Chapter 467 - 414: A Sudden Change During Teleportation

Chapter 467: Chapter 414: A Sudden Change During Teleportation

That evening, Guan Tong met with Shangyuan Zi outside the office to talk for a moment.

Guan Tong told her about the North Star Team’s suspicions regarding Soloma and asked how things were on her end.

"According to the representative from Lu Rui Country, the other six smaller nations—aside from North Star, Soloma, and Sisiya—only sent one person each not because they didn’t want to send more, but because the Human Federation required them to either send just one or none at all," Shangyuan Zi said.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"They’re afraid of traitors. The man from Lu Rui Country said Soloma is concerned that the higher-ups in the smaller nations have already been infiltrated by the Fire Worship Cult or the Parasites. If too many people were sent, a traitor could leak intelligence and cause the mission to fail."

"I see."

Guan Tong understood now.

Indeed, infiltration by the Parasites and the Fire Worship Cult had always been a major problem for the member states of the Human Federation.

Even an organization as secure as the North Star Strategy Research Room had been infiltrated by Parasites, to say nothing of the smaller nations, whose internal situations were far more chaotic and loosely managed.

In a country like Sakura Prayer, Shangyuan Zi’s homeland, there was no telling how many Parasites were lurking within.

North Star hadn’t dealt with the situation for two reasons. First, they couldn’t spare the resources. Second, the border between the two nations was sealed, preventing Parasites from entering North Star. As for the Parasites remaining in Sakura Prayer, they were constrained by the country’s current condition; even if they wanted to stir up trouble, they had no stage on which to act.

If the operation was to be handled primarily by the three major powers including North Star, then it truly didn’t matter whether the other six nations sent anyone. In fact, sending more people would only increase the risk of intelligence leaks.

"The current team members are all fine, though," Guan Tong said. "I can confirm there are no Parasites among them."

When the entire team had gathered in the operations room earlier, Guan Tong had used the Mind Network to secretly screen all the members through physical contact during their friendly handshakes. He hadn’t detected any Parasites.

Shangyuan Zi nodded. "The members from the smaller nations are planning to stick with you after we teleport tomorrow. If you want me to act alone, I can break off from the main force."

Guan Tong thought for a moment. "No, stick with us. That way, we can watch each other’s backs. Besides, since we’re all heading to the same target, there’s no need to split up... But unless it’s absolutely necessary, try to keep a low profile. Don’t reveal your abilities."

Shangyuan Zi’s ability to create Snake Servants had some rather terrifying elements and was far too distinctive. As far as Guan Tong was concerned, it was best not to use it unless absolutely necessary.

"Okay, I understand. I’ll help you keep an eye on the Soloma Team."

Since Guan Tong was suspicious of the Soloma Team, Shangyuan Zi, as one of the less prominent members of the operation, was in a better position to observe them covertly.

"That works."

Just then, Shangyuan Zi asked, "Captain, are there any more leads in Suzuki’s case?"

Guan Tong shook his head regretfully. "No. I’ve been looking for that ’Wei Huo,’ but it’s like she vanished into thin air. She’s completely untraceable... She’s probably long gone from Pinglu."

Even with the Strategy Research Room’s vast official surveillance network and the Shadows Guan Tong had sent out himself, their combined search had failed to find any trace of the woman. It could only mean she had already left the area.

While North Star wasn’t in as dire a state as Fahe—which had only one functioning city left—over ninety percent of its hundreds of cities had already been abandoned.

Even before the "earthquake rule," North Star had been encouraging its population to concentrate in major cities. This trend accelerated dramatically afterward. Now, aside from a few metropolises, North Star’s smaller cities had become ghost towns, their water and power cut off.

Nevertheless, stockpiles of food, batteries, and other necessities remained in these smaller cities. While the quantities might not be large overall, for a single person or a small group, they were a veritable treasure trove.

A large supermarket, for instance, might have its entire stock depleted in a day if it were feeding ten thousand people.

But for one person, or even a dozen, the supplies in that same superstore could last for years.

So, after the government relocated the bulk of the population from these small and medium-sized cities to the major urban centers, the ghost towns became new homes for scavenger groups. The supplies left behind were enough to last them a lifetime.

If that "Wei Huo" had fled to one of those cities, it would be incredibly difficult for Guan Tong to find her.

"The trail went cold in Sakura Prayer, too," Shangyuan Zi said. "Is this just going to be a dead end?"

"No," Guan Tong said firmly. "Whoever hurt her had a reason, and they were probably targeting me. As long as I’m alive, the mastermind won’t give up. Sooner or later, they’ll come out of the woodwork."

"..."

"Besides, if conventional methods fail to find her, perhaps we can use some unconventional ones."

"Unconventional?"

"Like that woman on the Soloma Team in the Purple Star Robe."

Shangyuan Zi’s pupils constricted slightly. "The Moon Key... Using divination to find someone? Is that even possible?"

"To be honest, I’m skeptical about divination myself..." Guan Tong paused. "But Psychic Power itself defies common sense. Since she has the ability and has accepted many divination requests before, there’s no harm in trying. If the operation tomorrow goes smoothly, I’ll approach her privately afterward and offer to pay her well for a reading."

"Alright."

After they finished speaking, they each went back to rest.

The next morning, the entire operation team assembled.

The Soloma elder produced four Teleportation Items and handed them to Guan Tong, Adam, the Sithia Team captain, and the member from Lu Rui Country.

"These are items for group teleportation once the coordinates are locked. Each can transport a maximum of five people, so we have to split up. One for the Soloma Team, one for the North Star Team, and two to be shared between the Sithia Team and the six members from the other nations. Even though we’re using different items, the destination is the same."

"The items can be used twice. They have two coordinates set: the target location and this office. They’re for you to teleport over and then teleport back once the mission is complete."

After Guan Tong received the item, Li Meng, worried something might go wrong, had him double-check the coordinates.

He checked them and confirmed they matched the coordinates decided on in yesterday’s strategy meeting: the location of the grand library—or rather, the entrance to the Fire Worship Cathedral.

"Teleportation will commence in one minute. Make your final preparations."

The elder finished speaking and gave Adam a meaningful glance. Adam, however, remained expressionless, his thoughts unreadable.

Li Meng said to Guan Tong and the others, "After you teleport, we’ll be in the operations room monitoring the perimeter via satellite. We’ll warn you immediately if large numbers of Cultists start converging on the cathedral. Everyone be careful. Especially you, Yang Ran. Remember, this isn’t a variety show—it’s a battlefield where people kill each other!"

Yang Ran nodded vigorously. "I know. But Section Chief Li, shouldn’t you be giving that warning to the little squirt, Chen Na?"

Bai Xuewu scoffed. "Na may be young, but she has a lot more battlefield experience than you."

"For real?!"

Yang Ran looked at Chen Na. She didn’t look proud; on the contrary, her young face was completely serious.

It was clear that despite her age, she understood just how brutal real combat was—that letting your guard down could get you killed.

Her solemn respect for the realities of combat made Yang Ran realize Bai Xuewu was right. He would no longer dismiss Chen Na as a naive girl just because of her age.

"Time’s up. Let’s begin."

At the elder’s announcement, Guan Tong and the others activated their Teleportation Items.

Teleportation Arrays materialized at the feet of each group’s members, completing their five-second activation sequence.

In an instant, all eighteen of them vanished without a trace, completing a teleportation that spanned thousands of miles.

...

Before the Liluo’an National Grand Library, stone steps covered in mottled patterns told the story of the nation’s long and storied history.

At the top of the steps stood the wide doors of the great library, a symbol of the nation’s culture and wisdom. An admonition from an ancient sage had once been carved above them: "Knowledge changes destiny."

But this saying, which had stood for hundreds of years, had been scratched out with a blade. In its place was a new declaration from the Fire Worship Cult: "God has come to show the path to glory."

The light flaring from the Teleportation Array illuminated this new declaration.

The figures of the team members gradually materialized.

But at the very same moment their teleportation completed, the doors beneath the declaration swung open.

Two figures wearing red sashes, marking them as Bishops, stepped out. Pouring out from behind them like a tidal wave was a dense, innumerable swarm of Priests and members of the Apostle Group.

A large, dark-brown formation, emanating a sinister aura, materialized beneath the team’s feet. It seemed to have been prepared long in advance.

The youthful-looking Bishop, Baike, clapped his hands and chuckled. "The intel was perfectly accurate. Right time, right place."

Everyone who had just teleported over was shocked, the same thought flashing through their minds: ’The intelligence was leaked! The Fire Worship Cult set an ambush!’

A second, more terrifying thought followed close behind: ’The traitor could be the entire Soloma Team! Only the North Star Team, the Sithia Team, and the Six Nations Team arrived. The Soloma Team is nowhere to be seen!’

This meant the Soloma Team’s teleportation destination was completely different from the others.

Then the other Bishop standing with Baike, a man named Heath whose left eye was covered by a black cloth, gave a deadpan order: "All members of the faith, on my command! Activate the great formation and eliminate these heretics!"