Chapter 10

Long Yuehong thought that Shang Jianyao would echo a few words to comfort him, but to his surprise, the other party remained silent and walked straight ahead as if he hadn’t heard anything.

Long Yuehong opened his mouth, wanting to repeat himself, but in the end, he didn’t say anything, only sighing silently.

After walking in silence for a while, the two arrived at the fourth elevator area in the corner of Zone C.

While waiting for the elevator to arrive, Long Yuehong felt time passing very slowly, each second a torment, making it hard for him to breathe.

Finally, the elevator on the left opened its doors.

After entering, Shang Jianyao swiped his electronic card and pressed the button for 647.

The elevator doors closed, and the elevator began to ascend.

Watching the floor numbers change, Shang Jianyao suddenly spoke, his voice low and deep:

"Everyone has their own mission."

Long Yuehong was stunned for two seconds, then smiled bitterly:

"I just want to stay within the company, find a good wife, have two adorable children, one boy and one girl, and strive to let them eat meat three times a week..."

His voice gradually faded, as if he already felt such a goal was unattainable.

Shang Jianyao didn’t speak again, and Long Yuehong didn’t know what to say either. The two stood there in silence, making the time inside the elevator seem to stand still.

After an unknown amount of time, the elevator stopped at the 647th floor.

As Long Yuehong walked out, he looked down and asked:

"Shang Jianyao, what were you thinking about just now? I was thinking, at least I have a younger brother and sister."

"I was spacing out," Shang Jianyao said, looking straight ahead.

"…You have a good attitude," Long Yuehong couldn’t help but exclaim.

"Since I applied for it myself," Shang Jianyao cast his gaze to the right, checking the room numbers.

"…" Long Yuehong was speechless and started looking for Room 14.

Unlike the 495th floor, the 647th floor wasn’t divided into several streets, and the rooms weren’t separated by only two or three meters.

Here, each "training ground" was at the center, surrounded by several spacious rooms.

Soon, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong arrived outside Room 14.

There was no nameplate on the door, leaving the two unable to guess which action team, squad, or group of the Security Department it belonged to.

Long Yuehong opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and prepared to adjust his mindset to face his fate.

At that moment, Shang Jianyao, without hesitation, raised his finger and knocked on the door.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The sound came suddenly, interrupting Long Yuehong’s deep breath.

He was about to complain to Shang Jianyao when a slightly hoarse female voice came from inside:

"Please come in."

Shang Jianyao turned the handle and pushed open the door.

Long Yuehong then looked inside, scanning the room roughly.

This room was at least three times larger than his own, with a desk painted in dark red and two large bookshelves placed at the far end.

On the left side of the outer wall, there were three black tables, quite old.

The middle part and the right area served as a "living room," with a battered sofa, a coffee table, four armchairs, two long benches, and four low stools.

At this moment, a woman standing on the single sofa looked toward the door.

She was in her early twenties, nearly 1.8 meters tall, with an excellent head-to-body-to-leg ratio, tanned skin, and black hair tied into a ponytail at the back of her head.

Unlike the girls commonly seen in the "living area," she wore the uniform of the Security Department—gray with a certain camouflage pattern, looking very dashing.

Her facial features were well-suited to such attire, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a very spirited appearance.

"Are you the new team members?" This woman smiled brightly, but her voice was a bit loud.

"Yes, yes," Long Yuehong, seeing such an extraordinary and beautiful woman, was a bit nervous.

The woman frowned slightly and said:

"Speak louder."

Her voice had a clear quality, clearly not the one who had said "please come in."

Long Yuehong was startled, thinking he might have offended his superior somehow.

Shang Jianyao stepped forward and shouted:

"Yes!"

His voice echoed in the room and reached the corridor.

The woman smiled again, pointing to her ear:

"You don’t need to be so loud. I just have hearing issues, but I’m not deaf."

Long Yuehong followed her finger and saw a silver metal device in her ear.

"Cochlear implant," the woman said frankly.

She then composed herself and spoke in a voice much louder than normal:

"Let me introduce myself. I am your team leader, Jiang Baimian.

"Though I’m called a team leader, I haven’t reached D7 level yet, currently only D6."

"Yes, Team Leader," Long Yuehong responded loudly.

"Hello, Team Leader!" Shang Jianyao seemed very happy.

Jiang Baimian pointed to the sofa:

"She is another team member, Bai Chen."

Bai Chen was only about 1.6 meters tall, wearing the same gray camouflage uniform, but she was much smaller compared to Jiang Baimian.

She had a dusty, old scarf around her neck, black hair just past her ears, delicate features, and rough skin, as if often exposed to the elements.

Unlike Jiang Baimian’s deep brown eyes, hers were more of a brownish-yellow.

"Hello," Bai Chen greeted with a slightly hoarse voice.

"Hello," Long Yuehong was still a bit nervous.

"Hello!" Shang Jianyao’s voice was still very loud.

Jiang Baimian pointed to the coffee table and said loudly:

"Find a place to sit. Oh, right, introduce yourselves first."

"Shang Jianyao!" As soon as Jiang Baimian finished speaking, Shang Jianyao shouted his name, then closed the door, took his lunch box, and sat in an armchair.

"I am Long Yuehong. My father’s surname is Long, and my mother’s name has a ‘Hong’ in it," Long Yuehong explained the origin of his name subconsciously, then sat in the armchair next to Shang Jianyao.

Jiang Baimian sat down, looked around, and smiled:

"Since everyone is here, I’ll briefly explain our team’s situation."

"Everyone is here?" Long Yuehong blurted out.

Only four people?

A team in the Security Department should have at least twenty members, right?

Jiang Baimian was taken aback:

"What did you say?"

"He said there are too few people!" Shang Jianyao helped translate.

Jiang Baimian’s eyebrows relaxed, and she smiled:

"We are not a combat team."

Not a combat team? Long Yuehong felt a wave of relief.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao and said:

"The full name of our team is the ‘Old World Destruction Cause Investigation Team,’ abbreviated as the ‘Old Investigation Team.’

"However, I am not the only Old Investigation Team. Both the Security Department and the Board have other Old Investigation Teams, but we don’t know their specific situations.

"Remember! This is important, a confidentiality matter!

"Also, you don’t need to worry about duplicate investigations. Although we don’t know which other Old Investigation Teams exist or their progress, the higher-ups will share the latest and most valuable clues with us."

At this point, Jiang Baimian paused, her expression becoming serious:

"Compared to ordinary combat teams, the ‘Old World Destruction Cause Investigation Team’ faces more and greater dangers.

"Why are there so many small teams with the same mission? It’s because in the past, there was only one Old Investigation Team with many members, and during an external investigation, they all disappeared, with no one returning. The loss was very severe and difficult to recover from."

Long Yuehong’s face turned pale:

"So dangerous..."

"What did you say?" Jiang Baimian only saw Long Yuehong’s mouth moving, almost hearing no sound.

Long Yuehong subconsciously looked at Shang Jianyao, seeing his serious expression and silence, realizing he wouldn’t help translate.

Long Yuehong took a deep breath and shouted:

"So dangerous?"

After shouting, he found his emotions had calmed down a bit.

Jiang Baimian nodded:

"The Old Investigation Team might delve into the wilderness, investigate city ruins, or go to other factions to find clues. We will face various situations and encounter various enemies.

"To put it this way, even senior employees of the Security Department are not too willing to join the Old Investigation Team."

Long Yuehong’s face turned even paler:

"Why are we so unlucky?"

After muttering to himself, he shouted:

"Why are we so unlucky?"

Jiang Baimian looked around, a bit puzzled:

"I’m not unlucky... I wasn’t assigned here; our Old Investigation Team was actually established at my request."

She smiled and added:

"I’ve always believed we need to understand the reason for the Old World’s destruction. Only by doing so can we avoid making the same mistakes, find the root of the Unintentional Disease, and help all humans overcome this fear.

"Moreover, you might have heard rumors that in the depths of some city ruins above the gray soil, there is a gateway to the New World. If we never explore, we will never enter the New World and will forever be accompanied by famine, infection, mutation, and monsters.

"This is my dream, so I proactively applied to the higher-ups of the Security Department to establish a new Old Investigation Team.

"Hehe, I also enjoy digging into the history of city ruins and observing the social conditions of other factions, interacting with people and things in different places and states."

Bai Chen, sitting quietly on the sofa, suddenly spoke:

"I’ve heard of you. Someone said you are a ‘sociologist’ and his goddess."

Jiang Baimian chuckled:

"Ah, what did you say? I didn’t hear the last part. Never mind, tell us about yourself."

Bai Chen looked at Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong, her voice slightly hoarse:

"I applied to join voluntarily. You might have noticed I’m not from within the company. I used to be a wanderer in the wilderness, later absorbed by the company, and I don’t have the qualifications of a formal employee yet. The Old Investigation Team can help me achieve this goal quickly, quickly improve my employee level, and then I’ll have the qualifications to apply for genetic modification."

Jiang Baimian tilted her head, as if she hadn’t heard Bai Chen clearly.

She smiled and asked:

"Is she saying bad things about me behind my back?

"Hehe, we will definitely be active in the wilderness often, and we need a guide familiar with the wilderness and who has interacted with multiple factions and settlements. Don’t look at her young age; she has rich experience."

After saying this, Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao:

"I’ve seen your file and can guess why you applied to join the Old Investigation Team.

"Besides that, do you have other reasons?"

"To save all of humanity!" Shang Jianyao shouted loudly.

Jiang Baimian’s expression froze for a moment, and she raised her hand to touch her ear:

"Ah, what did you say?

"Hehe, no need to repeat. Long Yuehong, why did you join?"

"I was assigned here... I just graduated this year, unmarried..."

After saying this, he realized and loudly repeated himself.

Jiang Baimian blinked:

"Among so many people, you are the only one who didn’t get married?

"Among so many graduates, you might be the only one assigned to the Security Department, and even to the Old Investigation Team?"

Long Yuehong nodded heavily.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and smiled gently:

"Someone like you, we usually call a ‘chosen one.’”

PS: Please give me a recommendation!