CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49: ROADBLOCK CHECKPOINT

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The air force base at Longquan Yi is located within the mountains southeast of Tianfu City. There’s only one road leading into the mountains. As soon as Sun Hang drove onto the road, he encountered a temporary checkpoint set up by more than a dozen soldiers and a light armored vehicle.

Just less than ten meters away from the checkpoint, a signpost showed that it was still fifteen kilometers from this "military forbidden zone."

Not only was the air force base completely locked down, but the entire Longquan Mountain had also become a military lockdown area.

Fortunately, Yang Qi’s car was a military vehicle with special plates, so the soldiers quickly let them pass after a brief questioning.

"Looks like the situation is quite serious." Sun Hang said while driving, hands gripping the steering wheel, "I wonder who the mysterious backer of this special commissioner is. Their audacity is indeed a bit too daring."

"But doing this has certainly helped us a lot." Yang Lian said, holding a tablet, "There’s nothing online, the information has been completely sealed off."

"Feels like this guy is gambling. If he bets correctly, he’ll be a major player in resolving this incident; even we will have to step aside for him." Sun Hang said, "But if he bets wrong, no matter how powerful his backer is, it’ll be hard to protect him."

"Forget protecting him; they won’t even have time to sever ties with him." Wang Xiyi sneered, "Kidnapping an air force base’s military chief? Tsk, even if his father is a member of parliament, it’s useless."

Wang Xiyi was wearing a set of clothes that Yang Lian gave her. However, while the trousers fit Yang Lian perfectly, they turned into cropped pants on Wang Xiyi. The two buttons at the front of the shirt were precariously close to popping off.

As for the shoes, they were surgical shoes, size forty-three, grabbed from the lab.

Though the outfit looked strange with the combination of trousers, shirt, jacket, and croc-like shoes, Wang Xiyi didn’t care much about clothes like other women. To her, clothes were disposable items—after all, once a fight broke out, even the prettiest clothes would turn to ashes in the blink of an eye.

"Sun Hang, have you considered what we’ll do if the conflict escalates?" Yang Lian’s eyes flashed with concern.

"Escalate? What’s it got to do with us? We’re just passing by to watch the excitement; it’s not us who kidnapped the base commander." Sun Hang said indifferently, "If things really get bad, we’ll just make a quick escape... With Night Slayer here, no one can stop us, right?"

"No one can stop us." Wang Xiyi nodded, "I’ve pretty much recovered now."

"..." Yang Lian looked at the two Hunters, feeling a bit helpless as she put her hand on her forehead.

On the way, they used the military plates to pass through six checkpoints. It wasn’t until the air force base came into view that their vehicle was stopped by a team of heavily armed soldiers.

Unlike the soldiers at the outer checkpoints, who had rifles slung over their shoulders, these soldiers were fully armed. They wore gear loaded with heavy bulletproof ceramic plates and helmets equipped with expensive night vision goggles. The index finger of their gun-holding hand was pressed tightly against the trigger guard—this was no longer a lockdown or a state of readiness, but full combat mode.

The situation at the air force base was far more severe than Sun Hang and the others had anticipated.

"Stop the car." An officer quickly approached and gestured for Sun Hang to park, "The road ahead is closed due to an emergency. No one is allowed to enter or exit. Please register your identity and return the way you came."

He didn’t even ask Sun Hang and the others to show their documents for a check. Several soldiers at the back raised their guns, pointing the dark barrels mercilessly at the car window.

"We’re not soldiers." Sun Hang stepped on the brake, looked out and said to the officer.

"Not soldiers?" The officer was taken aback, stepped back two steps to look at the plates, then said, "Please show your documents... I’ll make it clear in advance, during this special period, we’ve been granted permission to open fire. If you attempt to breach the restricted area..."

"We’re Mysterious Creature Hunters officially employed by Tianfu City, just arrived from the Mysterious Creature Research Institute." Sun Hang said.

"Mysterious Creature Hunters?" The officer took Sun Hang and Wang Xiyi’s Hunter licenses and checked them carefully, "Your documents are fine... But the road ahead is still closed. If you are on a mission, maybe take another path."

"Our mission target is in the air force base." Sun Hang said.

"What did you say?" The officer frowned, "We haven’t received any related notice... Moreover, there’s an emergency inside the base, and all unrelated personnel are strictly prohibited from entering!"

"We’re not unrelated personnel." Sun Hang grinned, "Isn’t the emergency you mentioned about the base commander being kidnapped?"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers at the checkpoint immediately looked tense, and the officer instinctively placed his hand on the gun grip, speaking sternly, "Who are you? What are your intentions?"

"You’ve seen our credentials; we’re Tianfu City’s only two Mysterious Creature Hunters, genuine and certified. The one with the sour face in the passenger seat is my direct supervisor. We’re here specifically for the kidnapping incident." Sun Hang explained.

"As I said, we haven’t received any notice; the kidnapping event has a dedicated task force in charge... As for you, sorry, you can’t leave for now. We’ll arrange a place for you to rest, and until you get permission, you must stay there." The officer said to Sun Hang, "Now, please get out of the vehicle."

"You might be misunderstanding something. In the car, there’s not one but two Mysterious Creature Hunters, not ordinary people... Uh, you must have heard the name ’Night Slayer’, right?" Sun Hang indicated Wang Xiyi sitting in the backseat.

As the strongest Mysterious Creature Hunter in Tianfu City, "Night Slayer" was quite renowned. Especially among the Investigation Bureau, Public Security Bureau, and the military, who frequently cooperated with Hunters. Even if they hadn’t seen her destructive power firsthand, they would have heard some related rumors.

As expected, upon hearing the name "Night Slayer," the officer’s face immediately showed a strong expression of apprehension: "Even... Even so, you must apply to the superior unit for a proper transit permit before we can let you pass."

"We applied, but it hasn’t been approved yet... You should know the efficiency of those bureaucrats better than we do." Sun Hang said without reservation, "The situation is urgent, according to our information, the kidnapping is very likely related to mysterious creatures... The kidnapper was influenced by them to take such actions... You understand what I’m saying, right?"