Otherworldly Affairs Office

Two days after the Shitang Longsi incident, Su Xiang knocked on Pei Yan's door. Once they were both seated, he pulled out a USB drive from his pocket and handed it over with a smile, "Here's the internal map of the base drawn according to your request."

Pei Yan took the USB drive and pocketed it, then asked, "Are we starting the official transportation of the source entity now?"

"Yes, although that old fox Mu deliberately kept it under wraps, all signs indicate that the initial dismantling and transportation equipment setup for the source are proceeding simultaneously. If things keep at this pace, the actual operations will start within the next couple of days."

Hearing Su Xiang's account, Pei Yan asked again, "Have you noticed any changes in the base personnel these two days? Have you counted how many people have arrived?"

"The staff sent by headquarters hasn't changed. Besides the three Origin Superpower Users you've seen, including Shitang Longsi, two more experts have gradually arrived, totaling ten people from the divine ambition side, including Mr. Mu and the previously arrived. Based on my observations these days, roughly five strong individuals from the alternate dimension have come. The total number won't exceed this by much. Adding in Du Guangyuan and others, these comprise the entire upper-level forces for the source transport." Su Xiang pondered for a moment before responding. In the end, he looked up at Pei Yan and asked, "Have you thought of how to get the message out? The base has been on lockdown for two days now, and all communication devices were confiscated. Even I can't send messages to the outside world."

"You don't need to worry about that. Come to my room for something this afternoon," Pei Yan said, letting his gaze drift towards a few gaming consoles in a corner of his room, smiling faintly.

In the afternoon, Su Xiang arrived as agreed at Pei Yan's room. Upon receiving the mechanical spider, only large enough to hold between two fingers, he queried skeptically, "This is your method? This thing can't travel far. Don't say I didn't warn you; the base's surroundings for several kilometers are under tight surveillance. Don't think this thing can send messages once outside the base."

"Don't overthink it. Just have your people release it into the base's periphery when unnoticed. The rest has nothing to do with you." Pei Yan briefly instructed and then said no more, standing up to see Su Xiang off, closing the door. There was much to prepare for the impending big battle.

Watching the door close, Su Xiang glanced at the mechanical spider in his hand, now wriggling incessantly, and smirked. He couldn't be the one to do this. His continuous contact with Pei Yan had already aroused Mu's suspicions, nor could he step a foot outside the base. The only one who could do it was his trusted ally, Shanhe, using the opportunity during his night watch to stealthily release the device.

With this thought, Su Xiang glanced at the dim lights in the corridor, inwardly praying that everything would progress according to his intentions.

That night, the temporary meeting room in the Investigation Office was packed. Mei Simiao, wheeled in by Yuan Shaoqing, entered the room, instantly silencing the previously contentious hall.

Mei Simiao glanced towards Cen Xiaoran, seated at the head of the table, and the middle-aged man in a major general's uniform beside him. Once they nodded their approval, he turned on the projector to unveil the intelligence for the upcoming mission.

As names appeared one after another on the screen, attendees in the room showed expressions of confusion, shock, or concern. As Mei Simiao continued to explain, everyone gradually understood the real purpose of their gathering.

Upon finishing his presentation, Mei Simiao looked at the attendees and asked, "Does anyone have questions?"

"I do! According to you, Pei Yan's defection was just a show by the Investigation Office? What about his sacrificed teammates? Has our internal situation become so feeble that we play with comrades' lives?" Dong Shigang, kept in the dark all along, was the first to question.

After Pei Yan's apparent defection, news spread quickly through the Investigation Office and Special Forces. To make the performance convincing, upper management even dispatched more than ten elite pursuit teams. At that time, Dong Shigang also received a tracking notice, with the details clearly stated. Now, suddenly, everything had flipped, understandably leaving him bewildered.

In response to Dong Shigang's query, the room filled with murmurs and requests for clarification. The incident was known to all, affecting morale. Without a proper explanation, it would disrupt base-level management, especially considering a traitor is the least forgivable among soldiers.

"Ahem, please quiet down and let Director Mei finish." The major general seated beside Cen Xiaoran softly chided after a brief cough.

With his intervention, the room quieted once more. Smiling, Mei Simiao explained, "I understand your concerns, but the following scene will surely dispel your doubts." With that, he clapped his hands, and a side door of the meeting room opened. A squad, fully equipped in combat gear with masked faces, marched in.

Seeing the squad, the unaware attendees exchanged puzzled looks until the individuals sequentially removed their masks, revealing people previously reported dead now alive before them, eliciting gasps as they realized what truly transpired.

"The Investigation Office has indeed put on quite a show, keeping us in the dark!" Dong Shigang remarked while running a hand through his hair, then chuckled as he sat back down upon grasping the truth.

"Due to the task's special confidentiality, this was unavoidable. I hope you all will understand. After today's meeting, we'll be heading to the site, and during this period, you'll have no external communication." Mei Simiao tapped the table, warning them.

The crowd nodded in agreement, and Gu Shenghui then asked, "The recent intel came from Pei Yan; he won't be in trouble, will he?"

"The information was passed by our most esteemed special investigator. The divine ambition side could rack their brains and still not suspect it. At that, thinking of the seemingly clumsy yet cunning giant panda, Mei Simiao couldn't help but laugh.

The very panda was indeed an outlier among the superpowered, being summoned by the internal source of the Spirit Monster World at a panda breeding base. If there were a ranking for the happiest awakened superpowered beings, it would surely be in the top three. Naturally a national treasure, it was already receiving excellent care. After awakening, the Investigation Office couldn't handle it either. Send it out to kill the enemy with cuteness?

After initial surveillance and monitoring devices were set, they took a laissez-faire approach, yet its blissful life was not over. Due to low panda fertility, many male giant pandas have no breeding desire. This awakened panda, however, had strong instincts, much to the delight of the panda conservationists. Once proving that its offspring were normal panda cubs, they gleefully began wild training, striving to let it enhance the panda population in the wild.