Reborn as a lotus, she initially refuses to hand it over to the state.

Su Wan frowned. Gu Yan said to her, "The detector just detected abnormal fluctuations in her mental state. It seems she suffered a shock, which caused mental problems and led to amnesia."

Su Wan didn't press for details about what happened in the mountains, but instead cut straight to the point: "Lin Qingxue, your current condition is not suitable for you to stay any longer."

"From the perspective of the ninth inning, you are considered a high-risk contact."

Lin Qingxue was taken aback: "What do you mean by 'high risk'?"

Su Wan said, "You have been in contact with the source of the anomaly, and there may even be unknown residual effects. You cannot move freely until the testing is completed."

Lin Qingxue's face turned pale instantly, and she quickly said, "I didn't do anything dangerous."

Su Wan interrupted her: "I'm not interrogating you, I'm protecting you."

She looked up at the villagers scrambling to evacuate in the distance and said, "There's one more thing. The white tiger you mentioned earlier is just one of the sources of anomalies."

"The situation in the mountains is more serious than you imagine."

She paused, her gaze sharp: "So from now on, you need to come back to the Linjiang branch with us."

"Subject to further investigation and protection."

Lin Qingxue remained silent for a while, then finally nodded. She had no choice, and nowhere else to go.

Soldiers in special forces uniforms quickly came up and took Lin Qingxue away. Gu Yan asked Su Wan, "Captain, since we couldn't get anything out of this female student, why are you still detaining her?"

Su Wan shook her head, her gaze still fixed on the direction Lin Qingxue had been taken away, and said, "You thought I was just conducting a routine check?"

Gu Yan was taken aback.

"My access to the Ninth Bureau wasn't high, but I did see an internal encrypted file."

Gu Yan's expression changed: "Encrypted files?"

Su Wan nodded: "A similar incident occurred in the Zhongnan Mountain area a month ago."

She looked up at the distant, hazy mountains, her voice becoming somber.

"A mountain dweller went into the mountains and went missing; logically, he should be dead."

"But later, three of them came out of the mountains on their own."

Gu Yan: "You came back alive?"

"Yes." Su Wan's tone was calm. "And they're not ordinary survivors."

"Abnormal energy reactions were detected in their bodies, and their physical fitness increased dramatically in a short period of time. Their recovery ability, speed, and strength far exceeded those of ordinary people."

Gu Yan immediately realized something: "You mean she might have ingested some kind of spiritual substance?"

Su Wan nodded and continued, "Later, according to their description, the Ninth Bureau found a plant sample with a similar fruit in the mountains, which was tentatively codenamed 'Spirit Source Fruit'."

"After taking it, it will trigger a leap in life level."

"But the cost is uncertain; some people went insane, some suffered physical breakdowns, and some survived."

Her tone shifted, taking on a hint of coldness.

"And I am one of the latter."

Gu Yan was also surprised and looked at Su Wan. Su Wan did not avoid him, but instead pulled up her sleeve.

On the inside of her wrist, there was an extremely fine silver line, like light embedded in a blood vessel.

"I was not born an awakened being."

"It was thanks to a biological agent provided by the family that I was able to break through."

"It's now stable at level two."

"So you mean, you suspect Lin Qingxue for this reason?" Gu Yan finally understood. Although he was not a superhuman from the Ninth Bureau.

However, they are very capable in scientific research and technology.

Su Wan continued his words calmly, "So I guess Lin Qingxue might also be undergoing the same change."

"But she looks like just an ordinary student."

Su Wan smiled and looked at Gu Yan, saying, "Those three ordinary mountain dwellers from Zhongnan Mountain were just ordinary people when they first came out."

"But they got out of control during their quarantine period in the ninth inning."

Gu Yan's throat bobbed: "So you brought her back to test her?"

Su Wan nodded, not denying it: "The abnormal intensity of Black Dragon Mountain is a level higher than that of Zhongnan Mountain."

"If there really is a source of spiritual energy, the fact that she was able to come out alive speaks volumes."

Her gaze fell once again on the distant Black Dragon Mountain, a forest that resembled a silent, gigantic maw, quiet yet poised to swallow everything at any moment.

Su Wan said in a low voice, "More importantly, she has residual traces of mental breakdown."

"Someone or some being doesn't want her to remember what happened in the mountains."

Gu Yan felt a chill run down his spine: "You mean, she had her memories touched?"

Su Wan did not answer directly, but simply said, "The principle of the Ninth Inning is that we would rather make a thousand wrong judgments than miss one abnormal variable."

She turned and walked toward the convoy, the wind ruffling her short hair: "So she has to stay in our sight."

Gu Yan finally understood and said with a wry smile, "No wonder you were so decisive just now. I thought it was just a normal questioning process."

Su Wan glanced at him, her tone turning serious: "Do you think the Ninth Bureau would send someone like me for a regular mission?"

Gu Yan paused, and the usually composed expression on his face finally began to falter.

He adjusted his glasses and gave a wry smile.

"Alright, it seems I underestimated the level of this mission."

Gu Yan originally thought that the Black Dragon Mountain incident was at most a large-scale riot of strange beasts, nothing more than the early stage of spiritual energy recovery and the animals' mutations going out of control.

But now it seems things are clearly not that simple. An ordinary graduate student actually managed to walk out of the third-tier White Tiger's territory alive.

Moreover, there were traces of mental shielding on his body, coupled with the ever-increasing psionic fluctuations in the detector.

Something big is definitely hidden in the mountains.

Gu Yan couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Captain, do you think there might already be beings of rank three or higher in Black Dragon Mountain?"

Su Wan paused, but didn't answer immediately. She simply glanced back at the distant mountains.

In the early morning, the mist swirled around the entire Black Dragon Mountain, making it look like a sleeping giant, eerily quiet.

A few seconds later, she said, "I hope not, but given the current situation, it's very likely."

Gu Yan's eyelids twitched violently. A fourth-order event was no longer an ordinary disaster-level event; it was clearly stated in the internal documents of the Ninth Bureau.

Third-tier life forms can still be suppressed with modern weapons. But fourth-tier life forms have begun to show signs of domaining and mental contamination.

If things get out of control, an entire city could be in trouble.

Gu Yan's voice was a little tense: "Will headquarters provide support?"

Su Wan shook her head: "It's too late. By the time headquarters approves it and the person arrives, it'll be too late."

She glanced down at the detector in Gu Yan's hand; the screen readings were still rising.

【613】

【641】

【678】

……

The instrument's edge had even started flashing red lights, and Gu Yan's expression immediately changed.

"Still rising?" Su Wan's pupils narrowed slightly. The next second, she directly opened her communicator, her voice regaining its sharpness as when she was on the move: "This is Su Wan, deputy captain of the action team of the Ninth Bureau of Linjiang City."

"Request to upgrade the Heilongshan incident to a Level A anomaly."

"Immediately activate the Level I Emergency Response Plan for Lingnan."

"Notify the Municipal Armed Forces Department, Special Police Detachment, and medical system to enter standby status."

"Also, the first reconnaissance team has been mobilized and is preparing to enter the mountains."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the communicator, followed by a voice: "Team Leader Su, the detection value has exceeded the danger threshold. Entering the mountain rashly is extremely risky."

"We suggest waiting for the headquarters' extraordinary team."

Su Wan's voice was unwavering: "We can't wait. Black Stone Village is just the beginning. If the anomalies in the mountains fully erupt, the entire Lingnan region will be in trouble."

Her gaze swept over the villagers who were hastily evacuating. The elderly were holding children, the villagers were driving their livestock, some were crying as they locked the doors, and some were desperately stuffing grain into the vehicles.

Amidst the chaos, Su Wan clenched her fists: "At least we can retreat now. But if that thing comes out of the mountains, then it won't just be Black Stone Village that needs to be evacuated."

"It's the entire Linjiang area."

Gu Yan fell silent; he suddenly realized something.

The reason Su Wan personally led the team was because she had prepared for the worst from the very beginning.

The voice came through the communicator again.

"Received, temporary authorization approved, but please note that reconnaissance is the priority, and deep contact with unknown targets is not permitted."

Su Wan hung up the call.

The next second, she turned to Gu Yan and said, "Leave the evacuation to the local staff. You're coming into the mountains with me."

Gu Yan: "Captain, I'm an administrative officer."

Su Wan said expressionlessly, "You know best about the abnormal data from Black Dragon Mountain. Besides, your brain is more useful than a gun."

Gu Yan gave a wry smile: "Thank you, but I'm not comforted at all."

Su Wan ignored him and walked straight to the SUV. The wind blew her short hair, and the woman's gaze was cold and sharp as she looked into the depths of Black Dragon Mountain.

For some reason, she had a vague feeling that something in the mountains was awakening.

Chu Zhou was unaware that he had originally intended to live quietly in the mountains, but the technology on the human side was extremely advanced, and due to the abnormal energy changes in the mountain range where he was located...

The Ninth Inning has already set its sights on him.

Even if he knew, Chu Zhou had no interest in it. At this moment, in Black Dragon Lake, he was about to undergo another transformation.