Otherworldly Affairs Office

Huang Jun stubbed out his cigarette and took a closer look, then chuckled. It was that clumsy giant panda again. Who knows if the bamboo near the base was particularly delicious, this silly creature had appeared around the base several times. One of Huang Jun's daily amusements was throwing stones at the panda's backside. Every time he saw it turn and run off with a look of grievance, Huang Jun burst into laughter.

But today, Huang Jun wasn't in the mood to tease the creature. He cupped his hands and shouted loudly, "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Get lost! This isn't a place where you should be!"

Usually, at such a shout, the giant panda would flee like a startled bird. But today, for some reason, the panda seemed not to hear and, instead of running away, it stepped out of the bamboo forest and strolled lazily towards the base's perimeter.

Huang Jun exchanged a glance with Ma Jibo, who then spoke up, "Throw a stone, but don't hit it too hard. Just scare it away. We don't want it injured when the big shots come out."

Huang Jun nodded, picked up a stone from the ground, aimed at the panda's backside, and threw it with his internal strength. Thud! The stone hit the panda's plump bottom solidly. But instead of running off, the panda seemed stimulated and whimpered, quickening its pace towards the base.

"Hahahahaha." Witnessing this, Ma Jibo nearly laughed himself into a stupor, pointing at Huang Jun and saying, "Look at you, always teasing it. Seems like it's come to settle the score with you today."

"Damn it, I went easy on it, and it thinks it's a national treasure now? As if I'm afraid to whip it." Feeling humiliated, Huang Jun vaulted over the sentry post and shouted at the oncoming panda, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry.

Ma Jibo leaned against the guard post and mockingly said, "Hey, be careful. It may be a national treasure, but remember, it's still a beast!"

Hearing his companion's mocking, Huang Jun waved dismissively. As a superhuman, what beast would he fear? If a Northeast Tiger came, he was confident he could handle it. With this fearless approach, he didn't even bother using his internal source for protection and faced the panda head-on.

Only then did he feel something strange. The panda didn't seem afraid of people; when he rushed up, it stopped in its tracks, stood still, and stared at him with its round, innocent eyes.

Now Huang Jun was at a loss. After a long stare-down between man and panda, he finally lost his patience, kicked the panda's backside, and cursed angrily, "Get lost! This isn't a place for you. Go as far away as you can."

"Hahahahaha" Ma Jibo's raucous laughter erupted again from behind. Huang Jun rolled his eyes, turned around, and flipped a middle finger at his companion. But at that moment, he heard a thin voice cursing beside his ear, "Why are you so unlucky, calling me with a dog's hook?"

Startled by the voice, Huang Jun froze. When he turned his stiff neck and looked back, he saw the clumsy panda standing upright before him, raising a paw high. Unbelievably, he stuttered, "You, you, you, you spoke?"

He roughly understood what was happening but had no time to protect himself with his internal source. The panda's paw swung down with the force of a mountain.

With a thunderous boom, the outskirts of the base fell into silence. Laughter was cut off abruptly. Ma Jibo stood with his mouth agape, watching the panda suddenly attack, turning from a national treasure to a fierce beast. A swipe landed on his companion's head, twisting Huang Jun's head around three times on his neck before it hung limply. Then, a kick sent him flying into a bamboo grove, collapsing it.

The panda casually picked up a blood-stained bamboo stick that had flown to its feet, placed it in its mouth, and chewed voraciously. He exclaimed in shock, "Kung Fu Panda!"

As he regained his senses, he reached for his gun and prepared to pull the alarm. If this was an ordinary panda, he'd let someone kick his head off like a ball. Even if Huang Jun was caught off guard, as a superhuman, his body had been strengthened. How could a panda's paw nearly knock his head off?

It's the Investigation Department! It must be the Investigation Department! The base had long been under surveillance! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!

After such a long time of peace, Ma Jibo found himself flustered. Though drenched in sweat, he couldn't open the safety box on the alarm button. Damn it, had it rusted shut from disuse for too long?

As he silently cursed, he felt a chill in his throat and a damp sensation on his chest. Looking down, he saw his throat had been slashed open, blood gushing out and staining his front.

Ma Jibo pressed one hand over the bleeding wound and reached for the gun's trigger with the other, intending to fire and alert others. But a soft, boneless hand gently restrained his motion, holding his right hand down.

Smelling a faint feminine fragrance behind him and feeling some warmth from the cold hand, Ma Jibo sneered inwardly, dying at a woman's hand. Better than dying at a beast's hand, he thought. But still, he felt so unwilling to die like this.

Zhao Yuanhu materialized in the air, gently laying Ma Jibo's body on the ground. He pressed the earpiece of his radio and said softly, "Guard resolved!"

At that moment, a deafening explosion sounded in the distance. Zhao Yuanhu stood abruptly and looked back, murmuring, "Has the raid been discovered?"

Within the base, the transport team was approaching the gate. The escorting personnel had also heard the explosion, and everyone stopped working, growing highly alert.

Mr. Mu's face was livid as he listened to the breathless report from his subordinate. He then turned and swept his cold gaze over the team, finally settling on Pei Yan, his face twitching as he hissed, "Mr. Pei, this isn't your doing, is it?"

Faced with the accusation, Pei Yan was first taken aback, then his face filled with an expression of humiliation and anger as he retorted sharply, "If you don't trust me, why invite me here at all? I've followed your instructions every step of the way, and now you're blaming me for the problem! Your organization sure knows how to pass the buck!"

"I hope so. It better not be you. Otherwise, I swear I'll find a million ways to make you regret this foolish decision."

Ignoring Mr. Mu's threat, Pei Yan turned his head disdainfully to look around, cursing, "Save your breath for leaving this damn place instead of threatening me."

"We'll take the secret passage to the riverside and escape by water," Mr. Mu commanded loudly, casting a suspicious glance away from Pei Yan.