Unexpectedly, you even encountered a King Beast Demonic Bat!
An hour later, at the round table in the office adjacent to the branch chief's office, the team that explored the secret realm sat around the table. Lin Wanjun, in the main seat, looked at Wang Sen's newly compiled detailed report with a hint of surprise.
She was not surprised at all that the team could bring back the ore vein, as they had already discovered it during their last exploration. What she hadn't expected was that the five demonic lions that originally occupied the ore vein had, within a mere month, transformed into a King Beast Demonic Bat and a peak B-class demonic bat. Undoubtedly, this change had significantly increased the difficulty of the exploration, but fortunately, Wang Sen and his team had overcome it.
And among them, Yu Zhibo was indispensable.
Without his spatial abilities and the purification of a massive amount of dark energy spirit crystals, Wang Sen and the others would not have been able to implement a war of attrition against the demonic bat, slowly wearing it down to death.
Afterward, she flipped through the relevant information on foreign ability users. Upon learning that the team had actually obtained a spirit energy pill from a spatial ability user, her face broke into a genuine smile.
After a moment of contemplation, she said, "The Lighthouse Nation is notorious for its unreasonableness. If they know that we have killed one of their precious spatial ability users, they will surely seek trouble with us. Therefore, we need to continue sending a large number of personnel into the secret realm until we have complete control of the Heart of the Secret Realm. During this period, any Lighthouse Nation ability user who enters the secret realm must not be left alive."
The Heart of the Secret Realm is the foundation of a secret realm. It appears only after all demonic beasts within the secret realm have been annihilated, and it can then be refined by transcendent beings of B-class or above.
After refining it, the transcendent being who refines the Heart of the Secret Realm will be permanently bound to the secret realm, unable to leave it for life. At the same time, they will gain complete control over the secret realm, able to open the secret realm gate at any time to absorb external spiritual energy and sunlight, effectively gaining an additional territory.
Currently, there are nearly a hundred secret realms that have appeared in Dragon Country, and over twenty have been brought under control. These controlled secret realms are generally established as cities within cities, used as bases for transcendent research institutes, the Divine Radiance Bureau, and military regions, as well as for housing the families of transcendent beings, shielding them from all external threats. They are extremely important strategic resources.
The main reason why Dragon Country has not fully assimilated all secret realms over the years is the shortage of transcendent beings. Coupled with the constant emergence of transcendent events across the country and the diverse types of B-class demonic beasts within the secret realms, it has been impossible to spare too many personnel, thus requiring slow exploration.
Currently, Ning City does not have any secret realms that it has fully developed on its own. This directly leads to the military bases, the Divine Radiance Bureau branch, and the Transcendent Research Institute in Ning City having to be established in the real world. It even necessitates the creation of special residential areas and the deployment of personnel to protect the families of transcendent beings.
"Do we need to go in again?" Wang Sen asked. Given his status, he naturally understood the importance of controlling a secret realm.
Lin Wanjun shook her head and said, "This matter is of great importance. If the secret realm is controlled by the Lighthouse Nation, it would be equivalent to opening a backyard for them in our Ning City. Conversely, we can send personnel to their side at any time to help their innocent people. In short, we need to contact headquarters for assistance. With Ning City's transcendent foundation alone, we cannot completely clear out the secret realm creatures."
As she spoke, her face broke into a smile. "Fortunately, you annihilated all their transcendent beings. The information should not be exposed in a short period. The importance of this secret realm is undeniable. After I report it, headquarters will definitely send people to help. When the secret realm gate opens next month, we will immediately dispatch a large number of B-class transcendent beings to completely clear out the secret realm creatures and then occupy it permanently."
Ling Xiaotian, Wang Sen, and the heads of the executive department like Han Chen and Zhao Tianru all nodded in unison. Zhao Xueyan, Yu Zhibo, and Ye Ling, hearing this secret for the first time, looked on in amazement.
"So, how do you plan to handle the upcoming rewards?" Lin Wanjun asked them with a smile. "After statistics, the value of your gains from this expedition totals 178.6 million merit points. After deducting 20% for confiscation and 30% for direct conversion to merit points, there are 89.3 million merit points worth of materials left for free distribution. What are your plans?"
Ling Xiaotian chuckled and said, "We will definitely distribute the black gold stones freely. The rest can all be converted into merit points. This is our unanimous decision after discussion."
Lin Wanjun was not surprised at all and said, "The black gold stones you obtained are worth a total of 49.65 million merit points. After deducting that, the remaining amount, after all calculations, will be deposited into your accounts by twelve o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Please state your distribution ratios."
Ling Xiaotian smiled and said, "Xiao Yu and Fugui will each get 28%, Xiao Zhao 10%, and Han Chen, Xueyan, and Ye Ling will each get 2%."
"Understood!" Lin Wanjun nodded. "The appearance of Lighthouse Nation transcendent beings in the secret realm this time is a matter of great importance. I need to plant a thought restraint on you. Although I trust you, it's ultimately a precaution. I hope you understand."
Several people nodded. Thought restraint is for keeping a certain event secret and does not involve controlling a person's mind, nor does it cause any harm to the transcendent being themselves.
Yu Zhibo hesitated, as in novels, no protagonist ever accepts such restraint (if a thought restraint were planted, the author would surely be severely criticized by a chorus of readers).
Seeing Yu Zhibo's expression and reading his thoughts, Lin Wanjun was instantly speechless. She rubbed her temples and, after planting thought restraints on everyone else, said, "Thank you for your hard work. You can all go down and rest. Xiao Yu, stay behind."
"Yes!" Everyone stood up and turned to leave. As Ling Xiaotian passed by Yu Zhibo, he patted his shoulder.
"Little Yu, you've improved so quickly! Your spirit energy density is C-class mid-stage, and your mental strength is B-class!" After everyone left, Lin Wanjun finally stopped concealing her amazement and looked at him with a smile.
"Hehe, without your spiritual shield, Auntie Lin, I would have died in the jaws of demonic beasts long ago!"
"This is all as it should be," Lin Wanjun said with a smile. "Sometimes I really suspect you are the reincarnation of some peerless expert. Your unprecedented eyes, and a bunch of strange skills. After entering the secret realm this time, you've also gained earth-element related abilities. I won't ask about your trump cards, but the procedure still needs to be followed. Even Wang Sen and Fugui couldn't avoid it, so I hope you understand."
Yu Zhibo scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. After hesitating, he agreed to Lin Wanjun planting the thought restraint.
Since he had joined the Divine Radiance Bureau, he had to abide by its rules. Lin Wanjun, fearing he might have reservations, had specifically kept him behind for psychological counseling, which was already a great courtesy.
Upon receiving his consent, Lin Wanjun's gaze deepened. A gentle mental energy emanated from her and flowed into Yu Zhibo's mind, then disappeared.
[Detected mental intrusion, intent to block host's memory. System protection function activated, successfully exempted, and completed disguised blocked memory!]
[This protection consumed 10,000 energy points.]
Two system prompts appeared in his mind, making Yu Zhibo somewhat stunned, and then a little surprised: "System, why didn't you mention this awesome function earlier? If you had, why would I have been afraid of B-class ability user mental attacks!"
As if sensing Yu Zhibo's thoughts, the system once again displayed a message in his mind: "The host's memory is the system's inviolable territory. No one can arbitrarily tamper with or block it. Furthermore, mental attacks cannot be exempted!"
Seeing the message, Yu Zhibo was instantly speechless.
The system's methods were clearly very covert and skillful. Lin Wanjun had not noticed that her thought restraint had been exempted. Seeing Yu Zhibo's slightly dejected expression, she pursed her lips into a smile, stood up, walked to Yu Zhibo's side, rubbed his head, and then applied a mental shield to him.
[Congratulations to host for obtaining a 150,000 mental strength guardian barrier. When encountering mental attacks exceeding the host's mental strength tolerance limit, damage can be offset!]
"Holy crap, Auntie Lin, you're forever the best!" Yu Zhibo's heart was filled with joy.
Seeing that Yu Zhibo had recovered his spirits, Lin Wanjun also breathed a sigh of relief. She was truly afraid that Yu Zhibo might develop a grudge because of this. Then she said, "You've worked hard for a month of campaigning. Go back and rest well!"
"Thank you, Auntie Lin!" Yu Zhibo chuckled and stood up directly, leaving the conference room.
"He's improving so fast!" Lin Wanjun sighed, watching Yu Zhibo's straight, retreating back.
A month ago, Yu Zhibo was still a passionate, slightly naive young boy. But a month later, his demeanor had become increasingly steady. Moreover, as his level increased and his spirit energy remodeled his body, his height had also reached nearly 1.8 meters. His growth rate could be described as astonishing.
"I wonder how much longer Ning City can keep him?"
Lin Wanjun sighed, thinking of Lei Jun, who had been waiting in Ning City for nearly a month for Yu Zhibo's return, and shook her head slightly.
"Someone like this would be treasured wherever they go. Forget it, let it be as he wishes."