Chapter 432: Chapter 396: Meeting
On August 5th, Sang Que returned to the modern Lishi Mountain to officially rejoin the team for training.
She was young and late, which brought skepticism from everyone as soon as she rejoined, since the hundred new recruits selected for this training had been chosen through the strictest selection process over the course of a year from all across the country.
Sang Que didn’t argue about this, accepting the punishment for being late willingly.
She never complained about the various exhausting trainings in the first month, no matter how tough they were, she worked hard to complete them, and when practicing with others, she defeated everyone with her strength.
It took only a month for Sang Que to accomplish everything excellently except slightly lagging in shooting training.
Everyone went from suspecting her to admiring her, no longer treating her like a child, but genuinely considering her as a teammate.
The first month of training soon ended; there was no contact with any ghosts, and Sang Que even found these recruits didn’t know what the task force did exactly, only that it was Huaxia’s most special secret unit.
In the second month, Sang Que was left behind alone, while the others were taken away by instructors Zheng Xuan and others, because Sang Que had no need to participate in the upcoming training program.
After inquiring, Sang Que found out that these recruits, who didn’t yet know that ghosts existed, would be taken to a haunted apartment for survival training.
That apartment resembled the Skywell Building in Xujiawan Village, with certain fixed rules inside: as long as they followed them, nothing would happen, and task force instructors would also stay there to ensure that these recruits wouldn’t encounter any major issues during the process of reshaping their worldview.
Those who can persist for a full month will be eligible to enter the third phase of training.
Sang Que wasn’t allowed to go because her aura was too strong; if she went, the ghosts in the apartment would definitely flee.
Also, leaving her alone allows her to catch up on shooting training.
Others have been exposed to firearms for years in school and the military, which is Sang Que’s disadvantage.
Besides that, the Otherworld exploration project officially launched, and Sang Que needed to stay to inform everyone about basic information about the Otherworld.
On the morning of September 1st, Sang Que, dressed in black training attire, was taken to the newly completed research building at the foot of Lishi Mountain.
After layers of verification, she arrived inside the meeting room; as soon as she entered, Sang Que saw ten people sitting on both sides of the long table, where five on the left side were glasses-wearing professors in various fields, and Ye Changqing and Qin Zhixian were also present.
The other five were all wearing military uniforms, consisting of three men and two women, some older and some younger, their mere presence exuding a murderous aura.
The seat in the center was reserved for Sang Que, which inexplicably made her nervous.
Sang Que walked over, stood at attention, and saluted. A month’s training had given her a military demeanor.
The middle-aged man closest to her, wearing military attire, nodded and gestured for Sang Que to sit down and speak.
After the door closed, Sang Que heard the sound of locking and electrical buzzing, and the entire meeting room was fully sealed, entering the highest level of lockdown.
The meeting was chaired by Ye Changqing, who said to Sang Que, "You don’t have to be nervous; today is just to get a preliminary understanding from you about the Otherworld, just say whatever you know."
Sang Que nodded, a young man in military uniform hurriedly asked, "When can we go to the Otherworld you mentioned?"
He remained skeptical about the existence of the Otherworld because Sang Que still hadn’t proven the existence of such a world to them.
Sang Que glanced at Ye Changqing, "I’ve already mentioned to Professor Ye before that there have been some incidents on the Otherworld side; I’m trying to bring the ’gate’ to a relatively safe place. If all goes well, the channel can be opened early next month."
Another young woman in military attire asked, "Could you roughly describe the situation of the Otherworld? For example, how big is the territory, what challenges and dangers will we face if we go there, and what should we prepare in advance?"
This question finally got to the point, and everyone nodded along, all looking at Sang Que.
Sang Que thought for a moment and said, "The Otherworld is still under imperial power during a Feudal Dynasty. I haven’t personally explored how big it is. I once obtained a map from a merchant family, and the overall terrain over there is actually similar to ours in Huaxia, specifically divided into nine states."
Sang Que picked up a pen on the table and started drawing on the LCD screen, the drawings would be projected onto the large screen behind her.
"The Nine States are Tibet, Youzhou, Jinzhou, Jingzhou, Qingzhou, Qinzhou, Yunzhou, Jiangzhou, Nanzhou. The current capital of the Otherworld is Shengjing City in Jingzhou. It’s said that the Emperor has no opinions, the Empress Dowager holds court, and the current Prime Minister controls the court affairs. Over there, there are three major forces dealing with ghosts: Longevity Buddha, Daoist Lord, and Evil Suppression Bureau..."
Sang Que briefly described the situation of the Deceit Dynasty to those present.
"...During the past year, I have been conducting exploration between the two worlds. So far, I can confirm that as long as the passage is opened by me, people and ghosts from both worlds can safely pass through this passage, and in the Otherworld, I don’t need special protection, nor have I been infected by any abnormal virus, just one thing to be especially cautious about is to never allow strong ghosts from the Otherworld to come to the modern world."
"Do people in the Otherworld know about the existence of this passage?"
Sang Que’s expression became somewhat solemn, "The Prime Minister of the Xuan Dynasty already knows, and I suspect he wants to open this passage to exile all ghosts into our world."
The meeting room fell silent, and everyone couldn’t help but sit up straight, realizing the seriousness of the situation.
Based on Sang Que’s description, if the ghosts of the Otherworld reached here, they would be defenseless, which would be a disaster capable of destroying the world.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Sang Que comforted them, "You don’t need to worry for now, the Prime Minister doesn’t yet have the ability to open this passage; we still have enough time to prepare, and we also have our advantages, as some modern weapons in the research institute have a certain lethality against ghosts from the Otherworld."
"Why not completely close this passage?"
"Cannot be closed, I can’t do it, at least."
"Is there no way to completely eliminate these ghosts?"
The lady in military attire asked another crucial question.
"The Witch of the Wu Family is still searching; currently, there’s only one conjecture that hasn’t been verified yet, but I’m already working in that direction."
Sang Que mentioned Wuyou’s conjecture, and everyone quietly discussed the information provided by Sang Que.
Finally, Ye Changqing asked, "What is your passage like, how many people can go through at once, and can it accommodate large equipment?"
"Previously, I verified that the gate can persist for half an hour every time it’s opened, during which people can go back and forth without limit in numbers, but the size of the gate is limited to that of a normal room door."
Sang Que had tested with a warehouse door before; once opened, the passage was still the size of a normal door, can be smaller, but not larger.
She had yet to try whether there were any new changes in the opening of the door after the fifth layer, as she had been too busy.
Sang Que added, "The ghosts over there are very strong, all electric-powered equipment won’t work; if there’s a need to transport large equipment, I have another method."
Putting several excavators into the picture can still be done; since the situation in Qinzhou wasn’t good, Sang Que also needed modern equipment and people to help reinforce Bright Moon Mountain into a fortress, firstly providing a safe refuge for her own people.
The meeting lasted until night, dinner was settled on the conference table.
After the meeting ended, Sang Que prepared to leave, the previously sharp-spoken lady found Sang Que.
"Hello Sang Que, let me introduce myself, my name is Zhao Yunshu, I’ll be among the first group to go with you to the Otherworld, let’s get acquainted first."
Zhao Yunshu appeared very young, no more than in her early thirties, with short hair, looking smart and capable, yet her smile was very approachable.
Sang Que had already noticed her shoulder insignia, her rank was high, so she hurriedly stood at attention, saluted, and greeted.
Zhao Yunshu smiled and said, "If not for your protection, your rank would only be higher than mine; in the future when we meet, no need to salute, I’ve been sent over, actually as your assistant, you can directly ask me if you have any requirements."
