Chapter 173: Exposure

"You've been investigating us?"

The members of the Seventh Squad tensed up, their brows furrowing involuntarily.

"Don't be nervous!"

"Under the circumstances, did you really think the higher-ups wouldn't conduct an investigation?"

Zhou Hao waved a hand, glanced at Su Xiaoke, and added, "Besides, I imagine you all must have anticipated that a situation like this might arise, right?"

Su Xiaoke maintained a calm expression and remained silent, which was as good as an admission.

Without offering further explanation, Zhou Hao glanced at Xie Long.

Xie Long activated the tactical terminal on his wrist, projecting a series of images into the air.

Some of the flashing images showed the underground fortifications of Titing Village, while others captured the circular tunnel of Hualan Mountain.

Although none of the members of the Seventh Squad appeared in the footage, it was undeniable that these locations happened to be directly connected to them.

"Coupled with your performance in the F14 barrier zone today, did you really think you could keep hiding?"

Zhou Hao stated bluntly, "As your mysterious abilities continue to grow, how many watchful eyes do you think you'll fall under?"

Luo Fei said somewhat irritably, "Are you threatening us?"

"Take it easy!"

"Although you've done everything possible to cover your tracks, the traces of concealment are still quite visible."

Zhou Hao shook his head, pointing at the projected images. "Much of the information cannot be concealed, nor can the connections linking it back to you be completely erased."

"If we had intended to threaten you,"

"Would we have bothered to invite you here with such polite words?"

"I suspect that this very special ability of yours—the one that prompts others to awaken and even allows them to rapidly improve afterward—"

"Hasn't existed for very long, to the point that even you yourselves didn't realize you possessed it. Otherwise, you wouldn't have participated so recklessly in such a crowded, large-scale corporate mission."

"The last time, I only had a brief contact with you, and I awakened."

"And this time, merely participating in a single battle escalated things further, resulting in three special operations soldiers awakening all at once."

Zhou Hao smiled and said sincerely, "Do you think this is just a coincidence?"

Bai Yucheng exchanged surprised glances with Luo Fei and Su Xiaoke.

To be honest, just as Zhou Hao suggested, they genuinely hadn't realized that the awakenings of these transcendent fighters had anything to do with them.

"Although we don't know how you manage to do it,"

"Nor do we know if this is an ability inherent to a specific one of you,"

"Or if it's a situation accidentally triggered by your combat style,"

"We have no intention of probing too deeply, because the transcendent realm is inherently an inexplicable environment."

"No one knows whether circumstances like yours will arise again in the future, and there's no need for us to rush things or fall out with you just to achieve our goals."

"Otherwise, even if we forcibly conscript you, what use would it be if you refused to cooperate? Are we really going to threaten you? We're soldiers, not gangsters!"

Withdrawing his smile, Zhou Hao said very earnestly, "So, once again, I extend a most sincere invitation for you to join us..."

"Joining you equates to exposing ourselves!"

"Then what possible benefit is there for us in joining you?"

"Judging by your actions, you don't seem to intend to recruit members from the Transcendent Fighter Training Camp."

Su Xiaoke suddenly interrupted Zhou Hao, her voice cold as she asked, "Then tell us, what is your objective? And what benefits can we expect to gain?"

Zhou Hao and Xie Long exchanged glances once more.

Although the task of conversation had been left to the articulate Zhou Hao, at this juncture, Xie Long, as the commanding officer, had no choice but to step forward.

"Student Su, your deduction is entirely correct."

"We indeed have no intention of recruiting probationary transcendent fighters from the training camps affiliated with the Transcendent Management Bureau."

"Because we cannot be certain whether these 'freerange' probationary fighters have already been infiltrated by the Six Paths Society or even other factions."

"Therefore, our plan is to rely entirely on ordinary special forces soldiers, using your ability to prompt ordinary people to awaken, and build a brand-new special operations team completely from scratch!"

"While we cannot guarantee with absolute certainty that no agents from other factions exist among these new special operations soldiers, judging by all the conditions, this method is practically the safest and most reliable approach."

Xie Long said solemnly, "As for what you stand to gain... all kinds of transcendent resources, intelligence data, and even the protection of the Yan Nation's military!"

Su Xiaoke fell silent for a moment, seemingly weighing Xie Long's terms.

"Actually, you don't need to worry too much."

"Our formation of the special operations team is not intended to abolish the Six Paths Society, nor is it meant to oppose the Transcendent Management Bureau."

"I don't know what the future holds, but for now, the existence of the Transcendent Management Bureau still does more good than harm."

"From the perspective of the higher-ups, they simply need a new transcendent combat force to keep the boundless expansion of the Transcendent Management Bureau in check."

Zhou Hao chimed in, "And if you join, it will be mutually beneficial for both sides..."

"We need to discuss this!"

Su Xiaoke interrupted Zhou Hao once again. "Can you give us some private space?"

Looking rather crestfallen, Zhou Hao cut off his sentence, nodded, and stood up to walk out of the military tent serving as the conference room alongside Xie Long.

Once they had walked far enough away and stopped within the others' line of sight to light up cigarettes,

Luo Fei withdrew her gaze, looked at Su Xiaoke, who was deep in thought, and then turned to the rest of the members, who were still utterly bewildered by these dramatic developments.

Seeing that no one else was speaking, she had no choice but to initiate the conversation. "What are everyone's thoughts?"

"Uh, speaking of which, can foreigners like us participate in such highly classified matters?"

Willie, unusually unbothered by making a fuss, said with unconcealed worry, "They aren't going to pull a 'you know too much' on us later and drag us out to a firing range, are they?"

The big foreigner's words sent an involuntary shudder down the spines of both Jason and Maya.

Although the three of them were foreign students who had awakened within the territory of the Yan Nation and were currently affiliated with the Yan Nation's Transcendent Management Bureau,

Sooner or later, they would have to return to their home countries. Getting too deeply involved in the top secrets of the Yan Nation indeed seemed fraught with high risks.

"They shouldn't."

After pondering for quite a while, Su Xiaoke finally spoke, though she didn't use her voice; instead, a voice echoed directly within everyone's minds.

After a momentary daze, the group was overjoyed. Su Xiaoke's new ability, "Telepathic Transmission," was truly convenient. Just a moment ago, they had been worrying about whether their conversation might be monitored. (To be continued.)