PD -Chapter 190 The Mysterious Research Institute

After hanging up the phone, Liu Xiaopeng and I quickly made our way down the mountain.

On the path at the foot of the mountain, the vehicle parked there was actually the one I had driven out of the 507 Institute.

I cursed under my breath at that pair of shameless man and woman. They were truly inhuman… not only did they want to use us as living sacrifices, they even had the nerve to try and take my car.

At that moment, the gas station owner couple had been tied up with tow ropes and hung from a tree by the roadside. Tang Shanshan and the other two were sitting inside the car, which was parked horizontally in the middle of the road, its front headlights aimed directly at the couple.

Under the blinding beams, the couple’s faces were twisted in pain, unable to open their eyes.

Just as Tang Shanshan had said, their hair had been burned, and their clothes were in tatters—clearly they had already been severely tormented by her fire talismans.

Liu Xiaopeng and I got into the car, squeezing into the back seat with Old Li.

At the moment, neither Liu Xiaopeng nor I were in any condition to drive… so Tang Shanshan took the wheel and drove us first to send Zhenzhen and Old Li back.

“What about them?” Tang Shanshan asked, nodding toward the couple tied to the tree.

I glanced at Zhenzhen in the passenger seat. No matter what, those two were still her relatives. I hesitated for a moment before she suddenly said:

“They’ve taken so many lives. This is their punishment. We should hand them over to the police.”

I nodded. “I’ve already called. The police should be here soon.”

As I was speaking, sirens could already be heard in the distance.

I told Tang Shanshan to start the car and head back toward Longxiang Village.

By the time we arrived at Longxiang Village, it was already deep into the night, so we all stayed at a small inn near the gas station for one night.

Early the next morning, Liu Xiaopeng and I had recovered enough, and we prepared to head to the 507 Institute.

Along the way, I kept thinking about what Di Ting had said over the phone… but I still couldn’t figure out what exactly he wanted to tell us.

Moreover, from his tone earlier, this matter wasn’t meant for me alone—the “you all” he mentioned clearly included Tang Shanshan and Liu Xiaopeng.

When Liu Xiaopeng rushed over earlier, due to the urgency, he had flown directly to the Shennongjia airport and then taken a chartered car over. That was why he was able to arrive in time at our most dangerous moment.

On the way back, with Liu Xiaopeng joining us, driving became much less exhausting.

We took turns driving, which not only increased our speed but also made things much easier overall—it almost felt like a real road trip.

Along the way, Tang Shanshan and I asked Liu Xiaopeng where he had gone after leaving the hospital.

But he only said he had gone home and didn’t mention anything else.

Judging from his expression, he didn’t intend to share much about his recent days, so we didn’t press further.

It took us a full day to finally arrive at the 507 Institute.

Although I had long known of its existence, this was our first time entering the core area of this mysterious organization.

The hospital where Tang Shanshan and I had stayed before was actually an outer supporting facility of the 507 Institute… though it wasn’t open to the public, it received special patients such as soldiers and armed police, so it could be considered a military-affiliated hospital.

Now that we had truly entered the institute, we realized it looked surprisingly calm and ordinary—like any normal company or government unit. So ordinary, in fact, that it almost felt deliberately so.

An ordinary person would never sense anything unusual here. But the moment I stepped inside, my spiritual sense told me there were an unusually large number of people with spiritual power.

Most of them were hidden among ordinary staff—only someone with strong spiritual perception could detect the fluctuations of their energy.

Moreover, beyond these people’s aura fluctuations, I sensed a massive energy source beneath the institute’s core building.

Clearly, Liu Xiaopeng also noticed it. He kept glancing toward that building with great attention.

“Everyone, thank you for waiting!”

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out, drawing all our attention.

A tall and beautiful woman appeared beside us at some point, smiling as she said, “Mr. Ting is waiting for you in the auditorium.”

“The auditorium?” I frowned slightly, thinking about what that guy had said on the phone—wasn’t he supposed to tell us something? Why did the 507 Bureau like discussing things in an auditorium?

Tang Shanshan and Liu Xiaopeng also looked confused. I was about to question the woman when she simply smiled and gestured for us to follow.

“You’ll understand when you get there.”

We exchanged glances and finally followed her into the auditorium.

Inside, the hall was already full of people, all dressed in suits and ties. Compared to them, the three of us, casually dressed, looked extremely out of place.

At that moment, Di Ting was standing on the stage. When he saw us enter, he beckoned us up.

I widened my eyes and exchanged looks with Tang Shanshan and Liu Xiaopeng. Before we could even process what was happening, several staff members gently but firmly ushered us onto the stage.

Standing there, I looked at the unfamiliar crowd below, my mind completely blank—I had no idea what Di Ting was planning.

“Members of the Zero Division Investigation Team,” Di Ting suddenly spoke beside me. The microphone startled me.

“The people standing before you are the heroes who successfully sealed the rift.”

The audience, expressionless just moments ago, suddenly erupted into thunderous applause, leaving the three of us even more confused.

“Today, they will also become honorary external investigators of our 507 Institute’s Zero Division. Let us welcome them with the warmest applause!”

With his words, the hall erupted once again in applause… and then several ceremonial ladies came up carrying trays covered with red cloth.

I stared at Di Ting in shock—but he acted as if nothing had happened. He simply glanced at us, then continued his speech to the audience.

I found this all very strange, but after calming down and thinking for a moment, I roughly understood his intention in arranging this.

However, I didn’t show anything on my face. I just looked at him quietly, thinking to myself that this guy was quite the actor—clearly, I had underestimated him before.