novelraw Chapter 104 : Red Moon Snow Plain
Chapter 104 : Red Moon Snow Plain
Xie Chunshi's gaze swept beyond the metal ruins.
All of White Soto Tower's factories and high-rise buildings had collapsed. Their entrance was at the edge of a mechanical factory.
Looking through the hole in the cracked wall, one could see damaged mechanical devices inside the factory, with the bodies of automated robots completely eroded by energy.
Sensing living beings entering, the remaining authentication system flashed red dots.
"In White Soto Tower City, there are many factories like this," he looked at Chen Sui.
The black gold mech faced forward, looking at the thickness of the snow, and nodded: "The terrain here is relatively high, with factories exposed above the snow layer. Below the snow, there are many buried city buildings."
Zhou Chen nodded in understanding. The snow had already reached the mech's thigh, and lower areas were filled with snow, like a crater.
"Let's go to the factory and check it out."
Xie Chunshi looked at Zhou Chen: "How are you doing?"
Chen Sui walked directly past him, her energy perception spreading out. Hearing this, she said coolly: "Take care of yourself first. He's in much better condition than you."
Gu Qinxue's energy established a barrier around Zhou Chen, with the fire stone in the cockpit constantly burning, nicely alleviating Zhou Chen's cold feeling.
In contrast, for Xie Chunshi, due to the invasion of same-attribute energy, in the energy field's complex energy environment, Chen Sui temporarily had no way to establish an energy barrier for him.
Hearing the analyst's words, Zhou Chen instinctively looked at Xie Chunshi: "What's wrong with you?"
"Core crystal damage worsening?"
Xie Chunshi closed his eyes briefly.
Chen Sui stopped in her tracks, standing on the steel frame that had fallen in the factory. Through the black gold mech, Xie Chunshi could imagine Chen Sui's cold expression from her slightly tilted head.
"Core crystal damage worsening?" The analyst's voice was calm, even frighteningly steady. "So you have a medical history too."
Zhou Chen sensed something off in her tone and instinctively touched his arm, moving closer to Xie Chunshi, whispering: "You didn't tell her?"
Xie Chunshi finally couldn't resist, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, shaking his head helplessly.
Chen Sui turned her head, giving a light snort, her tone indecipherable: "You're really something, Commander Xie. If you're so capable, why do you need an analyst?"
Xie Chunshi's lips moved, somewhat at a loss for words.
The bullet comments, watching this scene, confused, typed out question marks.
[Wait, I've been following the live broadcast, but why do I feel like I missed some plot?]
[What's going on with Zhu Jing Fu? Internal conflict between the analyst and Commander?]
[It's Xie Chunshi's core crystal problem, right? But why does it feel like the analyst herself didn't know about his condition?]
[Ah, no wonder Chen Sui is angry. Anyone would be. Concealing important information]
[An aggressive analyst requires extremely high trust and coordination from teammates. One information gap could put teammates in danger]
[Don't just talk about aggressive style; any analyst wouldn't tolerate teammates concealing core crystal information]
[Xie Chunshi's situation is special, it's classified information]
[But damage should be communicated, otherwise if something happens, it becomes the analyst's shadow]
Two sides began arguing in the bullet comments, while at this moment, Zhu Jing Fu had entered the factory interior.
The factory at the edge of White Soto Tower was an aircraft processing plant, where skeletons delivered from another factory would undergo further processing.
Stepping over the snow-covered ground into the factory interior, Chen Sui found parts that hadn't been severely eroded from the rusted transmission device.
She picked and chose some, and as she placed them in her spatial button, she noticed Zhou Chen's gaze and turned to look at him, her expression calm. "Something wrong?"
Chen Sui sensed Zhou Chen couldn't say anything meaningful, but she still politely asked.
Indeed, he looked at her spatial button being occupied by handfuls of parts and asked: "Little Sui, what kind of transport tool are we using? How big will it be, will it take up a lot of space? I still want to bring more materials out with my spatial button—"
"Addicted to freeloading, aren't you?" Chen Sui found it amusing. They'd barely been in the energy field for any time at all, and he was already calculating what to put in his spatial button?
Zhou Chen scratched his head, "Didn't you make a really long list? There are so many things."
"Ah, I said the Competition Committee should change the spatial button model. This one is too small, what can it even hold?"
In the control room, Mo Qiu'an, arriving a step late, heard this and seemed to laugh in disbelief, pointing at the Zhu Jing Fu recording: "There's even a list? When Zhu Jing Fu comes out, I want to see what's on their list."
"They're so discerning. I don't even have to think carefully—Red Moon Snow Plain's Thunder Spirit Iron Essence, Snow-Blowing Lotus, and Dark Armor Crystal are definitely on the list."
Jian Run understood Zhu Jing Fu's style very well.
Chen Sui generally prioritized what could be used for Zhu Jing Fu's mechs later, followed by expensive items.
Thunder Spirit Iron Essence provides attack enhancement for Zhu Jing Fu's agile attacker's weapons. Snow-Blowing Lotus can serve as an excellent control energy source. As for Dark Armor Crystal, it's a defensive material on par with snow melting stone, with some energy resistance.
Hearing him list these names, Mo Qiu'an felt her vision darken: "They really know how to pick."
"Zhu Jing Fu complains spatial buttons aren't enough to carry everything. Give them bigger ones, and they could empty my energy field."
Mo Qiu'an joked.
But as the live broadcast camera swept past, her smile suddenly stopped. "Director Jian, I'll go handle something first."
Jian Run nodded to her. The Red Moon Snow Plain energy field situation was somewhat abnormal; this time the Red Moon state had lasted so long—normally it would have transformed into the Aurora state by now.
Jian Run had carried out missions in the Red Moon Snow Plain. The Red Moon state's duration generally doesn't exceed ten days, but during the preparation period, the Red Moon Snow Plain's energy monitoring showed it was in the Red Moon state, and it has now maintained for 12 days.
Jian Run was indeed concerned about this. With the previous example of the Sultry Red Forest, the management department's inspection results had the Star Alliance upper levels very concerned. Changes in energy fields are no small matter.
All of the Star Alliance's current understanding of energy fields came from data exchanged for predecessors' sacrifices.
Once changes occur, all that intelligence gained through sacrifice would become a pile of waste paper.
"How long has the Red Moon Snow Plain's Red Moon state lasted?"
Upon leaving the control room, Mo Qiu'an looked at her aide.
The two walked quickly toward the conference room, closing the door. The aide brought up the light brain data, showing the officially transmitted Red Moon Snow Plain energy spectrum, connected to the energy field management department outside the Red Moon Snow Plain.
"It has exceeded twelve days. The management department's detection results show no abnormalities."
Mo Qiu'an's face darkened, her gaze sharp as she looked at the aide, her expression serious: "No abnormalities?"
"How is the situation at the Red Moon Snow Plain base station in this inspection?"
The aide instinctively straightened, carefully responding under the leader's powerful authority: "We checked all data from the Red Moon Snow Plain energy monitoring device, and no abnormal energy fluctuations appeared. Ice and thunder attributes still occupy high positions in the Red Moon Snow Plain interior, consistent with the Aurora and Red Moon state change situations."
"Given the Sultry Red Forest case, the research institute has innovated the detection chips inside the energy monitoring devices for the Sultry Red Forest situation. The latest chips are now in the hands of the five academies."
The new monitoring equipment was built with the Competition Committee's assistance to Saint Laurent.
Mo Qiu'an frowned tightly: "The Red Moon state has exceeded ten days. Such a situation in the Red Moon Snow Plain is generally a precursor to ice attribute abnormalities. Previous similar situations in the Red Moon Snow Plain led to major avalanches caused by ice attribute energy fluctuations."
Her voice carried some hidden worry. As she discussed this with her aide, someone knocked on the conference room door.
With a beep, someone used their authority to open the door.
A hand with distinct knuckles pushed open the door, and a crisp military uniform entered Mo Qiu'an's view.
Zhao Loulan had her hair impeccably combed up, her other hand holding her cap brim. Upon seeing Mo Qiu'an, she nodded: "Something wrong with the Red Moon Snow Plain energy field?"
Mo Qiu'an exhaled, repeating the conclusions she and her aide had reached.
The calm Border Army leader nodded, "I understand. I'll remind the rescue team to increase their attention. The medical systems inside the Red Moon Snow Plain will also be fully opened. Trust our students."
She reached out to pat Mo Qiu'an, but this gesture couldn't completely ease Mo Qiu'an's concerns.
The annual Star League Competition was always her most tense time.
Every military academy student was a precious talent for the Star Alliance, especially this group that had passed through layers of screening to enter the formal competition—they were the elite among the elite.
Zhao Loulan left the conference room with her Border Army team. Though she reassured Mo Qiu'an, her heart wasn't calm either.
"Go to the Red Moon Snow Plain energy field management department now, synchronize their monitoring information to the Competition Committee here."
She instructed the Border Army member behind her, who solemnly nodded.
Zhao Loulan's lips were tightly pressed, her palms somewhat tense.
How did Song Baining handle the last energy field abnormality?
Her mind constantly recalled the other's measures, as if thinking of that figure could provide invisible comfort to her unease.
At this moment, the five teams in the Red Moon Snow Plain energy field hadn't yet noticed this abnormality.
"Little Sui, how about this one?"
Zhou Chen found a box of processed parts stored in a metal storage box in another collapsed workroom of the factory, quickly reporting the find to Chen Sui.
"Where did you find it?"
Chen Sui tapped her finger on the metal storage box.
This was a Star Alliance box for storing special metals, which could often generate large amounts of energy, commonly used for engine liquid and fuel.
Zhou Chen pointed to a place in the factory completely buried by steel.
He looked innocent: "I accidentally tripped and fell right in."
Looking at the tightly compressed workroom, Chen Sui frowned from a distance, "How did you get in?"
Zhou Chen led her to where he had fallen.
His foot had slipped, directly falling into the ruins, almost dropping into the area below the factory. Fortunately, he grabbed a broken staircase in time, then moved sideways to the other side of the stairs, where a small hole was exposed.
Zhou Chen was curious, so he crawled in.
Then he found several such metal boxes in this very small workroom.
After listening to him, Chen Sui looked at him with an indescribable expression. If Zhou Chen could see, he would surely notice a hint of surprise and realization in her eyes.
"It's different, definitely different," Chen Sui murmured.
Zhou Chen looked bewildered: "Huh? What's different?"
"The luck between people really is different."
Chen Sui glanced at her spatial button. She had searched for half a day, finding only shell parts, while Zhou Chen stumbled once and directly found a room of core components.
Very good.
The benefit of having a lucky player on the team was demonstrated.
"Well done, I'll take you on a roller coaster when we get out." Chen Sui patted his shoulder.
The delight on Zhou Chen's face from being praised instantly disappeared. "Please, no. How about a different reward? I heard the biology department mailed you many newly cultivated plants. I'd like to try some too, Little Sui. How about giving me that?"
Chen Sui pretended not to hear, directly climbing down the stairs, looking at the extremely small hole, her brow immediately furrowing.
Zhou Chen saw her stop at the stairs, belatedly reminding her: "Oh, this hole is a bit small, just squeeze and you'll get in."
She raised an eyebrow, looking at the iron frame pressed by the steel building. A thin iron frame supported an extremely small triangular space, just enough for a mech to create a suitable posture and inch through bit by bit.
Chen Sui looked at the shape of this hole and could imagine Zhou Chen's posture. She couldn't help but look up at him. He had found a place to sit on the stairs above. Seeing the black gold mech looking up, he asked, "What's up?"
"I'm watching out for you here, in case this collapses," Zhou Chen explained considerately.
Chen Sui sighed while shaking her head, "You just crawled in through here? Weren't you uncomfortable?"
The mech's hip area would definitely get stuck.
Zhou Chen rubbed his butt, stubbornly saying: "Not uncomfortable, how could it be uncomfortable? Ha, my mech is so flexible, it slipped in with a swoosh."
Chen Sui hooked the corner of her mouth, saying nothing, looking at the steel frames in front of her. Her gaze traced around in a circle, finding several load-bearing points. One mech hand held the stairs; she looked up once, seeing the stairs connected to the factory's load-bearing pillars, enough for her to make a fuss for a while.
So with one mech hand gripping the stairs, she stomped forward, her body flying toward the hole position, her foot kicking at the surrounding wall skin.
"Thud!!"
The wall skin shifted to the other side, creating a harsh friction sound with the ruins below.
The ground beneath Zhou Chen's feet shook, startling him to immediately stand up and look forward at Chen Sui. He saw the black gold mech with one hand hooked on the stairs, the mech sweeping away obstacles all around in a 360-degree motion, literally tearing a small hole into a large opening where a mech could enter upright.
"Whoa, are you just dismantling this room?"
Zhou Chen couldn't help but think of how arduously he had twisted to enter, and his gaze secretly glanced at the live broadcast camera.
[Don't look, brother, it's recorded]
[Zhu Jing Fu contestant cosplaying as a maggot on the field]
[? Although Zhou Chen's writhing posture was somewhat eye-searing, it wasn't that bad, brother]
[Meme, help yourself (Zhou Chen writhing, caption: S property explosion)]
[This caption is still somewhat restrained, the Zhu Jing Fu summoning system would be more savage]
[Leave our lucky player alone]
Chen Sui entered the workroom, looking at the scattered large components inside, her eyes gradually brightening. She cleared the interior, and when she crawled out of the hole, she patted Zhou Chen.
"Don't worry, I guarantee it'll make you look cool as hell."
Zhou Chen's expression turned delighted, but then he heard Chen Sui ask him: "Do you have an aircraft driving license?"
"No," Zhou Chen shook his head, a sense of foreboding suddenly rising in his heart. He hurriedly said: "No way, you can't possibly create an aircraft out of thin air, right?"
"That's impossible, but the driving method is similar," Chen Sui's voice had a hint of laughter.
Zhou Chen watched her walk toward the factory interior, quickly following to ask: "Huh? I should be able to, right? I just haven't taken the exam, but I can drive."
"That won't do, it sets a bad example," Chen Sui politely declined.
Zhou Chen watched her walk out, suddenly clapping his hand, muttering: "Something's not right." He caught up with Chen Sui, continuing to mutter: "Little Sui, you can't leave me behind alone!"
"Don't worry, how could I leave you behind? You're the lucky player, of course I need to find a way to bring you along," Chen Sui said with a gentle laugh.
This tone made Zhou Chen increasingly afraid, always feeling something bad was coming.
Worthy of being a transportation center, White Soto Tower had what Chen Sui needed. If one factory didn't have it, during the process of traversing the entire White Soto Tower, she quickly found all the parts she needed.
Looking at these structural frames, Gu Qinxue asked curiously: "What tool are you preparing to make?"
"Do you have an aircraft driving license?"
Chen Sui asked, her gaze successively looking at the other two people.
Gu Qinxue nodded; after all, she had been trained by the Gu family from a young age and took the exam as soon as she was old enough.
Xie Chunshi and Puluo also nodded.
Zhou Chen instantly felt somewhat isolated: "No way, so I'm the only one without? Little Sui, you promised, you can't leave me behind."
"How could I? I don't have one either. I won't leave you behind."
Chen Sui's voice carried amusement. Zhou Chen increasingly felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint what exactly, so he could only be reassured by her appeasement.
Gu Qinxue, hearing Chen Sui's deceptive tone, couldn't help but smile.
Though not knowing what Chen Sui had in mind, it probably wasn't what Zhou Chen thought.
Although Chen Sui could repair aircraft, she hadn't taken the Star Alliance aircraft driving qualification exam.
She and Zhou Chen were similar: no license, but could drive.
The energy field didn't care about such things. Chen Sui had found many snow vehicle frames, similar in type to the snow off-road vehicles of her era, completely wrapped in energy metal, capable of driving through thick snow layers. The propulsion used the same energy propulsion and driving program as aircraft, requiring knowledge of aircraft techniques.
Adapted for mechs, it would likely need to be much larger than an ordinary off-road vehicle.
Traversing White Soto Tower City, the base station stood erect in the snow behind them.
The secondary base station's foundation was built very high, with its underground structure covered by snow. The tower rose above the snow surface, with an extremely long security corridor at the entrance.
Xie Chunshi swiped the competition certification to enter. Just after entering the base station, he saw a barely visible puddle of water in the corridor.
The white lights in the corridor cast rings of metallic halos around the surrounding architecture. The small, continuous liquid on the ground wasn't even reflected—it would have evaporated soon.
"This is accumulated snow, carrying energy fluctuations."
Chen Sui glanced at it, slowly retracting the smile she had been teasing Zhou Chen with, her perception spreading out. "It seems someone reached here before us."
"Anyone but Saint Laurent would be fine," Xie Chunshi said calmly. The defending champion always had some different treatment from other teams.
"There's residual water attribute energy fluctuation," Chen Sui captured an energy signal from the remaining signals, drawing her long spear, ready to act at any moment.
"Let's go to the resource placement point first." The Competition Committee had set up dedicated resource placement points in the base station, generally the first choice for teams.
Chen Sui had no objection. Having reached the base station, there was plenty of opportunity to perform spiritual healing for teammates and plenty of time to hear Xie Chunshi's explanation.
Her long spear swept across the ground. Behind her, Zhou Chen suddenly stepped back when the spear swept by.
"I won't hit you," Chen Sui didn't even turn her head, hearing his movement and saying calmly.
Zhou Chen gave a dry laugh: "I trust you, mainly I don't trust myself. I feel like I might fall on any path I walk."
He had basically stumbled out of White Soto Tower City all the way, and Zhou Chen was quite confused—wasn't he supposed to be a lucky player? Why was he the one always falling?
"Maybe your cerebellum isn't fully developed," Chen Sui said seriously.
After all, the cerebellum manages bodily balance.
Hearing this, Zhou Chen felt something wasn't quite right: "Why do I feel like you're insulting me?"
He said softly, but Chen Sui was exploring with her perception and didn't notice what he said.
As Zhu Jing Fu arrived inside the base station, the five members of Ink Hills, just coming out from the resource placement point, with the pale-faced Jiang Zhongyu pausing his steps, looked in a certain direction, his voice weak and frail: "Someone's coming."
Zhang Yingjie immediately looked at him: "Can you determine the energy fluctuation type?"
"They've set up energy shielding," Jiang Zhongyu shook his head. High-level spiritual threshold analysts could conceal their team's energy fluctuations.
"Na Luo River or—" Zhang Yingjie lifted his sensor glasses, "Zhu Jing Fu."
"Anyway, not Saint Laurent," Xin Ming smiled reassuringly on the side.
When Zhu Jing Fu arrived at the resource placement point, they only saw an empty room. Chen Sui leaned against the doorway, raising her eyebrow ends at the sight: "Seems someone took everything?"
"Go to the signal tower," Xie Chunshi nodded, immediately redirecting. After taking resources, the next step was the base station map.
Chen Sui signaled to Puluo, "We'll intercept at the tower exit side."
She waited for the Team Leader's instruction, and seeing Xie Chunshi nod, she patted Puluo, "Let's go."
Zhu Jing Fu's analyst and soldier walked toward another elevator. Meanwhile, Ink Hills had already entered the base station information, just exiting the signal tower. Jiang Zhongyu's complexion had improved slightly. Zhang Yingjie looked at the detailed map, his expression increasingly grave.
Xin Ming peeked from the side, asking: "Are we going to the main base station?"
Zhang Yingjie shook his head. He marked Ink Hills' landing point on the map, drawing a circular ring around the main base station based on this, guessing that other academies must also be within this range. Getting to the main base station wouldn't be so quick; Saint Laurent couldn't reach it for a while.
"Analyst, do you need to go to the medical pod for examination?"
Looking at Jiang Zhongyu gradually regaining his rosy complexion, Zhang Yingjie asked.
Jiang Zhongyu was taken aback, looking at him, somewhat hesitant: "It might take a long time, delaying the team's progress."
"Tsk, what are you talking about at a time like this," Zhao Jingzhi couldn't resist anymore, pushing him toward the medical department, "Take care of yourself first. This damned snow plain is so cold it could freeze you to death. Don't freeze yourself badly."
"That's right, it's less than three days to the main base station. We have enough time and resources. Analyst, please take care of your physical condition first."
The understanding from the Team Leader and teammates warmed Jiang Zhongyu's heart, but following this, he clenched his fist, his eyes somewhat dim.
Xin Ming pressed his shoulder from the side, comforting him: "It's alright, Little Yu. The Red Moon Snow Plain is just an accident. Who would have thought its energy storm would be so violent this time? Don't blame yourself too much."
Xin Ming had always been considerate, her words gentle, bringing a faint smile to Jiang Zhongyu's face.
Xin Ming's words made Zhang Yingjie notice the abnormality of the Red Moon Snow Plain. He turned back to the signal tower, "You go to the medical department first. I'll check the Red Moon Snow Plain monitoring information."
Through the sensor glasses, Xin Ming saw the young man's somewhat thoughtful gaze, realizing Zhang Yingjie had made new arrangements, so she nodded, heading to the medical department with the other teammates.
Meanwhile, Chen Sui and Puluo had already arrived at the descent staircase leaving the signal tower. The spacious plaza connected different buildings within the base station, including the exit.
Xie Chunshi and the two Zhu Jing Fu attackers went to the signal tower. Zhang Yingjie was still in the base station's control room, checking past information about the Red Moon Snow Plain.
Just as he was entering energy spectra, the control room door emitted a crisp beep.
The young man looked through several floating light screens, seeing three people in black gold combat suits. Zhang Yingjie's suspended heart finally settled.
"Xie Chunshi."
So it was Zhu Jing Fu that had encountered Ink Hills.
Xie Chunshi's face showed a peaceful smile, nodding to him in a friendly manner: "Commander Zhang, it seems we were a step late."
"No wonder the resource placement point was empty. So Ink Hills took everything," Zhou Chen and Gu Qinxue appeared from behind Xie Chunshi. Seeing only the three of them, Zhang Yingjie's eyes sharpened.
Zhu Jing Fu's analyst and soldier weren't there.
His mind quickly thought, "You're here to scan the base station information?"
"Please," Zhang Yingjie stepped aside, indicating Xie Chunshi to pass, his attitude perfectly friendly.
Xie Chunshi walked forward a few steps, seeing Zhang Yingjie turn sideways, seemingly about to leave. He looked at Gu Qinxue, who tapped a few times on the door's operation panel.
"Bang!"
The control room door closed.
Zhang Yingjie paused, turning to look at him: "Thirty-seventy."
"Fifty-fifty," Xie Chunshi's attitude was firm.
As he spoke, Zhou Chen's eyes showed a confused expression. He instinctively looked at Gu Qinxue, but the aggressive attacker didn't even give him a glance. Under the concealment of his combat suit's large coat, a dagger tied to his thigh produced a crisp clash of blade sounds, catching Zhang Yingjie's peripheral vision.
He remained silent.
Xie Chunshi had already walked to the control console, beginning to enter base station information. His movements were deliberate and his tone unhurried: "Or Commander Zhang can wait. Our analyst and soldier went to intercept your other team members. After they finish fighting, the ratio might change again?"
These words carried a full threat.
Who doesn't know Zhu Jing Fu's analyst is invincible in close combat?
Not to mention both Ink Hills attackers were present.
But with the Red Moon Snow Plain's energy influence, Xie Chunshi, as a water-attributed awakened one, couldn't possibly not know that Jiang Zhongyu's condition was very poor. Capturing him would be like capturing Ink Hills' lifeline.
Xie Chunshi finished speaking, deliberately pausing for a second.
Zhang Yingjie thought briefly, then sighed, opening his hands somewhat helplessly: "To phrase a threat so elegantly, worthy of Commander Xie."
"Fifty-fifty, agreed."
He nodded.
The two Commanders successfully negotiated the base station resource division ratio.
But on the other side, the intercepting Zhu Jing Fu analyst and soldier directly encountered the four Ink Hills members exiting the tower.
Chen Sui drew a curved blade from her combat suit's waist. There was no wind in the base station, but a heavy aura spread from around her.
Just exiting the tower, seeing the crimson moon light, the shadows of the two people in front were elongated by the moonlight. In the analyst's slender wrist, the curved blade's sharp edge flashed with cold light.
Xin Ming halted her steps. Three people stepped forward, surrounding Jiang Zhongyu behind them.
"Chen Sui?" She smiled at the two Zhu Jing Fu members, "So it's you."
Chen Sui nodded, her nerves tense, not relaxing due to Xin Ming's gentle voice.
"Sister Xin, where are you planning to go?" Chen Sui also smiled at her, a dimple faintly visible on her cheek, looking quite cute and harmless.
Xin Ming had already grasped her weapon, with Ghost Flower's vines coiling around her wrist.
Though both sides were smiling, the atmosphere suddenly became rigid.
The bullet comments, seeing this scene, were somewhat tense.
[Good grief, they're not going to fight here, are they?]
[Fight if you want, but don't wreck my base station]
[Chen Sui's close combat ability, though Ink Hills has more people, they might not have the advantage]
[What close combat? Ink Hills isn't stupid, they'll directly use spirit bodies]
[Xin Ming's Ghost Flower is out, I see it (screenshot)]
Xin Ming didn't answer.
The moment the Ghost Flower peeked out, Chen Sui's figure pushed off from the plaza's load-bearing pillar, rushing forward, the curved blade's cold gleam flashing past the faces of the four Ink Hills members.
"Ghost Flower," Xin Ming's face showed vigilance, a black mist rising from her palm, a huge flesh-eating flower bud emerging, opening its petals, exploding into a deep black pollen, drooping leaves rapidly growing and extending, sweeping into midair to capture Chen Sui's figure.
However, the thin analyst moved too quickly.
The Zhu Jing Fu soldier drew his electromagnetic gun to aim, Jipuna from Ink Hills, who rushed out, was hit by the electromagnetic gun, immediately convulsing, somersaulting down, barely stabilizing when landing on the ground.
He then immediately turned back, preparing to intercept the Zhu Jing Fu analyst, but was blocked by her swiftly and fiercely swinging curved blade.
Jipuna's short blade was blocked by the curved blade. Simultaneously, the curved blade slid down along the short blade, suddenly turning at the end, directly shaking off his weapon, lunging straight at Jipuna's face.
The agile attacker's palm went numb, reacting to find the blade already at his face. He hurriedly bent down to dodge, rising to find his feet entangled by something.
"Wood-Born Flower."
Chen Sui called out softly. Black vines coiled with swirling black poison gas from Xin Ming approached her from behind.
Wood-Born Flower's vines entangled Ghost Flower in midair, black gas rapidly spreading along the vines. Chen Sui seemed oblivious, controlling ground vines to pull, hanging Jipuna upside down, her figure speeding past his side, rushing toward the analyst in the back of the group.
"Wait!"
Just as the curved blade was about to pierce the analyst's neck, Jiang Zhongyu raised his light magnetic cannon, aiming at Chen Sui. Two voices of stoppage came.
Chen Sui's figure leaped, in midair.
Hearing this, she flipped back, landing with one hand supporting on the ground, her figure rushing backward, creating some distance, stopping at the load-bearing pillar.
She raised her head to look forward, the fierce attacking spirit in her eyes not yet dissipated, her aura imposing.
Jiang Zhongyu, meeting her deep green pupils, cold and mechanical artificial eyes filled with coldness, couldn't help but tense his back, his contracted pupils gradually dilating.
"Ah Sui."
Xie Chunshi's voice sounded a beat later. Chen Sui looked toward the newcomers.
"We've divided resources with Ink Hills equally, no need to fight for now."
Xie Chunshi quickly stepped forward, explaining to Chen Sui.
The analyst nodded, putting away her curved blade with a swoosh, the silver light flashing, reflecting in the eyes of all present under the red moon, making people involuntarily feel a chill.
"Misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding, a flood washing away the dragon king's temple, our own people fighting each other," Zhou Chen quickly stepped forward, pulling at the vines of Wood-Born Flower and Ghost Flower entangled together. Ghost Flower's black poison was almost spreading to the Wood-Born Flower phantom behind Chen Sui. He hurriedly looked at Xin Ming, mediating the atmosphere between the two sides.
Hanging upside down in midair, Jipuna heard this and couldn't help but look up.
Good grief, there's actually someone who can bluff better than him—learned something new.
"So... can you let me down now?"
Jipuna weakly looked at Chen Sui. The upside-down posture made his head somewhat congested, his face red.
Xin Ming retracted Ghost Flower's vines, putting on a warm smile again: "So that's it. You should have said earlier. We almost fought."
She glanced at Zhang Yingjie, her voice soft and gentle, showing no anger.
But Chen Sui looked at the black gas on Wood-Born Flower, not yet dissipated. A green light swept across, dispersing the black gas. She retracted her spirit body, also pretending nothing happened: "Sorry, misunderstood."
Jipuna was turned around by Wood-Born Flower, his feet placed on the ground, landing upright. He shook his head, finally restoring normal blood flow, exhaling in relief, walking toward Zhou Chen.
"Surprised me, you're quite the silver-tongued one."
Jipuna punched Zhou Chen's shoulder, who retorted: "You're no good, can't even beat an analyst, embarrassing our agile attackers."
Jipuna looked at him in shock: "You make it sound easy. Is your Zhu Jing Fu analyst an ordinary analyst? If I hadn't dodged quickly, my scalp would have been sliced off. I just got a new hairstyle, quite expensive."
Chen Sui, named directly, touched her wrist, standing behind the Team Leader, closing her eyes, pretending it wasn't about her.
What had she done wrong? She was just an ordinary, unremarkable analyst.
Zhou Chen was still talking with Jipuna about hairstyle tips, mentioning he wanted to go to a Crimson Snow Star hair salon to dye his hair silver.
Gu Qinxue glanced at him without commenting. Zhou Chen noticed this, his internal joy increasing.
"We're going to the medical department. What about you, Commander Xie?"
Zhang Yingjie looked at Xie Chunshi, who hadn't responded before Chen Sui's voice came from behind: "He's not going."
Xie Chunshi smiled helplessly, nodding: "Then we'll part ways here. Thank you for Commander Zhang's generosity."
Zhang Yingjie pulled out a faint smile with a blank expression.
He wasn't willing, what was there to thank?
His gaze swept over Chen Sui. Except for when she had aggressively attacked earlier, this analyst mostly stood behind the Zhu Jing Fu crowd. Her build was relatively small and thin. Besides a brief meeting in the central hall, Zhang Yingjie had barely observed Chen Sui before, and all his conjectures about her were through video playback.
Zhu Jing Fu's attitude toward their analyst was almost unquestioning obedience. Looking at their situation, they may have already discovered the energy field's abnormal energy storm, and the analyst had a solution.
This conjecture made Zhang Yingjie press his lips together, nodding, preparing to part ways with Zhu Jing Fu.
"Zhou Chen, remember to find me when you get out," Jipuna reluctantly bid farewell to his new friend, following his team toward the medical department.
Jiang Zhongyu's mechanical heart was intolerant of cold environments, requiring a medical pod to repair body functions. The Ink Hills members also had some injuries from the energy field's collapse environment. Mech damage could be repaired through maintenance devices, but their injuries needed the medical pod.
Meanwhile, the Zhu Jing Fu group headed to the maintenance room as usual.
"Base station resources include nutrition liquid, energy pipes, and feeding agents as regular resources. Additionally, there are engine liquid and energy liquid anti-freeze and pro-freeze agents, restraint devices, mech heating devices, etc."
Xie Chunshi summarized the allocated resources, and upon reaching the maintenance room, after the team placed their mechs, he reminded them: "I checked the Red Moon Snow Plain's recent phase changes. Currently, the Red Moon phase duration is too long; the energy field situation is not right."
Chen Sui paused her mech damage assessment. "What do you mean?"
"In the base station records, the last time the Red Moon state exceeded ten days, the Red Moon Snow Plain experienced a series of large-scale avalanches."
Chen Sui nodded at this, her eyes calm, continuing to check the mech while conversing: "The Red Moon state's energy enrichment situation is indeed not right."
"Ah, so we'll wait at the base station for the Red Moon state to pass?" Zhou Chen sat down, next to Gu Qinxue and Xie Chunshi. The three waited in line for Chen Sui's spiritual domain examination.
Puluo sat alone on another bench, comfortable and relaxed.
"The Red Moon state's duration is uncertain; waiting could take who knows how long. Do we have restraint devices?"
Chen Sui asked.
"Yes," Xie Chunshi took out the restraint devices. These were chains adapted for mechs, ensuring energy field environments wouldn't be dispersed due to unexpected situations.
"The base station is located outside the city ruins, far from mountains, in relatively low terrain. The probability of avalanches reaching here is low. Can we detour around high terrain areas on the way to the main base station?"
Chen Sui looked at Xie Chunshi. The Commander brought up the detailed map, projecting it onto a light screen.
The base station map supplemented what was missing, not only filling in most of the secondary base stations in the energy field but also detecting energy field fluctuation signals at various locations and key mining areas.
Xie Chunshi examined the surrounding terrain. "The main base station is located on a snow mountain. If we want to go over, we'll inevitably encounter it."
"What's the longest the Red Moon state has lasted?" Gu Qinxue, looking at the base station coordinates, asked.
"Nineteen days, with seven consecutive days of avalanche periods."
This information was just found by Xie Chunshi in the base station records.
"Waiting for the Red Moon state to pass is definitely unrealistic," Chen Sui recorded the mech damage condition, activated the base station's maintenance equipment, jumped down from the giant mech, and walked to the three waiting individuals.
She first looked at Gu Qinxue, checking her core crystal condition.
Gu Qinxue's core crystal, after the [White Day Paradise] incident, had undergone spiritual healing by Master Larnuo. Her trauma was healing, and the Red Moon Snow Plain energy field didn't have much impact on her, showing no abnormalities.
Zhou Chen's core crystal situation wasn't so good.
Gu Qinxue saw Chen Sui immediately frown when probing into Zhou Chen's spiritual domain.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly.
Puluo approached, crouching beside Chen Sui, watching the energy on the analyst flickering, flowing into Zhou Chen.
Green mist wrapped around Zhou Chen layer by layer.
"Not right."
Chen Sui opened her eyes, light flashing in her pupils.
"This isn't the Red Moon state," her voice rang out in the silent maintenance room, like a thunderclap, silencing the discussion among several reviewers in the control room as they listened to the analyst's perception. "The current phase is already transitioning toward the Aurora state."
"But the Red Moon state hasn't ended, and the Aurora state hasn't begun. It's not that the energy field's Red Moon state has lengthened; it's that it has a new phase, the Transition state."
In the Transition state, mutated water attribute energy and thunder attribute energy would both be affected, but with the Aurora not yet appearing, the Red Moon state energy still dominated. The thunder attribute energy storm was thus masked by ice attributes, making it difficult even for analysts to detect.
If Chen Sui hadn't sensed the abnormal energy invading Zhou Chen's spiritual domain, they might not have discovered this point.
"The Transition state's thunder attribute storm isn't very intense, but with Zhou Chen's core crystal damage, this energy is extremely sensitive to him."
After explaining, Chen Sui looked at Xie Chunshi, confirming: "The Red Moon Snow Plain's energy fluctuation isn't right."
"I'll go to the observation tower," Xie Chunshi stood up.
The Red Moon Snow Plain's transition between Red Moon and Aurora states was very rapid, with two energy storms alternating. The Red Moon would be obscured by black clouds, completely disappearing from the sky, followed by floating, unreal magnetic fields covering the sky, forming frame by frame of fantastic Aurora images.
With the mention of the Transition state, Mo Qiu'an in the control room thought for a moment. Her aide synchronized the Red Moon Snow Plain energy monitoring to the control room.
Outside the live broadcast screen, several reviewers in the control room could see the fluctuating waves above.
As an analyst, Ji Qing, looking at such fluctuations, could confidently say there was no problem.
"The thunder attribute energy storm is completely masked under the Red Moon state energy storm, without any signal?" He looked at the fluctuations showing no abnormalities, suddenly thinking of another conjecture. "Or are the energy bodies' energy signals gaining a kind of shielding effect, no longer being captured by the base station? This also matches the Sultry Red Forest case."
Mo Qiu'an exhaled, nodding with certainty: "Without accident, it should be this way. But where this shielding effect comes from, how it spreads widely among energy bodies, still needs further investigation."
The reviewers continued focusing on the live broadcast screen.