Chapter 144: Preparing for Action

“Wuying is contacting me. He said you shouldn’t go into those mountains recently. He’s tracking one of my teammates to find a chance to enter the tunnel that leads into those mountains,” Zhou Liren said.
“Oh? He actually had you take the initiative to tell me this?”
Yang Zicang was somewhat surprised. That person, who might have been in a standoff with him for several hours, just showed up this easily?
“Yeah, just contact him yourself. He’s nearby.”
Just seconds after Zhou Liren finished speaking, Yang Zicang spotted the silver-white thread refracted in the air.
[Wuying wants to make a proactive investment for me.]
[Wuying has invested 1R for me.]
Wuying, is it really not Mingying?
Yang Zicang accepted it, thoughtfully wondering, could there be another person with an invisibility model? If so, there might be many more people in the world with similar abilities.
{Hello, captain of the sixty-first delivery team.}
In the sensory image, the man appeared to be only two or three years older than him, seemingly quite satisfied with his current appearance. Though casually dressed, his clothes were clearly carefully matched.
His appearance was completely different from that of Mingying, who could also become invisible.
“Hello, are you Wuying? Do you know Mingying?”
As he asked, Yang Zicang quickly pulled Luo Bin in through the Mental Link, along with Zuo Feixian and Teacher Chen. Since they were all not present, Wuying had no idea that someone was already watching his location with bated breath.
……
Several hundred miles away, Luo Bin, who was keeping watch at the base in the curtain-land backdrop, had just finished supper cooked by Little Liu when he received this Mental Link. He
immediately understood that YangZicang wanted him to prepare to gather intelligence on this person.
Facing YangZicang’s inquiry, Wuying gave an noncommittal smile, speaking with an easygoing tone:
{I’ve heard the name. Today, I, Wuying, came here because I heard you’re also eyeing the one who can enter the mountain, so I’m here to inform you that I can approach that person.}
YangZicang said softly at the door of the wooden cabin: “Is that all?”
If it were just that, the visitor deliberately informing them of his ability to enter the mountain could also be seen as offering some goodwill.
The other party spread his hands:
{Yeah, I know Mr. Zijian has the ability to get in quickly. So if you happen to show up while I’m inside and we start fighting, killing Li Zhinan— without that scent, I’d go crazy, and that’d be a real mess.}
“Li Zhinan?”
YangZicang weighed the matter in his mind.
“So, you’ve already confirmed that it’s because of Li Zhinan’s uniqueness that you can follow him into the cave? You plan to go in with him in the next couple of days, right, Mr. Wuying?”
The other party did not respond.
In the perception image, the person near the settlement vanished from the spot right after saying that. But the perspective of the Mental Link did not dissipate—it continued to remain.
Only now, the third-person “viewpoint owner” was no longer present in that perspective.
Zuo Feixian had already rushed over in panic the moment he received the mental link.
“So this is invisibility?” YangZicang murmured.
On the other side, Luo Bin remained silent, but was equally astonished in his heart.
This was the first time everyone felt the oppressive power of the invisibility model:
The perspective kept moving forward, yet the surrounding crowd acted as if they saw nothing. Some people even passed directly through the spot where invisibility was located. Witnessing all this, the few people present couldn’t help but feel a chill.
If someone like this were constantly by one’s side, it would be an unimaginable terror.
Zuo Feixian said softly, “If someone like this were to attack, who could defend against it?”
{Oh? Heh…}
After hearing Zuo Xianxian’s voice, Wuying let out a low chuckle, knowing that Yang Zicang had already shared his mental perspective with others.
However, he didn’t mind; in fact, he seemed even more considerate of the viewers witnessing this scene, actively walking towards a busier stall. As he passed a box storing incense pills, three pills visibly disappeared, while the two ladies chatting and laughing beside him were completely oblivious.
{Damn it, pal!}
Seeing this through the Mental Link, Luo Bin was so furious that smoke practically came out of his nostrils.
That was a direct loss of three to four centuries of time income—a blatant provocation!
{There’s no loss for you, is there?}
Hearing Luo Bin’s rage, who could no longer hold back, Wuying let out a satisfied chuckle that suggested he took pleasure in teasing people, then walked forward without a hint of panic, only speeding up when reaching a less crowded area.
“Indeed, moving creates a human silhouette, and footprints appear too.”
It was almost identical to the model of the Shadow of Darkness. Just as Yang Zicang wanted to get a closer look, the connection broke off.
“Ah, that damnable bastard.”
The moment Wuying’s exposed form vanished meant that this person could appear anytime, anywhere, beside anyone.
Such a top-tier ability was both envied by others and as irritating as a fishbone stuck in the throat for those who didn’t possess it.
……
Out on the wastelands, Wuying, while running, was quite satisfied with the pressure he had inflicted on Yang Zicang.
“Only when you possess the power to threaten others does the goodwill you show become worthy of respect…”
He stopped and looked back at a dark line rising on the far horizon, where faint glimmers of light flickered subtly within the shadow.
“However, there is one place where even they cannot completely hide their tracks… I’ll have to get my hands on a Desert Vehicle sooner or later to guard against any other potential Invisibility Models… though such models should not appear again.”
……
At midnight, Yang Zicang brought back Lyu Zhi and the others who were rotating to guard the “Scene of the Farm Plot,” and prepared some items for trekking into the mountains.
“Are you really going in immediately? Wouldn’t that be too impulsive? Why not discuss it with the leaders of those greenhouses first?”
Luo Bin felt a pang of reluctance—if the treasure inside were truly taken, the incense pill business of entering the mountains would be void.
This was a foolproof, high-yield venture! Just within a few days, they had earned over two hundred thousand Hours. Even after distributing the share later, the “two of them” could still pocket a hundred thousand Hours.
Nowhere else in the world could there be a sweet deal like this.
“Can’t you wait another two or three weeks? If you harvest the treasure lurking in there now, missing the spiritual illusion’s interference, this business will really be over.”
Yang Zicang sighed, “I sometimes wonder, were you the one interrogating people back on Earth, or the one being interrogated?”
“Ahem…” Luo Bin pressed his palm down, “As the saying goes, ‘What’s past cannot be chased after.’ Let go, let go of those idle thoughts.”
“Actually, it’s ‘What’s past cannot be corrected, but the future can still be pursued~’”
Yang Zicang, busy packing, glared at the fat man in annoyance:
“Hey, can you show some awareness? Don’t you know such a big thing has happened, that the One-Table Inn is gone? And you’re still dwelling on these timelines. Don’t end up earning it but having no chance to spend it.”
“But with those phantom creatures guarding it, how will you get in?”
“Simple—I’ll go in with that man surnamed Li.”
Luo Bin’s face changed, and he urged with internal struggle, “Didn’t the Shadow just warn you earlier? He’s going to tail Li Zhinan.”
“If he can do it, so can we. And besides…”
Yang Zicang paused in organizing the Ability Spheres and thought for a moment.
“That guy suddenly showed up in our market. Besides grabbing some incense pellets, I feel like he deliberately let me know he was heading into the mountains. How is that not a challenge?”
Luo Bin squinted his small eyes and looked around, fearing the one called the Shadow might suddenly appear beside him. But he knew the guy couldn’t have rushed over here that fast.
“Alright, you two freaks, go ahead and gang up on a poor soul being controlled by an even bigger freak. Tch, tch. Oh, I hear little Ma Chao coming back.”
The slow train gently stirred the air, causing the carriage door to materialize within the wooden house.
{Out here, it’s much freer. I can let loose and run, and no matter how slow the speed, no one disturbs me.}
Little Ma Chao had just gotten back from a thrilling run, looking very satisfied.
Yang Zicang picked up the bundle he planned to bring to the market. “I’ll go with you.” Luo Bin eagerly climbed aboard the train door, turning to take the weapons, dry rations, and medical supplies that Yang Zicang handed up.
[I have consumed 1 N of principal, the Midnight Train is departing.]
[Next stop, Zhou Liren Station. Estimated travel time: six and a half minutes.]
The train vanished into the room.
……
Dozens of miles further beyond this scenic view, two figures were carrying a large stone bar, drawing steadily closer on foot through the night.
……
The mountains and forests.
Deep within the woods, a man covered head to toe in branches and leaves lay hidden on a ridge. His insect minions kept watch, hovering near where Li Zhinan moved.
“Captain Xuelin, Li Zhinan is indeed heading into that mountain again tonight.”
{Let me see.}
With a specific target in mind, Yuan Xuelin, true to his reputation as the security captain of the Carefree Trade Zone, managed after a few days to pinpoint Li Zhinan’s re-entry into that mountain range.
After the merchandize captain last cleared the vines the day before yesterday, the kid had started visiting the mountain much more frequently over the past two days, and always under the cover of late-night solitude.
Buzz, buzz—a few tiny insects kept flitting around him.
Li Zhinan cast an impatient glance at them before stepping closer to the bushes to unbuckle his belt.
{Does my surveillance work now include covering human anatomy?}
The insect-controller’s complaints streamed through the squad’s Mental Link.
Yuan Xuelin responded, “After you’re done, I’ll request it with the shed master.”
{Captain, I think asking Boss Zijian is more likely to work than asking Shed Master Wuyou.}
“You’re dreaming.”