Arriving at the investigation hall's base stationed in the Hell Plane, Pei Yan unexpectedly saw a figure he had met once before, but not his old acquaintance, Sifuer.
"I'm Pei Yan! Don't you recognize me? We've met before!" Pei Yan pointed at himself, half amused and half exasperated, as he looked at the guard leader in charge of watching over the supplies sent specifically for him.
The tall and imposing man in front of him was Shang Yong, introduced to him by Gu Shenghui before his initial departure to the Daoist Plane. Because he inherited the Shangxing's Great Sage Equal to Heaven ability, Pei Yan had valued him greatly. Before leaving, he even left him ten pieces of Origin Energy fragments he had condensed as a gift. Yet, judging by his reaction now, it was clear that he didn't recognize him.
Seeing Pei Yan reveal his identity, Shang Yong clearly breathed a sigh of relief, but his hand still didn't relax from the weapon at his waist. After signaling his team to remain vigilant, he looked at Pei Yan awkwardly and said, "Mr. Pei Yan, I actually recognized you earlier, but your changes were so great that I didn't dare to confirm!"
"Have I really changed that much?" Pei Yan heard this, conjured a mirror, and looked at himself. Upon seeing his reflection, he couldn't help but laugh. The change was indeed significant! Not to mention the transformation in his aura and the appearance of aging more than ten years, the messy white hair reaching his neck would startle even him if he caught an unexpected glimpse.
Pei Yan touched the stubble on his chin and said with a wry smile, "This half-year training has been too arduous; I haven't had time to manage my appearance. I didn't realize my hair had grown this long. No wonder it feels so awkward! Now that my identity is confirmed, I can enter, right? I still need to hurry to absorb these materials and head to the Magic Realm!"
"I'm sorry!" Shang Yong heard Pei Yan and still blocked his path, looking troubled. "Mr. Pei Yan, I know you're in a hurry, but these materials are incredibly important. Our team is ordered to guard them to wait for you to absorb them!"
"Right! That's why I'm here!" Pei Yan spread his arms in confusion.
"We still need to verify your identity. Please wait a moment. My team has already informed the upper echelons, and someone will arrive shortly with the necessary equipment!"
"Is that necessary? Doesn't this prove who I am?" Pei Yan sensed something was off and transformed himself into a mechanized form in front of Shang Yong. As his signature ability, there could be no mistake here.
Seeing the mechanized Pei Yan, Shang Yong nervously licked his dry lips. He ultimately adhered to the orders from above, shaking his head and refusing, "Mr. Pei Yan, I personally believe you are who you claim to be, but I apologize; orders are orders. I must wait for confirmation from above due to the high value of this shipment!"
"Every batch of materials I absorb is of high value!" Pei Yan picked up Shang Yong's conversation. He wasn't offended by his insistence, just puzzled by his persistence. Although the investigation hall's regulations were strict, this seemed unnecessarily convoluted! With this thought, Pei Yan pulled out a cigarette, placing it in his mouth. He casually handed one to Shang Yong, asked, "What's going on? Why is the check so stringent?"
Seeing Pei Yan's attitude soften, Shang Yong wisely accepted the cigarette handed to him, waited for Pei Yan to light it, took a drag, and spoke in a low voice, "Recently, someone has been impersonating the investigation hall's agents, secretly attacking our squads and abducting our agents. We suspect Divine Desire is acting again."
"What?" Hearing this brought a deep frown to Pei Yan's face. It's now clear that the leaders of Divine Desire and Blood Slaughter are the same person. Moreover, Divine Desire and Blood Slaughter are not merely identical; Divine Desire feels more like an independent organization floating outside Blood Slaughter, established on a foundational plane. Whether they are parallel or hierarchical, Pei Yan does not yet know. But hearing of their renewed activity at such a critical juncture is never a good sign! With this thought, Pei Yan couldn't help but ask, "When did this start? Does this relate to your stringent defenses?"
"It's been over the past two months, with four or five sporadic incidents already! Initially, the investigation hall didn't take it seriously, thinking it was retaliatory action by Divine Desire remnants, but the later attacks revealed anomalies!" Shang Yong pinched the cigarette, looked up at Pei Yan, and helplessly revealed a hint of fear, "They can transform into our agents!"
"What's so strange about that? A disguise seal can do that!" At this, Pei Yan instinctively touched his chest. When he first joined the investigation hall to conveniently conceal his identity, they had imprinted a disguise seal on his chest. This mark has the power to alter appearances, although due to Pei Yan's encounters being direct confrontations, he rarely used it for infiltration or disguise. Amusingly, its most substantial use has been to alter his appearance when visiting home, to prevent his parents from worrying.
"They can't just mimic our agents' appearances, but also their abilities!" A nearby agent behind Shang Yong couldn't resist interjecting.
"What?" This news truly shocked Pei Yan, but he quickly calmed down and inquired, "Are you saying that those who can mimic an ability user's appearance and abilities aren't individual entities?"
"Right, it's not just one individual, but a collective! At least based on current findings, that's the case!" Shang Yong said and took another deep drag from his cigarette, shook his head with a bitter smile, "Earlier, we gunned down an individual from Divine Desire disguised as one of our agents, and initially, we thought it was a personal ability at play. Yet, a few days after bringing the body back, the second attack occurred. We lost one agent, had two with serious and minor injuries, respectively, and one was abducted! The surviving reportees noted the attackers also numbered four, imitating the appearances of investigation hall agents. Even their initial moves began with abilities similar to ours. Because of this, the attacked failed to react promptly, resulting in such severe injuries."
"They even captured people?" As Pei Yan listened, his inner fury soared. Having developed a sense of belonging during his time with the investigation hall, he had long regarded it as his second home.
"They haven't only taken people; they've even taken the bodies! With each attack, their primary goal was kidnapping our agents, dead or alive!" The agent who had interjected earlier clenched a fist, angered and saddened, "Over these two months, we've lost four people, had two bodies taken, and three people abducted! Damn it, these bastards, that *wb egg*, what are they trying to pull off? If they're capable, let them fight us head-on! All they do is use these surprise attacks, making the entire hall jittery!"
