Chapter 397: Collaboration and Assistance in Testing |
Guan Tong finished meeting with his squad members and walked out of the park.
He had no issues with the team composition. Aside from one member, Yang Ran, and another currently unknown member, he knew all the others.
As for the currently known team members, their overall combat strength was quite solid.
Bai Xuewu, as a key cultivation target of the Countermeasures Research Office, had previously always been the sole member of her own direct team. Later, she was sent to the front lines in Black Flag Country to participate in the Joint Force's fight against parasitized forms, which also allowed her to accumulate considerable combat experience.
Chen Na's sensing ability was second to none, and it was crucial for this assassination mission. One could say she was the best candidate to find the mastermind behind the Fire Thief Worship Cult.
Silver Fox was a composite talent who came from the special forces within the military. She knew a little bit of everything. Moreover, she had rich experience in combat and infiltration, and her psychological resilience was strong, making her an irreplaceable teammate.
Even that seemingly unreliable Yang Ran, whose personality might be a bit childish, was not lacking in strength.
During his idle moments, Guan Tong had hastily skimmed through a few episodes of the "Battle of the Ascendants" program. Based on Yang Ran's performance in it, the "Fire God" title wasn't too exaggerated. One classic scene from the show was him manipulating raging flames to burn down an entire building. This was not something an ordinary Ascendant with fire control ability could achieve.
Guan Tong was fairly satisfied with this team configuration, which made him even more curious about the mysterious member Li Meng had described as "unable to go out easily."
"Guan Tong, can you hear me?"
Shi Jingyi's voice suddenly and without warning echoed in his mind.
Guan Tong knew she was speaking to him through the Mind Network.
"I can hear you," he replied in the same manner. "What's wrong?"
"There's something strange. A student who left the academy after the [Extraterrestrial Parasitism] rule sent me a text message. You should remember, that student is Lu Cheng."
Lu Cheng...
Guan Tong had an impression of this name.
When he was a substitute teacher himself, he knew this was a top student.
Shi Jingyi had even told him before that she had noticed a student showing signs of spore addiction but failed to intervene promptly and decisively. Later, that student left the academy after the rule period ended. She had been brooding over it, feeling she was at fault. That student was Lu Cheng.
"What's the content of the message?" Guan Tong asked.
Since Shi Jingyi contacted him, it meant this matter was peculiar, so he didn't bother with privacy and asked directly.
Shi Jingyi said, "He says he wants to seek help for his spore addiction problem and wants to meet me."
"Why meet with you?" Guan Tong was puzzled. "Shouldn't he seek out relevant withdrawal institutions?"
"Maybe he's afraid of being caught? It's possible he trusts me, his former teacher, more than an institution."
"... I don't think it's that simple. You must also think there's something fishy, otherwise you wouldn't have contacted me, right?"
"Mm," Shi Jingyi admitted. "I don't want to suspect my student's motives, but my intuition tells me this matter is indeed problematic."
Guan Tong thought for a moment. "Alright, agree to meet him. But I'm going with you to figure out if this kid is genuinely seeking help or has some scheme. If he has already transformed into a parasitized form, the purpose of this meeting is likely to harm you."
Guan Tong knew that with Shi Jingyi's strength, even ten Lu Chengs combined wouldn't be her match.
But if there truly was a scheme, being calculated against while unprepared still carried risks.
After Suzuki's bizarre suicide incident, he didn't want to see anyone else he was familiar with inexplicably get into trouble.
"Okay, but don't show up with me. If Lu Cheng is genuinely seeking my help, your appearance might make him distrust me, or even give up on seeking help."
Shi Jingyi wasn't arrogant just because she was aware of her superior strength. Her original intention in contacting Guan Tong through the Mind Network was also to have him act with her to investigate this matter.
But she was also thoughtful, knowing that if Lu Cheng was sincerely seeking help, her bringing Guan Tong along would definitely displease Lu Cheng.
"No problem. If you're not in danger, I won't reveal myself," Guan Tong said. "Contact me once you've confirmed the meeting time and place."
"Alright."
The mental connection fell silent. Guan Tong glanced at his terminal panel.
This not-too-long conversation with Shi Jingyi had consumed nearly one hundred points of Mind Power, one-tenth of his Upper Limit.
It was a significant consumption, but absolutely worth it.
This kind of remote telepathic communication, unrestricted by devices, immune to eavesdropping, able to be started and ended at any time, once popularized, would undoubtedly raise the overall communication efficiency of human society by a level.
Of course, considering its overly stringent requirements and consumption, who knows how long it would take to reach that day.
"... At the very least, let the people I'm familiar with be able to use it first."
People like Chen Na, Uenoshi, Yelanka, Xu Xiaotian, and so on. If all these people he knew could activate it and establish connections, then no matter who encountered an urgent threat, they could promptly notify others and receive help.
Especially help from Guan Tong over ultra-long distances.
As long as anyone held a Mind Power item related to him, or he left a wisp of Shadow on them, he could instantly use Body Swap to appear by their side.
However, even though his friends were almost all outstanding among Ascendants, breaking through the one thousand Mind Power threshold wouldn't be as fast for them as it was for him and Shi Jingyi.
"Maybe later, after I fully master 'Condensation and Sublimation,' I can also help them refine their Mind Power like Shi Jingyi helped me, accelerating their Upper Limit growth speed..."
Buzz.
Just as Guan Tong was thinking, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
He took it out and saw it was Zhang Minglu calling.
"Dr. Zhang?"
"Guan Tong, have you already met with your team members?"
"I have. Is something the matter?"
"It's like this. Our Head Gao wants to commission you to do something," Zhang Minglu stated directly. "After I submitted your report on identifying parasitized forms overnight yesterday, Head Gao told me he hopes to ask you to conduct an identification check on every single person within the Research Office base."
"... It seems Head Gao wants to ensure there isn't a single latent parasitized form within the base."
The report was just submitted, the identification method just established, and Gao Liangwei immediately made this request. It showed how highly meticulous this person was.
"Yes," Zhang Minglu said. "The Countermeasures Research Office is a crucial department for Beixing. Security and confidentiality have always been the matters the person in charge values most."
"I remember spore addicts show several different stages of symptoms, right? Can't the Research Office base screen them out through these signs?"
"Of course we can. I previously had people check the cafeteria surveillance to see if any base members exhibited irregular eating patterns during the rule period, as overeating is one of the addiction manifestations. But you should understand, the vast majority of people who can work here are intelligent. An intelligent person, if determined, can completely avoid these observations."
"For example, by using Ascension Coins to buy food items from the terminal market, avoiding detection of abnormal eating habits by cafeteria surveillance footage?"
"Exactly. Any conventional detection is unreliable. Even using lie detection items can fail. Your Mind Network detection currently seems the most rigorous. If there are latent parasitized forms, you will definitely find them."
"..."
Guan Tong thought this was one of the "disadvantages" of exposure.
Today, the Countermeasures Research Office asks him to check everyone in the base. Tomorrow, will other official departments also seek him out? With so many official departments nationwide, checking each one would be no small workload.
He certainly knew this was good for the country and the people, and he wasn't opposed to doing such laborious work. It was just that thinking about it gave him a slight headache.
"I think you might be worried that every official department will ask you to conduct checks," Zhang Minglu seemed to guess Guan Tong's thoughts. "But that's not the case. Even if there are other departments besides the Countermeasures Research Office that need your help, it will definitely only be those extremely few, most important departments where no mistakes can be tolerated. Please believe we won't waste a top Ascendant's precious time without reason. Moreover, the person in charge clearly told me that reasonable compensation will be provided for your assistance."
Guan Tong said, "I'm willing to help. Ensuring there are no parasitized forms lurking within important departments like the Countermeasures Research Office is good for the nation."
"Heh, I knew you'd agree," Zhang Minglu laughed. "So, do you have time tomorrow? This might take a whole day. We'll prepare ample Mind Power recovery items for you."
"A whole day? How many people are in the base?"
"If we're only checking permanent base personnel, there are a few thousand."
"Then it won't take a whole day. I can test multiple people simultaneously."
Guan Tong wanted to try using multiple shadow lines for simultaneous multi-person testing. This was a good opportunity.
Zhang Minglu paused for a moment. "It can be done that way too? Alright, I understand."