Seeing that the performance was over, Ye Lan was about to go to the earthen house to take a look.
I suddenly stood up to avoid the crowd and bumped into a figure coming out from behind the stage.
"The party is in the yard. No wandering around here."
A slightly low female voice was accompanied by a teasing laugh, and an arm was placed across her face, blocking Ye Lan's way.
Ye Lan looked up and saw a girl with a crew cut wearing a black short leather jacket. There was a circle of red marks on her forehead, which was caused by wearing a headgear for a long time.
Looking at her figure, I recognized her as the actress who had just appeared on the stage.
"I'm just strolling around." Ye Lan retracted his steps, lowered his eyes and explained softly.
"Haha, it seems the person who brought you here didn't tell you the rules." The other person laughed, his tone unrecognizable as either joy or anger. He only said dimly, "This isn't your class reunion. If you're not careful, you could lose your life."
After saying that, she patted Ye Lan on the shoulder and quickly blended into the crowd in the yard.
The incense was still burning on the stage, but Ye Lan did not enter the earthen house.
Because the other party's words had already hinted to her that in such a seemingly relaxed and casual occasion, even if a fly accidentally broke in, its every move would be closely monitored.
When I returned to the queue, the crowd had dispersed in groups of three or four and maintained a safe distance again.
They happened to be standing with the young couple again.
The girl was complaining coquettishly, "Look, others can go out and have fun, why can't I? She came back fine."
Ye Lan seemed to sense something, and looked over in the direction of the voice, just in time to meet the man's gaze.
It was freezing cold, and even contained murderous intent.
Just by lowering his head for a moment, the murderous aura was completely withdrawn and turned into a low, coaxing voice.
"That was just good luck. Next time you run around, something bad will probably happen. Be good, wait until the party is over, and I'll go play with you."
It turned out that he was blaming Ye Lan for falling behind, which made his girlfriend want to go and play as well.
He even wanted to kill because of such a small matter.
As expected, those who come from the X forum are all a bunch of lunatics without any moral restraints.
At this time, several figures walked out from the back of the stage, led by another actress in costume, who had just removed her makeup to reveal a graceful and elegant face.
He was actually an acquaintance of Ye Lan.
"Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the X Forum offline meeting. I'm Yin Ruijin, the Asia-Pacific director, and the host of tonight's gathering."
Yin Ruijin was as beautiful as when she first met him at the Imperial Capital Museum, but her position had changed from the head of China to the entire Asia-Pacific region, and her temperament had become more calm, which was enough to show that she was very intelligent.
The night wind was howling, and the atmosphere in the yard was not as lively as an ordinary gathering.
No one applauded after Yin Ruijin spoke.
Everyone still maintained a lazy posture, with a pair of eyes, some bright and some dim, staring at her quietly and silently, waiting for what was to come.
"Well, everyone agrees that the forum wouldn't gather everyone here for no reason, simply to meet and expose each other's identities." Seeing this, Yin Ruijin smiled faintly and said straight to the point, "The reason we've gathered in Longquan is actually about a bounty mission."
As soon as the words fell, someone sneered.
"I told you, you wouldn't just treat us to a meal. Even if you did, you wouldn't choose this godforsaken place." A thin, short young man leaned against the dirt wall and sneered, "Since you're making such a big fuss, even exposing everyone's true identities, then your forum's mission better be awesome. Otherwise, you know everyone's going to be bored and just clean up the expert rankings."
As the last sentence fell, the atmosphere suddenly became gloomy, even louder than the sound of the wind outside the wall, and full of a dangerous atmosphere.
Yin Ruijin remained unmoved, maintaining that respectable smile. He responded, "Since the forum has made this decision, we will certainly not disappoint everyone. However, this mission is located in the Baquan Desert, and the vast scope requires manpower. It's said that there's a special mineral here that's causing changes in the water system, but the official personnel have disappeared, making it impossible to continue the research, so the task has been entrusted to the forum."
Searching for minerals in the desert also involves groundwater systems.
This is indeed a big project and the stay here will not be short.
However, "Representative Yin, it's best to be honest before we start collaborating. If it's just simple minerals, the authorities could send a team of over 100,000 to fill this place. Why bother collaborating with a dark web organization like the X Forum?" A large man sitting on a bench nearby spoke up, slowly polishing a Desert Eagle in his hand. He raised the muzzle of his rifle and slowly pointed it at Yin Ruijin's head. "Tell me, what's the actual situation? Don't try to fool us with that official rhetoric."
As the muzzle of the gun was raised, the girl with a crew cut who was originally leaning against the stage at the side and back immediately shot out a dart from her sleeve.
The movement was extremely fast, and the dart was no less powerful than a bullet. It not only deflected the Desert Eagle in an instant, but also created a spark on the metal gun body.
The big man just managed to dodge by turning his head, but the dart still accidentally cut his cheek, leaving a bloody wound.
Finally, the small dart pierced into the earth wall, and a large spider web split open with it as the center point.
This is not a power that ordinary people can possess.
The girl with a buzz cut is a cultivator, and her cultivation level is not low.
Everyone became alert and obviously no one stood on Yin Ruijin's side.
Because they agreed with the big man's words and would never foolishly carry out the mission without knowing the situation.
"Anan." Yin Ruijin tilted his head to stop the girl with the buzz cut. He turned back and nodded slightly to the crowd in apology. He said calmly, "What the gentleman just said is correct. The task entrusted by the authorities is not that simple, and they can't send a team to investigate. Because now more than half of the population of Baquan Town has been diagnosed with cancer, and experts have extracted a virus from the drinking water they filter daily."
"This virus originates from underground water systems. It's a primitive virus that's been around for billions of years, formed by the accumulation of large amounts of minerals undergoing qualitative changes. There's basically no cure. That's why officials can't mobilize, fearing it might cause panic among the public. They hope we can find this mineral vein as quickly as possible to address the water quality crisis."
Water quality crisis.
This kind of mission would make even the top ten masters feel uncomfortable. It involves a primitive virus from billions of years ago. Without knowing the route of infection, one could lose their lives if they are not careful.
"I said they summoned us to Guigu specifically for a meeting. It seems they were afraid the news would leak out. Now that we know the truth, it means we can't leave." The skinny young man spoke again, clearly understanding the situation and moving on to the next topic. "Then let's talk about the price. If we find it, how much will it cost?"
People die for money and birds die for food. They live for this.
Upon hearing this, Yin Rujin's lips curved a little deeper, and he slowly said, "The official bid is—five hundred million."
What?
Everyone present was stunned the moment they heard the price.
Immediately, many pairs of eyes lit up at the same time.
Five hundred million, as long as we can dig up the minerals, we will make a fortune!
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