The kayak gradually moved away from the lakeshore, heading towards the center of the lake.

Every now and then, the group collected a tube of water sample, sealed it with a cork, and placed it into the sampling box.

The reservoir was very large, with its source and outlet blocked off; it was almost like stagnant water here with little movement. The water quality differed in various areas, requiring stratified and zonal sampling.

The sampling work was monotonous and dull.

One staff member suddenly brought up a topic of conversation:

"Do you know how many people died yesterday?"

"How many?"

"I glanced at the station's statistics data this morning—over three thousand six hundred people!"

"Sss! So many?"

Although they had seen so many corpses daily that they had become numb, hearing this number still made their backs go cold.

"Actually, there were even more yesterday; I heard it exceeded four thousand, but this has already peaked. In a few days, it should quickly decrease. Now the nearby soil, after being treated with lime, rarely detects parasites." The team leader also joined the conversation.

"That's true, the deceased were all previously parasitized individuals."

While everyone was chatting, nobody noticed a gigantic whirlpool appearing on the water surface not far away, with a vaguely large shadow flashing by.

...

The next morning, Chen Shouyi woke up and checked his attribute panel.

He found that his attributes finally had a change; his strength increased by 0.1, reaching 16.1 points.

Having stayed on Earth for nearly nine days, he only managed to improve by 0.1.

Too slow!

On the contrary, his willpower was unaffected and increased by another 0.2 points.

He forcefully clenched his fist, a slight explosive sound echoed in the air, blowing his hair upwards.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed as a scene flashed through his mind.

Although the image passed by in an instant, and he couldn't see what the content was clearly.

He knew in his heart that those Barbarians were conducting another ritual.

He didn't know whether they were just too idle, as these Barbarians performed rituals very frequently, once every few days. Their belief seemed to become more and more devout; now and then, even on Earth, he could slightly sense it.

He decided to ignore it, went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash up.

After going downstairs and finishing breakfast, he greeted his parents and walked out the door.

Having been at home for several days, he felt like he was growing mold, and he decided to go outside to exercise.

However, just as he stepped out, he coincidentally ran into Bai Xiaoling on the road.

"General Manager Chen, there's a task."

He halted his steps, "What is it?"

Any task that requires him, a Martial Artist, to handle is not simple.

Before Bai Xiaoling could speak, he continued, "Tell me later. I need to prepare first."

...

"Why are you back again?" Mrs. Chen asked curiously as she saw him run back home.

"There's a minor task I need to help with. I probably won't be back for lunch." Chen Shouyi headed toward the staircase, casually saying.

"Where do you have to go? Is it dangerous?" Though Mrs. Chen was used to him going out from time to time, she still felt a bit worried.

"Don't worry! I'm already an adult and a Martial Artist. I have a sense of what the tasks entail; of course, I wouldn't go if it were dangerous!" Chen Dawei couldn't help but say.

"Even if he's a Martial Artist, he's still my son; what's wrong with me caring? What's it got to do with you, trying to start a fight?" Mrs. Chen glared at him.

Chen Dawei's belly fat trembled, "Can't talk to you, I'm going to wash the dishes now."

Amid the couple's bickering, Chen Shouyi hurriedly walked up the stairs, changed into sportswear, picked up a bow and sword bag, then went downstairs.

"Be careful!" Mrs. Chen said.

"Got it, Mom, don't worry!"

Chen Shouyi said as he stepped out, opened the garage, and rolled out his bicycle.

Bai Xiaoling naturally sat on the bike and naturally wrapped her arms around Chen Shouyi's waist.

Although holding onto the solid, muscular abs of her idol made her a bit dreamy for a moment, she adeptly spoke quickly.

"Something happened at Guangming Reservoir."

"Guangming Reservoir?" Chen Shouyi interrupted.

"Yes, it's the source of the interdimensional parasite outbreak!" Bai Xiaoling quickly explained.

"Continue!" Chen Shouyi nodded and said.

"In fact, inside the reservoir is a huge spatial passage connected to the swamp of the other world, just pressed down by the atmospheric pressure over there, causing the lake water not to recede, and no one noticed.

Until yesterday, several epidemic prevention station staff collecting water samples suddenly disappeared, swallowed by the giant beast in the reservoir, finally drawing attention.

The military urgently deployed a deep-water bomb, but it still escaped back to the other world.

Now the reservoir's water has receded entirely, and the city government is preparing to seal off this dangerous spatial passage completely, fearing the giant beast might return. The task this time is to guard the area, ensuring the safety of the operations there."

Bai Xiaoling succinctly explained the situation.

Chen Shouyi frowned slightly as he listened; it seemed this task might take a long time.

Nonetheless, he decided to check the situation there first.

He cycled quickly towards the blockade area, the pungent smell of burnt permeating the air and stabbing into his nostrils, making his stomach churn, as he continued cycling for another minute before being stopped by soldiers at the barricade.

Bai Xiaoling promptly got off the bike to show her credentials.

The soldiers checked their documents and soon let them pass.

At a nearby outpost, they changed into protective suits before continuing.

The rice on both sides of the road had turned yellow and drooped, some poles had collapsed, but no one bothered to harvest them, leaving them in the fields.

The factories nearby were already empty and desolate.

Only truck after truck shuttled back and forth on the highway, delivering massive supplies to the disaster area.

...

Passing through a small town, Chen Shouyi saw a large number of soldiers and medical staff in protective suits, checking house by house.

On the residential buildings, many silhouettes stood at the windows, looking numb.

"Ahead is the temporary hospital," Bai Xiaoling suddenly said as they were about to exit the town.

Chen Shouyi glanced over, noting it was initially the town government, evident by the sign still hanging there; however, it was clearly repurposed as a hospital now.

Though called a hospital, those entering could only await death, the difference only being between living a day or a few days. For ordinary people, once parasitized by the parasites, it's a guaranteed death sentence, with no cure.

When the bicycle passed by the entrance, a corpse happened to be carried out from inside to a corpse truck.

Being used to seeing such tragedies, Chen Shouyi wasn't much affected internally.

A dozen minutes later, Guangming Reservoir was in sight.

Chen Shouyi noticed that the reservoir's high embankment was filled with soldiers in protective suits, several holding flamethrowers, continually spraying flames at the reservoir's depths.

Parking his bike, he walked to the temporary camp nearby.

After Bai Xiaoling's introduction, Chen Shouyi shook hands with the director stationed there.

"Hello, hello, General Manager Chen, I'm Gao Yuanshan. I'm relieved that you're here; we're really causing you trouble this time. I've arranged your accommodation already; I'll have someone take you to see it right away." Gao Yuanshan spoke with great politeness.

"Director Gao, it's not urgent right now. I'd like to check out the situation first."

"General Manager Chen, you're indeed straightforward, alright!" Gao Yuanshan said to the young communications officer standing nearby, "Xiao Zhang, accompany General Manager Chen and show him around."

"Yes, sir!" the communications officer replied loudly.

The three of them walked to the embankment, and Chen Shouyi's face turned sombre; the reservoir was enormous, spanning several square kilometers, with a depth of over twenty meters. Now the water level had reached the bottom, leaving only a shallow layer of black water.

A large number of bizarre interdimensional creatures were actively moving in the black water.

From afar, Chen Shouyi even saw a gigantic creature resembling a crocodile or a gecko, yet measuring five or six meters long, madly dashing upon the water, letting out sharp wails, with flames from the flamethrower roasting it as it rushed around, kicking up water like an explosion,

Several times it tried to charge towards the embankment but was repelled by the flamethrowers.

"You're here too." At this time, Qin Liuyuan quickly approached, followed by a group of martial artists.

"Yeah, I was called over." Chen Shouyi snapped back to reality and replied.

Upon looking around, he realized even more martial artists had arrived, many appearing unfamiliar, likely newcomers to the martial circle.

"Brother Qin, who's this handsome man?" A rather attractive female martial artist boldly glanced at Chen Shouyi and asked Qin Liuyuan.

Qin Liuyuan was momentarily stunned, smiled, and addressed the martial artists behind him, "Some of you might not know him; let me introduce you. This is Chen Shouyi, the province's Chief Safety Advisor, and one of the only two Martial Master-level experts in Jiangnan Province."

"Sss!"

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock, surprise etched on their faces.

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