92: Chapter 92 Increased Strength, Undercurrents Resurface

After the trade concluded, the Chen Family territory gradually returned to its former tranquility, yet beneath this calm lay surging undercurrents.

The fragrance of the Medicinal Field had long since dissipated. Resources piled up like small mountains on the outer city platform, and the sunlight shining on the Red Sun Spiritual Ore reflected a blinding glare.

Chen Wuwang did not glance at it again.

He sat in the center of the Main Hall, his spine straight. Three fingers of his right hand tapped lightly on the edge of the armrest in a steady rhythm—tap, tap—like some sort of silent countdown.

His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye glowed with a faint blue light, and a holographic heat map of the Family territory appeared in his field of vision—

The Seven Clans disciples were busy in their respective areas, mecha tracks rolled over the newly paved hardened spiritual soil, and the data streams of the communication optical network ran smoothly. Everything appeared orderly and well-organized.

Yet he knew, the wind was coming.

"The inventory check is complete, and all supplies have been stored,"

a deacon reported with his head bowed, his voice unable to suppress his excitement. "At the current rate of consumption, this batch of resources is enough to support the construction of the third phase of the defensive tower cluster, and we can even start the technology popularization pilot in the two villages on the southern line ahead of schedule."

"Mm." Chen Wuwang acknowledged, not looking up.

The deacon paused, then tentatively added, "Elder Tiezhu... wishes to apply for an additional production permit for twenty basic combat mechas. He says that while morale is high, we should build a few more to deter the petty and small-minded."

Chen Wuwang finally raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over like a blade. "I have said it before: delay expansion."

"But... everyone outside is saying that we have completely crushed the Zhao Clan this time, and no one will dare to reach out in the future."

"Outside?" Chen Wuwang sneered, tapping his fingertips twice on the corner of the table and pulling up the border patrol logs. "People outside only see me shutting down the Formation, suppressing prices, and collecting goods; they do not see the eyes hidden in the shadows."

As his voice fell, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye instantly switched modes, the image zoomed out, locking onto the southeastern cliff belt.

Three trajectories of abnormal Spiritual Qi fluctuations were automatically marked in red, sneaking forward in a zigzag pattern, deliberately avoiding the core detection zone of the mountain-protecting Formation. Their movements were extremely seasoned.

"Half a quarter of an hour ago, these three traces were still wandering on the periphery," he said in a low voice. "They are not scouts; they are spies. They are using low Spiritual Pressure camouflage talismans, which can deceive ninety percent of Formation scans."

The deacon's expression changed. "Then... should we notify the clans to strengthen their guard?"

"Do not move," Chen Wuwang shook his head. "Being overly alarmed will only startle the snake. The problem now is not that they have come—it is that they arrived silently, without even the patrol team noticing."

He stood up, walked to the stone table, and drew the dagger from his waist. The tip of the blade carved three arcs onto the stone surface, converging at a single point.

"They want to find a weakness," he said in a low voice. "Then we must make them believe that there really is one."

The deacon dared not respond and silently retreated to the side.

Chen Wuwang stared at the three marks, his eyes gradually turning cold. He knew that the Zhao Clan had suffered a silent loss and would never let it rest.

That trade last night was ostensibly an exchange of resources, but in reality, it was a game of deterrence and counter-deterrence.

He had won the first round, but the real contest had only just begun.

He sat back down and tapped the armrest again; the rhythm had changed, becoming slow and deep.

"Pass down the order to increase the detection frequency of the mountain-protecting Formation from once every half-quarter-hour to once every ten breaths," he said calmly. "Activate the earth vein resonance sensor web in the cliff belt, and have all data routed directly to me."

"Yes!"

"Also, although the Medicinal Field monitoring System has been deactivated, the residual data models are still there, right?"

"Yes, they are currently undergoing Late Stage analysis."

"Call them up and perform a reverse comparison of the Spiritual Qi disturbance waveforms." Chen Wuwang narrowed his eyes. "I want to know if those three traces were left by the same group."

The deacon received the order and left.

The hall returned to silence.

Chen Wuwang leaned back into his chair, closed his right eye, and observed the world solely through his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye.

In his field of vision, the entire Chen Family territory was like a giant web, with every node flickering and transmitting weak yet clear streams of information.

Suddenly, an extremely faint shadow flashed across the edge of his vision.

It was not a physical entity, nor was it an explosion of Spiritual Qi, but a wisp of almost imperceptible air distortion—like mist, or smoke—that flashed across the residual image frames of the northeast corner of the Medicinal Field.

The timestamp showed: three breaths ago.

He opened his eyes abruptly and slammed his right hand heavily onto the desktop.

"Caught you."

He quickly retrieved that segment of the footage, zoomed in, and overlaid the waveform analysis module.

The distorted trajectory gradually became clear—it was not a natural disturbance, but a faint Spiritual Qi trail caused by human movement. It was highly regular with a constant speed, clearly deliberately avoiding detection.

The location matched the Spiritual Qi fluctuations in the Zhao Clan's secret report perfectly.

"It really is aimed at the Medicinal Field," he muttered to himself. "Not to snatch, but to investigate—to check if we have any contingency plans, and to check exactly how much we have mastered."

A cold sneer suddenly curled his lips.

These people thought they were well-hidden, little knowing that every step they took was on the pre-set trace tracking line.

After that battle in the Medicinal Field, he had buried three layers of sensor webs underground; on the surface, it was for defense, but in reality, it was to fish.

And now, the fish had arrived.

He hesitated no longer, drew his dagger, and began to carve rapidly on the stone table.

The lines intersected, forming an irregular triangular region that marked the intersection point of the three suspicious paths.

"Counter-probing," he murmured. "Since you want to see a flaw, I will show you a flaw."

He pressed the communication button on the corner of the table: "Clear the waste area, concentrate the wreckage of those scrapped old mechas and place them on the northern wasteland slope, and announce to the outside world that it is a 'temporary storage point'."

"Additionally, turn off the night lighting Formation in that area to create the illusion of weak defenses."

After the order was given, he leaned back in his chair, his fingers began tapping the armrest again, and the rhythm returned to steady.

He knew this was just the beginning. The Great Clans would not stop after sending just a few spies. Next, there would be more methods, more probes, and perhaps even the instigation of small affiliated clans to create internal chaos.

But he was not afraid.

What he feared was no one coming.

Only when the enemy makes a move can one see their trump cards and find the gaps for a counterattack.

He slowly exhaled, his gaze falling on the shadowed area on the holographic map marked as "Potential Threat Zone." It was excessively quiet there, not even birds flew over it.

Yet he knew, the most dangerous places are often the quietest.

He picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and his gaze passed through the window lattice, looking toward the distance, as if contemplating the countermeasures for the next step.