Volume Two: The Expedition! Chapter Seventy-One: Missing

Liu Cong was caught off guard as black vines dragged him down into the earth, surrounded by layers of blackened leaves and white bones. A sharp, stinging pain swept across his skin. At some unknown moment, dense thorns had sprouted all around the vines. These slender spikes tore through his clothing, pressing hard against his skin, attempting to pierce into his flesh.

“Damn it! You’re forcing me to burn you all, aren’t you?”

He struggled several times but couldn’t break free from the black vines, grinding his teeth in frustration. With a thought, energy surged from within him, and a roaring black flame erupted around his body.

The moment the black fire rose, the black vines began to wither, but the more he struggled, the tighter they bound him. More vines coiled over, wrapping him layer upon layer until he was tightly cocooned like a rice dumpling.

It seemed these vines were infused with potent dark energy, incredibly resistant to fire. The black flames could only slowly wither them, not burn them away quickly enough to free Liu Cong.

He increased the flow of energy, and the black flames blazed higher. Steam began to rise from the scorched vines, evaporating instantly under the searing heat.

The effect was immediate. The vines binding him withered rapidly, their grip weakening. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he could break through their encirclement.

But misfortune always arrives when least expected. In the pitch-black forest, countless black vines twined along the branches and wrapped once more around Liu Cong’s body. From the outside, a tangled mass of vines wound themselves into a sphere two meters in diameter, layer upon layer.

Whenever the inner vines burned to ash, the outer vines fearlessly filled the gap. Liu Cong couldn’t break free, nor did he have a hand to summon the Celestial Sword. All he could do was keep fueling the black flames, helplessly locked in a contest of endurance with the vines.

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After Zhao Tian met with Masao Nakamura, the two groups unloaded medical supplies from the transport plane together. The Japanese soldiers, delighted by the replenishment, hurried the goods into the temporary hospital within the safety zone—countless wounded there were waiting for these life-saving medicines.

Without medicine, injury meant certain death; even those still able to fight would lose their spirit. Now, with medical supplies restored, many wounded could be treated, and the civilians in the safety zone no longer needed to worry about minor ailments.

“We truly can’t thank you enough!”

Masao Nakamura, watching the long line of residents waiting for medicine, grasped Zhao Tian’s hand in excitement.

Zhao Tian smiled. “Mr. Nakamura, there’s no need for thanks. We’re just carrying out our orders. If you really want to thank someone, let’s work together and complete our mission as soon as possible!”

“Mr. Zhao, once the Sword Immortal returns, we’ll thoroughly discuss the details of this operation. Japan is a land of crisis now—we simply can’t hold out much longer.”

Zhao Tian replied, “Very well. When our commander returns, we’ll have a meeting to discuss everything.”

---

With the medical crisis resolved, Masao Nakamura’s spirits soared. “Mr. Zhao, I’ve already prepared accommodations for you. Why not rest with your team? Leave things here to my people.”

Zhao Tian nodded and led the Warlord Squadron to a small building, where they settled in with their luggage.

That evening, after dinner, Zhao Tian called over the communications officer. “Yin Peng, the commander still hasn’t returned. See if you can locate his signal.”

Yin Peng opened his laptop, plugged in the power, and began searching. “Captain, I can’t find the commander’s signal.”

Zhao Tian was taken aback. “What do you mean? Is there a problem with the equipment?”

“Our signals are all present—only the commander’s is missing. The equipment is fine,” Yin Peng replied.

“That’s odd. Why can’t we locate his signal?” Zhao Tian frowned.

“Our device only detects signals within five kilometers. It’s possible the commander is simply too far away. If we use satellite equipment, we should be able to find him.”

After listening to Yin Peng, Zhao Tian paced back and forth, then made up his mind. “Contact headquarters. Ask them to check the commander’s location. If possible, send him a short message.”

Yin Peng agreed and contacted the communications department at Safe Zone One. After reporting the situation, they immediately agreed to use satellite tracking.

“Captain, it’s done. We should have the commander’s location soon,” Yin Peng said with a smile.

The communications department activated the satellites to search for Liu Cong, but no matter how many commands they entered, his signal could not be found anywhere in Japan. This news alarmed the department’s leaders. After confirming there was no equipment malfunction, the department head promptly reported the search results to Li Yu.

Upon receiving the report, Li Yu immediately called Liu Cong’s number. Hearing that he was not on the server, Li Yu hurled his teacup in frustration and hurried to the communications room.

As soon as he entered, he shouted, “Patch me through to Zhao Tian at once.”

Zhao Tian and Yin Peng waited anxiously for a reply from headquarters. Zhao Tian stroked his chin, worried. “Why is it taking so long? Did something go wrong?”

Yin Peng was also puzzled. Satellite tracking was a simple matter—just a few commands and the answer should have come in minutes. Yet nearly twenty minutes had passed without news, which was highly unusual.

A few more minutes passed before Zhao Tian lost patience. “Enough waiting! Try contacting them again.”

Just as Yin Peng was about to send a message, a video call window popped up on the computer screen. He turned the laptop to Zhao Tian and accepted the call.

---

Zhao Tian stared in surprise at Li Yu on the screen, but before he could speak, a torrent of anger erupted.

“Zhao Tian! What kind of team leader are you? You’ve barely arrived in Japan and you’ve already managed to lose someone? Tell me exactly what you’ve been doing since you got there!”

Zhao Tian felt wronged. In front of that man, he was a mere subordinate—how could he possibly keep track of him? But his face displayed only shame as he carefully reported everything that had happened since entering Japanese airspace. Yet, since he’d been on the plane the whole time, all he’d witnessed was the strange bird after landing. After that, Liu Cong had left, and Zhao Tian knew little more.

Li Yu found nothing useful in Zhao Tian’s account and berated him again.

Zhao Tian hung his head to endure the scolding, feeling even more aggrieved: Commander, where have you gone? If you don’t return, I fear the commander will skin me alive.

After the reprimand, the communications department finally found the last location of Liu Cong’s signal before it disappeared. Li Yu relayed the coordinates to Zhao Tian and said, “Zhao Tian, this is the last location before Liu Cong vanished. Memorize these coordinates and discreetly ask the Japanese if anything unusual has happened there. Remember—be subtle. Under no circumstances can you reveal that Liu Cong has gone missing! Do you understand?”

“Yes, Commander, I understand. Don’t worry, I won’t let it slip,” Zhao Tian replied respectfully.

“Go now. No matter what, I want an answer tonight!” Li Yu ordered sternly.

After hanging up, Li Yu stared at the live signal monitor. Liu Cong’s signal remained absent, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

A trusted aide approached. “Commander, you don’t need to worry so much. Liu Cong is incredibly strong—nothing will happen to him. He’s probably just somewhere without a signal.”

Li Yu sighed, “I know how strong he is. He even killed the T4 mutant on G15. Ordinary dangers aren’t a problem for him. But the situation in Japan is too unusual. I feel something is happening there that we don’t know about. Otherwise, why is it only Japan that’s become like this, when the two countries are so close? I’m worried he’s encountered something even he can’t overcome. If we still can’t find him tonight, I doubt I’ll get any sleep.”

The aide offered comfort, “Don’t worry. I’m sure Liu Cong will be fine.”

Li Yu glared. “Don’t worry? How am I supposed to not worry? There’s only one Liu Cong in the whole world. Now, just after arriving in Japan, he disappears. How could I not worry? The Black Sea is still expanding—at this rate, it will eventually pollute every ocean and every river flowing into the sea. Without Liu Cong, can we really hold on until then?”