Chapter 398
Collaboration and Assistance in Testing
Chapter 398 Collaboration and Assistance in Testing
After meeting with her team members, Guan Tong left the park.
He had no objection to the team composition. Apart from Yang Ran and another currently unknown member, he knew the other members.
Based on the known members so far, their overall combat strength is quite good.
As a key trainee of the Countermeasures Research Office, Bai Xuewu had previously been under her own direct command of a team. Later, she was sent to the front lines of the Black Flag Kingdom to participate in the Allied Forces' fight against the parasites, which allowed her to accumulate considerable combat experience.
Chen Na's perception ability is second to none and was crucial in this decapitation operation. It can be said that she is the best candidate to find the mastermind behind the Fire Thief Cult.
Silver Fox, on the other hand, is a versatile individual with a background in the military's special forces; she knows a little about everything. Moreover, she has extensive experience in combat and infiltration, and strong mental resilience, making her an ideal teammate.
Even though Yang Ran seems unreliable and his personality might be a bit immature, his strength is not lacking.
When Guan Tong had nothing to do, she watched a few episodes of "The Battle of the Ascendants" in a haphazard way. Based on Yang Ran's performance in the show, the title "God of Fire" was not too exaggerated. One of the classic scenes in the show was when he manipulated the flames to burn down an entire building, which was something that ordinary Ascendants with fire control abilities could not do.
Guan Tong was fairly satisfied with this team configuration, and therefore became even more interested in the mysterious team member that Li Meng had mentioned was "inconvenient to go out".
He guessed that it must be an Ascended being with restorative and healing abilities, thus making up for the team's last weakness.
"Guan Tong, can you hear me?"
Shi Jingyi's voice suddenly rang in his mind without warning.
Guan Tong knew that she was communicating with him through a telepathic network.
"I can hear you," he replied in the same way. "What's wrong?"
“Something strange happened. A student who left the academy after the ‘Extraterrestrial Parasite’ rule sent me a text message. You should remember that student was Lu Cheng.”
Lu Cheng...
Guan Tong recognized the name.
He knew this student was an excellent student when he was a substitute teacher.
Shi Jingyi even told him that she had noticed a student was addicted to spores, but failed to intervene in a timely and decisive manner. Later, the student left the academy after the rules were lifted, and she had always felt guilty about it, feeling that she had made a mistake—that student was Lu Cheng.
"What was the text message about?" Guan Tong asked.
Since Shi Jingyi contacted him, it meant there was something strange about the matter, so he disregarded privacy and asked her directly.
Shi Jingyi: "They said they wanted to seek help to solve their spore addiction problem and wanted to meet with me."
"Why do he want to meet with you?" Guan Tong asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't he be looking for a rehabilitation center?"
"Perhaps he was afraid of being arrested? It's possible that he trusted me, his former teacher, more than the organization."
"...I don't think it's that simple. You must also feel something's fishy, otherwise you wouldn't have contacted me, right?"
“Hmm.” Shi Jingyi admitted, “I don’t want to question the students’ motives, but my intuition tells me that there is indeed something wrong with this matter.”
Guan Tong pondered for a moment: "Okay, you agree to his request. But I want to go with you to find out if this kid is genuinely asking for help or if he has some kind of conspiracy. If he has already transformed into a parasite, the purpose of this meeting is very likely to harm you."
Guan Tong knew that with Shi Jingyi's strength, even ten Lu Chengs combined wouldn't be a match for her.
However, if there is indeed a conspiracy or scheme, there will still be risks even if the scheme is well-intentioned but the victim is not.
After Suzuki's mysterious suicide, he didn't want to see anyone he knew get into trouble for no reason again.
“Okay, but don’t show up with me. If Lu Cheng really is asking me for help, your presence might make him distrust me or even give up on asking for help.”
Shi Jingyi didn't become arrogant because she didn't realize her superior abilities. Her intention in contacting Guan Tong through the mental network was to have him join her in investigating the matter.
However, she was also very perceptive and knew that if Lu Cheng was genuinely seeking help, then her act of bringing Guan Tong there would definitely displease him.
“No problem. I won’t show myself unless you’re in danger,” Guan Tong said. “Contact me after we confirm the time and place.”
"it is good."
With his thoughts calmed, Guan Tong glanced at his terminal panel.
This relatively short conversation with Shi Jingyi consumed nearly one hundred points of mental energy, which was one-tenth of his maximum. It was a considerable expenditure, but definitely worthwhile.
Such remote thought communication, which is not limited by equipment, cannot be eavesdropped on, and can be started and ended at any time, will surely improve the overall communication efficiency of human society to a new level once it becomes widespread.
Of course, considering its extremely stringent requirements and energy consumption, it's unknown how long it will take to reach that day.
"...At least let the people I know be able to open it first."
If he could activate and establish connections with people he knew, such as Chen Na, Shang Yuanzi, Ye Lianka, and Xu Xiaotian, then anyone facing an emergency threat could promptly notify others for help.
Especially the help from Guan Tong from a great distance.
Anyone who possesses a mental item related to them, or who leaves a shadow on another person, can instantly teleport to their side.
However, even though his friends were almost all among the best of the ascendants, they wouldn't break through the 1,000 mental power barrier as quickly as he and Shi Jingyi.
"Perhaps when I fully master 'Condensation,' I can help them refine their spiritual power, just like Shi Jingyi helped me, and accelerate the rate at which their potential increases..."
Hey.
As Guan Tong was thinking, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
He picked it up and saw that it was Zhang Minglu calling.
"Dr. Zhang?"
"Guan Tong, have you met with your teammates yet?"
"I've met you. Is there anything I can help you with?"
“Here’s the thing, our Director Gao wants to ask you to do something,” Zhang Minglu said frankly. “After I submitted your report on identifying the parasites last night, Director Gao told me that he hopes you can conduct an identification test on everyone in the research lab base.”
"...It seems that Director Gao wants to ensure that there are no lurking parasites in the base."
The report had just been submitted and the identification method had just been developed when Gao Liangwei immediately made this request, which shows how meticulous he is.
“Yes,” Zhang Minglu said. “The Countermeasures Research Office is a crucial department in Beixing, and security and confidentiality have always been the top priorities for its leaders.”
"I remember that spore addicts have several different stages of symptoms, right? Can't the research base rule them out based on these symptoms?"
"Of course. I had someone check the cafeteria's surveillance footage before to see if any base members were eating abnormally during the designated periods, because binge eating is one of the signs of addiction. But you should know that the vast majority of people who can work here are smart. If a smart person is willing, they can completely avoid these observations."
"For example, by using Ascension Coins to purchase food items from the terminal market, one can avoid being detected by the cafeteria's surveillance cameras for eating abnormally?"
“That’s right. No conventional test is reliable, and even lie detectors can fail—your mind network test seems to be the most rigorous at present. If there is any lurking parasite, you will definitely find it.”
"..."
Guan Tong thought to herself that this was one of the "disadvantages" of being exposed.
Today the Countermeasures Research Office asked him to test everyone at the base. Will other official departments also contact him tomorrow? There are so many official departments across the country. Inspecting each and every one of them would be an enormous workload.
He knew, of course, that this was a good thing for the country and its people, and he didn't mind doing this kind of hard work, but the thought of it still gave him a slight headache.
“I think you might be worried that every official department will make you get tested.” Zhang Minglu seemed to be able to guess Guan Tong’s thoughts. “But that’s not the case. Even if there are other departments besides the Countermeasures Research Institute that need your help, they will definitely be the very few most important departments that cannot afford any mistakes. Please believe that we will not waste the precious time of a top-notch Ascendant for no reason, and the person in charge has clearly told me that you will be given reasonable compensation for your help.”
Guan Tong said, "I'm willing to help. Ensuring that there are no parasites lurking in important departments such as the Countermeasures Research Office is a good thing for the people."
"Hehe, I knew you would agree," Zhang Minglu laughed. "So, do you have time tomorrow? It might take a whole day, but we'll prepare plenty of mental energy recovery items for you."
"A whole day? How many people are in the base?"
"If we only test personnel stationed at the base, there are several thousand people."
"That won't take a whole day; I can test multiple people at the same time."
Guan Tong was thinking of trying to use multiple shadow lines for simultaneous testing with multiple people, so this opportunity is good.
Zhang Minglu was taken aback for a moment: "It can be like this? Okay, I understand."
(End of this chapter)