Necromancer, What the Heck Is with Summoning an 055? Part 20

After spending so many days together, Josie was increasingly certain that "Little White" was an utterly ordinary skeleton spearman whose spear had lost more than half its length.

The truly terrifying one was that unruffled young man who always wore a smile.

Before the two youngsters left home, their families had repeatedly warned them not to offend this gentleman. They didn't know just how exalted his status was, but it certainly wasn't lowly.

Hearing Chen Mo make such solemn arrangements, the two gave it their utmost attention. Fully armed, they stood guard at the door, one taking the day shift and the other the night shift. They kept it up for four days and three nights.

A necromancer's summoning wasn't strictly bound by time. There were sacrificial methods for when the need was urgent and others for when it wasn't.

Summoning the undead required an Underworld lord's approval, so when the summoned creature ultimately emerged from the altar depended on the lord's current circumstances.

For example, did the lord have enough operators to take calls, and were their lines busy? Were the warriors under the lord's command occupied, or could they spare a unit? What sort of mood was the lord in, and was the lord satisfied with your offering? And so on and so forth!

Sometimes, while you were in the middle of summoning, the lord receiving your offering might even be getting thrashed by an enemy, leaving you unlucky enough to have your offering accepted without receiving a response.

For that reason, the magical community of the Starry Continent unanimously agreed that undead summoning wasn't a battlefield skill, but an everyday one.

There was nothing wrong with calling the community of magic scholars the magical community.

For Chen Mo, none of those issues were an issue.

Eastern Xia had a long history, but from any perspective, Chen Mo was the first person in recorded history to send a teleportation beacon back to Xia State from another world.

No one had done it before him, and who knew whether anyone would follow!

That alone was enough for the Eastern Xia government to receive each of his bloodline sacrifices with the highest level of attention and readiness.

The all-important teleportation beacon had been placed in a large conference room in Linhua Hall of Changle Palace, converted into a top-secret storage chamber. The entire surrounding area had been designated an exclusion zone and was heavily guarded.

Even Steward Cangming's office, as the presiding leader, had been requisitioned. The central leader himself had unceremoniously kicked himself out.

The instant the altar beacon glowed white again and began to tremble faintly, countless cutting-edge monitoring devices behind a thick blastproof glass wall detected the anomaly almost simultaneously. They included, but were not limited to, cameras, spectrometers, specialized imaging devices, and energy detectors.

A deep alarm sounded over the communications channel.

Chapter 31: Stargazing and Cihang

Lin Xiangdong was the head of the general affairs section of the Eastern Xia Military Security Bureau.

Just hearing his name was enough to tell that he had some family connections.

Now, however, he had been relieved of his post.

On the day he received orders from his superiors, he was taken to a separate interrogation room at the security bureau. All the monitoring equipment was switched off, and before the minister left, he even turned on an ultra-high-power signal jammer.

The solemn proceedings made his hair stand on end. For a moment, he wondered if his father, a field-grade military officer, had committed treason.

Then the person who walked in made him leap to his feet in excitement.

The first person in charge of the Eastern Xia Central Authority: Steward Cangming.

"Hello, Comrade Lin Xiangdong. This has come up suddenly, so I'll get straight to the point."

"We've reviewed your entire record. Both the Central Office and the Ministry of State Security hold you in high regard. You are a professional with the right political credentials, strong personal qualities, and outstanding abilities. The state now has a special assignment and would like to invite you to take part."

Lin Xiangdong stood tall, eyes fixed straight ahead. His voice rang through the interrogation room: "Please give the order, sir. I'll complete the mission, no matter what!"

"Don't rush. Hear me out first."

"If you accept this assignment, you will no longer have any private space from this point forward. Your movements will be recorded at all times, and your communications devices will be monitored around the clock. Every contact you make with the outside world must be approved, and the full content of every conversation must be reported truthfully."

"You will be permanently prohibited from leaving Eastern Xia State, publishing anything through public or personal media, or speaking in public without permission."

"Your future partner will also have to undergo a stringent review. If you marry, you will necessarily spend some time outside surveillance, since you'll need a reasonable degree of privacy. As a result, all your spouse's communications with the outside world will be subject to the same level of oversight as yours."

"I must stress that these measures will not end when your assignment is completed or terminated. They will remain in place for the rest of your life and may even extend to every relative with whom you wish to stay in contact."

"I think you need to give this careful thought!"

What was there to think about?

Lin Xiangdong felt his blood surge. His heart pounded so fiercely it seemed ready to drum a battle song against his chest.

What kind of treatment was this? It was the treatment once given to the nation's great pillars.

Bearing the nation's destiny on his shoulders, his name recorded in history!

Yes, I'll probably live this life in obscurity, concealing my name until I die. It may not even be declassified for many years to come.

What does that matter?

For an Eastern Xia man devoted to his family and country, could such an offer... be resisted?

"Sir, I am certain I'm willing to accept the assignment and obey any arrangement the state makes. I will complete the mission at any cost!"

He poured all his strength into the words, roaring them out like thunder.

"Good!" Steward Cangming rose, reached out, and gripped Lin Xiangdong's hand tightly.

"Comrade Xiangdong, starting now, you have two days. The comrades from Section One will accompany you throughout and help you settle your personal affairs. Also, say goodbye to your family. I'll be waiting for you at Changle Palace at this time the day after tomorrow."

"From now on, you'll be living at Changle Palace for the long term. You and I will be seeing each other day and night!"

To be honest, for one brief moment, Lin Xiangdong felt that parents weren't all that important and were quite a hindrance.

After waving goodbye to his father, who was puffing heavily on a cigarette, and his tearful mother, Lin Xiangdong moved into the dormitory in Tongguang Hall of Changle Palace, only a wall away from Linhua Hall.

There, he met his other two colleagues. One was named Chi Qiu, who looked gentle and refined and wore a pair of black half-rimmed glasses, with a calm, focused gaze behind the lenses. The other was Zheng Ran, who was tall and slender, with a neat, crisp crew cut and a scholarly air about his features.

With his background in security, Lin Xiangdong spoke briefly with his two colleagues and immediately realized that this probably wasn't an assignment that relied on force. Although all three had military or police backgrounds, their work had leaned toward administrative duties. They were the sort who relied more on "using their brains."

On their second day on the job, once everything was settled, Steward Cangming personally announced the work rules.

"Remember, at no time may any one of you be left guarding the teleportation beacon alone! At least two people must be present."

"You are strictly forbidden to disclose the true information about the beacon to anyone outside the three of you. Your subordinate personnel and departments may only receive task instructions from you. No extraneous communication outside the objectives of your work is permitted."

"When sending information to any third party other than me, all three of you must be present, or I must be there in person..."

Leader Cangming gave them more than a dozen instructions. Only after requiring each of them to repeat every rule in full did he explain their specific assignment.

Lin Xiangdong, Chi Qiu, and Zheng Ran would jointly form a core team codenamed [Stargazing]. They would lead a vast, newly established organization, specially authorized by the Eastern Xia Central Authority to draw on virtually all of the nation's resources: the [Cihang] Project Command Office.

Contrary to the earth-shattering work he had imagined, the job was mind-numbingly dull. As team leader, Lin Xiangdong spent his days reading, inspecting, inspecting, and reading, all while waiting for the "beacon" that might awaken at any unknown moment.

Once again, he sat down outside the isolation chamber and opened the copy of Behind Me Is a Torrent of Steel in his hands. He had barely read a few lines when the sharp, distinctive alarm suddenly sounded.

Lin Xiangdong sprang to his feet on reflex and exchanged a quick glance with Chi Qiu, who was on duty opposite him. Almost simultaneously, they adjusted the recorders on their chests and pressed the buttons on their communicators with their thumbs. Their communications equipment was custom-made, and issuing a general order to project office personnel required two people to activate it at once.

In a slightly trembling voice, Lin Xiangdong issued a long string of orders he had silently rehearsed countless times.

"All personnel on duty, withdraw immediately and proceed to Office Area Three to await orders."

"Notify the translation, external liaison, expert, and analysis teams to take their positions and enter level-one response status. All other teams, level-two response."

"Security team! Seal all entrances and exits to the Compassionate Voyage Office. Implement top-level lockdown! Silence protocol!"

Once the orders were given, Lin Xiangdong quickly opened the special dedicated-line encrypted phone on his chest and sent a specific combination of numbers and words to its sole preset number: "Report to the Central Simu Office: 0729-the wanderer has returned!"

After all that, Lin Xiangdong checked the large monitoring screen once more to confirm that everyone outside had reached a safe position. He and Chi Qiu then stood side by side and placed their palms against the door. After a combined verification of fingerprints, irises, and three passwords, a soft click sounded, and the heavy outer door of the top-secret storage chamber slowly opened, revealing the second-layer observation area.

"I'm entering the inner chamber!" Lin Xiangdong ordered succinctly.

Chi Qiu hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded. "All right! Stay safe!" Chi Qiu hurried to the central control console and worked rapidly, calling out a series of precise readings: "Geiger count, 0.20 μSv/h, radiation level normal; aerosol concentration below threshold, air cleanliness within standard; rapid virus screening clear; microbial test cartridge clear..."

"Entry authorized!"

Chapter 32: A Letter Home from the Wanderer

Zheng Ran, who was off duty, opened the buffer door and entered the observation area as well. Under the rules, however, he could only switch on his own video recorder and remain outside the safety line. His knuckles whitened slightly as he gripped his communicator and watched his two teammates on the other side of the glass.

After Chi Qiu once again completed the preliminary environmental safety check, Lin Xiangdong, now wearing a full protective suit, entered the decontamination passage. The heavy connecting door locked shut behind him, sealing off the middle area without a gap.

He passed through a corridor filled with atomized disinfectant. The cold white mist condensed into tiny droplets on his face shield, then evaporated completely before he reached the final air outlet.

Standing before the airtight door with its dim blue indicator light, Lin Xiangdong looked back once more. Through two layers of observation windows, he gave his comrades a clear, emphatic gesture to reassure them. Then, without hesitation, he stepped on the hydraulic door pedal.

A faint hiss of released pressure sounded especially clear in the silence. The heavy alloy door slid soundlessly to the side. Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Xiangdong stepped into the inner chamber known as Star Nest.

It was like a specially built steel cage, or perhaps an exceptionally high-security interrogation room. Its four walls were made of thick, specially prepared concrete, while reinforced steel plates covered the ceiling and floor. Its only connection to the outside was the enormous, multilayered blastproof glass wall facing the observation area.

Star Nest was packed with all manner of detection equipment. Indicator lights blinked red and green like stars, while the equipment gave off a low, steady hum.

Surrounded by this "sea of stars" made of technological light, the mysterious teleportation beacon in the center of the chamber had fully unfolded, steadily projecting a pale blue circle of soft light.

Milky-white smoke, coming from an unknown source, slowly dispersed like a gauzy veil, revealing a square package one meter across and half a meter high. Several pages covered in writing had been carefully tucked onto the top.

Lin Xiangdong checked the camera system's angle and began unpacking.

By the time the Steward Cangming, who had stayed behind, hurried from the busy Weiyang Palace to the scene at Changle Palace, Lin Xiangdong had completed the preliminary inspection.

Ever since Chen Mo came up with Child's Call, Eastern Xia's two highest leaders had been forced to take turns remaining on standby in Chang'an Prefecture, much like a pair of old parents fretting over a troublesome little brat.

Lin Xiangdong spread out the letter, projecting its pages clearly, one by one, onto the command center's large screen.

"[Wanderer]'s letter is very detailed," Lin Xiangdong reported steadily. "He sends his greetings and thanks to the leaders. He says he has temporarily escaped his troubles, but has encountered an obstacle in his pursuit of education and is looking for a new solution."

"To repay the motherland, [Wanderer] has sent a batch of Starry Continent specialties he was able to obtain. This is the inventory included with the letter."

"Preparations for this transmission were relatively thorough, and there was ample time. The stable reception window is expected to last seventy-two to ninety-six hours. However, since [Wanderer] did not use the special potion from last time, the total weight transmitted has decreased significantly."

A few minutes later, after carefully reviewing the information, Steward Cangming nodded to Lin Xiangdong. "Thank you for your hard work. Proceed according to the established plan!"

"Understood!" Lin Xiangdong and the other two answered in unison.

Of the three, Zheng Ran was the best at linguistics. He was responsible for first converting certain parts of the letter that needed the expert team's consideration into Sea Eagle Script. They would then be handed to the translation team, which would submit both the original text and the second translation to the Compassionate Voyage Project Office.

These revised texts would be assigned to the planning experts and intelligence analysts in the form of tasks, and they would attempt to provide practical recommendations.

The language of the Bald Sea Eagle was currently one of the most widely used on Blue Star, so using it as a disguise was quite reasonable.

Chi Qiu, meanwhile, prepared to coordinate with the supporting research team and send the materials to the various research institutes and laboratories under its command for analysis.

Lin Xiangdong's main responsibilities in this division of labor were overall control, supervision, and preparation of the outgoing supplies.

After the three finished their initial arrangements and cross-checked them, they formally issued the Cihang Project Office its first task instructions since its establishment. The entire office immediately went into full working mode.

The Eastern Radiance leader, who was abroad attending a summit forum, also took time out of his busy schedule to call on an encrypted overseas line and offer high praise and full recognition for the Stargazing Group's work.

So far, Eastern Xia's Donghuang Tianshu was still stuck laboriously cleaning up Chen Mo's messes.

While Little Goldie was making trouble for Chen Mo, Big Goldie was making trouble for Eastern Xia.

As the leader of the Bald Sea Eagle Empire, he had held countless titles of all sorts, but the most memorable was still his honorific: the Stock God.