The Oriole Is in Position

At the same moment Wang Jixuan performed Earth Escape.

Above the Snow Mountain Base, a Stealth Transport Plane was slowly circling at a slight angle. Inside the transport plane, a dozen figures, some sitting, some standing, were gathered around a holographic projection of a snow mountain map.

The middle-aged man in the center, wearing a crisp white suit with his hair slicked back, had a Civilization Stick placed by his side. His eyes gleamed with alertness.

He was Meng Jin, the current Group Leader of the Judgment Group of the Psionic Management Committee of Psionic Capital.

He leaned back in his seat, contemplating the news he had just received.

If Wang Jixuan were to see the number of High-Tier Psionicists here, Daoist Wang would probably resolutely abandon his upcoming combat plan.

"Xing Tian suddenly fainted?"

"Yes, Group Leader."

"Were there any signs?"

"He just suddenly fell asleep, as if having a nightmare. His vital signs are still present, but his mental energy fluctuations are significant."

Meng Jin frowned, deep in thought.

Beside him, two elderly High-Tier Psionicists couldn't help but speak up:

"Compared to that, the sudden deaths of those Research Personnel are the bigger issue. The preliminary scan results are out, all heart attacks, no toxins."

"Our people are inside the Secret Base. We've already searched it and found no problems, no signs of enemy intrusion. There's only one entrance and exit, and Rainbow Town is also normal."

A middle-aged woman reminded them, "It must be noted that the assault team previously dispatched by Fu Jian was discovered and driven away. The D2 Comprehensive War Zone captured two Psionicists, Xing Tian's students, named Ji Xiao and Ji Yale. They are on their way here, but it seems some accidents occurred en route, and their situation is currently unknown... My point is, there might be other assault teams, and they might have developed new types of poison gas or mechanical weapons."

Meng Jin nodded slowly, remaining silent.

When he encountered things he couldn't understand, he always preferred to think, observe, and summarize rather than casually express his opinions.

This was also a significant factor in his ability to hold his position.

However, within any team, there were always some who enjoyed making noise.

"Boss, why are we here?"

"Yeah, boss, you gathered us here in advance and brought us here without letting us down. What are you up to?"

Meng Jin smiled and said gently, "This isn't exactly a secret. Given the current timing, it's fine to tell you all... A Spiritual Practitioner is guiding me."

"A Spiritual Practitioner?"

"Yes, the stone tablet wall that Fu Jian took away, the Spiritual Practitioner numbered Four."

Meng Jin explained calmly:

"All of you here are people close to me. We've faced life and death together to get to where we are today, so I don't want to hide many things.

"Of course, I will not betray the Six Elders. The Six Elders are my mentors, and they are also my family. I just want them to be a bit tougher and get the respect that human society should give us. You should all know this."

Everyone nodded.

Meng Jin said slowly:

"The reason I called you all here this time is that I'm waiting for Black Storm to appear."

"Black Storm?"

"That's right, that mysterious guy," Meng Jin chuckled. "Spiritual Practitioner Number Four asked me to kill him, and the reward is a portion of reproducible advancement circuits and awakening circuits. But I don't think it's that simple."

An elder's expression was shaken: "Can he really give it?"

"It's impossible for him to give it. Teacher, please don't get agitated. Spiritual Practitioners are not trustworthy. Otherwise, why haven't the Six Elders achieved their own awakening after so many years?"

Meng Jin sighed:

"Spiritual Practitioners just want to treat us like dogs. Their ideal state is to have all humans infused, then they can recover their own strength, and then have us reproduce diligently and act as cannon fodder to fight the Blade Beasts.

"These Spiritual Practitioners are all crazy. Their promises don't need to be taken too seriously; they're just empty promises. But this Black Storm is very interesting.

"He is Fu Jian's confidence and the critical point for D5's change in attitude. According to our investigation, the air psionic weapon, the demon-breaking dagger, and the joint attack technology to defeat Blade Beasts all came from him.

"Spiritual Practitioner Number Four wants us to come here to ambush Black Storm and to go to Fortress No. 76 in the Ancient Basin to rescue him... His exact words were, 'Come rescue me quickly while that demon is not here, I'm being tortured to death by him.'

"Listen to that!"

Meng Jin's expression showed a morbid excitement:

"Black Storm can torture a Spiritual Practitioner to death!"

Everyone pondered, finding it a bit difficult to follow Meng Jin's train of thought.

An elder frowned and asked, "So, Group Leader, what are you going to do this time?"

"It's very simple. Wait for Black Storm to appear, find Black Storm, and invite him back."

Meng Jin said leisurely:

"On certain matters, Commander Fu Jian and I share some common ground.

"Humanity should rely on itself to defeat the Blade Beasts and achieve civilization's independence. Whether it's Spiritual Practitioners or the third civilization represented by Black Storm, they can all be our sources of technology. Mastering this technology, utilizing this technology, and then surpassing them, forcing human civilization to rise from the brink of death – that is our true path!"

The gazes of everyone present became a little more fervent.

Meng Jin rested his hands on his Civilization Stick, his eyes shining brightly.

"The anomaly that has appeared now proves we came to the right place.

There's an undercurrent surging beneath the surface. Xing Tian is unconscious, and several research personnel have died of heart attacks simultaneously. It's clear someone acted in the shadows.

This method is beyond our expectations, so it's highly likely to be that Black Storm.

Everyone, brace yourselves. Our actions later must be swift and decisive. If we are to be hunters, we must have sufficient patience."

Whoosh--

Wang Jixuan completed his Earth Escape. Faint ripple marks appeared on the stone wall behind him. His figure transformed into a beam of earth-yellow light and drilled into it. Moments later, he appeared inside the secret base's access tunnel. He immediately crouched, his X Armor cloaking itself.

Good, no alarms were triggered.

Wang Jixuan remained crouched, his spiritual sense carefully observing his surroundings. Only after half a minute did he confirm his safety and sprinted down the tunnel.

Divine Movement Talisman, Divine Movement Spell, armor assistance.

A distance of two to three kilometers took him only a few minutes to reach the end.

Now, the entire secret base had fallen into chaos due to Xing Tian's unconsciousness.

The three S-Class Psionicists who came to assist had already been alerted. Those three Judgment Group squads had been reassigned to protect the suddenly unconscious Xing Tian and the remaining researchers.

That Old Professor... his body had gone cold.

Caught off guard, they were also plunged into terror of the unknown. Some Psionicists wanted to rush out, while others felt it would be easier to be attacked if they ventured out rashly. They were gathered together, hiding in areas three and four, which had the strongest defenses.

Fu Jian was fully cooperating with Wang Jixuan's operation.

The mobile forces and bomber groups had approached the D2 border.

Fu Jian, using his influence, exerted immense pressure on D2 with a "if you move, we fight" stance.

--The weight of being a semi-world commander.

The high-ranking officials of the D2 Comprehensive War Zone, whose foundations were already somewhat rotten, were now primarily considering their personal interests and the interests of their small factions, making a firm counterattack difficult.

As Wang Jixuan continued to charge forward, he didn't forget to find the communication optical cable embedded in the stone wall and insert a few signal devices.

Establishing communication on a physical level was a necessary condition for network penetration.

A pitch-black butterfly was following Wang Jixuan.

The Fifth Spiritual Practitioner was no longer holding back and was specifically targeting Wang Jixuan, observing his peculiar methods.

Hiss.

"Officer," Peony's voice sounded, "Xing Tian was indeed very cautious. Almost all areas are controlled by pure mechanical or semi-mechanical systems. Most equipment is not networked, and there are no mechs within the base. It's difficult for me to make a move."

"Mm," Wang Jixuan said, "Can you paralyze their railcars?"

"There are three railcars dedicated to this passage. Two are for daily use, and I can control them via the network. However, one is for emergency escape and is purely mechanically controlled."

"Mark that vehicle."

"It has been deployed."

A semi-transparent mini-map appeared on Wang Jixuan's armor panel, displaying a series of icons marking all surveillance positions within Wang Jixuan's line of sight.

Peony's tactical role.

The Daoist moved like the wind, but soon, a troublesome incident occurred.

That pitch-black butterfly landed on Wang Jixuan's shoulder.

Wang Jixuan's body sank slightly. He felt the weight of a slender woman.

Wait, this wasn't a transformation technique, just an illusion?

Oh, come on...

Wang Jixuan wisely refrained from complaining, as this was a critical juncture in the operation. Xing Tian was unconscious, and as long as the Fifth Spiritual Practitioner didn't cause trouble, he had a high probability of completing his plan.

Just bear with it.

And then...

This path only took a few minutes. The Fifth Spiritual Practitioner directly used telepathy to constantly question him:

"Your strength should only be equivalent to a B-Class or A-Class Psionicist, right? How did you achieve that wall-piercing ability? I can feel that your application of psionics is very clever, not following the same logic as our circuits."

"The curse you used earlier seemed to refine a certain power left within Xing Tian's severed limbs, his flesh, bones, and blood, turning it into a mental energy that he himself couldn't resist... However, its practicality is too low. It's rare to encounter a situation where you can obtain an enemy's limb but cannot directly kill the enemy."

"And inside your armor, why can you release psionics by placing several crystal cores together? The psionic switches we designed when creating the crystal cores require a circuit to activate."

Wang Jixuan: ...

"Don't you want to explain it to me? This is to get the judge to make a ruling in your favor..."

"No comment."

"Hm?" The Fifth Spiritual Practitioner wasn't annoyed. "Alright then, you've given me a sense of excitement that I haven't felt in a long time, young man."

An image of a garrulous old grandmother appeared in Wang Jixuan's mind.

These Spiritual Practitioners were at least tens of thousands of years old, weren't they?

Although age is meaningless to a 'carrier of core circuits,' this is just too much nagging.

The end of the corridor is in sight.

Wang Jixuan slowed down, crouched, and moved forward. At this moment, his spiritual sense could already encompass the entire secret base, including the stone chamber where the Fifth Spiritual Practitioner's slate wall was located.

The Fifth Spiritual Practitioner was fulfilling her promise;

She didn't do anything extra.

Wang Jixuan didn't rush to place the portable nuclear bomb. Instead, he surveyed the area first.

Two four-carriage railcars were the only means of transportation in and out of this passage. They arrived at the 'Septic Tank Station' at the exit every two minutes.

Daoist Wang took out a small technological artifact, stored separately from the nuclear bomb:

[High-Performance Miniature Remote Bomb].

He thoughtfully placed a guaranteed destruction insurance on these two railcars and then quietly sneaked to the hangar guarded by two low-tier psionicists. Inside was the two-carriage railcar that wasn't connected to the network. He placed three bombs near its engine.

With the storage magic treasure, high-performance bombs were more useful than explosive talismans.

Wang Jixuan continued to infiltrate, and soon found some good spots to place nuclear bombs, secretly noting them down.

His spiritual sense could see that the three S-Class Psionicists had reached an agreement and had temporarily unified Xing Tian's subordinates.

These three were requesting permission from the Six Elders to temporarily leave the base. Xing Tian's inexplicable coma and the bizarre deaths of several key research personnel had made them feel extremely uneasy.

One of the Six Elders, Taisheng Steel, was still asking them if they had discovered any enemy incursions.

The three S-Class Psionicists unanimously denied it.

There were no traces of intruders, and the secret base set up by Xing Tian was as solid as a fortress with only one entrance and exit.

Taisheng Steel was clearly hesitant. He didn't want to abandon Xing Tian, but only said he would give them an answer in a few minutes before cutting off communication.

The Six Elders went to a meeting;

The three S-Class Psionicists fell into a state of anxiety.

Daoist Wang silently gave a thumbs-up.

As expected of the Six Elders, their indecisiveness was unparalleled. At this moment, if the three Judgment Group squads had charged out together, that would have been the true path to survival.

Of course, they all saw things differently.

This 'few minutes' also gave him more room to maneuver.

Wang Jixuan became even bolder.

This secret base was not very large, with four areas that were all independent and separated by some distance.

Wang Jixuan suppressed the urge to go deeper and stayed active in the first area.

When he encountered research equipment belonging to the psionicist research team, he placed a signal receiver. Peony would then copy the information within.

He found the warehouse where the crystal cores were stored. Wang Jixuan regretted that his storage magic treasure was too small, so he could only take away several hundred crystal cores from General-Class Blade Beasts and High-Tier Blade Beasts.

Unfortunately, he couldn't take them all.

The butterfly on his shoulder gently fanned its wings. The Fifth Spiritual Practitioner, who had been silent for a while, couldn't help but ask again:

"Is that a subspace item? Did it come from your civilization?"

"They taught me the technology, and I made the items myself."

Daoist Wang didn't lie about anything.

With the crystal cores in hand, Wang Jixuan's mood greatly improved. The frustration from the previous setbacks and obstacles was largely dispelled.

Continue searching!

Residential area, monitoring center, equipment room...

Wang Jixuan roamed around in his X Armor, his spiritual sense focused on the movements of the three S-Class Psionicists. When the three of them communicated with Taisheng Steel again, Daoist Wang decisively turned around.

He chose the equipment room.

It was not only the central location of Area One, ensuring effective damage to Area One when the nuclear bomb exploded, but also allowed the energy to radiate as much as possible to Areas Two and Four. -- The four areas were arranged in a square grid.

He opened the suitcase, set the timer to twelve minutes, and opened the mechanical button cover, allowing him to detonate it with his spiritual sense at any time.

"Peony?"

"Yes, Commander. I'm here."

"Have Old Fu launch a salvo of missiles towards this location, or, when the time comes later, have their alarm sirens sound."

"Okay, Commander. From the perspective of saving costs and reducing political risks, we can use the second option."

"Mm, good, you handle it."

Wang Jixuan placed the suitcase next to some miscellaneous boxes and turned to leave.

A countdown appeared before his eyes; it was the nuclear bomb's timer.

Wang Jixuan began to retreat from Area One.

At this moment, his figure had actually been scanned by several detectors, but all the networked sensors in this secret base were already under Peony's control.

It was going so smoothly, so smoothly that Wang Jixuan felt a little uneasy.

Strange, why is my intuition tingling?