One person: Activate the talisman, behold my Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon!

Ye Xing was taken aback. "They've been released?"

Zhang Chulan quickly stepped forward and lowered his voice to explain.

"Brother Ye, it's true. Although that old man Xia was a veteran of the Quanxing Sect, all the shady things he did were before the founding of the People's Republic of China."

"Firstly, there was no evidence to convict him; secondly, he was too old and held a special position in the Quanxing organization. The company weighed the pros and cons and released him after detaining him for a few days."

Ye Xing clicked his tongue after hearing this, "There's such a saying? I wish I hadn't bothered with this on the mountain back then."

These words, spoken casually, surprised the few temporary workers present.

Xiao Zizai pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light.

He stepped forward, speaking slowly and deliberately, with a politeness that made people a little uneasy.

"Mr. Ye, let's end this small talk here. Since you arrived in Biyou Village before us, you must know the situation here very well. We'd like to know more about it, so could you please give us a rundown?"

In an instant, everyone's eyes in the room were focused on Ye Xing.

Zhang Chulan perked up his ears; he knew Ye Xing all too well and knew a great deal.

Ye Xing slowly pulled over a wooden chair and sat down, glancing around at everyone.

"No problem, feel free to ask anything you want to know."

Hei Guan spoke first, "Is it true that Ma Xianhong can turn ordinary people into superhumans? What can have such an effect?"

"Yes, apart from those who used the device and a few of Ma Xianhong's guests, everyone else was an ordinary person who had been transformed. The thing that can transform people into superhumans is called the Body Cultivation Furnace."

"Where is the cultivation furnace? What is the village's specific combat strength? And what do you know about Ma Xianhong?"

“I can tell you all of this, including Ma Xianhong’s specific information, but why go through all this trouble? I’ll just help you catch him directly.”

Chapter 71 Operation Begins

After Ye Xing said, "I'll just help you catch him," the room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Zhang Chulan's eyes widened, while Wang Zhenqiu next to him opened his mouth wide in an exaggerated manner.

'Shock and astonishment were detected among the crowd; emotion value +500.'

Wang Zhenqiu was the first to recover, his peach blossom eyes scanning Ye Xing up and down before he spoke in a drawn-out tone.

"Hey, Brother Ye, that sounds pretty inspiring. But that Ma Xianhong is a tough nut to crack. I heard he's a successor of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques. You think you can hold him off all by yourself?"

Zhang Chulan slapped his thigh suddenly and quickly retorted.

"Ball, you're making a fuss over nothing! My brother Ye's strength was earned through real battles on Longhu Mountain. He's incredibly powerful. Taking down Ma Xianhong is a piece of cake for him!"

"Right, Brother Ye?"

Ye Xing smiled, raised his head at Zhang Chulan, and gave him a thumbs-up, "You're quite capable."

This left everyone speechless.

......

Zhuge Qing pinched his chin and took a step closer, his face full of doubt.

"Ye Xing, I've been in the village these past few days and you and Ma Xianhong seem to be getting along quite well. Didn't you say you even collaborated on making some kind of doll? Why are you turning around and attacking him?"

"A doll? What doll? Is it the kind I'm thinking of?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan spoke excitedly, looking like a curious child.

"roll!"

Ye Xing said a single word to Zhang Chulan in an annoyed tone, then leaned back in his chair.

"You're overthinking it. My relationship with him is purely professional, each of us getting what we need. Our relationship isn't bad or anything, and we're not close friends at all."

The clarinet player responded in a deep, muffled voice, shrugging his broad shoulders.

"Brother Ye, since we're not close, you can just stand by and watch. There's no need for you to get involved in this mess and help our company, is there? Or what are you after?"

Ye Xing stopped smiling and looked at everyone seriously.

"Because I strongly agree with the company's concerns about the 'demographic red line'."

Zhang Chulan looked puzzled upon hearing this, and Zhuge Qing also frowned.

Only Wang Ye leaned against the corner of the wall, staring thoughtfully at Ye Xing's profile.

'Zhang Chulan and Zhuge Qing have shown signs of doubt. Emotion value +100.'

Upon hearing this, Hei Guan, Xiao Zizai, and the others exchanged glances, their expressions changing.

'Surprised emotions detected among Hei Guan and others; emotion value +200.'

Zhang Chulan asked curiously, "What population red line? What do you mean by that, Brother Ye?"

Ye Xing took a sip of water and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"There is a safe threshold between the ratio of ordinary people and those with supernatural abilities. The normal operation of this society relies on the large population of ordinary people. If the number of people with supernatural abilities exceeds this fixed ratio, the existing order will collapse."

"The Body Cultivation Furnace mass-produces extraordinary individuals, which forcibly increases this ratio, infinitely approaching or even easily breaking through this red line."

"Think about the consequences if we cross the line. It will be a full-scale war between ordinary people and superhumans. That's the real reason why the company is willing to do whatever it takes to dismantle Biyou Village."

After hearing this, Zhang Chulan, Zhuge Qing, and even Wang Ye were stunned and speechless for a moment.

'Zhang Chulan, Wang Ye, and Zhuge Qing have been detected to be shocked; their emotional value has increased by 180.'

"Is that right?"

Zhang Chulan looked at Lao Meng and the others, and they nodded.

They then fully understood the reason why the company was determined to take action.

Ma Xianhong did not commit any heinous crime; to be precise, he did not do anything wrong. Rather, he was attempting to destabilize the entire world of superhumans and even human society.

Hei Guan grinned and gave Ye Xing a thumbs up.

“Brother Ye sees things clearly. This is our bottom line mission for this trip. That thing absolutely cannot be left behind.”

Xiao Zizai pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, his tone calm but tinged with excitement.

"Mr. Ye, since we share the same goal, how do you plan to proceed? What are your specific plans?"

Ye Xing put down his water glass.

"The plan is simple: find Ma Xianhong first thing tomorrow morning and then arrest him. The village's top talents are yours to handle."

"Even if you're worried about not being able to catch him, I'll hold him off until you can come and surround him."

Old Meng pushed up his glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of his nose, and looked troubled.

"What about the ordinary villagers who were converted?"

"You don't need to worry about the villagers' affairs; I have my own ways of handling them."

The group exchanged glances, and seeing Ye Xing's confident gaze, they tacitly agreed.

If Ye Xing were to take the lead and hold off Ma Xianhong, who has the strongest fighting force, the pressure on their temporary workers would definitely be reduced dramatically.

Even if Ye Xingzhen fails, as long as they stall him and wait for them to finish dealing with the upper-level enemies before attacking together, Ma Xianhong will have no chance of escaping.

Zhuge Qing then spoke up: "Ye Xing, what about the two of us?"

Ye Xing glanced at him.

"This is your own business, you can decide for yourselves."

'Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing are detected to be speechless and conflicted; emotion value +100.'

For the next half hour, Ye Xing disassembled and dissected the magical artifacts on Ma Xianhong's body, explaining them to everyone in detail.

The extremely defensive Black Armor, the unpredictable Soul-Shaking Bell, the Devouring Beast that can absorb Qi, the Six Harmony Pearl that can form a barrier, and something capable of autonomous defense...

After the meeting ended, Ye Xing saw the group off.

Zhang Chulan turned around and pulled the temporary workers into the grove for a small meeting, finalizing all the details of tomorrow's operation and informing the company to prepare to close off the mountain overnight.

The next morning, the mountain mist had not completely dissipated.

Ye Xing released the ten puppets from the Devouring Pouch, imbued them with the power of the Rat Talisman, and then issued commands to them one by one.

Ten minutes later.

Ye Xing strolled to a wide open space at the entrance of the village, with Ma Xianhong following behind him.

"Ye Xing, what brings you here so early?" Ma Xianhong stopped a few steps away, his voice hoarse from just waking up.

Ye Xing rubbed his cheeks with both hands, his tone light and cheerful.

"The company decided to take action against your Biyou Village today, and since I had nothing better to do, I agreed to help them capture you."

The cool morning air froze instantly.

A look of confusion flashed across Ma Xianhong's face as he quickly realized what was going on.

"You...you're an undercover agent sent by the company?" Ma Xianhong blurted out instinctively.

"Not really." Ye Xing shrugged.

"So you betrayed me? Wait, you're not one of my people either..."

Ma Xianhong was momentarily at a loss for words, but quickly responded.

His aura exploded instantly, the soil beneath his feet flew up, and he bent his legs slightly, assuming a standard defensive stance.

Ye Xing didn't respond. He slowly pulled out a red signal gun that he had gotten from Zhang Chulan the night before, pointing the muzzle straight at the sky.

"boom!"

A blinding red signal flare, trailing a long contrail, broke through the thin mist and exploded suddenly in the early morning sky above Biyou Village, its red light particularly striking.

After firing the gun, Ye Xing casually tossed it aside, then suddenly exerted force with his feet, instantly transforming into a blur as he rushed straight towards Ma Xianhong's face.

Ma Xianhong snorted coldly, and a burst of black light emanated from his body.

The protective magic weapon, the Black Armor, instantly activated and enveloped the body, like a layer of flowing black metal.

"boom!"

Ye Xing's fist slammed solidly into Ma Xianhong's body, producing a dull thud that made one's teeth ache.