Chapter 76: Strange Data
[A/N: Those whispers are getting dangerous!]
“Are you stupid? Didn’t you see Guide Su Tang is here? How would the Captain dare to lose his temper?”
The camp construction proceeded in an orderly manner. After the protective barrier was fully deployed, the pale blue light membrane isolated the external mist. Sentinels took turns checking their equipment, while Klei adjusted the communicators nearby. Everyone was waiting for news from the recon team.
Su Tang took the bag of ores from Xiao Yu’s paws, took out two to tuck back into its arms, and tied the rest to put in her backpack.
Xiao Yu pressed its paws tightly against the ores. After a moment, Su Tang saw that the ores in its paws had lost their crystalline luster, turning into nothing more than ordinary stones. With a release of its paws, the stones fell to Su Tang’s feet.
“Captain Mo, we’ve established communication with the recon team. For now, the magnetic field in this area is relatively stable.”
They hadn’t gone deep into the Abyss; they were only staying on the outskirts. The communication equipment worn by the recon team was the latest technology. Perhaps because they hadn’t ventured deep into the Abyss, they could still maintain contact from the air.
Mo Xiao nodded to Klei.
“Keep in touch with them. Have the recon team report their location every five minutes.”
“Received.”
Su Tang was pulled over by Zhan Ye to sit on a chair that had been set up. Seeing Zhan Ye leaning back leisurely, sipping nutrient solution, Su Tang couldn’t help but feel curious.
“The ones out scouting are Sentinels from your team. Aren’t you worried at all?”
Zhan Ye finished the nutrient solution, his index finger and thumb lightly flicking the transparent tube as he tossed it perfectly into a nearby discarded cardboard box.
“They are the elites of my Third Squad. If they can’t even handle a small task like this, then I don’t think I need to worry—it’s only a matter of time before they meet their end anyway.”
Zhan Ye lowered his eyes, his finger tapping rhythmically on his bent knee. He wasn’t as relaxed as he appeared. This was the Abyss, after all. They had only just learned of the Cocoon’s existence; ghost knows if something else had cropped up during this time. Normally, he would have chosen to go with the recon team, but now…
Zhan Ye glanced sideways at Su Tang, who was playing with the kitten in her arms.
His primary mission was always to protect Su Tang. Moreover, he trusted Mo Xiao and believed that he would bring the Sentinels of his team back perfectly.
About ten minutes later, news finally came back from the recon team regarding the mission.
“Reporting to base, this is the recon team. We have reached the target area and are scanning the Cocoon’s coordinates and the distribution of high-level pollutants in the Abyss.”
Klei handed the communicator to Mo Xiao.
“Verify the data carefully. Report any discrepancy immediately,” Mo Xiao instructed.
“Received. Currently, the number of pollutants scanned matches the data detected by the White Tower. No discrepancies or other unknown energy fluctuations have been found yet.”
Hearing the movement from the other side, Zhan Ye slowly closed his eyes.
It seemed there was no need for him to worry.
Another half hour passed, and the figures of the recon team appeared at the edge of the barrier.
The First Squad Sentinels on guard duty immediately opened a passage.
The Vice-Captain was the first to remove his headgear.
“Reporting to Captain Mo, the target of this mission—the Cocoon’s position—is exactly the same as the coordinates previously investigated by the White Tower. Furthermore, the scan results show that the number of high-level pollutants in the Abyss is consistent with the list given by the White Tower before departure. Their distribution is mostly in the core zone. We cross-checked these test results three times; the error margin is very small, and the results are highly consistent.”
He handed the data logger to Mo Xiao.
“All the scanned data is inside.”
Mo Xiao took the logger and connected it to his wristband. The data bars on the screen jumped clearly, and the final results summarized before his eyes.
“Captain Mo, since the results are correct, when do we start the operation?”
Klei showed the first smile since learning about the mission. Since there was no discrepancy in the data from the White Tower, he felt they should act as soon as possible. After all, no one knew if things would change.
“Yeah, Captain Mo. According to the results just detected, most high-level pollutants are currently on the outskirts of the Cocoon, forming a defensive posture about 300 meters away. Please have the First Squad Sentinels launch attacks on these high-level pollutants respectively. We, the Third Squad, will go now to set the explosives near the Cocoon. We’ll definitely blow that white thing to bits.”
The Vice-Captain of the Third Squad was in a state of excitement. With the scouting experience just now, he was even more convinced of the feasibility of destroying the Cocoon.
Unlike the two Vice-Captains, Mo Xiao did not show a smile upon seeing the data brought back by the recon team.
His brow furrowed slightly as he shook his head at the two Vice-Captains.
“This data is a bit too precise.”
It had been over a week since they had obtained this data until their arrival here. Over such a long period, the coordinates hadn’t changed at all, and even the number of spiritual entities hadn’t increased. No matter how he looked at it, this data felt strange.
Mo Xiao looked toward Zhan Ye and Su Tang, who were lying to one side.
“What do you think?”
Zhan Ye leaned against the back of his chair, his finger tapping his knee.
“Don’t look at me. I’m just a bodyguard right now.”
Mo Xiao frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with Zhan Ye’s attitude.
“However, I agree with you. We’ve just arrived; let’s not be so reckless.”
Although Zhan Ye said this in response to Mo Xiao, his eyes were fixed on the Vice-Captain of the Third Squad.
The Vice-Captain lowered his head and stopped mentioning his request for battle.
“Could it be a trap? High-level pollutants have developed intelligence. Could they have noticed our actions and deliberately set up this situation to make us let down our guard?”
Su Tang couldn’t help but voice her suspicion.
Her words caused all the Sentinels present to fall into silence. If it really was as Su Tang said, then this mission was going to be many times more difficult.
“Pfft—”
“I say, are you all going to stand around pretending to be wooden blocks? We’ve already taken the mission; even if it’s hard, we have to finish it, right?”
Zhan Ye sat up, leaning forward slightly with his elbows on his knees. He tilted his head to look at the little black cat in Su Tang’s arms.
“Hey, we have this little thing. This fellow is an old partner of the Abyss; he’s more familiar with this place than any of us, isn’t he?”
Su Tang looked at Xiao Yu in her arms. The little black cat raised its head, first rubbing against her chest, then turning its head toward the depths of the dense forest with its emerald eyes. A low whimpering sound came from its throat.
Su Tang immediately stroked its back soothingly.
“What is it? Do you sense something?”
The tip of the black cat’s tail flickered slightly.
Su Tang asked tentatively:
“So, you also think something is strange in there, don’t you?”
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