Chapter 486 Open and Frank

At that time, the base manager was in the office building and not at home. He rushed back after receiving the message.

Surprisingly, Minister Bai was also accompanying Chief Shen.

After not seeing him for many days, Minister Bai is still the same as ever.

He was dressed in a crisp uniform, had a refined and scholarly air, and kind eyes. Upon meeting him, he first inquired about Yun Zhao's situation.

"You're finally back. I was shocked to hear you were caught up in the five-star contaminated zone."

For the guides, the contaminated area was simply too dangerous.

“You two are acting alone, without your teammates and armored vehicles, and you don’t have much equipment with you.”

Minister Bai looked at Xie Tu, his gentle tone carrying a hint of reproach, "Upon receiving the message from the Dawn Base, everyone at the base was worried, and Minister Duan even dispatched reinforcements overnight."

That's a five-star pollution zone.

Everyone was afraid that the two S-class cars would be destroyed inside.

Minister Bai's tone and demeanor implied that he felt Xie Tu hadn't taken good care of her.

Xie Tu's expression remained unchanged, and he accepted everything without question.

Yun Zhao subconsciously looked at the person beside him and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Minister Bai. We are fine and have successfully eliminated contaminated zone 344."

"Okay, okay."

Base Chief Shen glanced at Xie Tu and said with a smile, "Don't just stand there like an idiot, come inside and chat."

The guards at the gate helped open the villa's main gate.

The four of them walked inside.

The base chief had some vague suspicions in his mind.

After the two returned, instead of going back to the operations department or the office building, they went to his home to look for him.

What can be discussed at home is probably related to private matters.

He led a few people upstairs to the study.

Upon entering the room, the atmosphere seemed to suddenly become heavy.

The base chief checked the doors and windows and closed them all.

Yun Zhao glanced at it and roughly understood what was going on, so he and Xie Tu sat down on the sofa.

Minister Bai seemed to be a regular here, and was very familiar with the base commander's study. He opened the tea cabinet and personally poured a cup of hot tea for everyone.

The steaming heat of the tea rose into the room.

"You must have already received news about the Dark Guide."

Minister Bai sat down opposite him and got straight to the point: "This matter has caused widespread panic. The base has decided to conduct a second round of testing on all guides and re-verify their identities and backgrounds."

Yun Zhao knew the truth perfectly well.

Minister Bai said this specifically to her, implying that she was about to face stricter scrutiny.

The so-called 'all guides' certainly do not include the sinking base chief.

He is a descendant of the red-crowned crane and also the highest leader of the base; no one dares to ask the base director to undergo testing.

It may not even include Minister White.

Since Minister Bai came along, it means he was also in the know.

—He is a descendant of Old White.

Xie Tu sat beside her without moving, and asked calmly, "Will the investigation results be released?"

"No, we will protect the guides' privacy to the greatest extent possible, and only a few people will have access to view their information."

Minister Bai said, "But regulation may be unavoidable."

This means the guide will live under surveillance for a long time.

Yun Zhaoguang felt depressed just thinking about it.

Before she returned, she had already planned to have an open and honest negotiation. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Xie Tu take out a familiar-looking tin box from his bag.

Xie Tu entered the password to open the box, revealing the tattered diary.

"The base commander and Minister Bai can take a look at this first." Xie Tu gently squeezed her hand.

Negotiations require leverage.

Before the formal conversation, we need to find out exactly how much the two leaders know about the red-crowned cranes.

Did they already know about the existence of the 'Dark Guide'?

As soon as the chubby base leader sat down, he took the diary Xie Tu handed him, then got up and returned to his desk to turn on the lamp.

The diary was so worn that the handwriting was difficult to decipher.

But the base chief's expression changed as soon as he opened the first page.

Xie Tu understood immediately. "The item was obtained unintentionally, and its source is unknown. However, it clearly mentions the Dark Guide. We have suspicions but no evidence, so we did not hand over the diary." He did not implicate Jiang Mu.

But Chief Shen asked, "Besides you, who else has read the diary?"

Yun Zhao glanced at Minister Bai: "The captain hasn't seen it; only Bai Yu and I have read the contents."

Minister Bai: "..."

Seeing that he had taken the initiative, Xie Tu said calmly, "Dark guides are highly aggressive and can forcibly invade the consciousness of others, manipulate their thoughts, distort their memories, or implant mental suggestions."

"It can even directly disrupt the mental landscape of others (especially sentinels) and cause permanent damage."

Xie Tu slowly said, "But the ability itself is neither good nor evil. The key lies in the user. As long as it is guided and controlled, it can be transformed into a power to protect others. The appearance of the Dark Guide is not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it can become the sharpest sword to protect the base."

He stated bluntly, "The red-crowned crane is the best example."

The two leaders stared intently at the diary.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the study fell silent.

"We came here precisely for this matter."

Yun Zhao spoke up at the opportune moment: "Dark guides appeared more than a hundred years ago. Rather than being on guard, I think the base should think more about how to utilize this power."

Their attitudes were quite clear.

They said nothing, yet they said everything.

Holding Shen Ying's diary, they tacitly chose to strike first.

Yun Zhao then dropped another bombshell, "I've already met Ding Lang and Han Dadao..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

Minister Bai's teacup suddenly tilted, spilling scalding tea onto the carpet, where brown stains quickly spread.

A crack appeared in his usually composed expression.

The pupil behind the lens suddenly contracted.

Commander Shen froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, his round face twitching. "You...you really saw them?"

Yun Zhao nodded. "They've all become gatekeepers."

Minister Bai slowly removed his slipped glasses and gently wiped the lenses with a silk handkerchief.

His overly cautious actions betrayed the shock he felt inside.

Old Han left at the worst possible time.

"I was born on the day darkness ended."

Yun Zhao looked at the diary in the hands of the base chief. The yellowed pages were full of historical traces, yet they recorded Shen Ying's former glory.

"Ding Lang and Han Dadao both said that light is born from darkness."

She thought that her hints had been obvious enough.

If Chief Shen and Minister Bai really knew something, they should be able to understand what she was saying.

As a child, her birthday was a quiet and lonely day, during which she repeatedly watched videos left by her father.

Finally, unable to resist any longer, she decided to go out and look for her father.

She probably lost her memory when she broke through the barrier left by her father, forgetting the dull past of living in the polluted area, and was then picked up by the uncles...

Yun Zhao fell silent as he spoke, inexplicably recalling his days in Qingshan Town.

Those were very difficult times.

She was very uncomfortable after leaving the contaminated area. She ate rice that was hard to swallow, lived in a simple house, and would get rashes on her skin if she wore slightly rough clothes.

But her uncles have been doing their best to provide her with a good life.

They tried every means to obtain supplies, buying good rice and new clothes from the large base...

Life was ordinary, but she was very happy during that time. Her uncles often took time to spend with her and tell her stories.

The real hard times came after my uncles passed away.

She began to become silent and quiet.

Although the townspeople were kind to her, she was afraid of being accused of freeloading and always tried to help out, but she always ended up messing things up...