Chapter 105 - 102: The Reveal
Huang Jiutian was just an ordinary designer not long ago, but now he stood here with Tao Xingzhi, dressed in a special military uniform.
There were quite a few bigwigs around, with military police controlling the area to maintain order and security.
"Jiutian, don’t be nervous. This is nothing to worry about."
Tao Xingzhi whispered comfortingly from the side.
"If the biggest thing you had to deal with two weeks ago was a visit from company leadership, you’d understand how I’m feeling right now."
Huang Jiutian cracked a joke.
Soon, the mood of the group turned serious again as people disembarked from two private jets, one after the other.
There were no reporters or welcoming expatriates. After a brief, courteous reception from the Hua Country delegation, they skipped the small talk and were taken directly to the Special Security Team’s research institute in special vehicles.
In one of the cars, a curious young man with brown hair was looking all around, peering out the window.
"So this is Hua Country? Their infrastructure is so new!"
A bald, burly man, his suit stretched tight across his frame, let out a laugh. "HA HA."
"Ivan, this is that Hua Country phrase I taught you before: ’Rich enough to do whatever you want!’"
The bald man said this phrase in broken Mandarin, but since everyone else in the car was from Russia, no one made fun of his poor pronunciation.
The conversation in the car revolved around Hua Country’s cuisine and other interesting tidbits; it seemed they were deliberately avoiding the topic of their work.
Just then, a blonde woman in a business suit interrupted their relaxed mood.
"General, Hua Country has sent over the files."
For security reasons, the detailed information was to be provided after landing. What they had seen back home was merely the tip of the iceberg.
The interiors of these special vehicles were similar to the modified van that had picked up Huang Jiutian, lavishly furnished and fully equipped.
The men each opened a beverage from the car’s cooler and waited for the woman to continue.
She connected her laptop to the vehicle’s display system with a cable, and the files soon appeared before them.
"Invisible Salamander. A pack-dwelling, mutated creature of unknown origin. Capable of sustained, highly effective invisibility. It is agile, with exceptional climbing ability and some jumping capability. Highly aggressive. Its primary attack is with the mouthparts inside its oral cavity, which inject a paralyzing toxin. Its durability is average, with weaknesses at its limb joints and mouthparts... It possesses a degree of intelligence..."
The woman continued to read while everyone else in the car listened in silence, their eyes glued to the images and documents flashing on the screen.
"Top speed is approximately 40 kilometers per hour, and it’s nearly silent when moving... One incident resulted in the death of a senior Hua Country engineer, after which all of them—four in total—were killed thanks to the on-site Commander’s excellent response..."
"Wait!"
Ivan interrupted the woman’s briefing.
"It says here this was a sudden encounter, and only one person died?"
"Yes. The deceased was a senior engineer from Hua Country, named..."
"No, no, that’s not the point. Ivan’s right. This creature is practically the perfect assassin, especially for a first encounter. The *Alien* films might be exaggerated, but they show just how terrifying monsters like this are. And Hua Country managed to kill all of them, paying the price of just one non-combatant? If it had been us, could we have done the same?"
The General’s question plunged the car into a brief silence.
"Just how well-prepared is Hua Country, really?" the General murmured. "Continue."
The General muttered to himself, then motioned for the woman to continue.
Meanwhile, in the vehicles carrying the researchers and the Wu Country delegation, the reactions were largely of astonishment and disbelief.
This was a chance for them to get a much closer, more personal look at these mutated creatures than ever before.
To date, the mainstream opinion among the informed nations was that this was all a matter of biological mutation.
However, as things that completely defied biological explanation—like the Crystal Ore—were gradually discovered, that mainstream view was losing its footing.
After a drive of over an hour, the convoy finally stopped outside a military facility on the city’s outer ring.
The exterior of the off-white building featured no bright glass walls or excessive decoration. There wasn’t even a sign.
The low, triangular building appeared to be only two stories tall; the main facility was presumably underground.
People were only permitted to enter after every single person’s identity was verified, with no exceptions made even for high-level leaders.
Once they were actually inside the research institute, liaisons assigned to each team approached them.
As it happened, Tao Xingzhi and Huang Jiutian were the ones assigned to greet General Rozov, Ivan, and their team.
Dressed in their special uniforms and looking sharp, the group approached the Russian special department team to exchange greetings. Tao Xingzhi extended a hand from afar.
"General Rozov, a pleasure to see you. Welcome again to Hua Country!"
"Leader Tao, thank you for the invitation!"
Although they communicated through a translator, it was clear this wasn’t their first meeting, as they seemed quite familiar with one another.
The trilateral exchange was divided into three main parts: high-level leaders held their own summit, the professional research was entrusted to the scientific teams, and among the special departments of the three nations, there was another level of exploratory discussion.
Ever since approaching the Russian delegation, Huang Jiutian’s gaze had been fixed on the young Russian named Ivan, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the visitors.
Tao Xingzhi let out a "HA HA" and clapped Jiutian on the back to ease the tension.
"It seems our Comrade Jiutian has taken a liking to you, Comrade Ivan," Tao Xingzhi said. "Come, let’s walk and talk."
With Tao Xingzhi and Rozov leading the way, the delegations from the two countries strolled forward. Partway there, they were joined by the special department from Wu Country, who had arrived a little later.
They passed a specimen storage area, a data-sorting room, and a pharmaceutical lab before finally arriving at a dimly lit operations briefing room.
Inside, snacks and fruit had already been laid out according to the personal preferences of the visitors. Aside from tobacco and alcohol, everything one could want was provided.
As was customary, Hua Country, being the host, began with a long-winded speech filled with platitudes about international cooperation.
Just when everyone thought this was just another perfunctory meeting, Tao Xingzhi abruptly changed his tune.
"In this new, grim international climate, it is imperative that we deepen our ties and share information to fully prepare for the global changes to come. Therefore, after internal discussion, we have decided to reveal our nation’s latest top-secret intelligence to you all."
A photo showing the corpses of the four creatures appeared on the screen behind Tao Xingzhi.
He continued without a pause.
"A new kind of human. Or, as we call them, Evolvers!"
The moment he finished speaking, an uproar erupted within the Wu Country delegation.
Scientists had hypothesized such a theory months ago, but it had never been proven. For Hua Country to bring it up now surely meant they had concrete findings.
But the reaction from the Russian side was intriguing. It was no surprise that the Hua Country delegation remained composed, but why was the Russian team also silent?
Tao Xingzhi looked toward Rozov with a faint, unreadable smile—or more precisely, toward Ivan, who stood beside him.
"General Rozov, would you care to ’re-introduce’ Comrade Ivan?"
At these words, every member of the Russian special department turned to stare at Tao Xingzhi.
Disclosing the information about the new humans had, in fact, been a contingency. Given the gravity of Hua Country’s invitation, if the other two nations had made similar discoveries, they would most likely seize this learning opportunity and bring such individuals with them.
If Jiutian could identify them, then an open exchange would be worthwhile. If he couldn’t, then, unfortunately, the exchange of information would be somewhat one-sided.
You could say that Wu Country was just lucky enough to be riding on Russia’s coattails this time.
PS: Chapter 3/5.