Bathing in the Blood Pool

"Commander! Emergency!"

Peony cried out hurriedly.

Wang Jixuan had been studying a map with Black Shell. Upon hearing this, he immediately used his spiritual awareness to lock onto the dozens of Special Operations Team members near the valley.

Wang Jixuan completed his scan in an instant and confirmed once more that there was no movement whatsoever within a circular area nearly five kilometers in radius.

"What emergency?"

"This!"

Peony shed her earlier relaxed air, leaped in front of Wang Jixuan in her gray-black full-coverage armor, and unfolded a small Projection Screen.

[Mai Xiaomei: Something's wrong. Bristle Bear was exposed the moment you landed. He's being hunted. I suggest you withdraw as quickly as possible.]

"Mai Xiaomei is?"

"Dragonfly Aunt."

"Mm..." Wang Jixuan resisted the urge to complain and frowned in thought.

Black Shell immediately said, "Withdraw!"

Wang Jixuan immediately asked, "Have Wu Man and the others landed?"

"They're about to." Black Shell marked Wu Man's location on the holographic map.

Number Two Transport Plane was roughly fifty kilometers away and still in the air.

Wang Jixuan made a snap decision. "Tell them to turn back!"

Black Shell sent out the order.

The team members here reacted at once as well.

Several Third Generation Half-Human Mechs had already equipped themselves and immediately jumped from the transport plane, using the surrounding terrain to stand guard.

The Maid Group tightly protected Wang Jixuan as they entered the nearby forest together.

The crew likewise evacuated urgently, entering nearby cover under the protection of Autonomous Mechs.

This transport plane had remained under Holographic Camouflage the entire time.

The dozens of nearby Special Operations Team members quickly received orders to search outward in the opposite direction, activate the Underground Shuttles hidden below, and ensure their underground escape route remained clear.

Two tense, solemn minutes passed.

"Commander, don't worry. Wu Man and the others have already begun their return flight..."

"Missile warning!"

"Six missiles have locked onto Number Two Transport Plane!"

"Tell them to abandon the plane!"

The moment Black Shell finished speaking, an intense roar erupted in the sky above them.

Wang Jixuan looked up, but his eyes could only catch the cruise missiles at the very edge of his vision.

The missiles' contrails rapidly spread across the sky.

Their target was Number Two Transport Plane, where Wu Man and the others were.

Number One Transport Plane had landed smoothly without alerting the enemy. That likely meant the enemy possessed some method of detecting Psionicists.

That was what Wang Jixuan had been worried about all along.

Wang Jixuan said nothing more. All they could do now was wait for news. Rash action would only make problems more likely.

Black Shell pulled Wang Jixuan down into the bushes and directly connected the headset in Wang Jixuan's armor to the Command System's live communications.

"Begin ejection. The rear hatch is open."

"The target squad has successfully parachuted!"

"Large-scale enemy armored unit movements detected! They are heading toward the Buddha Hall Squad's location!"

"Requesting fire support!"

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out from the eastern sky.

"The crew has successfully parachuted... They've opened fire! Unmanned fighters are strafing us! We have casualties!"

"There's an ambush nearby!"

"Special Operations Division Two, counterattack! Your mission is to cover that squad's retreat!"

"They've launched drone cluster missiles! Massive drone swarms are on the way!"

"Go underground! There's a passage here! Everyone underground! The Buddha Hall Squad requests permission to counterattack the ambushing enemy forces!"

"Counterattack permitted. Do not get bogged down," Black Shell ordered underground. "Quickly enter the Underground Passage and use the shuttles to retreat to the third designated location!"

"Yes!"

That was a soldier beside Wu Man responding.

Explosions, screams, and the repeated cries of "Sin, sin" from Ji Xiao and Ji Yale, the two "fiends" transformed by Buddhist teachings, came through the communication channel.

The battle over there was exceptionally fierce.

Fortunately, the Buddha Hall Squad was strong enough, and the Special Operations Team members who had infiltrated the D2 Comprehensive War Zone beforehand had made ample preparations.

After sacrificing more than twenty Special Operations Team members and wiping out two enemy assault units, the Buddha Hall Squad led the Special Operations Team members into the Underground Passage, blew up the entrance, and boarded shuttles to begin their breakout.

Peony reported from the side that satellite surveillance had detected troop movements from several nearby fortresses.

Clearly, a D2 Senior General was directly commanding and mobilizing military forces to conduct a full-scale encirclement and suppression of Wu Man and the others.

A fierce battle raged over there.

Yet things remained calm here.

Wang Jixuan and the others waited for half an hour, but still found no trace of enemies nearby.

"We can't determine whether we've been exposed yet."

Black Shell said:

"But judging from D2's response, this Comprehensive War Zone is rotten to the core.

"Wang Zheng, we have to withdraw."

Wang Jixuan did not answer directly. Instead, he turned to Peony. "Have you contacted Auntie?"

"Auntie hasn't given any response."

Peony spoke quickly:

"I used the satellite to hack into the D2 Comprehensive War Zone's Command System. I only found that they were hunting Bristle Bear, and I guided Bristle Bear into favorable terrain to help him escape.

"It has been confirmed that the one commanding this encirclement and suppression operation is D2's Deputy Staff Officer, Ma Linan.

"He said we were Beast God Faction Psionicists attempting infiltration.

"I found several encrypted channels and am working to crack them... A lot of their classified information is protected through physical isolation, though. There's nothing I can do about that."

Wang Jixuan frowned. "No troops are moving toward us?"

"None so far," Peony continued. "I just intercepted a communication. It was a call between Ma Linan and someone he labeled 'Trash Lackey.' Would you like to hear it?"

"Let's hear it," Wang Jixuan replied simply.

Black Shell asked in puzzlement, "Peony, how did you crack a Comprehensive War Zone-level Command System in such a short time? Are D2's technical personnel just collecting paychecks for nothing?"

"This is peak technology specially authorized for me by the Commander-in-Chief. Besides, their encryption level is several orders of magnitude below D5's. D2's entire online world is riddled with vulnerabilities and poorly maintained."

Peony tapped her fingertips lightly, and two male voices—one aged, one hoarse—seemed to begin conversing beside Wang Jixuan and Black Shell's ears.

The aged voice carried a trace of impatience:

"I already told you. Launching an attack rashly will only waste our one chance. The overall quality of D5 Comprehensive War Zone's Special Operations Team exceeds even our elite forces! Now that they've retreated underground, forcing them out will be harder than dealing with Blade Beasts!"

"Can't we use nuclear weapons?" the hoarse middle-aged voice asked heavily. "Chief of Staff Ma, you're the commander of this operation. I've already passed on all the information that needed to be passed to you."

"Are you trying to shirk responsibility now?" The aged voice immediately rose.

The middle-aged voice immediately wilted somewhat, lowering his stance as he said with a chuckle, "I'm just a trash Psionicist. How could I compare to a Chief of Staff like you? Please calm down. Aren't we trying to figure out how to complete the mission? You know what will happen if we fail the task Teacher assigned us."

Deputy Staff Officer Ma Linan fell silent for more than ten seconds before speaking again:

"First, I cannot deploy nuclear weapons, nor do I have that authority. If Teacher Xing can directly approach the Commander-in-Chief, then there's no need to come make things difficult for me. Second, I will not let precious Half-Human Mechs die in an internal conflict among humans."

"Chief of Staff, that's a little..."

The middle-aged man clicked his tongue:

"When people mention human generals nowadays, don't they only talk about Fu Jian? Who remembers the soldiers constantly struggling across the broad frontlines?

"Now Fu Jian has reached right under your nose, and you can still put up with it?"

"Stop fucking trying to provoke me!"

The aged voice was clearly growing impatient:

"If you have a method, use it. Without the Commander-in-Chief's order, neither nuclear weapons nor the Half-Human Mech Troops can be deployed!"

Beep.

The call ended.

Peony reminded him, "Just now, some D2 Half-Human Mechs equipped themselves with gear specialized against Psionicists and received orders to hunt the Buddha Hall Squad."

Wang Jixuan rubbed his forehead.

That conversation proved quite a few things.

This attack had actually been ordered by Xing Tian. He had given them Wu Man's approximate location and had D2 Comprehensive War Zone's Deputy Staff Officer Ma Linan carry it out.

Had Xing Tian not held his Promotion Ceremony? Or had he already completed it?

"It can basically be confirmed that they possess some kind of psionic sensing."

Wang Jixuan pursed his lips and said to Peony:

"Send Professor Shen a message. Tell her the Fourth Spiritual Practitioner deceived us. Have her spread out the Blood Pool I left with her and place the stone slab directly inside."

"Message sent."

Black Shell was puzzled. "The Fourth Spiritual Practitioner really set us up?"

"Even if he didn't set a trap, he likely deliberately concealed some information. What he said about the Fifth Spiritual Practitioner was probably half true and half false."

Wang Jixuan explained:

"The Buddha Hall Squad no longer has their chips inside them.

"If the infiltrating Special Operations Team had been exposed, their encirclement would not have been so loose. They must have only received the information recently and rushed into this area.

"That basically confirms that the enemy sensed the Spiritual Practitioners approaching and obtained an approximate direction.

"Ji Xiao and Ji Yale are spiritual slaves of the Fifth Spiritual Practitioner beneath the Snow Mountain. If their movements were detected, then this all makes sense.

"Peony, have Ji Xiao and Ji Yale temporarily separate from the others, then observe the enemy's tracking route."

"Yes!"

Peony did as instructed.

Black Shell reminded him, "If they are using Spiritual Practitioners to sense the spiritual slaves' locations, would the Spiritual Practitioner report their positions to them in real time?"

"The instructor has a point."

Wang Jixuan carefully recalled the scenes he had seen when he used the Jiaolong Strange Soul to ambush the Fourth Spiritual Practitioner's spire.

He muttered, "There should be some kind of ritual artifact... The spire, the Infusion Wall... It's possible Xing Tian controls some ritual artifact capable of marking Ji Xiao and Ji Yale's locations..."

Peony said, "The moment they split up underground, the enemy drone swarm lost the second team... Their Command System updates Ji Xiao and Ji Yale's positions roughly once every thirty seconds!"

"Case solved."

Black Shell clicked his tongue and began considering how to break the deadlock.

Wang Jixuan stood up. Wearing his Silver-White Armor, he habitually clasped his hands behind his back and paced across the thick Falling Leaf-covered ground.

He did not want to abandon Ji Yale and Ji Xiao.

It was not because he felt particularly attached to them, but mainly because of the Buddha Hall Squad's overall combat power.

--Deep down, Daoist Wang still found it difficult to forgive evil people.

Peony soon brought several new updates.

D5 Comprehensive War Zone officially extended a cooperation request to D2 Comprehensive War Zone.

This was Black Shell's method. D5 came forward and explained that one of their transport planes, carrying around several dozen people, had been forced to land in D2's uninhabited zone due to instrument failure, and hoped D2 could provide assistance.

D2 gave no response.

At Fortress No. 76, Shen Qionglin was already leading a group of Mechs in arranging the Blood Pool and positioning the Stone Slab Wall.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Spiritual Practitioner had yet to appear.

Ji Xiao and Ji Yale were fleeing desperately underground. To maintain mobility and increase their margin for error, each of them piloted an Underground Shuttle capable of carrying three people.

Wu Man and the others had temporarily shaken off the pursuers aboveground.

"Commander, Wu Man and the others are awaiting your orders."

Black Shell offered a rather conservative opinion. "Although you're commanding this operation, I still have to say a few things... Since we've already been exposed, we should withdraw decisively. It doesn't matter even if we tear relations with D2 apart. We can mobilize enough troops to receive us, and they wouldn't dare attack us openly!"

Daoist Wang was momentarily at a loss for words.

They had come to D2's territory to cause trouble in the first place, yet Black Shell could still take such a domineering stance.

That was probably the confidence of a technological giant.

Daoist Wang said seriously, "I think we should press forward instead."

"Advancing is too risky."

"The Buddha Hall Squad has already drawn away their attention. That is the first reason."

Wang Jixuan said simply:

"Right now, we are in the mountains and cannot see the mountain's full shape. Then we might as well try jumping out of it.

"The enemy has already become alert, so we cannot move together on too large a scale. Every fortress is an observation post, and they should now be on full alert.

"So, Peony and I will advance... Don't worry, I won't take risks. I'll merely approach Snow Mountain Base. Once I enter a certain range, I can monitor them. Then, based on the intelligence we gather, we'll decide whether to advance or retreat."

Black Shell continued to think.

He was an old instructor with extraordinarily rich Combat Experience, so he naturally understood the opportunity Wang Jixuan was talking about.

It truly was a good opportunity.

Moreover, D2's internal forces were not firmly standing with Xing Tian. It was more like the upper ranks had been manipulated by Xing Tian.

Wang Jixuan said, "I'm the commander. Your unit will remain stationed here. The Maid Group will follow your command..."

"No," Black Shell directly flipped the table. "I'm disobeying orders in the field. I have to act with you. Everyone else will go underground and find shelter. There's an abandoned fortress here that can be put to use."

"Fine. Then the three of us will go."

Wang Jixuan looked toward Peony, just about to ask for her opinion.

Peony had already turned toward the transport plane, searching for the field crate containing self-heating rations.

Before the troops moved, provisions had to come first.

She could not let her commander fight on an empty stomach.

Meanwhile, in a warehouse in the corner of the Third Floor of Fortress No. 76.

Shen Qionglin slowly manipulated the control lever in her hand, lowering the hoist little by little and bringing the Stone Slab Wall steadily closer to the Blood Pool below, which gave off faint Black Energy.

Twenty centimeters, fifteen centimeters, seven centimeters, six centimeters...

"Enough!"

With an angry shout, a human figure wreathed in white light appeared atop the stone slab, glaring furiously at Shen Qionglin.

Shen Qionglin said, "Sorry, but I have to do what my boss told me to do. He holds my project and funding in his hands... I was only testing your reaction just now. You can actually feel fear too. That's very interesting."

She shoved down the lever, and the Stone Slab Wall crashed into the Blood Pool, splashing up several blooms of blood.