Inside the border-city airport of the Chunrong Kingdom, next to the Vikat Nation.
The Xuanjian Division had already cleared the place; members of Group Six who had just returned were seated on the chairs.
Although the Chunrong Kingdom was far richer and stronger than the Vikat Nation,
when facing the colossus of Nanwu Country it could only kneel and respectfully offer every kind of assistance.
"Boss Fang, Team Leader Qin, major discovery!" Mo Yu, excitement on his face, hurried toward Fang Wenyu and the others seated in the middle.
Fang Wenyu turned to look at him, curious. "Did you get any important intel?"
The captured Level Three Monsters had all been handed to Mo Yu to arrange for Mental-type Awakened Ones to invade their minds.
Mo Yu spoke rapidly, thrilled. "From this Monster's brain we dug out a Monster Association stronghold—several times larger than the one we just wiped out, with no powerful elites inside, only ordinary Monsters!"
"If we can take that place, Xiao Yuyu's seat as Deputy Director is secured!" Qin Wan's eyes lit up and she shot to her feet.
Fang Wenyu's gaze flickered as he also looked toward Mo Yu.
"Jiangjin City, Shi Country!" Seeing both of them stare at him, Mo Yu answered at once.
Shi Country lay to the left of Lingzhou Prefecture in Nanwu Country, one had to pass through Liyang Country to reach it.
"Arrange a transfer flight immediately; tell everyone to rest on the plane and be ready to fight the instant we arrive!" Fang Wenyu ordered without delay.
They had originally planned to return home, but with this new target they headed straight for Jiangjin City.
"Yes, sir!" Mo Yu nodded, turned, and went to arrange it.
Qin Wan watched Mo Yu leave, a smile curling at her lips. "Xiao Yuyu, once we seize this stronghold your Deputy Director post is locked; let's see what Jiang Ao can use to compete with you."
Hearing that, Fang Wenyu's face showed thought; in the past getting even a scrap of intel from these Monsters had been cause for thanks.
Now they had obtained such crucial information—he couldn't help worrying that something unexpected might be afoot.
Seeing him silent, Qin Wan asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"I feel something's off." Fang Wenyu frowned slightly, lifting his gaze toward the ceiling.
The harsh lights shone on his face, illuminating his doubts.
"What could be wrong? They're just small fry, stepping-stones for you to become Director." Qin Wan, caught off guard, still hadn't reacted.
"It's too easy. Think back—when the Monster Association first appeared, even all of Nanwu Country could barely dig up important intel; now we're finding strongholds one after another." Fang Wenyu voiced his misgivings.
If they hadn't captured the Monsters themselves and extracted the intel through Mental-types, he would already want to head home.
Qin Wan caught the caution in his tone; her brows lifted and she said carelessly, "I'll contact the missile unit right now—if there's an ambush inside we'll just nuke them; if not, let these Monsters become your achievements."
"True. We'll go take a look first; if we can't win we can still withdraw." Fang Wenyu nodded.
If there really is an ambush we'll just drop a nuke—foreigners' lives aren't worth much anyway.
The next day, Jiangjin City, third-largest city of Shi Country.
In the southern district stood an oval shopping plaza whose signboard had been removed.
Inside, every light blazed; in the center stood many people of varied builds—some with an extra arm, some with small wings on their heads, some with extra eyes on their faces.
Yus Chibman walked in, eyes narrowed; his protruding face was covered in red scales, red vertical pupils sweeping the crowd.
"Yus, I heard this is a high-point mission; everyone's electronics were confiscated." Beside him, a two-meter-tall Caucasian with ox horns grinned in excitement.
Both of them were from the intelligence department of Beika Country within the Teya Alliance; although Nine Nations were united, Beika held the say, not only because of their national power but also because the bureau chief was Beikan.
Yus curled his lip. "Tolan, don't forget what we're here for."
They had been Monsters for a week yet still didn't know where the Monster Association headquarters was; they could only take missions in small strongholds and cause sabotage.
Tolan grinned, unconcerned; all he wanted was to earn points and exchange them for blue star coins—in a few days here he could make more than he could in a year of back-breaking work, though there was some risk.
More than just the two of them—spies from other factions had also received the assembly order.
They sized up the people around them, committing faces to memory.
Among the crowd, five East Asians stood together.
Their eyes flickered; they said nothing, only kept observing.
A moment later, an ordinary-looking woman walked over. "I asked around—no information on this mission at all."
"Looks like the Association is planning another big move." The long-haired man leading them smiled faintly.
They were from Nanwu Country's Intelligence Bureau; like the agents of Beika Country in the Teya Alliance, they still hadn't located the Monster Association headquarters.
But if they could take part in the Association's next major operation, that alone would be vital intel.
Although all electronics had been confiscated, once they left here he had plenty of ways to send the message back.
While each group harbored its own schemes,
outside, in the skies of Jiangjin City, more than twenty black Nanwu Country helicopters streaked past.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A kilometer behind the helicopters, Jiang Ao wore a gray denim jacket and a small black earpiece in his left ear; two whirlwinds over ten meters long rotated at his shoulders, supporting his body in the air.
A cold smile on his face, he gazed down at the oval shopping plaza below.
"Team Leader Jiang, we're about to reach the destination!" his subordinate's voice came through the earpiece.
Just as Jiang Ao was about to reply, his expression froze; he looked up—over a dozen tiny black dots were rapidly enlarging in the distance.
More than ten black helicopters identical to theirs appeared there, and his face instantly darkened.
Even from far away he instantly sensed the auras of Fang Wenyu and Qin Wan.
Awakened Ones are like energy-storage barrels; the higher the level, the more energy, and that energy naturally gives off a unique fluctuation.
Other Level Four or Five Awakened Ones can sense it.
"Move out now—kill every Monster on the spot, leave no survivors!" he ordered grimly, quick and decisive.
He didn't know why Fang Wenyu and the others were here, but he had no intention of handing these Monsters over to them.
Whoosh! Gale winds erupted as the two whirlwinds behind him propelled him straight toward Fang Wenyu's side.