Chapter 138: Secondary Bypass
Night soaked into the West Bastion. On the city walls, searchlights crisscrossed, sweeping over the dead, silent wasteland outside. Pale white beams repeatedly plowed over the undulating dirt slopes and rock piles.
By the time the squad returned to the base, night had completely fallen. After unloading their equipment and completing their reports, everyone dispersed to rest. Lin Yan didn't return to his dormitory immediately. Instead, he walked alone to the open-air training ground behind the base. Usually used for combat and basic Sea of Consciousness training, the field currently had only a few old, dim lights left on, and the ground was covered with shallow pits left by years of trampling.
He sat cross-legged on the freezing concrete ground. Without mobilizing his Sea of Consciousness to explore outward, he quietly observed his inner state.
The core of his Sea of Consciousness hovered stably deep within his consciousness, its surface waves placid. Yet, the solidified stress-induced hidden injury remained clear, like a submerged reef beneath a lake. Whenever the amplitude of his mental fluctuations grew slightly, the stabbing pain would quietly surface. Today, while dealing with the resonance field of the triangular phantom array, he had restrained himself throughout and hadn't forcibly overexerted. The hidden injury hadn't worsened, but after spending a long time observing the rules of the resonance flow, his mind repeatedly replayed those intertwined, looping psychic waves, making it hard for him to let go for a moment.
Ancient martial arts cultivation emphasized control over release and retraction. Physical wounds could be slowly soothed through breathing exercises and rest, but hidden injuries to the Sea of Consciousness were different. They were invisible and intangible, hidden within the very source of consciousness. Once repeatedly damaged, the loss was irreversible.
"Still thinking about that triangular phantom array in the quarry pit from this morning?"
Gu Shen's voice came from the side. Holding a military canteen, he walked slowly to Lin Yan's side and sat down as well, his gaze directed toward the pitch-black direction outside the city.
"Yeah," Lin Yan raised his eyes. "The matrix received the feedback on our synchronous suppression. Since it could design a compensation mechanism, it will definitely patch the loophole. Our solution of using three instruments to synchronously neutralize the main resonance chain will soon become ineffective."
"I just spoke with Instructor Wen. The lab is urgently analyzing the three recovered phantom seeds." Gu Shen unscrewed the canteen and took a sip, his voice low. "Preliminary slice observations show that there are still a large number of idle, fine fungal hyphae pathways inside the phantom seed embryos. Previously, we thought they were redundant structures, but it seems now that they are reserved secondary bypasses. Once the main chain is cut, the secondary branches can independently take over the signal and trigger the corridor separately."
Lin Yan's heart sank, matching his own guess.
The triangular phantom array originally consisted of a main loop connecting three anchor points, driven by synchronous resonance. Once secondary bypasses were added, it was equivalent to hiding two independent trigger systems inside a single trap. The main link was the visible skeleton, while the secondary bypass was the backup hidden underneath. Even if humans timed it perfectly and three suppressors simultaneously crushed the main resonance chain, the secondary bypass could still independently activate any one, or even two, of the phantom seeds. The corridor would still unfold.
"Then the difficulty of breaking it has directly doubled," Lin Yan said in a low voice. "Previously, we only needed to hit a precise time point to synchronously destroy the main resonance. From now on, we have to simultaneously suppress the main chain and countless scattered secondary branches. The number of instruments and the operational difficulty will both skyrocket."
"Not only that," Gu Shen shook his head. "The signals of the secondary bypasses travel through finer, more concealed hyphae, making it harder to capture their waves in geomagnetic turbulence. During sandstorms or foggy days, we might not even be able to distinguish which wave belongs to the main chain and which is a secondary bypass. This iteration by the matrix is entirely aimed at our current disposal plans."
The two fell silent for a moment. The evening breeze carried the unique, bloody chill of the wasteland.
Having guarded the Western Front for many years, Gu Shen had seen too many comrades fall to the illusion web and phantom seeds. He had seen veteran fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivators trapped in the corridor, their mental power drained until they became vacant mutterers. He had also seen squads that had painstakingly cleared a phantom seed, only for a hidden secondary branch to suddenly activate the moment they let their guard down, leaving the entire team forever in the ruins of the wasteland.
"The high command is also very troubled right now," Gu Shen continued. "Two routes are being advanced simultaneously: on one hand, the psychiatry department is developing multi-frequency broadband suppression instruments, hoping one instrument can suppress multiple layers of links at once. On the other hand, they are planning new patrol tactics—no longer insisting on finding phantom seeds and recovering samples. For high-risk, complex phantom array areas, they will directly designate quarantine zones, permanently seal them, and no longer send people in to investigate."
Lin Yan frowned slightly. "Quarantine means handing over large tracts of the wasteland to the matrix. The space for the rifts to expand will only grow larger. In the future, it can safely breed and test more complex phantom arrays inside the quarantine zone."
"It's a trade-off." Gu Shen sighed wearily. "Manpower can't keep up, and the rate of attrition of high-tier cultivators is accelerating. Compared to continuously sending people in to die, temporarily drawing a quarantine line and defending the existing defensive line is the most realistic choice. It's just that everyone knows quarantine is not a long-term solution; it merely delays the time of collapse."
After chatting for a while, the two parted ways to go back and rest.
Lin Yan returned to his dormitory, spread out his notebook, and wrote down his guesses about the secondary bypass, the risks, and the possible new forms of traps. He redrew the structure of the triangular phantom array on the paper, drawing the main link thickly, and using dense, fine dashed lines to represent the secondary bypasses crisscrossing between the three anchor points, looking more and more like a dense spiderweb.
He slowly realized that in this war, the matrix's learning speed far exceeded human expectations.
Whenever humanity developed a suppression method, it could quickly find a corresponding countermeasure, stacking backups layer by layer. The traps grew increasingly complex, and the cost of breaking them rose exponentially.
The night passed peacefully.
Early the next morning, the command center issued an urgent emergency bulletin.
A routine patrol squad on the Northern Front had run into an improved version of the triangular phantom array. The third-tier cultivator leading them had sufficient experience. They identified the three anchor points from afar, immediately called for the disposal team, and arranged for three instruments to synchronously suppress the main resonance chain according to the old plan. The main chain collapsed smoothly. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, a secondary bypass instantly activated the southern anchor point, and the corridor unfolded without warning.
The squad was too close and had no time to retreat. Two members fell into the looping illusion on the spot. The third-tier cultivator leading them forcibly propped open their Sea of Consciousness to protect the remaining person, dragging their companion to break out with all their might. Their own Sea of Consciousness suffered severe trauma, and they had been sent to the intensive psychiatric care ward. Whether they could preserve the foundation of their Sea of Consciousness remained unknown.
The end of the bulletin included a red warning: [All external squads must assume all triangular phantom arrays carry a secondary bypass structure. Synchronous suppression of the main chain does not equal the danger is lifted. After suppression, continuous perception monitoring must be maintained for at least fifteen minutes to screen for secondary branch signals.]
During assembly, everyone saw this bulletin. The atmosphere was even more oppressive than usual.
Lu Heng repeated the contents of the bulletin, his gaze sweeping over Lin Yan and Gu Shen: "Today's mission remains unchanged: continue investigating the remaining branch roads on the northern section of the West Old Path. A new iron rule is added: After the phantom array is suppressed, no one is allowed to immediately approach to excavate and take samples. Everyone must continue to observe from a safe distance for fifteen minutes. Only after confirming there are no anomalous waves from secondary bypasses may you proceed. If a secondary signal is captured during the observation period, abandon the sampling immediately, retreat entirely, report the coordinates, and hand it over to heavy firepower for remote clearance."
"Understood," Lin Yan and Gu Shen replied in unison.
The convoy drove out of the city gate, stepping onto the wasteland once again.
The wasteland today was abnormally quiet. There was no wind or sand, the light was flat, and gray clouds hung low over the horizon. Moving forward, the two alternated spreading their perception, carefully combing through the rock crevices, dirt pits, and collapsed ruins on both sides of the roadbed.
After traveling for about two hours, a continuous stretch of broken walls appeared ahead, left over from when a beast tide had gnawed through the area in the past. Concrete fragments were piled in layers, forming a staggered cluster of low walls, perfectly suited for setting up multi-link phantom arrays.
"I caught a wave on the west side," Gu Shen spoke up first.
Lin Yan immediately redirected his perception, extending outward along the azimuths that could form a triangle. A moment later, the second and third waves were locked in succession. The spacing between the three points was stable; it was another triangular phantom array.
"Three anchor points, the main resonance chain has already formed," Lin Yan reported calmly. "I perceive a large number of fragmented secondary hyphae signals between the anchor points. There are many of them, with intertwined bypasses, consistent with the improved version encountered on the Northern Front."
Lu Heng immediately ordered everyone to retreat to the high ground two hundred and fifty meters away, report the coordinates, and request the disposal team to bring three suppressors for support.
During the wait, Lin Yan made his perception extremely light, skirting the periphery of the phantom array, meticulously counting the branches of the secondary bypasses. This set of phantom arrays had even more secondary pathways than the one on the Northern Front. Beyond the main chain, there were a full seven independent bypasses, each capable of independently activating a phantom seed, or even linking across points.
"The matrix didn't simply add a backup," Lin Yan said in a low voice to Gu Shen. "It created a distributed trigger network. The main chain is merely the master switch used for synchronous startup; every secondary bypass is an independent detonation wire."
Gu Shen's expression was grave: "Meaning, even if we crush the main chain, it can randomly pick any bypass to ignite. We can't guard against it."
Fifty minutes later, the disposal team arrived. Instructor Wen got out of the car, looked at the perception map they had transmitted back, and her expression turned serious.
"The lesson from the Northern Front is right before our eyes. Today, we will take two steps," Instructor Wen adjusted the plan. "Step one: three instruments synchronously suppress the main resonance chain. Step two: after the main chain collapses, we all stay in place and continue monitoring for fifteen minutes, discriminating the signal fluctuations of the secondary bypasses one by one. If any bypass shows signs of energy elevation, abandon the sampling immediately and retreat entirely."
The operators took their positions, and the instruments were set up.
"Prepare, three, two, one, activate!"
Three neutralizing waves fell synchronously toward the three anchor points. The main resonance chain trembled violently, compensated, and then gradually collapsed and extinguished. On the detector screen, the main loop graph disappeared, but dense, fragmented secondary waves continued to flow quietly beneath the soil layer, like countless dormant, thin snakes.
The main chain was dead, but the trap was not completely dead.
The fifteen minutes of monitoring were agonizingly torturous, minute by minute. Lin Yan and Gu Shen didn't dare to stop their perception for a moment, taking turns watching the signals across the entire triangular area. For the first twelve minutes, the secondary bypasses were completely quiet, with no energy fluctuations. Just as everyone thought it wouldn't trigger, the waves of one of the secondary branches leading to the eastern anchor point quietly rose.
"Bypass anomaly! It's going to activate the eastern phantom seed!" Lin Yan warned sharply.
"Abandon sampling! Everyone retreat!" Instructor Wen didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second, immediately issuing the retreat order.
No one lingered. They quickly boarded the vehicles. The off-road vehicles turned around, stepping on the gas and retreating at full speed. Behind them, amidst the broken walls and ruins, a faint psychic ripple slowly spread out. The corridor illusion had already unfolded over that anchor point, but everyone had pulled far enough away to avoid being dragged into the loop.
After driving far away, Lin Yan looked back toward the broken walls.
There was no visible anomaly on the wasteland; only the broken walls stood quietly under the gray sky. Yet beneath the soil, a phantom array consisting of a main chain and multiple secondary bypasses had completed one of its probes.
Lu Heng gripped the steering wheel, his voice dry: "We can't even take samples anymore. In the future, whenever we encounter this improved triangular phantom array, as long as the secondary bypasses remain, we have absolutely no safe window to excavate."
Lin Yan remained silent.
The matrix was turning the phantom arrays into a type of booby trap that could not be safely dismantled. You could cut the main line, but countless fuses were hidden beneath the mud. You never knew which one would be ignited, or when.
Deep within Rift No. 79.
The feedback of this bypass trigger forcing the human squad to retreat traveled back to the matrix along the hyphae.
The fungal gills slowly opened and closed. It noted: Secondary bypasses can function independently, and humans will set a fifteen-minute observation window.
A new adjustment plan took shape within the consciousness network.
It would add a delayed mechanism to the secondary bypasses.
After humans survived the fifteen-minute observation period, let down their guard, and approached to excavate and take samples, it would then ignite the bypass.
Waiting, too, was part of the trap.
End of Chapter.
By the time the squad returned to the base, night had completely fallen. After unloading their equipment and completing their reports, everyone dispersed to rest. Lin Yan didn't return to his dormitory immediately. Instead, he walked alone to the open-air training ground behind the base. Usually used for combat and basic Sea of Consciousness training, the field currently had only a few old, dim lights left on, and the ground was covered with shallow pits left by years of trampling.
He sat cross-legged on the freezing concrete ground. Without mobilizing his Sea of Consciousness to explore outward, he quietly observed his inner state.
The core of his Sea of Consciousness hovered stably deep within his consciousness, its surface waves placid. Yet, the solidified stress-induced hidden injury remained clear, like a submerged reef beneath a lake. Whenever the amplitude of his mental fluctuations grew slightly, the stabbing pain would quietly surface. Today, while dealing with the resonance field of the triangular phantom array, he had restrained himself throughout and hadn't forcibly overexerted. The hidden injury hadn't worsened, but after spending a long time observing the rules of the resonance flow, his mind repeatedly replayed those intertwined, looping psychic waves, making it hard for him to let go for a moment.
Ancient martial arts cultivation emphasized control over release and retraction. Physical wounds could be slowly soothed through breathing exercises and rest, but hidden injuries to the Sea of Consciousness were different. They were invisible and intangible, hidden within the very source of consciousness. Once repeatedly damaged, the loss was irreversible.
"Still thinking about that triangular phantom array in the quarry pit from this morning?"
Gu Shen's voice came from the side. Holding a military canteen, he walked slowly to Lin Yan's side and sat down as well, his gaze directed toward the pitch-black direction outside the city.
"Yeah," Lin Yan raised his eyes. "The matrix received the feedback on our synchronous suppression. Since it could design a compensation mechanism, it will definitely patch the loophole. Our solution of using three instruments to synchronously neutralize the main resonance chain will soon become ineffective."
"I just spoke with Instructor Wen. The lab is urgently analyzing the three recovered phantom seeds." Gu Shen unscrewed the canteen and took a sip, his voice low. "Preliminary slice observations show that there are still a large number of idle, fine fungal hyphae pathways inside the phantom seed embryos. Previously, we thought they were redundant structures, but it seems now that they are reserved secondary bypasses. Once the main chain is cut, the secondary branches can independently take over the signal and trigger the corridor separately."
Lin Yan's heart sank, matching his own guess.
The triangular phantom array originally consisted of a main loop connecting three anchor points, driven by synchronous resonance. Once secondary bypasses were added, it was equivalent to hiding two independent trigger systems inside a single trap. The main link was the visible skeleton, while the secondary bypass was the backup hidden underneath. Even if humans timed it perfectly and three suppressors simultaneously crushed the main resonance chain, the secondary bypass could still independently activate any one, or even two, of the phantom seeds. The corridor would still unfold.
"Then the difficulty of breaking it has directly doubled," Lin Yan said in a low voice. "Previously, we only needed to hit a precise time point to synchronously destroy the main resonance. From now on, we have to simultaneously suppress the main chain and countless scattered secondary branches. The number of instruments and the operational difficulty will both skyrocket."
"Not only that," Gu Shen shook his head. "The signals of the secondary bypasses travel through finer, more concealed hyphae, making it harder to capture their waves in geomagnetic turbulence. During sandstorms or foggy days, we might not even be able to distinguish which wave belongs to the main chain and which is a secondary bypass. This iteration by the matrix is entirely aimed at our current disposal plans."
The two fell silent for a moment. The evening breeze carried the unique, bloody chill of the wasteland.
Having guarded the Western Front for many years, Gu Shen had seen too many comrades fall to the illusion web and phantom seeds. He had seen veteran fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivators trapped in the corridor, their mental power drained until they became vacant mutterers. He had also seen squads that had painstakingly cleared a phantom seed, only for a hidden secondary branch to suddenly activate the moment they let their guard down, leaving the entire team forever in the ruins of the wasteland.
"The high command is also very troubled right now," Gu Shen continued. "Two routes are being advanced simultaneously: on one hand, the psychiatry department is developing multi-frequency broadband suppression instruments, hoping one instrument can suppress multiple layers of links at once. On the other hand, they are planning new patrol tactics—no longer insisting on finding phantom seeds and recovering samples. For high-risk, complex phantom array areas, they will directly designate quarantine zones, permanently seal them, and no longer send people in to investigate."
Lin Yan frowned slightly. "Quarantine means handing over large tracts of the wasteland to the matrix. The space for the rifts to expand will only grow larger. In the future, it can safely breed and test more complex phantom arrays inside the quarantine zone."
"It's a trade-off." Gu Shen sighed wearily. "Manpower can't keep up, and the rate of attrition of high-tier cultivators is accelerating. Compared to continuously sending people in to die, temporarily drawing a quarantine line and defending the existing defensive line is the most realistic choice. It's just that everyone knows quarantine is not a long-term solution; it merely delays the time of collapse."
After chatting for a while, the two parted ways to go back and rest.
Lin Yan returned to his dormitory, spread out his notebook, and wrote down his guesses about the secondary bypass, the risks, and the possible new forms of traps. He redrew the structure of the triangular phantom array on the paper, drawing the main link thickly, and using dense, fine dashed lines to represent the secondary bypasses crisscrossing between the three anchor points, looking more and more like a dense spiderweb.
He slowly realized that in this war, the matrix's learning speed far exceeded human expectations.
Whenever humanity developed a suppression method, it could quickly find a corresponding countermeasure, stacking backups layer by layer. The traps grew increasingly complex, and the cost of breaking them rose exponentially.
The night passed peacefully.
Early the next morning, the command center issued an urgent emergency bulletin.
A routine patrol squad on the Northern Front had run into an improved version of the triangular phantom array. The third-tier cultivator leading them had sufficient experience. They identified the three anchor points from afar, immediately called for the disposal team, and arranged for three instruments to synchronously suppress the main resonance chain according to the old plan. The main chain collapsed smoothly. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, a secondary bypass instantly activated the southern anchor point, and the corridor unfolded without warning.
The squad was too close and had no time to retreat. Two members fell into the looping illusion on the spot. The third-tier cultivator leading them forcibly propped open their Sea of Consciousness to protect the remaining person, dragging their companion to break out with all their might. Their own Sea of Consciousness suffered severe trauma, and they had been sent to the intensive psychiatric care ward. Whether they could preserve the foundation of their Sea of Consciousness remained unknown.
The end of the bulletin included a red warning: [All external squads must assume all triangular phantom arrays carry a secondary bypass structure. Synchronous suppression of the main chain does not equal the danger is lifted. After suppression, continuous perception monitoring must be maintained for at least fifteen minutes to screen for secondary branch signals.]
During assembly, everyone saw this bulletin. The atmosphere was even more oppressive than usual.
Lu Heng repeated the contents of the bulletin, his gaze sweeping over Lin Yan and Gu Shen: "Today's mission remains unchanged: continue investigating the remaining branch roads on the northern section of the West Old Path. A new iron rule is added: After the phantom array is suppressed, no one is allowed to immediately approach to excavate and take samples. Everyone must continue to observe from a safe distance for fifteen minutes. Only after confirming there are no anomalous waves from secondary bypasses may you proceed. If a secondary signal is captured during the observation period, abandon the sampling immediately, retreat entirely, report the coordinates, and hand it over to heavy firepower for remote clearance."
"Understood," Lin Yan and Gu Shen replied in unison.
The convoy drove out of the city gate, stepping onto the wasteland once again.
The wasteland today was abnormally quiet. There was no wind or sand, the light was flat, and gray clouds hung low over the horizon. Moving forward, the two alternated spreading their perception, carefully combing through the rock crevices, dirt pits, and collapsed ruins on both sides of the roadbed.
After traveling for about two hours, a continuous stretch of broken walls appeared ahead, left over from when a beast tide had gnawed through the area in the past. Concrete fragments were piled in layers, forming a staggered cluster of low walls, perfectly suited for setting up multi-link phantom arrays.
"I caught a wave on the west side," Gu Shen spoke up first.
Lin Yan immediately redirected his perception, extending outward along the azimuths that could form a triangle. A moment later, the second and third waves were locked in succession. The spacing between the three points was stable; it was another triangular phantom array.
"Three anchor points, the main resonance chain has already formed," Lin Yan reported calmly. "I perceive a large number of fragmented secondary hyphae signals between the anchor points. There are many of them, with intertwined bypasses, consistent with the improved version encountered on the Northern Front."
Lu Heng immediately ordered everyone to retreat to the high ground two hundred and fifty meters away, report the coordinates, and request the disposal team to bring three suppressors for support.
During the wait, Lin Yan made his perception extremely light, skirting the periphery of the phantom array, meticulously counting the branches of the secondary bypasses. This set of phantom arrays had even more secondary pathways than the one on the Northern Front. Beyond the main chain, there were a full seven independent bypasses, each capable of independently activating a phantom seed, or even linking across points.
"The matrix didn't simply add a backup," Lin Yan said in a low voice to Gu Shen. "It created a distributed trigger network. The main chain is merely the master switch used for synchronous startup; every secondary bypass is an independent detonation wire."
Gu Shen's expression was grave: "Meaning, even if we crush the main chain, it can randomly pick any bypass to ignite. We can't guard against it."
Fifty minutes later, the disposal team arrived. Instructor Wen got out of the car, looked at the perception map they had transmitted back, and her expression turned serious.
"The lesson from the Northern Front is right before our eyes. Today, we will take two steps," Instructor Wen adjusted the plan. "Step one: three instruments synchronously suppress the main resonance chain. Step two: after the main chain collapses, we all stay in place and continue monitoring for fifteen minutes, discriminating the signal fluctuations of the secondary bypasses one by one. If any bypass shows signs of energy elevation, abandon the sampling immediately and retreat entirely."
The operators took their positions, and the instruments were set up.
"Prepare, three, two, one, activate!"
Three neutralizing waves fell synchronously toward the three anchor points. The main resonance chain trembled violently, compensated, and then gradually collapsed and extinguished. On the detector screen, the main loop graph disappeared, but dense, fragmented secondary waves continued to flow quietly beneath the soil layer, like countless dormant, thin snakes.
The main chain was dead, but the trap was not completely dead.
The fifteen minutes of monitoring were agonizingly torturous, minute by minute. Lin Yan and Gu Shen didn't dare to stop their perception for a moment, taking turns watching the signals across the entire triangular area. For the first twelve minutes, the secondary bypasses were completely quiet, with no energy fluctuations. Just as everyone thought it wouldn't trigger, the waves of one of the secondary branches leading to the eastern anchor point quietly rose.
"Bypass anomaly! It's going to activate the eastern phantom seed!" Lin Yan warned sharply.
"Abandon sampling! Everyone retreat!" Instructor Wen didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second, immediately issuing the retreat order.
No one lingered. They quickly boarded the vehicles. The off-road vehicles turned around, stepping on the gas and retreating at full speed. Behind them, amidst the broken walls and ruins, a faint psychic ripple slowly spread out. The corridor illusion had already unfolded over that anchor point, but everyone had pulled far enough away to avoid being dragged into the loop.
After driving far away, Lin Yan looked back toward the broken walls.
There was no visible anomaly on the wasteland; only the broken walls stood quietly under the gray sky. Yet beneath the soil, a phantom array consisting of a main chain and multiple secondary bypasses had completed one of its probes.
Lu Heng gripped the steering wheel, his voice dry: "We can't even take samples anymore. In the future, whenever we encounter this improved triangular phantom array, as long as the secondary bypasses remain, we have absolutely no safe window to excavate."
Lin Yan remained silent.
The matrix was turning the phantom arrays into a type of booby trap that could not be safely dismantled. You could cut the main line, but countless fuses were hidden beneath the mud. You never knew which one would be ignited, or when.
Deep within Rift No. 79.
The feedback of this bypass trigger forcing the human squad to retreat traveled back to the matrix along the hyphae.
The fungal gills slowly opened and closed. It noted: Secondary bypasses can function independently, and humans will set a fifteen-minute observation window.
A new adjustment plan took shape within the consciousness network.
It would add a delayed mechanism to the secondary bypasses.
After humans survived the fifteen-minute observation period, let down their guard, and approached to excavate and take samples, it would then ignite the bypass.
Waiting, too, was part of the trap.
End of Chapter.