[Martial Heaven Capital, Heavenly Martial Training Base, Yellow-Class Student Dormitory Area, 6:00 PM]
The evening breeze drifted through the ventilation slats of the dormitory porthole, carrying the lingering scent of Star energy unique to the training base. Intertwined with the fading glow of the sunset, it dyed the metal floor a warm orange.
Chen Kong sat at a metal desk by the window, organizing the items needed for this departure. As Star energy surged, ripples of light patterns appeared on the surface of the tactical backpack before him, precisely folding and expanding the internal space.
This was a "spatial backpack advanced usage technique" he had recently exchanged from the Heavenly Martial Training Base. By utilizing Star energy correctly alongside special Star techniques, the capacity of a standard tactical backpack could be tripled. Consequently, a tactical backpack that appeared no larger than a normal travel bag could house enough compressed Star rations and emergency medical kits for half a month, along with his standard Star equipment.
After confirming that nothing was missing, Chen Kong tapped the holographic screen of his room's terminal. The screen remained on the final frame of his combat review from Longevity Island. As he watched, he mentally simulated potential emergencies he might encounter in the Skeleton Desert Fallen Zone: obstructed vision in sandstorms, sudden ambush directions of Star Beasts, and the coordination between teammates. Every detail was repeatedly polished in his thoughts.
Knock, knock, knock!
A series of brisk, rhythmic knocks suddenly rang out. Chen Kong broke his train of thought and looked toward the door.
"Who is it?"
A moment later, Liu Ma's hearty and somewhat urgent voice came from outside. "Chen Kong, are you ready? Vivian has finished the sand-proofing modifications for the multi-functional tactical suits. She wants us to go to the training ground to get used to them. Since it's new equipment, she says it's best to do plenty of debugging."
Hearing this, Chen Kong immediately closed his screen, stood up, and strode to the door, pulling it open. Outside, Liu Ma wore a light gray Enhancement-type training suit with the sleeves rolled up, revealing sturdy forearms. Resting on his shoulder was a pair of brand-new gauntlets.
These were "weapons" specifically forged for Liu Ma by his "Big Sister," Yu Qianxia, after the Longevity Island trial ended. In Yu Qianxia's words, while a martial artist's most reliable asset was their own tempered body, becoming complacent and ignoring or resisting other forms of "progress" was contrary to the martial artist's spirit of forging ahead. After all, "refusing change" was itself a manifestation of cowardice. Thus, learning to reasonably utilize modern equipment was an essential part of being a qualified martial artist.
Beside Liu Ma, Vivian stood quietly. Her originally silver-bright mechanical arm had been modified to a dull yellow to match the desert environment, and a thick ring of dust-proof seals had been added to the joints. She carried a custom toolbox on her back, with the exclusive insignia of the Mechanical-type embossed on the side.
Seeing Chen Kong appear, Vivian spoke: "I checked the geological data for the Skeleton Desert. The hardness of the sand particles there is very high; ordinary protective coatings won't hold up. For the tactical suit modifications, I specifically reinforced the joint seals and replaced the sensors with high-wear-resistant ones. This should solve the issue of decreased sensitivity in the multi-functional suits during sandstorms."
As she spoke, Vivian opened her toolbox and handed a set of the tactical gear to Chen Kong. Chen Kong took the external suit and inspected it curiously. During this process, Vivian began to recount some of her investigations from the day.
"I carefully cross-referenced the newly updated exploration records and detection reports for the 'Skeleton Desert.' I found that what the reports say aligns almost perfectly with what An Qin told us. My previous suspicions regarding her... might have been overthinking."
"That's good then." Hearing Vivian's words, Liu Ma let out a sigh of relief and dramatically patted his chest. He then patted Vivian on the shoulder with a moderate force that carried a sense of reassurance. "Vivian, if you ask me, you're just too cautious. But that's a good thing. With you watching over us, this exploration will definitely go smoothly."
Vivian did not argue. She simply quirked the corner of her mouth into a somewhat stiff smile. While she hadn't found any concrete issues with An Qin, she felt an indescribable sense of dissonance regarding the girl for some reason. To that end, she had even quietly released her mental power that afternoon to test An Qin's Star energy fluctuations, but she had only sensed a gentle, Support-type Star barrier without any abnormal aura.
However, this flawless state only served to make her unease stronger. Lacking substantive evidence, she could only suppress this suspicion in the depths of her heart. For a Cyber-Star Envoy, intuition was not a judgment that counted as "evidence."
At this thought, Vivian quickly brushed aside her scattered thoughts and returned to her usual cold tone. "Let's go. Isabel is already waiting for us at the training ground. Once everyone is there, I will test the effects of the tactical suits for each of you, focusing on whether they can maintain full functionality in a sandstorm environment."
"Mhm."
[Training Ground, Environmental Simulation Zone]
The training ground's environmental regulation devices had been activated. Pale yellow grains of sand poured incessantly from the ceiling nozzles, whistling past under the force of wind generators to form a realistic desert sandstorm. The sand struck metal obstacles with a sharp, crackling friction sound.
They had already taken turns testing their respective tactical suits and found no abnormalities. Now, they were practicing team coordination under simulated sandstorm conditions.
Liu Ma stood at the very front of the team, his muscles bulging slightly. His swinging gauntlets created a strong airflow barrier, precisely blocking the majority of the sand flying toward the group. Isabel, meanwhile, was operating her "Absolute Zero" at full capacity, precisely locking onto distant moving targets through the limited visibility of the dust.
At the rear of the team, Vivian watched her teammates' performance while voicing her analysis. "The impact of the sandstorm environment on us is even greater than expected. My radar scanning range is reduced by 30% in the dust, and the scanning precision drops as well; it might be impossible to accurately judge the level and number of Star Beasts. Additionally, Chen Kong, your 'Imaginary Home' possesses strong versatility and adaptability. Therefore, if any emergency occurs, it's best if you make the targeted response."
Chen Kong nodded and began to train with even more focus. The four of them coordinated in the simulation ground for two hours, repeatedly practicing every tactic dozens of times, from basic sandstorm defense and target locking to advanced responses for sudden Star Beast ambushes and teammate rescue coordination.
It wasn't until night had fully fallen and the sandstorm devices were shut down that the four of them, covered in sweat, returned to their respective dorms to rest.
Before sleeping, Chen Kong sat on the edge of his bed. After a moment of hesitation, he took out his terminal and sent an encrypted communication to Tendo. He explained the details of the team exploration to the Skeleton Desert and specifically asked if there was anything unusual about An Qin's background.
Unsurprisingly, there was no immediate response from Tendo's end. This meant he either hadn't seen it or was choosing to ignore it. Chen Kong found this understandable. After all, the current Tendo was just like when they were children—standing above everyone else as the most eye-catching existence in the base. Many people wanted to befriend him; if it weren't for their childhood connection, Chen Kong wouldn't even have Tendo's contact information.
After waiting for half an hour without a reply, Chen Kong leaned against his headboard, his gaze falling on the night sky outside the window. The artificial moon of Martial Heaven Capital emitted a soft glow, allowing his tense nerves to relax slightly.
Just as Chen Kong thought Tendo was either busy or uninterested in talking, a message arrived. He hurried to pick up the data terminal, which displayed a brief message from Tendo.
'In all things, simply prepare for the worst. Sometimes intuition... is more persuasive than any evidence.'
Seeing Tendo's answer, Chen Kong's brow furrowed instantly. If anyone else had said something so ambiguous, Chen Kong might not have taken it to heart. But when the person saying it was Tendo, everything changed.
"So... does Big Brother Tendo know something, or is he just brushing me off?"
At this thought, Chen Kong sent another message. But this time, he waited a long while without receiving a reply. Clearly, Tendo was "reading and not replying" this time. In the end, Chen Kong chose to remain vigilant. As Tendo said, it was always best to prepare for the worst in all matters.
The next morning at 5:30 AM, before the sun had risen, the Star vessel station of Martial Heaven Capital was already brightly lit. White lights illuminated the vast space, casting a cold reflection off the metal walls. A small Star ship named the "Explorer No. 7" was moored quietly at Berth No. 3. Its silver-white hull gleamed coldly under the lights, bearing the insignia of the Star Envoy Association surrounded by energy patterns that were slowly charging.
An Qin waited at the entrance of the starship, having changed into a gray-black field uniform. The identification tag for the Field Department was pinned to her uniform, and her hair was tied into a high ponytail, making her look very capable and spirited.
To everyone's surprise, two strangers in black tactical suits stood beside her. Both carried heavy tactical backpacks and appeared fully equipped. The student insignia of the Heavenly Martial Training Base was pinned to the left chest of their suits; they were clearly students of the base as well.
An Qin looked at the two out of the corner of her eye, a surge of irritation rising in her heart for no reason. She had clearly stated yesterday that she was inviting Chen Kong and the others as an individual. Yet these two had followed her anyway—seemingly to help, but in reality to supervise. An Qin had no particularly good way to deal with this.
Just as An Qin was thinking about how to explain this to Chen Kong's group, they arrived. Seeing the two extra people beside An Qin, Chen Kong frowned. "An Qin, who are these two?"
Faced with Chen Kong's inquiry, An Qin steadied her complex emotions and said in as stable a tone as possible, "These two are companions I met not long ago. This is Lin Feng, and this is Zhao Yu. They are both Enhancement-type Star Envoys. Lin Feng specializes in heavy defense and can withstand attacks from high-level Star Beasts. Zhao Yu specializes in rapid close-quarters combat and can flexibly pin down enemies."
After An Qin's introduction, Lin Feng and Zhao Yu both nodded toward Chen Kong's group. Lin Feng was tall and brawny, standing half a head taller than Liu Ma with broad shoulders. A shallow scar ran from his forehead to his cheek, and his eyes were as cold as ice, radiating an aura that warned others not to approach.
Zhao Yu was relatively more easygoing. He took a proactive step forward with a well-practiced smile. He reached out his hand to Chen Kong and gave the explanation he had prepared long ago. "Suitable Fallen Zones are hard to find. After we received word, it took some effort to convince An Qin to let us join. Rest assured, although we joined midway, our goal is simply to gain as much Fallen Zone exploration experience as possible. As for the points earned, we can give up a third of our share to compensate you."
Chen Kong did not speak. Beside him, Vivian said coldly, "But this is different from what was agreed upon." As she spoke, Vivian quietly activated her Cyber-Electronic Eye to conduct a scan of the two men. She controlled the action well, emitting almost no Star energy fluctuations. However, the scan yielded nothing; she found no abnormalities.
Faced with Vivian's challenge, Zhao Yu smiled and said, "While it is indeed different, the cake is right here. There's no reason only you should eat while we cannot, right?"
Zhao Yu's logic was impeccable. Vivian was silent for a moment. In the end, she was unwilling to give up this valuable "Fallen Zone exploration." If they missed this opportunity, who knew when the next suitable Fallen Zone would appear?
Noticing the slightly strange atmosphere in the team, An Qin clapped her hands. "It's about time. The starship's departure sequence is about to begin. Let's board first. The ship departs at 7:00 sharp. Once we're on board, I'll distribute the detailed exploration route maps to everyone."
After boarding, An Qin led the group through a narrow corridor. The indicator lights on both sides of the corridor emitted a pale green glow, lighting the way ahead. She brought them to a spacious lounge cabin. "The starship flight will take three hours. Everyone can rest for a bit and recharge. I'm going to the cockpit to confirm the flight route and energy reserves. I'll be back soon."
Having said that, she turned and walked quickly out of the lounge. Lin Feng's eyes sharpened, and he followed silently behind her. Their figures soon disappeared at the end of the corridor.
The moment she stepped out of the lounge, the smile on An Qin's face vanished completely, replaced by a look of deep internal struggle. She whispered to Lin Feng beside her, "This mission... can we change the target?"
Lin Feng gave An Qin a meaningful look and said, "An Qin, it seems you... really think of yourself as a 'human' now."
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