Chapter 1384: 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 rolling mountain ranges. A light, drizzling rain fell, and the air was filled with the scent of damp earth... The silent mountain ridges in the distance were like giant beasts crouching in the darkness, majestic and mysterious.

Yang Xiao sat in a military vehicle, his body swaying involuntarily with the bumpy road. He looked through the window at the primeval forest shrouded in rain in the distance, feeling a bit dazed for a moment...

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

Everything seemed to have returned to that 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 don't worry, the higher-ups have already sent people to station themselves in the primeval forest in advance. We will escort you there, and there will be people to meet you."

Yang Xiao nodded slightly. "Thank you."

The car door opened, and someone immediately stepped up to hold an umbrella for Yang Xiao. Not far away was a military station. The misty rain looked like floating silk under the high-power floodlights, the camouflage tents billowed in the wind under the lights, and several figures had been waiting outside the tents for a long time.

Yang Xiao walked straight toward the tent ahead.

"Has anyone arrived yet?" Yang Xiao asked as he approached.

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

"After your exploration ended last time, we built a research camp at the location of the meteorite crater. There is electricity, food, water, and some research equipment. You can all go there to meet up, and we will send someone to take you there."

"Thank you."

Yang Xiao changed into a special black military raincoat and put on boots that could walk easily through the muddy mountains. Just as he was about to set off, the person hesitated for a moment and then spoke again:

"Dr. Yang, there is one more thing I need to remind you of."

"What is it?"

"We received intelligence that the United States is suspected of mobilizing some of the 'Job Changers' and suicide squads hidden within our country, and they are approaching the location of Shennongjia... We suspect they are coming for you all."

Yang Xiao's brows furrowed slightly.

Yang Xiao's annihilation of the Seventh Fleet must have caused a huge uproar among the American top brass. It was inevitable that they would use means to investigate his background. Once they investigated deeply, the existence of the Nine Lords would sooner or later be discovered; after all, there are no airtight walls in the world...

It seemed now that they had mostly realized how strong the threat of the Nine Lords was, so they specifically sent people to Shennongjia, attempting to assassinate them.

They might not dare to assassinate him, but it was hard to say about the other colleagues... Their current combat power was uneven. For these Job Changers and suicide squads, even if they could kill just one of the Nine Lords in advance, it would be a profit for them.

"Although we have already set up an ambush in the vicinity, Shennongjia is simply too large, and we cannot guarantee absolute safety... If possible, I would still suggest that you transfer to the capital for the meeting; the security there would be much higher."

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

"No need... With me here, they won't be able to stir up any trouble."

Chen Ling had emphasized to him repeatedly that the Nine Lords meeting must be held within 24 hours. Just mobilizing the other Nine Lords to rush to Shennongjia from all over the world had already taken nearly twenty hours. If they were to go to the capital, there would definitely not be enough time.

Moreover, Yang Xiao's strength had improved by leaps and bounds now. There shouldn't be any God-path practitioners in this era who could pose a threat to him. He could suppress those people from the United States all by himself.

Since Yang Xiao had said so, the others naturally had no objections and led Yang Xiao toward the meteorite crater deep in Shennongjia.

As Yang Xiao walked, he cast his gaze toward the shadows of the forest beside him...

A remnant shadow in a bright red opera robe flashed by.

……

"We actually made it..."

Lu Xun glanced at the time in the car and looked at Wu Tongyuan, who was sitting beside him, with a strange expression. "Shortening the original 20-day journey to 20 hours... How did you do it?"

Wu Tongyuan blinked. "I don't know either... It must have just been good luck."

"Luck?"

Lu Xun seemed to be amused to the point of anger. "Fine, then I won't ask. You continue playing the pig to eat the tiger..."

"It's not like that, Old Lu. I really don't understand how my ability works... It was really just good luck this time!" Wu Tongyuan waved his hands in a hurry.

"Fine, fine, fine."

The vehicle stopped at the end of the road in Shennongjia. The two got out one after another. The floodlights above the distant tents made the surrounding rain look blurry.

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

Lu Xun and Wu Tongyuan walked into the tent. The latter immediately took a dry towel to wipe the rain off his body and grabbed a piece of chocolate from the table. The figure nearby saw this and simply handed him a dozen energy bars.

Lu Xun didn't pay any attention to Wu Tongyuan's actions. He looked at the time on the wall again; there were less than 3 hours left until Yang Xiao's 24-hour deadline.

"Except for us, everyone else should have arrived, 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, just over half an hour ago..."

"The protagonist always makes a grand entrance at the end," Wu Tongyuan added with a smile.

Lu Xun suddenly remembered something:

"By the way, what about Lou Yu?"

"Dr. Lou... I don't know. Dr. Yang didn't seem to say he would come."

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

Lu Xun and Wu Tongyuan put on their gear and were about to set off for the meteorite crater when two beams of headlights pierced through the night of Shennongjia and drove straight toward the tent.

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

The figure in military uniform was also a bit puzzled and picked up the walkie-talkie to ask something. The next moment, the car door parked at the tent entrance was opened.

A frail figure used a file folder to shield himself from the rain, ran all the way from the car, and dashed into the tent.

Because the distance was too far and the lights were dim, Lu Xun and Wu Tongyuan didn't see the person's face clearly. It wasn't until he had spoken a few words to someone inside the tent that he suddenly looked toward them and, seeing Lu Xun, was slightly stunned.

"Lu Xun!" The person's tone was somewhat surprised.

"Lou Yu??"

Hearing this familiar voice, Lu Xun and Wu Tongyuan looked at each other and turned back toward the tent.

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

Wu Tongyuan muttered in confusion.