194: Chapter 194 A Wise Solution Amidst Unwarranted Adversity: The Crisis Ends

As the morning light just climbed onto the eaves of the Council Hall, Chen Wuwang was already standing before the sand table, his fingertips gliding across the aerial projection.

There was some spirit rice porridge left in the food container from last night, sitting by the table, with a thin film formed over the surface.

"Call up the data stream for the entire territory from the past seven days." His voice was not loud, yet it instantly silenced the representatives of the various clans who had been whispering to each other.

The sand table emitted a hum, and the image of the entire Eastern Wasteland appeared in mid-air, with countless points of light flickering like constellations in the night sky.

The green lines represented the movement trajectories of the patrol mechs, the blue ripples were the stable signals of the spirit energy network, and the red alert points that had once flashed four times were now all extinguished.

"The residual spiritual fluctuations of Moyuan have returned to zero." He lightly tapped a coordinate that had once been marked as a "low-level interference source." "It was last active thirty-six hours ago, and there has been no recurrence since."

Elder Zhao of the Chuanyun Sect frowned: "Is it really over just like that? That man's methods are vicious; last time he feigned death and hid inside a bug corpse, nearly causing us to kill each other."

"It is not that he wanted it to end, but that his path has reached a dead end." Chen Wuwang switched the display. "Look here—the Cangling Clan took over the defense of the northern section of the West Ridge, and the response time was shortened from two quarters to half a quarter."

"Chiji Ridge and the Nangu Lin Family jointly coordinated the supply lines, and the error rate dropped from five percent to zero point two. The collaboration efficiency increased by 47%. Do you think this is a coincidence?"

The Pavilion Master of Leiyin Pavilion stroked his chin: "But your Artifact Refining Workshop reported a false steam leak the day before yesterday. This rule... is it still biased toward your own people?"

Before the words had even faded, the gazes of everyone present instantly focused on him.

Chen Wuwang was not annoyed; instead, he smiled slightly: "You are right. The one on duty that day was the oldest craftsman under my uncle, who had worked for thirty years without a single mistake."

"But the System still recorded it, with the ledger clearly listing 'Level 3 False Alarm, 5% deduction of the current month's contribution value.' In front of the rules, no one can be an exception."

He brought out the recorded Jade Slip and projected it, with even the fine details clearly marked.

The representative of the Xuansha Tribe stared at it for a long time, then suddenly laughed: "Alright, this accounting is even more ruthless than our Clan Chief."

"It is not that I am ruthless." Chen Wuwang put away the projection. "It is that the rules cannot have gaps. A single gap is enough for a Yao Beast to crawl through. We have survived until now not by whose fist is bigger, but by our unity and trust."

Some people below nodded, while others still pursed their lips, clearly not yet completely at ease.

He knew that some people were not afraid of fighting and killing, but were afraid of invisible knives.

Although Moyuan was defeated, the suspicion he had planted was like weeds, swaying whenever the wind blew.

He had to pull out the roots.

"I gathered everyone today not just to report that we are safe." He turned and activated a command. "Next, I will play a video. The source is a full recording from a Mechanical Prosthetic Eye, unedited."

The screen lit up. The first scene showed a Cangling Clan mech landing at the rift valley outpost; the second scene showed a Cultivator from Chiji Ridge checking a supply list with a merchant from the West Desert Sand Clan; the third scene showed a youth from the South Valley carrying a medicine chest through the defense line, delivering it to the wounded at the border...

"Seven-Day Collaboration Chronicle," every frame was a real part of daily life.

Chen Wuwang stood where the light and shadow intersected and said: "This is the city you built with your own hands. Without orders, without coercion, you have accomplished it."

"Patrols are handed over as usual, alarms are responded to as usual, and resources are allocated as usual—this is not an illusion, but real, living days."

A commotion came from the square.

The Main Peak square was already crowded with people.

The news spread quickly, saying that the Chen Family was going to destroy some "evil object" in public, and many clansmen had rushed over to watch the spectacle.

When Chen Wuwang walked out of the Council Hall, sunlight was spilling over the stone steps.

His shoulder armor was not yet removed, his silver hair was blown slightly by the wind, and his left eye, the Mechanical Prosthetic Eye, was glowing with a faint blue light.

On the high platform, a pitch-black metal fragment was locked in a rune formation, faintly emitting a low-frequency tremor, like the wail of something sleeping.

"This is the core of the 'spiritual beacon' found on Lu San." He held up a titanium alloy pincer. "Moyuan used it to remotely control Puppets and spread illusions. As long as it remains, you will continue to hear sounds you shouldn't hear and see shadows you shouldn't see at night."

The crowd held their breath.

The tip of the pincer clamped onto the fragment and snapped shut violently.

Click.

With a crisp sound, the black block shattered into powder and drifted away with the wind.

"Now it is destroyed." He released his hand, letting the ashes fall. "No one can use it to awaken Puppets anymore, and no one can use it to sow discord. The peace of the Eastern Wasteland is ours to decide."

The crowd below was silent for two seconds, then erupted into a cheer.

A few children rushed forward, jumping around the rune formation: "Burned! Burned! The bad thing is gone!"

An old deacon wiped the corner of his eye: "Thirty years... for the first time, I dare to let the children go out to play at night."

The broadcast System sounded simultaneously, playing the original recording of the "Seven-Day Collaboration Chronicle" from earlier.

The voice of the Cangling captain came through: "Report to the central hub, handover complete, everything is normal."

Chiji Ridge patroller: "The southern route is stable, no abnormal fluctuations."

South Valley supply team: "Medicine delivered, wounded treated."

Each ordinary phrase, heard at this moment, felt like war drums beating against the heart.

Chen Wuwang stood on the edge of the high platform, looking at the moving heads below, without smiling or waving.

He just watched quietly, as if confirming something.

Until the last video ended and the crowd gradually dispersed, he finally turned and left.

Returning to the quiet room, the moment the door closed, all monitoring interfaces automatically shut down.

Only one spirit energy lamp remained in the room, its dim yellow light reflecting the insect claw marks on half of his face.

He took a titanium alloy plate from his bosom, its surface engraved with dense runes; it was the "heavenly secret instruction" generated by the System at midnight yesterday:

[Three days later, abnormal vibration frequency in the Dongshan Mineral Vein]

His fingertips stroked the text, and he said in a low voice: "It is not by brute force, but by seizing the initiative."

Tap, tap, tap.

His fingers tapped the table unconsciously, the rhythm the same as last night, only this time, he was not counting patrol trajectories, but waiting for the next node to arrive.

Outside the window, the galaxy was like a ribbon of silk.

On the distant ridge line, a new type of early warning tower was slowly rising, its steel skeleton gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

Its location happened to overlap with the ruins and remnants left behind three years ago when the insect race slaughtered the village.

He had once picked up half a wooden sword there, and had also once knelt there to bury his first clansman.

Now, the new tower stood, and the old shadows were gradually fading.

He stood up and walked to the window, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye automatically adjusting its focus to see the tower more clearly.

"The walls are built, and the roots are planted..." The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, his voice very soft, yet like a pile driven into the ground, "Next, it is our turn to make a move."