An hour later, everyone gathered back in the open ground inside the outpost compound and reported the situation to Chen Chuan. Everything was normal; there were virtually no findings.
Chen Chuan had a guess in mind, but there was no way to confirm it yet. Regardless, necessary precautions still had to be taken. Given the late hour, there was no need to overcomplicate things tonight. Their priority was simply to get through this first night, and once tomorrow arrived with ample daylight, they could address the rest.
To prevent squad members from scattering and running into danger, they did not have the men stay in the barracks this time. Instead, they assembled everyone directly inside the fortress's assembly hall.
As dusk fell, he had the ten biological combat organisms they had brought with them released. These were combat flying insects produced domestically in Great Shun. Although inferior in various respects to the Compound Eye Company's contemporary products, they were more than sufficient to serve as sentries on watch.
Moreover, if any field organisms were present, they could also establish field links to ascertain the situation.
After everyone filed into the assembly hall, he took one last look outside and slowly closed the heavy doors.
As darkness settled outside, the lights inside the hall flickered on. To prevent unforeseen emergencies, when they had sealed off the basement earlier, they brought out a small generator and rerouted the electrical circuits through it, completely barricading the underground generator room at the same time.
Though a piercing wind howled outside amidst pitch-black darkness, having so many people huddled together—along with the warmth of the generator—made the assembly hall feel considerably cozy.
Thanks to the outpost being fully stocked with supplies, including preserved food from the officers' mess, Chen Chuan simply had these rations brought out so all the soldiers could enjoy a hot meal.
Each person was also allocated sugar sticks and hot drinks, rations normally reserved strictly for officers and fighters, sparing them from gnawing away on raw nutritional paste.
With a hot meal in their bellies and sugar sticks in hand, the squad's morale visibly soared. Cupping steaming drinks in their hands and wrapped in thick blankets, smiles appeared on every member's face.
Although the members of this squad hadn't accompanied Chen Chuan into the field on the previous mission, they had still received commendations and bonuses. Knowing their leader was reliable, even though they knew this assignment was tricky, they remained full of drive and harbored no complaints.
Once everyone relaxed, one squad member spoke up, "Captain, could you tell us a bit about yourself?"
"Yeah, Captain, can you tell us your story?"
Most of the squad members were extremely curious about their captain. To become an enforcement captain at such a young age—they dearly wanted to learn about his background, if only to have bragging rights when running into other squads later.
A squad leader promptly scolded, "What nonsense are you babbling? The captain is a fighter. His dossier and identity are classified! You think you can just wag your tongues about that? What if secrets get leaked?"
"But sitting around in silence is boring too, and we aren't allowed to play cards. We have to talk about something, right?"
A usually lively member suddenly joked, "If you ask me, in a place like this, ghost stories sound pretty good." He cast a teasing glance toward a burly squad member. "I just worry Dakui might wet his pants from fright. Let's make it clear right now: if you really piss yourself, you wash up next door on your own—nobody's going with you."
"Who—who's gonna wet their pants?"
The burly soldier's face flushed bright red. He looked toward Chen Chuan and protested, "Captain, don't listen to their bullshit! There's no truth to that!"
"Alright, then we're really telling them!"
Another chimed in, "Sounds good to me."
The other members began egging each other on.
Watching from the side, Yuan Qiuyuan found it amusing. Truth be told, with this atmosphere and this location, telling ghost stories couldn't be more fitting.
He looked toward Chen Chuan, who was currently leafing through files on the garrison personnel stationed here, especially those on the fighters. Seeing Yuan Qiuyuan glance over, Chen Chuan gave him a nod.
Seeing that Chen Chuan didn't object, Yuan Qiuyuan cleared his throat. "Since everyone's in good spirits, let me warm things up and start us off with one."
"Great, great, great!" The squad members applauded, and someone whistled.
Yuan Qiuyuan puffed out his chest. "Let's talk about something a friend of mine saw with his own eyes..."
"Enforcement Officer Yuan, that 'friend' of yours wouldn't happen to be yourself, would it?"
"Hey, do you want to hear it or not? Does that even matter? Does it?" Yuan Qiuyuan grumbled indignantly.
"We do, we do! Keep going!"
The surrounding soldiers spontaneously drew closer. Some grabbed handfuls of snacks, spreading out blankets to sit in a circle.
By now, night had fallen completely. Beyond the windows lay an unbroken blackness, with light illuminating only the area where everyone sat inside the hall.
Yuan Qiuyuan continued, "It goes like this... When I was young—I mean, when my friend was a kid, he loved playing at a temple nearby. There was a very peculiar statue of a goddess there. The coloring on that statue was exceptionally beautiful. Everyone has an eye for beauty, and that statue especially captivated my friend.
"One day, he was playing hide-and-seek with other kids and hid beneath the altar table. But after waiting a long time with nobody finding him, he dozed off..."
The squad members listened raptly, none making a sound.
"When my friend woke up, he found it was already night. Inside the temple, only the candles on the altar were still burning. The first thing on his mind was whether his family had saved any dinner for him, so he hurried to scramble out.
"Just then, a gust of wind blew in. He saw the clothes on the statue actually flutter. Only then did he realize that the robes weren't sculpted from clay, but were real garments draped over it. Curious, he walked up toward it, and just as he..."
Thump, thump, thump...
Right at that moment, a heavy banging sound came from the door outside.
Everyone turned toward the hall's outer door in surprise and irritation. Had someone been left outside? Wrecking the mood at a time like this?
Yet upon second thought, that wasn't right. No one had stepped out earlier.
Hearts skipped a beat. Everyone was right here, and no one had been seen outside earlier. So who was knocking on the door?
Involuntarily, their eyes shifted to Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan glanced toward the outside, then said to Yuan Qiuyuan, "Enforcement Officer Yuan, keep going."
Yuan Qiuyuan's eyes darted around. He let out a sigh, threw his hands up in complaint, and said, "Captain, I was building up the mood here! With this interruption, the whole feeling's gone. Next time, next time..."
His cop-out immediately stirred discontent among the men—seriously, stopping halfway through? Aren't you afraid of being hung from a lamppost?
Yet truth be told, thanks to his antics, the uneasy atmosphere dissipated somewhat, and everyone became noticeably less tense than before.
Just then, the squad leader stepped up and said, "If Enforcement Officer Yuan won't tell his, then I'll tell one."
He went on to share a story about a water ghost from his hometown. It wasn't particularly brilliant—in fact, it was quite clichéd—but at least it broke the silence. Another soldier took a turn after him, and the lively atmosphere quickly returned.
The thumping on the door had ceased at some point. But after a long while, another sound arose: the synchronized march of soldiers, patrolling, and roll call check-ins.
Whenever a soldier's name was called, a voice would answer. These were all the fortress's original garrison troops. Yet after finishing over a hundred names, the roll call did not stop, continuing onward.
"Yin Dakui!"
"Here!"
The burly soldier known as "Dakui" answered out of pure reflex. A split second later, his face turned deathly pale. "I—I..."
Not just him—every squad member present had their name called next. Though none of the others answered, an eerie chill crept down their spines, leaving them fidgety and uneasy.
At this point, Chen Chuan spoke calmly, "No need to overthink it. Just keep talking amongst yourselves." Then he said to Qin Qingque, "Enforcement Officer Qin, go sit by the door."
"Yes, Captain!"
Qin Qingque rose without hesitation and walked all the way over to sit closest to the door. From here, she could hear the sounds outside most distinctly, yet not a trace of panic showed on her face as she quietly pulled out a dossier and began reading through it.
Seeing how calm Chen Chuan and Qin Qingque remained helped reassure the other squad members. Their nerves gradually steadied, and they took turns telling stories one after another. Every man spoke loudly, and whether the story was good or bad, it was unfailingly met with thunderous applause and cheers.
The clapping and shouting were so loud that they drowned out the sounds outside, and at some point, those strange noises vanished entirely.
By the latter half of the night, every squad member had taken their turn, and they each slipped quietly into their sleeping bags to rest.
Chen Chuan sat there the entire time, reviewing the documents in his hands beneath the lamplight.
Thus the night passed.
When the squad members awoke, they found daylight already breaking outside.
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
One by one, the soldiers emerged from their sleeping bags, stood tall, and saluted him.
Chen Chuan stood up from his seat, returned their salute, and walked over to the main doors under everyone's gaze.
Reaching out, he disengaged the safety latch, unlocked the bolt, and pushed the doors open. A beam of bright daylight poured in, accompanied by a blast of cold wind that rushed into the hall.
The snow outside had stopped, leaving a thick blanket covering the ground.
Chen Chuan cast his gaze down and saw a line of footprints from some unknown creature just below the door, each about half a meter in diameter.
The footprints must have initially sunk deep into the snow, but judging by their appearance, whatever made them had left quite a while ago, leaving them partially filled in. They could be seen trailing all the way toward the outer gate.
Yuan Qiuyuan walked over. Spotting the footprints, he crouched to inspect them, then looked up. "Captain, this is..."
Chen Chuan made no definitive comment. Looking outside, he said, "Have everyone clear the snow out front. We have a lot to do today."
"Yes, sir!"
As the personnel moved outside, the biological combat organisms assigned to sentry duty hopped back one by one. Their numbers were identical to yesterday's—not a single one was lost. It seemed nothing had happened last night, yet the footprints before the door suggested things were not so simple.
After giving instructions to Yuan and Qin, Chen Chuan returned alone to the chief officer's office. Looking down from the window here, one could see right to the door of the assembly hall outside.
Setting down the various files in his hand, his eyes remained fixed on the ground below as he spoke aloud, "From this angle, you have a perfect view of down there, wouldn't you say, Garrison Commander Fei?"
A moment after he spoke, a voice came from behind him: "How did you know it was me?"
Chapter 447