"In the past, before the roads were built in the mountains, it took at least three days and two nights, but now that the roads are done, it takes at most half a day by car." The old sheriff driving recalled, "I remember when I went to a place called Sha Baping, I set off after breakfast at seven in the morning and arrived at the destination right at noon mealtime. I munched on some snacks in the car and went into the village... Liangshuigou is a bit deeper than Sha Baping, I reckon if I drive an extra half an hour, I'll get there."

"Does this mean the investigation team that lost contact should have arrived at their destination the same day they set off?" Sun Hang's fingers moved gently on the touchpad, "Why didn't Lizhou City report this situation in time?"

"A missing report can only be filed after seventy-two hours." Yang Qi explained from the side, "It's only been just over fifty hours now."

"There's clearly trouble with this investigation team... these officials are too rigid. Do they have to follow the rules exactly?" Sun Hang complained somewhat displeasedly, "And the drone? Didn't the drone capture the convoy's movements?"

Before Yang Qi could answer, Sun Hang himself had already moved to the relevant section of the report document.

According to the document's description, the last time the investigation team's convoy appeared on the drone footage was four hours after departure, on the mountain road more than sixty kilometers in a straight line distance from Liangshuigou Village.

After that, the investigation team's convoy, just like the villagers of Liangshuigou Village, disappeared completely without a trace.

"Sir." Sun Hang extended his hand forward to pat the old sheriff's shoulder, and asked, "Can we divert to Liangshuigou Village?"

"Huh? What did you say?" The old sheriff was startled, "Aren't you going to Panlong Airport? Why suddenly head to Liangshuigou?"

"The epicenter of this eerie object attack isn't at Panlong Airport... Liangshuigou might be the only clue for our investigation."

"This... I can't make that decision!" The old sheriff said hesitantly, "You have to report to the Lizhou City Public Security Bureau... no, even the director may not be able to decide, you probably have to apply directly to the Management Committee or even the Disaster Response Committee in Lizhou City, only when they approve can you go to Liangshuigou..."

"I am ordering the Disaster Response Committee to approve my application using my authority." Sun Hang said, "Alright, they've already agreed. Sir, you and this vehicle have been enlisted by me temporarily... by the way, we should have enough gas, right?"

"Huh? You plan to go now?" The old sheriff was completely dumbfounded, "Just the few of us in this car? Not doing any preparatory work?"

Just seconds ago, the old sheriff received an order from his direct superior, instructing him to unconditionally obey every order of this young man named Sun Hang in the car.

"It's enough, do we really need any preparation?" Sun Hang retorted, "Everyone's got their own work; we might be the most idle people in Lizhou City."

"Sun Hang, isn't your decision a bit too hasty?" Yang Qi's tone revealed a hint of worry, "The investigation team from Lizhou City consists of six Hunters, four investigators, and twenty-five fully-armed officers... and we have no preparation, not even a detailed action plan..."

"Yeah, yeah..." The old sheriff quickly chimed in, "Frankly, I can only drive; I'm not good with fighting and such... we don't even have a gun in this car... Why don't you borrow an armored vehicle from the City Defense Guard along with dozens of people, at least that'd be safer!"

"Quality over quantity, in front of the mysterious objects, even if the City Defense Guard had more soldiers, it would be meaningless," Sun Hang said. "And as for the action plan... this investigation team's plan was all of twenty-seven pages... comprehensive enough, right? But, was it any use?"

"But shouldn't you at least give me a reason?" Yang Qi asked, "Since just now, I feel like you've been a bit off... especially after learning one of the deceased was a liaison officer from the Intelligence Department. Sun Hang, can you tell us, Panlong Airport's Fireball, the deceased liaison officer, and the villagers' disappearance in Liangshuigou... what links these events?"

"If I said it was intuition, would you believe me?" Sun Hang turned, seriously meeting Yang Qi's gaze.

"..." Yang Qi bit her lip, holding Sun Hang's gaze for several seconds before exhaling heavily, "Fine, I'll trust you this once!"

"Don't be so serious, it's not purely intuition... it's a sense, a sense for memes," Sun Hang said.

"...Didn't you say you didn't detect any mysterious object memes at the Fireball site?" Yang Qi asked, puzzled.

"How should I put it, memes are quite obscure... you're the one who studies this; you should understand more than I do, right?"

"Go on."

"I don't necessarily need to be in proximity to it... sometimes, just knowing of its existence allows me to connect seemingly unrelated events, like an electric arc sparking in my brain, linking fragmented pieces into a chain..."

"Isn't that just intuition?" The old sheriff driving couldn't help but say.

"It's different from intuition," Sun Hang reiterated.

"Alright, alright, you're the boss, whatever you say is right..." The old sheriff sighed, "It's just that as a driver, can't someone else take over... I'm retiring in two years..."

"Are you scared?"

"Who wouldn't be scared? It's bizarre how over thirty people just vanished, and just us heading into the mountains, isn't that like serving ourselves on a platter?" The old sheriff said, his face drawn, "I want to retire peacefully..."

"How about this, you stop the car, head back to the bureau, and report in, saying I've assigned you to hold down the fort in Lizhou City against strange object invasions," Sun Hang said. "As for the car, I'll drive it; those mountain roads can be navigated with GPS, and I won't drive it into a ditch."

"Really?" The old sheriff hit the brakes, asking.

"Really, don't worry, I'll pretend I didn't hear any of those complaints from you just now." Sun Hang opened the car door first.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" The old sheriff felt a weight lifting off his shoulders as he released the steering wheel, hopping off the car, "I'll head back first then!"

"Alright." Sun Hang nodded, taking his place in the driver's seat.

The old sheriff walked a few steps, then returned, handing over his baton and tear spray from his belt to Sun Hang, "I'm not sure if these will be useful, but it's better to have them."

"Thanks." Sun Hang accepted the equipment and casually tossed it into the glove box.

"Huh? Why aren't you guys getting off the car?" Sun Hang looked back at the three sitting in the back and asked.

"What do you mean?" Yang Qi was taken aback and asked.

"I mean, for this mission, I can go alone." Sun Hang tilted his head, glancing sideways at Yang Qi and the others, "You're all burdens to me."

"I disagree!" Yang Qi bopped Sun Hang on the back of the head, "Don't try using your authority to boss me around; I disagree, period!"

"Your acting is a bit stiff." Candle Dragon also smiled, "You're worried about us getting caught in danger, so you intend to go solo, right?"

"No, I honestly think you're burdens," Sun Hang said seriously.

From Anna's special attitude towards him, she most likely wouldn't harm him... besides, he still had the Three Apes as his trump card to completely suppress Anna... but if Yang Qi and the others were targeted by Anna or if Anna used them to threaten him, he might find himself in a precarious situation.

Sun Hang couldn't guarantee that the luck of the Fisherman and Shino would extend to Yang Qi and her group.