The Situation

The following day, as dawn began to break, Chen Chuan opened his eyes from deep meditation. Taking stock of his condition, he found that practicing cultivation with special medicine in the Confluence seemed even more effective than in Center City. Yet it appeared to come with greater risks. He looked toward his Second Self. The signs of insubstantiality within it were pronounced and deeply entrenched. This encroaching corruption was apparently long-lasting, and there was no telling how long it would take to clear away. That meant he had to be cautious about using medicine to cultivate here. He couldn't do it as frequently as he had in Center City, especially since he still had combat duties to carry out. He got up and washed. Just as he was about to head outside to stretch his limbs, a shrill whistle sounded in the distance, suggesting something had happened. Alerted, he changed into the uniform issued to him the day before and stepped out of the dormitory. Reaching the open courtyard in the fortress center, he saw the garrison gates open. A squad of stationed soldiers was jogging out, though no vehicles had been mobilized. One look told him an issue had likely cropped up in the immediate perimeter. Returning the salutes of the sentries on either side, he walked out through the gate. Once outside, he didn't even need to search—the anomaly was immediately apparent. Ahead on the thick white snow, not far from the railway tracks, was a string of massive footprints. Each was about two to three meters long, sunken deeply into the drift to reveal the dark earth beneath. Judging by the prints alone, they seemed to belong to some enormous quadruped. The trail came from the far side of the tracks and stretched beyond the horizon. At its closest point, it passed within twenty or thirty meters of the fortress walls, practically brushing right against them. Ahead, several technicians and officers stood beside the prints, talking quietly with a few soldiers standing nearby. Despite their hushed voices, their words carried clearly to Chen Chuan's ears. "Looks like a big one, doesn't it?" "Not necessarily. In the Confluence, what you don't see doesn't count, and what you do see can't be taken entirely at face value. A footprint might just be a footprint; it doesn't mean something actually walked there." An officer called over one of the sentries from the previous night. "Any activity last night?" The soldier saluted. "Reporting, sir. Everything was normal during the night. Nothing was heard. These tracks were discovered during the morning patrol." The officer seemed used to it. He casually ordered, "Log it and file it away." Chen Chuan watched the footprints for a moment, then turned back. Since managing the activation index was their top priority right now, they had filed an application for the training while completing their paperwork the previous day, scheduling it for eight that morning. He returned, grabbed a bite to eat, met up with his two teammates, and headed to the training room. The instructor responsible for teaching the breathing technique was already there waiting. His surname was Zhai. He was also a third-limit fighter, serving as both a combat guard and an instructor within the garrison. Once the three arrived, he said a few brief words of welcome before launching into the core essentials. A foundational skill like a breathing technique presented practically no difficulty to the three of them. After listening through once, all three had grasped it with ease. The rest was simply a matter of diligent practice. Yuan Qiuyuan's attitude toward this teacher was entirely different from his demeanor with Tian Yu; he showed immense respect. Once he mastered the technique, he stood up and asked, "Instructor Zhai, besides breathing techniques and medicine, are there any other ways to stave off activation?" Instructor Zhai replied, "There are. Surgical implants are very effective at preventing it. Artificial implants have low biological activity and are difficult to activate, which is why they're so widely used. The regular garrison soldiers here all receive combat implants. "Fighters have dedicated combatant implants as well. If you need them, we can arrange it. However, matching implants for the third limit takes a long time, and we'd also need to harvest samples of your mutated tissue. Even after submitting an application, you'd have to wait a while." Yuan Qiuyuan shook his head. "I don't need that. I only trust my own fists and weapons." Instructor Zhai said, "Staying true to your convictions is commendable, but we are combat personnel. What happens to you in the future won't be decided by your personal wishes—it will be decided by your enemies. "I've served here for over twelve years. I've seen people whose limbs or internal organs underwent excessive activation and had to be replaced with implants. Even more lost parts of themselves in battle. They started out refusing to accept it, too, before coming around. Now, many of them are still active on the front line, serving as our backbone. "Out in the forward zones, people like them are already the norm. "Take me, for instance..." With that, he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a thick, muscular arm. From the elbow down, his arm had clearly been replaced by an implant. On the surface, it looked almost identical to normal flesh because newly grown skin covered it, but a closer look revealed telltale differences. "This implant was tailored to my mutated tissue. It feels almost the same as the original, doesn't hinder my fighting, and even enhances certain areas. "As an instructor, take my advice: don't reject what can save your life, even if it doesn't seem ideal at the time. Staying alive comes before everything else. Times change—who knows when today's regret might be set right tomorrow?" Yuan Qiuyuan curled his lip. Much as he respected the instructor, he still had no interest in such things. He had higher aspirations. Once you installed an implant, any further progress depended entirely on technology. When the breathing lesson concluded, the three proceeded to the screening room to continue their orientation, which this time focused on the Confluence's environment. Their current location was on the near end of the Confluence, far from what was commonly known as the Ring of the World. This was the area most thoroughly conquered, developed, and controlled by the world's nations, effectively making it the rear. Yet it was not truly safe. The Confluence was simply too vast; they could control only the railway corridor and a portion of the military garrison's outer perimeter. Yuan Qiuyuan raised his hand. Once Tian Yu gave him permission to speak, he asked, "They said we were brought here to protect the Ring of the World, but looking at this, it's pretty far from us, isn't it? Will it even be our turn to step up?" Tian Yu replied, "In terms of physical distance, it is indeed very far. However, the Ring of the World is not simply a physical construct. Because the world on the other side encroaches primarily on the mental plane, the Ring is actually a field isolation barrier erected collectively by the field organisms of every Center City. "As enforcement officers, you should know that each Center City sits on the front lines where the two worlds collide. They are breaches between both worlds, anchors for the other side. When the fields resisting these anchors are brought together, they tightly seal every passage attempting to breach our world." With a flick of her pointer, the projector displayed every Center City across the globe. Above each city hung a colossal radiant glow representing its field. "...And when all of them are linked, this is the result." Chen Chuan looked up and saw the lights of every Center City joined into one, resembling a shimmering nebular ribbon looped and coiling around itself. "Because when all the Center Cities are connected, their manifestation in the physical world looks like an enormous ring, which is where the name 'Ring of the World' comes from. "However, its manifestation on the mental plane can look very different. The combined defense across both physical and mental planes is collectively known as the 'Ring Curtain.'" At this point, her tone turned grave. "Because biological fields lean toward the mental plane, certain exceptional fighters and powerful resonators, aided by specific conditions, have a chance of projecting their minds through this barrier to approach or reach the other side. "So while the Ring of the World may seem very far away, it is actually right beside you." "Then what's actually on the other side of the Ring of the World?" Yuan Qiuyuan asked curiously from his seat. "Officer Yuan Qiuyuan, please raise your hand before asking a question." Yuan Qiuyuan promptly raised his hand and asked again impatiently, "Instructor Tian, what's on the other side?" Tian Yu said, "That is classified. Higher authorities strictly forbid leaking that information. Furthermore, the governments and major corporations strictly prohibit anyone from crossing the Ring of the World on their own, because doing so damages the barrier itself." Setting her face into a stern expression, she raised her voice in warning. "None of you should entertain thoughts of crossing it, either. Those capable of doing so have either been eliminated or absorbed by the governments and corporations. Anyone crossing without authorization will be intercepted and tracked. "Once confirmed, joint forces formed by national governments and the Corporate United Syndicate will immediately mobilize to eradicate them. Under Primary Defense protocols, they are authorized to eliminate any individual or faction exceeding these bounds without trial." Yuan Qiuyuan shrugged. "Fine, pretend I didn't ask." Qin Qingque raised her hand. "Officer Qin Qingque, what is your question?" Tian Yu's tone softened slightly. "Our enemies." Qin Qingque asked earnestly, "Since we came to take part in defending the Ring of the World, may I ask: who are our enemies, and where are they?" "It seems the three of you are getting impatient," a voice called out from beside the screening room's podium. Chen Chuan looked over from his seat and saw a sharp, upright officer wearing a uniform and a peaked cap step out from the side stage door. Walking to the front of the podium, he gave the three a crisp salute. "I am Tactical Staff Officer Ding Mou from Command. I'm here under orders to deliver operational assignments to your squad." Hearing that, Yuan Qiuyuan's eyes lit up. Qin Qingque's posture naturally tightened as she slipped into combat readiness. Ding Mou looked toward Chen Chuan and said, "Officer Chen, since you've only just arrived, the higher-ups originally intended to give you two days of rest to familiarize yourselves with the environment and key precautions before assigning orientation missions. "However, an urgent dispatch just came in from another post. All other squads have been reassigned to front-line operations, leaving yours as the only combat-ready unit currently available. You may have to cut your coursework short."