At the airport, another transport plane from a foreign country slowly landed.
This one was slightly different, with mottled black claw marks on its fuselage, wobbling precariously as it landed, making one worry it might disintegrate mid-air.
After landing, a group of individuals with composed demeanor, unfazed by the flight's precarious state, descended from the plane, dressed in black suits.
Their waists were bulging, either with sharp swords or daggers. Even in their formal wear, their robust builds and knotted muscles were undeniable. A cold, powerful aura emanated from them.
"It's people from Area 51!"
"Area 51 has twelve extremely powerful covert combat teams. Each member possesses exceptional talent and will. It's rumored they've also been injected with their self-developed 'Genetic Secret Medicine,' which can strengthen genes, enhance the body, and unlock the gene lock. Even the most ordinary covert combat member is a top-tier awakened individual."
"But that genetic secret medicine is also said to have the risk of causing gene collapse, right?"
"Probably, but at least they're indeed very strong. These guys clearly aren't to be trifled with."
Inside the airport's jet bridge, powerful individuals from an ordinary country stood watching from a distance as the Area 51 delegation disembarked from the transport plane.
They knew they couldn't compare.
However,
"At least our flight was safe. Unlike these bald eagle people, they probably suffered losses on the way."
"Heh, our flight was a special 'Sacred Fire' transport... Though I was a bit nervous when we boarded, it seems the Sacred Fire organization is quite reliable."
"Indeed, this World Conference is being held in Donghuang, hosted by Sacred Fire... The Bald Eagles originally wanted to snatch the hosting rights, but they didn't even consider if they could afford to send special planes to pick us up."
"Ah, the affairs between the Bald Eagles, Donghuang, and Sacred Fire are like deities fighting. We shouldn't get involved. Instead, for this World Conference, we need to find a way to gather more secrets from the major powers."
"And there's something even more important. I vaguely heard that Sacred Fire is discussing with some major countries about preparing to build base cities. Is there a way... to have Sacred Fire build a base city in our country too?"
Representatives from various countries' mysterious departments watched the spectacle, discussed amongst themselves, or marveled at the Shui Ze Base City.
The leader in the black leather jacket, naturally, did not show any amazement, or if he did, his face remained impassive.
Flanked by a group of burly men in black suits, the leader proceeded directly to the accommodation arranged by the hosts.
"Leader, the surroundings have been thoroughly searched. No electronic listening devices were found."
"We also conducted some checks on the mystical side."
"Additionally, representatives from other countries are staying in this area. Security seems reliable for now."
"Hmm..."
The leader nodded slightly, gazing out the window at the green lawn and ornamental trees, remaining silent.
His personal presence this time meant that security could not afford even the slightest lapse.
However, the leader was not overly worried. He didn't trust in Donghuang's reputation or Sacred Fire's integrity, but rather in his own strength. To ensure the safety of this trip and to showcase Area 51's might, the leader had brought elite soldiers.
Excluding the envoys from cooperative city-states, his own force included five cultivators of the third tier, himself included. He had brought over half of their top-tier strength.
Moreover, the entire team was equipped with the latest weapons and gear, and he personally carried two high-grade anomalous items.
These carefully selected anomalous items were designed to counteract each other's side effects, offering extremely high practicality.
With these two anomalous items, the leader believed he was no weaker than a true Fourth Awakening non-human level individual, and he could even contend with truly terrifying Calamity-level Anomalous Evils.
On the way here, they had encountered a group of flying Anomalous Evils, which he had personally fought his way through.
"Participating in the World Conference is only one of our objectives. In addition to that, we need to understand what Donghuang did during the recent wave of attacks on the city, and..."
That pure white towering structure.
These two matters, in the leader's opinion, were more important than the World Conference.
He was not entirely confident in relying solely on his subordinates to gather information. He wished to personally assess the situation, but as the leader of the Bald Eagle Federation's mysterious department, he was too conspicuous and would attract attention from countless forces wherever he went.
The leader had also prepared for this contingency.
He donned a strange human-faced mask. The moment it touched his skin, the mask instantly adhered, merged, and sank in. The peculiar features drawn on it rapidly changed, becoming normal and ordinary. In the blink of an eye, the leader had a new face, with no trace of deception.
Another powerful individual, similar in build to the leader, also put on a mask, impersonating him.
Moments later,
Several men in black suits emerged from the Bald Eagle resting area and melted into the bustling cityscape.
"Leader, someone is following us. They are likely investigators from Donghuang."
A man in a suit reported.
His ability was related to perception, allowing him to sense the 'life force field' of those around him – a rare and highly effective ability.
He had been specifically brought on this trip by the leader.
In the perception man's 'vision,' the passersby around them appeared as clusters of light, representing their life forces. Most were minuscule, like fireflies, signifying the fragility of their lives.
Further away, about a dozen yards out, were several brighter, more dazzling clusters of light, roughly the size of pebbles.
"Those individuals are likely all Second Awakening!"
And they were monitoring only a few ordinary members of the Area 51 delegation.
However, the leader was not surprised.
Awakened individuals were beings with formidable power, and their impact and destructive potential in a complex environment like a city were immense.
It was normal for them to be monitored.
Even without the perception man's detection, his keen mental power would have sensed the pursuit.
Let them follow.
He could easily shake them off, but the leader chose not to.
He was only slightly surprised.
"To deploy a team of Second Awakening individuals for surveillance, Donghuang is truly generous... But then again, they are monitoring experts from our Area 51."
Shaking his head, the leader headed directly towards the pure white tower.
They had been informed that the area around the tower was a military exclusion zone and inaccessible. However, even so, observing the tower from a closer distance was still possible.
Gathering intelligence so openly would not seem out of place.
He believed that not only they from the Bald Eagle nation, but also the Sunset, Ripple, and White Bear nations, and others, would not miss the opportunity to observe this tower up close.
According to intelligence, this 300-meter-tall white tower had been constructed in just a few days.
There must have been some mystical means or rituals employed in its construction.
"As long as we discover something, this trip won't be a loss."
Upon arriving outside the tower square, as expected, the leader's gaze fell upon several delegations, including some important figures.
The strongest from the White Bear nation, codenamed 'Giant King,' stood over three meters tall, his muscles like granite. Even in this square surrounded by awakened individuals, this individual stood out prominently.
Beside the Giant King were over a dozen escorts. Apart from the accompanying Donghuang investigators, the rest were clearly high-ranking officials from the White Bear Secret Security Bureau.
This was an opportunity!
The leader immediately signaled the perception man.
The ability to scan 'life force fields' focused on external manifestations, making all hidden elements visible and undetectable even when perceived directly, as it only observed the fluctuations of diffused life force fields.
The perception man understood instantly and began to covertly use his awakened ability.
Immediately,
The scene before him rapidly changed. Colors faded, leaving almost only shades of gray, and within this grayness, specks of white light emerged.
Firefly-like light particles.
Pebble-sized light clusters.
When the perception man focused his ability on the White Bear nation's entourage, what appeared before him were numerous sandbag-sized light clusters radiating intense light.
"Third Awakening!"
"One, two, three, four, five..."
The perception man rubbed his eyes.
Those clusters of life force radiating brilliant light were almost blinding him.
Too bright, and too many!
This was impossible.
After waiting for a long time without an answer from the perception man, the leader grunted unhappily. Seeing the perception man regain his senses, he asked, "How strong is the White Bear nation's group?"
"Very, very strong."
The leader looked slightly surprised. "How strong?"
The perception man carefully considered his words and said, "There are nine Second Awakening experts, and... and seven others, all of whom are Third Awakening powerhouses!"
Third Awakening! Seven of them!
And if the leader remembered correctly, the two top powerhouses from the White Bear nation were not among this group.
"Are you sure?"
The perception man assured him multiple times, and he was usually reliable.
The leader had no choice but to believe, and then fell into silence, his expression somewhat grave.
"The path of mysterious awakening is often not about reason or science, but about luck."
The White Bear nation's luck seemed to be exceptionally strong.
Truly a nation renowned for its combat prowess.
The leader mused, standing still for a long time.
At this moment, another important delegation approached from a distance. The woman at the forefront had enchanting purple hair and a seductive figure, yet no one dared to cast lecherous glances at her.
This individual was recorded by the intelligence departments of many countries.
Katarina, the Blood Queen, second-in-command of the Sunset nation's Super Combat Department.
"As expected, they are not weak."
The intuition of a strong individual told him so.
Without the leader's signal, the perception man immediately activated his ability again. Then, as before, there was a period of silence.
After a few seconds of silence, the perception man spoke, "Leader, in the Ripple nation's team... there are five Third Awakening powerhouses."
...
After some time,
"Leader, in the Sunset nation's team, there are six Third Awakening powerhouses."
...
"Leader, the Donghuang investigators in the distance... there are two Third Awakening individuals."
"...There is one Third Awakening."
"...There are two Third Awakening."
"Leader, the Donghuang powerhouses we've encountered along the way seem... seem to exceed ten in number."
Listening to the perception man's repeated reconnaissance reports, the leader fell into deep silence.