At dawn, at the foot of Mingdao Mountain, Sister Yu and another man had set up a temporary camp and were sitting by the campfire, lost in thought.
Neither had slept all night. Having lost several companions overnight and nearly being killed by thugs themselves, grief and terror intertwined, leaving them unable to sleep.
The man now took out his phone and typed: (Sister Yu, it's just the two of us left. What are we going to do from now on?)
Sister Yu replied: (Zhao Yu, even for the sake of those who died, we must strive to survive.)
(...You're right.) The man nad Zhao Yu nodded. (Those thugs' jeeps had a lot of supplies, enough for us to survive for a long ti.)
Seeing Zhao Yu's text, Sister Yu thought for a mont and typed: (I plan to take most of them up the mountain. You know as well as I do, without the help of the people on the mountain, we definitely wouldn't have survived.)
Zhao Yu: (That's true, we should thank them for saving our lives... But, judging by that person's attitude yesterday, they didn't seem to like being disturbed. Won't taking things up there make them angry?)
Sister Yu thought about it: (We'll just leave them at the spot we reached yesterday. Think about it, the people on the mountain knew we ran up the mountain in the middle of the night, so soone must be on lookout duty. So if we leave the supplies there, the people on the mountain should find them.)
Zhao Yu nodded, then thought of sothing, his expression darkening: (Sister Yu, if we had soone on lookout last night too, if we had discovered that gang of thugs earlier, could more of us have escaped...)
Seeing Zhao Yu's text, Sister Yu fell silent, a look of guilt on her face.
As the camp leader, failing to make such preparations was indeed her dereliction of duty. But she truly hadn't expected so many thugs to commit murder and robbery so brazenly.
This made her, while heartbroken, also develop a certain realization.
From this rule, no, from the mont the authorities announced that major cities were entering a Warti Managent State, cities and the wilderness had beco two separate worlds.
Cities are strictly managed by the authorities, with drones patrolling 24/7. People are gradually, until all, moving into shelters. Eventually, each city will operate like a precision instrunt, achieving peak efficiency.
anwhile, the wilderness far from cities will gradually beco, in a sense, a "lawless land." Various gangs of thugs and violent organizations will erge, attacking and annexing each other to compete for survival resources.
For those kind-hearted people living in the wilderness who dislike conflict, this is undoubtedly tragic and threatening.
But this is the price of choice. Choosing freedom ans bearing the corresponding consequences. No one provides you shelter; you can only protect yourself.
Rembering the clean, efficient way the person on the mountain eliminated over a dozen thugs last night, Sister Yu felt both envy and awe.
She envied that if she had such combat power, the camp mbers wouldn't have suffered heavy casualties. She was in awe because, as an Ascendant, she could sense that the person on the mountain was definitely an extrely powerful Ascendant.
Furthermore, she believed there was more than just that one person on the mountain; there should be a camp. Otherwise, if it was just one person, would they stay awake outside on lookout duty in the middle of the night?
But regardless of how many people were on the mountain, judging by their attitude during yesterday's contact, they weren't particularly welcoming to outsiders. So Sister Yu didn't have thoughts of trying to join them. She just wanted to repay their life-saving grace first.
Then, together with Zhao Yu, she took out the supplies loaded in the thugs' jeeps and carried most of them to the spot they had reached yesterday, leaving them there.
This scene naturally didn't escape the watch of Guan Tong's "Shadow Surveillance Eye."
Seeing the two carry supplies over and leave them, clearly for him, he didn't stand on ceremony. After they finished moving everything, he blew the [Corpse Whistle], sending the living dead to transport all the supplies to his small courtyard.
After they were brought back, he saw a letter placed on top of one of the boxes, written by that Sister Yu.
(Hello, friends on the mountain. I am Yu Hong, and my companion is Zhao Yu. These supplies were taken from those thugs' vehicles. Please accept them.
Our forr camp was destroyed by the thugs, our other companions were killed, and we now have nowhere to go. If you don't mind, the two of us plan to set up camp at the foot of this mountain for now.
We are also deeply grateful for your life-saving grace. I was previously a surgeon, and Zhao Yu was an architectural designer. If there is anything you need our help with, we will certainly not refuse.)
Reading Yu Hong's letter, Guan Tong felt she had a good sense of boundaries.
Clearly, both Yu Hong and Zhao Yu believed there was more than one person on the mountain, that a camp existed.
If she and her companion Zhao Yu were moving supplies to show goodwill with the intention of joining the camp, Guan Tong definitely wouldn't agree.
But simply expressing gratitude and making the request of "if you don't mind, we'll camp at the foot of the mountain" seed much more reasonable.
The subtext of the letter was an acknowledgnt that this mountain was the "territory" of the camp on the mountain, and that she and Zhao Yu wouldn't encroach on it, only camping at the foot.
This way, while seemingly not seeking to join, they actually gained a form of alternative protection.
From last night's events, the two could tell that the people on the mountain were good people. If they were similarly predatory thugs, they wouldn't have just eliminated the Bearded Man and the others; she and Zhao Yu would also have been dood.
So they believed staying close to a camp of powerful good people would definitely provide more security than going elsewhere.
Guan Tong had no real objection to this. Where others chose to camp was their freedom; as long as it didn't hinder him, he wouldn't interfere.
However, the cruelty of those thugs yesterday also gave Guan Tong a similar thought to Yu Hong's.
That was, as the authorities focus their efforts on shelters within cities, they will likely adopt a kind of "hands-off" managent approach for areas outside cities.
Guan Tong himself had solid strength and wasn't worried about threats. But so weaker groups weren't suited to staying in the wilderness, or needed to quickly join a larger wilderness organization. Otherwise, they would end up like Yu Hong's group, targeted by roving thug gangs for their supplies, killed, and robbed.
...
Deep underground, in a laboratory of the Counterasures Research Office.
After thorough preparations, the "Sound Hunter Attack" test was finally about to begin.
A tester walked into the room. Besides a thick black tal box with one side open and a chanical arm suspended on the wall, the room was empty.
The expert who designed the test used equipnt to convert text into electronic speech to guide the tester inside the room.
"Please enter the tal box."
The tester nodded, walked into the black box, and the suspended chanical arm, following signals, closed the door tightly and seamlessly.
Thus, a fully enclosed small space was created.
This black tal box, seemingly ordinary, was actually made from various alloys. It could block electronic signals and had incredibly high defensive strength; ordinary missiles couldn't damage it.
After the tester was sealed inside, the chanical arm began following the program, placing nurous proximity-triggered bombs around the sealed tal box.
This way, no matter from which direction the Sound Hunter approached, it would trigger a bomb explosion. These bombs varied in composition: so were chemical explosives, so were tal shrapnel bombs, others were gas bombs containing neurotoxins, totaling over ten types.
The goal was to test which weapons could effectively damage the Sound Hunter.
After all bombs were placed, the expert took a deep breath and used a remote-controlled chanical arm to tap the tal box three tis, notifying the tester inside: preparations complete, test begins.
The tester inside the tal box heard the three taps, opened his mouth, and shouted: "Ah!!!!!"
The mont the tester failed the rule challenge, a large number of monitoring devices simultaneously activated and began operating.
Since the naked eye couldn't see the Sound Hunter, all kinds of biological imaging technologies were employed: fluorescence, contrast imaging, nuclear magnetic resonance, electronic, thermal imaging, etc.
The expert didn't believe that among so many technologies, not a single one could scan the Sound Hunter.
For a mont, aside from the sounds of the relevant instrunts, there was no other noise.
Every observer held their breath. According to previously compiled data on attacks from various locations, within approximately three to eight seconds after a sound was made, the Sound Hunter would arrive and launch an attack.
These few short seconds felt like an imnse ordeal for every observer, even feeling as long as several minutes.
1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8
Eight seconds passed. None of the densely packed bombs around the sealed tal box detonated.
The observers were shocked. The expert who designed the test imdiately initiated the door-opening procedure.
The suspended chanical arm responded, opening the sealed tal door. Inside, the tester sat slumped, blood continuously flowing from his neck.
At this mont, all observers widened their eyes.
The testing expert concluded with an ashen face: (It's teleportation! The Sound Hunter moves by teleporting remotely to the side of the person making the sound!)
The experint observers now understood one fact: if the Sound Hunter moved via teleportation, that ant eliminating it would beco extrely difficult.
There might even be only one possibility...
Ten minutes later, the relevant experintal results and conclusions were placed before the research office director, Gao Liangwei.
Experintal result: Tester deceased. Determined that the Sound Hunter moves via teleportation-type ans.
Hypothesized elimination thod (untested): By attaching a proximity-triggered bomb to the tester's neck location, detonating it the mont the Sound Hunter kills the tester, there is a probability of damaging the Sound Hunter.
Experintal conclusion: To attempt to eliminate a Sound Hunter capable of teleportation movent, currently, it appears only possible through suicide attack experints. But this ans the tester will certainly die. Whether to proceed with the next experint is for the director to decide.
"..."
After reading the conclusion, Gao Liangwei frowned deeply.
Although he originally knew the Sound Hunter was troubleso, he hadn't expected it to be this troubleso.
Attempting to eliminate it necessarily ca at the cost of human lives.
But who would be the certainly-dood tester? The previous volunteer tester, if he knew the experint ant certain death, might also hesitate.
So now, was it really worth sacrificing lives for Ascension Coins and the possibly dropped tradable Communication Scrolls? Moreover, the attempt might not succeed, and the authenticity of that post on Ascendant Ho was still unverified...
Just as Gao Liangwei hesitated, a red landline phone on his desk rang.
He was slightly startled. This landline could only be dialed by a select few official higher-ups.
He picked up the receiver and placed it to his ear. An electronic voice ca through: "Continue the experint."
Gao Liangwei's eyes sharpened. Then the electronic voice in the receiver continued.
"Experintal personnel will be provided by . They will be delivered to the underground base in 3 hours."
Beep, beep, beep...
After the two electronic sentences, the call ended.
Gao Liangwei held the receiver for a mont before placing it back on the phone.
He knew that the number of people in Beixing Country qualified to learn the experintal results simultaneously with him didn't exceed double digits. And the will of these people was the will of the nation.
Gao Liangwei took a deep breath and conveyed the order: (Notify the testing expert, the experint will continue in three hours. Begin preparations now for the proximity-triggered bomb to be placed on the tester's neck.)
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