Why did you provoke me?

Hua Shulang is gone, but he left behind the legend of Lucky Beads.

The boss closed the door and found the people who had bought the lucky beads. The group gathered together and shared their experiences. Surprisingly, their families were all fine, with only mild symptoms, and were now all better.

"Can anyone contact Lao Yan?" someone asked.

The group exchanged glances and shook their heads. The communication bell had failed, and all contact was lost.

"I remember his caravan used to come here every year. Now that things are like this, I wonder if they'll still come?"

"We'll visit some other people in the next few days to see what's going on. If that's really the reason, we can organize a team to go find him. It's not about making money; it's about human lives. Our ancestors have been rooted here for generations, and we can't just watch this place be destroyed."

"Old Qian is right, that's what I mean too. If there's no one left, what's the point of doing business?"

After discussing it for a while, the group went back. Even though what they were doing might not make much of a difference, they figured they should at least try, right?

Hua Shulang sat in the car, touching the beaded string on his hand. He remembered that Yu Meng's possessions all had this kind of bead.

The reason they have these is that he learned of the benefits of these beads and had his own bone-painting artist make them.

He felt a shiver run down his spine. Did Yu Meng already know what was going to happen and that's why she made preparations in advance?

Most importantly, the person selling the lucky beads was Secretary Wu. Without Yu Meng's support, how could so many alien beads have circulated into the hands of ordinary people who didn't even know the aliens existed?

He regretted it. He shouldn't have refused when Secretary Wu offered to find him a mask-removing expert. He still remembered Secretary Wu's expression; it was as if he were looking at a fool. Only after refusing three times did he sigh helplessly and say, "Fine, good luck to you."

I can't think about it anymore. I should try my best to do this task well. Maybe if there are any benefits in the future, the chief secretary will still think of me.

Jingchuan Hall.

Jingyi finally couldn't sit still any longer. Everyone else had a task, so why didn't he?

I went to find Secretary Wu, but he said he didn't know and that Teacher Yu had made arrangements. But it's been three days, and no one has contacted him yet!

But he didn't dare to go to Yu Meng. He didn't know why. They could get along well with Niannian, Huang Yan and the others, but when they encountered Yu Meng, they immediately chickened out. No one dared to be a troublemaker.

Jingyi was pacing around in the courtyard, while Secretary Wu was organizing news from various places.

A set of photos appeared before him, depicting a scenic spot: high walls, an imposing gate, and bodyguards standing in front of it—well, they must be bodyguards. He hadn't seen the style of their uniforms before.

Even the buildings in the courtyard were photographed in great detail: the artificial hill, the flower hall, the flowing water, the small Western-style building, and the vehicles coming and going.

Secretary Wu sensed something was amiss and, without hesitation, went straight to Yu Meng's office.

Yu Meng flipped through the photos. "They're really clear. I only changed a small part, but I didn't expect the effect to be so good."

Secretary Wu muttered to himself, "If you want to test the effect, is it really necessary to film one place in such detail?"

"What do you think of this place?" Yu Meng asked Secretary Wu.

"It's comparable to the Royal Gardens." Secretary Wu genuinely felt that way.

"This is the place that liar mentioned," Yu Meng said calmly.

"Huh?" Secretary Wu picked up the photo again and examined it closely. "You have some ideas?"

"Such a nice place, don't you have any ideas?"

"Hehe, I don't even want to think about it."

"Didn't you say that Jingyi couldn't sit still these past few days? We'll leave this manor to him."

"No, Teacher Yu, this manor definitely has an owner. Wouldn't it be wrong for us to blatantly rob it?"

Yu Meng looked up at Secretary Wu and said, "I really don't have your imagination."

Secretary Wu crossed his four fingers and circled his two thumbs, saying, "When you get old, you sometimes have wild ideas."

Yu Meng didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point, "Based on my deduction, there should be a laboratory underground here. The reason I sent Jingyi is to bring back those experimental equipment."

"Experimental equipment? Bring it back?" Secretary Wu's Adam's apple bobbed. "It's even crazier than I thought. I only wanted the surface-level stuff, but you're really taking what's precious to them."

Yu Meng seemed not to hear Secretary Wu's grumbling, "If we bring the stuff back, do you have a place to put it?"

"Yes! Absolutely. Even if there were twice as many, I could still fit them in," Secretary Wu replied quickly, as if the things would run away if he spoke too slowly.

Then, ignoring Yu Meng, he went straight out and said, "I'll go see where it'll be placed. I'll call Jingyi over, and you can discuss this with her personally."

Jingyi was pleased to hear Yu Meng's story. He thought to himself, "You've really gone too far with all this bullying. How can Teacher Yu be so tolerant?"

"Go over there and make the arrangements, then send a message to Xiao Wen and Du Wenhe, asking them to meet you. Got it?"

"Teacher Yu, don't worry, I'm a professional at this." Jingyi stopped and saluted.

Yu Meng looked at him strangely, "Are you a professional?"

"Hehe," Jingyi lowered her head and smiled without saying a word.

Yu Meng didn't press further, and simply told him to go ahead and get busy.

Jingyi ran out. He was really afraid that Yu Meng would ask him what happened. Those were things he did with Ge the Cripple from the same village before he came to the base. Although they were not honorable, they were enough to make a living.

Li Shuchen looked at the person in front of him. "You mean, the mission failed, and you even alerted the enemy?"

"That should be it." The man's back was bent at a right angle. "The people we sent out have lost all contact."

"Then how are you sure you've alerted the enemy?"

For three days in a row, people were asking for directions to the poplar forest at the fork in the road in Jiusheng.

"He's not completely useless yet. It's very important for me to find someone to capture him again."

"Yes." The person walked a long way before daring to straighten up and wipe the sweat from their face.

Li Shuchen squinted. He knew this wouldn't be easy. The fake fairy had already woken up. He went to ask about what happened, but he couldn't get any information. She just said that everything went black and she didn't know anything anymore.

This is a great method. If he learns it, he can do whatever he wants. When he encounters the person who can completely subdue him, he can bring the unconscious person here.

His desire to acquire this skill was so strong that he overlooked some issues.

Jingyi led her people to the outskirts of the manor.

Only one place in the manor was lit at night. Jingyi didn't rush in, but walked around outside the wall, sometimes taking out the photos to compare them.

After four long days and nights of searching, Jingyi finally located the pond. "We'll take action tomorrow."

"Senior Brother, tomorrow is the day to deliver the vegetables, and I've already sent someone infiltrated."

"Hehe, no need for that much trouble. With Qing Si, anything can be taken care of."

Jingyi glared at the person who spoke, "We need to work on both fronts, the medicine and the green silk together. No one is allowed to be careless, or don't blame me for being unreasonable."

Having been together for so long, they all knew Jingyi's methods. Don't be fooled by his quiet and gentle demeanor; that's just his facade. If anyone provokes him, he can instantly turn into a mad dog, the kind that won't let go until he's taken a piece of flesh.