"Old Xiao... Old Xiao!" Xuan Ji's voice carried a hint of scolding, even though it was over a video call.

But it was enough to startle Xiao Zheng out of his daze. "Don't lose focus, young master. You're the chief dispatcher. Are you going to do your job or not?"

Cold sweat trickled down Xiao Zheng's spine. He had been lost in thought, but Xuan Ji's words brought him back to reality.

As the chief dispatcher, he couldn't afford to be distracted.

"The principle of confidentiality is an old tradition of the Qingping Division, as well as a common practice in other parts of the world. Except for a few countries that do not recognize the legitimacy of organizations for people with special abilities, everyone has used this ancient tradition as an unspoken rule. It's too late to blame anyone now," said Chief Huang calmly in the command center. "Li Chen, contact the International Special Abilities Organization and report this situation. From now on, local branches are not allowed to act alone and will be commanded by the central dispatch office - Xiao Zheng!"

Xiao Zheng, a powerful thunder and fire ability user, stood there blankly like a child, waiting for an ordinary person to command him.

"Don't panic, the old seniors will always leave eventually. Every generation has their day to pass on. The current situation can't be more difficult than the chaos of the past, right?" Chief Huang said in a comforting tone, turning to Sheng Lingyuan on the video call. "Your Majesty?"

Sheng Lingyuan turned away from the car window and met Chief Huang's gaze.

The joys and sorrows of different people are not the same, because of different times and experiences. Some have experienced tsunamis, while others have only encountered hidden currents.

However, in this long journey, life and death, reunions and farewells are all the same. The eyes that have seen the world are filled with similar dust and frost.

"Indeed," Sheng Lingyuan nodded towards Chief Huang's slightly distorted face on the video call. "It has been three thousand years."

Xuan Ji asked, "What about the aftermath department... that someone, the chubby girl?"

Ping Qianru came running over, gasping for breath. "Director, I'm here!"

Xuan Ji had been traveling all over the place since he arrived at the aftermath department. He hadn't had a chance to invite his colleagues out for a meal, so most of the people in the department were still strangers to him.

He only knew four of them who had gone on trips with him, but two of them had issues and one had even been carried away.

"It seems like our department only has one fresh and capable person left," Xuan Ji sighed. "That's you. Before I leave, you will be the temporary head of the aftermath department."

Ping Qianru: "..." What sort of joke was this!

Ping Qianru was considered a veteran, always busy and hardworking.

However, she suffered from social anxiety, which made it difficult for her to interact with others. This meant that she had little hope of advancing beyond being a technician for the aftermath department.

She never expected to be called upon in a time of crisis, but when the moment came, she trembled with fear.

Despite this, she bravely stood up and declared that she would do her best, even though the pressure was almost too much for her to bear. She was on the verge of tears as she stammered, "Director, I, I, I..."

"Thank the organization for entrusting you with this honorable and arduous task. The organization believes in you to maintain online public opinion monitoring without excessive interference. The Echo Sound leak is clearly out of control, so please be mentally prepared.

"Next, the members of the True Nature Sect may not all have turned into 'True Pills' and there will be actions from those still lurking in the crowd. If someone is spreading false rumors on the street, tell colleagues from local branches not to take action unless they pose a threat to public safety. If they're just handing out flyers or something, let them be. It's just a waste of paper anyway. I think the temporary trees that have grown up are enough to make paper from for a while.

"And as for you, Old Xiao..."

Xiao Zheng instinctively stood up straight and asked, "What?"

"The deep grudges have long dissolved over thousands of years. The confidentiality principle of the Bureau of Paranormal Control is ultimately to protect everyone - ordinary people, as well as ourselves - from being confused about priorities. His Majesty is right, times have changed, and now the world has its own ability to digest. Do you understand what I mean? Special abilities are also human."

Xuan Ji spoke, his eyes scanning the road signs on the highway. At this moment, they were approaching a small service area, and the next exit was "North Biquan Mountain".

It would take less than twenty minutes to get there.

"We are almost at Biquan Mountain. When we arrive, we will take a quick look around. If there are no abnormalities, we will immediately turn back. Before it gets dark..."

As he was still in the middle of speaking, the video call suddenly disconnected.

He wasn't sure if it was a signal issue or something else, but the full signal he had just moments ago was now completely gone.

Both Sheng Lingyuan and Xuan Ji reached for the black screen of their phones, their fingers colliding.

Suddenly, a strange resonance swept over them.

Sheng Lingyuan clutched his chest while Xuan Ji heard a buzzing sound in his ear.

They both felt intense pain in their head, eyes, throat, chest, dantian, and the wings on their back - just like the feeling when Xuan Ji was cut out of his egg and implanted into Sheng Lingyuan's chest.

Xuan Ji struggled to drive the car into a service area, but ended up hitting a curb and almost crashing into the lawn.

"Nothing...nothing's wrong," Xuan Ji rolled down the car window and waved at the service station staff who had come to check on the situation. "Sorry, the car hasn't been driven for a long time and my hands are a bit shaky."

The staff recognized him and saw that he only looked a little pale, was clear-headed, and didn't smell of alcohol.

They asked a few more questions, concerned, "We thought something was wrong with you. If you're feeling uncomfortable, let us know. We don't know what happened today, suddenly there's no signal."

Xuan Ji asked, "No signal? How long has it been?"

"Just now," the staff said, "The people in the car from out of town said they had no problem making calls before. They just received the 'Welcome to Biquan Mountain' message and then there was no signal. We don't know what's going on."

"The signal tower must be malfunctioning, right?"

"Several operators can't all have a problem at the same time, right?" The service station attendant muttered as he searched for a signal on his phone.

He then walked away, still grumbling to himself.

Sheng Lingyuan extended his hand out of the car window, and a crow obediently landed on his finger from a nearby tree. The bird lowered its head submissively, but suddenly, its eyes flashed with a dark energy. With a flap of its wings, it flew towards Yong'an.

Of course, a bird couldn't run as fast as a car.

The Emperor had prepared for the possibility of not being able to return immediately by using puppetry to send a message.

Xuan Ji pinched Sheng Lingyuan's wrist and felt his erratic pulse.

"What was that just now? Are you okay?"

Sheng Lingyuan grabbed his hand and placed it on his slightly warm skin, but his gaze did not leave the window. Xuan Ji followed his line of sight and saw that it was a rare sunny day.

The golden lines were drawn on the shadows of the Biquan Mountains, and a few thin clouds were flowing leisurely in the clear blue sky... but for some reason, there was a sense of oppression.

It was as if there was an invisible pot hanging over the clear sky, making it hard to breathe.

Sheng Lingyuan whispered, "Do you remember... the 'Heaven and Earth Cauldron'?"

The "Heaven and Earth Cauldron" was a large bronze cauldron that protected the Vermilion Bird Egg in the ancient ritual.

Back then, in the Vermilion Bird Temple, it had mixed the bloodline of the human royal family with the Vermilion Bird Spirit in one pot.

As soon as he heard those three words, Xuan Ji felt uneasy all over and his expression twisted.

Then he suddenly widened his eyes - the place where he was hurting just now was exactly where those people had nailed his original body to the chest of Sheng Lingyuan with the Heavenly Demon Sword during the refining process!

"Let's go," Sheng Lingyuan's eyes twitched, "I'll show you the way, drive forward."

Xuan Ji quickly drove the car out of the service station: "After the Vermilion Bird Temple was burned down, where did the Heaven and Earth Cauldron and my...my remains go?"

The words "remains" stabbed Sheng Lingyuan, and the Emperor's face suddenly changed: "Nonsense, you have no filter! Don't you know what's taboo?"

"What's so taboo about it? You're such an old-fashioned feudal antique," Xuan Ji helplessly changed his wording, "Okay, then who picked up my young body and desecrated it?"

Sheng Lingyuan: "..."