Regarding the two hostile human forces, the parasitized forms and the Fire Thief Worship Cult, although Guan Tong had never personally taken the initiative to confront them head-on, he had been keeping a long-term watch on them.

To humanity, these guys, if one had to make a comparison, were like cancer.

If humanity left them unchecked for a long time, the cancer cells would continuously spread throughout the entire body, eventually reaching a point of no return and destroying the human body.

The higher-ups of various nations were all too clear about this point. Back when the parasitized forms announced the establishment of a "Seli Divine Nation" belonging solely to them on the land of the Black Flag Country, the Human Consortium immediately and swiftly formed a human Joint Force to march over and suppress them. This efficiency could hardly be called low.

However, because humans could not accurately identify the parasitized forms, and fearing issues like mistaken killings, the strategy under sustained firepower suppression had always been containment and capture.

If not for this, given humanity's technological and weaponry advantages, the parasitized forms would have had little power to resist and would have been swiftly eradicated.

The Fire Thief Worship Cult had also suffered blows. A long time ago, Suroma carried out a decapitation strike against them, eliminating "Joel I".

It was only discovered later that this "Joel I" was not the real leader, but a puppet sitting on the throne, with the true manipulator still hiding behind the scenes.

After the conclusion of the fifteenth Doomsday Rule, through continuous dealings with these two enemy groups, humanity's understanding of them had deepened.

Currently, humanity knew that the leader of the parasitized forms was a being called the "Prophet". The Ascendant surprise attack on the Landing Site launched by the parasitized forms was most likely planned by this Prophet.

As for the internal hierarchy of the Fire Thief Worship Cult, after the battle where Suroma dispatched Annihilators, humanity had also obtained much intelligence.

Their internal ranks, from low to high, were: Apostle Corps - Priest - Bishop - Your Holiness.

The Apostle Corps were the lowest-ranking ordinary believers, while the higher-level Priests were merely advanced cannon fodder. The true core leadership layer consisted of the Four Bishops and the highest-ranking Your Holiness.

To catch the bandits, first catch the king. If they could first defeat and eliminate the "Prophet" and "Your Holiness", it would provide significant assistance in accelerating the elimination of these two human enemy groups.

Currently, the main focus of the Beixing Countermeasures Research Office was on the operation to find and eliminate the "Prophet". As for the remaining "Your Holiness", Gao Liangwei wanted Guan Tong to handle it.

"Your strength is clear to all of us, and your ability to control the Shadow is also very suitable for special operations and decapitation strikes," Gao Liangwei said. "Therefore, I want to initiate this cooperation with you. Of course, all necessary resources for the operation will be fully provided by us."

Guan Tong thought for a moment and said, "First things first. I cannot leave until I finish my business in Xisiya. Even if I agree to cooperate, it will be some time before I can go to Fahe."

"The matter you need to attend to in Xisiya, does it involve the Xisiya Administrator?" Gao Liangwei asked gravely.

The intelligence department of the Countermeasures Research Office had been continuously gathering information on Ascendants of the "Shadow's" level. They naturally were aware of his recent activities in Xisiya.

Facing Gao Liangwei's inquiry, Guan Tong shook his head. "This is unrelated to our cooperation. I'm afraid I cannot disclose it."

"..."

"Um, Guan Tong," Zhang Minglu spoke up at this point, looking at the top of Guan Tong's head on the screen. "You didn't participate in the competition for this rule?"

In the video call, the nickname and points above the head could also be displayed. While "1 point" was very common, it depended on whose head it was above.

On an ordinary Ascendant's head, it was normal. But on the "Shadow's" head, it was undoubtedly quite abnormal.

One day of the seven-day rule period had already passed. If it were those strong individuals aiming to compete for ranking, they should have at least several dozen or even over a hundred points by now.

"No," Guan Tong said.

"Is that a requirement from the Xisiya Administrator?"

"No, it's my own decision."

"..."

This time, it was Zhang Minglu's turn to fall silent.

Actually, before this call began, he had thought Guan Tong's points might already be quite high, and he had prepared himself not to appear too surprised when he saw them.

But now...

To be honest, what Han Qiu said to him after resigning had stirred many feelings within him.

Whether Beixing's consistent protection policy would turn ordinary Ascendants into those "overprotected fledglings" Han Qiu spoke of, no one could say for sure.

But to be on the safe side, letting those capable strong individuals go out, become stronger through life-and-death battles and slaughter, would certainly be beneficial and not harmful to Beixing as a whole.

Guan Tong was undoubtedly a prime example of this.

Even though his relationship with the authorities had always been somewhat distant, he was, after all, a Beixing national and a decent person. Rather than excessively pressuring him, potentially driving him to side with other nations or become a mercenary-like figure, it was better to maintain friendly cooperation.

Therefore, both Zhang Minglu and Gao Liangwei, before the call began, had tacitly agreed to ignore the matter of Guan Tong competing for ranking. No matter how many points they saw above his head, they wouldn't ask a single question.

As a result, Gao Liangwei saw the 1 point and restrained himself from asking, but Zhang Minglu couldn't hold back.

"In that case, after you finish your business in Xisiya, contact Dr. Zhang," Gao Liangwei said. "It won't be too late to start the cooperation then."

Guan Tong nodded. "Agreed."

The communication ended.

Zhang Minglu said regretfully, "What a pity. He actually gave up this time. I feel if he competed fully, a top ten ranking would be a sure thing."

"I actually think this is a good thing," Gao Liangwei, however, had a different opinion.

"Director, why is that?"

"A strong individual like him, once he becomes unrestrained in killing, would only pose a threat to the entire human population. Would you feel comfortable cooperating with someone who, for points and ranking, kills a large number of people who have no grudge or grievance against him?"

Zhang Minglu was taken aback, feeling there was some logic to that.

"Alright, Dr. Zhang. You can communicate with him again later, share some intelligence about the Fire Thief Worship Cult with him in advance, so he has an idea."

"Okay, I understand."

...

"The leaders of the Fire Thief Worship Cult, Your Holiness, the Bishops..."

After finishing the communication, Guan Tong thought about this upcoming task in his mind.

Previously, when Uenoshi was in Icefield Town, she overheard several believers talking and mentioned a Bishop.

It was evident that besides the Human Consortium, this Fire Thief Worship Cult was also developing rapidly. In just over a year, it had transformed from a loose civilian group into the current behemoth with a complete hierarchy of Your Holiness - Bishop - Priest - Apostle Corps, controlling an entire nation.

Eliminating the leader of such an organization would definitely be very dangerous. Especially since his several assassinations had already drawn the world's attention. Those who were his enemies would certainly be on high alert. It probably wouldn't be as easy to succeed as easily as before.

He thought for a moment, shook his head, stopped considering it, got up, and walked out of the room.

In the short term, he had to protect Yelanka and reserve Mind Power. He definitely couldn't go to Fahe. It wouldn't be too late to make plans when he actually needed to go.

His room was right next to Yelanka's study, which she now used as an office. He and Uenoshi lived in the rooms on either side.

He checked the time; it was almost noon.

Yelanka was still handling official business at this time, but he needed to go to the Twin Stars Bar to retrieve the fully charged Mind Power Crystals from Black Star.

He went to Uenoshi's door and knocked.

"Ueno, I'm going out for a bit."

Uenoshi opened the door. "You're going to Black Star's place?"

"Yes. If anything happens, I'll return immediately."

"Understood."

Guan Tong nodded, and the next moment, he vanished without a trace.

He didn't want to travel back and forth. So, just as he had left a Shadow near Yelanka to arrive instantly when needed, he had also left a Shadow near the Twin Stars Bar.