177: 177. Did you take a knock?

In the shadows at the back of the banquet hall, a young man in a waiter's uniform, whose demeanor seemed out of place among the other service staff, subtly furrowed his brow.

His name was Chen Feng, and his true identity was that of an elite operative from the National Security Department.

He had received orders from his superiors that an intelligence agent was suspected of having infiltrated the Eagle Country academic exchange delegation, and his mission was to covertly observe and ferret out that rat.

However, the series of bizarre events unfolding before him left even this experienced National Security officer feeling a sense of inexplicable confusion and difficulty.

From his perspective, the entire process was filled with incomprehensible absurdity:

Researcher Julie, who had been perfectly fine moments before, merely went in the direction of the restroom. Not long after, she suddenly seemed to be possessed, crashing through a corridor window with an expression of extreme terror, without any warning, and jumped from the second floor!

Her resolute posture didn't look like suicide; it was more like she was escaping something extremely terrifying.

Immediately after, Professor Mike's behavior was even stranger.

He rushed out in a panic, but halfway there, he suddenly froze in place as if under a spell. His eyes were tightly shut, and the muscles in his face twitched and contorted with fear, as if he were immersed in an inescapable nightmare.

He was completely unresponsive to the outside world, eventually collapsing to the ground and screaming hysterically.

Chen Feng's fingers unconsciously rubbed beneath the tray.

He ruled out external attack; at least, he hadn't observed any within his range of vision.

A ridiculous yet unavoidable thought surfaced in his mind: Could these two have… secretly brought some contraband into Xia Country and taken drugs?

Otherwise, it was truly difficult to explain these consecutive, mental breakdown-like abnormal behaviors.

“It seems a more thorough investigation of the items they carried and their entry records is needed.”

Chen Feng's gaze was sharp, and he firmly etched Mike and Julie's abnormal behavior into his mind. This was completely different from any espionage patterns he had encountered before, filled with an eerie quality.

On the other side, Yu Tianxiong and Qin Tian exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.

They naturally knew these two had ill intentions, but this sudden, self-destructive behavior also exceeded their expectations.

Lu Feng had walked over to them at some point, a calm, all-knowing smile on his face, and whispered, “Don't worry, they're just two small spies. I'm just playing a game with them.”

Yu Tianxiong's brows furrowed, and he made a discreet throat-slitting gesture, his eyes cold: “Sir, should we take this opportunity to…”

He was concerned about leaving future trouble.

Lu Feng gently shook his head, his gaze subtly sweeping over the direction where Chen Feng was at the back of the banquet hall, and smiled meaningfully, “We don't need to act ourselves. There are already ‘professionals’ watching them. Let them handle the cleanup; it's cleaner and more in line with procedure.”

Yu Tianxiong instantly understood, nodded, and said no more.

Since National Security had already intervened, they indeed had no need to overstep, lest they invite unnecessary trouble.

With such a horrifying incident occurring, the atmosphere of the banquet had long been completely ruined.

The school leaders' expressions were complex; they urgently comforted the other frightened guests while quickly arranging personnel to deal with the scene.

Ambulances arrived quickly. Julie was rushed to the hospital. After examination, besides a few glass scratches and extreme fright, the most serious injury was a broken arm from landing.

Professor Mike, supported by medical staff, also went to the hospital for examination. Although he was physically unharmed, his mental state was clearly greatly impacted. His eyes were unfocused, his face pale throughout the journey, and he constantly looked around as if some monster might pounce from the darkness at any moment.

The ambulance sped to the hospital, and accompanied by school personnel, both received treatment.

In the hospital room, Julie was sobbing softly from pain and fear. She looked at Mike, who was equally distraught, and choked out, “Now… now you believe me? You felt it too, didn't you?”

Professor Mike swallowed with difficulty, recalling the countless faces that had simultaneously turned to him with eerie smiles, and the tide-like whispers of “We found you.” He shivered involuntarily, no longer possessing his previous certainty and reprimands.

His voice was dry, with a slight tremor: “I… I don't know what that was… it's too evil. This damn Eastern country is too… bizarre. It doesn't conform to science…”

The word “evil” coming from the mouth of a senior intellectual who consistently believed in science seemed particularly ironic, yet it truly reflected the impact on his worldview at that moment.

Could those supernatural powers from ancient Eastern legends truly exist?

Had they really… encountered something evil?

After simple treatment for their injuries at the hospital, the two, still shaken, dared not linger in the hospital, which was filled with the smell of disinfectant. It was too unsettling. They strongly demanded to return to their residence.

Upon returning to the relatively enclosed hotel room, Mike immediately locked the door and drew all the curtains, as if only then could he gain a shred of insignificant security.

The two could no longer suppress their inner panic. Mike, with a hand that was still slightly trembling, dialed an encrypted overseas call, contacting their direct superior in the Eagle Country intelligence department.

“Sir… the mission… the mission had an accident…” Mike's voice still trembled.

“You've been discovered?” Their superior, Lewis, immediately became alert.

“No… but… it's more terrifying than that!! We encountered…”

On the other end of the phone, their superior, Lewis, listened as Mike incoherently described being trapped in a ghostly maze, looping corridors, eerie smiles, and Julie's window-jumping behavior. Initially, he was incredulous, then it turned into suppressed fury.

“F*ck! Absurd! Mike, are you f*cking messing with me? Do you think I'm an idiot?” The superior roared into the phone.

Mike quickly explained, “No… I didn't…”

“Mike! You are a seasoned researcher! Julie is also a rigorously trained researcher! And you're telling me about some Eastern ghost stories?! One hallucinating is one thing, but two at the same time? Are you on drugs?! I think you've been discovered by the target and fallen victim to their psychological tactics without even knowing it! You've completely disgraced the organization!”

Julie quickly snatched the phone and argued, “Sir, I swear on my professional career, that feeling was absolutely real! It wasn't an ordinary hallucination…”

“Shut up!”

Their superior rudely interrupted her.

“I don't care what you encountered! Listen, the mission must continue! The importance of that battery data doesn't need me to emphasize it again! I don't care if you saw ghosts or encountered evil, get your act together immediately! You absolutely cannot arouse the suspicion of the Xia Country authorities! If your stupidity leads to mission failure, you know the consequences!”

This cold command directly crushed Mike and Julie's already fragile nerves.

After hanging up the phone, the two looked at each other, both seeing deep helplessness and fear in the other's eyes.

Their superior's distrust and stern command had pushed them into an impossible predicament.

“He… he doesn't believe us…” Julie murmured despairingly.

Mike irritably ran his hand through his hair, pacing the room: “We have to do something… We can't go back there, absolutely not that building…”

“Those evil things… will they cling to us? I've watched Hollywood movies… those things in them… you can't escape them no matter how hard you run…”

The atmosphere immediately fell silent, very oppressive.

Suddenly, Julie seemed to remember something and abruptly grabbed Mike's arm: “A church! Maybe a church can help us! Churches have holy water, prayers… the Bible… these are all banes of evil spirits!”

At this moment of scientific faith collapse and descent into unknown fear, they instinctively turned to the other extreme.

Seeking religious sanctuary.

Mike's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped a life raft: “Right! Why didn't I think of that! A church, this city must have a church! Come to think of it, my mom is a believer!”

The two no longer cared about completing their mission. They immediately took out their phones, frantically searching for the location of churches in Jiang City.

They desperately needed a prayer, or an exorcism, to shake off the lingering evil spirits that clung to them like shadows.