The weekend evening, Area C, Floor 349, Number 12.

Jiang Baimian and her family were sitting around the dining table, enjoying the leisure time after dinner.

Her nephew and niece both admired and were curious about this aunt who was always away on missions, and they would occasionally throw out strange questions, trying to get answers.

Seeing that their usually clever and quick-witted daughter was sometimes at a loss for words when asked by the two children, Jiang Wenfeng and Xue Sumei couldn't help but smile, as if they had already seen what Jiang Baimian would be like after getting married.

And Jiang Dening and his wife were happy to temporarily avoid dealing with the little darlings, pretending not to notice their younger sister's pleading gaze.

Taking a moment of respite, Jiang Baimian looked at her father and asked, pretending to be casual:

"Dad, do you think the company will ever move to the surface one day?"

Jiang Wenfeng paused for a moment, then sighed slightly:

"Although there are no corresponding signs yet, and although over the years, the 'Inner Ecological Zone' has become more and more perfect, forming a true cycle, and the living costs of employees are becoming less and less of an unbearable burden, I always feel that sooner or later, the main body of the company will return to the surface, leaving only some highly confidential projects inside the building.

"You, the children, will still have to live under the blue sky and feel the natural breeze..."

As a member of the management team and as a scientist engaged in agricultural research and cotton seed improvement, Jiang Wenfeng himself had been to the surface many times. After all, some wild species could bring enough benefits, so he was particularly regretful that his wife, son, grandson, and granddaughter had not yet had this opportunity, and he did not want his descendants to be trapped in the "Pangu Biology" underground building for the rest of their lives, never seeing the light of day.

If Jiang Baimian's current job wasn't too dangerous, Jiang Wenfeng would even support her not transferring to an office job and still running to the surface from time to time.

"Auntie, auntie, what does the natural breeze taste like?" After listening to their grandfather's words, the two children asked Jiang Baimian in unison, their eyes wide open.

For some reason, the scene of the "Old Task Force" going to the graylands for the first time flashed through Jiang Baimian's mind, and she thought of the sentence Shang Jianyao had said:

"The fresh taste of shit."

...

After playing with the children for half a day, Jiang Baimian felt more tired than dealing with Shang Jianyao and more exhausted than going out on a mission. Therefore, as soon as she saw her brother's family of four off, she immediately washed up, went to bed, and prepared to sleep.

However, as a disciplined person, she still followed her habit and entered the "Sea of Origins", swimming into the distance in the illusory ocean composed of faint light, looking for the next Isle of Terror.

As she swam, Jiang Baimian suddenly saw a small black dot appear where the sea met the sky.

"Finally..." she couldn't help but sigh.

Then, she quickened her pace and swam towards that island.

Time passed by, minute by minute, and Jiang Baimian reached her destination.

The island had mountains and water, covered in cyan, which made her feel inexplicably familiar.

Relying on the fact that even if she encountered an insurmountable danger on the Isle of Terror in the "Sea of Origins", she would only exhaust her mental strength and be forced to quit, without leaving any sequelae, Jiang Baimian supported herself with her hands and lightly flipped onto the island.

She walked around the edge of the mountain on the island for a while and saw a road leading into the mountain that could be used by vehicles.

With sufficient experience in this, Jiang Baimian immediately materialized the "Old Task Force's" jeep and drove into the mountain along the road.

Such behavior was not essentially different from her walking on her own two feet. Both would consume a certain amount of mental strength, just one more and one less, and the one that consumed more could save time.

And Jiang Baimian's choice was that her time was more valuable than her mental strength, which would recover quickly.

After the vehicle had been moving forward for more than ten minutes, Jiang Baimian felt more and more familiar with the scenery on both sides.

This made her wonder if she was lost or had encountered a ghost wall, always driving on the same section of road.

After careful recollection, Jiang Baimian finally realized:

The reason why she felt familiar with this road was because it was the only way to return to the company from the Black Marsh Wilderness.

Sure enough, only a few minutes later, Jiang Baimian saw the silver-white metal gate at the entrance of the "Pangu Biology" underground building.

She couldn't help but mutter to herself:

"This psychological shadow is actually still the company..."

The scene of her second Isle of Terror was the deserted "Pangu Biology" underground building.

It actually repeated this time!

But thinking that she had spent most of her life in the "underground building" and that most of her experiences were related to "Pangu Biology", Jiang Baimian felt that it was unexpected and yet reasonable.

Without hesitation, she pressed down on the accelerator again and drove the jeep towards the silver-white gate.

Just then, Jiang Baimian suddenly saw a series of fire.

She slammed the steering wheel, causing the jeep to drift sideways.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Shells covered the area that the vehicle would have originally passed through.

After the shelling failed to achieve the desired effect, beams of laser and electromagnetic projectiles aimed at the jeep, which was hurtling sideways, and shot out.

Jiang Baimian pushed the accelerator to the maximum, but not far ahead was a cliff.

She instinctively slammed on the brakes, dodging a wave of attacks, then released the seat belt, pushed open the car door, and rolled towards a nearby obstacle.

She had only rolled halfway when her body inexplicably became paralyzed, making it difficult to exert any force.

The next second, a red laser came over and pierced through her body.

Jiang Baimian's face suddenly became extremely distorted, and she immediately chose to exit the "Sea of Origins".

In the bedroom, on the bed, she opened her eyes, raised her hand to touch her forehead, and found it covered in cold sweat.

"The company's guards didn't do any confirmation and directly attacked me?" Jiang Baimian muttered to herself silently, "This shows that, subconsciously, I have placed the company in a hostile position... The essence of this psychological shadow is my suspicion and unease about the company? This should have been small and not become a psychological shadow, but the information about the whistleblower has deepened this fear..."

As her thoughts raced, Jiang Baimian gradually sorted out her thoughts, but she couldn't think of a way to get through this Isle of Terror for the time being.

The hometown in her heart had unknowingly become her psychological shadow.

...

On Monday morning, Jiang Baimian, who was late, had just walked into the office when she heard Bai Chen say:

"Team Leader, Vice Minister Xi Yu is looking for you."

Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully:

"It seems that he wants to ask about the application."

At this moment, Shang Jianyao stood up and volunteered:

"Do you need me to lead the way?"

"No need." Although Jiang Baimian could feel that kind of concern, she wasn't happy at all.

She thought for a moment and then said:

"Don't do anything suspicious."

What she meant was, don't secretly follow her, and don't do any "thought guidance", making it seem like going to see Vice Minister Xi Yu was a very dangerous thing.

Shang Jianyao sighed in disappointment.

After passing by the vice minister's office three times without entering, Jiang Baimian finally found her destination.

Seeing that she was the only one who had come, Xi Yu quietly breathed a sigh of relief and pointed to the backrest chair opposite the desk:

"Sit down."

"Minister, is there anything you need?" Jiang Baimian asked directly as soon as she sat down.

Xi Yu smiled warmly:

"I was still worried about which helpers to find for your future missions, but you told me that Long Yuehong and Bai Chen can stand their last shift well."

"Actually, Shang Jianyao and I are enough." Jiang Baimian deliberately changed the subject, not discussing the matter of Long Yuehong and Bai Chen.

Xi Yu shook his head:

"If there are too few people, many things are inconvenient.

"Well, with Shang Jianyao's ability, it is possible to find some temporary helpers."

Since this matter had already been resolved, she didn't say much about it, and instead asked:

"Is it too rushed to leave next month?

"In that case, it won't be summer yet when you arrive at the ice plains, and the climate will be relatively bad."

Jiang Baimian had already prepared her speech and spoke eloquently:

"I think it's better to do it sooner rather than later. Finding the ruins of the city where Shang Jianyao's father last appeared is still relatively simple, but discovering clues will definitely take a lot of time. The same goes for locating the specific location of the Eighth Research Institute. You must have enough patience to catch the fox's tail.

"So, I'm worried that one summer will not be enough, and compared to the ice plains in September and October, the ice plains in April and May are relatively milder."

Xi Yu thought for a while and nodded lightly:

"Then you should prepare more cold-proof equipment and high-calorie food."

"Yes, Minister!" Jiang Baimian did not hide her smile.

After that, Xi Yu asked a few more detailed questions and received satisfactory answers.

The "Old Task Force's" itinerary was thus determined.

...

One day in March, Shang Jianyao and others drove the jeep out of the "Pangu Biology" underground building.

As the fresh air outside the window blew in, Jiang Baimian felt that her heart was much broader.

Seeing that the car was a bit silent, with Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao trapped in their own thoughts, and no one had spoken for a long time, she deliberately looked at the driver's seat and asked casually, as if chatting:

"Hey, has the gap in Xiao Chong changed?"

"No." Shang Jianyao looked disappointed.

Jiang Baimian asked again:

"Has the owner of 'Room 506' been dreaming recently?"

Shang Jianyao shook his head again:

"She seems to have lost the ability to dream.

"I suspect she may have hypnotized herself to stop her from dreaming."

Jiang Baimian pondered and asked:

"What time slots have you tried?"

"9:30 in the evening, midnight, 3:00 in the morning, 6:00 in the morning." Shang Jianyao didn't realize that he was working very hard at all.

Jiang Baimian was silent for a while and said:

"If there are no dreams at night, it's either because she has found a way to control herself from dreaming, or she hasn't slept at all."

"Hasn't slept?" Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Jiang Baimian hummed:

"Try the lunch break time slot later."

"Okay!" Shang Jianyao was obedient and looked excited.

Jiang Baimian ended this topic, glanced at the rearview mirror, turned her body halfway, and smiled at Long Yuehong and Bai Chen in the back row:

"I know what you're worried about, but it will only affect your focus and won't make the situation any better or worse."

"Xiao Hong can say it." Shang Jianyao forcibly interjected.

Jiang Baimian glared at him and continued:

"In that case, you might as well put the problem out of your mind first and focus on completing the task at hand, and see if there are any desired gains."

Shang Jianyao shouted along:

"Yes, yes, yes, listen to music! Listen to music!"

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen looked at each other and nodded, saying separately:

"Okay."

"We will adjust our state."

At this time, the jeep was like an arrow, heading towards the wilderness, heading towards the front.