Chapter 28 Fishing
In the the Greater Khingan Range, a dense forested mountain area was shrouded in clouds and mist, giving a distorted, blurry, and chaotic impression.
"Supernatural powers!" Qingmu exclaimed, convinced that a powerful extraordinary force was at play. Over the years, the exploration organization had experienced various anomalies and had become quite adept at handling them. He ordered everyone to remain still and observe.
"Roar..." In the fog, a beast roared, reverberating through the still mountains, sending fallen leaves flying and echoing like thunder. Although it was far away, it felt incredibly immersive.
Wang Xuan was astonished—could there really be a monstrous beast lurking in the ancient forest, possibly hiding the corpse of an immortal? In this day and age, if mythical creatures existed, the terrifying beasts from ancient legends should have been discovered by now.
As the clouds dispersed, the distorted scenery returned to normal. In the distance, a massive creature emerged from the forest, its cold eyes glancing this way before disappearing.
"Black tiger!" Kite exclaimed.
"What?" the black tiger beside him asked.
Kite shook his head. "I wasn't calling you; I meant that creature—a black tiger, five to six meters long! Its gaze was terrifying!"
Not just him, Wang Xuan and Qingmu also spotted it, suspecting it was indeed a black tiger—its huge body cloaked in dark fur with faint stripes.
In an instant, many thoughts crossed their minds. With the aura of the immortal's tomb nearby and the mist rising, the appearance of an ancient black tiger was undeniably strange.
"I didn't believe in such things before, but after joining the exploration team, I feel I'll eventually accept mythology. Today, witnessing such a creature shocked me," Kite whispered, clearly shaken.
If this were anywhere else, it wouldn't be a big deal, but here, with the immortal's grave nearby and the scene so abnormal, it felt different.
Wang Xuan remarked, "This is the Greater Khingan Range; northeastern tigers do roam here. Maybe it's just a mutated one."
The creature moved quickly, leaving no trace.
Qingmu warned, "Whether it's a mythical species or a mutated northeastern tiger, it doesn't look friendly. Keep your wits about you."
Once he calmed down, he wasn't overly worried. As long as it was a living creature, their spaceship's weapons could handle it.
Even if the rumors were true and they were near an immortal's tomb, what threat could a creature pose compared to the immortal itself?
Kite muttered, "What if it was a black tiger raised by the immortal, surviving for thousands of years? It seemed to be able to breathe clouds and mist, distorting space—could it be even stronger than the immortal?"
"Shut up!" Qingmu slapped him, reminding him that with all their teams gathered, even a mythical creature could be taken down easily.
"Did the Gray Blood Organization dig in the wrong place? Someone just emerged from the mountain!" Old Mu fixed his gaze on the screen, tracking the enemy's movements.
The Gray Blood Organization had long arrived, using towering machines to dig into the mountain's belly, now fully underground.
They heard the tiger's roar, and some emerged, seemingly arguing about something.
Eventually, some machines mobilized, heading towards the valley, believing their digging direction was incorrect and moving toward where the black tiger had vanished.
"Things are getting interesting; let's see what happens when these guys encounter a mythical creature," Kite said excitedly.
This time, the mantis catches the cicada, unaware of the yellow finch behind—finally, it was the Gray Blood Organization's turn, and he was eager to see it unfold.
"Roar!"
The forest bordering the deep valley erupted with a deafening roar, accompanied by clouds and mist, as if supernatural forces were in upheaval.
Sparks flew!
A batch of machines emitted electric sparks, malfunctioning and collapsing to the ground.
The black tiger flashed on the screen and vanished from the forest—was it its doing?
This startled even Qingmu; the black tiger's presence, combined with the mist, had caused a significant issue for their machines.
"Old Mu, let's keep our distance!" Qingmu warned. If that force could affect machines, it could surely disrupt their spaceship too.
Now, he felt a bit anxious—was this really a mythical creature? It seemed like a tough opponent.
Old Mu kept analyzing the monitoring data on the screen. "Don't worry; we're far enough away. Besides, the spaceship has detected unusual energy, mainly due to that mist, which is far more impactful than the black tiger on our machines."
Qingmu said, "So, this supernatural force is primarily stemming from the immortal's grave?"
At that moment, the Gray Blood Organization personnel all withdrew from the mountain's belly. Some flew small ships toward the forest, intending to hunt the black tiger.
Additionally, some high-grade machines that could withstand pulse interference entered the misty area without being affected by the supernatural force.
Qingmu remarked, "The Gray Blood Organization really went all out this time, bringing in elite forces. Those are advanced machines said to minimize the effects of supernatural elements."
Wang Xuan's heart raced—were these newly developed machines from the New Star?
Qingmu explained, "Ever since New Star successfully obtained supernatural elemental powers, they've been modifying their machines with notable results."
"Roar..." The mountains echoed with the tiger's roar.
One machine wielded a several-meter-long alloy blade, sweeping through like a flash of lightning, slicing into the ferocious tiger.
Despite the black tiger's agility, it couldn't completely evade and received a gruesome wound on its flank, nearly exposing bone.
Wang Xuan gasped—this so-called mythical creature was merely flesh and blood, and it seemed unable to withstand the advanced machines.
Bang!
A small energy cannon fired a beam, piercing through the nearly six-meter-long black tiger, which let out a fierce roar, its body swaying before collapsing to the ground.
An advanced machine stepped forward, its alloy blade cutting off the tiger's massive head, blood spraying and staining the mountain red.
"Dead? A mythical creature just died like that?" Kite shouted in disbelief, struggling to accept the reality.
In the spaceship, the black tiger murmured, "What terrible luck!"
Wang Xuan was also lost in thought. Was it truly a mythical creature, or just a mutated northeastern tiger? It seemed far weaker than he had imagined, so swiftly dispatched.
The Gray Blood Organization advanced, pressing into the deep valley, while the clouds surged and mist thickened, making the area increasingly bizarre.
Boom!
The small ships fired energy blasts, causing earthquakes in the valley, shattering the ground and blasting apart cliffs, leaving chaos in their wake.
Suddenly, dazzling rays of light burst forth; the small ship was severely shaken by the intense impact, retreating from that area.
Meanwhile, some advanced machines equipped with alloy blades and energy weapons malfunctioned, sparking with electric bursts.
"There's strong radiation of supernatural powers in the valley!" Old Mu spoke, his expression serious; even they couldn't easily venture in without risking shock.
In the valley, shadowy figures emerged—large creatures covered in thick black fur, towering three to four meters high, rushing out of the mist.
The Gray Blood Organization's personnel were leading the way with machines, followed by those in protective suits. Upon encountering such a situation, they quickly decided to retreat.
In the distance, ships rushed to their aid.
Vicious energy beams erupted, turning dozens of these black-furred beasts into pulp.
"This situation doesn't feel right," Old Mu frowned.
Those creatures with seemingly supernatural powers were no match for modern weapons, easily torn apart by the Gray Blood Organization.
The only threats to machines and ships came from the radiant light surging from deep within the valley, but that supernatural force seemed to be dwindling.
The Gray Blood Organization pressed forward with energy weapons, advancing deeper, and advanced mechs appeared; it was quite dangerous to just wear protective suits in the valley.
"The fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken, and dead immortals are hardly better," Qingmu sighed.
Suddenly, his body jolted, and his expression grew serious as he received a direct line—higher-ups from the exploration organization were in contact.
"Qingmu, your spaceship's stealth device is quite impressive, with strong self-defense capabilities. Now pay attention, implement the highest level of self-defense and invisibility."
That was an elderly voice.
Wang Xuan, standing nearby, had an exceptionally sharp hearing, and Qingmu didn't particularly try to hide it, so he caught a glimpse of the conversation.
That slow, lingering voice felt oddly familiar—he immediately thought of his old colleague, the one he overheard chatting for half an hour about going fishing on his first day at work.
The voices did sound somewhat alike; did the person talking to Qingmu not use a voice changer? They seemed quite familiar and trusting of each other.
"What do you mean?" Qingmu asked.
"Another group from the Gray Blood Organization is on their way, preparing to encircle you. A medium-sized warship is approaching the Greater Khingan Range." The elder spoke calmly, informing them of the situation.
"I..." Qingmu felt furious; they had been cut off and were now targets of a counterattack by the Gray Blood Organization?
Wang Xuan also heard this slow and calm voice and felt like grabbing the old man and giving him a beating. Were they being hunted in reverse?
"You went to investigate the Gray Blood Organization, and it set off alarm bells. They intentionally leaked information to you, waiting for you to mobilize your forces before planning to open fire from above, sending you all to your doom."
A chill ran down Qingmu's spine; if their medium-sized battleships were deployed, this was no joke—they were likely all going to die here.
"Has the old world become a sieve, letting them run rampant and come and go as they please?!" Qingmu exclaimed anxiously.
Wang Xuan also couldn't sit still; this news felt like a thunderbolt, they were being hunted with a purpose. At this moment, even if he had mastered the third level of Golden Body Technique, it wouldn't be enough—without reaching ten levels, he couldn't ensure his own safety.
The old man spoke again, "Don't panic; everything is going according to plan. Just activate the highest level of stealth and defense. The relevant departments have already moved out and are about to take action."
"What's going on? Explain it clearly!" Qingmu felt completely in the dark.
The old man replied, "From the beginning, we decided to cooperate with the relevant departments to strike at the Gray Blood Organization and take down the secret research facility in the Greater Khingan Range that has been conducting immortality experiments."
Boom! At that moment, brilliant fire erupted in the distant sky outside the Greater Khingan Range, followed by violent explosions, with spacecraft being shattered.
Boom! Boom! Under the intense and relentless energy beams, the Gray Blood Organization's ships and battleships were completely disintegrated, almost instantaneously.
"What the hell is going on?" Qingmu was furious.
The old man gently explained the situation, "There's a powerful research facility from New Star that unearthed something in the Greater Khingan Range and has been secretly conducting experiments for years without reporting to the old world. Naturally, the relevant departments prepared to 'have a chat' with them. This time, they leaked information to the Gray Blood Organization, sending them to probe the specifics of the underground research facility, while also teaching the Gray Blood Organization a lesson about following the rules in the old world. Of course, they were cautious and only sent a small number of people, so we had to use you to attract their attention."
"Bastard!" Qingmu cursed.