The airport, which had been deserted for a long time, was finally bustling with activity. However, there were very few people boarding the plane; most were there to see them off. Chang Jianyi, along with a group from the City Lord's Mansion, had come to bid farewell. His subordinates dared not disobey, so they all ended up at the airport.
In reality, only four people were leaving Yuzhou, and almost all of them were there to see Shen Feng off.
Lu Kaiwen had also intended to come. He wanted to witness the giant beasts of the sea with his own eyes. Only by seeing these monsters firsthand could he gain the most direct understanding. If possible, killing a monster would also allow for thorough research. However, Shen Feng ultimately decided not to bring him. The sea was too dangerous, and even those with special abilities might not be able to protect themselves. An accident at sea would be a loss of talent.
Shen Feng exchanged pleasantries with the group from the City Lord's Mansion for a long time before it was finally his turn to speak with Chu Chaoyan.
Chu Chaoyan held her suitcase and reluctantly handed it to Shen Feng. She said, "One cannot be without money when traveling. Therefore, I've sewn many gold buttons onto your clothes. In a critical moment, you can just pull off a button and use it. Remember me often when you're out there!"
Shen Feng was deeply touched. He hugged Chu Chaoyan and kissed her forehead, saying, "I will definitely return in the shortest possible time. While I'm away from Yuzhou, I'll rely on you to take care of things!"
Currently, the currency in this world had largely collapsed. Although the country had started issuing food coupons, the food coupons in many places could not be exchanged. As a result, the only universally accepted currency was gold and silver, with gold being the most precious. Its value had increased to astonishing levels.
Chu Chaoyan was worried that Shen Feng would be short of money while he was away, so she devised a way to ensure he wouldn't be in a dire situation. She had read many books and discovered that in ancient times, many young ladies from prominent families would carry gold beans with them, which could be used as currency in critical moments. Thus, Chu Chaoyan came up with the idea of sewing gold buttons onto clothes. This way, if Shen Feng ran out of money while he was away, he could simply pull off a button and spend it.
Meanwhile, Guo Pinming was also bidding farewell to his goddaughter. Zhou Lili looked at Guo Pinming timidly. She knew that Guo Pinming was the kindest person to her, and now that Guo Pinming was leaving her, she didn't know what to do.
Guo Pinming patted Zhou Lili's head and looked up at Yang Chang beside him, saying, "I entrust my daughter to your care for a while. Please keep a record of her expenses during this time. When I return, I will compensate you for everything!"
Yang Chang waved his hand and smiled, "Old Guo, why are you being so formal between brothers? Your daughter is my niece. I will take good care of her. As for the money, it's not important. I have plenty of restaurants and hotels under my management; can't I afford to support a young girl?"
Compared to others, Qi Lingshan received little attention. After all, he was part of the intelligence department and was not someone who sought the spotlight. At this moment, only Lin Yue had come to see him off, and Lin Yue was wearing a mask, trying his best not to be recognized.
"Old classmate, thank you for coming to see me off. If you really want to send me off, then find me a suitable woman during this time. You plan to remain single for life, but I can't. I still need to carry on my family lineage!" Qi Lingshan said to Lin Yue.
Lin Yue nodded and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for suitable women for you. However, you'd better come back alive."
Qi Lingshan was actually younger than Yue Hengyi, as he hadn't even graduated from high school. However, physiologically, he was an adult. Previously, by taking risks, he had helped Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyan find the poisoner and assassin, earning merits and obtaining an ability potion. Now, within the intelligence department, Qi Lingshan had also gained a high status. Thinking about it, he lacked nothing except a partner.
At the same time, Qin Kewei arrived late. She bypassed the crowd of well-wishers and walked directly onto the plane to take her seat. Yue Hengyi saw Qin Kewei appear and had many questions he wanted to ask, but he couldn't bring himself to speak at the moment. In the end, he chose to remain silent.
After the farewells concluded, Shen Feng, along with his three subordinates, boarded the plane, which headed directly for Hainan.
On the plane, Shen Feng was bored. He opened his suitcase and found several comic books inside. It was evident that Chu Chaoyan knew Shen Feng very well, even knowing that he liked to read comics when he was bored. She had specifically packed comic books in his suitcase.
"Chaoyan is really thoughtful!" Shen Feng took out a comic book and began reading with great interest.
Chang Haojie, however, couldn't sit still. He ran to the window and started watching. Although Chang Haojie could fly, he could only reach a few hundred meters at most. To others, this might seem like high altitude, but Chang Haojie knew that this height was merely low altitude. The plane, however, could fly into the stratosphere, with even the clouds below.
Chang Haojie leaned against the window, constantly looking down, but he couldn't see anything clearly, mainly because there were too many clouds. Mountains and rivers were all beneath him, and apart from the Yangtze River, he couldn't make out anything else. In this hazy view, Chang Haojie's excitement grew. He actually wished he could fly above the clouds with his own power. Currently, he was only a second-tier ability user and couldn't fly too high, but perhaps he could achieve this in the future.
Originally, Chang Haojie sat next to Shen Feng, making it impossible for Li Keyi to approach Shen Feng. But now that Chang Haojie had gone to the window, Li Keyi seized the opportunity and walked over, sitting beside Shen Feng. She smiled and said, "Chu Chaoyan doesn't seem very thoughtful. I saw your luggage just now, and it's mostly thick clothes – several winter coats and overcoats. She didn't realize we're going to the Southern Hemisphere, where it's summer right now. These clothes won't be wearable."
"Whatever Chaoyan gives me, I'll wear. At most, when we reach the South Pacific, a T-shirt will be enough!" Shen Feng couldn't tolerate anyone criticizing the person he liked, not even Li Keyi. He said indifferently at this moment.
Li Keyi leaned closer and asked, "What are you reading? Can I take a look too?"
"Men and women should not be too intimate; please be mindful of yourself. Also, everyone else is watching; do you understand?" Shen Feng quickly said. He didn't want his wife to know that Li Keyi was pestering him, as that would be truly disastrous.
Li Keyi didn't make a fuss but pondered Shen Feng's words, "Everyone else is watching, everyone else is watching! I understand. Next time I come to find you, I'll do it when no one is paying attention."
After saying this, Li Keyi immediately returned to her seat, took out a book, and began reading.
Shen Feng, however, felt that this person was making things worse. Although the private jet had a large space and a dedicated living area, everyone present was an ability user, so who couldn't hear their conversation? It could be said that many people, despite appearing to be focused on their seats, had their ears perked up.
Shen Feng was also helpless. He hadn't expected Li Keyi to still be pestering him. Did his charm really have such a great effect?
"It seems that being handsome is also a sin!" Shen Feng muttered to himself.
Finally, after five hours, Shen Feng and his group arrived in Hainan. As soon as they disembarked, someone immediately came to greet them. The message was simple: "All ability users, please follow me quickly. We're going to the pier immediately. The warships have been waiting for days and are waiting for you. We can't delay any longer!"
Shen Feng was confused. He had just taken a few hours of flight to reach his destination, and it was still midday. He hadn't even had a chance to eat, and someone from headquarters was already rushing him to the pier. This was too much!
Before Shen Feng could speak, Chang Haojie had already spoken. He said impolitely, "You people have no manners at all. We've just gotten off the plane and are starving. Now you're asking us to carry out missions when we need to replenish our energy. This is simply too much!"
Guo Pinming was accustomed to hardship and didn't see anything wrong with it. However, Qi Lingshan also began to protest. He said to the person inviting him into the car, "As the saying goes, if you want a horse to run fast, you need to feed it well. Even when milking a cow, you need to give it fodder. You're not giving us any fodder now and expect us to milk the cow on an empty stomach. Isn't this excessive?"
Now, Shen Feng didn't need to say anything more. His subordinates had said what needed to be said. He simply waited to watch these people's reactions.
Qin Kewei, as the captain of the Ability Administration Bureau, was considered a semi-host. She felt embarrassed by the headquarters' actions and couldn't help but say, "Sir, our headquarters' grain reserves shouldn't be so strained, should they? We can still afford a meal; why the rush?"
The reception personnel at Hainan Airport were helpless. They spread their hands and said directly, "Everyone, it's not that I want to exploit you, nor do I have the guts to do such a thing to you. It's just that the situation is changing too rapidly, and we need to hurry!"
The reception personnel then began to explain. It turned out that ever since an ability user in Australia successfully emerged from the Divine Realm, scientists worldwide had come to understand that ordinary people and sophisticated instruments could not approach the Divine Realm. Otherwise, ordinary people would lose consciousness, and electromagnetic instruments would completely malfunction. The magnetic field within the Divine Realm was chaotic, making it impossible for ordinary people to approach, except for ability users!
Ability users could enter and exit the Divine Realm without any hindrance. Therefore, as long as ability users could row a boat into the Divine Realm, there would be no danger. Upon discovering this, scientists immediately reported it to the organization, and all countries began preparing to salvage the meteorites.
Coincidentally, the major powers were located in the Northern Hemisphere and had the strongest resistance to disasters. There was no country in the Southern Hemisphere capable of salvaging meteorites. Therefore, whoever among the Northern Hemisphere countries could salvage the meteorites first would gain ownership of them. No one was foolish, so they all dispatched warships and ability users at the fastest speed.
The major powers of North America set out, the major powers of Europe pooled their resources and set out, and the major powers of Siberia also joined the fray, dispatching fleets from the Black Sea, through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, across the Gulf of Aden, through the Indian Ocean, making a large circle to reach the South Pacific for salvage. Even India was sending warships to salvage meteorites.
It could be said that all the major powers in the Northern Hemisphere had taken action, their sights set on the basins of the South Pacific. Satellites were constantly monitoring from the sky, all wanting to claim the extraterrestrial meteorites for themselves.
No one was foolish. Ever since they learned that the elements of the extraterrestrial meteorites could be used to create ability users, all countries wanted to obtain them. With an army of ability users, they would be able to conquer the entire world.
To gain an advantage, headquarters couldn't wait for the Ability Administration Bureau and had ordered the already prepared Chosen Bureau to depart. If the ability users from the Ability Administration Bureau arrived in Hainan, they would also need to rush to the scene as quickly as possible.
Therefore, the reception personnel were so eager to take Shen Feng and his group to the pier. It was all about obtaining the meteorites. This was no longer just a conflict between Yuzhou and headquarters; the conflicts between nations were also laid bare.
"The people from the Chosen Bureau set off two days ago on a destroyer. Now, there are still warships waiting for you. Time waits for no one, so please hurry!" The reception personnel were almost in tears. Explaining the situation had wasted another five minutes. If they continued to delay, the forces in the South Pacific would only increase.
Qin Kewei looked at Shen Feng and asked, "Shen Feng, what do you think?"