Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi had just descended from the sky and were about to ask for their location when a young man emerged from the crowd. He was dressed as a military officer, which was surprising, as he said, "We've been waiting for you!"
Shen Feng glanced at Yue Hengyi and noticed that Yue Hengyi was also wearing a mask. He thought it was impossible for them to be recognized, but then why was this fellow saying they had been waiting for them?
"Uh, who are you? Do we know each other?" Shen Feng asked immediately. He was unsure of the other person's identity and dared not reveal his true face.
The officer stepped forward and said enthusiastically, "You noble people have such poor memories. We were once friends fighting side by side. How can you turn your backs on me now?"
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi quickly observed. If they had fought alongside this person, they would surely remember him. However, both of them clearly couldn't recall. They felt the person in front of them looked familiar, but upon closer thought, they had no impression.
"Forgive my poor eyesight, but who might you be?" Shen Feng asked urgently.
At this, the officer shook his head helplessly and said, "I'm Xun Yan. Have you forgotten me?"
Upon hearing the name, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi suddenly remembered. Wasn't this guy from the Celestial Selection Bureau? Why had he joined the army now? It was unimaginable.
"Your hair is shorter, so we didn't recognize you. Honestly, what happened to you? Weren't you dashingly handsome before?" Yue Hengyi couldn't help but ask. The Celestial Selection Bureau back then was full of handsome men and beautiful women, all with stylish hairstyles. Now, Xun Yan had his hair cut short, a significant change that prevented them from recognizing him.
"Don't mention it, it's all sad business. The Celestial Selection Bureau has been disbanded. Come with me first, let's find a place to shelter from the rain!" Xun Yan shook his head and led the two of them to seek shelter.
Shen Feng pointed at his glider and said, "Our equipment is still here. We can't just leave it, can we?"
Xun Yan nodded and said, "Squad Leader Wang, come over here. Have two people protect the glider and take it to a deserted place so it doesn't get washed away by the flood!"
As soon as he finished speaking, three soldiers immediately came forward, dragged the glider up the mountain, found a deserted corner to place it, and assigned two guards.
Afterward, Xun Yan led Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi into a military tent. At this point, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi had no more reservations and removed their masks. They were also puzzled. They were still wearing masks, so how had they been recognized?
"You said earlier that you've been waiting for us. What did you mean by that?" Shen Feng couldn't help but ask.
Xun Yan took out his phone from his pocket, which was wrapped in a waterproof case. He took the phone out of the case, found a picture, and said, "This is the evidence that I've been waiting for you. Take a look!"
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi quickly looked. They saw a blurry image on the phone screen of them leaving in their glider. Shen Feng could only vaguely recognize it as a scene from that morning. There were several elderly men sending them off. He hadn't expected someone to take a photo.
"Your intelligence network is really impressive. We've only been back in the country for a day, and you already know!" Shen Feng couldn't help but praise.
Xun Yan didn't say much, pouring hot water for the two of them as he explained, "There aren't many supplies in my camp right now, so I can't make you tea. Just have some hot water for now. An old friend will be here later. As for when I got news of you, I knew four days ago!"
"You knew four days ago?" Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi exchanged glances, finding it incredible. It was completely impossible. Four days ago, they were still living a life of luxury in Japan. How could Xun Yan, who was in the country, know their information?
"Speaking of which, why did you join the army? It's not that it's bad, it's just a bit unexpected!" Shen Feng asked.
Xun Yan slowly sat down. The stools in the tent were all plastic, which were easy to carry, but he wasn't particular about it now.
At this, Xun Yan said with a self-deprecating smile, "Do you think we children of officials can't endure the hardships of military life? So you think I can't die after joining the army?"
Yue Hengyi couldn't help but nod. Shen Feng nudged him with his elbow, and Yue Hengyi quickly changed to shaking his head.
"Don't try to comfort me. After these past six months, I've seen my own abilities clearly. Joining the army now is actually a last resort. If I had a choice, I would have preferred to stay in the Celestial Selection Bureau forever. It's a pity that the Celestial Selection Bureau has been disbanded, and people like me who have nowhere to go can only ask my family to arrange for me to train in the army!" Xun Yan explained calmly, though his expression appeared calm, his tone was very dejected, clearly finding it hard to let go of his experiences during this period.
It was evident that Xun Yan had changed a lot after half a year of trials.
Just then, the tent flap was lifted, and a thin young man walked in. It was Gong Changfa, who was previously a robust young man but now seemed to have lost weight.
"Shen Feng, Yue Hengyi, long time no see! I bet you didn't expect me to come and greet you!" Gong Changfa said with a smile as he entered.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were also surprised. They weren't opposed to people from the Celestial Selection Bureau, but Gong Changfa was known for his arrogance before. Now, he seemed much more amiable, which was a significant change.
"Uh, you've lost weight!" Shen Feng said casually, trying to find a topic.
Gong Changfa found a plastic stool and sat down slowly, saying helplessly, "I was under investigation and isolated for half a year. I only came out recently. I was staying alone at home and was going crazy. Every move I made was being watched, I couldn't eat, so I starved myself thin."
"Why were you under investigation and isolated for half a year? That shouldn't be the case!" Shen Feng asked, confused.
Gong Changfa shook his head helplessly and replied, "Thirty-odd members of the Celestial Selection Bureau went out with me, and only Xun Yan and I returned. Of course, I had to take responsibility. Coincidentally, a Celestial Dragon Bureau was established, which also consisted of esper abilities. My role was diminished, so I was isolated for half a year. I could only come out to move around during the disaster relief!"
For half a year, Gong Changfa had been isolated, and this suffering could not be expressed. After all, the Celestial Selection Bureau's first major mission had failed, and all personnel had died at sea. As the captain of the espers, he had to be responsible for this matter! Fortunately, Gong Changfa was able to persevere, otherwise, being isolated for such a long time would drive most people insane.
Xun Yan, sharing the same plight, quickly comforted him, "Boss, it's okay. The hard times are coming to an end. We'll be able to re-establish the Celestial Selection Bureau soon, and we'll continue to be the heroes in people's hearts!"
Hearing this, Yue Hengyi couldn't help but ask doubtfully, "You're going to rebuild the Celestial Selection Bureau? With just the two of you?"
Yue Hengyi seemed to have heard an unbelievable joke. This matter was simply wishful thinking. Firstly, it took twenty espers to form a bureau, and now the Celestial Selection Bureau had been disbanded. The remaining two were Xun Yan, who had joined the army, and Gong Changfa, who had just been released. The idea of these two rebuilding the Celestial Selection Bureau was a pipe dream.
"Who said there are only two of us?" Xun Yan retorted.
Yue Hengyi looked around. He hadn't noticed anyone else and asked curiously, "You have other espers? Where are they?"
Gong Changfa didn't answer directly but asked, "During your time in Japan, did you hear about any esper organizations? For example, news from Tokyo!"
Shen Feng nodded and replied, "I did hear about them. They were called the Heaven Mending Society, but they should be our enemies, so we quickly fled and didn't see them!"
"You're so silly. These are our old acquaintances. They also survived the sea battle six months ago. If you had waited for them, you would have returned together!" Xun Yan said helplessly.
"What? What does that mean?" Shen Feng was suddenly shocked and uncertain. Were the masked people who suddenly appeared in Tokyo old acquaintances?
Gong Changfa explained, "During the battle in the Pacific basin, Andorf caused an earthquake, indirectly releasing toxic gases from the earth's crust, which scared away countless sea beasts. In the haste, only about twenty people survived, and even you two were nowhere to be found! We took a boat back to the country. Other countries sent planes to pick up their espers, but espers are still espers. Even in that situation, a few people survived. However, a storm hit, and they could only drift with the currents, eventually reaching the Tubu'ai Islands to the north. Later, after hardships, they traveled north and happened to reach Tokyo due to a typhoon!"
Upon hearing this explanation, Shen Feng suddenly understood. It turned out that after the sea battle, not only Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi had narrowly escaped death, but other espers had also survived.
"Then why didn't they show their faces? They wore masks all day, making us think they were enemies. Of course, we had to retreat!" Shen Feng was somewhat displeased. If these people had revealed their faces earlier, wouldn't there have been no misunderstanding?
Yue Hengyi also chimed in, "Indeed. These people have been in Tokyo for a month, and we don't know their background, so we have to be wary!"
Gong Changfa smiled helplessly, then shook his head and said, "They absolutely dare not reveal their true identities! After all, in a moment of impulse, they set fire to the Yasukuni Shrine, and then took the opportunity to support young people to cause trouble, inciting hundreds of thousands of people to occupy Chiba. If they reveal their identities, it will bring shame to China."
Yue Hengyi was amused when he heard this and said, "We planned something like this before, but unfortunately, we didn't have the chance. I didn't expect your people to accomplish it. Amazing!"
"By the way, who are the survivors?" Shen Feng asked casually.
Gong Changfa shook his head and said, "It's confidential, please forgive me, I can't tell you this. After all, I need to rebuild the Celestial Selection Bureau, and the fewer people who know about this, the better! I can only say that only two people survived, and the remaining dozen or so are overseas Chinese, whom those two trained into espers and brought back together!"
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi could only shake their heads helplessly at this answer. They never expected so many changes to have occurred in the past six months.
Xun Yan continued, "According to the information I've received, they are now setting sail by boat, preparing to return to the country. You'll hear about them in a while. At that time, please applaud the Celestial Selection Bureau."
Upon hearing this news, Shen Feng quickly said, "Can you have them detour to South Korea?"
"Why?" Gong Changfa asked, confused.
Shen Feng quickly explained that during this period, South Koreans had been constantly plundering fishermen, killing many innocent people, and even clamoring that they would conquer the three northeastern provinces. Their ambition was not to be underestimated.
"These Koreans are truly cheapskates. It's fine, I'll have them detour to South Korea to avenge our compatriots. With fifteen of them, they can probably take down Seoul!" Gong Changfa said angrily. He was also clearly impatient with the South Koreans.
Next, the four people in the military tent began to discuss the current situation. In the past six months, the land of China had undergone drastic changes. First, the energy supply was cut off. Oil reserves were depleted, and the entire country was suffering from an oil shortage. It was calculated that even though the backbone of the Esper Administration had been in Siberia for over a year, they still couldn't get the pipeline working. Therefore, apart from the military having a certain amount of gasoline, there was no gasoline available nationwide.
Moreover, over the past six months, many powerful mutated beasts had begun to evolve, and their evolution speed was not slow. It was said that Tier Seven mutated beasts had appeared in the Greater Khingan Range and Tibet. Ordinary espers were no match for them. These powerful mutated beasts hid in the deep mountains and old forests, breeding and multiplying, and their numbers were constantly increasing.