Tingfeng City.
Hidden Group Branch.
After days of drawing personnel from various cities, it was back in operation.
All missions were re-listed, and the mission hall was exceptionally bustling.
However, the bustling scene did not last long, and it soon became completely deserted again.
At first, everyone didn't take it seriously. After all, with the missions re-listed, it had reached its peak. Most people went to execute missions, so it was normal for fewer people to be there.
But then the mission hall remained deserted for several consecutive days, which was clearly not right.
Currently, Shi Wenkang, the head of the branch, organized a meeting with his staff to investigate the reason for the situation in the past few days.
After all, this situation could not continue!
If no one accepted missions, how could the Hidden Group explore the ruins and expand humanity's living space!
After all, the Huaxia No. 1 ruins were vast, comparable to a world.
With only the Hidden Group, it was truly not enough to explore the entirety. It required everyone's effort to achieve their wishes little by little.
Everyone knew the seriousness of the problem, so a meeting was held to solve it together.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
A staff member knocked and walked in, then came to Shi Wenkang's side and whispered, "Someone from Longcheng Headquarters has arrived and is already at the entrance of the branch."
Shi Wenkang's expression changed instantly upon hearing this.
The situation in Tingfeng City was extremely bad right now. If this was reported back to headquarters, wouldn't it mean that everyone here was incompetent?
But there was no help for it. Since the people had already arrived, he still had to go and greet them.
The two parties met and introduced themselves briefly.
"You three have traveled a long way. Shall I send someone to escort you to the guesthouse to rest?"
Shi Wenkang said to Ye Cangtian and the other two. He wanted to stall for time and did not want the three of them to discover the abnormality in the mission hall.
Perhaps this time would be enough for them to investigate, and then they could cover up the matter.
Bai Ying and Chen Wu nodded in agreement. They had come non-stop and had not had a good rest, which suited their intentions perfectly.
"No need."
Ye Cangtian refused directly and continued, "We are here to solve the problems here. You should introduce the situation first."
"Why the rush? It's not too late to introduce it after you've rested," Shi Wenkang quickly said with a smile.
"Thank you for your kind offer, Director Shi, but perhaps not."
Ye Cangtian smiled slightly. He could tell something was not quite right just by looking at the other party.
Logically speaking, the branch in Tingfeng City was in the midst of reorganization, with many problems arising.
Their arrival should have been a help, so why were they repeatedly being asked to rest?
It was impossible not to arouse suspicion!
"Mr. Ye, even if you're not tired, shouldn't you consider how Bai Ying and I feel!"
Bai Ying directly took over the conversation, speaking with annoyance.
He wasn't tired, but he hated Ye Cangtian and deliberately contradicted him.
"Exactly. Since we're here, let's go with the flow. We'll be guests and follow the host's lead!" Chen Wu added in agreement.
Hmph!
Hearing their words, Ye Cangtian sneered and said, "Are all Bai family members useless people who only know how to enjoy themselves? If you can't endure a little hardship, what are you doing here! You might as well go home!"
"You!"
Bai Ying's face instantly turned red, and he trembled with anger.
If he hadn't known that he was no match for Ye Cangtian, he would have immediately turned hostile.
"..."
Shi Wenkang on the opposite side was stunned.
In the Hidden Group, who didn't know the status of the Bai family?
It could be said that apart from the Dongfang family, the Bai family had the greatest influence.
And this young man in front of him showed no respect for the Bai family in his words, which was truly unbelievable.
However, from this incident, it could be seen that this person named Ye Cangtian was definitely someone not to be offended, as even someone from the Bai family chose to endure it.
Thinking this, Shi Wenkang quickly stepped forward to smooth things over and said, "Mr. Ye, please don't be angry. Appropriate rest is for better work. How about this, I will explain the situation to you in detail and send Bai Ying and the others to rest..."
Upon hearing Shi Wenkang's decision, Ye Cangtian nodded. He didn't care about Bai Ying and the others as long as they didn't drag him down.
Not long after, Ye Cangtian was led into the conference room.
"Director Shi, why was the mission hall empty when I passed by just now?"
After glancing at the people in the conference room, before Shi Wenkang could speak, Ye Cangtian took the initiative to ask.
Alas!
Upon mentioning this, Shi Wenkang sighed and had no choice but to explain helplessly, "To be honest, Mr. Ye, we are holding this meeting to investigate the reason, but we encountered another problem..."
Shi Wenkang bitterly explained the problem.
They were all transferred from other cities to form a temporary branch.
Let alone being unfamiliar with Tingfeng City, they were only just beginning to adapt to the other colleagues in the branch.
Without a broad base of support and the need for internal adjustments, investigating this matter was extremely difficult.
The purpose of organizing the meeting was to integrate the internal structure of the branch, to unite everyone, and to find the true reason.
Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed upon hearing this. It was indeed a problem.
Then he looked at Shi Wenkang and said, "I understand the current problem, but I think there's no need for a meeting. It's really a waste of time. Let's dispatch people now and start the investigation."
"It's easy to say, but how do we investigate? Where do we start?"
The person who spoke was another individual, Song Xinghe, the captain of the guards.
In Song Xinghe's opinion, this fellow from headquarters only knew how to talk and was giving blind orders without understanding the situation here.
If it were that simple, would they still be here having meetings and researching?
"Where can't we investigate? From various families and sects to street vendors, we can inquire and ask, and we might get unexpected results!"
Ye Cangtian glanced at the other person, his voice slightly cold.
Although there were indeed some difficulties, it was not impossible to start. In his opinion, this person's attitude was dereliction of duty.
"Heh, I want to investigate too!"
"But the guard team has been reorganized, and I don't even recognize my subordinates! How can I investigate?"
"I believe this problem exists in more than just my department, right?"
Song Xinghe was not afraid of Ye Cangtian and said with a cold laugh.
The leaders of several other departments nodded in agreement. Everything was reorganized, and it was difficult to start work!
"I ask you, how many days have you been here? You don't even recognize your own people. Are you all eating dry rations?"
"Not to mention anything else, how many mission teams are pieced together, have they ever retreated?"
"And you are all trusted veterans of the Hidden Group, who have experienced great storms and are outstanding in ability. Don't you feel ashamed to find such lame excuses?"
Looking at the attitude of the people around him, Ye Cangtian gave them no face at all, directly pointing at everyone present and scolding them coldly.
This made everyone blush, but they could not refute it at all.
The conference room fell silent.
Ye Cangtian scanned the crowd and, calming down a bit, said, "Everyone, think about the scene when the pioneers of the Hidden Group opened up the ruins. Are the current difficulties considered difficult?"
With this sentence, the people in front of him were once again moved, showing expressions of shame.
How could they compare themselves to the pioneers of the Hidden Group?
Who in the room was not familiar with historical records? When the Hidden Group was pioneering the ruins, they not only faced countless unknown dangers but also attacks from major powers around the world.
They had paid a painful price to monopolize the ruins and create the current situation.