusty iron gate. Behind some of these gates, it seemed as if a mad beast was imprisoned, emitting a low, murky growl that sounded like it was filled with phlegm. The beasts would frequently ram and shake the gates, making a loud, deafening noise.

The floor was made of countless layers of barbed wire, so dense and impenetrable that one could vaguely see the flames rising from below, reminiscent of a steel mill. The intense heat also rose up, turning the entire passageway into a sauna.

Besides, I'm certainly not the only one here.

There were more than twenty people here, most of them bound to crosses. Yes, crosses, made of wood. They were all tied to them with rough straw ropes. The crosses had iron bases, and underneath the bases seemed to be wheels. Even though no one was pushing them, these crosses were moving forward on their own, carrying the "sinners."

Among them were men and women, young and weathered, all with downcast and weary faces, and dressed in the same clothes: worn-out white long-sleeved shirts and trousers with black ties, the top and trousers appearing to be one piece.

This is not normal clothing at all; it looks more like a straitjacket from a mental hospital.

Incidentally, although what I'm talking about doesn't concern me personally, I'm also one of the "sinners" bound to the cross. The feeling of being bound just now came from that. Naturally, I was also wearing an old white straitjacket.

A few people, who were not bound to the crosses, followed around them like jailers accompanying prisoners, watching our every move.

They were all dressed in black robes reminiscent of cult members, with wide hoods obscuring their faces, with only their chins visible at most.

Who are these people? And what exactly is this place?

I was completely baffled. Just a moment ago, I should have been at the Luoshan office, storming the secret outpost of the Humanitarian Affairs Department, but this place didn't look like a research facility at all; it looked more like an unknown factory occupied by cultists.

Was I ambushed by Lu Youxun? That doesn't make sense. Putting aside the fact that he has no hostility towards me, I shouldn't have been teleported to a place that is completely different from what I had previously perceived.

"Hey, you."

A voice came from the side, sounding like a gruff male: "Yes, it's you, the child who just woke up, I'm talking to you."

Kids? Where are there any kids around here?

Curious, I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a strange man making noises nearby. He was also bound to a cross, facing in my direction, and we made eye contact.

He scrutinized me for a moment, then sighed deeply and asked, "Who are you? I didn't know there were witchers your age in our city. Were you also captured by these thugs? Really..."

Another person, who was also tied to a cross, said, "I remember now, he happened to be nearby when we were fighting. He probably witnessed the scene, so they just grabbed him along with us."

"What do you mean by my age?" I asked, puzzled. "I'm an adult, after all."

The unfamiliar man said, "Adult? What nonsense are you talking about? You look only about twelve years old."

(End of this chapter)