Viewed up close, Mount Jiao was a grayish-black circular massif of colossal proportions, its upper reaches practically piercing the clouds.
In truth, the mountain was far from as uniform as it appeared from a distance. Its surface was rugged and pockmarked, riddled with pit traps, hollows, and caverns, while its interior was threaded with natural fissures alongside a labyrinth of excavated tunnels that crisscrossed every direction.
The inhabitants of Mount Jiao had established their villages by anchoring themselves to these hollows and crevices. From the outside, the mountain appeared to be a unified whole, but the chronic scarcity of resources bred bitter feuds among the villages. Only in the face of outsiders did they stand together as one.
The locals made a living by digging up and trading the bizarre oddities buried deep beneath Mount Jiao. No one knew where these items originated, yet they seemed to be inexhaustible.
The mountain's water and soil had suffered catastrophic contamination, a condition that had persisted as far back as historical records went. Even so, since the old era, commoners fleeing extortionate taxes and forced labor had continuously sought refuge here.
As Ren Xiaotian drove his off-road vehicle closer, the vehicle suddenly took a heavy jolt. Rugged, uneven terrain made jolts standard fare, yet at this moment he sensed something and brought the car to a halt.
Pulling on a face mask and scarf, he pushed open the door and stepped down into the howling wind. He produced a gas lamp and waved it back and forth several times. Moments later, from a nearby pit, a figure bundled entirely in cloth with only their eyes exposed crawled out.
The person gave him two assessing looks. "Been here before?"
Ren Xiaotian said nothing, merely tossing over a roll of transaction vouchers—the common currency of Mount Jiao.
Even amid the howling wind, the figure reached out and caught them in a single snatch, swiftly stuffing them into a pocket. "What goods do you want?"
Ren Xiaotian answered simply, "Red cargo."
The person understood immediately. Although Mount Jiao seemed isolated from the outside world, buyers regularly came for many of the things found here, with some items attracting buyers from as far as Center City. Red cargo was among the most valuable commodities the mountain had to offer.
The person glanced at the car. "Another person?" Upon receiving an affirmative response, he said, "Follow the signals." He struck a homemade flare and swung it twice toward the road ahead. In the distance, another flare swung back in response.
Ren Xiaotian had visited Mount Jiao many times and was familiar with the local customs. Getting back into the vehicle, he drove uphill along the signaled path until he turned a bend and reached a village.
Lu Ke had not brought him to his own village. Entering Mount Jiao came first. It would have been fine if Lu Ke had returned alone, but bringing an outsider to trade carried the risk that other villages might detain him to prevent him from snatching their business.
Once they reached the village, the ground became so riddled with pit traps that they had to proceed on foot. Without a local guide, an outsider would find it nearly impossible to take a single step forward.
After entering the village, Ren Xiaotian made contact with the local trader according to custom. Looking around, he spotted villagers standing scattered in the distance. Every one of them wore a savage glare, clutching either bows and arrows, homemade muskets, or modified slingshots.
The trader sized them up with ill intent. Seeing that neither Ren Xiaotian nor Lu Ke possessed implants, he showed a flash of disappointment. But when he asked how much goods they wanted and heard the requested quantity, his spirits lifted noticeably.
He invited them into a slightly more sheltered nook that blocked the wind, then hauled out a wicker basket filled to the brim with rubble-like fragments covered in creeping red threads. The trader stared straight at him. "No one's come to collect these in a long time. Can you take all of it?"
Ever since Chen Chuan's warning, Ren Xiaotian had never touched this kind of material again. Now, seeing so much gathered together, he could feel his skin prickling with faint stings of pain. Yet the locals acted casually, completely unconcerned. Fortunately, he and Lu Ke had taken medication beforehand, giving them a degree of resistance.
He asked, "Is this all there is?"
"You want a lot?"
The trader's eyes flashed with suspicion, surprise, and a hint of suppressed delight.
Ren Xiaotian flicked his fingers and drew out a gold draft, displaying it before the trader. "We'll take as much as you have."
The trader's eyes lit up. "A Wansheng Conglomerate bearer gold draft?!"
Though isolated, the inhabitants were not entirely cut off from the outside world. A bearer draft from Wansheng Conglomerate could be cashed by anyone holding it. In the city, there were middlemen dedicated to helping them exchange drafts for hard currency. While losing a cut each time was painful, being outcasts of Mount Jiao left them no choice but to swallow the loss.
The surrounding villagers stared greedily at the gold draft, then turned their eyes toward Lu Ke and Ren Xiaotian, their breathing growing ragged. If the outsiders could produce one, they had to have more. The villagers behind them slowly began raising their guns and bows.
From behind, Lu Ke spoke up: "Don't get any bright ideas. This is a designated draft that requires my Brother Ren's personal signature to be valid. Snatching it won't do you any good. Without the owner's signature, it's just scrap paper."
Hearing this, the trader was thoroughly deflated. He glanced at Lu Ke. "Judging by your accent, you're from the eastern end?" Receiving confirmation, he waved his hand dismissively in disappointment. "That's all we have. Take the goods and trade somewhere else."
With a local leading the way, his petty tricks were useless. Furthermore, these two outsiders clearly looked like tough characters. Since there was no extra profit to be squeezed out, there was no reason to detain them.
Ren Xiaotian tossed the gold draft over. Lu Ke stepped forward to hoist the wicker basket onto his back, then said, "Brother Ren, follow me. I know the path down."
Ren Xiaotian nodded.
His mission this time was to bury esoteric ritual apparatuses at several designated locations and then remain here to monitor subsequent reactions.
These apparatuses had all been provided by the Esoteric Cult Examination Bureau. If the old imperial secret repository truly lay here, opening it would inevitably trigger an esoteric ritual, regardless of whether half the key was missing. Once activated, the buried apparatuses would react to the ritual's resonance and produce a detectable commotion, allowing them to spot it immediately and transmit a telegraph outward without delay.
After leaving the village, they visited two more settlements in succession. Guided by coordinates verified through their boundary credentials, they soon reached the first burial site. Carefully retrieving a cylindrical object that resembled ceramic, they buried it straight into the ground according to the handbook's instructions.
Because there were no signs of people nearby, the process went without a hitch. Once finished, Lu Ke asked, "Big Brother Ren, is that all set?"
Ren Xiaotian glanced at the sky and answered concisely, "Dawn is breaking. Let's find a place to settle down first before heading to the next spot."
"Understood!"
Half an hour later, the sun climbed above the horizon, casting its rays across the land. Both Yangzhi City and Mount Jiao were bathed in golden light.
Over at his old residence in Yangzhi City, Chen Chuan stood at the doorway, looking toward Mount Jiao. Senior Brother Ren should have arrived by now. If the ritual apparatuses could be put in place smoothly, it would guarantee at least ten or so days of continuous monitoring.
Without knowing whether a fissure truly existed there, this was the most cost-effective and convenient approach available.
At present, the primary focus remained on the Three Mountains. The Government Affairs Hall was stepping up its efforts to link the area with Yangzhi's field, and the integration of fields across key facilities and main routes was already underway.
Within five days at the latest, the Skyline field would envelop this entire strategic region, ensuring that any fissure would be detected the instant it appeared.
Turning back inside, Chen Chuan brewed a cup of tea, brought over a cushioned chair, and sat down. He sipped his tea slowly while leafing through the *Record of Enclosing the Land*, with Chaoming curled up quietly beside him.
Even though the Old Imperial Court might be planning a major move, he felt no tension whatsoever. Instead, he was exceptionally composed. As his strength grew, he naturally gained the confidence to handle any unexpected developments.
Past nine o'clock, he closed the book, packed his things, and walked out of the old residence. Making his way to a fueling station outside, he found an extended armored vehicle already parked there waiting for him.
As he walked up, the door was pushed open from within, and an orderly snapped a salute. Chen Chuan nodded and took a seat inside.
The telegraph operator in the front seat reported, "Section Chief, message from Center City: after ten o'clock, the National Boulevard field station will be among the first batch integrated into Skyline."
Chen Chuan nodded. "Head there and wait."
"Understood!"
The armored vehicle pulled away, arriving half an hour later along the eastern stretch of National Boulevard in Yangzhi City. Down this route lay the road leading to Yuanwang Port. The vehicle pulled over beside a checkpoint.
Chen Chuan sat quietly in the back seat and waited. Around ten o'clock, a sudden hiss echoed through the boundary credential at his ear before growing distinct. He heard several broadcast announcements transmitted from the signal station in Center City.
He nodded to himself. Progress was proceeding smoothly. At this rate, the signal would be firmly reinforced within two to three days.
Once that was accomplished, any anomaly across the field's coverage would be known to him instantly, and at his speed, he could reach the site in moments.
Even so, the fact that signal deployment across the Three Mountains had gone so smoothly without encountering any anticipated sabotage suggested two possibilities: either they were completely overthinking things, or the secret repository was simply not here.
To be frank, he would rather they were overthinking it; patching vulnerabilities preemptively was far better than having enemies exploit them.
If the secret repository truly wasn't here, then—
Just as the thought crossed his mind, an incoming signal beeped in his ear. Checking the caller, his mind stirred, and he patched it through.
"Old Feng?"
Old Feng's voice came through: "Section Chief Chen, it's me. In accordance with the Government Affairs Hall's directives, we've obtained intelligence from headquarters.
"Based on analysis conducted by the conscious entity cluster in our analytics division, the Old Imperial Court's upper-tier military forces have indeed engaged in unusual troop mobilizations over the past year. Although they previously concealed their movements well, yesterday we coordinated with the Shannan Dao garrison to stage an offensive, forcing them to reveal a few flaws. It can now be confirmed that several high-ranking imperial generals were recalled to court to report on their duties recently, but for one of them, the person appearing publicly is very likely a body double. We are currently verifying this."
"Who is this person? What post does he hold?"
Old Feng replied, "One of the Old Imperial Court's Four Subjugating Generals—the General of Eastern Subjugation, Su Kuo."
Hearing that, Chen Chuan's gaze shifted slightly. "Old Feng, thank you. This intelligence is very important."
Chapter 1020