The Flower Of The High Mountain Turns Into A Cat And Is Picked Up By A Human Chapter 48

“What are the specifics of the situation?”

Bai Chendeng commanded himself to calm down; impatience and panic would solve nothing.

As the entity who had spent the longest time with Bai Chendeng, the Grapevine could naturally judge his mood through micro-expressions.

It knew that Bai Chendeng placed great importance on Heng Yuze—a rare display from the usually indifferent cat.

“A Gold Stone Plague has appeared in Hetong District. Heng Yuze led a team to provide aid, but after entering the infected zone, they have been out of contact for over three days.”

Hetong?

Gold Stone Plague?

Was this the work of the forces behind the Tiger Demon?

The next second, Bai Chendeng’s eyes darkened as he said, “Help me contact the Administration.”

His voice held a hint of hoarseness.

The Grapevine accepted the order: “I’ll go immediately.”

Half a day later.

Bai Chendeng traveled light, taking a flight to Hetong District.

Director Fang sent a message: We bear responsibility for this matter as well, having failed in our duty to prevent danger in advance. I have already communicated with Director Bai Qi of Hetong. They are willing to cooperate with your actions, Mr. Bai. This is a lapse in duty by the Administration. Please state any requirements you have, and Director Bai Qi will do his best to fulfill them.

Bai Chendeng: Understood.

Outside the Hetong airport, Che Deze and Zheng Shu stood, one standing and one squatting, waiting by the exit.

Che Deze kicked Zheng Shu’s backside: “He’s arriving soon, stop squatting.”

Zheng Shu, whose collar was loose, stood up bonelessly, sucking on a piece of candy.

Che Deze sighed.

Although the bureau wasn’t short on staff, surely they could spare a few reliable people instead of temporarily assigning him to bring the infamous Hetong Brahmin to the airport.

Bai Chendeng’s name had been known across all branch offices ever since the Eye Worm incident files were exposed.

With such a powerful external aid arriving, why did Director Bai Qi send his nephew, Zheng Shu, to pick him up? Zheng Shu was protected by his paternal uncle, maternal uncle, and aunts. His life goal was to achieve something great, but he was arrogant and incompetent, looking down on most people in the Administration. When executing missions, he only acted like a spoiled young master, relying on connections or throwing spiritual artifacts and talismans around, possessing no real skill.

I’ll try to take over the communication duties later, Che Deze thought, just to avoid displeasing the Great Demon and making things worse.

Zheng Shu said flippantly, “Bai Chendeng, I heard he’s a cat demon, haha. A little kitty, the kind that kneads?”

Che Deze glared at him irritably: “There are videos online, why don’t you watch them yourself?”

Zheng Shu spread his hands: “I only follow fighting techniques and mechanical disassembly. Why would I watch a cat?”

Zheng Shu knew that everyone around him looked down on him, thinking he was only benefiting from his family’s influence…

He was indeed benefiting from it, but he couldn’t help it; his parents, uncles, and aunts were all in the Administration system. However, he never caused trouble or engaged in bullying, making him a relatively well-behaved second-generation heir.

His uncle, Bai Qi, hadn’t allowed him to go to the front lines of the infected zone. He finally relented, saying that as long as Zheng Shu took good care of this Great Demon, he could follow it into the infected zone.

Zheng Shu absolutely couldn’t miss this opportunity.

He had to perform well.

It was just a Great Demon, wasn’t it?

Hadn’t he seen enough of them?

He had a trump card!

Haha.

Zheng Shu chewed his candy, making a crunching sound: “I don’t even know what he looks like. Don’t miss him later.”

Che Deze rolled his eyes: “I won’t miss him. Just keep quiet later and let me handle the talking.”

Zheng Shu shook his head: “No way. You’re too rigid; you don’t understand Great Demons. I’ve seen far more Great Demons than you have. Trust me, I’ll handle it.”

Che Deze’s fists clenched.

Just as he was about to test which was harder, his fist or Zheng Shu’s forehead, a tall, well-proportioned young man walked out of the exit.

The airport lights were bright, reflecting off the floor, simple and spacious.

Countless figures passed through here daily, yet no one, upon appearing, could instantly capture the attention of everyone around.

Despite his simple attire, which even covered the lower half of his face, leaving only a pair of eyes visible, he was distinctly different from everyone else, clear and bright like a painting.

Bai Chendeng glanced around. Concerned about the missing Heng Yuze, he quickly moved away from the sightlines of others.

Che Deze murmured, “He’s here.”

Zheng Shu: “Huh?”

Che Deze kicked his shin: “Stop messing around, he’s here. Behave later and speak less.”

Zheng Shu followed Che Deze with small steps, muttering, “I’m very reliable too…”

The two quickly approached Bai Chendeng.

Che Deze introduced himself: “Mr. Bai, hello. Director Bai Qi sent me and Little Zheng to pick you up. My name is Che Deze. You can call me Little Che or Little Ze.”

Little Ze…

Bai Chendeng’s eyes flickered as he assessed the two men.

Che Deze looked proper and steady, while Little Zheng stood with one hand in his pocket, a smile on his face, lacking any proper posture.

Bai Chendeng had no time to deal with him, so he addressed Che Deze: “Let’s go to the branch office.”

Che Deze said solemnly: “Understood. Please follow me.”

Zheng Shu trailed behind, looking confused.

?

That’s it? We’re leaving?

No stopping for mountain delicacies, sampling seafood, or checking out Hetong specialties?

Are you the demon or am I the demon?

You, a demon, acting so serious?!

Zheng Shu fell into confusion, remaining silent even after getting into the car and sitting in the passenger seat.

Che Deze slightly changed his opinion of the spoiled heir.

He might seem unreliable usually, but he could be counted on in a pinch.

However, this thought quickly dissolved into thin air.

Zheng Shu pondered the entire way, finally reaching a realization. He took a deep breath.

It seemed he couldn’t complete this mission without spending a small fortune.

Bai Chendeng got out of the car after Che Deze opened the door, noticing Zheng Shu inching closer behind him.

Zheng Shu cleared his throat, flashing the ingratiating smile he used on his uncle: “Mr. Bai, a pleasure to meet you. I have a rare White Bird Pendant here. Not only does it have…”

“It has…”

Zheng Shu watched the two walk straight away, swallowing the rest of his words.

Why did they just leave?!

Che Deze quickly pointed the way for Bai Chendeng, sparing a moment to glare at Zheng Shu.

The pendant in Zheng Shu’s hand nearly dropped to the ground, caught only by the red string looped around his finger.

“You’re kidding me. Is it not valuable enough?”

He hurried after them, drawing sidelong glances from the busy cadres at the entrance.

“What’s the young master doing?”

“No idea. Who cares? Let’s finish the handover first.”

Che Deze led Bai Chendeng into the building. Along the way, they encountered many acquaintances. Unaware of Bai Chendeng’s identity, but seeing his exceptional, frosty temperament, they assumed he was support invited by the branch office and cast their eyes upon him.

They took the elevator to the middle floor. As soon as they entered the hallway, they saw Bai Qi opening the door to the reception room, coming out to greet them.

“Mr. Bai, I’ve heard much about you.”

Bai Chendeng was not polite. He sat down on the sofa and opened the documents prepared for him on the table.

Bai Qi urged Che Deze to fetch tea and explained softly: “I know Mr. Bai is very concerned about Captain Heng’s situation. Please forgive any discourtesy.”

“A month ago, in Baokou Town, a famous land of fish and rice in Nantian City, Hetong, a villager noticed his crops weren’t growing well. Suspecting insects or root rot, he dug up the soil for a closer look. Instead of roots, he found golden stones.”

“These stones were gold-like in texture and weight. The villager thought he had dug up gold and was overjoyed, taking the gold stone home. His family saw the stone and suspected there was more in the ground, so they dug in the dark. As it turned out, across a hundred acres of land, any random dig would reveal gold stones of varying sizes.”

“The villagers, blinded by wealth, were terrified and broke out in a cold sweat that night. They reported the matter to the village. Other villagers checked their own fields and also dug up stones highly similar to gold ore.”

“The matter escalated and was even posted online.”

“The Administration was informed and investigated. The results showed that these gold stones were still plant matter—hardened masses formed after the roots were ‘gold-ified.’ Because the gold-ification was incomplete, these pitted, irregular gold stones appeared.”

“The Administration named it the Gold Stone Plague, code name Gold Stone.”

Bai Chendeng quickly finished flipping through a few pages of the file.

He asked, “Give me the information related to Heng Yuze.”

Bai Qi pulled a document from the stack on the table and handed it over.

“Captain Heng reported here two weeks ago. As a rising star in the Administration, I naturally valued him greatly. I had him lead his original small team, plus five members incorporated from the Tenth Team, totaling ten people, to form a new exploration team to scout the infected zone.”

Bai Chendeng frowned with displeasure: “He only joined the Administration a year ago.”

Bai Qi smiled faintly: “But he is already a qualified Administration cadre.”

Bai Chendeng was not unreasonable, but although Heng Yuze was talented, his time spent cultivating was too short, making it hard to feel at ease.

“Continue.”

“Captain Heng has keen perception. He once found some gold-ified leaves in the outer perimeter. Unlike the root gold in the vast fields, these were thin leaves, as if melted from gold, with distinct veins.”

“Based on the distribution of the gold-ified leaves, we used big data to calculate and finally located the center of the infected zone.”

“—Yuanjin Mountain.”

Though it was bright daylight, a sudden sense of gloom pervaded the air.

Bai Qi let out a long breath.

Narrating the events from start to finish felt like confiding in someone, slightly easing his pressure.

Bai Chendeng said softly: “…Yuanjin Mountain.”

“The area Captain Heng and his team were exploring was not originally in the mountains, but before the signal disappeared, they had already entered Yuanjin Mountain. We sent another small team to explore… that team also went missing. They didn’t detect any abnormalities the entire time; we were even communicating normally right before the communication cut off.”

Bai Chendeng felt the pressure.

The Administration’s strength was not weak.

There were several cultivators like the Man in the Sedan Chair within the Administration, each a pillar guarding the nation’s vital areas.

The Hetong District branch office had greater overall strength than the Quying branch office, yet they couldn’t even detect what was happening inside Yuanjin Mountain, resulting in the loss of two teams.

“Mr. Bai, the Man in the Sedan Chair will arrive in two days. You…”

He couldn’t wait that long.

Every minute of delay meant one more minute of danger for Heng Yuze.

Bai Chendeng interrupted him.

“I need to enter the mountain now.”

Bai Chendeng placed the documents on the table, leaning back slightly and raising an eyebrow: “You must have considered that I would make this choice.”

Bai Qi didn’t deny it.

“People have been waiting for a long time, and the equipment is fully prepared.”

Just as expected.

The Administration anticipated that he wouldn’t wait two days.

“Then let’s depart.”