The greatest prize was, of course, the Mother Crystal Ore from the Demonized Ore Vein. As long as they could figure out how to produce Magic Energy Crystals from it, it would be a veritable treasure trove.

An unexpected bonus was the four "Knights."

After their tattered, dying souls were repaired by his Magic Power, the survivors had actually undergone such a peculiar change in nature.

It was like he had accidentally discovered a new path to power.

If he could also research the changes to their physical bodies in the future, he wondered if there might be some special bonus.

Qin Xiaoxia suddenly felt a strong interest in the laboratories at the association’s old house.

Of course, everything had to be taken one step at a time, feeling his way toward a viable path.

After all, he wasn’t so twisted that he would deliberately cripple someone’s soul just to run an experiment.

...

The Nineteen Special Organization Department.

This was a department under the National Security Bureau, involved in new types of national security projects.

It had been established less than a year ago.

It was originally created to provide "foundational reserves" for non-essential contingency plans, prompted by certain discoveries in the Middle East and several "supernatural incidents" domestically.

Initially, it was just a small department, so small that it had fewer than ten permanent members.

But!

As time went on, certain changes began to be picked up by the more astute intelligence agencies.

At least ten percent of these could not be explained by conventional knowledge, and slowly, that proportion was showing a tendency to rise.

Don’t underestimate ten percent; on a national level, that was already a staggering figure.

In addition, there was the occasional exchange of information with other major countries through political and scientific research channels.

A state of readiness, both overt and covert, was gradually taking shape.

The most obvious sign was that the budget for the Nineteenth Organization Department had multiplied several hundred times within a year.

Tonight was not going to be a friendly one for the people in this small department.

At 2:40 AM, the department’s executive officer, Colonel Norton, received an emergency call at home.

The call startled him so much he shot half a meter up in bed.

Ignoring his wife’s complaints, Norton threw on his clothes as fast as he could and splashed his face with ice-cold water to wake himself up.

Then he rushed out the door and headed straight for the airport.

On the drive, Norton made nine consecutive calls to issue directives and get briefed on the situation.

By the time he reached the airport, a dozen or so of the department’s elite had already gathered in front of the private jet.

"Take off immediately!"

Norton had no intention of hesitating. As soon as he saw the key personnel had arrived, he gave the order to take off.

On the plane, everyone was in front of their computers, viewing the image files sent from Los Angeles.

Especially the seven corpses.

Their bodies, overgrown with crystals, refracted the light like camera flashes, creating a bizarre and terrifying sight.

"Get me all the meteorological data from the Los Angeles weather department from 5 PM until now."

"Pull up all the files related to the disappearance of the Crystal Ore from the scrapyard, before and after."

"Find all the data on when the Crystal Ore appeared, along with all long-term and recent survey data for Old Ode and that plot of land!"

"And..."

Norton issued a series of commands on the plane.

It wasn’t just on the plane; the entire Nineteen Special Organization Department kicked into high gear.

Though it all seemed a bit frantic.

Once all possible orders had been given, Norton and those around him finally fell silent for a moment.

The flight to Los Angeles would take at least another ten hours.

’This is going to be a long flight.’

Norton thought to himself.

Meanwhile, of the two culprits who had caused all this commotion, one—a small piece of ore—had already been "subdued," while the other—a man tired out from a long day—was already resting at Mark’s House.

Aside from the four men Qin Xiaoxia had saved, it would be quite some time before the other naked men who had been sent to the hospital for emergency treatment would wake up.

As for the four naked men—no, the four Quasi-Knights—they planned to "faint" in their own ways in various parts of Los Angeles.

Using the convenient cover of being victims themselves, they would try to extract "necessary intelligence."

Qin Xiaoxia was half-reclined on a bed even more comfortable than the one at his home. In one hand, he tossed the ore he had sealed with his Magic Power, and in the other, he held a glass of orange juice.

"As the saying goes, ’He who does not worry about the future will soon have troubles at his door.’ The changes in this world will inevitably trigger increasingly intense chain reactions. If we want to keep eating good food, we have to at least make sure there are still people around to cook it, right Doudou?"

Doudou nodded vigorously.

In Doudou’s eyes, whatever big cousin said was right!!