Why did you provoke me?

Yu Meng saw Secretary Wu standing at the door and asked softly, "Is there something you need?"

Upon hearing Yu Meng speak, Secretary Wu hurriedly took a few steps forward, stood before her, and looked her up and down. "Were you cultivating just now? It seemed quite miraculous."

"Hmm, I've had some insights." Yu Meng stepped forward. "Let's talk in my office."

"Okay." Secretary Wu followed behind Yu Meng.

Back in the office, Yu Meng asked Secretary Wu to sit down. "Uncle Wu, what's wrong?"

Secretary Wu didn't speak, but opened the folder in her hand, pulled out a page and handed it to Yu Meng. "Nothing major has happened these past few days. I looked through the documents you brought back and found this."

"List of Bone Painters at the Base," Yu Meng read softly.

Yu Meng flipped through a few pages and found the page about the Jingchuan base. The first name was Hua San Niang, along with her birth date, the day she became a bone-drawing master, and her parents' social connections.

Next was Qingyuan, Teacher Sun, Xu Jie, and another name she didn't recognize, Ren Xiaofeng. Even her own name was found in the very last line of text.

Yu Meng then flipped to Nangong Tianshou's Tianshou base. There were even more names than Jingchuan's.

The nine sheets of paper were filled with the names of all the bone-drawing artists at the base.

Secretary Wu remained silent until Meng finished reading the papers in his hand and placed them on the table. Only then did he speak, "I flipped through these documents and searched through the entire stack of files, but I couldn't find anything."

Yu Meng looked up at Secretary Wu and said, "Uncle Wu, you know that I brought these documents back from Fucheng, but as for the specific location, it's a small village in the mountains, a place of unimaginable luxury."

Secretary Wu shook his head. "I know, of all the stuff you brought back, none of it is ordinary. But that's not the point. The point is, how did the confidential information we need end up thousands of miles away, and with all the bone-drawing masters from eight bases?"

Secretary Wu's throat tightened. "I always have a bad feeling that everything we've done over the years has been under someone's surveillance, and that our so-called research results have been used somewhere without our knowledge."

Secretary Wu's face was ashen, and his lips were pale. "Are we being sold out and still helping them count the money?"

Yu Meng didn't know what to say. Logically, it was just a list, it didn't prove anything. But Secretary Wu clearly didn't see it that way. Their generation had dedicated their youth and passion to the base, only to be told that it was all serving a certain power, and their sacrifices weren't as noble as they had imagined. The contrast was stark…

Yu Meng dared not think any further. If those warriors who willingly parasitized the aliens found out, who knew what kind of storm it would cause?

"Teacher Yu, let's leave this matter here. Don't let Teacher Qing and Teacher Sun know." Secretary Wu's voice was stuck in her throat, and if Yu Meng hadn't been so good at hearing, she probably wouldn't have been able to hear it.

"Okay, I won't tell them," Yu Meng agreed.

After a while, Yu Meng spoke again. "Uncle Wu, if you have any ideas, I'm willing to make a fuss."

Secretary Wu looked up blankly. "Making a scene? What scene?"

Yu Meng chuckled, "Just like we did in Fucheng."

Secretary Wu's eyes gradually focused. "Will that work? I don't want anything to happen to you."

Yu Meng leaned forward and lowered her voice, "The place Jing San and Liu Wei went to might be the second Fucheng."

Secretary Wu's mouth was slightly open. He thought this was Yu Meng's private matter, and since Yu Meng's affairs were of utmost importance, he cooperated actively and without complaint.

But now it seems this wasn't just Yu Meng's private matter; it was a major issue for all eight bases. No wonder the bases were dismantled so easily, and the reasons given were so perfunctory.

Secretary Wu's eyes gradually brightened. "Teacher Yu, this is a big deal. This is a major event for all eight bases. We can't be so selfish as to suppress this news."

Yu Meng was stunned for a moment, and then the all-powerful Secretary Wu came online.

Secretary Wu stood up. "I still need to look at the documents. I'll leave the outside matters to Jingyi for now. If he can't make a decision, then let him come to me."

Yu Meng handed the list to Secretary Wu, saying, "If you need to contact other people, I suggest that our operation be separated from others, or that we send some other people to participate."

Secretary Wu looked puzzled. Yu Meng coughed and said, "They're very fat, so it's hard to divide them among so many people."

Secretary Wu suddenly realized, "Yes, that makes sense. How could I forget something so important? I'll go look through the documents first, and then I'll contact the others once I have the results. It's been so many years, a little longer won't make a difference. I was too hasty; I need to change that habit." Secretary Wu muttered as he left.

Yu Meng sat in her chair, lost in thought. With this list, should she change her plans?

The world was in a low-tech development stage; bicycles were a luxury for ordinary people. The development of automobiles was limited to rudimentary four-wheeled vehicles with a canopy, used for carrying goods or passengers. Cars and airplanes were the refined possessions of the wealthy and powerful.

The people of this era are pure; they are loyal and strive for progress. But the alien invasion has also given those ambitious individuals another option: they want to live forever. For this purpose, they are willing to disregard human life and allow places like Fucheng to exist.

To be honest, she wasn't angry when she first learned about these things, because she knew that there were always privileged classes in any era, and as long as they didn't provoke her, she could remain blind.

But these people were so inconsiderate, insisting on getting close to her. And they were the kind of people who wanted to kill her, how could she tolerate that? So Fucheng suffered the consequences.

The Gu worms within those lines gave her a terrifying idea. During the two years she studied in her previous life, she knew about Gu worms.

She couldn't define whether these creatures were good or bad, but she knew they were magical. This form of offspring nourishing the mother Gu was simply the simplest. She just didn't know whether the mother Gu maintained its appearance or its bodily functions.

During this period of seclusion, she noticed that Xiao Hong, the second director of the research institute, had Gu worms in her facial lines. Her first reaction was not anger, but whether Xiao Hong knew about this, and whether it was intentional or a coincidence.

Seeing this list now, Yu Meng knew she was being targeted. Xiao Hong's situation was no coincidence either.

Fucheng, perhaps those people didn't realize it yet, but there must have been someone watching her. During this trip to Fengxian, Yu Meng couldn't help but shudder.

Nian Nian is in danger. A thought exploded in Meng's mind.

With trembling hands, she turned on her intercom and sent a message to Niannian: "No matter what happens, stay still."

Niannian replied quickly, "Fourth Sister, we've already fought a battle. Someone ambushed us on the way, and Liu Wei is injured."

"Where are we now? Is there any possibility of turning back?"

"Why go back? We won."

"That was a trap," Yu Meng gritted her teeth and spat out the five words.