Inside a spacious, enclosed training room, a woman clad in loose white training attire sat cross-legged on a pristine white cushion, exuding an air of serene elegance.
This woman appeared to be in her late twenties, possessing snow-white skin, a face of unparalleled beauty, and a cascade of striking silver-white hair.
As she sat, two strands of her lustrous hair fell beside the prominent swell of her chest, while the rest flowed like a waterfall down to her slender waist, cinched by a black belt, with the tips reaching her ample hips.
She was a woman who radiated allure from every pore.
Her aura was cold and powerful, her eyes closed in meditation. As she breathed, white mist swirled around her, further accentuating her icy skin and jade-like bones, making her appear like an immortal descended from the heavens.
Ding dong! Ding dong!!
Suddenly, a series of urgent doorbell chimes from outside caused the woman's delicate brows to furrow. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing pupils of an icy blue hue.
Taking a deep breath, the white mist that had been swirling around her seemed to gain consciousness, transforming into fine white threads that were drawn into her nostrils. In a short while, the surroundings returned to clarity.
Having completed her actions, the woman slowly rose to her feet. The cool expression on her face shifted to one of annoyance. Her snow-white feet stepped onto the gleaming wooden floor, and with a few hurried steps, she reached the door and yanked it open roughly.
Her ethereal, immortal-like temperament was instantly shattered. The woman's expression turned volatile. She extended a slender finger, pinching the cheek of the person standing at the door. Leaning in, she gritted her teeth and said, "Su Caiying, you've interrupted my cultivation. If you don't give me a valid reason, you're dead!"
The person whose cheek was being pinched was a woman with long red hair, wearing sunglasses. She had sharp eyebrows, piercing eyes, and fiery red lips, presenting herself as a strikingly androgynous beauty. Dressed in a tailored women's suit, she stood tall and elegant.
Upon seeing the door open, she completely disregarded the pinched cheek and exclaimed excitedly, "Team Leader, nine, nine of them!"
"Nine? Nine what?" the white-clad woman, addressed as Team Leader, asked with confusion.
"The newcomer who's supposed to report today, Yu Zhibo. Didn't you send An Ge to pick him up? Good heavens, they just went to that abandoned internet addiction treatment hospital in the western suburbs. In just half an hour, they've found and eliminated nine dark creatures!"
"What? Nine in half an hour?" the silver-haired woman looked at her incredulously, her grip unconsciously tightening.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" the red-haired woman, known as Su Caiying, winced. "An Ge's implanted pinhole camera is directly linked to the Minister's end. The Minister has already sent the video to the investigation department's group chat. The team leaders of groups one, two, and four are already waiting at the entrance to snatch him. You, the leader of group three, are still cultivating. Let's hurry and pick him up! An Ge will be at the base in about five minutes!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier!" the silver-haired woman exclaimed, angrily tapping Su Caiying's forehead. As the latter cried out in pain, a gust of wind laced with ice and snow suddenly swirled around the woman's bare white feet, and she sped towards the entrance of the investigation department base.
"I told you as soon as I could!" the red-haired woman, Su Caiying, complained. She quickly followed, but as soon as she stepped out of the courtyard, she saw her Team Leader standing at the entrance, hands behind her back, no longer the fiery figure she had been moments ago.
Su Caiying immediately became anxious. "Team Leader, why aren't you hurrying? That newcomer finds dark creatures so quickly. With him in our team, we won't have to worry about failing our mission quotas."
"Caiying, how many times have I told you? Stay calm during important matters. Your composure isn't good enough yet. Go to the training room and get my sandals and phone," the silver-haired woman said calmly, then leisurely swung one of her jade feet, pivoting on its heel.
There was no trace of her earlier impetuosity.
"Damn it, you're the most irritable one! You're nicknamed the Ice Phoenix Queen, but your temper is even more explosive than mine, a fire-attribute awakener." Su Caiying quickly grumbled, then, under the raised fist of the silver-haired woman, she covered her head and ran towards the training room. Soon, she reappeared with the phone and a pair of black sandals.
As she slipped on the black sandals, her snow-white jade feet beneath her straight, long legs became even more strikingly pale. Three crystal-clear toes peeked out from the sandals, appearing both alluring and cute.
However, the silver-haired woman acted with a careless demeanor, completely unaware of her own charm. She picked up her phone, found Wang An Ge's number, and dialed it directly.
The call was answered quickly, and Wang An Ge's voice came from the phone, "What is it, Team Leader?"
"Little An Ge, where are you now?"
"On the road with Little Yu'er. About three minutes away."
Yu Zhibo, in the passenger seat:
Seeing that Wang An Ge and Yu Zhibo seemed quite familiar, the silver-haired woman's lips curved slightly. "Circle around through the side entrance of the base when you get here. Lin Xiuquan, that old bastard, sent the video of you hunting dark creatures to the group chat. The people from the other three groups are already waiting at the main entrance to snatch you. Don't get caught."
"Understood!" Wang An Ge replied sternly.
After hanging up, the silver-haired woman snorted dismissively, glancing towards the main entrance. "Trying to snatch people from me? They must have drunk too much fake liquor."
With that, she led her team member, Su Caiying, towards the side entrance.
In the Minister's office of the Sacred Branch Investigation Department, a man with long hair dressed in a tailored suit sat at his desk. He was unshaven, with a melancholic gaze, a middle-aged handsome man exuding great masculine charm.
A gentle breeze swirled around the fingertips of the middle-aged man. With a thought, the boisterous voice of the Group Three leader entered his ears through the wind: "Circle around through the side entrance of the base when you get here. Lin Xiuquan, that old bastard..."
Lin Xiuquan, the man referred to as "old bastard," his face darkened. He flicked his finger, dispersing the breeze. "This brat, still so ungrateful..."
"A Jian asked me to look after his daughter before he died, but this girl is too restless and always wants to go to that world. Now that she's truly gotten hold of that newcomer, she'll inevitably eliminate more dark creatures. Then, I really won't be able to stop her."
"Forget it, I can't be bothered. This girl is unreasonable, but even then, she has some sense. Moreover, she's in the right this time. From now on, it's up to her fate."
"Ah Jian, it's not that I don't want to take care of her, but she's too eager to avenge you. I can't stop her."
Recalling his departed old comrade, Lin Xiuquan felt a moment of sadness. He then turned his gaze to the open file on his desk, and a look of relief finally appeared on his troubled face. "With this child, the number of low-level dark creatures in Ningcheng this year will surely decrease significantly. Next year, more awakeners should emerge. This child is my lucky star."
Muttering to himself, he looked at the ability analysis of Yu Zhibo again, evaluating with great interest, "An interesting sequence core. I just hope she doesn't get corrupted by following a team leader like that brat."
On the desk lay Yu Zhibo's personal file.
From the moment he used the Substitution Jutsu, his information had already been placed on the desk of the Investigation Department Minister.
Meanwhile.
"What does 'snatching people' mean?" Yu Zhibo sat in the passenger seat, looking at Wang An Ge with a puzzled expression after she hung up the phone.
For awakeners, physical fitness improvements were all-encompassing. Although Wang An Ge hadn't used the speakerphone, Yu Zhibo could still hear the content of their conversation.
"Just what it means! The Minister sent the video of us capturing dark creatures to the department group chat on the Sacred App. The people from other groups saw it and are all preparing to snatch you at the entrance."
"Snatching people? Haha, so my abilities are that popular?" Yu Zhibo, though he had anticipated it, still felt a bit overwhelmed.
After all, these people from the Sacred Bureau were all powerful awakeners. To receive such attention before even joining was incredibly gratifying.
"You're not thinking of changing your mind and not joining Group Three, are you?" Wang An Ge looked at him somewhat warily.
"Did I promise to join Group Three?" Yu Zhibo scratched his head, his expression one of simple honesty, but a hint of mischief glinted in his eyes.
Wang An Ge bit her red lip, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. A vein bulged on her slender, fair wrist.
"Ah, just kidding, just kidding! After all, Sister, you're my savior. How could I betray you?" Yu Zhibo quickly said.
"Hmph!" Wang An Ge snorted coldly, her expression softening slightly. "If you weren't suitable, that would be one thing, but your abilities are most suited to our team. Besides me, the team is basically all output-type ability users. And although the Team Leader is a bit rough, she never mistreats her team members and is especially protective. Where else would you find such a team?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Yu Zhibo chuckled. As the saying goes, you can tell a lot from a little. "Sister An Ge, you're so kind, so your teammates must not be bad either. Plus, I have social anxiety and am afraid of integrating into new environments. I'll definitely follow you into Group Three."
While he said this, his heart truly felt this way.
"You talk a bit like a scumbag, but I like it!" Wang An Ge nodded with satisfaction.
Yu Zhibo smiled slightly, looking straight ahead with anticipation in his eyes.
The car's engine roared as it sped towards its destination.
About two minutes later, the two arrived at a fork in the road, turned onto a ten-meter-wide road, drove for a hundred meters, and slowly stopped in front of a stone archway.
The stone archway stood tall on the road, with a bright national flag planted at its top. The words "Ningcheng Military Region Exclusive Road" were written on the archway.
Below the eight characters, a small warning read: "No unauthorized personnel allowed. Consequences will be borne by violators."
On the road beneath the archway, an electric retractable gate was installed, with guard posts on both sides. To the right of the road, a three-story building for accommodation was constructed.
At this moment, in the guard posts, two soldiers, armed and standing at attention, were resolute.
After the car came to a complete stop, Wang An Ge rolled down the window, took out her identification, and presented it to the guards for inspection.
The soldiers quickly finished their inspection, returned the identification, then saluted and used a remote to press the retractable gate's switch.
The retractable gate slowly retracted. Wang An Ge flashed her lights and slowly drove into the gate.
At this point, the sides of the road had been replaced by dense bushes. A few hundred meters into the bushes, there was a lush forest, the sea of trees stretching for an unknown distance.
Yu Zhibo, having lived in Ningcheng his whole life, had never realized that there was such a magnificent expanse of forest so close to the outskirts of the city. He was instantly mesmerized.
Wang An Ge, however, was accustomed to such scenery. She stomped on the accelerator, increasing their speed.
Soon, the silver sedan turned a sharp 120-degree bend along the main road and entered the forest. Now, the sides of the road were lined with tall trees, their dense canopies blocking the sky above the road, casting the view into darkness. In the quiet forest, only the roar of the engine could be heard.
After driving for another minute, light shone from uphill ahead. As the Land Rover crested the hill and reached the exit, a massive steel fortress suddenly loomed into view, causing Yu Zhibo's mouth to fall open in surprise.
"This is the Sacred Branch?" Yu Zhibo exclaimed in shock.