191: Chapter 191 Zhennan Pass

Zhennan Pass, Central Military Building, Meeting Hall No. 1.

Inside the giant meeting hall, which could accommodate a thousand people, only a few dozen were seated at this moment.

The eight champion teams from the eight cities of the Southern District sat upright and solemn.

Although a small episode had just occurred, no one dared to act rashly at this moment. This was because an elderly man with a terrifying aura sat on the rostrum.

He wore a training uniform without any rank insignia, and though his hair was gray, he was full of vigor. His eyes, in particular, though cloudy, exuded a murderous aura forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Just by sitting there, he pressured these so-called geniuses until they could hardly breathe.

Commander-in-Chief of the Southern District—Lei Zhentian!

A true Level 90+ National-level powerhouse, his status was even half a rank higher than the Li Zhenhai's!

"Is everyone here?"

Lei Zhentian spoke slowly. His voice wasn't loud, but it resonated in everyone's ears like a great bell.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief! All members of the eight city representative teams are present!"

An adjutant reported loudly.

"Good."

Lei Zhentian stood up, his gaze sweeping across the room.

When his gaze swept over the Nirvana Battle Team, it paused slightly, as if he were somewhat surprised, but he quickly looked away.

"I know that in your respective schools, you are all influential figures, geniuses held in the palms of everyone's hands."

Lei Zhentian got straight to the point, his tone stern:

"But here, at Zhennan Pass, you are nothing!"

"You are just recruits! Reservists! You might even be... cannon fodder!"

These words were harsh, but no one dared to talk back.

Lei Zhentian pressed a button in front of him, and the large screen behind him instantly lit up.

A giant holographic map emerged, with a red skull marking a specific area.

"I have gathered you here today not for sparring or competition, but to carry out a military operation codenamed **'Star Shatter'**!"

"Operation Star Shatter?"

The crowd below whispered among themselves.

Lei Zhentian pointed at the red skull:

"Just yesterday, our reconnaissance satellites detected highly unusual space-time fluctuations in this area Outside the Border called the 'Fallen Wasteland'."

"There is an ancient ruin there that was originally abandoned long ago. However, recently, signals of high-level fierce beasts gathering have frequently appeared there, and there are even... traces of human activity."

Hearing "human activity," Chen Xi's eyebrows twitched.

"Humans?"

In a place where fierce beasts ran rampant, besides Professionals like them, there was only one other possibility—

That mysterious Black-Clothed Organization!

"The military suspects that place is a secret base for a terrorist organization."

Lei Zhentian's voice was cold:

"They are using some kind of technology within the ruins to conduct anti-human experiments. The source of the fierce beast airdrop incidents that occurred in various cities earlier is very likely here!"

"Your mission is simple—infiltrate, scout, and then... destroy!"

"For this operation, besides you, I have also mobilized elites from the military. However, there are special force field restrictions inside the ruins, so high-level Professionals cannot enter. We can only rely on new forces like you, who are below Level 40."

At this point, Lei Zhentian looked at several teams below the stage:

"This operation has an extremely high danger level. You will not only face fierce beasts but may also encounter enemies with unknown technology."

"Of course, your competitors are not just the enemy."

He pointed to a team sitting on the left.

They were a group of people wearing deep blue tight-fitting clothes with camouflage paint on their faces. Each of their gazes was as cold and sinister as a venomous snake, and they exuded a damp, cold murderous aura.

"The [Deep Blue Blade] from Seashore City, specialized in naval warfare and assassination. All members are Agility-type classes. Their captain is 'Ghost Shark', Level 38."

Then, he pointed to a team in the corner.

This team was the most mysterious. There were only four of them, their entire bodies shrouded in large black cloaks, and they wore featureless white masks. They hadn't said a word since entering, and not even the sound of their breathing could be heard.

"The [Shadow Sect] from Cloud Mist City, specialized in illusions and assassination. Their captain's codename is 'Faceless'. Their class is a mystery, and their level is a mystery."

When Lei Zhentian introduced the Shadow Sect,

Chen Xi clearly felt that the captain codenamed 'Faceless', despite wearing a mask, was staring intently at Ye Fei behind him with an extremely greedy and slimy gaze!

It felt like a hungry wolf seeing fresh meat.

Ye Fei couldn't help but shiver and subconsciously grabbed the corner of Chen Xi's clothes:

"Captain... that person's gaze is so disgusting."

Chen Xi calmly shifted his body to block the gaze while simultaneously activating Card Affinity Reflection.

However, to his shock,

The feedback information turned out to be a mess of garbled code!

[Name: ???]

[Class: ???]

[Status: Under Special Shielding]

"Shielding?"

Alarm bells rang in Chen Xi's heart.

Being able to shield the detection of a Miracle Card Maker was definitely not something an ordinary student could do. This Shadow Sect team had a problem! A big problem!

The aura on them was... too similar to that Black-Clothed Organization!

"Alright, that's the situation."

Lei Zhentian turned off the screen and said sternly:

"Rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, you will be airdropped into the mission zone!"

"Remember, this is not a drill! It is war!"

"Meeting adjourned!"

...

After the meeting adjourned, the teams left one after another.

Tie Shan from Steel Torrent had long lost his previous arrogance. Seeing Chen Xi was like a mouse seeing a cat; he led his team members to slip away along the base of the wall.

When the Shadow Sect team passed by Chen Xi, the Faceless captain suddenly stopped.

Although he couldn't see the expression, Chen Xi could feel him smiling.

It was the smile of a hunter seeing its prey.

Then, without saying a word, they walked straight away.

"Captain Chen, these people aren't right."

Su Xiaoxiao gripped her magic staff and whispered:

"The scent on them... there's a rotten smell. It's very similar to the Men in Black we encountered in the Black Swamp Forest."

"You felt it too?"

Chen Xi nodded, his gaze solemn:

"It seems that for this operation, even the military isn't clean. They actually let such people sneak into the challenge tournament teams."

"However..."

Chen Xi sneered:

"Since they want to play, I'll play along."

"Let's go! To the Logistics Department!"

"I'm going to prepare a big gift for these shady characters who hide their identities!"