Cangshan, the main peak at the southern end of the Yunling Mountain Range, is composed of nineteen peaks distributed from north to south.
When Song Shuning suddenly mentioned it, Wu Tianzhen even recalled that he seemed to have gone there with his family once.
Fatty, having traveled across the land, also thought of that place, but his focus was clearly not on the beautiful mountains and clear waters.
"Hiss—is that the mountain next to the Bai people?"
"Good heavens, when I went last time, those pretty young girls were truly more charming than the last!"
"It's a pity Fatty was in a hurry that time, otherwise I would have stayed there to find a wife!"
"Get out, get out!" Wu Tianzhen slapped Fatty, making the flesh on his back tremble. "You, find a wife? It's good enough if you're not caught as a peeping tom!"
"What do you mean, Tianzhen?" Fatty was unhappy upon hearing this and jumped up to show them what a strong physique was: "Look at my muscles, my mature masculinity!"
"It's just that I'm too engrossed in my career and have no time for marriage. Otherwise, I'd be absolutely overflowing with descendants right now!"
"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" Wu Tianzhen, seeing him about to take off his shirt to prove his innocence in front of outsiders, quickly pulled Fatty down and perfunctorily said, "It's my fault, I was wrong, Fatty is the best in the world!"
"My apologies, please continue, please continue, hahaha."
Song Shuning watched the two lively performers with a smile throughout.
Getting to know the personalities of the team members in depth before cooperation was also one of his important tasks. Although they had conducted detailed analyses of the three of them based on the live broadcast records, the feeling of seeing them in person was indeed different.
"It's okay, it's okay, you have a good relationship." He continued his previous topic without showing any embarrassment.
"Cangshan is indeed a great place for tourism, with outstanding people and captivating scenery."
"But now, it has completely become a no-man's-land."
As he said this, his voice suddenly deepened: "Perhaps you have never heard of it, but forbidden lands do increase."
"Although the world's list of forbidden lands has always only included the well-known ones, in reality, new forbidden lands have appeared in every country, and this phenomenon has become increasingly frequent in recent years."
"The formation and development of forbidden lands have not been thoroughly studied by anyone yet. We only know that countless places have disappeared over thousands of years due to sudden changes in forbidden lands."
"And Cangshan has now become a newly forming forbidden land that is evolving!"
"The authorities have urgently evacuated all nearby residents, but if we don't truly understand the situation inside, no one knows if it will cause greater harm."
"And it was at this moment that we discovered your live stream..."
At this point, Wu Tianzhen and Fatty had completely understood Song Shuning's intentions, and their expressions turned solemn and serious.
The concept of increasing forbidden lands was indeed something they had never heard of. If it were true, wouldn't the entire world be covered by forbidden lands in a few years?
Despite what was said, they were not the kind of aspiring youths who would throw their heads and spill their blood after hearing a few words. This job was clearly a suicide mission. They were living well, so why would they risk death in a place with unknown danger levels and unclear internal situations?
He glanced at Zhang Qiling, who was now resting his chin on his folded hands, his eyes unfocused, staring at a lucky cat placed directly opposite him, appearing to be completely blank.
Since Zhang Qiling had no reaction, the two exchanged glances and immediately made a decision.
Wu Tianzhen instantly put on a smiling face: "Come, come, you must be tired from talking, have some water!"
Seeing Song Shuning drink, Fatty immediately chimed in, putting on a troubled expression of being willing to fight but unable to overcome the obstacles, and said, "Although we are also anxious, our abilities are limited. No one knows the situation inside, perhaps there's an ancient demon there!"
"So, it's really impossible, why don't you find someone else?"
With that said, Song Shuning calmly took a sip of water, smiled at them, and without replying, looked directly at the dazed Zhang Qiling.
"What do you think, Mr. Zhang?" He took out a thick folder from his bag and placed it on the coffee table. "To be honest, we sent our most professional expert team to analyze your personalities and past thoughts, so I am not surprised by the decisions of Mr. Wu and Mr. Wang."
"Only you, Mr. Zhang, we cannot analyze."
"You seem to have appeared out of nowhere, with no trace of existence, making it impossible for our people to start."
"But..." Song Shuning noticed that Zhang Qiling finally looked up from the lucky cat, and felt relieved, but his face did not show any urgency.
"...You are looking for something, aren't you?"
"Deep within every forbidden land."
"If that's the case, who can guarantee that Cangshan doesn't have what you're looking for? After all, for a place to suddenly become a forbidden land, there must be a source of strange power."
"What do you say?"
"..."
Zhang Qiling looked at him quietly, his expression unchanged.
Song Shuning then noticed that Zhang Qiling, whom countless researchers found perplexing and who was so powerful he almost didn't belong to this world, had eyes as pure as a newborn infant's.
This was completely inconsistent with the solitary and cold aura that always surrounded him, but it was this contradiction that made him as captivating as a great mystery.
"What's wrong with you!" Fatty, seeing that he couldn't persuade them and was instead trying to lure Zhang Qiling, became angry. He strode forward and was about to escort Song Shuning out.
But at this moment, he heard a clear and cold voice.
"Okay."
It was Zhang Qiling; he had actually agreed.
In the invisible void, the system panel floated quietly, displaying a line of large characters.
[Main Mission (Cangshan) Unlocked, please prepare, Host]
Seeing that Zhang Qiling was actually willing to go, Song Shuning was overjoyed. He immediately stood up and prepared to take Zhang Qiling to the base that had already been prepared.
"...Since that's the case, we have prepared some elite special forces and a host of excellent weapons for you. Please let us know if you need anything else!"
"We have already prepared your identification documents, and the reward has been transferred to your card. We can give it to you immediately—"
But to his surprise, Zhang Qiling had no intention of going to the base. He stood up, silently slung the Black Gold Ancient Saber over his shoulder, put on his hood, and prepared to head directly to the Cangshan forbidden land.
"No need," he said coldly.
"Those people will all die if they go."
After speaking, Zhang Qiling did not wait for Song Shuning's reaction and slowly walked to Wu Tianzhen and Fatty.
He gripped the strap of the Black Gold Ancient Saber on his shoulder and felt a moment of inexplicable guilt.
"I..."
"Don't say it, Little Brother!" Fatty interrupted him, wiping his face helplessly, sighing deeply, and then directly put his arm around him.
"Since you've decided to go, can we two brothers not go?"
"Thinking about defending our country is quite good, it fits Fatty's noble image. Let's do this one!"
"That's right!" Wu Tianzhen also said with a smile, crossing his arms and looking at Zhang Qiling, "Don't think about leaving us behind this time. We three must go to Cangshan together!"
"......"
Song Shuning watched from the side. Although he was moved by their camaraderie, he thought that the special elites would only be a burden, and these two would be even worse. He wanted to be the bad guy and refuse.
However, before he could organize his thoughts, he saw Zhang Qiling look up slightly at the two, actually revealing a small smile.
"Good."
Song Shuning: "......?"
So, the special elites would die if they went, but these two would be fine?
Is this double standards? This is double standards, right!
After the three of them laughed and joked for a while, Fatty suddenly remembered something, his eyes rolled, and a sly smile appeared on his face.
He walked to the speechless Song Shuning with a grin.
"Well, Little Song? Our Little Brother doesn't fancy those mortal weapons, but we're different!"
"Shouldn't you show us?"
"And the reward, shouldn't it be multiplied by three?"
Song Shuning: "......"
"Of course!" He sighed and said with a smile, "The three of you, please follow me. The car is already outside."
"Hey, wait!" Wu Tianzhen suddenly noticed that Song Shuning's folder was still on the coffee table and hadn't been taken away, and shouted, "You forgot your folder!"
"It's okay, it actually only contains records of some... not-so-good things that Mr. Wang did before."
Fatty: ...
"But please rest assured, this item will be deleted from the records from now on." Saying this, Song Shuning suddenly became serious!
He quickly walked to the front of the group and actually bowed deeply!
"Willing to risk your lives to enter Cangshan, you are the heroes of the people!"
"Thank you very much!"