Chapter 68

In the courtyard of the Yanhuang Ninth Group, it was already night, but Yang Fan had not yet left. However, he wasn't busy with anything; he was sitting in a chair, lost in thought. According to the plan, Li Mang should have already arrived in Zhangjiajie and should have called him long ago... but he still hadn't.

Not long ago, he had called Li Mang, but the call was met with a message that the other party had no signal. This made Yang Fan feel that something was wrong. He then asked the surveillance team to use satellite positioning, but the result was that Li Mang could not be located, having vanished without a trace.

This was highly unreasonable. Yanhuang's satellite phones were extremely secure and were designed as a single unit, making it impossible to open the back cover or remove the battery, unless they were violently destroyed. But even if they were violently destroyed, a warning should have been sent back. However, there was no such warning, and the intelligence team had not reported any unusual activity. They only said that Li Mang had disappeared after leaving the airport, with no reports of an attack.

"What the hell happened!" Yang Fan's expression kept changing.

At the same time, in Changsha and Zhangjiakou, some strange figures were moving through the streets and alleys. They were either white-collar workers, tourists, or beggars, and they seemed to be busy looking for someone. If you paid attention, you could see that they frequently looked down at their phones, which displayed a picture. If Li Mang saw it, he would be very surprised, because the person in the photo was him.

At the Tianmen Mountain tourist area, a hunched old man reported to the black figure in front of him in a voice devoid of emotion: "Captain, we have lost track of the target. The ground network in both locations is operating at full capacity, but we still can't find any clues... Moreover, Yanhuang seems to have noticed something, making it difficult for the ground network to act further."

Clearly, this was a large organization, and from this conversation, it was evident that they were an opposing force to Yanhuang. The ground network was their intelligence department.

Yanhuang also had its own intelligence department, called Tianluo, which was ten times more capable than the ground network.

Tianluo, the ground network, Yanhuang, and this mysterious organization gave off an unusual vibe.

"Oh? I thought this would be a simple mission, but it seems to be quite interesting," the voice of a man who didn't seem very old said. His face was in the dark, and no one could see it. But his voice was very distinctive, something that would be unforgettable once heard. It was a sinister, bone-chilling evil.

The hunched old man managed a weak smile, his mouth twisted in a dry, withered expression, his face like that of a corpse crawling out of a coffin, the result of practicing a special and evil martial art.

"Have the ground network stop the search immediately. We can't risk compromising the Inner Eagle. Yanhuang has strict discipline, and it's not easy to plant a high-level agent. It would be a loss to expose him for a minor character!" the black-clothed, sinister man coldly ordered, or rather, commanded.

Inner Eagle was clearly a code name, an agent embedded within Yanhuang. Although the concept of a mole is common, it is never abandoned.

As for who the Inner Eagle was, even they didn't know, only that there was an Inner Eagle in the Yanhuang compound, and the order to intercept Li Mang came from the Inner Eagle.

"Yes, Captain." The hunched old man bowed and retreated.

In a village at the foot of Tianmen Mountain, some livestock were lost again that night, causing panic among the villagers. Many people couldn't sleep that night.

But Li Mang was unaware of all this, and he wasn't interested. At that moment, he was carefully hiding in the Jishan Mountains, searching for the Jade Vine.

After Niuyang Mountain, Zhishan was generally safe, but Danyan Mountain had a fierce beast called "Lei," which looked like a tiger and was not to be underestimated. Li Mang had carefully avoided their territory to enter the seventh Jishan Mountain.

But Jishan also had an ancient beast called "Bai Shi," whose strength Li Mang was unsure of. Since his goal was not to explore Jishan but to find the Jade Vine, he avoided other animals in the mountain and quietly searched for the Jade Vine.

"The Jade Vine grows from a cluster of jade, its body as beautiful as jade, exquisite and elegant..." Li Mang recalled the description from the Shanhaijing and searched in areas with more jade.

Soon, a peculiar sight appeared before Li Mang's eyes. Delicate jade vines crisscrossed, forming a beautiful jade sculpture. Who would have thought that this was a plant? The Jade Vine was adorned with bright green buds, like the finishing touch, making the scene even more exquisite.

"Is this the Jade Vine!" Li Mang was amazed but didn't dare to stay too long. He quickly cut a bundle with his dagger and quietly returned the way he came.

The five materials, excluding the Xuan Gui, were now ready. Everything was set, except for the Xuan Gui. The crucial element was time, as it would take two days and two nights to boil the body-strengthening elixir. However, he couldn't stay hidden for too long, or he didn't know what might happen in the outside world.

"If I use firewood, I can't take care of it in the outside world, but if I use gas, I don't have to stay here all the time," Li Mang muttered to himself, thinking this was a viable solution.

Using gas was not as good as firewood, as the smell of gas could contaminate the elixir, but as long as the impact was minimal, it didn't matter. The outside world was fraught with danger, and he urgently needed to improve his strength. Otherwise, he would end up being hacked to death, and he wasn't ready to die yet.

Knowing the future, despite the ability to change and prepare, was a very oppressive and terrifying thing. It would make anyone anxious and uneasy, especially knowing that they might be hacked to death.

"I need to prepare gas and a large pot... but it's already midnight. Should I steal them?" Li Mang was conflicted.

He had a strong aversion to stealing. His belief was that he could be not a good person, but he couldn't be a bad person. But the shops were closed, and going out to buy these items might expose his location. In such a critical time, it was not advisable.

Steal... steal, then. After all, a can of gas only costs about a hundred yuan, not enough to bankrupt anyone. Besides, he could avoid stealing from the poor. Real estate developers were despicable, and stealing two cans of gas from them wouldn't cause any guilt.

"...Just this once." Li Mang convinced himself and finally stole two cans of gas from a construction site, quietly moving them into the Shanhaijing space. He also took a large pot, undetected.

The warm jade, Yan fruit, snake crown flower, Yang Ling ginseng, and Jade Vine buds were all ready. The necessary cooking utensils were in place, and only the main ingredient, the Xuan Gui, was missing. Li Mang then took a large knife and ran to the strange water of Niuyang Mountain.

"Roar!!"

The Xuan Gui were still ferocious, chasing after Li Mang in a large group. But this time, Li Mang had experience. He lured them away from the group and then struck, eventually catching five of them. One was enough for the elixir, and the rest were killed because he was being chased. However, he wouldn't let them go to waste. Li Mang planned to use the Xuan Gui's blood to take a bath, strengthening his skin's defense.

...

PS: The Three Rivers are under attack, urgent support needed.

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