Dead of Night

Chen Chuan's group had set out by vehicle in the morning, but even after pursuing until noon, they still had not caught up to the cavalry troop. Moreover, it was not hard to tell that the horsemen were deliberately leading them farther and farther away from the military outpost. If they continued the chase, the remaining daylight would likely not be enough for them to reach the nearest garrison before nightfall. At that moment, Chen Chuan said, "If we pull back now, it would be as if we never came out at all. So I intend to keep chasing and keep the pressure on them." He looked at his two teammates. "Doing so means we must spend the night in the wilderness. You both know the dangers of the night. If you aren't prepared for it, I grant you permission to head back." Yuan Qiuyuan leaned back in his seat, a careless smile on his face. "Captain, what are you talking about? You're underestimating me. In Yuan Qiuyuan's code of conduct, running away before a battle doesn't exist." Qin Qingque said earnestly, "Captain, I will not leave the squad." Chen Chuan nodded. "Since you have made your decision, don't think about backing out later. Specialist Qin, send a telegram to Advisor Rao a little later to inform him of our decision. For now, continue the pursuit." "Understood!" The off-road vehicle pressed on with the chase. During this time, a telegram arrived from the fortress inquiring about their status. They replied that they were still in pursuit, had not yet engaged the enemy, and reported their current coordinates. The fortress immediately messaged back, warning that they had strayed too far: even the nearest garrison was five or six hours' drive away, and ordering them not to continue the pursuit. Chen Chuan, however, had Qin Qingque reply at once that they intended to keep chasing, and that after careful consideration, they had decided to spend the night in the open rather than lose their quarry. "What? Spending the night in the wilderness?" Inside Fortress No. 73, upon receiving the message, Advisor Rao paced in frantic circles, immediately wanting to telegraph back to urge Chen Chuan and the others to return. Yet recalling Chen Chuan's demeanor before departing, he realized the captain might have anticipated this long ago, which meant he might possess some way of coping with it. Still, he had to consider one critical fact: Chen Chuan's squad was currently the only team capable of countering the Iron Demon and operating in this area. If the Iron Demon wiped them out, then before more capable reinforcements could be mobilized, the rear would be left utterly at the enemy's mercy. At such a juncture, he had to report the situation to the operations command room. He dismissed the telegraph operator, put on the headset, and transmitted the telegram himself, outlining the basic circumstances. Yet regarding the squad's decision to continue their field operations, he took a deep breath and appended his own name, declaring it a unanimous decision of the squad, including himself. Out in the dense forest, Qin Qingque looked up. "Captain, it's sent." Chen Chuan said, "Keep pursuing. At four o'clock, we will stop and make camp." The horsemen ahead might be able to keep moving, but tracks were not so easily erased. Even if the enemy could travel by night, one had to consider that in order to reach Fortress No. 73, they must have marched by night and rested by day, pushing their mounts to exhaustion day after day. Having had no rest last night and facing an entire day of relentless pursuit today, they would surely seek to recuperate tonight. There was no need to worry about them getting too far ahead. As long as he stayed hot on their heels, they would have no leeway to do anything else—unless they turned back to eliminate them. And that was precisely what he was hoping for. A few hours later, the sky gradually darkened. Chen Chuan looked outside and said, "We will camp here." "Understood!" Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque's willingness to follow this chase was not blind recklessness; each had made preparations beforehand. Furthermore, through their time together, they could sense that although their captain looked young, he was exceptionally steady and accurate in his judgment, leading them to believe he had some measure of confidence in this undertaking. Even so, faced with the unpredictable night of the Confluence, they could not help feeling nervous. Chen Chuan instructed them to unload tools and equipment from the vehicle to set up rudimentary defensive emplacements and perimeter alarms. Meanwhile, he brought out the esoteric cult materials he had prepared in advance and began smearing them across the inner and outer walls of the vehicle. Defenses against anomalous phenomena here usually relied on protective gear and special coatings, the kind used by garrisons and fortresses, but esoteric cult materials could accomplish the same purpose. It was just that ordinary people generally lacked this knowledge. Furthermore, such items were strictly regulated and highly sensitive, and the materials themselves could not endure over long periods, which was likely why they were not commonly adopted. Yet for just the few of them, and for holding out for a single night, they were ideal. Seeing him trace out the ritual patterns, Yuan Qiuyuan couldn't help asking, "Captain, what are you..." Halfway through, he realized his misstep and fell silent. He knew better than to ask about things best left unasked, and besides, wasn't it a good thing that their captain had extraordinary skills? Qin Qingque said nothing at all. She had always fulfilled her duties as a subordinate impeccably, never inquiring into extraneous matters. Chen Chuan had already decided on the rituals before setting out, so he needed no reference material and drew them freehand, finishing the entire setup in under an hour. Yet he didn't stop there. He told the two of them to take off their outermost stab-proof robes, bring them over, and drew ritual designs onto them as well. Meanwhile, a mere thirty-odd li away, the Iron Demon's main force had halted. A rider approached, saluted from his saddle, and reported, "Commandant, they have been following us the whole way. Instead of heading back, they've set up camp where they are. They likely intend to spend the night out there. Commandant, what should we do?" The Iron Demon sat upon his mount without moving, staring into the distance. After a moment, a muffled voice came from behind his mask: "Wait." On the other side, once Chen Chuan finished his preparations, the three climbed back inside the vehicle. Night fell swiftly, like a heavy curtain dropping, instantly plunging their surroundings into pitch darkness. Yuan Qiuyuan watched warily out the window. For a long stretch, however, nothing seemed to happen. Just as he was beginning to think the Confluence's night was nothing special after all, he suddenly heard a rustling sound very close by. It sounded as if an enormous serpent was slithering over the vehicle. The scraping of scales and the heavy sensation of the vehicle groaning under immense weight were unmistakably clear. After a long time, the thing seemed to glide past. But right then—bang! The body of the vehicle jolted as if slammed violently by something, sending the entire chassis rocking. A few breaths later, another impact struck, so forceful that the entire car felt as though it was about to tip onto its side. Both Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque tensed, gripping their weapons with grave expressions. Chen Chuan, however, appeared utterly calm. He noticed that the Second Self was showing faint signs of incorporeality, though not intensely. In tandem with this, the materials coated on the vehicle's interior walls were gradually growing dimmer; he was certain the coatings outside were doing the same. Judging by this rate, holding out through the entire night might prove difficult. However, he had deliberately left blank spaces, planning to apply fresh layers to reinforce them once the current coating was depleted. After several impacts, the commotion ceased, as though whatever was attacking the vehicle had given up. Yet they soon heard a heavy thudding sound drawing near. It sounded like an unimaginably colossal creature: each thundering step shook the ground, with long pauses between each impact, indicating an enormous stride. Not only that, but they could sense it closing in. It seemed their vehicle sat right in the path of its advance. Neither Yuan Qiuyuan nor Qin Qingque could stop themselves from wondering: when that creature arrived, would it stomp their vehicle flat into the earth? Should they hurry and start the car to move out of the way? Ever since night fell, Chen Chuan had been monitoring their activation indexes. He noticed that in just a brief span, their readings had surged past twenty and were continuing to climb. If they surpassed thirty, they would enter the danger zone. He said, "Specialist Yuan, Specialist Qin, use your breathing techniques immediately to suppress your activation. If you cannot keep it down, take medicine. As for everything else, don't think about it and don't pay it any mind." Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque immediately answered, "Yes, Captain." Chen Chuan's composure was infectious. Casting aside all distractions, they focused on maintaining their breathing techniques. The rising indexes slowly halted and began a gradual descent, though very slowly. Before long, their minds were fully immersed in the practice. By the time they stopped, they found that the long night had already passed. Outside the windows, daylight bathed the landscape, making everything they had felt the night before seem like a hallucination. Yuan Qiuyuan let out a breath. He opened the car door and stepped out onto the ground, but he quickly realized something was wrong. Their current position was at least several hundred meters away from where they had parked yesterday, and the vehicle bore unmistakable dents and gouges, as well as marks where something had scraped against it. What was more, just a few meters from the vehicle lay an enormous crater that stretched outward into the distance, instantly reminding him of the colossal thuds from the night before. What they had encountered last night was definitely not as simple as mere hallucinations! Qin Qingque remained in the car, switching on the radio. She first transmitted a status report to Fortress No. 73, then began receiving messages from other garrisons. Yuan Qiuyuan walked over and said, "Captain, those things last night were truly uncanny. But just what are the Iron Demon and his men relying on to roam out here for so long? Faith? Drugs? It's not like every one of them is a yaogui, right?" Chen Chuan said, "Some special method, most likely one we have no way of imitating. Otherwise, after collaborating with the natives for so long, there is no reason we wouldn't have acquired it." "True enough." Yuan Qiuyuan pondered for a moment, lingering dread in his voice. "Still, if they had attacked us last night, wouldn't we have been forced to face those anomalies directly?" Chen Chuan said, "It's not that simple. Although the Iron Demon can operate at night, all attacks so far have occurred close to daybreak. Just like the night before last, when I noticed something amiss, it was also close to dawn. "If they could launch attacks at any point during the night, there would be no reason to wait until then. So we only need to keep our guard up during that window." Yuan Qiuyuan gave a dry chuckle. "Looks like the Iron Demon and his crew aren't completely fearless either." Chen Chuan glanced at his watch and said, "Pack up, and let's head out. We continue the pursuit today—let's see how long they can hold out before snapping."