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The morning mountain forest was slippery and difficult to navigate. Rain-soaked leaves resulted in an unusually large number of insects in the woods.

Especially the insects hiding under the leaves, which all scurried out.

There were swarms of ants everywhere, dragonflies flitting about, and snakes crawling chaotically in all directions.

Fortunately, for now, they had not encountered any large animals, like tigers, lions, or wolves.

As noon approached, the sun came out.

Everyone was gradually getting closer to their destination.

...

Imperial Capital!

After Quan Shaoqing finished his work, he felt restless and suddenly thought of Gu Xiaoxi.

He really wanted to call her, just to hear her voice.

But he knew she was on a mission.

In the end, with a heart full of complexity and longing, he made a call to Jing Rui instead.

"Shaoqing, what’s up?" Jing Rui was tapping on her computer in her bright office. She had just received a new case and was busy with it.

"How is Xiao Xi? How is she doing over there?" Quan Shaoqing asked sternly.

Jing Rui laughed and said, "Don’t worry! This time on the mission, Kate and Feng Shuo are with her. The headquarters has also equipped them with weapons. They’ll be fine."

"Really?" Qing Shaoqing always felt a sense of emptiness inside him.

Perhaps it was because Gu Xiaoxi wasn’t by his side, and he missed her somewhat.

With this in mind, he chatted with Jing Rui for a couple more sentences before hanging up the phone.

Jing Rui was organizing a meeting. She walked through the bright corridors of the International Alliance, preparing to inquire about the new recruits’ assessment in the relevant department.

She had just entered the office of the assessment director when she heard the secretary say: "Director, Kate brought back a group of people the night before last. Should we send them back to their own countries directly?"

"Of course, we don’t need useless people here." The director said without looking up from his documents.

"Okay! I’ll get on it now!" the secretary was about to leave.

Jing Rui casually picked up the secretary’s folder to check the list of those eliminated from the assessment. Thankfully, there were no people from Liuli Country.

Seeing her act so familiar, the director chuckled, "Jing Rui, you’re quite bold coming through the back door like this."

Jing Rui handed the folder back to the secretary and looked at the director with a smile, saying, "Not at all! I’m just interested in the assessment results. I believe those kids are strong; they can definitely complete the mission and pass the assessment."

"So you have such confidence in them?" The director laughed lightly. "In my memory, everyone sent to the International Alliance for assessment is very confident, but very few can stay."

"The new waves push the old waves. I believe they will be stronger than us!" Jing Rui smiled.

The director shook his head, "You always say some things I don’t understand!"

As they were talking, suddenly a man rushed over and excitedly grabbed the director’s shoulder, saying, "It’s bad, Director. There’s been an incident."

The man was so agitated that he choked up while speaking, and it took a while for him to get the words out.

"What happened? Calm down and speak!" The director made him sit on a nearby sofa and handed him a glass of water.

After taking a sip, the man said uneasily, "Just now, the Research Department sent over a document saying the area for this assessment is in the 5S danger zone. All assessment personnel must evacuate immediately!"

"What?" Not only did the director jump, but even Jing Rui was deeply shocked.

"The cell research on that Giant Rat has come out. They are likely the descendants of a bio-engineered white mouse that escaped from Dolun Laboratory ten years ago. Moreover, as time goes by, the mutation is getting stronger. So they are not ordinary Giant Rats."

The director and Jing Rui were petrified on the spot.

The mouse that escaped from Dolun Laboratory?

Oh my God!

Jing Rui panicked as she looked for her phone—she had to notify Kate right now and order the team to retreat.

She had heard that Kate was preparing to head into the mountains. She hoped they hadn’t reached the dangerous zone yet.

A 5S level threat was a major issue that even the International Alliance couldn’t handle at present.

Wasn’t sending a few newcomers who were preparing for their assessments akin to sending them to their deaths?

Kate’s phone was out of the service area, and Gu Xiaoxi’s phone, undoubtedly, couldn’t be brought along on missions.

In order to prevent a tragedy from happening as soon as possible, Jing Rui called the mayor of Yatang City.

But fate would have it that just ten minutes before Jing Rui’s call, the communications department of Yatang City had lost contact with Kate.

Suddenly, chaos erupted within the International Alliance.

What was originally a typical mission site had suddenly become a 5S level danger zone.

The International Alliance commanded the mayor of Yatang City to dispatch planes and bring everyone back.

At the same time, the International Alliance issued a high-risk alert to Lan State Country.

They hoped that the country could evacuate all of Yatang City’s relocatable citizens in the shortest time possible.

The disaster for Yatang City was about to begin.

With this news, Yatang City immediately plunged into panic.

Emergency evacuation became everyone’s goal.

Those who could leave gathered their belongings, sorted out their properties, and prepared to depart.

Those who couldn’t leave cried and created a commotion; the city quickly descended into chaos.

As for Gu Xiaoxi and her group.

They had already reached their destination, but unfortunately, all communication devices had lost contact with the outside world.

After a night of harsh wind and rain, the sun came out at noon, and everyone’s spirits finally recovered.

By this time, they had made it deep into the mountains.

In front of them stood towering mountains reaching into the clouds.

Giant ancient trees obscured the sky and sun, and, wiping the sweat from their brows, everyone took a deep breath.

"We’ve finally made it!" Kate called the team to gather and then began to speak, "We have now entered the danger zone. Therefore, everyone must be on high alert. If we encounter a threat we cannot handle, we must retreat. We need to bring the news from here back with us."

"Yes! We promise to complete the mission!" All the assessment participants shouted with naive bravado, clearly unaware that danger was gathering above their heads.

Gu Xiaoxi took a deep breath, feeling something was off about the air.

Logically, the primitive forest should be filled with the fragrance of plants and the smell of decomposing leaves.

Instead, she smelled a rotten scent and an odd musk in the air.

Just like the previous night’s Kate, she felt an irritable unrest within her.

It was as if the mountains right before them were a great demon, instilling fear in her!

"Everyone, use this place as a center. Set up tents, and then each time send out two squads to scout the surrounding area," Kate ordered once finished.

They began to establish camp.

Treating the clearing they were in as a base, they would then explore the secrets of these mountains.

"Xiao Xi! I have a bad feeling about this place!" Yun Xiao’s senses were sharp as usual.

"I feel the same way!" Gu Xiaoxi organized her gear and raised her head to look at the towering mountains before them. The silence was eerie.

Even the sun overhead lacked its warmth at the moment.

"On the way here, there were insects, but around us now, there’s not even a spider web."