Chapter 57: The Joint Rift Exploration
The war zone's assembly point was set up at the wasteland camp outside the south gate of Panshi City.
Over a dozen reconnaissance vehicles were parked in neat rows. Dozens of reconnaissance squad members were organizing their equipment, the metal accessories clinking with faint, fragmented sounds. A total of five squads, comprising twenty-seven personnel, were jointly executing the exploration mission for the Green Rock Rift cluster. Their objectives were to investigate three synchronously expanding secondary rifts, deploy a high-density psychic monitoring network, and assess the disaster level of the rifts.
Many squad members were chatting with each other; the atmosphere wasn't particularly tense. Most of them treated it as a routine joint reconnaissance, as the Green Rock Rift sector had never experienced a large-scale beast tide in its history. Only Lin Yan, Old Chen, and Su Qing knew clearly that this was not a natural rift anomaly, but a trap laid by the Lizardmen priests underground.
"There are five squads in total, splitting up to investigate three secondary rifts, and we will rendezvous at the main rift entrance," a major announced, briefing everyone with the mission dossier. "Maintain open communications, keep your monitors on at all times, and if you encounter a scaled beast swarm, report it immediately. Do not engage them alone."
Once the assignments were made, the squads boarded their vehicles one after another. Lin Yan's squad, along with two others, headed toward Rift No. 3, the easternmost point of the rift cluster. The remaining two squads went to the western points.
As the convoy drove, the wind across the wasteland grew increasingly cold.
From a distance, the Green Rock Rift cluster was no longer just a single fissure. The earth had split into several crevices of varying lengths, and a faint, cold aura continuously drifted from the rock crevices. The gravel on the surface trembled slightly, a faint vibration caused by activity deep within the rock strata.
"Something's wrong," Su Qing said, staring at the detector in her hand. "The psychic fluctuations across the entire area are intertwined. It's not the signal of scattered scaled beasts; it's a massive psychic network covering the entire rift cluster."
Lin Yan slowly released his mental tentacles, cautiously extending them deep into the rock layers.
Countless fine psychic threads crisscrossed, forming a massive spiderweb that spanned all the rifts. Multiple Lizardmen priests underground were linking up simultaneously, jointly constructing this command network. Every lurking scaled beast was connected to it.
This was no longer a small-scale ambush where a single priest controlled a small group of scaled beasts. It was a large-scale trap coordinated by multiple priests. They had deliberately created the illusion of multiple rifts expanding simultaneously to lure several human squads into the rift cluster, only to close the encirclement.
"There is more than one controller," Lin Yan said in a low voice to the two beside him. "Multiple priests are linked, sharing their psychic computing power. Every scaled beast in this area is under the dispatch of this network. Once the signals converge, the scaled beasts throughout the entire rift will launch a synchronized attack."
Old Chen gripped his knife handle, his brows tightly furrowed. "Luring five squads in at once... do they intend to trap us all to death inside the rift cluster?"
"Most likely," Lin Yan nodded. "We are only one of their targets. They are using this opportunity to wipe out a large number of frontline reconnaissance forces in one go. And, incidentally, get rid of me."
The convoy arrived at the entrance of the secondary Rift No. 3.
Everyone disembarked and dispersed according to the predetermined plan. Members of the other squads set up their monitoring equipment, and many were still chatting, completely unaware that a deadly trap had already been laid underground.
Lin Yan's squad was responsible for deploying three large psychic monitors at the rift entrance. Su Qing assembled the equipment, Old Chen guarded the perimeter, and Lin Yan continuously monitored the changes in the underground psychic network.
He attempted to release an extremely fine psychic thread to touch this massive command network.
The moment he made contact, countless cold thoughts instantly sensed this foreign signal. The entire psychic network trembled slightly, and multiple Lizardmen priests simultaneously captured Lin Yan's location.
They did not immediately unleash the beast tide; they remained patient. They were waiting for all the squads to venture deep into the rift before tightening the encirclement.
"They've already found me," Lin Yan retracted his mental tentacles. "But they haven't made a move yet. They're waiting for us to go deeper into the rift."
The major called out from the front, "All squads, prepare to move. Leave personnel behind to guard the equipment. The rest, follow me into Rift No. 3 to investigate and record the expansion of the rock crevices."
The team left behind their rearguard, and the remaining twenty people stepped into the pitch-black entrance of the rift one after another.
The rift corridor was wide, with moss and scratch marks left by crawling scaled beasts covering the rock walls. The deeper they went, the dimmer the light became. The squad members turned on their headlamps, their beams of white light piercing the darkness.
The ground beneath their feet vibrated faintly. From afar, low roars could be heard, muffled and indistinct by the rock layers.
A sense of unease rose in the hearts of many squad members, and they gripped their weapons tightly.
On the screen of Su Qing's detector, the density of psychic signals was steadily increasing. "The strength of the psychic network is rising. They are mobilizing more scaled beasts to converge on our area."
Lin Yan sensed as he walked.
Multiple Lizardmen priests underground were continuously allocating computing power, directing scaled beasts from all directions to move toward the three secondary rifts. By sharing the load with each other, the shortcoming of a single priest lacking sufficient computing power was compensated. The previous weakness of command lag caused by concentrated output was significantly reduced under the coordination of multiple priests.
"Be careful, their coordination method has changed," Lin Yan warned Old Chen and Su Qing. "With multiple priests sharing the computing load, it will be very difficult to see the large-scale command lags from before. Interfering with them will be much harder."
The team continued to push inward, venturing over two hundred meters deep into the rift. More branching rock caves appeared on the rock walls on both sides. Countless dark shadows lay dormant in the shadows of the caves, awaiting the attack order.
The psychic thoughts of the Lizardmen priests converged within the network.
All the human squads had now stepped entirely into the rift's encirclement.
It was time to close the net.
Invisible psychic commands were instantly transmitted down through the massive network.
Countless scaled beasts roared in unison, swarming out from the rock caves on all sides, converging toward this human exploration team.
End of Chapter.
Over a dozen reconnaissance vehicles were parked in neat rows. Dozens of reconnaissance squad members were organizing their equipment, the metal accessories clinking with faint, fragmented sounds. A total of five squads, comprising twenty-seven personnel, were jointly executing the exploration mission for the Green Rock Rift cluster. Their objectives were to investigate three synchronously expanding secondary rifts, deploy a high-density psychic monitoring network, and assess the disaster level of the rifts.
Many squad members were chatting with each other; the atmosphere wasn't particularly tense. Most of them treated it as a routine joint reconnaissance, as the Green Rock Rift sector had never experienced a large-scale beast tide in its history. Only Lin Yan, Old Chen, and Su Qing knew clearly that this was not a natural rift anomaly, but a trap laid by the Lizardmen priests underground.
"There are five squads in total, splitting up to investigate three secondary rifts, and we will rendezvous at the main rift entrance," a major announced, briefing everyone with the mission dossier. "Maintain open communications, keep your monitors on at all times, and if you encounter a scaled beast swarm, report it immediately. Do not engage them alone."
Once the assignments were made, the squads boarded their vehicles one after another. Lin Yan's squad, along with two others, headed toward Rift No. 3, the easternmost point of the rift cluster. The remaining two squads went to the western points.
As the convoy drove, the wind across the wasteland grew increasingly cold.
From a distance, the Green Rock Rift cluster was no longer just a single fissure. The earth had split into several crevices of varying lengths, and a faint, cold aura continuously drifted from the rock crevices. The gravel on the surface trembled slightly, a faint vibration caused by activity deep within the rock strata.
"Something's wrong," Su Qing said, staring at the detector in her hand. "The psychic fluctuations across the entire area are intertwined. It's not the signal of scattered scaled beasts; it's a massive psychic network covering the entire rift cluster."
Lin Yan slowly released his mental tentacles, cautiously extending them deep into the rock layers.
Countless fine psychic threads crisscrossed, forming a massive spiderweb that spanned all the rifts. Multiple Lizardmen priests underground were linking up simultaneously, jointly constructing this command network. Every lurking scaled beast was connected to it.
This was no longer a small-scale ambush where a single priest controlled a small group of scaled beasts. It was a large-scale trap coordinated by multiple priests. They had deliberately created the illusion of multiple rifts expanding simultaneously to lure several human squads into the rift cluster, only to close the encirclement.
"There is more than one controller," Lin Yan said in a low voice to the two beside him. "Multiple priests are linked, sharing their psychic computing power. Every scaled beast in this area is under the dispatch of this network. Once the signals converge, the scaled beasts throughout the entire rift will launch a synchronized attack."
Old Chen gripped his knife handle, his brows tightly furrowed. "Luring five squads in at once... do they intend to trap us all to death inside the rift cluster?"
"Most likely," Lin Yan nodded. "We are only one of their targets. They are using this opportunity to wipe out a large number of frontline reconnaissance forces in one go. And, incidentally, get rid of me."
The convoy arrived at the entrance of the secondary Rift No. 3.
Everyone disembarked and dispersed according to the predetermined plan. Members of the other squads set up their monitoring equipment, and many were still chatting, completely unaware that a deadly trap had already been laid underground.
Lin Yan's squad was responsible for deploying three large psychic monitors at the rift entrance. Su Qing assembled the equipment, Old Chen guarded the perimeter, and Lin Yan continuously monitored the changes in the underground psychic network.
He attempted to release an extremely fine psychic thread to touch this massive command network.
The moment he made contact, countless cold thoughts instantly sensed this foreign signal. The entire psychic network trembled slightly, and multiple Lizardmen priests simultaneously captured Lin Yan's location.
They did not immediately unleash the beast tide; they remained patient. They were waiting for all the squads to venture deep into the rift before tightening the encirclement.
"They've already found me," Lin Yan retracted his mental tentacles. "But they haven't made a move yet. They're waiting for us to go deeper into the rift."
The major called out from the front, "All squads, prepare to move. Leave personnel behind to guard the equipment. The rest, follow me into Rift No. 3 to investigate and record the expansion of the rock crevices."
The team left behind their rearguard, and the remaining twenty people stepped into the pitch-black entrance of the rift one after another.
The rift corridor was wide, with moss and scratch marks left by crawling scaled beasts covering the rock walls. The deeper they went, the dimmer the light became. The squad members turned on their headlamps, their beams of white light piercing the darkness.
The ground beneath their feet vibrated faintly. From afar, low roars could be heard, muffled and indistinct by the rock layers.
A sense of unease rose in the hearts of many squad members, and they gripped their weapons tightly.
On the screen of Su Qing's detector, the density of psychic signals was steadily increasing. "The strength of the psychic network is rising. They are mobilizing more scaled beasts to converge on our area."
Lin Yan sensed as he walked.
Multiple Lizardmen priests underground were continuously allocating computing power, directing scaled beasts from all directions to move toward the three secondary rifts. By sharing the load with each other, the shortcoming of a single priest lacking sufficient computing power was compensated. The previous weakness of command lag caused by concentrated output was significantly reduced under the coordination of multiple priests.
"Be careful, their coordination method has changed," Lin Yan warned Old Chen and Su Qing. "With multiple priests sharing the computing load, it will be very difficult to see the large-scale command lags from before. Interfering with them will be much harder."
The team continued to push inward, venturing over two hundred meters deep into the rift. More branching rock caves appeared on the rock walls on both sides. Countless dark shadows lay dormant in the shadows of the caves, awaiting the attack order.
The psychic thoughts of the Lizardmen priests converged within the network.
All the human squads had now stepped entirely into the rift's encirclement.
It was time to close the net.
Invisible psychic commands were instantly transmitted down through the massive network.
Countless scaled beasts roared in unison, swarming out from the rock caves on all sides, converging toward this human exploration team.
End of Chapter.