Chapter 104: Squad Reorganization and Rift Intelligence
The rest and reorganization period in Panshi City lasted a full seven days.
At the damaged sections of the city wall, engineering crews worked day and night, layering reinforced concrete and steel plates to patch the gaps left by the beast tide's impact. The cleanup of the corpses on the wasteland was still ongoing; the incineration piles burned ceaselessly, and the faint scent of charred flesh could be smelled from miles away. The field hospital was overflowing, a cacophony of groans and hushed whispers. The trauma left by that great battle, whether physical or mental, would require a long time to heal.
Jiang Tao's Sea of Consciousness was damaged, and following medical advice, he was transferred to an isolation ward for quiet recuperation, strictly forbidden from frequently using his psychic powers. When he said his goodbyes to Lin Yan, his face was still pale, but there was a faint smile in his eyes.
"I estimate I'll need three or four months of rest before I can return to the squad. Be extra careful in the meantime."
"Rest well," Lin Yan nodded. "I'll be waiting for you to come back."
Old Chen's chest wound was deep, reaching the muscle layer, and he wouldn't be able to participate in high-risk field operations for at least half a year. Before leaving, he patted Lin Yan's shoulder, his touch feather-light for fear of aggravating his own wounds.
"The new team members might not have the same tacit understanding we do. Don't carry all the dangers on your own shoulders."
The squad that had once fought side by side to the death was temporarily disbanded.
Following Lin Yan's choice, the war zone command center completed the personnel allocation for the new combat squad. It was designated as the 7th Reconnaissance Squad, with core missions including: patrolling the perimeter of the rift, gathering intelligence, and conducting small-scale eradication of scaled beasts, without proactively penetrating deep underground.
The assembly point was set at the training ground of the frontline camp. When Lin Yan arrived on time, four team members were already waiting.
The first person was named Shen Ke, around thirty years old, with short hair and an old scar slashing diagonally across his brow. He had formerly been a frontline assault specialist. Though his left leg had suffered severe injuries, diminishing his explosive power, his tactical deduction and position-setting abilities were exceptional, making him the squad's tactical officer.
The second was Su Wan, in her early twenties, a third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivator. She specialized in psychic detection and signal interception, capable of capturing the psychic fluctuations of underground scaled beasts from long distances, effectively serving as the squad's early-warning eyes and ears.
The third was Zhao Hu, a burly man and an expert in close-quarters combat. Wielding a heavy alloy short spear as his weapon, his thick skin and tough flesh made him responsible for frontal containment.
The last member was a youth named Xu Yang. Freshly graduated from a war-preparedness high school, he was a second-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivator. Meticulous and detail-oriented, he was highly familiar with various detection instruments and explosive placements, taking charge of logistics and demolition.
Seeing Lin Yan, Shen Ke raised his hand in a crisp military salute, and the other three followed suit.
"7th Reconnaissance Squad, all members reporting for duty. Lin Yan, you will serve as the squad leader. The command center has already synced the data from the previous wasteland decisive battle to us; we are all well aware of your capabilities."
Lin Yan nodded slightly, without any unnecessary pleasantries.
"I am Lin Yan. Fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness. Our squad focuses on reconnaissance; our priority is to preserve intelligence and preserve the lives of our squad members. We will not blindly engage high-tier scaled beasts in hard fights. If we encounter an enemy we cannot handle, we will retreat immediately and call for artillery support. Remember, our primary objective is not to kill the enemy, but to ascertain the movements of the underground alien race."
The four of them looked solemn and responded in unison.
After the brief introduction, Shen Ke handed a thick dossier to Lin Yan.
"This is the latest rift intelligence compiled by the command center. After the Ancient Progenitor fled last time, the monitoring stations have continuously listened for psychic signals at the sealed rift. Beneath the rock strata, there is still faint psychic activity, but at a very low intensity. The signal of the Ancient Progenitor's true body has completely vanished, as if it has sunk into a deeper layer of the earth."
Lin Yan opened the dossier and browsed through it page by page.
Su Wan added from the side, "We speculate that the Ancient Progenitor retreated to the main nest deep underground. The rock strata there are extremely thick, making it very difficult for psychic detection signals to penetrate. Meanwhile, multiple smaller secondary rifts have recently shown anomalies, with scattered scaled beasts continuously seeping outward. It is likely that the remaining lesser priests underground are following the Ancient Progenitor's previous orders to test the bastion's defense lines."
"In other words, the Ancient Progenitor is recovering its wounds while dispatching small forces to continuously harass the six major bastions, draining our manpower and resources," Lin Yan said, his fingertip lightly tapping the paper.
"Exactly," Shen Ke nodded. "The command center judges that there will not be another general offensive involving hundreds of thousands of scaled beasts in the short term. However, scattered harassment will become normalized. The first mission for our squad next is to head to the No. 3 Secondary Rift, thirty kilometers to the west, to monitor rift activity, collect scaled beast activity samples, and record the psychic signal spectrum."
Xu Yang pushed up his glasses, "The No. 3 Rift isn't large in scale, but in the past week, the number of low-tier scaled beasts fleeing outward has doubled. Intelligence suggests that scaled beast eggs might be migrating inside the rift."
Lin Yan closed the dossier.
"When do we depart?"
"Tomorrow at dawn," Shen Ke replied. "Rest tonight and check your equipment. Su Wan, calibrate the psychic detector tonight; Zhao Hu, inspect your weapons; Xu Yang, inventory the demolition equipment and sampling containers."
Everyone received their orders and dispersed.
As the sun set in the west, Lin Yan remained alone on the training ground. He drew his short blade and slowly practiced the ancient martial arts techniques he had learned in the deep mountains. His fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness gradually spread out, his psychic threads flowing like water, sensing every movement in the surrounding environment.
After breaking through to the fourth tier, his power had grown stronger, but he also clearly felt the upper limit. The foundation of the Ancient Progenitor's true body was far greater than this; its race still had lesser priests and unknown underground creatures, and the deeper nests hid secrets completely unknown to humanity.
His current strength was only enough to hold the defense line; it was far from sufficient to completely eradicate the threat.
"Captain." Su Wan returned, holding a printed chart of psychic wave fluctuations in her hand. "I just reviewed the Ancient Progenitor's psychic signals from the last great battle and noticed a detail. When it released the large-scale psychic shockwave, the fluctuations were mixed with a special low-frequency resonance. This can subtly influence the emotions of living beings; it's not just a Sea of Consciousness attack."
Lin Yan took the chart and examined it carefully.
"You mean, besides controlling the scaled beasts, it can also emit long-term radiation to subtly influence the creatures on the surface?"
"It's just a hypothesis; we don't have enough samples to prove it yet," Su Wan said. "On this trip to the No. 3 Rift, I will focus on collecting similar low-frequency signals to verify the hypothesis."
Lin Yan put the chart away.
"Alright, pay close attention. Safety comes first."
Night slowly enveloped Panshi City. The lights in the camp flickered on one by one, and the distant sound of sentries changing posts could be heard.
A night of rest.
The next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, the 7th Reconnaissance Squad boarded an armored off-road vehicle, driving out of Panshi City's massive gates and heading toward the western wasteland, toward the No. 3 Secondary Rift.
The wasteland was still a scene of devastation, covered in scorched earth, with scattered remnants of beast corpses still visible. Beneath the gray, overcast sky, the wasteland ahead was terrifyingly silent, as if countless pairs of dormant eyes were lurking within.
End of Chapter.
At the damaged sections of the city wall, engineering crews worked day and night, layering reinforced concrete and steel plates to patch the gaps left by the beast tide's impact. The cleanup of the corpses on the wasteland was still ongoing; the incineration piles burned ceaselessly, and the faint scent of charred flesh could be smelled from miles away. The field hospital was overflowing, a cacophony of groans and hushed whispers. The trauma left by that great battle, whether physical or mental, would require a long time to heal.
Jiang Tao's Sea of Consciousness was damaged, and following medical advice, he was transferred to an isolation ward for quiet recuperation, strictly forbidden from frequently using his psychic powers. When he said his goodbyes to Lin Yan, his face was still pale, but there was a faint smile in his eyes.
"I estimate I'll need three or four months of rest before I can return to the squad. Be extra careful in the meantime."
"Rest well," Lin Yan nodded. "I'll be waiting for you to come back."
Old Chen's chest wound was deep, reaching the muscle layer, and he wouldn't be able to participate in high-risk field operations for at least half a year. Before leaving, he patted Lin Yan's shoulder, his touch feather-light for fear of aggravating his own wounds.
"The new team members might not have the same tacit understanding we do. Don't carry all the dangers on your own shoulders."
The squad that had once fought side by side to the death was temporarily disbanded.
Following Lin Yan's choice, the war zone command center completed the personnel allocation for the new combat squad. It was designated as the 7th Reconnaissance Squad, with core missions including: patrolling the perimeter of the rift, gathering intelligence, and conducting small-scale eradication of scaled beasts, without proactively penetrating deep underground.
The assembly point was set at the training ground of the frontline camp. When Lin Yan arrived on time, four team members were already waiting.
The first person was named Shen Ke, around thirty years old, with short hair and an old scar slashing diagonally across his brow. He had formerly been a frontline assault specialist. Though his left leg had suffered severe injuries, diminishing his explosive power, his tactical deduction and position-setting abilities were exceptional, making him the squad's tactical officer.
The second was Su Wan, in her early twenties, a third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivator. She specialized in psychic detection and signal interception, capable of capturing the psychic fluctuations of underground scaled beasts from long distances, effectively serving as the squad's early-warning eyes and ears.
The third was Zhao Hu, a burly man and an expert in close-quarters combat. Wielding a heavy alloy short spear as his weapon, his thick skin and tough flesh made him responsible for frontal containment.
The last member was a youth named Xu Yang. Freshly graduated from a war-preparedness high school, he was a second-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivator. Meticulous and detail-oriented, he was highly familiar with various detection instruments and explosive placements, taking charge of logistics and demolition.
Seeing Lin Yan, Shen Ke raised his hand in a crisp military salute, and the other three followed suit.
"7th Reconnaissance Squad, all members reporting for duty. Lin Yan, you will serve as the squad leader. The command center has already synced the data from the previous wasteland decisive battle to us; we are all well aware of your capabilities."
Lin Yan nodded slightly, without any unnecessary pleasantries.
"I am Lin Yan. Fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness. Our squad focuses on reconnaissance; our priority is to preserve intelligence and preserve the lives of our squad members. We will not blindly engage high-tier scaled beasts in hard fights. If we encounter an enemy we cannot handle, we will retreat immediately and call for artillery support. Remember, our primary objective is not to kill the enemy, but to ascertain the movements of the underground alien race."
The four of them looked solemn and responded in unison.
After the brief introduction, Shen Ke handed a thick dossier to Lin Yan.
"This is the latest rift intelligence compiled by the command center. After the Ancient Progenitor fled last time, the monitoring stations have continuously listened for psychic signals at the sealed rift. Beneath the rock strata, there is still faint psychic activity, but at a very low intensity. The signal of the Ancient Progenitor's true body has completely vanished, as if it has sunk into a deeper layer of the earth."
Lin Yan opened the dossier and browsed through it page by page.
Su Wan added from the side, "We speculate that the Ancient Progenitor retreated to the main nest deep underground. The rock strata there are extremely thick, making it very difficult for psychic detection signals to penetrate. Meanwhile, multiple smaller secondary rifts have recently shown anomalies, with scattered scaled beasts continuously seeping outward. It is likely that the remaining lesser priests underground are following the Ancient Progenitor's previous orders to test the bastion's defense lines."
"In other words, the Ancient Progenitor is recovering its wounds while dispatching small forces to continuously harass the six major bastions, draining our manpower and resources," Lin Yan said, his fingertip lightly tapping the paper.
"Exactly," Shen Ke nodded. "The command center judges that there will not be another general offensive involving hundreds of thousands of scaled beasts in the short term. However, scattered harassment will become normalized. The first mission for our squad next is to head to the No. 3 Secondary Rift, thirty kilometers to the west, to monitor rift activity, collect scaled beast activity samples, and record the psychic signal spectrum."
Xu Yang pushed up his glasses, "The No. 3 Rift isn't large in scale, but in the past week, the number of low-tier scaled beasts fleeing outward has doubled. Intelligence suggests that scaled beast eggs might be migrating inside the rift."
Lin Yan closed the dossier.
"When do we depart?"
"Tomorrow at dawn," Shen Ke replied. "Rest tonight and check your equipment. Su Wan, calibrate the psychic detector tonight; Zhao Hu, inspect your weapons; Xu Yang, inventory the demolition equipment and sampling containers."
Everyone received their orders and dispersed.
As the sun set in the west, Lin Yan remained alone on the training ground. He drew his short blade and slowly practiced the ancient martial arts techniques he had learned in the deep mountains. His fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness gradually spread out, his psychic threads flowing like water, sensing every movement in the surrounding environment.
After breaking through to the fourth tier, his power had grown stronger, but he also clearly felt the upper limit. The foundation of the Ancient Progenitor's true body was far greater than this; its race still had lesser priests and unknown underground creatures, and the deeper nests hid secrets completely unknown to humanity.
His current strength was only enough to hold the defense line; it was far from sufficient to completely eradicate the threat.
"Captain." Su Wan returned, holding a printed chart of psychic wave fluctuations in her hand. "I just reviewed the Ancient Progenitor's psychic signals from the last great battle and noticed a detail. When it released the large-scale psychic shockwave, the fluctuations were mixed with a special low-frequency resonance. This can subtly influence the emotions of living beings; it's not just a Sea of Consciousness attack."
Lin Yan took the chart and examined it carefully.
"You mean, besides controlling the scaled beasts, it can also emit long-term radiation to subtly influence the creatures on the surface?"
"It's just a hypothesis; we don't have enough samples to prove it yet," Su Wan said. "On this trip to the No. 3 Rift, I will focus on collecting similar low-frequency signals to verify the hypothesis."
Lin Yan put the chart away.
"Alright, pay close attention. Safety comes first."
Night slowly enveloped Panshi City. The lights in the camp flickered on one by one, and the distant sound of sentries changing posts could be heard.
A night of rest.
The next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, the 7th Reconnaissance Squad boarded an armored off-road vehicle, driving out of Panshi City's massive gates and heading toward the western wasteland, toward the No. 3 Secondary Rift.
The wasteland was still a scene of devastation, covered in scorched earth, with scattered remnants of beast corpses still visible. Beneath the gray, overcast sky, the wasteland ahead was terrifyingly silent, as if countless pairs of dormant eyes were lurking within.
End of Chapter.
