In the army office, Pei Yan perused the photo dossiers handed to him by Mei Simiao, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and fell into deep contemplation, recalling the contents on his sister's phone.
From the contents his sister left on her phone, she had explained to him the true situation of that year's incident clearly. Watching those videos taken at different times, he understood that some videos were pre-recorded and stored on the phone by his sister; she had long prepared for the possibility of being taken away. This realization filled Pei Yan with guilt and anger.
The origin of the incident was that summer when his sister took him to play in the abandoned factory not far from home. Although parents frequently warned them not to play there due to safety concerns, the curiosity of children couldn't be stopped. The spacious factory, in the scorching summer, seemed like a perfect indoor badminton court for cooling off. Coupled with the fluttering dragonflies and butterflies amidst the wild grass, the dilapidated factory became a natural playground for the neighborhood kids.
He and his sister were no exception. The recounting in the video by his sister triggered Pei Yan's long-forgotten memories. He vaguely remembered going there with his sister to play badminton. Afterwards, he was slightly sunstruck from the intense playing, and sounds of successive blasts and dim shadows reverberated through his mind.
That day was precisely the day when the Origin Maiden's main body was besieged by multiple forces; fleeing in a hurry, she was cornered into this abandoned factory. Amid the battle, she got captured, and when she first discovered the brother and sister hiding in the dark, she used her powers to hide them and bestowed them with powers, laying the groundwork for her future escape.
These memories were later sealed by the Origin Maiden; only his sister remembered everything. Through the years, it was Pei Jin who quietly bore it all, working secretly on the operation to rescue the main body until the day she was taken away.
In the messages on the phone, Pei Jin was very secretive about the forces that captured the Origin, only mentioning that Shen Yu was just one among several forces. She originally didn't want Pei Yan to get involved in this matter, being prepared to sacrifice herself as a sister. But knowing her brother well, she also understood that Pei Yan would never let it go once he knew, and rather than let him rashly harm himself, she preferred to entrust him to someone who could calmly think and solve the matter.
After discussions with the Investigation Bureau, Mei Simiao was selected by Pei Jin as a trustworthy person.
"Is this the secret base of Shen Yu deep in the mountains? Wouldn't such close-range photography be discovered?" Pei Yan clutched the photos in his hand and asked, puzzled at the blurred silhouettes.
"Cough, cough! It won't be; we dispatched an animal awakened with the abilities of the Spirit Monster World. It's very special and matches the local environment, so it won't be discovered," Mei Simiao coughed a few times in response. Still not fully recovered in his walking ability, his body was very frail, and his face was ashen. However, the importance of the matter did not allow him to continue recuperating in bed; working injured had become his norm during this period.
Hearing this, Pei Yan nodded based on the coordinates provided by the Origin Maiden that night. The Investigation Bureau accurately located the target, and he put the photos aside and continued to ask, "Have you received the signal from my sister? Is she confirmed to be among them?"
"We received it, but are you certain this signal won't be detected by Shen Yu?" Mei Simiao took out a transceiver device from his pocket and handed it to Pei Yan, asking in return.
Accepting the transceiver, Pei Yan inspected it with his powers, exhaled in relief, and smiled contentedly. He now understood his sister's ability. Her ability is unique; it does not require an awakening oath. As long as the Origin within her accumulates to a certain degree and breaks through the self-restraint, she can awaken. Her specific ability manifests in that upon contact with the enemy's blood, she can replicate their supernatural abilities, currently able to perfectly replicate the abilities of four individuals.
Moreover, as siblings sharing the same bloodline, Pei Jin doesn't even need to contact Pei Yan's blood to replicate his abilities concurrently. However, unfortunately, she can only utilize Pei Yan's basic abilities and cannot exhibit the bonuses from the gadgets he has absorbed.
Nevertheless, Pei Jin also possesses the ability to manipulate electronic devices. She left Pei Yan a self-composed frequency code on the phone. Once she receives a signal transmitted by Pei Yan using the same frequency, she will operate the electronic devices at hand to send back a response.
Analyzing the content within the transceiver made Pei Yan shake his head with a wry smile. Observing this, Mei Simiao hastily asked, "What happened? Is there any anomaly?"
"No," Pei Yan said, absorbing the transceiver into his body before continuing, "It seems my sister is doing fairly well in there. Don't worry, this signal won't be detected by anyone, but just to be safe, this will be the last communication before the operation. I saw in the dossier that Shen Yu has already dispatched people to secretly infiltrate domestically?"
"Yes, that's correct. These people are too arrogant, thinking the Investigation Bureau has been heavily damaged and is currently in chaos. They conducted their actions so covertly as to think they could deceive everyone." Speaking of this, Mei Simiao shifted closer to Pei Yan and whispered, "But they were wrong. Their actions have caused not only a significant loss to the Investigation Bureau but also served as a wake-up call for the upper echelons of the other three realms and paranormal organizations of various countries. Our collaborations have seen breakthrough progress lately, and the movements of Shen Yu's overseas personnel are intelligence provided by paranormal organizations from other countries. This encirclement operation is going to be a joint action."
"I know it might sound selfish of me now, but I don't care about this operation; I only care about my sister's safety. I don't trust a joint operation; even within one country, there might be espionage from Shen Yu, let alone a multi-national joint operation." Pei Yan looked at Mei Simiao with sincere eyes and spoke firmly.
"Understandable. That's your family, a natural sentiment, but please be reassured that this operation will be personally commanded by Minister Cen. Trustworthy elite personnel have been secretly assembled. No information will be leaked before the action begins; only just before deployment will they be gathered urgently. Your team members, including Ye Ruozai, Zheng Jia Ru are on the mission selection list. They have even been secretly monitored by the Investigation Bureau to ensure no problems arise," Mei Simiao acknowledged the sentiment while ensuring the safety of the mission.
Pei Yan skeptically nodded; if it were the past, hearing about his companions being monitored would have made him angry, but now, for his sister's safety, he couldn't worry about that. Although he firmly believed that there were no spies among his friends, it's better to be safe than sorry.
With that in mind, he looked at Mei Simiao and asked, "So Director Mei, what are our next steps?"