An Ambush in Reserve

The dirt road north of Heaven Dou City reflected a white light during the hottest part of the afternoon.

The gravel on the road was scorching hot from the sun, and a very faint earthy smell hung in the air, mixed with stone dust drifting from a distant quarry.

Yun Jingheng did not take the main road.

He walked along the shallow ditch outside the old stone wall on the north side of the city, his waist bowed low.

The Dark Moon Concealment was still in bloom, and his presence seemed to have been gently erased from this world.

He stopped under a half-collapsed stone bridge, broke off half a compressed biscuit from his pocket, and slowly swallowed it with water.

The biscuit was very dry, and crumbs got stuck in his throat. He had to drink two mouthfuls of water to get them down.

Half-Sweet Coffee whispered the directions in his ear, "Master, there's a shallow ditch running north-south about 400 meters ahead. Following it will take you directly to the east side of the quarry, but you'll have to cross a vegetable field with no cover. I suggest waiting until the next cloud passes before moving."

Yun Jingheng looked up at the sky.

The sky was clear with few clouds; the nearest thick cloud was still to the west and would take at least fifteen minutes to drift over.

He didn't wait. He took off his outer coat, turned out the lighter-colored lining, put it on, and then grabbed a handful of dry soil and rubbed it on his face and neck.

By the time Yun arrived, he had already walked quite a distance, hugging the irrigation ditch at the edge of the field.

Half-Sweet Coffee didn't say anything more, only occasionally adjusting the direction.

On the east side of the quarry, there is a low slope covered with some half-dead jujube trees.

Yun Jingheng lay prone in a hollow at the top of the slope, covering the back of his neck with a weathered gray cloth, leaving only half of his face exposed.

From this vantage point, you can see most of the quarry's layout.

The three mine entrances are side by side facing west. The northernmost one is half sealed off, but there are footprints underneath, indicating that people often walk on it.

Several wooden huts stood to the west of the mine entrance, with cables, shovels, and several discarded mine cart wheels piled up in the corners.

Further west, there is a dirt road worn white by countless footsteps, leading directly towards Heaven Dou City.

Half-Sweet Coffee whispered, "The antenna is above the second mine entrance. Those two diagonal lines are it, Master. The energy reading has reappeared. Below the third mine entrance, the signal frequency is the same as the one intercepted near the grain store before."

Yun Jingheng hummed in agreement.

He slowly turned his head and looked at the second mine entrance.

Two thin, dark gray lines extend from the top of the wooden frame beside the mine entrance, sloping towards the northwest.

If you didn't know beforehand, you would just think it was a clothesline.

The end of the line connects to a black pipe buried under rubble, pointing directly towards Heaven Dou City.

"They've been using it for the past few days."

Yun Jingheng said, "The people down there are still there. Look at that wooden door at the mine entrance; there's no dust around it. It's opened frequently."

There's a car behind the third prefabricated house on the east side.

"The wheels are new," said Half-Sweet Coffee. "Someone's making a delivery today."

Yun Jingheng didn't move.

He closed his eyes and suppressed his breathing.

The sun shone on his back, making it feel hot and bothersome.

Sweat trickled down his brow bone and dripped onto the gray cloth.

He's only eaten a little something behind the grocery store since this morning.

Although his body was much stronger than before after the God Trial, the continuous travel and the real fight with Mu Ye had made his muscles slowly ache.

He dared not relax.

If you relax your grip, the Dark Moon Concealment may dissipate.

Once it disperses, it will be expelled here.

As darkness fell, there was some activity in the quarry.

Two men in dark short jackets emerged from the northernmost mine entrance, carrying a rectangular iron box.

The box was about half a person's height, with several dark red lines on its surface, making it look like rusty iron from a distance.

They carried it very slowly, their steps heavy.

Yun Jingheng counted that it took about forty-seven meters from the mine entrance to the car covered with a gray cloth on the open ground.

The thing was so heavy that the truck bed slumped down when it was lifted onto the vehicle.

One person immediately took a rope and tightened the box, while another jumped onto the vehicle and covered it with the gray cloth again.

The car headed west.

That's not the direction into the city.

"Half-Sweet Coffee."

Yun Jingheng said in a very low voice, "The car is moving out. Satellite, follow. Don't worry about me."

"Understood. Vehicle movement trajectory has been locked."

Half-Sweet Coffee said, "Master, Seven Percent Sugar has replied."

"Explain."

"The Sea God Pavilion replied. The original message consisted of six words: 'Read, awaiting your return.'"

The Half-Sweet Coffee paused for a moment. "Also, the man with Seven Percent Sugar added that Ms. Ya Li cried silently, and suggested that she not say such things on the printer next time."

Yun Jingheng remained silent.

He lay prone on the hilltop, his face buried in the gray cloth.

After a long while, he whispered, "I understand."

It was completely dark.

He slowly retreated down the slope and circled around to the east.

The moon had already emerged from behind the clouds, shining down on him with a cool, clear light.

His shadow stretched long on the gray dirt road.

As he walked, he suddenly stopped and looked up at the moon.

It's very round.

It was so bright it was almost blinding.

He squinted, lowered his head again, and continued walking deeper into the northern suburbs.

The car had already driven away.

But the Half-Sweet Coffee kept its eyes peeled, and tonight, it would memorize every road that car had traveled.

What Yun Jingheng needed to do was find a safe place before dawn and organize the next piece of intelligence.

Then, decide whether or not to go to the East City Grain Depot.

He eventually stopped at an old brick kiln located at the border of the northern suburbs and the eastern part of the city.

Most of the cave dwelling has collapsed, but the innermost wall is still relatively intact.

He piled up a few broken bricks in the windy spot, then pulled up some dry grass to spread under himself before slowly sitting down.

No fire was lit.

Moonlight streamed in through a crack in the kiln roof, falling directly onto the ground at the foot of the kiln.

He used this light to turn on his computer and turned the screen to its dimmest setting.

Half-Sweet Coffee's voice was extremely low. "Master, the vehicle is still moving. After leaving the quarry, it didn't go straight back to the city. It first circled north for a while, then turned west, and finally entered a dirt road on the east side of Heaven Dou City."

"That road isn't numbered. Satellite data shows it ends at a few abandoned farmhouses. The car is parked there now, and someone got out, but the light is too dim to see clearly."

Yun Jingheng looked at the screen.

In satellite imagery, the car had become a small gray dot, parked among several dark fields.

He zoomed in on the coordinates and had the Half-Sweet Coffee replay the route.

The dirt road was very narrow, with no fields on either side, only a few old irrigation ditches.

The car went in and never came out again.

"It's waiting."

Yun Jingheng said, "Wait until the city gate closes. Heaven Dou City will close the small gate on the east side at night. They won't take any risks; they'll stay there and move again later in the night."

"Shall we go now?" Half-Sweet Coffee asked.

"I'm not going."

Yun Jingheng shook his head. "Going there now won't allow us to see their next move, and it might alert them. Since they're not entering the city tonight, we're not in a hurry. You keep watching. Call me as soon as it makes a move."

He left the computer half-closed, not completely off.

Then he pulled out the last compressed biscuit from his pocket and ate it in small bites, using the little water from the bottom of the kettle.

The night was quiet, with the occasional bark of a dog in the distance.

He sat against the wall, his head tilted back slightly, his eyes half-closed.

After the Eighth Trial, his perception of his body became more refined than before.

The two corpses provided him with an excessive amount of replenishment. Before the corpses separated from his main body, he had a total of three portions of "Yun Jingheng's Soul Power".

Even if they were separated, they could still use their own Soul Power normally. It was just a pity that the two corpses had no physical bodies and could not use his Soul Bone Skill.

After a long while, Half-Sweet Coffee said, "Master, the vehicle has moved. It's entered the city. It went through the small gate on the east side of the city. There are no patrols there. It's already reached the back alley of the grain store."

Yun Jingheng opened his eyes.

The satellite image on the computer screen flickered; the car had already entered Heaven Dou City.

He glanced at the time: 2:47 AM.

"That makes sense."

He said, "The late hours are when the small gate on the east side of the city is least busy. They always deliver goods at this time, and the people at the grain store should be waiting for them by now."

"What do we do now?" Half-Sweet Coffee asked.

"No more fighting. That's all for tonight."

Yun Jingheng slowly stretched his neck. "We've figured out most of this lead. Tomorrow night, when they make another move, we'll follow them in. I need to see what's underneath the grain store."

"By the way, what are the characteristics of that energy reading? Let's do a simple analysis using the database first."

"OK."