485: Seize the opportunity

"You guys play games, right? What if the ability Xiao Yun possesses isn't a special physique like Song Qiuyun's, but rather something similar to a 'Golden Finger' in a game?"

Inside the central conference room on Floor A of the Dragon Country GTI Headquarters.

He Mo's expression was serious as he voiced his most daring hypothesis.

In the preceding period, he had been ordered by his immediate superior to go to Haibei City to investigate Xiao Yun's situation.

This superior wasn't a leader within the GTI, but someone issuing instructions directly from the Dragon Country Central Authority.

The investigation proved crucial; once He Mo arrived in Haibei City and started digging, he uncovered massive issues.

The business and political environment in Haibei City was rotten, with relationships tangled like tree roots. The core figure was Li Lei, the president of Leijian Group, who, relying on years of accumulated connections, virtually held absolute power in Haibei City.

The entirety of Haibei City helped him deceive his superiors and subordinates alike, which is why the higher authorities found it difficult to deal with these people. The government knew similar situations existed elsewhere, but cleaning up these forces was costly and exhaustive, making it difficult to eradicate them even after multiple large-scale operations launched by the Dragon Country government.

An action like the thorough investigation of the Leijian Group was only initiated because the emergence of a top-tier knife-running genius like Xiao Yun in Haibei City finally caught the government's attention.

However, this wasn't the most critical issue.

The most critical issue was the series of mysteries surrounding Xiao Yun that surfaced during He Mo's investigation of the Leijian Group—that was what concerned him most now.

"A Golden Finger?"

He Yan raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Are you talking about something like the 'System' found in web novels? Can something like that actually appear in the real world..."

"I actually think it's very possible."

Compared to He Yan's skepticism, Song Qiuyun was seriously considering the possibility of such a situation.

As someone who had accidentally acquired a special physique akin to a superpower, Song Qiuyun was not resistant to the idea that Xiao Yun possessed a System.

On the contrary, after careful consideration, she felt that He Mo's hypothesis was highly reasonable.

"After all, the fact that two worlds are connected through the Exclusion Zone has already appeared in the real world, hasn't it?"

"Hiss—Now that you mention it... Could this Xiao Yun really be like a protagonist in a web novel, activating some kind of System?"

He Yan scratched his head, his initial prejudice largely dissipating as he began to think seriously.

"Alright, all of this is just speculation for now."

He Mo said, reorganizing the documents in his hand before handing them to He Yan beside him.

"This is also why I arranged for Song Qiuyun to build a good relationship with Xiao Yun. In short, we need to understand the situation clearly first and avoid any misunderstandings."

"If this is true... then when the Reverse Exclusion Zone opens, perhaps our Dragon Country can activate it early and gain the first advantage!"

He Yan no longer doubted the authenticity of Xiao Yun having a System; instead, he was considering the implications further down the line.

A few days ago, large-scale world rifts reappeared across various locations on the Blue Star.

Unlike the Exclusion Zone entrances that appeared occasionally before, spatial rifts of such immense magnitude had only been seen over a hundred years ago, when the Exclusion Zone first descended upon reality.

And what the GTI brought this time was a special existence called the "Reverse Exclusion Zone."

Inside the Reverse Exclusion Zone, the offense and defense roles would be swapped.

The GTI Operators from various Blue Star countries would become the protectors of the Exclusion Zone supplies, while the Hafk and Asala forces would become the resource plunderers.

Initially, all nations felt overwhelmed by this, but fortunately, the GTI gave the Blue Star countries time to breathe, allowing each nation to choose any time they wished to activate the Reverse Exclusion Zone.

Although this seemingly gave Blue Star unlimited time to develop technology and improve military capabilities, in reality, it forced all nations to become more anxious to open the Reverse Exclusion Zone.

After all, this was an entirely new existence, just like when the Exclusion Zone first descended upon reality over a hundred years ago.

The benefits that could be gained from it would certainly far exceed everyone's expectations.

Whoever could activate the Reverse Exclusion Zone early would gain a step ahead of other countries, and the more precious resources they obtained within it, the stronger their comprehensive national power would become.

This was exactly like when the Exclusion Zone first descended upon reality.

Whoever seized the initiative and accumulated more advantages within it would have the chance to rewrite the global landscape and become the new world hegemon!

However.

Although the immediate benefits were highly tempting, the governments of all nations were not fools.

Activating the Reverse Exclusion Zone without complete preparation would only put their own country in a dangerous situation, or even benefit others, providing intelligence to other nations for free.

Therefore, the existence of the Reverse Exclusion Zone was like a giant cake, but no one knew the ingredients used to make it, and no one dared to be the first person to cut the cake.

Originally, both the Dragon Country government and the GTI department were struggling with this issue.

Tens of thousands of high-level officials, from top to bottom, who knew the inside story were currently contemplating strategies for the Reverse Exclusion Zone.

But now.

After He Mo discovered Xiao Yun's unique situation, this presented an opportunity for the Dragon Country to leap ahead of all other nations!

However, he was still uncertain whether Xiao Yun was truly as he suspected.

"Speaking of which, the appearance of the Reverse Exclusion Zone was also because of Xiao Yun, right?"

Song Qiuyun said lightly, and He Mo nodded silently.

"Yes. We originally thought the Reverse Exclusion Zone descended because he violated GTI rules, but it turns out it was because he took a step ahead of everyone, reaching a height unattainable by all top Operators in the world, which prompted the GTI to open the Reverse Exclusion Zone."

"Fortunately, the GTI did not reveal the specific details, otherwise Xiao Yun would be in danger!"

He Yan smiled faintly and looked at Song Qiuyun beside him.

"It's a good thing that most countries' attention is still focused on AYun; they probably haven't considered Xiao Yun's side."

Song Qiuyun looked exasperated. "So, I've become a shield?"

Currently, although Xiao Yun's strength was already evident within the Dragon Country GTI department.

Globally, however, he had only shown his brilliance during the assessment in front of the examiners.

According to the GTI Headquarters regulations, the examiners participating in this special international joint examination only had the obligation to provide evaluations during the assessment and did not have the right to disclose the assessment information.

Only the GTI Administrators within the Dragon Country's own GTI department were aware of Xiao Yun's astonishing performance.

Therefore, most countries in the world were still completely unaware of the appearance of an Operator like Xiao Yun, who surpassed common knowledge; at most, they had only caught wind of some unconfirmed rumors.

Consequently, aside from the Dragon Country's GTI Administrators, no one knew that the appearance of the Reverse Exclusion Zone was caused solely by Xiao Yun.

"Oh, right, AYun."

Just as the conversation was about to conclude, He Mo pulled out his phone and dialed a special number.

"To help you build a good relationship with Xiao Yun, I specifically found a few key individuals to assist with this matter. One of them will be arriving shortly."

"Hello? Is this Leader He?"

The call connected, and a slightly youthful voice came from the other end.

"It's me, little brother Zhang Yu. You should be arriving soon, shouldn't you?"

"You even knew that! That's right, I've already left the airport and will be at the GTI Headquarters shortly."

The person who answered the phone turned out to be Zhang Yu, who had been close friends with Xiao Yun since childhood.

"Speaking of which, Leader, what exactly do you need me for in Jinghai? Why the big mystery?"

"Well... you'll find out once you get here."

"Wow! Such a high level of secrecy means it must be an important mission. Please rest assured, Leader, no matter how difficult the mission is, I will not fail my duty!"