Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio    Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Yidao remained silent for a moment.
Zhang Goudan, who was standing by, looked at Li Yidao with hope in his eyes, filled with expectation.
Finally, Li Yidao spoke softly, âGet up. Iâll take this funeral.â
He had decided to take the job.
He had a feeling that this matter was somehow related to him.
Whether it was the curse he had placed on the temple in Xian City before or the mysterious scarecrow phenomenon happening now, it all seemed to be under the control of an invisible force.
Li Yidao needed to find a breakthrough, break through this barrier in front of him, and enter the other sideâs world to truly understand what was happening and learn more.
Hearing Li Yidaoâs acceptance of his request, Zhang Goudanâs eyes filled with joy and gratitude.
âThank you! Thank you! I may not have money now, but I will definitely repay you in the future!â Excited, Zhang Goudan stood up.
Li Yidao waved his hand. âLet me prepare, and we will set off later.â
From Zhang Goudanâs eyes, Li Yidao could see that the gratitude was sincere. Even Li Yidao, facing such eyes, felt a sense of being respected. It was a comfortable feeling.
In the branch of Unit 36 in Yun City, Jiang Taoâs face turned dark as he looked at the report handed to him by his subordinates.
His subordinates had similar expressions, a mix of silence and deep anger.
After a while, one of his subordinates gritted his teeth and said, âWhat if I go there? I know some people in that area, and as long as we have money, they should be willing to help.â
But Jiang Tao shook his head.
âThis matter is not that simple. If it could be resolved by finding some people or spending money on local assistance, do you think the higher-ups would have reached this conclusion?â
He tossed the report on the table and slumped into his chair. His subordinate continued, his voice filled with agitation, âBut itâs more than twenty lives weâre talking about! We all know what their disappearance means in that place. Even death is considered a luxury. Every second we hesitate, their chances of survival diminish. You know it, I know it, and the higher-ups know it!â
Jiang Tao stood up and began to roar, âHowever, the orders from above have been delivered! If any of you dare to defy them, you know the consequences!â
âYour task now is to follow the orders from above! Bring back anyone related to this incident! I want to know how many people are involved and what kind of power is behind this!â
âBesides⦠that Brother Dao, none of you should attempt to approach him. Heâs not someone you can investigate or approach. There are specialists above handling him. â
Hearing Jiang Taoâs words, his subordinates were reluctant but ultimately fell into silence. They were just ordinary members of Unit 36. They had to obey orders.
Seeing the frustrated and angry expressions on his subordinatesâ faces, Jiang Tao sighed, âI know you all feel helpless, but thereâs nothing we can do about this. The higher-ups have urgently deployed special forces, and even they couldnât force the enemy to turn back.â
âAfter all, we canât shoot down their private jets, we can only try to pressure them to return.â
âOur plans almost fell into the enemyâs ambush, causing casualties. In the end, we had to temporarily abandon the mission.â
âThis matter is beyond our level now. Everyone should focus on completing their respective tasks.â
âYou have to trust the organization, we never give up on any of our countrymen.â
The subordinates saluted heavily and left Jiang Taoâs office one by one.
After the others had left, Jiang Taoâs silent gaze seemed lost in thought.
After a moment, he opened his computer and accessed a special website.
He entered Li Yidaoâs ID card number.
He was genuinely curious why the higher-ups were so concerned about the owner of this funeral shop, to the point where even high-ranking officials personally contacted him and asked him to rush over.
However, when he entered Li Yidaoâs information, the system displayed a large exclamation mark!
Insufficient access rights?
He took a deep breath.
While he was part of an external action group, he was still within that circle. He just hadnât acquired the corresponding abilities yet.
Moreover, the account he had just used belonged to his familyâs elders.
He had heard his familyâs elders mention this account. Only very few peopleâs information could not be retrieved through it.
And these individuals were either those who had made significant contributions to all of humanity or possessed unimaginable abilities, often associated with top-level dangerous missions.
If he encountered someone whose information couldnât be found through this account, he should steer clear.
It was a definite warning sign.
And Li Yidaoâ¦
The owner of a funeral shop didnât seem like someone who had accomplished any shining deeds for the betterment of humanity.
Furthermore, his elusive words had already raised suspicions.
If Li Yidao turned out to be such a dangerous individual, it explained why the higher-ups were so concerned.
Everything was starting to make senseâ¦
Li Yidao returned to the funeral shop.
After some basic preparations, Li Yidao and Zhang Goudan had already boarded the train back to the northwest.
Jiang City was not close to the northwest, and they had to take a 14-hour train ride.
There were no high-speed trains.
Li Yidao had bought two soft sleeper berths.
Well, no, he had actually bought four soft sleeper berths, similar to a private compartment.
Zhang Goudan had come on a hard seat, the kind without a proper seat even, and he had been reluctant to buy even a small stool.
He had brought two buckets of instant noodles and endured a 14-hour journey to find Brother Dao.
Before leaving, Li Yidao had asked Li Xinting to help prepare a bowl of noodles for Goudan.
Goudanâs wolfish devouring of the food made Li Xinting and Sister Zhou, the two women, feel sorry for him.
In a very short time, they even prepared a new set of clothes for him.
Well⦠Womenâs hearts, Li Yidao just couldnât understand!
Lying on the sleeper berth, Zhang Goudan was holding a phone and trying to operate it, not very proficiently.
He hadnât had his own phone before.
He was currently using his fatherâs phone, which already had a cracked screen.
Li Yidao didnât disturb him and was instead contemplating what to do after they arrived at the Zhang familyâs place.
He also wondered what the scarecrow-like figure following Zhang Goudan actually was.
Moreover, the most important question was this: When he had seen the figure on the rooftop, suspended in the air, was it also a scarecrow, or was it something else entirely?
All of this needed to be verified.
As Li Vidao was lost in thought, Zhang Goudan suddenly sat up, even hitting the bunk bed due to the force of his movement.
Li Yidao furrowed his brow, about to ask what was wrong, but at that moment, Zhang Goudan leaned in and pointed his phone screen at Li Yidao.
âBrother Dao, look at this video!â
Li Yidao subconsciously looked at Zhang Goudanâs phone screen.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The video appeared to be a statement, accompanied by some blurry combat footage.
According to the video, it showed the failed rescue mission of S568.
However, the video quality was more akin to that of a movie.
The message the video aimed to convey was that the rescue attempt had failed, allowing S568 to escape successfully.
Watching the thrilling scenes in the video, Li Yidao furrowed his brow and instinctively looked at Zhang Goudan, wondering about the meaning of this video.
Zhang Goudan hurriedly explained, âBrother Dao, look at the comments under this video!â
âThis video is from the interception operation we arranged yesterday, and it shows our failure to intercept S568.â
âThe organization behind this video claims responsibility for the entire S568 incident.â
âThey even announced that the fate of each of those twenty-plus people has already been decided.â
He paused for a moment, then continued, âMoreover, they arrogantly stated that⦠they heard you, Brother Dao, were planning to save these people.â
âThey said as long as you can eliminate all members of their organization, those who were abducted will be left alone, as no one will dare to touch them.â
This was the reason Zhang Goudan showed the video to Li Yidao. The organization had unexpectedly shifted its focus onto Li Yidao.
This development was rather peculiar, even a fool could see it. There was a high likelihood that they were targeting Li Yidao specifically.
In a rather blunt manner, they were pushing Li Yidao into the spotlight. âYouâre Brother Dao, right? You think youâre so great? Well, if you have the guts, kill us all! Then, no one will dare to touch those abducted people. But if you donât have what it takes⦠well, you can guess the outcome. After all, they all died due to organ deficiencies! â
Li Yidao took out his own phone and found the video, scrolling through the rhythmic comments below.
His expression remained calm.
Finally, the other side couldnât resist making a move.
Regardless of which faction or organization was behind this, using such a brutal event as a probe was evident.
Whether it was aimed at him personally or simply created as a test, the fact remained that the other side had taken action.
This provided Li Yidao with a direction, an opportunity to follow the trail and gather more information..