Chapter 1384: Uninvited Guest

Uninvited Guest

Shennongjia.

By the time Yang Xiao arrived, it was already late at night.

Outside the car window, ink-like clouds moved slowly over the continuous mountain ranges. A light, pattering rain fell, and the air was filled with the smell of damp earth... In the distance, the silent mountain ridges seemed like giant beasts crawling in the darkness, towering and mysterious.

Yang Xiao sat in the military vehicle. The bumpy road made his body sway involuntarily. He looked through the window at the distant primeval forest shrouded in rain, feeling a moment of trance...

The same Shennongjia, the same night, the same light rain...

It was as if everything had returned to the night of the Red Star Exploration.

"Dr. Yang, the car can't go any further on the road ahead." A voice came from the driver's seat. "But rest assured, our superiors have already dispatched people to station themselves in the primeval forest in advance. We will escort you over, and someone will be there to receive you."

Yang Xiao nodded slightly. "Thank you."

Yang Xiao walked straight toward the tents ahead.

"Has anyone arrived yet?" Yang Xiao stepped forward and asked.

"Yes, Dr. Su arrived an hour earlier than you and has already gone in." A figure replied.

"After your exploration ended last time, we set up a scientific research camp at the location of the meteorite crater. There is electricity, food, water, and some scientific research equipment. You all can gather directly there; we will send people to escort you over."

"Thank you."

Yang Xiao changed into a specially made black military raincoat and put on boots that allowed for easy walking in the muddy mountains. Just as he was about to set off, the person hesitated for a moment before speaking up again:

"Dr. Yang, there's one more thing I need to remind you about."

"What is it?"

"We received intelligence that America has suspectedly mobilized a portion of the Class-Changers and suicide squads hidden within our country, and they are approaching the location of Shennongjia... We suspect they are probably coming for you all."

Yang Xiao's brows furrowed slightly.

The incident where Yang Xiao annihilated the Seventh Fleet had probably caused a massive uproar among the American higher-ups. It was inevitable that they would use their means to investigate his background. Once they investigated deeply, the existence of the Nine Monarchs would also be discovered sooner or later. After all, there were no impenetrable walls in the world...

Now it seemed they had mostly likely realized how strong of a threat the Nine Monarchs posed, so they specially sent people to Shennongjia in an attempt to assassinate them.

They might not dare to assassinate him, but it was hard to say for his other colleagues... Their current combat power levels were uneven. For these Class-Changers and suicide squads, even if they only managed to preemptively kill one of the Nine Monarchs, it would be a gain for them.

"Although we have already set up an ambush nearby in advance, Shennongjia is simply too large, so we cannot guarantee absolute safety... If possible, I would still recommend that you transfer to the capital for your meeting. The security there would be much higher."

Yang Xiao looked down at the time and shook his head:

"There's no need... With me here, they won't be able to make any waves."

Chen Ling had repeatedly emphasized to him that the Nine Monarchs meeting must be held within 24 hours. Just mobilizing the other Nine Monarchs to rush to Shennongjia from all corners of the country had already taken nearly twenty hours. If they had to detour to the capital now, there absolutely wouldn't be enough time.

Furthermore, Yang Xiao's strength was advancing by leaps and bounds now. In this era, there shouldn't be any Divine Path Wielders capable of posing a threat to him. He could completely suppress those people from America all by himself.

Since Yang Xiao had said so, the others naturally had no objections. They directly led the way for him, heading toward the meteorite crater deep within Shennongjia.

As Yang Xiao walked, his gaze fell upon the shadows of the jungle beside him...

The afterimage of a figure draped in a great crimson theatrical robe flashed by.

...

"We actually made it in time..."

Lu Xun glanced at the time displayed in the car, then looked at Wu Tongyuan sitting beside him with a strange expression. "Shortening an originally twenty-day journey to twenty hours... how exactly did you do it?"

Wu Tongyuan blinked. "I don't know either... I guess I was just lucky."

"Lucky?"

Lu Xun looked as if he was laughing out of anger. "Fine, then I won't ask anymore. You can just keep pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger..."

"No, Old Lu, I really haven't figured out what's going on with my ability... It really was just luck this time!" Wu Tongyuan anxiously waved his hands continuously.

"Alright, alright, alright."

The vehicle stopped at the end of the road in Shennongjia, and the two men got out one after another. In the distance, the illumination lights above the tents were so blinding that the surrounding rain became blurry.

"Dr. Lu, Dr. Wu." Someone was already waiting outside the tents.

Lu Xun and Wu Tongyuan walked into the tent. The latter directly grabbed a dry towel and began wiping off the rainwater he had accumulated along the way, while casually swiping a piece of chocolate from the table. Seeing this, the figure beside him simply handed him over a dozen energy bars.

Lu Xun didn't pay attention to Wu Tongyuan's actions at all. He glanced at the time on the wall. There were less than three hours left until Yang Xiao's 24-hour deadline.

"Besides us, everyone else should have arrived by now, right?" Lu Xun asked.

"Yes," the person nodded. "Dr. Su arrived first, followed by Dr. Yang and Dr. Ji... Dr. Qi and Dr. Wen arrived together, and they only went in just over half an hour ago..."

"The main characters always make their grand entrance at the end," Wu Tongyuan chimed in with a smile.

Lu Xun suddenly remembered something:

"Right, what about Lou Yu?"

"Dr. Lou... we're not sure. Dr. Yang didn't seem to mention that he would be coming."

Although Lu Xun was confused, he still nodded slightly. "Anyway, let's go in first..."

Lu Xun and Wu Tongyuan put on their gear and were just about to set off toward the meteorite crater when, right at that moment, two beams of headlights pierced through the night sky of Shennongjia, driving straight toward the tents.

Wu Tongyuan was stunned. "Didn't they say there was no one else? Then whose car is that?"

The figure in the military uniform was also somewhat puzzled and picked up a walkie-talkie to ask about it. The next moment, the door of the car that had stopped in front of the tent opened.

A frail figure, using a document bag to shield himself from the rain, jogged out of the car and into the tent.

Because the distance was too great and the lighting was dim, neither Lu Xun nor Wu Tongyuan could clearly see the person's appearance. It wasn't until he exchanged a few words with someone inside the tent that his gaze suddenly turned toward them. Upon seeing Lu Xun, he was slightly taken aback.

"Lu Xun!" the person called out in a somewhat pleasantly surprised tone.

"Lou Yu??"

Hearing this familiar voice, Lu Xun and Wu Tongyuan exchanged a glance, then turned around and walked back toward the tent.

"Didn't they say Yang Xiao didn't contact him... Then why did he come?"

Wu Tongyuan muttered in confusion.