386: Chapter 386 Signs Found, Be Vigilant and Take Precautions

The morning light had long since scattered. The night wind of the third day swept over the rocky ridge of the Eastern Wasteland Main Peak, carrying the lingering metallic scent of the Artifact Refining Workshop and the dampness of freshly turned soil from the Medicinal Field.

The Stargazing Platform hung suspended above a thousand-zhang precipice. Four bronze Formation pillars propped up a pale cyan light barrier, resembling an inverted bowl, bringing the entire Chen family territory under surveillance.

Chen Wuwang stood in the center of the Formation eye, his left hand resting on the spiritual energy guide rail. His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye glowed slightly, and streams of data flashed deep within his pupil.

"They're here again." He spoke suddenly; his voice was not loud, yet it suppressed the sound of the wind.

Ling Zhenzi was squatting before the rune board in the southwest corner, using a copper stylus to adjust the angle of a set of crystals. Hearing this, he did not even raise his head: "How many times now?"

"Three locations." Chen Wuwang raised his hand, his fingertips tracing three red dots in the air. "Nanling Outpost No. 13, the old observation tower on the Western Desert cliffs, and the edge of the North Valley thunderstorm belt—they are all abandoned nodes, but just now there was a spiritual power fluctuation lasting less than two breaths, as if someone had briefly stopped and then quickly retreated."

Ling Zhenzi finally stopped his movements, squinting as he looked toward the master control Formation Plate. It was a palm-sized Jade Slip, currently glowing with an abnormal purple halo.

"It's not the patrol squad." He said in a low voice, "Their access tokens would leave a 'green trace' in the Formation. This is... a Grey Shadow."

"Grey Shadow" was the code word they had set privately—referring to those suspicious entities that deliberately avoided surveillance paths and left no identity markers.

Chen Wuwang sneered: "They're quite knowledgeable. They know we rotate our Formation frequency every six hours and specifically pick the handover gaps to scout?"

"That's not all." Ling Zhenzi stood up and brushed the stone dust from his cuffs. "Look at this waveform."

He pointed to a twisted thin line on the edge of the Jade Slip. "The residual energy belt has a slight sense of folding, as if they used a spatial folding secret technique, but the control was very rough, leaving behind tearing marks."

Chen Wuwang stared at that line for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed: "Ha, this isn't some powerful expert; it's a scout. And one in a hurry to report back."

"Are you sure?" Ling Zhenzi frowned.

"Powerful experts teleport as naturally as breathing; why would they leave behind such dog-chewed scraps?"

Chen Wuwang tapped on the guide rail, his metal fingers making a crisp sound. "This is a short-distance jump, forcefully cobbled together by someone who just learned a few hand seals. The goal isn't an attack, it's reconnaissance—to see if our defenses have relaxed after the celebration."

Ling Zhenzi was silent for a moment, then suddenly turned and walked to the Formation pillar on the other side, formed hand seals with both hands, and chanted in a low voice.

A circle of counter-rotating rune rings appeared on the ground, and a blurry image slowly rose in the center—it was the playback footage of Nanling Outpost No. 13.

A black shadow flashed at the edge of the ruins, lingering for less than a breath. It seemed to be holding some kind of instrument in its hand, scanning in the direction of the Chen family, before its form twisted and disappeared.

"He is recording the defensive layout." Ling Zhenzi gritted his teeth. "And... he bypassed all the visible sentries, specifically targeting the invisible units we buried last year. This isn't wandering around; it's aiming for our weaknesses."

Chen Wuwang didn't speak. The data stream in his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye suddenly accelerated, and a line of small text flashed by in the corner of his vision—[Today's heavenly secret instruction 3: At the third quarter of the Chen hour, an abnormal heat source will appear in the North Region smuggling channel].

His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately pulled up the border thermal map.

Sure enough, near the direction of the old North Region rogue stronghold, a small red mass was moving slowly. Its speed was extremely slow, as if it were deliberately pacing itself to avoid triggering alarms.

"Found it." He pointed at the red mass. "This isn't just a reconnaissance trip; it's a chain operation. Nanling, Western Desert, North Valley—three points forming a line, drawing a perimeter."

Ling Zhenzi gasped: "Who would do this? Moyuan should have known long ago that they can't win a frontal assault. Blood Butcher was blown to smithereens last time, not even his bones were fully recovered..."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be any of them." Chen Wuwang interrupted him. "It's possible someone wants to kill with a borrowed knife. They release the news, let a pack of starving wild dogs smell the scent and pounce, while they hide in the back to watch the show."

"Then what do you plan to do? Sound a full-scale alert now? Notify all clans to be on high alert?"

"No." Chen Wuwang shook his head. "If we move, things will get chaotic. We only have signs now, no evidence. If we rashly announce a state of war readiness, we would be playing right into their hands—what they want is for us to fall into disarray ourselves."

He paused, his eyes turning cold: "Pass on my order: initiate 'Red Eye Tier 3 Alert'."

Ling Zhenzi was stunned: "Straight to Tier 3? That's one of the highest warning levels!"

"Don't make it public." Chen Wuwang said coldly, "Only send it through the spiritual energy secret network to all key positions. The content is just one sentence: 'Unconventional activity confirmed, all personnel enter observation state, unauthorized sorties prohibited.'"

"What about summoning the Elders?"

"Before the Chen hour tomorrow, have them wait for orders at the Main Hall." Chen Wuwang stared at the red dot still moving. "Don't explain the reason, just label it 'Involving major security issues'. Let them guess for themselves."

Ling Zhenzi grinned: "You're still the same old self, not leaking a single bit of wind."

"The calmer the wind, the more the fish dare to bite the hook." Chen Wuwang walked to the edge of the Formation and looked up at the starry sky. "What I want to know most right now is—whose hand is behind this."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Zhenzi suddenly gave a low cry: "Wait! I've reconstructed a segment of the spellcasting path!"

Chen Wuwang immediately turned back.

Ling Zhenzi's hands moved rapidly to form seals, and the reverse spirit pattern tracking method was running at full power.

The waveform on the Jade Slip was stretched and dismantled, finally piecing together an incomplete trajectory line—that line actually passed through an abandoned star station in the North Region, and that location was exactly the spot where a rogue force had been completely annihilated three years ago.

"It's them." Chen Wuwang narrowed his eyes. "Someone is contacting fringe forces, wanting to bring outsiders in to stir up trouble."

"But the rogues, the Merchant Alliance, the ancient cultivators... none of them are easy to deal with. Who could make this group act simultaneously?"

"Greed is enough." Chen Wuwang sneered. "Someone promised them benefits—mecha blueprints, tax freedom, restoring ancient cultivation systems. As long as the price offered is high enough, even the stupidest wolf is willing to take a bite."

Ling Zhenzi's expression changed: "This method... is too sinister. On one hand, it causes us internal trouble, and on the other, it brings external enemies to our doorstep. Once we can't handle both sides, they will deliver the final, fatal blow."

"That's why we cannot move." Chen Wuwang said slowly. "They want to see us panic. The quieter we are, the less they can figure out our true situation."

He stood at the edge of the Stargazing Platform, looking at the Artifact Refining Workshop in the distance, which was still brightly lit. In the Medicinal Field, clansmen were still cultivating seedlings throughout the night, and the mecha patrol squads on the drill ground were moving back and forth along fixed routes; everything was as usual.

"Let them investigate, let them watch." He said in a low voice. "In the end, they will only find—that we haven't loosened even a single screw."

Ling Zhenzi walked to his side, was silent for a moment, and then suddenly laughed: "Do you think they are currently hiding in some dark place, waiting for us to blow up?"

"Let them wait." A cold sneer curled the corners of Chen Wuwang's mouth. "Wait until they are anxious, wait until they doubt their own existence—that is when it will be time for us to strike."

He raised his hand, and the last line of data in his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye returned to zero.

"For now, we do nothing." He said softly, "Just wait for the fish to float up on its own."

The wind swept across the Stargazing Platform, blowing his long silver-white hair.

In the distance, the firelight from the Artifact Refining Workshop reflected on the base of the clouds, like a calm and unmoving sea.