Rendezvous

Xu Chan was currently leading everyone from the expedition, sprinting toward Chen Chuan. At his speed and that of the three captains, it wouldn't have taken long to reach Chen Chuan under normal circumstances, but since they were also escorting the other accompanying personnel, their progress was slowed. After all, they were not the only ones running; under the threat of the insect quicksand, all living creatures throughout the dense forest were fleeing outward. The sky was densely packed with winged insects and birds, while the ground teemed with all sorts of unidentified creepy-crawlies scuttling at breakneck speed. These creatures scurried forward alongside them, occasionally tearing into and devouring one another. From time to time, creatures could be seen tumbling to the ground due to the treacherous terrain or colliding with one another. The moment they fell, swarms of passing insects would instantly engulf them, leaving behind not even a splinter of bone within mere moments. This forced them to slacken their pace and adopt a protective formation around the team members. Xu Chan took the lead while the other three captains covered the flanks and rear, shielding everyone as they advanced. As the ground ahead gradually rose, the colossal body of the creature beneath was now visible, revealing its form as its ventral feet began pushing up its mass. Soil, rocks, and trees rained down rustling from above in a magnificent spectacle. This beast was undoubtedly large enough to be classed as a mega-creature. Mega-creatures of the Confluence usually dwelled in its deepest reaches and were rarely seen elsewhere, likely because farther away from the world on the other side, the environment lacked the resources to sustain them. How this one came to be here was anyone's guess. It had most likely been dormant underground until the arrival of the insect quicksand, or perhaps the sustained presence of the relic, roused it from its slumber. Before long, the group reached the creature's vicinity. One after another, they leaped onto the folds of its outer flesh and began climbing upward. At this moment, they were far from alone; beasts and creepy-crawlies of every description were likewise crawling and leaping across the creature's body. From the look of things, it seemed this behemoth could offer them protection. Yet with so many creatures scrambling upward all at once, jostling and piling onto one another was inevitable. On top of that, debris, stones, and falling trees rained down from above. Thus, even as hordes scrambled frantically upward, bodies tumbled continuously back down into the dense swarm below, vanishing in the blink of an eye—a harrowing sight to behold. Just then, an invisible ripple cascaded down from above. The creatures blocking their path suddenly tumbled down in droves, clearing a massive swathe around them in an instant. They looked up and saw a figure standing at the highest point, holding a long blade, a red scarf fluttering around him. A magnificent aurora of twilight radiance stretched from beneath his feet all the way into the vault of heaven, blending seamlessly with the glowing auroral clouds. "Supervisor Chen!" Captain Lyu shouted excitedly. Because they had been sprinting the entire way, and because the ground ahead had been steadily rising, they had had no way of knowing what was happening up top during their dash. But seeing him standing there sound and whole, did that mean... the battle up above was already over? Xu Chan spoke up then: "We'll talk once we're up there." The group chorused their agreement. Once they scrambled to the top filled with wonder and excitement, they immediately cast their eyes around. Farther behind Chen Chuan, however, the ground was strewn with severed limbs and mangled corpses, with hardly a single intact human form in sight. A tremor went through their hearts, and many involuntarily looked toward him with eyes brimming with awe and admiration. Xu Chan appeared the calmest, as if he had already anticipated the outcome. After surveying their surroundings, he raised his hand in a salute. "Supervisor, the Search Team reporting for duty. All hands accounted for." Behind him, everyone snapped into a salute in unison. Though their clothes were stained with blood and torn, and grime streaked their faces, every single one of them stood ramrod straight. Chen Chuan raised a hand in return. Lowering it, he looked over everyone. "Everyone, headquarters sent me here to extract you." Hearing those words, an emotional surge welled up in all their hearts. Captain Lyu glanced around and couldn't resist asking, "Supervisor Chen, these people..." Chen Chuan said, "Pretty much taken care of." Even though they had already seen the state of the battlefield with their own eyes, hearing him confirm it personally still sent shockwaves through their hearts that they could barely suppress. When they had watched the battle from the hillside earlier, most of the enemy's main forces were still standing. Yet in the few short minutes it took them to run over, had every single one of them really been eliminated? Chen Chuan added, "Yes. I did leave one alive; I need a confession from him." Captain Hai immediately asked with earnest focus, "Supervisor Chen, what do you need questioned?" Chen Chuan said, "There are some problems inside the Disposal Bureau." He briefly and concisely summarized the murder of Supervisor Wen and the capture of Supervisor Han. "Supervisor Wen's remains ultimately fell into the hands of that Skinner. I kept him alive precisely to pry the whereabouts of Supervisor Wen's body from his mouth so we can bring him back." The team had never imagined such dire developments had occurred back home. Supervisor Han's actions amounted to nothing less than treason—no wonder so many people from the Linax Federation had slipped in unnoticed. Anger was clearly etched across many of the members' faces. Captain Hai's expression turned dead serious. "Supervisor Chen, interrogation is my specialty. Could you leave this to me?" Chen Chuan looked at him and nodded. Captain Hu spoke up then: "Supervisor Chen, the insect wave will be upon us shortly. Should we leave this place first?" Chen Chuan said, "There is no avoiding the insect quicksand. From what I know, the shortest insect quicksand lasts one or two days, while longer ones can persist for several days. Furthermore, I suspect these insects came here drawn by the relic, so unless we abandon it, shaking them off will be nearly impossible. But there is no need for everyone to worry." He tapped his foot against the ground. "This creature is called a ming earthworm. It feeds specifically on massive swarms of small insects like these. The environment here isn't sufficient to support its activity for an extended period, so once it gorges itself on the swarm, it will sink back underground to resume its slumber. That is why staying here is actually the safest option." Xu Chan pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, we'll need to spend the night here first." Chen Chuan nodded. "Indeed. We just need to keep an eye out for the Confluence creatures rushing up alongside us." Xu Chan immediately said, "Then we'll begin preparing for nightfall right away." Having obtained Chen Chuan's approval, he immediately dispatched personnel to spread out and set up defenses. In addition to the supplies they carried, plenty of equipment and provisions left behind by the Consortium and the Linax Federation remained on site, which they put to good use. After digging a series of trenches along the perimeter, they sprinkled chemicals inside and around them, then encircled the area with several layered rings of barbed wire. Next, they set up widely spaced bonfires and pitched enough tents to shelter everyone for the night. To avoid attracting more Confluence creatures up here, the corpses also needed to be incinerated without delay. While everyone went about their assigned tasks, Captain Hai followed the direction Chen Chuan indicated and located Skinner. Seeing the man's body twisted like a piece of fried dough, he was secretly appalled, wondering what kind of jin could produce such a result. With the body in this state, many conventional interrogation techniques were out of the question, but that didn't mean he was out of options. He reached down, hoisted Skinner up, and carried him off to a secluded spot. Seeing everyone occupied with their tasks, Chen Chuan stepped aside and began gathering the weapons left behind by his fallen foes. The haul this time was substantial; every weapon brought into this battle was a mutated weapon capable of channeling Mind Jin. For instance, the short blade carried by Heros, the long whip Qi Qianyang wielded, the Thunder Twins' arm fins, and so forth. Although Chen Chuan hadn't seen Heros wield his short blade, the fact that he carried it on his person left no doubt it was a top-tier weapon. He picked each of them up, wiped them down thoroughly, wrapped them in sealed pouches he specifically fetched, and packed them properly into his baggage, intending to take them all back once this was over. As for the weapons of the ordinary fighters, he didn't bother touching them. He had hardly registered who those people were, and none of their weapons caught his eye. Roughly an hour later, Captain Hai returned, wiping his hands with a handkerchief as he walked. Reaching Chen Chuan, he saluted and said, "Supervisor, he confessed everything. The situation is a bit complicated—I'm afraid Supervisor Wen's body will be very difficult to recover." Chen Chuan asked, "How so?" Captain Hai took a breath and steadied his voice. "He skinned and defleshed Supervisor Wen, separating the flesh from the skeleton, and treated them with preservatives before placing them into two separate storage cases. He planned to take them back as collector's items. Right now, they're sitting in their camp." Chen Chuan asked, "Where is the camp?" Captain Hai said, "It's quite a distance from here. With the insect quicksand bearing down on us right now, there's no telling whether anything will remain intact after it sweeps through." He pulled out the map he had sketched on their way here, unfolded it, and pointed to a specific location. "According to his confession, it should be within this area." Chen Chuan estimated the rough distance and checked the time. There was barely an hour left before dark, and rushing there would take far longer than that, not to mention the return trip. It was indeed too late. Furthermore, due to the insect quicksand, there was a good chance the personnel at that camp had already packed up and evacuated by now. In that case, they could only try to search for it later. "There is one more thing," Captain Hai added. "The man confessed that the general leading the expedition this time appears to be preparing some kind of ritual." "A ritual?" "Yes, that's what he claimed." Captain Hai said, "He said he was only a hired fighter and didn't care what the higher-ups were actually up to. He only mentioned that the ritual felt deeply sinister and made him very uncomfortable." Chen Chuan nodded. "Anything else besides that?" Captain Hai said, "Nothing else. I grilled him several times over, and I'm certain that's all he knows." Chen Chuan asked, "Is he still alive?" "Still alive." Chen Chuan said, "Good. Keep him alive for now. Keep him hanging by a thread and don't let him die. Once we recover Supervisor Wen, we'll deal with him properly." Captain Hai gave a solemn salute and barked out a firm, "Yes, sir!" Chen Chuan glanced at the map once more, then gazed off toward that direction. "An esoteric ritual..." He had a feeling that camp wouldn't disperse so easily. …… ……