Lost and Regained
Frovich called up the regional map, spread his fingers apart to zoom in on the largest area on the left, and swiped his fingertips across the northern area, pulling out District 2 separately.
"Last night, during the joint meeting of the decision-making group, we received a piece of express news." The map of Area 2 changed from a flat plane to a three-dimensional one, with green, yellow, and red coordinate points appearing on it.
Frowich said, "A large number of low-level psychics in Area 2 have reported abnormalities in their vital signs and subsequently disappeared simultaneously." Someone beside him continued, "The Information Analysis Department predicts that these missing psychics are most likely members of the Maintenance Bureau. Since their social information mostly involves ordinary people, it will not be released to the public for the time being."
"Therefore, Team Alpha will conduct the search on the main continent. To avoid alerting the enemy, several teams from the original mission area will continue to conduct the search and will not be relocated."
...The regular meeting to issue instructions ended quickly, leaving Ying Yungui and the others no time to raise questions. After the screens were closed, Kulin asked thoughtfully, "Theoretically, the possibility of low-level psychics being spies does exist, but I don't think that's necessary."
"Firstly, low-level psychics can't access the association's confidential information. Secondly, what's the benefit of doing this right when all the data is about to be updated?"
Reid nodded in agreement, but Ying Yungui disagreed: "No matter whether they are spies from the Maintenance Bureau, the direct purpose of doing this should have been achieved - to attract the attention of the association. As for what happens afterwards, there is no guarantee whether it will be a feint to the east and attack in the west." After saying that, he picked up his coat and said to the two of them, "Let's go, to the next sea area."
It wasn't that Ying Yungui didn't take the Maintenance Bureau seriously; he simply had considerable trust in the members of Alpha. Taking down a team of highly skilled individuals with extraordinary backgrounds, a frontline combat formation, wasn't going to be easy for the Maintenance Bureau.
However, another regular meeting three days later shattered his idea.
Frovich did not appear on the other end of the connected screen. Instead, he was replaced by the head of the Information Analysis Department and the spokesperson of the headquarters' decision-making group - Ying Xiangze.
When his father, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, showed up, Ying Yungui was momentarily distracted, but it was quickly overshadowed by doubt and a foreboding premonition. Sure enough, after confirming that there were people on the other side of the split screens, Ying Xiangze said in a low voice, "Three instructions."
"One, all members of Team Alpha must report back to the Area 1 Association base immediately after completing their current regional mission instructions. The deadline is five days."
"Secondly, the Global Superpower Management Association's data update will be advanced to March 18, 173 New Calendar."
"Three, α will be officially disbanded on March 17, 173 New Calendar."
"That's all. You can ask questions." Ying Xiang tilted his head and whispered a few words to the person next to him. His glasses reflected a cold light, and his expression could not be seen clearly.
Ying Yungui immediately spoke up: "What is the reason for the change to Article 3?"
Ying Xiangze gestured, turned back, and stared into the small window at the pair of purple eyes that matched his own. He said, "The Belmond and Fiele families jointly appealed, demanding that the association immediately disband Alpha. The extra days were secured by President Frovitch."
Upon hearing this, all the attendees were taken aback. Belmond and Feller were both the oldest psychic families, and Frovitch was a member of Belmond's family. Normally, they would never participate in or influence the association's actions to avoid suspicion. But now, they were exerting such pressure on the decision-making group. This could only mean...
"Those members of Team Alpha...had an accident?"
On the other side of the screen, the head of the Information Analysis Department reappeared. He handed the latest medical information to Ying Xiangze, and while he quickly reviewed it, he explained on his behalf, "Team Alpha, previously dispatched to Areas 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, suffered six serious injuries, three minor injuries, and one fatality during their emergency mission. All have returned to base for follow-up treatment."
"?!" Each team would have no more than five people, and this number of casualties was already a shocking number. Ying Yungui blurted out, "How is this possible! They are all..."
However, his words were interrupted by Ying Xiangze, who sneered, "How is that impossible? Not to mention the effective utilization rate of the intelligence the Alpha Formation has gathered about the Maintenance Bureau, this incident is clearly a trap." He pinched the frame of his glasses with two fingers and removed them. The frame made a crisp sound when it hit the table, but it couldn't drown out Ying Xiangze's veiled anger. "That idiot, Flovitch."
Everyone shuddered at the same time. Looking at the entire association, there were only a handful of people who dared to scold the president like that, not to mention that Ying Xiangze was famous for his calmness and self-control.
Ying Yungui's father rarely lost his composure like this, so he found it quite curious and pressed on, "What's the president like now?" Ying Xiang pressed his eye sockets and said, "Whoever made the stupid decision should clean up the mess."
Kulin spoke cautiously, "So, the member who died... was from the Feller clan?"
The head of the Information Analysis Department rolled his eyes in a corner where no one could see, feeling sad that there was actually such a guy who couldn't judge the situation. After all, he was one of the younger generation trained by a big family.
Ying Xiangze, surprisingly, wasn't annoyed. He put his glasses back on and looked at the younger generation of the Visa family. "The association will soon announce the details, including the disappearances in District 2. All you need to do is complete your current mission and return to headquarters immediately."
He then added, "Cross-region support is prohibited. Violators will be penalized with a 20,000 point deduction."
Before anyone could raise another question, Ying Xiang cut off the connection. The person next to him hesitated before speaking, "Mr. Ying...it seems the decision-making committee didn't include the last provision."
Ying Xiang gathered his things, stood up, and walked to the window: "I represent the entire decision-making group. My will is the will of the decision-making group."
"...Uh, okay."
Ying Xiangze looked at the sky in the south with a complicated expression, wondering if the penalty of 20,000 points could restrain that brat. Or maybe he should report more, such as 50,000 points.
"Damn! 20,000 points! Your dad is too cruel!" Kulin yelled at Ying Yungui, but his mouth was blocked by a slap, "Stop talking nonsense." Ying Yungui knew better than anyone that this rule was mainly added for him. Was his father so worried that there would be accidents during the mission just because he added this one rule?
This probably means that the situation of Team Alpha participating in the mission on the main continent is probably more serious than what was just said.
In the evening, in Area 8, the Association Base, in the northern square, in the dense forest and lake area.
Shi Youchen is conducting field combat training with Yan Zhiyuan.
"Bang!" The rapid water flow twisted into a ray, suddenly rising from the surface of the lake, and then smashed straight into a tree root somewhere on the shore. Dozens of deep pits had appeared on the ground nearby, all of which were controlled and hit by Yan Zhiyuan.
Shi Youchen's figure was swiftly moving through the forest. This training in concealment was his own idea. Yan Zhiyuan initially thought it was unnecessary, but Shi Youchen insisted, "If I can't maximize my survival rate, then I'm the most unnecessary member of the team." Thus, this special terrain training was planned.
And so far, the training has lasted almost an hour.
Yan Zhiyuan glanced at the time, and as his fingertips rose and fell, several more streams of water rushed towards the bushes on the right. Shi Youchen couldn't dodge this one, and his ankle was hit directly by the deliberately weakened water column. The momentary shift in his center of gravity caused him to fall to the ground.
"Your physical strength has almost reached its limit. Let's stop here for today." Yan Zhiyuan raised his voice and said.
Shi Youchen stood up, rubbing his ankle with one hand, and leaned against a tree trunk, panting. A thin layer of sweat had already formed on his face, and his vision was foggy. He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and then turned and walked out of the dense forest.
"Well, thanks..." Before Shi Youchen finished speaking, a very thin stream of water rushed straight towards his face.
Shi Youchen saw Yan Zhiyuan's sharp gaze not far away, and subconsciously raised his arms to block the frontal damage, and did not forget to gather energy in his arms and release it outwards.
When he was thinking to himself that he had fallen into a trap due to his carelessness, the dull pain from being hit did not come yet.
Shi Youchen peeked out, only to find the water, so close to him, had stopped in mid-air. Further away, Yan Zhiyuan's figure froze at the moment he raised his hand. Behind him, the ripples on the lake, which should have been endless, rose into the air, the waves they stirred up remaining motionless. The entire lake was still.
Shi Youchen hurriedly turned around to look. Above the dense forest behind him, there was a bird flying with its wings spread out, and a few fallen leaves were nestled above the ground.
The entire space and time except for him stood still.
His first reaction was surprise, followed by a wave of fear. When Youchen realized he was inside the association, he tried to turn around and grab Yan Zhiyuan, but as he retreated, he was suddenly kicked forward, his palms scraped against the ground and bled.
Shi Youchen's wrists were trembling, and he could barely hold up his upper body. Cold sweat dripped from the tip of his nose to the ground. The pressure from behind made him confused and at a loss.
"Too weak." He spoke in a flat tone, speaking with extreme contempt. "Why are you so weak?"
Shi Youchen bit his lip with his canine teeth. The numbing pain and the smell of blood in his nose barely allowed him to shake off his fear and stand up. He touched his pocket with some frustration and realized he hadn't brought any weapons with him.
"Are you looking for a weapon?" The cold voice behind him sounded again. The next moment, a dagger suddenly appeared at Shi Youchen's feet. "Pick it up." The voice ordered him.
Shi Youchen squatted down to pick it up, and as he turned and rushed forward, the bruise on the base of his palm completely healed. He held the dagger tightly in his right hand and chose close combat, slashing the dagger horizontally at the attacker's throat, but the attacker leisurely stepped back and dodged it.
Shi Youchen supported himself with his left hand and swept his right leg towards the oncoming person, but the other person grabbed his ankle with his backhand. So he turned over and tightened his left leg to kick towards the head. The tip of his shoe brushed against a few strands of black hair, and then he felt a sharp pain in his legs. His whole body fell to the ground, and the dagger fell to the side.
The man grabbed Shi Youchen by the back of his collar and pulled him up from the ground. He then pinched the upper part of his neck with his backhand, leaned down, stared at him, and repeated, "Why are you so weak?"
The pale white pupils almost merged with the whites of his eyes, but Shi Youchen felt as if he was being stared into the abyss. He managed to utter a few words: "07...you..."
07's black hair fell on the cheek of Shi Youchen who tilted his head back. The face was so close that he could hear his breath. Shi Youchen could even vaguely see the purple blood vessels under his pale skin.
07 used his free hand to tuck his long, soft black hair behind his ear. His eyes were fixed on Shi Youchen's face, which was gradually turning purple and red. Finally, he let go of his hand when he was on the verge of suffocation.
Shi Youchen collapsed to his knees, instinctively breathing in the air greedily. After wiping the tears from his eyes, he looked at 07 who had come to observe Yan Zhiyuan and asked, "What is your purpose in looking for me?"
07 looked at Yan Zhiyuan and said, "Not too stupid." He lifted Yan Zhiyuan's chin and looked at him again and again. "My previous partner defected. I need a new contact in District 8. Someone recommended you to me, Shi Youchen."
"..." Shi Youchen placed his palms on his ankles, his heart tightening as he heard 07 continue, "You can refuse, but only after you remember that incident."
The next moment, tens of thousands of memory fragments flooded into Shi Youchen's mind: the bar in City Z, Chen Yishen, He Guansheng, the orphanage, Mo Ling, Xiao Qi...
"Hu... Hu..." Shi Youchen's breathing was more rapid than before when he was on the verge of suffocation. It was as if someone had chiseled open the top of his head and poured a bucket of ice water into his brain. His head was aching but his whole body was much more awake.
"Mo...Mo family..." Shi Youchen murmured, struggling to get up without caring about his dislocated ankles.
07 turned around and gave him a look that pinned him to the spot: "Do you remember?"
"Then you should remember that person too."
"Lu Ming."
07 looked coldly at Shi Youchen, whose face was pale and almost dazed, with a mocking tone: "With your current ability, how do you think you will die if you face him?" He completely saw through Shi Youchen's inner thoughts and pointed out those thoughts cruelly and bluntly.
"I can help you, but my condition is that you provide me with information when I need it, and no one else can discover it." 07 took two steps back, picked up the dagger on the ground, and pressed it against Yan Zhiyuan's heart. "As long as you hold on for three months, I will set you free."
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