Xie Xuan said in surprise: "You wanted to come on your own? Why?"
"No reason." Chongming seemed a little impatient with the question. "Do you have to have a clear purpose for everything you do? Can't you just treat me as if I'm on vacation because I'm bored?"
Xie Xuan said "Of course", but after finishing her meal, she couldn't help but ask curiously: "So how did your superpower suddenly come about?"
Chongming looked over with his flawless, beautiful eyes. "How about you speak first, and then I'll say it?"
Xie Xuan didn't expect Chongming to be so stingy that he even required an equivalent exchange for answering questions, but she herself didn't know how she got her special ability.
"Forget it." Xie Xuan gave up decisively.
After dinner, no one had any plans to continue the team-building activities and everyone returned to their rooms.
At 5:30 in the afternoon of the next day, Xie Xuan and the other four gathered in the corridor outside the room and went downstairs to attend the dinner together.
The restaurant was no different from when they arrived at noon, but the words on the electronic screen at the door had changed to "Free and unlimited supply throughout the restaurant", making it look like some shopping mall's anniversary sale.
Because the day after tomorrow is the day for an affair, there will be unlimited drinking today.
There were already quite a few people in the restaurant. As soon as Xie Xuan walked in, she smelled a strong smell of alcohol. Upon closer inspection, she saw someone half-drunk and slumped over the table.
Xie Xuan and the others took their meals and found an empty seat to sit down. The atmosphere between them was not much better than yesterday.
Xie Xuan couldn't find a way to ease this inexplicably awkward atmosphere, so she could only turn the awkwardness into appetite and choose to eat the expensive food.
After eating a round, Ji Lan finally arrived.
She was wearing a white Ecological Bureau uniform today, and she finally looked a bit like the Minister of Development. Her four teammates were still dressed casually and followed behind her, like four bodyguards.
Ji Lan walked to the back of the restaurant and found an empty table. With a push of his hands, he jumped up lightly and stood on the table.
"Good evening, everyone." Ji Lan's voice was not loud, but it attracted everyone's attention.
Ji Lan's expression remained calm. "I'm Ji Lan, the head of the Development Department of Branch 111 of the Sixth District Ecological Bureau. Today, as scheduled, we're holding a pre-mission meeting for the 111th Branch Development Department. Thank you very much for participating."
Xie Xuan suddenly realized that today was the operational meeting... What the hell!
Whose operational meeting is held in a restaurant, and with free buffet and drinks provided?
But other people in the restaurant didn't think there was anything wrong, and some even clapped and whistled in approval.
Ji Lan stepped aside and a map immediately appeared on the electronic screen behind him.
There are more than a dozen curved lines drawn on the map that occupies half of the wall. They extend from the slightly curved line at the bottom of the picture. All the curves start from one point and gradually spread outward in a fan shape.
On each curve, there are five hollow points. An orange line connects all the second points extending from the bottom of the curve, a red line connects all the third points, and a black line connects all the fourth points.
Xie Xuan didn't understand what these two lines meant.
"Considering that many of my colleagues have just joined the Development Department this year, I will explain this year's tasks and plans in detail."
Ji Lan turned sideways and pointed at the lines spreading out from the bottom.
"This year, Branch 111 has a total of 19 pioneering teams participating in the mission. This year's mission, like previous years, is to re-explore locations explored before the rainy season and collect data on the distribution, growth, and mutation of bacterial species, infected organisms, and uninfected organisms outside the wall during this rainy season. We will send you the relevant sampling tasks via internal email later."
Ji Lan pointed her hand upwards at the orange line.
"This is the rescue line. Within this line, all teams must maintain a straight-line distance of no more than one hour from the two surrounding teams. If you encounter danger within this line, send a distress signal immediately. You have a 60% chance of survival."
Ji Lan's fingers ran across the orange line.
"Once you cross this line, your distress signal may not receive a timely response until..." Her finger landed on the red line.
"This is the signal limit within the wall. If you step outside this line, you will completely lose contact with the rest of the team. Your communicator will only function within a range of 500 meters. So if you intend to step outside this line, please stay as close to your teammates as possible."
Finally, Ji Lan pointed to the black line at the top.
"This line is the limit of the data currently collected by the Development Department. Once you cross this line, the data we have will be completely worthless. You can only rely on your own strength to slowly explore the route."
Ji Lan withdrew his hand after he finished speaking. "The Development Department will not force you to die, but since you are standing here, I hope you can at least complete the first mission and come back."
Ji Lan curled her lips and smiled, "Don't be a deserter and let me look down on you."
Someone in the audience laughed loudly in response.
Ji Lan's smile faded. "Similarly, I don't encourage anyone to step outside this black line. Since the founding of the Development Department, no one has ever walked outside this line and returned alive. So, you should consider your own abilities before deciding how many missions to complete."
Xie Xuan looked at the black line and felt a little inexplicable emotion in her heart.
To be honest, ever since Si Xun threw her here, she had an inexplicable sense of unreality.
Isn’t there a saying that goes, when the goals are too ambitious and unclear, people will lose the motivation and direction to work hard.
Xie Xuan is in such a situation now. She is burdened with the grand goal of saving humanity, but when it comes to executing it, she only has a vague plan of growing and becoming stronger quickly. How can she not be confused?
She knows that consuming bacteria will make her powers stronger, but how many bacteria does she need to consume to be strong enough? Once she is strong enough, who will be her enemy? How can she save humanity?
Xie Xuan had no idea.
However, she can only take one step at a time now. In this wasteland era where no one knows when they will be killed by an unexpected disaster, Xie Xuan's confused state is probably the state of most people.
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