328: Chapter 328 Like a Block of Ice

Day 5. Noon.

The expeditionary force arrived at the outer perimeter of the rift core.

Lin Yuan stood at the very front of the formation, looking at the scene in the distance.

A massive silver vortex hovered above the ice sheet.

It rotated slowly. Silently.

The diameter of the vortex was estimated to be several hundred meters—

Of course, in the microscopic world, "several hundred meters" might just be the width of a grain of sand in the normal world.

But at this moment, it was a silver abyss suspended in the sky.

Dozens of silver energy entities were slowly patrolling around the vortex.

Their forms were similar to the Vanguard's main body—

Flowing silver light and shadow, with no fixed shape, but each one radiated a suffocating sense of oppression.

The Vanguard's clones.

Each one's strength was enough to force Ling Shuanghan to go all out.

And there were dozens of such things.

A subtle commotion came from the rear.

It was the sound of 5769 people holding their breath simultaneously.

Huo Yan stood in the rear ranks, watching the silver vortex and the patrolling clones in the distance, his expression complex.

A veteran beside him whispered:

"Boss, I think I might have torn up my last will and testament too early."

Huo Yan didn't answer.

Because he was thinking the same thing.

But he didn't say it out loud.

As a 60-year veteran, he had to at least maintain some face.

Although that face had already been shattered several times over the past five days.

Lin Yuan turned around to face the team.

"According to last night's plan, split up and move out."

There was no pre-battle mobilization.

No "Comrades, victory is right before us."

Just one sentence.

Then he started distributing the devices.

The energy interference device was a palm-sized metal disc with a few buttons and a ring of indicator lights.

The operation method was extremely simple—place it in the designated position, press the start button, wait for the indicator light to turn green, and that's it.

Lin Yuan briefly explained the operating procedure while handing out the devices.

"Put it down, press this, wait for it to turn green, run."

Four steps. Twelve words.

Ji Wushuang took the device, looked it over, and asked: "That's it?"

"That's it."

"No need to adjust the frequency? No need to align the direction? No need to—"

"Put it down, press, wait for green, run."

Ji Wushuang was silent for two seconds.

"…Alright then."

She always felt that, given the danger level of this operation, the operating procedure shouldn't be simpler than using a microwave.

But this was Lin Yuan's style.

Making everything complex into a foolproof operation, letting those executing it do only the simplest tasks.

Seven squads were quickly formed.

Ji Wushuang, Luo Qinghan, and Ye Qingyue each led a squad, while the other four goddesses each led a squad.

The members were all female survivors from Blue Star, with six to eight people per squad, traveling light.

Huo Yan led 800 century-old warriors to set up three defensive lines on the periphery.

Their mission was to monitor the patrol routes of the Vanguard's clones.

If any clone deviated from its path and approached the deployment area, they were to issue a warning signal immediately.

Delay them if possible; if you can't, retreat.

Don't fight head-on.

Huo Yan had no objections to this mission.

After spending five days together, he had fully accepted a fact—

In Lin Yuan's system, "completing the mission while staying alive" was the only standard of evaluation.

No need for heroism. No need for sacrifice.

Just get the job done and stay alive.

This standard made Huo Yan feel very comfortable.

And it made him feel that his 60 years of life in the Apocalypse were a bit like a joke.

But he didn't care anymore. Being alive was better than anything.

The seven squads set off.

They utilized the gaps in the Vanguard's energy pulsations—

A three-minute lull every fifteen minutes—infiltrating the deployment area in batches.

Ji Wushuang's team finished first.

She led seven members and deployed all seven nodes during the first lull.

The speed was so fast that even Lin Yuan took an extra look.

When Ji Wushuang returned, she had a "That's it?" expression on her face.

"To be honest, I thought we would encounter some obstacles."

"None?"

"Not a single clone came close. Their patrol routes were completely within the range you predicted."

"Then that's correct."

Ji Wushuang glanced at Lin Yuan and suddenly realized that the most terrifying thing about this man wasn't his strength.

It was his control over everything.

He didn't just know where the Vanguard's clones were.

He knew when they would be there. Accurate to the minute.

Luo Qinghan's team returned second.

Her style was different from Ji Wushuang's—no rapid advances.

Instead, she played it steady, advancing only after confirming safety at every step.

Seven nodes, taking two lulls, completed in half an hour.

She was expressionless when she returned, only nodding at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan also nodded.

The communication between the two ended just like that.

Ye Qingyue's team returned third.

Her speed was between Ji Wushuang's and Luo Qinghan's, but her complexion didn't look good when she returned.

"What's wrong?" Ye Qingxue asked.

"One of the clones suddenly changed its patrol route and almost ran into us."

"And then?"

"I told the team to retreat first, and I stayed behind to lure it away."

Ye Qingxue's brows furrowed slightly.

"It's fine."

Ye Qingyue waved her hand, "Although that thing has a strong sense of oppression, it's not fast in its reactions. I took two turns and shook it off."

She paused and added.

"But seriously, when I was being chased by that thing, I ran faster than I ever have in my life."

Ye Qingxue didn't smile.

But the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth moved.

The remaining four squads also returned after completing their missions.

All 41 nodes were in place.

Only the last 6 remained. The 6 closest to the Vanguard's main body.

Ling Shuanghan's.

Everyone's gaze turned toward the depths of the ice sheet.

Since the night the Vanguard descended, Ling Shuanghan hadn't shown any abnormalities.

After Lin Yuan told her the "only females" rule last night, she said "I'll think about it" and left.

Before setting off today, there was no extra communication between her and Lin Yuan.

She just took the 6 devices, checked them, and then set off alone.

She didn't bring anyone.

For the 6 most dangerous nodes, she went alone.

This wasn't showing off. It was strength.

Operating within the Vanguard's main body's perception range, one extra person meant one extra risk of exposure.

Her going alone was actually the safest plan.

100 years of infiltration experience were displayed vividly at this moment.

Ling Shuanghan's figure disappeared into the ice mist, like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

No sound. No aura.

Even Lin Yuan needed to concentrate to perceive her location.

Time passed minute by minute.

The first lull.

Lin Yuan sensed the first node activate.

The second. The third.

The three-minute window ended, and Ling Shuanghan stopped.

She hid in an ice crevice, less than two hundred meters from the Vanguard's main body.

At this distance, the Vanguard's pressure, even during the lull, was enough to immobilize ordinary powerhouses.

But Ling Shuanghan curled up motionless in the ice crevice.

Her breathing frequency dropped to three times per minute, and the energy fluctuations on her body were suppressed to almost zero.

Like a piece of ice. A real piece of ice.

The Vanguard's perception swept over her location.

No abnormalities were found.

Because in its perception, there was indeed only a piece of ice there.

The second lull arrived.

Ling Shuanghan moved.

The fourth node. The fifth node. The sixth node.

All six devices were in place.

She turned to retreat, her speed neither fast nor slow, every step landing in the blind spot of the Vanguard's perception.

It was like dancing on the tip of a knife.

But her expression was calm.

This kind of thing, she had been doing for 100 years.

When Ling Shuanghan returned to the team, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Huo Yan watched his Empress walk out of the ice mist, her expression normal, her steps steady, without even a trace of excess frost on her.

He suddenly felt that, having followed this woman for 60 years, he might have never truly understood how strong she really was.

In his perception, Ling Shuanghan was the Empress, the leader, the person he needed to protect with his life.

But at this moment he realized—

She never needed protection.

She just let them think she needed protection.

So they would have a reason to live on.

Huo Yan's nose felt a bit sore.

He pretended to rub his eyes and suppressed that emotion.

A 60-year-old veteran doesn't cry. Especially not at a time like this. It's too embarrassing.

Ling Shuanghan walked up to Lin Yuan. "All in place."

"Mm."

Two words. Not even "You worked hard."

Ling Shuanghan didn't need it either.

What she wanted was never praise. It was to be treated as someone capable of getting things done.

Lin Yuan had already given her this.

"Activate."

Lin Yuan pressed the master control device in his hand.

47 nodes activated simultaneously.

No explosion. No light. No dramatic visual effects.

Just the indicator lights on the 47 metal discs turning from red to green simultaneously.

Quietly.

But the effect was immediate.

The invisible energy channel between the Vanguard and the rift core—was broken.

Just like unplugging a power cord.

Dozens of patrolling silver clones simultaneously showed abnormalities.

Their movement speed slowed down abruptly.

The silver light dimmed significantly, and the originally smooth patrol routes became sluggish and chaotic.

A few clones even stopped in mid-air, as if they had crashed.

The Vanguard's main body reacted even more violently.

The massive light and shadow suspended in the silver vortex suddenly contracted, then expanded, emitting a—hiss.

It wasn't a sound. It was a vibration that acted directly on the consciousness.

Everyone felt it. It was like someone knocked on their brains.

Huo Yan shook his head: "What is this thing?"

"The Vanguard is screaming," Ling Shuanghan said.

"Screaming what?"

"Anger."

Ling Shuanghan's eyes were fixed on the silver light and shadow in the distance.

"It discovered that its energy has been cut off."

The Vanguard was indeed angry. But it didn't rush down.

After losing its energy supply, it was hesitating.

Rushing down meant consuming its own remaining energy reserves.

If it couldn't solve the problem quickly, it would become even weaker.

And if it didn't rush down, its clones would continue to weaken, and the patrol network would develop more and more gaps.

A dilemma.

Lin Yuan watched the Vanguard's reaction, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"As expected. With its supply cut off, it doesn't dare to act recklessly."

Ye Qingxue stood beside him, looking at the angry yet hesitant silver light and shadow in the distance.

"What if it rushes down regardless of the cost?"

Lin Yuan glanced at her. "Then I'll hit it."

The tone was as flat as saying "Then I'll eat."

Ye Qingxue was already used to it.

When this man said "hit it," it was as natural as an ordinary person saying "open the door."

As if the existence opposite wasn't a terrifying entity capable of destroying the entire world.

As if it were just a door that needed to be pushed open.

Lin Yuan took a device from his back—a resonance device.

It was a size larger than the energy interference device, with complex patterns on its surface and a dark golden crystal embedded in the center.

He held the device in his hand and weighed it.

"Let's go, go in and get the item."

Ye Qingxue looked at the silver vortex in the distance. Then looked at the device in Lin Yuan's hand, and then at Lin Yuan's expression.

Very calm. Exactly the same expression as going to the cafeteria for a meal.

She suddenly remembered something.

From the time she met Lin Yuan until now, she had never seen this man nervous. Not even once.

Not nervous when facing the Frost Beast tide. Not nervous when facing the Vanguard's descent.

Not nervous when about to walk into the lair of an existence that could destroy the world.

Either his psychological fortitude was strong to a perverted degree.

Or—he really felt these things weren't worth being nervous about.

Ye Qingxue took a deep breath. "Let's go."

The two walked side by side toward the silver vortex.

Behind them, Ling Shuanghan watched their backs.

She turned to Huo Yan. "According to the plan, the north side guard is yours."

"Yes."

"The goddesses will guard the south side, don't cross paths."

"Understood."

Huo Yan paused. "Boss."

"Mm?"

"Have you... thought it through last night?"

Ling Shuanghan was silent for a second. "Finish the matter at hand first."

Huo Yan nodded and didn't ask again.

He turned and walked toward his team, starting to arrange the guard.

After walking two steps, he suddenly turned back. "Boss."

"What is it now?"

"No matter what you decide, we will follow you."

Ling Shuanghan looked at him. "I know."

Her voice was very light. But Huo Yan heard it.

He smiled and turned to leave.

On the ice sheet, the silver vortex rotated slowly.

The Vanguard's screaming gradually subsided, but that aura of anger still permeated the air.

It was waiting. Observing. Hesitating.

And Lin Yuan and Ye Qingxue were walking toward its core.

Step by step. Neither fast nor slow. As if taking a stroll.