Sheng Lingyuan lifted his eyes slightly.

At the same time, a sparrow poked its head out of an inconspicuous tree hole on the back of the mountain of the Bureau of Paranormal Control.

It hid in the shadow of a dead tree, glanced outside, and then retreated back into the darkness.

Behind the sparrow, Sheng Lingyuan sat on the sofa like an old man, waiting for his meal. He multitasked, making pinching hand gestures while watching a documentary on TV.

The truck that transported the 3S*001 sealing box had unloaded its cargo and appeared to be empty. The items were left for the researchers to count and inspect, and the truck was moved to make way for the next one in line.

The driver, with a watchful eye on the surrounding field agents, carefully controlled his speed and headed towards the first abnormal energy detection point. The driver and the field agent at the checkpoint exchanged a glance, confirming something between them.

The truck slowly passed the first monitoring point, and on the detector screen, an empty sealed box was scanned inside the cargo hold.

A large warning sign immediately popped up, but before the instrument could sound, the inspector manually clicked "false alarm" and let the truck pass.

As they passed each other, the inspector made a strange noise in his throat, and the truck driver responded with a sentence.

Even if someone who understood the language of the demon clan heard them, they probably wouldn't understand the meaning of these two secret phrases.

These two individuals had human vocal cords, but they insisted on speaking in a non-human language, resulting in a confusing exchange like two different species of frogs trying to mate.

Everything was going unnoticed, but unfortunately, at that moment, a worker from the central dispatch room suddenly rushed in to inform them: "Colleagues from the Research Institute, I'm sorry to interrupt, but the leader asked me to remind you to be careful with the sealing box 3S*001. It's important to protect it and not open it casually."

One researcher stood up straight and asked, "You came just in time. Did the sealing box for the 'Star' series just arrive? But where is the sealing box for '3S'? I didn't see it earlier..."

Oh no!

The inspector and the driver exchanged a quick glance, and the driver stepped on the gas pedal while the inspector pulled out a notepad from his pocket and quickly wrote down a license plate number.

He stuck it onto the back of the truck that was hastily driving away, and the license plate immediately changed to a string of numbers. Just as they finished, the Research Institute confirmed through intense verification that the special sealed box was missing, and the alarm sounded throughout the mountain!

As soon as the alarm went off, the patrolling field agents rushed over and barged into the checkpoint, asking, "Did the truck carrying the sealed box for the Star System pass by?"

The inspector looked bewildered and shook his head, saying, "I didn't see it. The surveillance is all here..."

The field agents of the patrol team immediately checked the license plate of the truck next to the checkpoint and said, "It's not this one. This is crazy. I clearly saw it heading towards the checkpoint."

The voice of the patrol team leader came through the walkie-talkie: "Important dangerous item lost, all departments pay attention. We will now block off the entire back mountain. All personnel stay in place and are prohibited from entering or leaving. I repeat, all personnel stay in place! We will inspect all motor vehicles, individuals, and any corners that may hide dangerous items in the back mountain. The lost dangerous item is classified as '3S', please cooperate, colleagues."

The inspector's face turned pale and he couldn't help but glance at the nearby truck that he had tampered with.

Before he could say anything, several field agents from the patrol team next to him received the order and began to investigate nearby.

They had already walked over.

The inspector's temples were sweating profusely as he quietly reached into his pocket...

Xuan Ji pulled out all the stops, preparing four dishes and a soup.

Even though there wasn't a single audience member, he was more nervous than when he participated in a live cooking competition. He put his heart and soul into the meal, even taking out a set of good tableware that he had never used before.

He arranged the dishes so perfectly that not even someone with OCD could find a flaw.

Finally, he adjusted his attitude to appear nonchalant and brought the dishes to the table, as if he had just made two packets of instant noodles with hot water.

"My skills aren't great. I only have a level four chef's certificate, so I definitely can't compare to the imperial chefs in the Du Ling Palace," Xuan Ji casually boasted. "Your Majesty, please try it. If it's not good, we can order takeout for the next meal. After all, we still need to enjoy some fireworks, and fasting has already taken away a lot of our pleasures, hasn't it?"

As he watched Emperor Lingyuan take a bite, Xuan Ji couldn't help but hold his breath.

Sheng Lingyuan was a bit awkward with chopsticks, and Xuan Ji watched his every move, trying hard to conceal his expression but unable to hide his eager gaze.

His gaze was so powerful that Sheng Lingyuan's rock-solid rationality almost crumbled.

The Emperor quickly averted his gaze, steadying his slightly trembling hand and smiling, "It's okay, I haven't tasted the imperial chef's cooking anyway, so I can't tell who's better or worse."

Xuan Ji suddenly realized that the Emperor's unfamiliarity with chopsticks was not an act, he really hadn't used them in half his life.

Sheng Lingyuan had never been one to indulge in food and drink since he was young...not because he wasn't greedy, but because of limited conditions.

In theory, he was still a prince even if he had fallen on hard times, and he was just a child.

During his escape, if he really wanted to eat something, of course, there were people who went to find food for him. But whether those sent out could come back alive was another matter. His appetite could be deadly, so he dared not indulge and was forced to adopt a Puritan-style restraint.

When he was young, he ate to survive. As a teenager, he achieved great success in his cultivation and began fasting early on. Later on, even when he had the means, his sense of taste was the first to disappear. When the Vermilion Bird Bone Seal was completed, Sheng Lingyuan bid farewell to the flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy, and he simply stopped wasting food.

The so-called "imperial chefs" in the Du Ling Palace were only there to put on a show for banquets. The kitchen fires were usually used to cook for the palace residents.

All in all, he had never really eaten anything good in his life.

"Your cooking is excellent," said Sheng Lingyuan, who had a limited experience with taste. He couldn't tell if it was good or bad, but he gave a commercial compliment, "You've been living a flavorful life these years."

He was trying to be polite, so he tasted every dish and gave positive comments, but they were all just empty words.

He was like a low-level food blogger who had not been paid by the client yet, with a perfunctory attitude.

There was no satisfaction or disgust on his face, and Sheng Lingyuan seemed to be just pretending to be human, performing the act of eating.

And his acting skills were not good.

Xuan Ji suddenly felt dejected.

He felt that it was better when they didn't know each other. Back then, the emperor didn't treat him like a stranger. He would tease and mock him, and often play pranks on him, even if it meant causing him physical harm. But now, it felt like there was a harmless vacuum between them, and no one could touch anyone else.

Suddenly, Xuan Ji had a thought - a vacuum? Wait... was it intentional?

Before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, his phone rang loudly, startling him with its rock and roll ringtone.

Xuan Ji answered the phone, his mind still reeling.

"Hello..."

"Director, it's me... Old Luo!"

Xuan Ji could tell something was wrong from his voice. "Hmm? What happened?"

Although Luo Cuicui was a bit of a brown-noser, he had good judgment and rarely contacted him outside of work hours. On the phone, his voice was low and trembling, like a cannon fodder cornered by a ghost in a horror movie, afraid to even breathe loudly.

"The sealing box for 3S*001...the one that contains the mermaid scales, it's gone," Luo Cuicui stammered, "The entire mountain has been closed off...both Thunder Captain Li and Director Xiao came in person..."

"Take it slow, no need to rush. Speak clearly, I can't hear you," Xuan Ji furrowed his brows, "Director Xiao went over? Then let Director Xiao handle it, why are you so anxious?"

Although Xiao Zheng was a young master who didn't know the value of rice and had spent ten years in the front lines of Wind God and Thunder, he was still capable of handling any situation at the headquarters building, as long as it wasn't one of those "old friends" of the humanoid race.

Even if He Cuiyu were to fake her death, he would still be able to handle it.

The phone kept making a continuous "clicking" sound, the sound of teeth clacking against each other.

Xuan Ji: "Old Luo?"

Luo Cuicui: "I...I'm also in the back mountain, with...with a few colleagues...including Qianru."

"Why did you go there?"

"Weren't there some goods brought back from Jiangzhou that needed to be disposed of harmlessly in the back mountain? I thought it was our department's responsibility...since you left first, I took the liberty of bringing a few young colleagues to help...and Chief Huang hasn't finished work yet..."

Luo Cuicui spoke in a roundabout and incoherent manner, but Xuan Ji, who had experience with office politics, immediately understood - this old sly fox was about to retire and had been trying to secure a good position by any means necessary.

It seemed that he had noticed Xuan Ji, the "temporary head of the department," spending all his time with the field agents and neglecting the aftermath department's work.

He didn't seem like someone who would be in the aftermath department for a long time, so he quickly declared himself the 'deputy head of the department' and seized every opportunity to make himself known to the leaders.

Xuan Ji didn't bother with him: "What did you see?"

At this moment, Luo Cuicui was hiding in the car with a few young people from the aftermath department. They were all crouched together, huddled next to the car seat, and paper talismans were pasted on the corners of the windows and doors to cover their presence. No one dared to look out the window.

Luo Cuicui said, "The Research Institute has a plant-type user. When unloading, they deliberately covered the sealed box with a 'blindfold leaf'... The blindfold leaf is..."

Xuan Ji interrupted, "I know what a 'blindfold leaf' is. Get to the point."

A blindfold leaf is a special plant that is used to hide things. It's quite useless because it only causes visual illusions. The item is still there, and it can't escape infrared scanning. If there happens to be another plant-type user with the same ability, it will be exposed.

With a tearful voice, Luo Cuicui said, "To be honest, I also can use the Blindfold Leaf, just that I've never told anyone about it. It's because my Blindfold Leaf ability is less than one square centimeter and only covers a tiny spot. I feel embarrassed to tell others... The only advantage is that I can see when others use it.

"Just now, the Research Institute quickly discovered that a sealed box was missing. Director Xiao immediately locked down the mountain and detained everyone for investigation... But the box still hasn't been found. I... I didn't want to cause trouble, so I focused on our department's children and didn't go over there. I just went back to our department's car, which was parked far away..."

Luo Cuicui was always quick to react, like a rabbit, when it came to protecting himself.

"We're far away and the car has already stalled, so it looks like there's no one around... but I saw... I saw someone carrying the sealed box covered by the camouflage leaves, and they went into the small forest behind the mountain!"

Xuan Ji immediately asked, "Who was it?" "I don't know them. I don't recognize all the field agents, especially if they're not wearing uniforms."

This statement contained a lot of information. There are uniforms for duty and patrol teams. If they're a field agent and not wearing a uniform, then they're most likely a special field agent.

The Hazard Management Department had strict site management. Except for designated researchers, no one was allowed to touch the items. Everywhere were spiritual detectors and scanners.

If anything seemed amiss, the patrol team would immediately detain everyone. With layers of security, even crude methods that someone like Luo Cuicui could easily see through would not go unnoticed.

But they actually stole a Level 3S sealed box right under Xiao Zheng's nose.

This could only mean that the Bureau, field agents, patrol teams, even Thunder and the Central Dispatch Office were all corrupt and had ties to the True Nature Sect.

No wonder Luo Cuicui, a seasoned veteran who never hesitated to act, was scared and hiding in the car.

"Director, what should I do now? Who should I turn to? I'm at a loss," Luo Cuicui said anxiously. "You don't know, I'm sitting in the car with the kids from our department, afraid to even move. We've even taped up the car doors with air-sealing strips we got last year, I don't even know if they're expired... Oh, wait a minute - what's wrong with Qingru? Do you have something to tell the leader?"

Ping Qingru shook her head frantically, her face filled with fear, desperately trying to signal something to him.

Luo Cuicui stared at her for a moment, then suddenly realized something and slowly turned his head...

A face was pressed against the car window, looking down at them from above.

"Old Luo? Hello? Old Luo?" Xuan Ji only heard a scream on the other end of the phone before it hung up, and when he tried calling back, there was no response.

"Sit down," Sheng Lingyuan didn't even lift his eyelids. "Your subordinate has at least a hundred or so little tricks up his sleeve. He's an old hand at this, it's not that easy for her to die."

Xuan Ji knew logically that Luo Cuicui was a gluttonous, lazy, slippery character with all five poisons, but when it came to the people around him, regardless of whether they had a relationship or not, he couldn't help but worry.

He furrowed her brows and tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, do you have a plan?"

Sheng Lingyuan had something in his mouth and didn't answer immediately.

He ate like he was following a program, arranging the dishes in a circle on the table and picking them up counterclockwise in order, chewing each bite exactly twenty times regardless of whether it was soft or hard.

Some bites were chewed until there was nothing left, just going through the motions, while others couldn't be chewed completely, but he swallowed them anyway since the portion was small enough to manage.

After finishing his twenty chews and swallowing, he spoke slowly and deliberately, "If that thing was mixed in with other items and sent back by us 'ignorant' people, the people behind the True Nature Sect would probably be furious. It's very cost-effective to exchange it with all the undercover members in your bureau."

Xuan Ji asked, "So you know what that piece of mermaid scale is?"

"Thinking that following time rules can extend one's life is a fantasy. Time is time, and lifespan is lifespan. These are two different things. If I'm not mistaken, what He Cuiyu is looking for should be the entrance to the 'Heavenly White Jade Palace'."

"What?"

"Is there really a 'Heavenly White Jade Palace' in the world? Isn't that just like the mythical legends of 'Southern Gate' and the 'Ghost City'?"

"The useless blacksmiths of Mountain's Wei family are neither good at literature nor martial arts. They always surrender at the last minute and switch sides. No one dares to offend them." Sheng Lingyuan put down his chopsticks.

"However, they have used the little bit of courage they squeezed out of their bones and marrow to go against the mermaids. When I confiscated the fake White Jade Palace from Wei Yu, I seized a total of 320 volumes of Mountain secret techniques, of which 306 were related to the preparation of mermaids. Why do they hate mermaids so much?"

"Is it because of a deep-seated hatred... are the merfolk are truly the culprits of their eternal exile?"

Sheng Lingyuan replied, "The human ships have already measured the depths of the sea for twenty thousand li. If there were any ruins of the Heavenly White Jade Palace, they would have been discovered long ago. Either this place has already been destroyed... or it is sealed in a place that mortals cannot reach."

"Like a frozen moment in time?" Xuan Ji paused, then felt that it was a bit unreliable.

Although he didn't want to question Sheng Lingyuan, he couldn't help but soften his voice and say, "But this... is still just speculation, right?"

It was still a wildly imaginative guess.

"Of course it's not just a guess," Sheng Lingyuan smiled at him, his pupils slightly distorted.

He was using puppetry to spy on someone through the eyes of a small animal while speaking casually, "There are 289 blood characters under the Mountain king's seal, clearly stating it."

Xuan Ji: "..."

He actually missed out on some plot... Wait a minute! If he already knew about it, why didn't he say anything when they were at the Jiangzhou cemetery? He even pretended to be clueless.

"The Mountain king's seal should have been stored in the Qingping Division, but it later fell into the hands of He Cuiyu by coincidence. That little snake demon wanted to monopolize the Heavenly White Jade Palace, so she probably destroyed the original seal. However, it seems that she didn't keep it a secret enough, and the news must have leaked out. Obviously, someone knows that the mermaid scale is in her possession."

Xuan Ji immediately understood - such an important thing, Sheng Lingyuan deliberately kept it hidden and let the field agents mix it with other items to be sent back to the Bureau for inventory, intentionally creating a loophole.

Those who knew the details of this scale would not miss this opportunity!

Then, Sheng Lingyuan did a very scary thing - he directly inserted his hand into his chest.

Xuan Ji was almost startled and jumped in place: "You..."

But then he saw Sheng Lingyuan reach into his inner pocket like he was taking out a business card, and pulled out a palm-sized mermaid scale from his heart.

It was shimmering and colorful.

"How can you catch big fish without bait?"

The gaze of the Bureau's Xiao Zheng swept over the tightly sealed back mountain and the well-trained Thunder, and his temple began to throb.

With so many people around, it was impossible for things to just disappear into thin air.

The headquarters had handled dangerous items countless times before, with strict procedures and no issues.

And there was also Thunder...

Thunder...

Xiao Zheng instinctively realized something was wrong. His instincts had already reacted before his rational mind caught up, causing his heart rate and blood pressure to rise, even though he didn't want to admit it emotionally.

Just then, several figures arrived, with one person holding a wooden puppet in their arms.

Xiao Zheng was stunned, "Captain Yan..."

But Yan Qiushan waved at him and made a gesture towards Gu Yuexi behind him.

Gu Yuexi's eyes immediately turned into vertical pupils, and a circle of Thunder agents around her instinctively dispersed, fearing that their secret underwear colors might be revealed.

Li Chen, who took over from Xiao Zheng as the captain of Thunder, frowned and said, "Mr. Yan, what does this mean? According to regulations, Thunder is the first responder in case of an emergency from the headquarters. Wind God is an external department, so this has nothing to do with you, right? Besides, you're not the captain of Wind God anymore."

Yan Qiushan politely nodded his head and said, "Nice to meet you. You're right."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Yuexi had already locked onto something with her gaze and led the members of the Wind God Team Two straight towards it.

Li Chen lifted his foot to chase after them, but a tattooed arm wrapped around his neck, and Wang Ze grinned as he approached, "Hey, buddy, if you lost something, just use the X-ray vision. My Yueyue happens to have it, and you can borrow it without any trouble."

"Wang Ze, you..."

"Can't I lend a hand without stealing your credit? Why are you so nervous?" Wang Ze teased, playfully grabbing Captain Li's neck. He then turned to Director Xiao and gave him a flirtatious wink.

"Come on, Captain Li, don't be so petty. You're already the captain of the 'Model Team.' Are you still unsatisfied with your position?"

Captain Li was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged.

He wanted to curse out this shameless rascal, but before he could even think of the right words, there was a loud explosion.

Gu Yuexi skillfully blasted open a barrier on the back mountain - there was actually a barrier there!

Several people crawled out of the rubble, led by none other than Luo Cuicui, whose head was sprouting leaves. These people all looked disheveled and battered, with bruises and cuts all over their faces.

Ping Qianru had a particularly nasty gash on her neck, which looked like it could have been fatal. The poor girl was so scared that she couldn't even stand up. Luo Cuicui's face was an unusual shade of gray, clearly drained of all energy.

He lay on the ground like a dead fish, shaking off fragments of broken talismans and protective gear.

Suddenly, two figures burst out of the exploding barrier and ran away as fast as they could.

Without waiting for orders, Gu Yuexi leaped after them, firing off mithril bullets in all directions.

Yan Qiushan held Zhi Chun in one arm and a lead ball in the other, which he flattened into thin sheets and used to shield the cleanup crew from harm.

When Yang Chao saw him, he burst into tears and cried out, "Captain Yan...you came just in time! I just finished my written exam...if I died here, it would have been all for nothing!"

Li Chen's face turned ashen.

The person who had secretly attacked their logistics colleague within the barrier was from the Thunder special forces - easily recognizable by their legs, which were two inches longer than everyone else's.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

Yan Qiushan calmly retorted, "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"Stop arguing and tend to the wounded first," Zhi Chun interrupted, pushing aside Yan Qiushan's arm.

He hopped down to the ground and pulled out a piece of chocolate from his palm-sized pocket.

"Um... little friend, don't cry. I wish you all the best on your exam next week. Come help me out and feed it to Old Luo. He's exhausted."

"Comrade Luo Cuicui really went all out this time," Wang Ze said, taking out his phone and showing a short video to Xiao Zheng. "Remember all those green ivies we have in the hallway? They were all pruned and planted by the aftermath department..."

In the calm hallway, all the green leaves of the plants suddenly moved without wind, and a hysterical scream came from within them: "Help!"

The scene was like a haunted house. A logistics staff member passing by almost did the splits from slipping. Amidst the chaos, the leaves of the plants shouted in unison, "I am Luo Cuicui. Special Forces Thunder has betrayed us and trapped us in a barrier in the small forest on the west side of the mountain, about thirty meters away. Help!"

The video ended, and both Li Chen and Xiao Zheng's faces turned pale.

Luo Cuicui, who was half-supported by Yang Chao, finally caught her breath and tremblingly pointed a finger towards the forest, "The...the sealing box..."

"Damn it, let's go after them!" Li Chen exclaimed.

Suddenly, Xiao Zheng held him back by the shoulder, "Old Li, where's your right-hand man who's always by your side?"