Using the MC system to pretend spiritual revival

Chapter 156 The Locust Tree Blocks the Way
At this moment, inside a reinforced armored vehicle located in the center of the convoy.

Through the thick bulletproof glass, one can see the spacious interior, with a layout quite different from other vehicles.

Apart from the driver's seat, the entire back is a spacious, enclosed space.

Aside from the bulletproof windows, which are about a fist thick, the rest of the car is covered with bulletproof material that reflects a matte metallic sheen.

Li Junguo, dressed in a business suit, leaned back in his chair, while his deputy, a capable-looking office lady, sat opposite him.

There was a small low table between the two of them, and on the table was a heavy black communication device.

From within came the sounds of Jiang Shengping and Ling Niao'er having a heated discussion.

As a high-ranking official in the Special Operations Bureau and the head of the Beijing General Bureau, Li Junguo wasn't as surprised as the other scientific expedition teams.

But one can't help but be speechless at such extraordinary behavior.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I reached out and switched the charger to a different channel.

He looked up with a hint of amusement and struck up a conversation with his beautiful deputy, who was sitting upright with a blank expression.

"03, oh no, I should call you Lingshan now, do you think this trip will go smoothly?"

The beautiful assistant, dressed in a sharp and efficient business suit, showed no change in expression upon hearing this.

He merely raised his head slightly upon hearing the sound and met the other person's gaze.

Then, a crisp but somewhat rigid sound came from behind.

"News about the cultivator's tomb has spread in the black market. Several teams of supernatural beings on the perimeter have reported discovering traces of unidentified people. The exact number is currently unknown, but it is no less than 100."

"However, with the top-tier superhuman combat power we have drawn from seven state branches, we are absolutely overwhelming in terms of strength. Furthermore, you have already obtained artillery support authorization from nearby military bases. As long as the battle begins, our chances of victory are over 90%."

After meticulously analyzing all of this, he then asked a question in return.

"Director, have you discovered something?"

Li Junguo was not surprised by the content of these words.

After all, this operation was something he had fought hard for.

Regardless of the prevention and control arrangements or the perimeter, the large number of special human teams that were tasked with responding to emergencies were all in place under his command.

It was expected that some independent cultivators would come after receiving the news, and they certainly wouldn't cause any trouble.

However, on paper, there are no loopholes or risks.

But Li Junguo felt a vague unease lingering in his heart, making it difficult for him to calm down.

That's why I wanted to talk to them and try to ease my emotions.

However, he was also aware of the rigidity and inflexibility of the special forces member in front of him.

I didn't expect to get any inspiration or clues from this group of unimaginative specially trained soldiers.

I was just asking out of boredom.

At this moment, the other party's cold and rigid response made me lose all interest in talking.

He then waved his hand.

"It's nothing, I was just asking to be on the safe side."

"I remember that according to the map, we should be almost there."

Just as he finished speaking, the car beneath him suddenly lurched and then came to a stop.

The sudden stop caused both people inside the car to react simultaneously.

Li Junguo reached for the pistol at his waist.

Meanwhile, the capable female assistant sitting opposite him, Aya, pulled a small submachine gun directly from the briefcase she always carried.

Then, the sealed suitcase was stood up and tied to the forearm with the pre-installed cable ties. In this way, the special bulletproof material of the suitcase became a small shield.

Without hesitation, he flipped over the low table and shielded the serious-looking Li Junguo behind him.

The entire movement was fluid and natural, as if it had been rehearsed countless times.

At this moment, the entire process from parking to setting up a warning took only a few breaths.

Outside the car, footsteps approached from afar, and soon, a young team member wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat jogged to the front of the car.

He reported this to the two people inside the car.

"Director Li! The car that was clearing the way has crashed into a tree. We are dealing with it, and it may take a while before we can get back on track."

He was met by members of his own research team, and they explained that the vehicle had simply malfunctioned, not been attacked.

Li Junguo, who was being protected behind him, also raised his hand and patted the shoulder of the female assistant in front of him, indicating that she could relax.

Upon receiving the signal, Ling Shan slightly turned her body to the side and lowered the muzzle of her gun, which was secretly pointing at the figure outside the window.

Although it wasn't an attack and it turned out to be a false alarm, the young man's report from outside the car made him frown the more he thought about it.

"The vehicle crashed into a tree? Was it because there was too much vegetation and it veered off course?"

The reason he asked this question was that before he came, he had sent people to carefully investigate the environment of the mountain.

The road the vehicle is currently traveling on is a winding boardwalk along the mountainside.

On one side is a steep slope of nearly 70 degrees, and on the other side is a straight mountain.

Logically speaking, no matter which way you walk, it shouldn't be possible to bump into a tree.

Upon hearing this, the young research team members outside the window also looked troubled, their eyes revealing confusion.

"I don't know either. The route is correct. I came to the mountain with the team leader for a scientific expedition last month, and there weren't any trees along this path..."

Upon hearing this, Li Junguo, who had initially only paid some attention, was taken aback, and his expression gradually turned serious.

After a moment of hesitation, he stood up and walked out of the car.

"Let's go and see together."

……

The two got out of the car and followed the young scientific expedition team members to the location where the vanguard of the convoy was parked.

Meanwhile, the capable female deputy held up her leather-box shield, vigilantly scanning the surroundings for any possible hiding places. Fortunately, Li Junguo's vehicle was in the center of the convoy, only a few dozen meters from the lead car, and the group arrived in just a few steps.

Li Junguo and his group walked over weeds and shrubs that were taller than a person.

Fortunately, the lead vehicles were able to pass, and they were all knocked to the ground, so it didn't affect walking too much.

This also made them realize the culprit that had caused the team to stagnate.

That tree that supposedly blocked the road.

Judging from its leaves and other features from a distance, one can observe its pinnate compound leaves and dark brown bark.

It is clearly a locust tree that is quite common in the forests of northern China.

It was no different from the other trees on both sides of the mountain wall, standing over ten meters tall with a trunk about the thickness of a person.

The tree grows lush and verdant, blending seamlessly with the surrounding forest from a distance, showing no signs of anything unusual.

But now, the biggest anomaly is the absence of any anomalies.

At this moment, they saw that Li Junguo, the high-ranking official in charge of the team, had actually come over to check on things in person.

Not far away, three experts from the Beijing Special Operations Bureau who had gotten out of their car also quickly saluted and greeted him.

"Good morning, Director!" ×3
However, Li Junguo didn't have the time or the mood for much small talk at the moment, and simply nodded in response.

He then strode over to the group of scientific expedition members who were acting as guides and were gathered around the tree roots.

"How's the situation? Have you found any problems?"

As soon as he got close, Li Junguo went straight to the expedition team leader, who was standing to the side with a beard.

Meanwhile, he was staring at the tree trunk in deep thought when he heard the call. He turned around and found that it was his boss.

They also responded hastily.

"Director Li is here, you..."

However, what I wanted to say was immediately interrupted by the other party waving their hand.

"Oh, no need for formalities. Let's keep it simple and tell me what you've discovered."

Upon hearing this, the expedition team leader did not dare to delay and raised his hand to lead the other party to the base of the tree trunk.

He pointed to the tree trunk, at the point where it met the surrounding brownish-yellow soil.

"Director Li, look."

“Last month, I led a team along this mountain path, and without mentioning these weeds, this tree would definitely not exist.”

"After all, this path we're on is the only way to reach the mountain stream. And..."

As he spoke, the expedition team leader squatted down and dug around in the gap between the tree trunk and the soil with his hands.

Some gravel and clods of soil were turned over.

After doing all this, he explained again to Li Junguo, who was waiting for a reply.

“Look here, there are obvious gaps between the soil and the tree trunk, and there are some tiny cracks in the ground near these tree roots.”

"This usually only occurs under fast-growing bamboo forests; slow-growing trees won't crack the ground and separate from the surrounding soil..."

Listening to the other party's analysis, Li Junguo nodded and squatted down to observe the details the other party mentioned.

As the other party said, the entire tree seemed to suddenly emerge from the ground, pushing the soil aside.

This made him try to recall in his mind whether there was any special ability or magic weapon recorded in the Special Operations Bureau's database.

It can make a tree grow up to a height of more than ten meters in a very short time.

But the result is that no one with similar abilities or any extraordinary phenomena have ever occurred.

"Could it be that, following various herbs, trees are also going to be affected by the resurgence of spiritual energy? No, this seems too deliberate..."

With various thoughts swirling in his mind, Li Junguo's expression grew increasingly serious.

Extraordinary phenomena are not scary; what is scary is the unknown.

This is also the point that he understood most deeply after the various cases following the so-called spiritual energy revival and changes.

The large tree blocking the way in front of the convoy was clearly a show of force or an act of marking out territory.

There is one person or group of people who do not want to explore the relics of the ascetics.

This intensified the sense of crisis that had been subtly creeping into my heart since the very beginning.

Li Junguo is now considering how to weigh the clearly defined dangers against the potential gains.

However, he thought of the six squads of supernatural beings he had set up outside the mountains to intercept the rogue cultivators, and the artillery support from the military region.

That long-standing sense of unease was somewhat suppressed.

Most importantly, the information he had gathered about the ruins mentioned elixirs.

In fact, for the upper echelons, the various awakened supernatural beings and magical artifacts brought about by the revival of spiritual energy are mostly a disadvantage.

Even those defensive magical artifacts that could be used to protect oneself are merely superfluous.

On the contrary, those rare and precious treasures that were relatively neglected were being sold at exorbitant prices on various black market platforms.

As far as Li Junguo knew, there were quite a few old folks from prominent families who were about to be buried.

They all got rid of all the pipelines and equipment and stood up again because they ate all kinds of natural treasures.

This is the effect of directly consuming the elixir.

Think of those mythical elixirs, the immortal pills that cultivators used to refine with various spiritual herbs—something that even emperors pursued their entire lives.

"call……"

With that thought in mind, he slowly closed his eyes and then opened them again, taking a deep breath.

Concealing the various emotions in his eyes as if nothing had happened, he turned to the research team members who were standing around the tree trunk, at a loss, and gave them orders.

"It's nothing, just an ordinary locust tree. Go to the car and get the tools to cut it down. Let's continue on our way."

"Yes!"×25
(End of this chapter)