The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

"Shen Ge!" When Liu Jiayi saw Shen Ge, a barely perceptible hint of excitement flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by seriousness.

Her gaze quickly swept over Mother, York, Shirley, and the others to confirm the situation.

"Minister Liu," Shen Ge greeted him.

Liu Jiayi nodded, then looked at Colonel Hansen and his entourage who had rushed over upon hearing the news. Her tone was calm but carried an unquestionable official air: "Colonel Hansen, I am Liu Jiayi, Deputy Director of the Special Operations Department of Rong City. I have been ordered by headquarters to come and escort our personnel, Captain Shen Ge and Ms. Cheng, back to China. Thank you for your shelter and assistance during this period. We will take full responsibility for the follow-up matters concerning our personnel; you need not trouble yourself."

Her words were clear and forceful, directly shutting down any excuses IDEA might have for further interference or "inspection".

Colonel Hansen's face turned very ugly. He obviously did not expect the people from the Rong City Special Operations Department to arrive so quickly and with such a tough attitude.

Faced with Liu Jiayi's formal negotiation, which represented the official power of the Great Celestial Empire, his previous petty tricks and excuses all seemed pale and powerless.

Most importantly, in addition to Liu Jiayi, the deputy minister, there are also Zhang Quan and Luo Jin, two newly emerging cadres in the Rongshi Special Policy Department.

“Vice Minister Liu, your personnel have just returned from the bizarre space, and their condition has not yet been fully assessed, and it involves some important…” Colonel Hansen still wanted to make a last-ditch effort.

Liu Jiayi interrupted him directly, her tone turning cold: "Colonel Hansen, regarding the situation of our personnel in the strange space and the information we have obtained, we will share the necessary information with IDEA headquarters through formal channels at the appropriate time, in accordance with relevant agreements and international standards. But right now, ensuring the safe and healthy return of our personnel to China is the highest priority. Please cooperate and do not create unnecessary obstacles."

Her words carried an official coldness and power, and the special forces soldiers led by Luo Jin behind her also silently took a step forward, exuding an invisible sense of oppression.

Zhang Quan adjusted his glasses and rapidly tapped on the miniature computer he carried with him, clearly recording the situation on the scene.

Colonel Hansen looked at Liu Jiayi's determined eyes, then glanced at Cheng's mother, who was silent but had a powerful aura, and at Shen Ge's seemingly calm but unfathomable gaze, and knew that the situation was hopeless.

He took a deep breath and forced a smile: "Of course, we respect your decision. Have a safe journey."

Having said that, he said no more and turned to leave with his entourage, looking rather dejected.

Watching Colonel Hansen's departing figure, Shen Ge sneered inwardly. This charade seemed to have backfired. But the mysteries behind the Australian catastrophe, and Camille's disappearance, were only just beginning to unfold.

He looked at Liu Jiayi and said in a deep voice, "Minister Liu, this is not the place to talk. Our people need to leave as soon as possible."

He didn't explicitly mention the situation of York and Shirley, but Liu Jiayi had already heard Deng Yuqi mention it when she arrived. The main reason for sending the "Deputy Minister" to meet them was these two strange people.

"Understood. The private jet is ready and can take off at any time." Liu Jiayi nodded, her gaze sweeping over York and Xiaoya, finally settling on the unconscious Sally, her eyes grave.

"Let's take everyone and go home!"

The Rong City Special Operations Department's convoy quickly and orderly escorted Shen Ge, Cheng's mother, York, the Shirley sisters, Xiao Ya, and others away from the base, speeding towards the airport.

In the base's main control room, Colonel Hansen stared grimly at the departing convoy on the monitor screen. He picked up an encrypted communicator, his voice low and suppressed: "Operation failed. The target has been forcibly taken away by the Rong City Special Operations Department. Camille... is temporarily unreachable. 'Seed' and '******'... are both lost."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the communicator, followed by a processed, emotionless electronic voice: "...As expected. Keep a close eye on them, activate the 'backup plan'."

Colonel Hansen put down the communicator, looked out the window at the gray sky, his eyes filled with malice.

……

……

The chartered plane landed smoothly on the runway of Rongshi Airport. As the cabin door opened, the familiar moist air and the scent of grass and trees rushed in, dispelling the scorching and bloody atmosphere of Australia and bringing a long-lost sense of peace.

The medical team, which had been waiting on the tarmac, quickly stepped forward and carefully transferred the still unconscious Sally into a specially designed mobile medical pod.

Shirley stayed close to her sister, her face filled with worry.

With the help of medical staff, Cheng's mother walked down the gangway. Although she was tired, her eyes were bright as she eagerly searched among the crowd of people waiting to greet her.

"Mom!" came a cry.

Cheng Shengnan, dressed in a sharp business suit, pushed through the crowd without regard for her image and rushed over. The mother and daughter embraced tightly, tears instantly blurring their vision.

Cheng Shengnan choked back tears, looking her mother up and down: "Mom, I'm so glad you're alright, I'm so glad you're alright... You scared me to death..."

Her words trembled with the relief of surviving a disaster, and were filled with immense joy at having something lost and then found.

Cheng's mother patted her daughter's back, her voice choked with emotion: "Silly child, you're back now, aren't you? It's all thanks to Shen Ge. If it weren't for him all this way..."

She looked at Shen Ge, who was walking down the gangway, her eyes filled with gratitude and a sense of relief, like looking at her "own child." "If it weren't for him, I might not have been able to come back."

Cheng Shengnan followed her mother's gaze to Shen Ge, her eyes filled with complex emotions. Gratitude, lingering fear, relief, and an indescribable mix of feelings mingled together.

She let go of her mother, walked up to Shen Ge, took a deep breath, and gently hugged Shen Ge: "Thank you, thank you."

If Shen Ge is also trapped in the multiple strange spaces, it would mean that Cheng Shengnan has lost the two most important people in her life.

At this moment, even if there were a thousand words to say, in the end, only the word "thank you" came out.

At this moment, Li Xiang and Jiang Peiwen, along with their research center team, quickly approached. Li Xiang's gaze immediately locked onto the mobile medical pod under the close watch of medical staff, and Shirley, who was standing beside it, her face pale. He looked serious and whispered a few words to Jiang Peiwen.

Jiang Peiwen understood and approached Shirley with a gentle but professional smile: "Miss Shirley, right? I am Jiang Peiwen, the head of the Research Center of the Special Policy Department of Rong City. Please rest assured, we have the most advanced equipment and an experienced team, and we will do our best to save your sister Sally. Please come with me, we need to conduct a comprehensive examination and evaluation for her as soon as possible."

Shirley looked at the gentle female researcher before her, then at the composed Li Xiang beside her, and recalling Shen Ge's earlier assurances, her unease subsided slightly. She nodded and followed closely beside the medical bay, quickly leaving the tarmac with Li Xiang and the medical team. Jiang Peiwen's gaze then shifted to York and Xiaoya. Although York had received an inhibitor injection to temporarily suppress the mutation, he was bandaged in several places and his breathing was weak.

Xiaoya clutched his clothes tightly, her eyes timid.

"Is this Mr. York?"

Jiang Peiwen stepped forward, her tone calm yet subtly inquisitive, "I am Jiang Peiwen, Deputy Director of the Research Department of the Special Policy Division of Rong City, responsible for the research and control of special organisms. And this young lady is?"

To outsiders, it's impossible to say it's research on the bizarre and strange; they can only euphemistically call it "special creatures."

"I'm Xiaoya," Xiaoya answered softly, shrinking behind York.

York shielded Xiaoya behind him, watching Jiang Peiwen warily, his voice hoarse: "I am York. Xiaoya is one of my people."

The dark red veins on his left arm were faintly visible beneath the sleeve.

Jiang Peiwen nodded, a reassuring smile on her face: "Mr. York, there's no need to be nervous. Shen Ge has already given a preliminary explanation of your situation. Your experience in the strange space is very special and of great research value. We don't intend to treat you as experimental subjects, but rather hope to understand the changes in you through scientific means and find ways to help you, and even more people. Of course, this is on the premise that you cooperate voluntarily, and we will do our best to ensure your safety and basic rights."

He paused, then continued, "Given your current physical condition, we recommend that you first go with our medical team to the research center for a detailed examination and necessary treatment. We will make proper arrangements for Xiaoya; she can stay with you or we can arrange for someone to take care of her. Please trust us."

York remained silent, his crimson eyes scrutinizing Jiang Peiwen, then glancing at Shen Ge. Shen Ge nodded slightly to him. Finally, York's tense body relaxed somewhat, and he said in a deep voice, "...Okay. But I must be with Xiaoya."

“No problem.” Jiang Peiwen readily agreed and gestured for the medical staff next to her to come forward and guide her.

York, holding Xiaoya's hand, followed Jiang Peiwen's team away, escorted by several special forces soldiers.

Seeing that the important target had been safely taken over, Deng Yuqi turned to Shen Ge, patted him hard on the shoulder, and showed genuine excitement and relief on her face: "Good lad, I knew you were tough. This time it's really... It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

"...Minister, during the months I was away, were you possessed by your master? Why do you sound exactly like him?" Shen Ge said helplessly.

Strictly speaking, Deng Yuqi is Shen Ge's "senior sister". Without her matchmaking, Shen Ge would not have had the opportunity to become Chen Ke's apprentice.

Although the two of them did not learn martial arts from Chen Ke in the end, but instead learned a lot from their master's wife, they were still Chen Ke's disciples on the surface.

Deng Yuqi smiled and said, "Speaking of Master, Master's wife has also come from Dajing. Once we're done with things here, let's go see them together."

"it is good."

Shen Ge nodded and continued, "By the way, the thing inside Sally is very strange, and York's situation is also very special. Make sure Jiang Peiwen and the others are careful."

Deng Yuqi replied, "Okay. While you were having Xiaoqi send the data back, Li Xiang and Jiang Peiwen convened the research team for a discussion and have already developed a solution. Let's go, you must be tired from the journey. We'll talk more when we get back to the department."

Two hours later.

Top floor of the Special Affairs Department, Minister's office.

The heavy soundproof door closed, leaving only Deng Yuqi, Liu Jiayi, and Shen Ge inside.

Deng Yuqi personally poured a cup of hot tea for Shen Ge and Liu Jiayi. Her face still carried the composure unique to a leader, but deep in her eyes, she could not hide a trace of fatigue and lingering fear.

She looked at Shen Ge with concern in her voice: "You've worked hard, Shen Ge. Director Cheng and her daughter are very emotional after their reunion, so I've asked them to go back and rest. As for the 'guest' you brought back, Li Xiang and Jiang Peiwen have already made arrangements to give her the highest level of attention and protection, as planned."

Shen Ge nodded and got straight to the point: "Minister Liu should have given you a general overview of the situation in Australia on the way. But there are some details that need to be clarified in person."

Upon hearing this, Deng Yuqi and Liu Jiayi both became serious.

Shen Ge recounted his experiences in multiple eerie spaces, from encountering various complex and ever-changing eerie spatial environments, to the humanoid eeries, the hunter eeries, the eerie calming of the spatial storm, discovering and seizing the dream fragments in the "singularity," encountering the clues of the "hunter," and finally breaking through the storm and returning to reality. He did so in a concise but important way.

When he spoke of the difficulties he encountered at the "IDEA" base, the attack on the rest area, and... that bizarre video call, Deng Yuqi's brows furrowed deeply.

“Video communication?” Deng Yuqi’s voice carried a hint of coldness. “You’re saying that Colonel Hansen arranged a video call with ‘me’ and ‘Li Xiang’?”

"Yes."

Shen Ge nodded, his gaze sharp. "The other party's simulation is extremely realistic. Whether it's appearance, voice, or way of speaking, it's almost indistinguishable from the real thing. But there are two key flaws."

"First, in that situation, 'you' actually asked me to 'accept the necessary checks and inquiries from IDEA.' You should know very well when I would listen to outsiders' arrangements, especially when it involves core secrets and the safety of my subordinates."

Deng Yuqi snorted coldly, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes: "That's right. Even if the sky falls, I'll only make you report to me, not have you listen to some IDEA 'inspection'!"

“Secondly,” Shen Ge continued, “during the call, you mentioned telling Ms. Cheng to rest assured and recover, and to tell her that her daughter is doing well in Rong City.” This statement seemed caring, but it overlooked the most crucial point—Cheng Shengnan is in Rong City and holds a high position; she couldn’t possibly be unaware of Aunt Cheng’s situation.

Deng Yuqi's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, her eyes icy: "In other words, that imposter knows a little about our situation, but not much. At least not much information about the higher-ups. But that's enough to show that there are people from international anti-terrorist organizations in our department."

"Yes."

Shen Ge said in a deep voice, "The fact that the other party was able to simulate you and Lao Li so accurately shows that they have a very good understanding of the high-ranking officials in the Special Operations Department, and there may even be an insider who provided detailed behavioral data. However, the details are not perfect enough, and in addition, they did not know that we had made prior contact, so they gave themselves away."

The atmosphere in the office grew heavy. The fact that someone could impersonate the minister and the head of the research department so accurately was chilling.

"Where's Camille?" Deng Yuqi asked. "I remember you mentioned in the message that she was a key figure. Is she really missing? Even Xiao Qi can't find her?" (End of Chapter)