Why did you provoke me?

The happiest person about Jingyi and the others' return was Qingyuan.

According to Liu Wei, he brought back everything he saw that contained stones with special energy.

Yu Meng held the few things she had taken from the heart of the tree, a piece of hardwood that was somewhat whitish in color.

She sensed it carefully with the lines, "It's actually a special kind of medicinal stone," Yu Meng murmured.

The little black cat loved the tree core so much that she turned her whole body into a paper doll, tightly wrapping herself around it.

How could Niannian forget about something like this? It's just a pity that her lines have absolutely no interest in these things. Niannian doesn't understand why Yu Meng is letting her lines absorb this tree core. Her little gray creature doesn't react at all.

Yu Meng sighed. At this moment, she knew that a watershed moment had arrived between her and Niannian.

Yu Meng then asked Niannian to give the tree core to Qingyuan and the other two, just in case someone else could absorb it too.

As expected, no one could sense the energy within the lines.

Yu Meng stopped insisting and extracted the energy from it, turning it into exquisite medicinal stones.

She wasn't stingy; she gave one to each of the main people.

Looking at the delicate ring, Niannian carefully touched it with her hand. "Fourth Sister, it won't break, will it?"

"You can try squeezing it? It's a special medicinal stone; wearing it is good for your health."

Niannian actually pinched it, then felt relieved. "Fourth Sister, is this the insignia of a high-ranking member of the sect?"

Yu Meng glanced at her, "I didn't think that way. They found the item, so it's normal to give them some benefits."

Niannian leaned closer to Yu Meng, "Fourth Sister, Aunt Qing has made those little pills again. Can I still take them?"

"The finished product is ready? I'll go check it out tomorrow."

"Aunt Qing is so happy today. She stayed in the lab all day and didn't come out. Qian Chuan asked me to bring her some food."

"So what did you send?"

"I just asked the cafeteria to make some of Aunt Qing's favorite dishes. When I arrived, Aunt Qing was busy. I tried to get her to eat, but she wasn't happy about it. So I told her that you asked me to come."

"Does it work?" Yu Meng asked curiously.

Niannian nodded happily, "I didn't say another word and went to eat."

"How come I didn't know I was so powerful?"

"Hehe, I know, they all treat you like the sect leader. You're the pillar. Without you, they're nothing." He glanced at Yu Meng and added, "I'm nothing either."

Yu Meng had never thought that way, nor did she place herself in such an important position. Because she knew that the higher the position, the greater the responsibility.

He sighed inwardly, "Then, everyone should focus on improving their strength."

"What about Jing Er and the others?"

Yu Meng looked at Niannian and said, "You seem to have quite a few people on your mind."

"They're all comrades-in-arms, and besides, he's their senior brother. It wouldn't be good if we were to be outdone because of our negligence."

Yu Meng didn't say anything. She just focused on making things and didn't worry about the distribution.

Recently, with more and more great things appearing, Secretary Wu had a new idea. So he went to find Yu Meng.

"A reward and punishment system?"

"Yes, we now have several hundred people, and many more reservists."

Yu Meng looked at him blankly, "Several hundred people?"

"The specific number is 186 people from the sect, and 147 of them are registered followers. This doesn't even include Hua Shulang's team." Secretary Wu took out two rosters.

"When did I start taking in so many people?"

"When you were recruiting, you only met the team leaders; it's normal that you don't know their team members."

Secretary Wu paused for a moment, "We haven't even included the Jia family yet. I think we should include them in this reward and punishment system as well."

Yu Meng gestured for a stop. "So many people, is it really okay? I don't want to be targeted by some people I can't afford to offend."

Secretary Wu remained silent for a long time before saying, "Your mother-in-law is right. You should go and take a look at the records room."

"Can't you just say so? Do you still have those documents? Weren't they all stolen when the base was shut down?"

"Of course I have some, I've kept quite a few hidden away." Secretary Wu calmly tugged at his cuff.

"Then I won't watch it either," Yu Meng refused outright.

Helpless, Secretary Wu could only say, "When our association was registered, it was specifically for Xenomorphs, and the country is very lenient towards organizations or individuals researching Xenomorphs, so there aren't many of these people."

Secretary Wu lowered his head, not hearing Yu Meng's question, before raising his head again.

"I didn't mean to hide it from you. I thought you knew all this, after all, you spent seven days in the archives back then. You also went in a few more times afterward."

"If that's the case, then why was the base cancelled?"

"I don't know the specifics, but one thing is certain: those forces supporting the base are receiving too little in return. The balance between their investment and the benefits they're getting is off, so they want to overturn the table and start over."

Yu Meng frowned deeply. "Does our association also have powerful backers?"

Secretary Wu shook his head. "No, a few acquaintances have had this idea, but I rejected them. However, we have a partnership with them. We provide the technology, and they provide the rest. It's split 40/60, with us getting 40%."

"Then don't we also have the responsibility of the base to protect the peace of this area?"

Secretary Wu looked at Yu Meng and nodded cautiously. He hadn't told Yu Meng about this either.

"Does Xiao Wen know?" Yu Meng suddenly changed the subject.

"I know." Secretary Wu was sweating profusely. "But the registered representative is Xiao Wen, not you."

"So, I can back out at any time?" Yu Meng smiled.

"You can't leave?" Secretary Wu asked anxiously. He stammered, "You really can't leave. What will we do if you leave?"

Looking at Yu Meng's enigmatic smile, he said, "Teacher Yu, we've all signed contracts with you. If you leave, our hopes will truly be gone. Besides, those people in the sect are all here because of you. I'm a member of the sect now too, so if you leave, I'll follow you."

Secretary Wu abandoned all pretense of saving face and started resorting to dishonest tactics.

He hadn't expected that a simple discussion about rewards and punishments would escalate into such a sensitive topic. He couldn't hide it; Yu Meng's eyes seemed to see right through him, making him afraid to lie.

Having said all that needed to be said, Secretary Wu lowered his head, awaiting the final verdict.

"Uncle Wu, I don't think I've done anything here?" Yu Meng thought carefully.

"Who said that? Without you, could the sect have succeeded? Would those people have come? Could anyone guarantee their safety?"

Yu Meng blinked. "I have that much power just by sitting here."

"Bigger than you think? Take this time, for example. If it weren't for you, I would never have agreed to the fake forest project, even if you killed me."

"Oh, this? I didn't think that much about it. They've already really ruined things, so what's one more fake one? That way, they'll have an excuse for disappearing without a trace."

Hearing Yu Meng say this, Secretary Wu's heart finally settled down. His heart had been hanging in suspense the whole time. If people found out, their little club would be wiped out a hundred or eighty times over.