As morning light drifted in from the east of the Cultivation Room's window, Xu Wuyi still sat with his eyes closed. He perceived how those warm golden points of light across various parts of the territory were entering a new round of rest and handover during the final stretch of the night, and that layer of hybrid overlay within the network, through continuous slow expansion, had already crossed the ninth node position on the west side of the Central Defense Line, currently pushing toward the direction of the tenth node. In his perception, he confirmed that the expansion speed of the overlay still maintained the uniform rate of the previous few days, showing no attenuation or acceleration, and then he exited the introspective state, opened his eyes, stood up, and pushed open the door of the Cultivation Room.
When he sat down on the tree stump, Zero Seven was already standing at the edge of the tree shadows holding a teacup. She placed the teacup on the stump's cross-section and retreated back into the tree shadows. Xu Wuyi reached out and picked up the teacup, white steam rising upward from the rim, presenting a subtle spiral vortex in the morning light. The moment he brought the teacup to his lips, a deep and continuous vibration suddenly came from the depths of his perception.
The source of that vibration was in the direction of the Northern Boundary Line. Its frequency was extremely low, and its amplitude continued to climb, resembling some huge structure being torn apart from the inside. His hand holding the teacup paused for a fraction of a second in mid-air, and then he put the teacup back onto the stump's cross-section, stood up from the stump, raised his hand to tear open a fissure, and stepped inside. When