Meanwhile, Fang Ze had arrived at Flower God's Private Garden, accompanied by Bai Zhi and the team of Executive Commissioners.
At that time, the Special Task Force was still inventorying the relics left by the Flower God and studying the structure and capabilities of the Garden Temple.
These items were crucial resources and experiences for the Eastern Administrative Region, significantly important for future encounters with demigods; hence, they were highly valued by the Special Task Force.
Seeing Fang Ze and his group enter majestically, several task force members at the doorway, who were examining with their instruments, looked up in surprise, uncertain what had happened.
Fang Ze scanned his gaze over them, then said politely, "Hello, commissioners. I need to speak with Commissioner Huo Lin for a moment."
Upon hearing Fang Ze's words, one of the Special Task Force members nodded, then said, "The chief is inspecting the garden; I'll call him now."
With that, he vanished into thin air.
Having achieved Spirit Ascension, Fang Ze could clearly see the task force member's body transform into a shadow, then rapidly head toward the garden.
Perhaps because he was without a physical form, his speed was extremely fast; in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from Fang Ze's view.
Shortly after, Huo Lin strode over to Fang Ze, accompanied by that member.
An object resembling a fishbowl encased his head, clear and sparkling, making his speech buzz, "What's up? Is there an emergency?"
Hearing Huo Lin's question, Fang Ze nodded and said seriously, "Yes, it's very urgent."
Huo Lin looked at Fang Ze.
Fang Ze said, "It might involve another demigod."
This time, the seriousness on Huo Lin's square face intensified; he tapped lightly on his "fishbowl". It shattered softly like a bubble, disappearing into the air.
Then, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his hands, and started walking to one side as he asked, "What's going on?"
Fang Ze followed him and shared the events of the day, including those concerning Dahei Garo: these were matters he had already consulted the female Bureau Chief about during his journey, and he was allowed to discuss them.
Sure enough, after hearing Fang Ze's account, Huo Lin's expression grew increasingly solemn.
He pondered for a moment, and instead of responding to Fang Ze immediately, he called to the commissioner who had summoned him, "Han."
The same commissioner who had gone to relay the message hurried over.
Huo Lin instructed, "Send a signal to Miaohua City via special channel. Full frequency."
Hearing Huo Lin's instruction, Han seemed slightly stunned, but quickly saluted and went to send the signal.
Five minutes later, he returned with a puzzled look and said, "Chief, no department in Miaohua City is responding."
"I tried all frequencies, but it's like dropping stones in the sea; no department is responding."
Huo Lin's expression turned even graver.
He picked up his communicator, called the Governing Hall to confirm that Fang Ze and Jiang Cheng had indeed verified that even the First Commissioner's special line was unresponsive, and he finally fully believed Fang Ze's words.
Yet, even so, he hesitated and said, "This matter is too significant."
"Our Special Task Force is only here to handle the matter of the Flower God's arrival, and we might not be able to manage the crisis currently happening in Miaohua City."
"I need to go there first and investigate the situation."
At this point, he paused, "Besides, the incident did happen in a lower-level city... After investigating, I also need to report back to the Administrative Region to see what their stance on this matter is."
Although Fang Ze didn't understand why Huo Lin specifically pointed out "this is a lower-level city," reporting back to the Administrative Region was a standard procedure, so Fang Ze nodded in agreement.
Huo Lin then briefly instructed the Task Force members to pause their investigations of Flower God's Private Garden, until his return, and then he disappeared, apparently off to investigate the situation in Miaohua City.
Given Huo Lin's stature as the strongest individual Fang Ze had encountered, Fang Ze felt fairly reassured by his involvement in the investigation.
After all, if even a master like Huo Lin couldn't clarify what had happened, then it's likely that Fang Ze wouldn't be able to handle the situation in Miaohua City either, and the leaders of the Administrative Region would probably need to intervene personally.
Even so, after Huo Lin left, Fang Ze was not idle.
Indeed, he had always been extremely curious about the Spirit Realm, Spirit Realm Mountain, and demigods but had no one to answer his questions.
Having just sent off one Flower God and welcomed Dahei Garo, and anticipating more and more demigods appearing in the Real World, Fang Ze urgently needed to understand more about these matters.
Thus, he dismissed the team of Executive Commissioners, asking them to return to the Security Bureau first, and then he began chatting with Bai Zhi and Shuishui, the girl from the other day.
"Commissioner Shuishui, I want to ask, what exactly is the Spirit Realm? What is Spirit Realm Mountain? Why do demigods live on Spirit Realm Mountain, and why do they want to descend to the Real World?"
"Also, I just noticed Commissioner Huo Lin seemed to treat high-level and low-level cities differently. Why is that?"
Hearing Fang Ze's questions, Shuishui sat beside him, propped her chin in thought for a while, then she slowly said, "The Spirit Realm, well... how should I put it? Actually, I don't fully understand either. Or should I say, the Federation hasn't completely figured out the Spirit Realm yet."