Under One Person: The End of Technique, Company Building

On the expressway connecting Beijing to North China, a minibus is driving smoothly in the far right lane.

The car was a typical official vehicle, with an understated exterior but a spotless interior.

The seat covers were all navy blue, there wasn't a single piece of trash in the aisle, the windows were sparkling clean, and even a stack of dashcams was neatly clipped to the partition behind the driver's seat.

The driver, Lao Huang, was a seasoned veteran in his forties. He had been driving for the company for seven or eight years and had driven all sorts of leaders.

He has a unique characteristic: he never talks while driving. He keeps his eyes fixed on the road ahead, and his hands are held on the steering wheel with perfect posture, so standard that he could be used as a demonstration textbook at a driving school.

There were six people in the car.

Zhuge Qi sat in the second row by the window, still wearing his executive jacket, gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, and intently flipping through a document.

Sunlight streamed in obliquely through the car window, casting a thin layer of light and shadow on his face.

The person sitting next to him was his secretary, Xiao Li. The young woman had a notebook on her lap and a pen in her hand, ready to record any tasks that her boss might suddenly assign.

However, almost an hour had passed since he got in the car, and Zhuge Qi hadn't said a word except for flipping through documents.

There were three people sitting in the last two rows, two men and one woman.

The burly man sitting on the left side of the third row is named Ma Hong. He is in his early thirties, with a square face, a buzz cut, and a neck almost as thick as his head. His muscles stretched his ordinary black T-shirt taut.

He is the leader of the action team of the Department of Extraordinary People Affairs. He is very skilled in martial arts, especially in external martial arts.

Sitting next to him was a tall, thin man with black-rimmed glasses, who was very polite and his name was Jiang Bai. He was the deputy leader of the action team.

Jiang Bai's strength wasn't in fists and feet; he cultivated a special technique called "Wind Signal Guide," which allowed him to track targets by observing fluctuations in the air's energy—a unique skill even among those with supernatural abilities.

Sitting alone in the fourth row was a girl who looked to be in her early twenties. She had a high ponytail, delicate features, and healthy tan skin. She was wearing a sports sweatshirt and was resting with her eyes closed while wearing headphones.

Her name is Meng Xiaoxiao. She was transferred from the East China region last year. She is a naturally gifted person and has awakened water-based superpowers.

The group of people were on this business trip together.

The scenery along the highway is always the same: gray guardrails, green median strips, and occasionally a few GG signs flashing by in the distance.

Ma Hong sat in his seat feeling a bit bored, but he didn't dare to take out his phone to check it, since the section chief was sitting right in front of him.

He felt an inexplicable sense of awe towards his superior, who was a few years younger than him.

Normally, when Zhuge Qi holds meetings, assigns tasks, and communicates with superiors, he doesn't say much, but every word he says carries just the right weight. His subordinates don't feel awkward when carrying out tasks; on the contrary, they feel that if they do things according to their section chief's instructions, things will really get done.

Ma Hong admitted that he did not possess such skills.

He's only good at fighting; he's good at physical combat, but he leaves the intellectual stuff to Corey.

"The section chief is probably the kind of person who was born to be a leader," Ma Hong once remarked to Jiang Bai in private.

Jiang Bai's reply at the time was: "Stop thinking about these things and think more about how to break through the bottleneck of your external martial arts technique. Last time you captured someone, they almost got away. Aren't you ashamed?"

The car drove on for about half an hour, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed from the monotony of the highway to the outlines of some rural areas.

In the distance, the mountains stretch endlessly, while nearby, neat rows of farmland are arranged, and occasionally, the rooftops of a few houses can be seen.

Zhuge Qi suddenly put the document down.

He turned to look out the window, his gaze falling on a small village not far ahead of the road.

The village was small, with only about twenty or thirty households. It was nestled in a depression between two low hills. At the entrance of the village stood several large locust trees with lush foliage, casting a dense shade in the afternoon sun.

It looks like an ordinary little village in northern China, nothing special.

But Zhuge Qi stared in that direction for a good ten seconds.

His gaze remained unchanged, as calm as a deep pool of water. But Xiao Li, who had been with him for over a year, knew that when the section chief looked at something with that kind of gaze, it meant he had noticed something.

"Section Chief?" Xiao Li called out tentatively.

Zhuge Qi withdrew his gaze and said to the driver, Lao Huang, "Lao Huang, find an exit ahead and go around to that village."

Old Huang paused for a moment, then subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror.

According to the schedule, they should have arrived at the North China branch in Tianjin before noon. Director Xu should have made all the necessary arrangements for their reception. But suddenly getting off the highway and taking a detour to a village will definitely delay their trip.

But Lao Huang didn't say anything, he just replied, "Okay, Section Chief, I'll get off up ahead."

This is the professional quality I developed from driving with my former boss for many years: I go wherever he tells me to go, and I never ask questions I shouldn't ask.

Zhuge Qi added, "No rush, there's still plenty of time. Let's just take a look along the way."

Old Huang thought to himself, "This is hardly on the way. That village is at least ten kilometers away from the highway exit. It would take quite a while to get there by detour."

But he still said the same thing: "Okay, section chief, no rush."

Ma Hong, who was behind, finally perked up. He leaned forward and asked Jiang Bai in a low voice, "What's going on? Why did the section chief suddenly want to get off the highway?"

Jiang Bai didn't speak, but he frowned slightly.

His "Wind Guide" detected a faint, unusual aura a few seconds ago, drifting from the direction of that village. It was so faint that it was almost indistinguishable, but it was definitely there.

He didn't know if Zhuge Qi had also sensed something, or if it was just...purely a coincidence.

Old Huang exited the highway at the nearest exit and drove his minibus onto a country road.

The road surface wasn't as smooth as the highway; there were occasional potholes, causing the car to bounce slightly.

Xiao Li had already closed his laptop and was curiously looking out the window.

She was just an ordinary person, without any special abilities. In her eyes, the scenery outside was just ordinary rural scenery, and to be honest, this kind of scenery was everywhere in the northern countryside, so she couldn't see anything special about it.

"Section Chief, what's the matter that we're going to that village for?" Xiao Li finally couldn't help but ask.

Zhuge Qi smiled slightly, his smile both gentle and composed: "It's nothing serious, I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd take a look. Although our Department of Extraordinary People Affairs mainly deals with matters concerning extraordinary people, these extraordinary people also come from the masses. Getting to know the grassroots and the lives of ordinary people won't hurt our work."

Meng Xiaoxiao, who was behind her, had taken off her headphones at some point. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on the village that was getting closer and closer outside the window, and her lips were slightly pursed.

She's not an ordinary person like Xiao Li; she's a genuine superhuman, and a practitioner with a background in real combat.

Although her perception was not as sharp as Jiang Bai's, her body's instincts would give her a warning when she got close to her target.

She now feels a slight tightness in the back of her neck.

She was all too familiar with this feeling—there were supernatural beings nearby, and more than one.