Chapter 1643: The Initiation Ceremony

The weapon issue was easy enough to resolve, but it was at this moment that Zhang Yi raised a new problem.

"Spears are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. When we had a mole appear in Tianshui City before, I warned you all to be careful about this matter."

"This time, every major region came under attack. The enemy is clearly from the Underground Civilization, yet they struck directly at the capitals of each major region. Judging from their offensive posture, they have a very clear understanding of our intelligence."

"Have any of you considered that there might actually be Mist Valley moles within your own territories?"

The moment these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present turned grave.

They truly had never considered this problem.

Because by instinct, they had always regarded themselves as higher beings. Even when facing the existence of the Underground Civilization, they believed them to be inferior creatures.

What's more, disguising themselves as humans and infiltrating the major regions to gather intelligence was something they couldn't even imagine.

Not to mention them, even Zhang Yi had found it hard to imagine before he discovered Ruan Ping.

A creature whose true form was two to three times the size of a human was actually able to disguise itself as a human, and do it with such perfection.

Zhang Yi said, "Of course, this is just speculation. After all, as you said earlier, even if they were targeting someone, it should only be my Jiangnan Region and the East China Sea Major Region, which have had direct dealings with Mist Valley. But still, what if?"

Meng Yuanjun immediately said, "I'll dispatch people to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire Shengjing district at once!"

Whether someone was human, or rather whether they were a citizen of Huaxu Nation, could be determined with a simple blood test. Gene technology was already highly advanced these days.

Han Shanzuo furrowed his brow. "But what if there are humans working for them? What then?"

Meng Yuanjun sighed. "If that's the case, it becomes very difficult to handle!"

No matter how careful one was, there would always be an oversight. They couldn't conduct a carpet-style investigation of the entire nation.

They could only do their utmost to prevent any Mist Valley aliens from still lurking within Huaxu Nation.

Even more so, they had no way of investigating the refugees scattered outside.

Zhang Yi said, "I can guarantee that Tianshui City has no suspicious individuals. As for other places, you can handle it yourselves!"

Every single person in Tianshui City had to undergo extremely rigorous background checks. Moreover, those in key positions had to be personally examined by Yang Xinxin to ensure that no one would pose a threat in the coming war.

After saying this, he said to Zhu Zheng, "Commander Zhu, let's step away for a moment. You handle the rest of the discussions!"

Zhu Zheng nodded upon hearing this. "Don't worry, I'm here!"

Zhang Yi gave Yang Xinxin a look, and she understood, closing the video conference.

Zhang Yi then brought up the matter of the Eye organization sending someone to find him.

"Xinxin, what do you make of this?"

"The Eye organization, is it?"

Yang Xinxin's eyelids lowered, her expression clearly very serious.

"I do have some understanding of that organization. Its history stretches back extremely far, to before the Common Era even. It's said that its history is no shorter than the originating sect of the Orthodox Church."

"Brother, you need to be careful of this organization. They are extremely dangerous, and also extremely powerful!"

Zhang Yi nodded. "I understand. An organization that can casually hand out God Essence as a gift, how could they not be strong? At the very least, they possess strength no weaker than a nation!"

Yang Xinxin said, "They gave you the God Essence simply because Huaxu Nation is the main battlefield for facing the Underground Civilization next. This is the first large-scale counter-invasion war between humans and the Underground Civilization on this planet!"

"They gave you the God Essence merely to use you as a chess piece."

At this point, she smiled faintly. "Of course, this also proves that they are evaluating you, hoping to recruit you into their organization."

As she said this, Yang Xinxin also revealed something to Zhang Yi.

Before the apocalypse, the Eye organization had also extended an olive branch to her, but she had later refused it.

Zhang Yi wasn't surprised by this at all.

With Yang Xinxin's intelligence, she could easily achieve tremendous success in many fields.

"Why did you refuse them?"

Yang Xinxin said, "The Eye organization has a strict hierarchy. Even if I joined, I would only be at the most basic level. Besides, I couldn't see its true face clearly, which made me afraid to join rashly."

"What's more, I've heard about their initiation ceremony, and it's something I could never accept."

Zhang Yi grew curious. "Initiation ceremony?"

The corner of Yang Xinxin's lips curved up, like a little demon, her smile very wicked.

"Brother, for an organization that gathers so many elites from every field across the world, what method do you think they would use to maintain member loyalty and prevent leaks of secrets?"

Zhang Yi only pondered for a moment before saying, "A token of submission!"

"Only when everyone has done something evil together, and each holds leverage over the other, can they earn each other's trust."

"So I'm guessing the initiation ceremony involves doing something that can never be accepted by the world. Right?"

"For example, killing someone."

Yang Xinxin said, "There have indeed been such claims. If there are also other methods that can serve as substitutes, especially for female members."

Zhang Yi finally understood the meaning behind Yang Xinxin's smile.

"You mean, sex?"

In social relationships, to integrate into a collective of shared interests, or to express loyalty to a superior.

The male approach is usually a token of submission, either helping to take the blame, or doing things together that can never be exposed.

The female approach, the simplest and most direct, is through sex.

Although this kind of loyalty may not necessarily be the highest, it has always been the most accepted.

They always hope to achieve control over their subordinates through some means.

Yang Xinxin said leisurely, "That initiation ceremony, my sponsor once described it to me. New members must wear cloaks and masks. Of course, underneath the cloak, they must wear absolutely nothing."

"Then they enter the ceremony hall and engage in deep exchanges with internal members. And at this time, they remove their masks to confirm each other's identities. This achieves a ritual similar to a 'token of submission.'"

Yang Xinxin puffed up her cheeks. "I of course refused! Who would accept such an outrageous initiation requirement? It's simply despicable and shameful!"

After hearing this, Zhang Yi felt his horizons had truly been broadened. As expected of a Western organization, they really were open enough.

Though, Western developed countries had always been relatively liberal when it came to sex.

Zhang Yi imagined that kind of scene, and suddenly thought, if Fatty Xu knew about such a good thing, he probably wouldn't refuse.