novelsite Chapter 188, Number 1
Chapter 188, Number 1
For Xiao Jiming, as well as the other members of the main group, going on missions alone is not uncommon.
Compared to their own journey, Xiao Jiming was actually more worried about Jiang Xingni, who was leading a team for the first time.
"She's much more reliable than you." Su Yanzhi sat in her seat, her gaze lightly sweeping over Xiao Jiming before settling on the scenery outside the window, her tone languid. "Why not worry about whether Xie Yungui will use this opportunity to do something?"
Song Juexiao was probably the only one in the entire team who didn't have any particular ideas.
—She and Jiang Xingni could be considered to spend every day together, as roommates and close female friends.
As long as no new female members join the team, Song Juexiao is not worried at all about being replaced by someone else.
She didn't feel any sense of crisis when she first met Xu Niannian, let alone now.
He Jingtong stood on the other side, holding his knife, too lazy to comment on what this group of people were thinking.
"Let's resolve this matter quickly," the green-eyed boy said calmly. "The sooner we resolve it, the sooner we can return to school."
Pei Zhaoye looked around and proudly waved his phone.
"Oh, so Xingxing only asked me for help." He smiled. "It seems that in Xingxing's eyes, I'm still more reliable, aren't I?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes fell on Pei Zhaoye.
They didn't believe Pei Zhaoye's words at first.
It wasn't that she doubted her teammates, but Pei Zhaoye had a long history of misconduct. Even Su Yanzhi, who spent relatively little time with Pei Zhaoye, would occasionally buy information from him.
Then I was successfully scammed.
Although money was spent, the final result was achieved.
However, Su Yanzhi still couldn't figure out why Pei Zhaoye had gone to such lengths to defraud people with false information.
It can't be just to vent Jiang Xingni's anger.
But when their eyes fell on Pei Zhaoye's phone screen, they realized that this time Pei Zhaoye was actually not lying to them.
Not only did they not deceive them, but the intelligence was also provided to Jiang Xingni free of charge. They did not act as riddle tellers, providing various false information and mixing a true message among the false information.
"The intelligence broker has changed his ways?" Song Juexiao raised an eyebrow.
Pei Zhaoye's eyebrows and eyes were curved.
Because of the movement, the earring on his ear swayed slightly, and a ray of sunlight was reflected, falling right into Song Juexiao's green eyes.
"Who knows?" he replied lazily, with a hint of amusement. "Don't be jealous of me."
This was the last time they received a message from Jiang Xingni.
The closer they got to Baoning City, the more noticeable the dark cloud that shrouded the entire city became in their eyes.
Although he didn't possess Jiang Xingni's ability to see through all truth and falsehood at a glance, as a battle-hardened superhuman, he became alert the moment he saw the dark clouds.
Something seems off.
Without needing Xiao Jiming's instructions, Pei Zhaoye turned on his computer, hacked into the meteorological bureau's internal database, and retrieved all the information about Baoning's weather conditions.
"The weather forecast said that Baoning should have clear skies today."
Song Juexiao narrowed his eyes and turned off his phone.
The weather forecast on my phone doesn't seem to be of much use right now, so I might as well wait for Pei Zhaoye's results.
"There aren't any conditions for severe weather," Pei Zhaoye said succinctly. "It's related to supernatural phenomena, but it could affect an entire city..."
Pei Zhaoye narrowed his eyes: "This doesn't sound like something we can handle."
But they've gotten used to it.
Every incident they encounter is, in principle, beyond what someone their age should be able to handle.
It's as if an invisible hand is behind everything they encounter, quietly escalating the situation to a higher level.
Sometimes there may be more than one level.
Xiao Jiming was already used to this.
He reread the emails he received in his inbox.
The email came from an official investigator, but the background was quite concise.
The misuse of the strange objects found on the plane led to ordinary people being able to obtain them, and the final clue lies in Baoning.
Only one team of pioneer investigators entered Boryeong City to investigate the specific situation.
The specific details in this email are what they sent back.
They said they had uncovered a conspiracy to misuse the artifacts, but this was outside their jurisdiction, so they requested assistance from higher-ups.
"Can you find the IP address from which this email was sent?" Xiao Jiming asked Pei Zhaoye.
Pei Zhaoye rested his chin on his hand, stared at his computer screen, and then laughed heartily.
"Haha, the internet's down again."
—Disconnect him from the internet as soon as he enters the instance.
Pei Zhaoye really wanted to know which powerful figure disliked him so much.
There are other superhumans whose abilities are severely limited by their environment, but the authorities are aware of their abilities and know where to place them to maximize their value.
This means that there are quite a few people like Pei Zhaoye who have strong superpowers, but are also subject to great restrictions. Basically, once they are disconnected from the internet, they are no different from ordinary people.
However, it is truly rare for someone like him to be able to go on a mission just in time for his supernatural abilities to be restricted. In the entire academy—and more broadly, in the entire world behind the veil—it is very rare.
Given the advanced state of modern networks, it's already difficult to find a remote mountain village without internet access. If the place without internet isn't in a ravine, then it must be somewhere in the eerie realm.
Who could have predicted that every mission would lead to a surprising and bizarre encounter?
Xiao Jiming began to consider the next task, such as letting Pei Zhaoye stay at the school.
He gives the impression that wherever he goes, the power and internet will go out.
Pei Zhaoye's gaze fell on the screen in Xiao Jiming's hand, and then he took the computer from him.
The bad news is that he can no longer contact Jiang Xingni or the outside world.
Good news: the network still exists within the Ghost Realm, although the signal is weak.
The email was traced back to a location in a suburban corner of Boryeong City.
Upon entering Baoning City, at first glance, the streets appear no different from the outside world.
Pedestrians hurried by with their commuter bags on their backs. It was Monday, and everyone's face carried the strong feeling of "damn it, I have to go to that damn class again." Occasionally, you could see a few students rushing towards the school because they were late.
If Pei Zhaoye hadn't been so certain that he couldn't contact the outside world, he probably would have thought that there was no difference between here and outside, instead of realizing immediately that they had entered the territory of the Ghost Realm.
The further Xiao Jiming walked into the suburbs, the more surreal the scene before him became.
—Song Juexiao was the first to fall to the ground.