Chapter 424

Chapter 424: Triple Lockdown

Upon hearing the transfer staff repeat the soldiers’ discovery, “Dawn Sound” immediately sensed that something was amiss.

She set down her communicator and recalled the extraordinary beasts she had encountered with the superpowered individual “Shadow Master” not long ago, last year.

One thing was certain: the one dancing excitedly was definitely not the cat-like extraordinary beast that called her "Ms. Human." That creature could actually speak human language, and if it had been present, it would have come to communicate. It seemed it was likely one of those rather foolish-looking creatures from that time.

Before the sun set, “Dawn Sound” arrived at the southern city gate of Hope City.

Looking at the enormous extraordinary beast in the distance, she saw it still dancing, its long trunk swaying back and forth, appearing quite agitated.

“Let me down.”

“Dawn Sound” said to the soldier operating the lift.

“Uh, shouldn’t you wait for the other superpowered individuals to arrive before taking action?”

“No need; I’ve already sent them back to rest.”

As “Dawn Sound” spoke, she stepped over the city wall and entered the lift basket.

“The latest notice said that these intelligent extraordinary beasts are very friendly to humans; I trust our Speaker.”

The surrounding soldiers did not say anything further; the two who first discovered it also stepped over the wall and entered the lift basket, automatically taking on protective duties.

Although “Dawn Sound” hadn’t explicitly requested it, most soldiers believed that the lives of superpowered individuals were more valuable.

The lift descended to the ground, and the three of them opened the railing door, stepping onto the ground outside the city.

The enormous extraordinary beast nearby, seeing that humans had finally noticed it, happily wanted to run over but was blocked outside the red line.

The three approached the large extraordinary beast that stood several meters tall. Two soldiers rested their fingers on their triggers while “Dawn Sound” extended her hand towards the beast before her.

Listening carefully for a moment, “Dawn Sound” nodded and then emitted a series of strange sounds.

The two soldiers, of course, could not understand what she said, but the extraordinary beast seemed very pleased after hearing it.

“Dawn Sound” took out two tubes of nutritional paste from her backpack, tore open the packaging, and offered them to the soft trunk in front of her before returning with the two soldiers to the lift.

The path with your back to the extraordinary beasts is always the hardest to walk; the two soldiers worried constantly that those seemingly friendly creatures might turn on them, but they could not frequently look back, as it would seem very insincere.

Nervousness quickened their steps, while “Dawn Sound” had no such concerns.

Finally, the three stood once more in the lift basket, watching the ground recede. The two soldiers sighed deeply:

“Could you tell me what the extraordinary beast said?”

One soldier asked “Dawn Sound,”

“If it’s a secret, just pretend I didn’t ask.”

“Dawn Sound” thought for a moment and replied:

“It’s important, but it’s not a secret.

“Those extraordinary beasts found that new mycelium mats and unfamiliar types of extraordinary beasts had appeared in the southern part of Hope City while hunting during the day, so they specifically reminded us.”

“What is a mycelium mat?”

The other soldier asked.

“Dawn Sound” took a deep breath and began to explain:

“Didn’t you both hear the Speaker’s speech?”

“We were on duty on the city walls at that time; the radio signal was not very good.”

Dawn Sound felt that it was indeed unnecessary to blame the soldiers for this, so she explained in a gentle tone:

“The extraordinary beasts outside the city are just the vanguard; our real enemy is a type of mycelium life form.

“That organism expands by first using mycelium mats and extraordinary beasts to clear a path. The friendly extraordinary beasts saw the mycelium mat in the south, which means our enemy has taken new actions.”

The two soldiers who had been on duty at the southern city walls for years turned serious upon hearing this:

“Is it that serious? May we report this intelligence to our superiors?”

“No need; continue your duty. I will handle everything.”

Dawn Sound, although not skilled in combat, had been on a few missions and knew that reports from superpowered individuals were always the quickest, so she took on this responsibility and quickly reported the matter.

Today, Fulan was not leading a team outside the city; she was describing the horrific sight from afar in Ji Yongxing’s laboratory.

After carefully inquiring about the information regarding the abyss, Ji Yongxing looked at the test tubes filled with the viscous substance in front of him and asked:

“Do you think that sound was coming from deep within your heart?”

“Yes.”

Fulan nodded:

“It was calling the creatures near it. Several extraordinary beasts fell behind while retreating; I saw them return to their original spot and jump down without any hesitation.”

“Good, I will further study this material, and as for you…”

Ji Yongxing looked at Fulan:

“Do not go there for recent exploration missions.”

After sending Fulan off, Bazel entered Ji Yongxing’s room with a stack of documents:

“Team Leader, I have some preliminary results.”

“Tell me.”

Bazel seemed more suited for the research institute; within just two or three days, he had returned to peak form and was eager to work on research, at least without the scheming present in his previous position.

Ji Yongxing had planned in his mind to formally submit a document to transfer Bazel to his team after a week of assessment.

“I applied for a lot of materials from the spire database, including some footage from when the spaceship first landed on this planet.”

Bazel laid out several high-definition images:

“It can currently be confirmed that over fifty years ago, when the spaceship first landed, there were no plants at all on this planet. The soil also basically did not match the types found on the home planet; the ground under Hope City is the result of modifications made using equipment from the spaceship.

“The exploration team at that time was led by Mr. Wencheng, who recorded much about the primitive conditions on this planet, including a cracked surface.

“After repeated comparisons, I can basically confirm that this relatively shallow but extensive crack, spanning over ten kilometers, is a metal vein located in the northern district of Hope City today.

“If we explain this structure using plate tectonics theory, there are still many aspects that do not make sense. This planet is simply too strange, almost as if… as if it were artificial.”

Ji Yongxing fell into deep thought; he had also considered Bazel’s ideas. A powerful alien civilization might indeed be capable of such feats, but if they truly did this, what was their purpose?

Furthermore, there were no traces of any artificial structures on this planet, neither buildings nor writing; the layers of the ground were exceptionally distinct, looking almost overly perfect from a planetary perspective…

The young researcher, lost in thought, looked at his team member:

“Great results, keep following up on this.”