Chapter 183

Mizunuki Ryosuke could naturally see that Terumi Mei's situation was not quite right, and he also faintly guessed the crux of Terumi Mei's problem in his heart.

"I didn't expect this girl, who usually looks quite tough, to be afraid of ghosts."

Mizunuki Ryosuke sighed to himself somewhat helplessly.

Things had reached this point, and everyone had already penetrated deep inside; it clearly wasn't appropriate to let Terumi Mei withdraw now.

So Mizunuki Ryosuke could only try his best to stabilize Terumi Mei's emotions.

"Mei, you can try to stay as close to me as possible from now on."

"But remember, absolutely do not act rashly again."

Hearing Mizunuki Ryosuke say this, Terumi Mei's face flushed with shame.

Just a moment ago, she had sworn in her heart not to drag Mizunuki Ryosuke down again, but now she had once again become the object of care, which her inner self-esteem could not accept.

Helplessly, the surrounding environment was truly something Terumi Mei was not accustomed to, so she could only forcibly suppress the shame in her heart and accept Mizunuki Ryosuke's extra care.

Just like that, the distance between Terumi Mei and Mizunuki Ryosuke closed from three meters to less than one meter.

Hesitating slightly, Terumi Mei still reached out and grabbed the corner of Mizunuki Ryosuke's clothes.

Feeling the touch coming from behind, Mizunuki Ryosuke turned his head and saw a small face that was both stubborn and shy.

Lowering his head again, Ryosuke saw the small hand of Terumi Mei tugging at the corner of his clothes.

To this, Ryosuke just smiled lightly and didn't say anything.

At such a moment, blame and complaints would not serve any purpose; Ryosuke hoped his encouragement could make Terumi Mei brave.

Seeing Ryosuke's gaze, for some reason, Terumi Mei's small face became even more flushed.

Even Mizunuki Hikohiko on the other side, after seeing this scene, revealed a somewhat strange expression in his eyes.

He never expected that this woman, who was usually at daggers drawn with him, would actually be afraid of ghosts.

If this were normal times, he would definitely mock her a couple of times, but Hikohiko knew to prioritize the big picture, so he suppressed it for now.

Although he didn't say anything, he secretly noted this weakness of Terumi Mei in his heart.

The three continued to move forward, exploring toward the bottom of the cave.

And in another corner of the cave, the situation here was completely different.

In a certain corner of the cave, it was brightly lit, and the surrounding scene looked somewhat like a security control room in a corporate building of later generations.

Several crystal screens displayed scenes from various different locations in the cave; it could be seen that the coverage area of this cave seemed to be extremely large.

And below the crystal screens, there were also many strange buttons and control levers.

Countless figures hidden under black robes, looking extremely strange, were busy inside.

And on one of the crystal screens, what was currently revealed was the figures of Ryosuke and the other two.

Similarly, on another screen, Takeda Yoichi, who was tied up and in a coma, was lying in a corner of the cave.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hee hee!!"

"The good show is about to start, meow!"

A black-robed figure emitted a strange laugh; looking at the figures of Ryosuke and the other two on the crystal screen, his tone was full of excitement.

The words of this black-robed figure also stirred the emotions of the other black-robed figures; for a time, all the black-robed figures in the entire room emitted "hissing" strange laughs.

At the same time, Kirigakure village, Mizukage Building.

Many Jonin questioned why the figures of Ryosuke's squad had disappeared from the water screen technique.

Maeda Yuanshi explained unhurriedly.

"This assessment was not organized solely by the village."

"But was entrusted by the village to another force to arrange."

"Regarding certain secret locations set by the other party, the village also cannot know; however, given the nature of the assessment, there generally won't be casualties."

"And Ryosuke's squad has entered certain special scenarios set by the other party."

"For the sake of fairness, Ryosuke's squad might gain some convenience and intelligence in the scenario, or they might be eliminated directly for not passing the scenario."

As Maeda Yuanshi finished explaining, the Jonin finally showed expressions of sudden realization.

"Team Leader Maeda, can you reveal what the identity of the other party is?"

"Why have we never heard before that the village still has cooperation with such a force."

A Jonin immediately asked.

To this, Maeda Yuanshi just shook his head, looking like the secrets of heaven could not be leaked.

Seeing this, the Jonin could only shift their gaze back to the water screen, looking forward to the scene on the water screen revealing the answer. ===== CHAPTER 185 =====