Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 171 Supervision

The reason why Chu Deng had to take an old, weak, and disabled person with him on his journey can be traced back to the fact that the higher-ups were preparing to gradually reveal the existence of supernatural abilities.

"Instead of wasting time and effort trying to cover it up, it's better to expose the truth and let the public know the facts. That way, fewer people will be courting death," Jiang Guoqiang said, pointing to the data on the personal terminal for Chu Deng to see.

Chu Deng nodded as he watched the videos of those adventure and mystery-solving streamers.

"It took a lot of manpower and resources, and we only managed to save a few." Jiang Guoqiang shook his head. "The first step in making it public is to get our hands on the exotic plants and beasts from various places, have our insiders disguise themselves as TV crews and film a few episodes, then suddenly discover the truth, let it ferment for a few days, then block the news, and finally have a top leader personally announce it. Then, all provinces and cities will actively respond to the policy. There will definitely be chaos in the process, and there will definitely be foreign interference. However, this public announcement is not just a matter for our country. Those foreigners are hesitant and want to see how things go on our side before they come, so we must keep things stable..."

Chu Deng didn't quite understand how things would escalate. In his previous life, the zombie outbreak was a sudden nationwide event, and the authorities were probably only thinking about rescue efforts. The common people had no choice; even surviving was difficult.

Actually, there wasn't a public statement before, but the changes in plants and animals couldn't be hidden. It's just that until they were right in front of people, some people just couldn't see them.

As Chu Deng pondered, Jiang Guoqiang said, "So you need to carefully observe the situation in various places along the way, just like the imperial envoys of ancient times, making secret visits everywhere. With fewer people, things are much easier to handle."

Chu Deng was stunned for a moment, "Me?"

“Yes, it’s you.” Jiang Guoqiang nodded. “Before you came to Guangdong Province, you were a level three fire elementalist. After you were promoted to level four, apart from a few people in the Guangdong Province base, no one has officially notified you yet. To the outside world, you are only level three. The route to Beijing will allow you to see the situation in these eastern provinces. Once you get to Beijing, submit a report and you’ll get an extra salary.”

Chu Deng felt like she was a nested doll. She knew she was at level five and couldn't explain how the Insect King died, so she reported herself as level four. Now, Jiang Guoqiang had her inspect the situation in each province as a level three official.

Jiang Guoqiang held up a number to Chu Deng, and Chu Deng's eyes lit up immediately. "Okay, I have no problem with that."

Chu Deng accepted the mission and left, while Jiang Guoqiang waited for Xiao Yuan to arrive.

"Lieutenant General, what do you want with me?" Xiao Yuan, unusually, did not teleport directly into the room, but instead knocked on the door properly.

"I remember you've been with the Dragon Group for almost eight years now, haven't you?" Jiang Guoqiang asked, taking a sip of tea before getting to the point.

“Yes, 7 years and 286 days,” Xiao Yuan said.

"It's been so long, it's time to raise it a bit."

"I will follow your arrangements," Xiao Yuan said without changing his expression, mainly because he didn't care about rank.

Jiang Guoqiang knew the young man's personality well. "The selection process for the team competition of the World Championships will be starting soon, right?"

Xiao Yuan couldn't help but turn around, his ears perking up.

“Chu Deng, cough—” Jiang Guoqiang took another sip of tea, “has a lot of potential.” He said meaningfully, then smiled and glanced at Xiao Yuan, “You too.”

Without saying anything more, Xiao Yuan was dismissed. As soon as he stepped out, Xiao Yuan received a surveillance mission from the Dragon Group. However, his mission was not to monitor the public affairs of various provinces, but to monitor Chu Deng.

"Is this a test for my captain?" Xiao Yuan wondered. His eyes darkened. He had always wanted to participate in the World Championship team competition, but since it was impossible to send a space-type character to the individual competition, only the team competition allowed him to participate, witness the strength of various countries, and add some excitement to his boring life.

"Chu Deng, is it?" Xiao Yuan snorted. He wouldn't let her get away with it so easily.

"Give."

Xiao Yuan was taken aback, and subconsciously caught the black crystal core that was thrown to him. This was...

"Weren't you injured? Use this for now." After Chu Deng tossed the space-type crystal core to Xiao Yuan, she sat down to eat. Jin Dahai chuckled and used serving chopsticks to pick up food for Chu Deng.

"Eat more, eat more. I've heard that people with superpowers have a good appetite. They need to eat well to grow taller." Jin Dahai looked at Chu Deng with affection.

Chu Deng nodded.

Xiao Yuan looked at the level-three space-type crystal core in his hand. What was this? A bribe?

He couldn't refuse at all. Xiao Yuan grasped the crystal core in his hand, his fingertips digging into its edge. After a moment's thought, he put the crystal core into his pocket.

"I won't hold back," Xiao Yuan suddenly said, sitting down next to Jin Dahai, picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat. He said without any politeness, "Uncle, I want to eat that beef."

Chu Deng: "?" What does that mean?

Jin Dahai didn't mind. He had gotten used to Xiao Yuan's sudden outbursts after spending so much time with him. "Okay, I'll get you some."

Even though his biological daughter isn't around, he's happy to dote on his adopted son and goddaughter.

The three of them are currently on a cargo ship, eating the ship's buffet.

This boat was found temporarily and also serves as a passenger vessel. People live on the third floor, while the bottom two floors are used for cargo. The destination is Zhejiang Province, a province known for its free shipping.

"We have goods from all over the country, cargo ships are cheap, and they're not slow these days. We stop in Zhejiang City for a while and then leave. We don't carry many people, maybe ten or so at most. It's just extra money for us, haha." The young man greeted them cheerfully.

The two younger ones remained silent, while Jin Dahai chatted with him, laughing, about all sorts of things. "I bet your ship goes overseas too?"

"Ah, I'm not too sure about that. The crew overseas is a different group. I only work on domestic routes and rest the rest of the time."

"That's good." Seeing that everyone had finished eating, Jin Dahai said tactfully, "We won't keep you from eating any longer, let's eat a little longer."

"Okay, feel free to contact me if you need anything. I live in room 304 next door." The delivery guy left happily.

Chu Deng put down her chopsticks and activated her senses as soon as she left. There were 23 crew members on the ship, and in addition to the crew, there were also many robots to assist with the transport, so there weren't many people. But what was interesting was that half of them were people with superpowers.

The young man who just left seemed to be an ordinary person, as if he was unaware of the situation.

“There’s something wrong with this ship,” Xiao Yuan suddenly said.

He glanced at Chu Deng without making a sound. Little brat, I've given you all this hint, why don't you hurry up and act?

Chu Deng silently picked up her chopsticks again and took a bite of beef. "This beef is a little different."

“It’s different. It’s similar to what I ate when I was on a business trip to the US years ago. Their beef has a special flavor.” The gourmand Jin Dahai chimed in, “I guess they also go to the US.”

Xiao Yuan remained silent. How could this possibly be the topic? Although he had learned about it from the mission description, the mission was suddenly sent to his email when he boarded the ship, asking him to assist Chu Deng in investigating the ship, suspecting that it was smuggling goods to and from the United States.

He silently picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks, tasted it carefully, and then put down his chopsticks, looking at Jin Dahai and Chu Deng, wondering why he couldn't taste anything different.

Chu Deng ate her meal without changing her expression. She didn't know what it had to do with America. She had just heard some crew members mention America while she was sensing it, and someone else said that American beef had a better milky flavor. She tried it out of curiosity and noticed that Xiao Yuan was glancing at her from time to time. She also made a comment.

Unexpectedly, a huge golden sea was unearthed.

Xiao Yuan was speechless. "I wonder what kind of goods they're transporting."

He looked at the level-three crystal core and thought he should give it another hint, in case Chu Deng still didn't get it...

Thinking of the people who competed with him in previous years, he gritted his teeth. He didn't mind helping Chu Deng cheat!

Xiao Yuan knew that China was full of hidden talents. He, a third-level space system expert, was not considered top-tier, not to mention that there were fourth-level space system experts above him. Seeing that Chu Deng had gained the favor of a fifth-level expert and was about to be recommended for a position, he had the advantage of being close to the water. Even if the boat sank immediately, he would jump into the water and carry Chu Deng's boat to the shore.

"It's hard to say, but the draft is quite heavy. I've looked at the cargo boxes, and based on the size of the ship and the boxes they're using, it looks like there are more than three layers." The dimensions of a three-layer cargo ship's boxes are determined by the height of each layer. In order to carry more cargo, there are certain requirements, but when Jin Dahai glanced at them when he boarded the ship, they seemed unreasonable—a typical case of double-layered cargo boxes.

At this moment, he realized something was amiss: this ship was a bit illogical.

"Xiao Yuan, is this another new mission for you?" Jin Dahai asked bluntly. While Xiao Yuan was seeing him off, he would occasionally take on other missions. The main reason was that the Space System did not tolerate idlers. In addition to his long-term mission of looking after Jin Dahai, Xiao Yuan also had to constantly take on short-term missions to maintain his activity level, so that his superiors would not forget about him and would not think of him when there were good things.

That's how he happened to run into Chu Deng and boarded her ship, which was about to take off.