The terrain and experiential information gathered in the afternoon and the previous day unfolded in his mind like an intricate map.

The number designations of the enemy nation’s blockade forces, their commanders’ names and personalities, the approximate bearings of the loudspeaker sounds, and that evacuation route and pillage timetable looming ominously over tens of thousands of people.

Every minute detail had already been mulled over and over within Yang Zicang until he was convinced this plan possessed more than a fifty-percent chance of success.

-｛Distributor February. Di’an, leveraging a wealth of experience, marked a new node for the brilliant prelude.｝

At midnight, a thick bank of black clouds shrouded the full moon, dimming even the faint light that cast shadowy silhouettes of trees.

In that pitch-black darkness where one could not see one’s hand in front of their face, a ghostly gray-white blur flashed swiftly through the forested hilltops, circled low to the ground around the surrounding one- or two-li radius, and then vanished.

Yang Zicang withdrew the mental perception of his ‘White Shadow Mind Dragon.’ There was a military camp nearby, with four sentries standing guard outside, while the number of men inside the encampment was unclear. However, the security level here clearly didn’t match that of a main headquarters tent. Unnoticed by these few individuals, a black shadow had already slipped past them and ventured deeper into the mountain.

Like an ink-drop dissolved into the gloom of night, his feet deftly trod over pine needles, humus, fallen leaves… The night mountain’s peculiar crisp and damp air lingered around him.

Another encampment appeared ahead in the hollow valley.

Just as he was about to climb onto the steep slope, a sudden “crackling ” sound of boots stepping on withered leaves came from around the corner above, without any warning.

“Are you here? “

Yang Zicang held his breath and pressed his body tightly against a tree trunk. He could hear the footsteps stop less than thirty meters directly above his head.

“I’m here. “

A voice, clearly full of vitality yet deliberately lowered, came from the other side.

｛I, the Great Quadrilateral, am relieved that I didn’t answer.｝

-｛Distributor February. Di’an is intently watching my every move.｝

“Did you bring it? “

“Yeah, I brought it. What about yours? ” The man’s voice was pressed, as if he was trying to suppress something deep in his throat.

The one who spoke first obviously hesitated for a moment. Yang Zicang struggled to control his own body; without relying on the model, he was terrified that his own weight would make him slide down the slope and create a sound. If that raised an alarm, his only option left would be a display of force.

Still, so late at night, the two of them acting suspicious here—had he accidentally stumbled into a secret rendezvous that didn’t seem to be about a legitimate deal?

“This is what you asked for. ” Finally, the man seemed to pull something out from within his robe.

These two probably didn’t have bloodline powers, did they?

For the sake of information he might uncover by accident, Yang Zicang gritted his teeth and decided to gamble on it.

｛Musing Night—activate!｝

A faint sense of gloom spread out for a hundred meters, instantly shrouding the two people above. The pair, already hiding something from others, felt a chill on their skin. After an almost imperceptible shudder, the first speaker said, “Hurry up. If we stay any longer, my squad leader will notice. “

“Don’t use it all up at once. “

The man speaking in a hushed voice handed something over, then quickly snatched a magazine from the other’s hand.

Yang Zicang closed his eyes and focused closely. The damp wild grass and trees around him, the pair’s leather boots with their muddy soles, the long windbreakers, the thick leather army caps, and even the shape of the magazine in their hands—all were silently exchanged into his Mental Sea!

The man holding the magazine breathed more heavily. The gloomy clouds in the sky drifted slowly away, revealing a silver-white, jade-like disc of the moon.

The name of the magazine in his hand was exposed, along with the portrait of a seductive woman wearing only a thin veil.

—《Unveiled Art…》

Yang Zicang’s mind felt a sudden jolt of shock.

As the man’s hand touched the edge of the magazine… Yang Zicang’s anticipation rose with every movement. Perhaps, within these pages, lay some top-secret intelligence about this place.

Flick, flick! Thumb flipped a page.

Inside were nothing but blurry black-and-white provocative images—no trace of any classified information to be found.

“Alright, deal done. See you around.“

“Hide it well. Even if they find it, don’t say it came from me.“

“Don’t worry.“

The leather boots above swiftly retreated in opposite directions and vanished.

Yang Zicang perceived their departure, and only when they had walked beyond the range of his perception did he finally let out a breath.

After waiting a few more minutes and confirming there was no sound around him, he once again melted into the darkness, scurrying along beneath the low road curb.

-｛Distributor February. Di’an expresses regret.｝

……

By the cliff, Yang Zicang gazed at the distant sea surface and the other mountaintop behind him.

This base camp here was not the command center. And time was now approaching two in the morning. If he kept searching, he might not even find the command center’s location by dawn.

After pondering briefly, he slipped into a camp. Waiting for two minutes, when a sentry yawned and rubbed his eyes, Yang Zicang suddenly felt a powerful grip seize his throat—his entire body uncontrollably lifted and whisked away from the spot at lightning speed.

The sentry struggled to turn his head, but his limbs were firmly pinned. He found that even while carrying him, this man was incredibly fast, reaching the cliff edge in less than two minutes. Then… this man extended him out over the cliff!

“H-help! Save me! “

The moment Yang Zicang loosened his grip slightly, the sentry’s throat struggled to push out a sound.

“Go ahead and yell, if you want to die. “

Staring at the void beneath his feet, the man immediately fell silent.

“Answer my questions honestly, and you’ll live. Who is the station commander here? “

“M… Erich… Colonel. “

The name matched the information he had gathered. Yang Zicang chose to trust She Liqi; he skipped further inquiries about the colonel’s details and said, “Where is the commander’s location? “

“指挥官的所在地在哪里。“

“At… ” The man hesitated for a moment. With a “swoosh, ” a metal wire pierced into the muscles of his back leg.

“Next time, it’ll be your left kidney; after that, your heart. Three, two… “

“On the left, on the mountain to the left, very close. “

Yang Zicang let go. The man fell from the cliff. In terror, he tried to scream, but found his throat tightly constricted by a silk scarf, unable to make a sound. Frantically, he watched the sharp, protruding rocks race towards him, desperate as he opened his mouth wide, waving his limbs wildly—then came the next second…

With a “whoosh, ” a flash of white shadow streaked by. The sentry dazedly realized he seemed to have separated from his body.

Am I dead?he thought helplessly.

The sentry, having been drawn out of his mental body, appeared dazed as the White Shadow Thought-Dragon carried him in its mouth and flew up.

“Where is the commander’s location? ” Yang Zicang asked again.

{At… the hollow valley on the left mountain, not in the machine-gun bunker, but in the barracks. }

“Does your army have anyone afflicted by Miasma Pollution? “

{A… powerful one like that… wouldn’t… stay here… for mere… laborers… }

Yang Zicang turned to look behind him; the patrol team would soon discover that a sentry had gone missing. To avoid alarming the enemy, the young man willed it, and the sentry’s body, wrapped in a giant blanket, was sent back to the top of the cliff.

He took the man’s body, swiftly returned it to its original position, leaned it against a tree no more than three steps from its previous spot, and then quickly departed.

The patrol team rounded a bend from the north side of the camp, drawing closer and closer. At the moment before being discovered, the White Shadow Mind Dragon from the other side tossed the mental body, which had already begun to distort, into the physical body, then vanished into the air.

“Hey, what happened to that guy over there? “

The team unslung their rifles and hurried over, while the sentry, leaning against the tree trunk, was just opening his eyes in a daze.

“Went to sleep? “

“Hey! What the hell are you doing, daring to sleep at a time like this! “

“I… ” The sentry rubbed his neck, feeling dazed and confused, unclear whether what happened just now was real or just a nightmare. “I might have been bewitched by some mountain spirit, ” he said, terrified. “I fell off the cliff and died! “

“Look at the excuse you’re making! Get the hell back and wait for punishment! “

A military boot kicked him in the rear.

From a distance, Yang Zicang confirmed that the man hadn’t revealed any information about what just happened before slipping away in the dark.

……

The sentry returned to his dormitory dejectedly, but doubt still lingered in his mind. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he gazed through a small mirror at the fading bruise around his throat.

“It wasn’t a dream… “

His body tensed up.

After a moment of anxious contemplation, he turned to look at the empty holster by his pillow. “I joined the army to defend my homeland… “

The sentry picked it up.

“But what I’ve been doing is capturing unarmed commoners from other countries. “

The man strode quickly to the barracks window, stuck his head out, and stared at the rivaling hill to the left, his mind in turmoil.

“You’re not asleep yet. What are you looking at? “

A voice came from the doorway.

The sentry turned around. Two tall soldiers in military police uniforms strode inside, their voices stirring some of the sleepers awake.

“I… ” the sentry clenched his teeth. “I’m not lying. I really did fall off a cliff. Do you believe me? “

One of them walked up to his bed and, amid the curious, disapproving, or mocking stares of the surrounding comrades, picked up the empty holster, dusted it off with disdain, and shook the grime from it.

The other stepped forward two paces, sneered, reached out, and tore the military emblem from the sentry’s shoulder.

“Mistake upon mistake—go tell these stories to the Inspectorate’s men. “

Hearing the sound of his rank insignia being torn away, the man felt something inside him being ripped to shreds as well.

“Yes, I was wrong. ” He lowered his head in sincere remorse.