Chapter 127: Rendezvous on the Wasteland
The drainage tunnel extended continuously westward. The further they went, the sparser the purple fungal hyphae attached to the rock walls became.
After the priests were forced to sever the main energy supply link to this area, the hyphae, deprived of continuous nourishment, rapidly lost their vitality. The eerie purple patterns gradually dimmed and turned gray, curling and withering into dry dregs that crumbled at the slightest touch. The lethargy and phantom voices and illusions that had weighed heavily on everyone's minds receded slowly, like an ebbing tide.
Yet, no one dared to completely relax.
Lin Yan steadily gathered his Sea of Consciousness into a core, releasing only a slender thread of perception suspended behind the squad to continuously monitor the depths of the tunnel. Although the priests had temporarily cut off the energy supply, the massive underground fungal network still remained. No one could guarantee that they wouldn't bypass the transit nodes disrupted earlier and forge a new branch path to pursue them.
"The signal from the support forces is getting clearer and clearer." Su Wan stared at the signal scale on her detector, her fingertips gently sliding the tuning knob. "According to the signal feedback, they've set up a defensive perimeter in the open depression outside the western exit of the tunnel. They are about 1.2 kilometers from us."
Lu Heng wiped the cold sweat mixed with dust from his forehead, then turned to glance at the deep, dark passage behind them. Faint, reluctant low shrieks from the scaled beasts still drifted from afar, but the sound was already very distant.
"Pick up the pace. Maintain formation and don't scatter. Even if the illusion web is temporarily disabled, there could still be lone, wandering scaled beast scouts hiding on the wasteland."
Old Guo hurried along while briefly re-bandaging the wound on his shoulder. The bandage had long been soaked through with blood, and every wide swing of his arm pulled at the wound, making him furrow his brow in pain. Yet, he didn't make a sound. He had exhausted a lot of stamina during the fierce battle; his face was pale, and his footsteps were no longer as steady as they had been at the beginning.
Chen Ye followed beside Old Guo, occasionally reaching out to support him. His gaze vigilantly swept over the side caves on both sides. Those pitch-black branching passages were like the mouths of lurking giant beasts, each one potentially hiding an ambush. Having survived this deadly situation, this rookie's mindset had settled. He was no longer the youth who would easily lose his composure upon seeing illusions.
Lin Yan walked at the tail of the squad, his newly born third-tier Sea of Consciousness quietly adapting.
He could clearly perceive the vastly different feeling of his Sea of Consciousness compared to before. At the second tier, releasing his perception outward was like extending a thin probing rod. Its range was limited, and once hit by a strong psychic impact, the rod would easily snap. Now, the core of his Sea of Consciousness was like a bedrock buried deep within his heart. The wisp of perception could extend at will, expanding and contracting as he pleased, and its sensitivity to distinguishing psychic waves had multiplied.
The price was equally obvious.
Every time he mobilized the power of his Sea of Consciousness, the mental consumption was far greater than before. That single disruption of the priests' energy link had already consumed nearly thirty percent of his mental reserves. If he used it continuously at high intensity, he would still rapidly deplete his energy, and might even damage the foundation of his newly reorganized, still-fragile Sea of Consciousness. Instructor Wen had once said that breaking through wasn't about ascending to the heavens in a single step. A newly born Sea of Consciousness required a long time to integrate and stabilize; rushing to show off would only destroy his own foundation.
"Don't use your Sea of Consciousness to probe for unnecessary information; conserve your mental power." Lu Heng noticed his slightly furrowed brow and reminded him in a low voice. "You just broke through, and your Sea of Consciousness is still in an unstable integration period. If you leave any hidden injuries, it will be as hard as reaching the sky to improve further later on."
"I know." Lin Yan nodded gently, retracting his outwardly extending thread of perception and maintaining only the bare minimum level of vigilance.
The group no longer took the initiative to search for hidden psychic signals. Instead, they hurried forward in the dim light of the tunnel. Gravel constantly rolled beneath their feet, and the damp scent of earth replaced the earlier thick stench of decay. About twenty minutes later, a wisp of gray-white skylight leaked from the end of the passage ahead, and the wind blew in, carrying the unique sandy scent of the wasteland.
They had reached the exit.
Lu Heng raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop. He pressed against the edge of the rock wall and cautiously peeked out to observe.
Directly opposite the tunnel exit was a low-lying depression. Several armored vehicles from the support squad were arranged in a circular defensive formation, with roof-mounted machine guns facing all directions of the wasteland. Soldiers held their guns and dispersed to keep watch, while the green lights of the detectors flashed continuously. Seeing the silhouettes emerging from the tunnel entrance, the foremost soldier immediately raised a tactical flashlight and flashed the pre-arranged identification signal.
"It's the support squad. We're safe." Lu Heng sighed in relief and replied with the counter-sign over the channel.
The group walked out of the tunnel one by one, stepping back into the murky fog of the wasteland.
The sky outside was approaching noon. The gray clouds hung low, and the sunlight struggled to penetrate the fog layer, casting a bleak white glow. The captain of the support squad hurried over, his gaze sweeping over their bloodstains and damaged armor. Seeing the blood seeping through Old Guo's shoulder bandage, his expression turned grave.
"After receiving your distress alert, we rushed over at full speed. We saw quite a few scaled beast corpses and large patches of withered fungal hyphae along the wasteland," the support captain said, looking at Lu Heng. "The other two squads have completed the investigation of their respective beacons. They didn't encounter such high-intensity illusion web sieges, only sporadic, small-scale scaled beast harassment. Intelligence estimates that the core target of this net woven by the matrix was your squad."
Lu Heng turned his head to look at Lin Yan beside him, saying nothing more.
Everyone knew clearly who the target was.
The accompanying combat medic immediately stepped forward, taking Old Guo to the side of the armored vehicle. He tore open the blood-soaked bandage to clean the wound and reapply medicine and bandages. Old Guo's wound was very deep, nearly hitting the shoulder bone. The medic frowned as he treated it, repeatedly instructing that he must undergo a deep examination at the bastion hospital upon return and could not continue frontline rotation duty.
Chen Ye leaned against the armored vehicle, took a water canteen handed to him, and drank large gulps of cool water, his chest heaving violently. He looked at Lin Yan, his eyes hiding undeniable admiration, along with a trace of lingering fear.
"In the tunnel just now, I really thought we were all going to die in there," Chen Ye said in a low voice. "If you hadn't broken through at the very last moment..."
"It wasn't my achievement alone." Lin Yan gently shook his head. "Without you holding the defensive line and buying me that time to break through, my consciousness would have been devoured by the priests the moment my Sea of Consciousness collapsed."
Su Wan sat beside the detector, packaging and uploading the illusion web waveforms and fungal hyphae sampling data recorded from Beacon Two and throughout the tunnel to the war zone headquarters. Not long after the message was sent, Shen Yanqiu's communication directly patched into the channel.
"Lu Heng's squad, I have received your situation," Shen Yanqiu's voice carried a suppressed heaviness. "The data you transmitted is extremely critical. Headquarters has just compiled intelligence from across the front lines. The fact that the illusion web matrix in Rift No. 79 has adjusted its tactics is now confirmed. It no longer relies on the dual priests' resonance for large-scale suppression. Instead, it relies on the underground fungal network for distributed energy supply, setting up small illusion web nodes at multiple points to specifically target and hunt frontline cultivators."
He paused briefly before continuing, "At the same time, headquarters has issued a new directive: Lin Yan, the intelligence regarding your breakthrough to the third-tier Sea of Consciousness is temporarily classified and kept confidential. The ancient lizard progenitors already know you have completed your metamorphosis. Once this news spreads, they will set up killing formations specifically designed to counter third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivators. For the next period, your primary mission will shift to patrolling with the squad and familiarizing yourself with the application of the third-tier Sea of Consciousness. You will not be assigned any high-risk solo infiltration missions."
"Received," Lin Yan replied.
"The support forces will take over the blockade and investigation of this area, clearing the remaining fungal hyphae and wandering scaled beasts. Your squad will rest in place for one hour, after which you will return to the West Bastion by vehicle."
The communication was cut off.
The depression temporarily returned to peace. The support squad members scattered in twos and threes, using flamethrowers to burn the remaining fungal hyphae on the ground. The flames licked over the purplish-black hyphae, emitting a sizzling burning sound, and the foul-smelling black smoke slowly drifted toward the gray sky.
Lin Yan walked to the edge of the depression, standing alone and gazing toward the northwest.
That was the direction of the abandoned air defense bunker. The two priests had evacuated early, escaping back to the depths of Rift No. 79 through the underground fungal hyphae channels. They had escaped, but this clash would not end here.
The matrix had witnessed with its own eyes his transition from the second tier to the third. It would re-run simulations of all tactics, adjust the illusion web structure, and design traps capable of suppressing the third-tier Sea of Consciousness. The next time they met, the priests' methods would only be more vicious and more cunning.
He raised his hand and slowly mobilized a trace of Sea of Consciousness power.
A wisp of perception gently drifted out, sweeping over the surrounding wasteland rock strata. He could clearly touch the dense, vein-like fungal hyphae spreading beneath the earth. The underground of the entire Western Front wasteland had long been permeated by this massive net. All humanity had secured were the bastions and beacons on the surface. Deep beneath the earth, the power of the ancient lizard progenitors was still silently expanding.
"What are you thinking about?" Lu Heng walked to his side, following his gaze into the depths of the wasteland.
"I'm thinking about how much is still hidden beneath the rift that we haven't seen," Lin Yan said softly. "The two priests are merely tentacles of the matrix. The matrix itself may not even be the highest echelon of the ancient lizard progenitors. In twenty-five years of invasion, they have been dormant underground. How much power are they still hiding, waiting不动 (to make a move)?"
Lu Heng was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "This is also something the high command has always worried about. We've fought against scaled beasts and priests for so many years, yet very few have actually seen high-tier ancient progenitors. Much of our intelligence is just speculation. Let's take it slow. We still have a long way to go."
The one-hour rest period passed quickly.
The group boarded the armored vehicles allocated by the support squad and returned along the original route.
As the vehicles re-entered the inspection channel of the West Gate and the psychic detectors swept over the hull, the tense atmosphere in the carriage finally eased slightly when the alloy gates fell shut behind them, isolating the腥腥 (foul-smelling) wind of the wasteland.
After returning to the bastion, Old Guo was sent directly to the field hospital for observation. Su Wan took the full set of sampling materials and hurried back to the Intelligence Branch again for review and reporting. Chen Ye returned to his dormitory to rest, and still had to organize the combat log for this mission. Lu Heng went to the command center to report the battle situation in person.
Lin Yan walked alone on the bastion streets.
Dusk was approaching. The cold white streetlights lit up one after another. Warriors passing by walked with hurried steps; many had injuries on their arms or necks, traces left by the wasteland conflicts. Every day, people in this city rushed to the front lines, and some never returned.
He returned to his small, single dormitory and closed the door.
The room fell silent. He sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and slowly familiarized himself with this newly born core of his Sea of Consciousness.
His Sea of Consciousness had just completed its metamorphosis and still carried a trace of unstable trembling. Every operation required him to patiently harmonize, polishing it bit by bit to stabilize the foundation. He knew clearly that the third tier was merely another new starting point, far from the finish line.
Deep within Rift No. 79 underground.
The purple fungal carpet undulated slowly like a tide. The two priests prostrated themselves before the core of the matrix, continuously pouring all the perceptual memories of the wasteland battle into the massive illusion web consciousness.
The matrix quietly digested the information: "Lin Yan has stepped into the third-tier Sea of Consciousness."
After a long silence, countless fungal hyphae buried deep beneath the rock strata slowly began transporting energy toward several deeper, ancient secondary rifts that had never been explored by humanity.
A new arrangement had begun.
End of Chapter.
After the priests were forced to sever the main energy supply link to this area, the hyphae, deprived of continuous nourishment, rapidly lost their vitality. The eerie purple patterns gradually dimmed and turned gray, curling and withering into dry dregs that crumbled at the slightest touch. The lethargy and phantom voices and illusions that had weighed heavily on everyone's minds receded slowly, like an ebbing tide.
Yet, no one dared to completely relax.
Lin Yan steadily gathered his Sea of Consciousness into a core, releasing only a slender thread of perception suspended behind the squad to continuously monitor the depths of the tunnel. Although the priests had temporarily cut off the energy supply, the massive underground fungal network still remained. No one could guarantee that they wouldn't bypass the transit nodes disrupted earlier and forge a new branch path to pursue them.
"The signal from the support forces is getting clearer and clearer." Su Wan stared at the signal scale on her detector, her fingertips gently sliding the tuning knob. "According to the signal feedback, they've set up a defensive perimeter in the open depression outside the western exit of the tunnel. They are about 1.2 kilometers from us."
Lu Heng wiped the cold sweat mixed with dust from his forehead, then turned to glance at the deep, dark passage behind them. Faint, reluctant low shrieks from the scaled beasts still drifted from afar, but the sound was already very distant.
"Pick up the pace. Maintain formation and don't scatter. Even if the illusion web is temporarily disabled, there could still be lone, wandering scaled beast scouts hiding on the wasteland."
Old Guo hurried along while briefly re-bandaging the wound on his shoulder. The bandage had long been soaked through with blood, and every wide swing of his arm pulled at the wound, making him furrow his brow in pain. Yet, he didn't make a sound. He had exhausted a lot of stamina during the fierce battle; his face was pale, and his footsteps were no longer as steady as they had been at the beginning.
Chen Ye followed beside Old Guo, occasionally reaching out to support him. His gaze vigilantly swept over the side caves on both sides. Those pitch-black branching passages were like the mouths of lurking giant beasts, each one potentially hiding an ambush. Having survived this deadly situation, this rookie's mindset had settled. He was no longer the youth who would easily lose his composure upon seeing illusions.
Lin Yan walked at the tail of the squad, his newly born third-tier Sea of Consciousness quietly adapting.
He could clearly perceive the vastly different feeling of his Sea of Consciousness compared to before. At the second tier, releasing his perception outward was like extending a thin probing rod. Its range was limited, and once hit by a strong psychic impact, the rod would easily snap. Now, the core of his Sea of Consciousness was like a bedrock buried deep within his heart. The wisp of perception could extend at will, expanding and contracting as he pleased, and its sensitivity to distinguishing psychic waves had multiplied.
The price was equally obvious.
Every time he mobilized the power of his Sea of Consciousness, the mental consumption was far greater than before. That single disruption of the priests' energy link had already consumed nearly thirty percent of his mental reserves. If he used it continuously at high intensity, he would still rapidly deplete his energy, and might even damage the foundation of his newly reorganized, still-fragile Sea of Consciousness. Instructor Wen had once said that breaking through wasn't about ascending to the heavens in a single step. A newly born Sea of Consciousness required a long time to integrate and stabilize; rushing to show off would only destroy his own foundation.
"Don't use your Sea of Consciousness to probe for unnecessary information; conserve your mental power." Lu Heng noticed his slightly furrowed brow and reminded him in a low voice. "You just broke through, and your Sea of Consciousness is still in an unstable integration period. If you leave any hidden injuries, it will be as hard as reaching the sky to improve further later on."
"I know." Lin Yan nodded gently, retracting his outwardly extending thread of perception and maintaining only the bare minimum level of vigilance.
The group no longer took the initiative to search for hidden psychic signals. Instead, they hurried forward in the dim light of the tunnel. Gravel constantly rolled beneath their feet, and the damp scent of earth replaced the earlier thick stench of decay. About twenty minutes later, a wisp of gray-white skylight leaked from the end of the passage ahead, and the wind blew in, carrying the unique sandy scent of the wasteland.
They had reached the exit.
Lu Heng raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop. He pressed against the edge of the rock wall and cautiously peeked out to observe.
Directly opposite the tunnel exit was a low-lying depression. Several armored vehicles from the support squad were arranged in a circular defensive formation, with roof-mounted machine guns facing all directions of the wasteland. Soldiers held their guns and dispersed to keep watch, while the green lights of the detectors flashed continuously. Seeing the silhouettes emerging from the tunnel entrance, the foremost soldier immediately raised a tactical flashlight and flashed the pre-arranged identification signal.
"It's the support squad. We're safe." Lu Heng sighed in relief and replied with the counter-sign over the channel.
The group walked out of the tunnel one by one, stepping back into the murky fog of the wasteland.
The sky outside was approaching noon. The gray clouds hung low, and the sunlight struggled to penetrate the fog layer, casting a bleak white glow. The captain of the support squad hurried over, his gaze sweeping over their bloodstains and damaged armor. Seeing the blood seeping through Old Guo's shoulder bandage, his expression turned grave.
"After receiving your distress alert, we rushed over at full speed. We saw quite a few scaled beast corpses and large patches of withered fungal hyphae along the wasteland," the support captain said, looking at Lu Heng. "The other two squads have completed the investigation of their respective beacons. They didn't encounter such high-intensity illusion web sieges, only sporadic, small-scale scaled beast harassment. Intelligence estimates that the core target of this net woven by the matrix was your squad."
Lu Heng turned his head to look at Lin Yan beside him, saying nothing more.
Everyone knew clearly who the target was.
The accompanying combat medic immediately stepped forward, taking Old Guo to the side of the armored vehicle. He tore open the blood-soaked bandage to clean the wound and reapply medicine and bandages. Old Guo's wound was very deep, nearly hitting the shoulder bone. The medic frowned as he treated it, repeatedly instructing that he must undergo a deep examination at the bastion hospital upon return and could not continue frontline rotation duty.
Chen Ye leaned against the armored vehicle, took a water canteen handed to him, and drank large gulps of cool water, his chest heaving violently. He looked at Lin Yan, his eyes hiding undeniable admiration, along with a trace of lingering fear.
"In the tunnel just now, I really thought we were all going to die in there," Chen Ye said in a low voice. "If you hadn't broken through at the very last moment..."
"It wasn't my achievement alone." Lin Yan gently shook his head. "Without you holding the defensive line and buying me that time to break through, my consciousness would have been devoured by the priests the moment my Sea of Consciousness collapsed."
Su Wan sat beside the detector, packaging and uploading the illusion web waveforms and fungal hyphae sampling data recorded from Beacon Two and throughout the tunnel to the war zone headquarters. Not long after the message was sent, Shen Yanqiu's communication directly patched into the channel.
"Lu Heng's squad, I have received your situation," Shen Yanqiu's voice carried a suppressed heaviness. "The data you transmitted is extremely critical. Headquarters has just compiled intelligence from across the front lines. The fact that the illusion web matrix in Rift No. 79 has adjusted its tactics is now confirmed. It no longer relies on the dual priests' resonance for large-scale suppression. Instead, it relies on the underground fungal network for distributed energy supply, setting up small illusion web nodes at multiple points to specifically target and hunt frontline cultivators."
He paused briefly before continuing, "At the same time, headquarters has issued a new directive: Lin Yan, the intelligence regarding your breakthrough to the third-tier Sea of Consciousness is temporarily classified and kept confidential. The ancient lizard progenitors already know you have completed your metamorphosis. Once this news spreads, they will set up killing formations specifically designed to counter third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivators. For the next period, your primary mission will shift to patrolling with the squad and familiarizing yourself with the application of the third-tier Sea of Consciousness. You will not be assigned any high-risk solo infiltration missions."
"Received," Lin Yan replied.
"The support forces will take over the blockade and investigation of this area, clearing the remaining fungal hyphae and wandering scaled beasts. Your squad will rest in place for one hour, after which you will return to the West Bastion by vehicle."
The communication was cut off.
The depression temporarily returned to peace. The support squad members scattered in twos and threes, using flamethrowers to burn the remaining fungal hyphae on the ground. The flames licked over the purplish-black hyphae, emitting a sizzling burning sound, and the foul-smelling black smoke slowly drifted toward the gray sky.
Lin Yan walked to the edge of the depression, standing alone and gazing toward the northwest.
That was the direction of the abandoned air defense bunker. The two priests had evacuated early, escaping back to the depths of Rift No. 79 through the underground fungal hyphae channels. They had escaped, but this clash would not end here.
The matrix had witnessed with its own eyes his transition from the second tier to the third. It would re-run simulations of all tactics, adjust the illusion web structure, and design traps capable of suppressing the third-tier Sea of Consciousness. The next time they met, the priests' methods would only be more vicious and more cunning.
He raised his hand and slowly mobilized a trace of Sea of Consciousness power.
A wisp of perception gently drifted out, sweeping over the surrounding wasteland rock strata. He could clearly touch the dense, vein-like fungal hyphae spreading beneath the earth. The underground of the entire Western Front wasteland had long been permeated by this massive net. All humanity had secured were the bastions and beacons on the surface. Deep beneath the earth, the power of the ancient lizard progenitors was still silently expanding.
"What are you thinking about?" Lu Heng walked to his side, following his gaze into the depths of the wasteland.
"I'm thinking about how much is still hidden beneath the rift that we haven't seen," Lin Yan said softly. "The two priests are merely tentacles of the matrix. The matrix itself may not even be the highest echelon of the ancient lizard progenitors. In twenty-five years of invasion, they have been dormant underground. How much power are they still hiding, waiting不动 (to make a move)?"
Lu Heng was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "This is also something the high command has always worried about. We've fought against scaled beasts and priests for so many years, yet very few have actually seen high-tier ancient progenitors. Much of our intelligence is just speculation. Let's take it slow. We still have a long way to go."
The one-hour rest period passed quickly.
The group boarded the armored vehicles allocated by the support squad and returned along the original route.
As the vehicles re-entered the inspection channel of the West Gate and the psychic detectors swept over the hull, the tense atmosphere in the carriage finally eased slightly when the alloy gates fell shut behind them, isolating the腥腥 (foul-smelling) wind of the wasteland.
After returning to the bastion, Old Guo was sent directly to the field hospital for observation. Su Wan took the full set of sampling materials and hurried back to the Intelligence Branch again for review and reporting. Chen Ye returned to his dormitory to rest, and still had to organize the combat log for this mission. Lu Heng went to the command center to report the battle situation in person.
Lin Yan walked alone on the bastion streets.
Dusk was approaching. The cold white streetlights lit up one after another. Warriors passing by walked with hurried steps; many had injuries on their arms or necks, traces left by the wasteland conflicts. Every day, people in this city rushed to the front lines, and some never returned.
He returned to his small, single dormitory and closed the door.
The room fell silent. He sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and slowly familiarized himself with this newly born core of his Sea of Consciousness.
His Sea of Consciousness had just completed its metamorphosis and still carried a trace of unstable trembling. Every operation required him to patiently harmonize, polishing it bit by bit to stabilize the foundation. He knew clearly that the third tier was merely another new starting point, far from the finish line.
Deep within Rift No. 79 underground.
The purple fungal carpet undulated slowly like a tide. The two priests prostrated themselves before the core of the matrix, continuously pouring all the perceptual memories of the wasteland battle into the massive illusion web consciousness.
The matrix quietly digested the information: "Lin Yan has stepped into the third-tier Sea of Consciousness."
After a long silence, countless fungal hyphae buried deep beneath the rock strata slowly began transporting energy toward several deeper, ancient secondary rifts that had never been explored by humanity.
A new arrangement had begun.
End of Chapter.