Anomalies at Dawn?
Qin Ze became interested.
"Didn't you tell the Military Department investigators about this?"
Huai Xu replied, "I did say that, but they didn't hear a thing."
"It seems like only I can hear this voice. Everyone says I have war syndrome and am hallucinating."
The Military Department investigators' suspicions were not unfounded.
New recruits like Huai Xu, who are just starting out on the battlefield, are not used to the battlefield environment and are indeed prone to all sorts of hallucinations, even paranoia.
Huai Xu said earnestly, "I can assure you, that wasn't an illusion."
Qin Ze said calmly, "How can you be so sure, just based on your one sentence?"
Huai Xu explained, "My innate ability is Precision, but I prefer to call it Eagle Eye."
He took the longbow from his back and patted it. "As the name suggests, this ability makes my shooting more Precision."
"It's not just eyesight that's being enhanced, but also all the senses, including hearing, which is, after all, part of Precision."
Qin Ze was not surprised.
He had noticed that Huai Xu's intuition was very accurate when the professional team went on missions together in the past, which turned out to be due to his innate ability.
Qin Ze pondered for a moment, "You mean, only you have the ability to detect the strange noises at dawn?"
Huai Xu nodded.
"If you don't believe me, that's fine too. Just take it as me making things up."
Qin Ze gazed at the "night sky" in the Abyss: "Dawn will break again in a few hours. Whether it's your imagination or not, we'll know then."
The professional team also has patrol duties at night.
Huai Xu didn't stay with Qin Ze for long before joining Lu Tongtong and Wen Jing on patrol.
Late at night, the gunfire at the front lines ceased once again.
Qin Ze had already surveyed the surrounding positions, and the situation was roughly the same in all of them.
None of the people in these positions heard the strange noises at dawn that Huai Xu had mentioned.
Qin Ze then went to the front line, where they had just repelled the attack of the alien beasts. The corpses of the alien beasts had been piled up into small mountains, and fire-breathing soldiers and martial artists with fire-based abilities were burning the corpses.
"Who are you?"
A blood-stained officer walked towards Qin Ze, eyeing him warily.
Qin Ze presented his Law Token: "I'm here to investigate the epidemic."
Upon seeing the Law Token, the officer lowered his guard. "I am the commander here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."
Qin Ze cut to the chase. "Have you noticed anything unusual in the sky above the position lately around dawn?"
"For example, strange noises or unusual lights."
The officer said thoughtfully, "I didn't hear any strange noises, but I have been feeling something's off about dawn lately."
Qin Ze asked impatiently, "What?"
The officer replied, "Wind."
Qin Ze asked in surprise, "Wind?"
The officer nodded. " The Abyss rarely experiences wind; at least, I haven't encountered it many times in the years I've been stationed Abyss."
"But these past few days, every time dawn breaks, the strange beasts pounce like madmen, and then I notice the wind created by the movement of the air."
"At first I thought it was the shockwave from an exploding shell, but after a few days I was certain it was just the wind."
"The shockwave from an artillery shell isn't so gentle."
Qin Ze frowned.
Strange noises and a peculiar wind.
What kind of combination is this?
The officer then looked at the burning corpse of the alien beast and continued, "In the past two years, the alien beasts have become increasingly active, and their attacks have become more frequent, but they have never been as regular as they have been recently."
"Every day at the crack of dawn, they launch their attack on the position on time, as if they're clocking in for work."
"Their strength isn't high either; there are only a few thousand low-level alien beasts. They can basically be driven back in two rounds of artillery fire."
"Day to day..."
Qin Ze narrowed his eyes slightly. "What is the beast using its attack to cover up?"
The officer nodded. "I felt the same way."
Qin Ze had dealt with many strange beasts; while he wouldn't say he knew them as well as a farmer knew about manure, he was still an old acquaintance.
These strange beasts also possess intelligence; the foolish act of regularly clocking in and feeding kills to others doesn't seem like something they would do.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing," the officer suddenly turned around and said, "I just received the news myself."
"The first batch of critically ill patients sent back to Penglai City are showing signs of recovery."
Qin Ze asked in surprise, "You've developed a miracle drug?"
When did the Military Department's medical team become so efficient?
The officer shook his head. "They recovered on their own without any treatment."
A series of question marks appeared above Qin Ze's head.
The officer said calmly, "That's all the information I have. I don't know if it's helpful to you."
"The intensity of the war is increasing every day, and we frontline personnel have little time to think. I'm leaving all the investigation to you."
"More and more soldiers are getting sick, and Penglai City's reserves are almost exhausted."
"Soldiers are already being transferred from various cities to Snow City, but it will take time."
"If the monsters continue to attack at this pace every day, we can manage to hold out."
"But if they suddenly form an even larger beast tide, or even a tidal Tide, Penglai City might be in danger of falling."
Qin Ze realized the seriousness of the situation; the beast was like a dull knife cutting flesh, waiting for the final fatal blow.
A scout rushed over, saluted, and reported, "Sir, we've just spotted another Hunting Beast."
"But that beast was too cunning; I couldn't catch it, and it got away."
The officer nodded. "Understood. Continue the investigation."
The soldier saluted and left.
Qin Ze asked curiously, "Are there many Hunting Beast?"
The officer replied, "There weren't many before; sometimes we wouldn't encounter one a month."
"It was only after the soldiers fell ill that the Hunting Beast increased."
"But these beasts roaming the area would run away at the sight of people, never engaging in combat with soldiers, and it was unclear what they were up to."
"All I can do is instruct the soldiers to be on high alert."
Strange noises at dawn, a gentle breeze, and an increasing number of Hunting Beast...
Qin Ze's intuition told him that these were no coincidences.
This sudden epidemic that swept across the entire region is likely related to the strange beasts; these creatures seem to be plotting something in secret.
As dawn approached, Qin Ze returned to the position where Lu Tongtong and the others were.
Just then, the professional team returned from their patrol, and Qin Ze called out to Huai Xu.
"Dawn is almost here, wait with me a little while."
Huai Xu stopped beside him. "Okay."
Lu Tongtong blinked at Qin Ze and stood beside him.
Upon Wen Jing also stopped and lingered.
A moment later, the fat man emerged from the tent, leaning on his cane; his complexion had not improved.
Huai Xu asked, "Why did you come out?"
The fat man waved his hand. "If nothing unexpected happens, the monsters will attack again soon. As the Great Mage, I'll have to cover for you."
Huai Xu scoffed, but his actions betrayed his words, and he stepped forward to help the fat man.
The five people stood in a line, facing the direction of the sunrise, waiting for dawn.
Qin Ze smiled knowingly, not expecting the professional team to be assembled into its complete form at this moment.
As a sliver of light pierced the dark sky, dawn broke over the Abyss.
Whoosh--boom--
At the same time, the thunderous roar of artillery fire from the front lines shattered the silence.