After drawing cards, the evil god became my source of吐槽 (tu cao, a form of humorous commentary/criti

Chapter 146 Black Sea Basin (11)

They are not villagers from the fishing village.

The men, dressed in uniform combat uniforms bearing the insignia of the Special Service Department, carrying various weapons and detection equipment, stood solemnly with wary eyes, forming a semi-encirclement around the three of them.

Or rather, it was directly facing them, who had just emerged from the mysterious magnetic field.

A little further ahead of these people stood several figures wearing research institute standard trench coats, looking at her with concern and inquiry in their eyes.

This sudden and intense normalcy even made An Jing, who had just escaped from the deathly silence, feel a sense of unreality.

But her mental energy quickly swept over them and confirmed that the people in front of her were not illusions; their energy fluctuations were normal and their emotional reactions were genuine.

"They're out!" someone shouted from the crowd on the beach, their voice filled with surprise and a hint of relief.

The shout broke the brief silence. The group from the research institute immediately strode towards An Jing, led by a tall, dark-skinned young man with a buzz cut, codenamed Shark.

An Jing recognized him somewhat; he was probably from the research institute's operations department, but she wasn't very familiar with him.

"Agent An!" Shark strode forward, his gaze quickly sweeping over An Jing and the obviously unwell 066 and the unconscious 034 behind her. After confirming that they were in a sorry state but had no fatal injuries, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's good that you're alright! We had just detected an abnormal contraction and fluctuation in this magnetic field, and we were preparing to formulate an intrusion plan, but we didn't expect you to come out on your own!"

He spoke quickly, with the efficiency characteristic of an operative. Behind him, several other research institute agents gathered around, one of whom had already begun to skillfully check 034's condition, while another handed 066 water and a simple energy supplement.

An Jing looked at the shark, then at the well-equipped special operations team members around him, who were on high alert, and at the more people he could vaguely see in the distance who seemed to be setting up a temporary cordon and observation post. His doubts had not completely dissipated.

"How...how did you get here?" she asked, her voice still steady but tinged with inquiry. "And what's with this magnetic field contraction?"

Shark explained, "After receiving your initial situation report and subsequent alerts about the communication disruption, our emergency response mechanism was activated. With Minister Li personally coordinating, our advance team arrived as quickly as possible."

He paused, looking at the sea still shrouded in gray fog, his brow furrowed: "When we arrived, the magnetic field had already covered the entire beach and extended nearly a hundred meters inland, and the rate of expansion was accelerating. We are urgently assessing the risks. If the expansion cannot be contained, we may need to organize a large-scale evacuation of the villagers immediately. At the same time, we are also waiting for the institute's technical department to conduct further analysis of the magnetic field structure and formulate a safe intrusion and rescue plan."

He looked at An Jing, his eyes serious: "Unexpectedly, before our plan was even finalized, the magnetic field suddenly contracted on its own. The contraction was very rapid, and the area shrank significantly. We are monitoring it closely, and the cause is still unclear. Then, we saw you rush out."

After hearing this, An Jing's sense of unease did not lessen; on the contrary, it intensified.

The institute's response was as fast as she had expected.

“I didn’t expect to get out like this either.” An Jing shook his head slightly, his gaze sharp.

“The situation was complicated when we were trapped inside,” she recounted her experience inside the magnetic field.

The report, succinctly presented to Shark, included the missing ships, the mutated gray fish, 035 transformed into a skin puppet, the mentally polluted songs, the attempt to imprint 034 with his mind, and the deeply hidden, seemingly fragile, high-IQ source of mental pollution. Shark listened attentively, rapidly recording the information on his tactical tablet, his expression growing increasingly grave.

When he heard that a new recruit from the Special Service had been turned into a puppet, he glanced at the unconscious 034 and the pale-faced 066, then looked at the Special Service operatives not far away, his eyes darkening slightly.

"A mentally polluting mystery of grade B or higher, accompanied by the ability to manipulate physically mutated creatures and puppets. The main body is suspected to be hidden in the deep sea, extremely cunning and cautious..." Shark summarized the key information, his fingers flying across the tablet.

"Agent An, what level of support and special equipment do you think we would need if we were to conduct further investigation or elimination?"

“High-level mental protection equipment is essential, and it would be best to have targeted mental interference or countermeasures equipment,” An Jing replied thoughtfully. “Underwater combat capability is also crucial. We need diving or submersible equipment that can operate in heavily polluted and high-pressure environments, as well as powerful underwater attack methods. Conventional weapons have limited effectiveness against those skin puppets and mutated creatures, and they are even more difficult to reach the source of mental pollution itself.”

Shark quickly took notes and then said, "Understood. I will report these situations and suggestions immediately. The Technical Department and Equipment Department will adjust the plan based on your feedback."

He put away his tablet and looked at An Jing. "Detective An, you and your colleague need immediate medical examinations and psychological evaluations, especially this comatose colleague." He pointed to 034.

Anjing is the standard procedure.

She then looked at 066 and the unconscious 034, and said to Shark, "They are the assistants dispatched by the Special Service this time, codenamed 066 and 034. There is another one, codenamed 035, who has been confirmed to have died in the magnetic field. His body... was in special circumstances and could not be brought out." She omitted the horrifying details of how 035 died.

Then, seemingly casually, she asked, "Didn't the Secret Service send anyone else to take over or provide backup for them?"

Upon hearing this, Shark's face showed obvious confusion. He turned to look at the distance, then back at An Jing, and shook his head: "No. When we arrived, there was only one perimeter blockade team. Their orders were to assist the research institute in sealing off this area to prevent the magnetic field from expanding and causing further harm, and... well, to provide armed support if necessary. But I haven't received any instructions regarding receiving their personnel inside, and it seems they don't have any dedicated personnel to coordinate with them."

As soon as he finished speaking, 066, who was standing to the side, let out an extremely soft but sarcastic and desolate sneer.

She quickly suppressed her laughter, but the expression on her face said it all.

Just as expected. From the very beginning, the three of them were simply pushed out, discarded pawns whom no one cared about. The so-called assistance mission, the so-called "support," were just excuses to send them into a desperate situation.

Even when they went missing or were possibly dead, the Secret Service didn't bother to send anyone to inquire about it; at least, not openly.

An Jing caught the information gap between 066's reaction and the shark's words. She already understood that the situation inside the Special Service was probably more complicated than she had imagined.

The instruction to control her, and the utter disregard for the three newcomers, both pointed to some ulterior motive.

She didn't ask any more questions, but said to Shark, "Please arrange for someone to take them both for examinations and assessments. Especially 034, he has an external injury to his ankle, which may have been caused by exposure to pollutants, and his mental state has also been severely compromised, so he needs to be treated as a priority. 066's condition also needs to be stabilized."

Although Shark also sensed something amiss, he was well aware of the delicate cooperative relationship between the research institute and the intelligence agency, as well as that certain internal affairs should not be interfered with too much.

He didn't ask any further questions, but simply nodded and said, "Okay, leave it to me." He beckoned over two medical staff members from the research institute and whispered a few instructions to them.