A six-wheeled stretch Jeep weaved through the mountain range, leaving behind densely populated satellite towns one after another.

It was the dead of night, a torrential downpour hammering against the Jeep’s roof with rhythmic thuds. The sky above was a blanket of impenetrable black clouds, utterly devoid of even a sliver of sunlight. Only this lone Jeep traveled through the pitch-dark mountains, the tall streetlights along the roadside casting a deathly pale glow, like the unblinking eyes of corpses staring at the vehicle.

Gu Xichen huddled in the passenger seat, incessantly urging the driver, Mu Jinhua, to slow down.

Mu Jinhua, puffing on a cigar and constantly swigging aged Erguotou liquor, his eyes bloodshot, relentlessly mocked Gu Xichen for his timidity.

In the back, Bell Adams and his two subordinates were busy organizing their gear—cameras, video recorders, loggers, and various instruments piled up like a small mountain. Several identification cards lay strewn across the seat. Every so often, a flash of lightning split the sky, the stark white illumination momentarily revealing two thumb-sized golden letters on the green alloy-covered cards: EB! These were press passes from Earth Telecom; the golden characters signified that the holder was a Chief Reporter with an independent office at the company.

After navigating the mountains for over two hours, the Jeep, which had been roaring along at high speed, burst through a tunnel, revealing a basin below spanning about thirty square kilometers. Lightning continuously shot down from the cloud cover, and in the fleeting electric light, the crisscrossing network of steel foundation piles reaching toward the sky became clearly visible. This area was slated to become a new satellite town to alleviate population pressure from nearby settlements. Rumor had it that this new city would employ an untested construction technology, with underground structures reaching five hundred stories deep, foundations plunging nearly two thousand meters into the earth.

Two layers of steel rebar barricades blocked the road ahead. Men in yellow rain slickers inside the roadside guard posts looked toward the Jeep in surprise as two high-powered searchlights suddenly fixed upon them. A plume of earthy yellow air shot upward; in the passenger seat, Gu Xichen had already vanished underground.

The two men in yellow raincoats cautiously approached the Jeep, their right hands resting on the bulges at their waists as they navigated around the rebar barrier.

Inside the vehicle, Mu Jinhua twitched the muscles on his face; the worm-like flesh rippled, and he instantly transformed into an entirely different person. Bell Adams and his two subordinates exchanged glances, scrutinizing each other’s faces. Satisfied that the other’s appearance was completely unfamiliar yet utterly natural, they simultaneously smiled.

One man directed a powerful flashlight through the window, examining Mu Jinhua’s new face. Mu Jinhua grinned, took a swig of Erguotou, and slowly lowered the window. A thick cloud of cigar smoke and the potent smell of strong liquor billowed out. The man instinctively stepped back, frowning. “Sir, this is hardly ideal weather for an outing!”

Mu Jinhua inhaled deeply, forcing the blood into his face until it was beet red. He leaned out with a ghastly grin and shouted toward the man, “Who said we were on an outing? We’re on assignment! That’s right, a business trip! Heh heh, we’ve got urgent work, damn it, curse all the bosses in the world for forcing me to drive two hours through these mountain roads in this hellish weather!”

Bell Adams passed several documents out the window, addressing the man coldly. “E. Edward, Domestic News Gathering Department, Earth Telecom Federal Express. We’ve been ordered to cover the construction progress of this satellite city. You’re using the latest resonant interference technology and new high-strength cement. I hear your buildings can withstand earthquakes up to 9.8 magnitude—truly remarkable!”

“Re-reporter?” The two men in yellow stiffened, exchanging stunned glances. They opened and reread the identification cards several times before hastily saying, “Uh, we’ll need to contact our superiors!”

“Go on, get going!” Mu Jinhua snatched the large clay jar and took another deep gulp of Erguotou, sneering. “What’s there to say to you low-level functionaries?”

Shooting a harsh glare at the two men in yellow, Mu Jinhua bellowed, “Do you even know who I am? Don’t let my being a driver fool you; I once shared a meal with His Excellency Jean-Joann, the private driver for the Federal Chairman! Do you commoners have such fortune? You look like you’re destined to guard gates for your entire miserable lives! Hurry up and report to your superiors, you lowlifes!”

Bell Adams’s mouth twitched rapidly. He lowered his head and aimed his camera at the roadblock ahead, snapping a photo with a sharp click. Smiling, he asked the two men, whose faces had changed drastically, “Why have you blocked the road? Is there some problem with the construction site?”

The man holding the flashlight hurriedly replied, “N-no problem, everything is normal. But the construction site, well, it’s to prevent accidents… for safety, you understand!”

The two men retreated awkwardly back to the guard post. They exchanged a few words with their comrades inside, pointing and gesturing toward the Jeep for a while.

A middle-aged man, clearly the supervisor, shot a chilling glance their way. He took the identification card offered by Bell Adams, scanned it quickly, and then grabbed the dedicated line telephone on his desk—0.

High above, behind thick swathes of dark clouds, Siren and Aredia floated suspended in faint silver light amidst the lightning. Thunder roared around them, electric arcs flashed past, yet both observed the scene below with calm composure. Through the gaps in the clouds, they could see that flanking the road just behind the guard post were at least a dozen fully armed soldiers from the garrison. Moreover, small energy cannons had been mounted at several hidden firing positions along the roadside.

“Can these few fellows keep the Special Operations agents inside this site occupied? Hmm, even if that fellow is a zombie, the armed presence here is certainly enough to kill him again!” Siren chewed her gum contentedly.

“According to Federal Press Law, reporters have the right to cover any location that does not involve federal secrets—that’s the Federal principle of press transparency!” Aredia scoffed. “Once those all-pervasive reporters show up, it’s trouble for everyone, isn’t it? Especially for the Special Operations Bureau, which courts huge trouble but wants to hoard all the benefits. I wonder what they’re up to now?”

Meanwhile, Xin Jia and Gu Xichen had already slipped beneath the earth, arriving at the foot of the mountain in the northwestern corner of the basin.

Here, a section of the cliff had collapsed, revealing a pitch-black cavern entrance illuminated brilliantly by dozens of high-powered spotlights. Hundreds of Special Operations agents, clad in hazmat suits, were scrambling out of the entrance, ferrying large quantities of equipment. One agent shouted curses in frustration, “Reporters? Damn it, reporters from Earth Telecom? Blast it, wrap up immediately, clear the site, and seal the entrance! Why in the hell would reporters show up in this godforsaken place?”