134: Chapter 134 Sharpening the Blade in the Still of the Night, Awaiting the Right Timing

Ling Ye took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent thoughts in his heart. He sat cross-legged in the center of the living room and slowly closed his eyes.

He did not engage in deep "Star Visualization," but instead poured the vast majority of his focus into the extreme operation of his High-Dimensional Information Perception. It was like turning the power of an invisible radar to the maximum; he discarded all distracting thoughts and focused on "scanning" every ripple of energy, information disturbance, and environmental feedback in the direction of the Old Factory District with precision.

Distance was an obstacle, but the source of the current abnormal activity acted like a torch in the dark night, providing him with a clearer "beacon."

He "saw" that the core of that cold, blue-black "sense of disharmony" was indeed located directly beneath the collapsed factory building in the center of the Old Factory District. Its depth was hard to estimate, but it was certainly more than several dozen meters. Its current state was not one of continuous frenzy, but rather a violent, unstable "pulsation," like the ragged breathing of a wounded beast. It was sometimes intense (triggering the fluctuations and blue light in the afternoon) and sometimes slightly slower (as it was now), but every "pulsation" was accompanied by intense "corrosive" intent and low-frequency "scraping" spreading in all directions.

He attempted to analyze the pattern of this "pulsation." The intervals did not seem fixed, but generally ranged from twenty minutes to an hour. The intensity and duration of each "pulsation" also varied, and the one that occurred in the afternoon was clearly the strongest one recently. This instability perhaps indicated that the resistance of the seal was still holding, but the strength and frequency with which that "thing" was striking the seal were increasing.

He also "felt" that, with the core of the Old Factory District as the origin, an invisible "field" with a cold, inert quality was slowly and steadily expanding outward. Although the expansion speed was extremely slow, wherever it passed, the free-floating energy in the air seemed to become "sluggish," and the microscopic "information" of material structures (especially metal) showed signs of being slightly disrupted. This was perhaps the root cause of the strange odors in the community, the glitches in electronic pets, and even the mild physical discomfort felt by people. The edge of this "field" had now crossed the walls of the Old Factory District and spread to the surrounding wasteland and the foundations of some community buildings!

The situation was worse than anticipated! The influence of that "thing" had already begun to substantially infiltrate the community!

The Municipal Government's engineering vehicles and that dark van were parked near the edge of the expanding "field." They did not seem to have detected this invisible erosion, or perhaps their equipment was unable to effectively detect it?

Ling Ye's heart sank. If the "field" continued to expand, it wouldn't be long before the entire Oak Street Community was enveloped within it. What would happen then? Large-scale equipment failure? Residents collectively experiencing health problems? Or… something more terrifying, a direct erosion of life?

He had to prepare for the worst.

He withdrew a portion of his perceptual focus and began to check his own "gear." It was actually quite simple: a multi-functional knife, a survival whistle, a small roll of high-strength fiber rope, portable lighting, a few water purification tablets, a pack of hemostatic gel and gauze, a few high-energy nutrient pastes, and the metal box containing the black stone. He sorted these items, packed them into waterproof bags, placed them into his sturdy backpack, and ensured they could be accessed quickly in an emergency.

Next, he reviewed the key content from the "Basic Battlefield First Aid Manual" and "Essentials for Survival in Extreme Urban Environments" that he had read in the library, especially regarding dealing with toxic gases, radiation contamination, mental shock, and how to maintain a sense of direction and calm judgment in the dark.

Then, he stood up and, within the limited space of the living room, began a routine of close-quarters combat and evasion exercises that fused basic Lingyun movement techniques, Federal military combat arts (the basics of which he had learned from outlines and training pods), and his own rudimentary guidance of "Qi." His movements were silent yet swift and sharp; every punch and kick carried the sound of tearing through the air, and every dodge and maneuver sought to maximize effectiveness within a confined space. He did not use weapons, purely tempering his body's reaction, coordination, and combat ability in cramped quarters.

Sweat quickly soaked his clothes, and his muscles trembled slightly after the extreme exertion, but his eyes grew brighter and colder. He could feel that in the state of "Qi Membrane" circulation and heightened mental focus, his speed, strength, and precision had all improved. More importantly, his intuition for danger and his instinct for on-the-spot adaptation were awakening.

The exercise lasted for about an hour, and only when his body sent clear signals of fatigue did he stop to perform thorough stretching and relaxation, and to replenish his fluids and energy.

Afterward, he entered meditation again, but this time it was pure "restorative meditation" to quickly calm the turbulent blood and mental exhaustion brought on by the intense exercise, allowing both his body and consciousness to return to their optimal state.

When the clock hand slid past midnight and everything was silent, even the humming of the Municipal Government's engineering vehicles in the distance having long since ceased, Ling Ye slowly opened his eyes.

After several hours of extreme perception, knowledge review, and physical tempering, although he felt exhausted both mentally and physically, a strange, cold "clarity" and "sense of control" permeated his entire body. He was like a drawn sword—though it had not tasted blood, its edge was already restrained, poised and ready to strike.

The "sense of disharmony" in the direction of the Old Factory District remained active, but the frequency and intensity of the "pulsations" seemed to have entered a relatively stable period. The night in the community, apart from that faint "cold" scent and the hidden restlessness, showed no further anomalies on the surface.

But he knew that this was just the brief calm before the storm.

He walked to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain. The two Municipal Government engineering vehicles were still parked in the same spot, their lights extinguished; it seemed the personnel had either withdrawn or changed shifts. The dark van was also nowhere to be seen.

But just as he was about to lower the curtain, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. In the direction of the Old Factory District, within that absolute darkness, near a corner of the perimeter wall, there seemed to be an extremely faint, fleeting red point of light, like the cursor of a night-vision device or perhaps the indicator light of some electronic equipment.

It wasn't blue light. It was red light. And the location was near the perimeter wall, not the underground core.

Was it that vanished dark van? Or… something else?

Ling Ye felt a jolt in his heart and immediately condensed his "Spiritual Sense" into a single line, cautiously "probing" toward the direction where the red light had flashed.

The distance was great, and his perception was blurry. But he vaguely "felt" that there were two life signs there, moving at an extremely slow and cautious speed. They also seemed to be carrying some kind of low-power electronic equipment, emitting regular, weak signal pulses. It seemed they were… setting something up? Or, recovering something?

Were they "professionals" who had rushed over to investigate or handle the scene after the abnormal outburst in the afternoon? Were they from the Security Department, or people from "Deep Space Frontier Capital"? Or perhaps… a third party?

Ling Ye held his breath, not daring to make the slightest movement, and simply pushed the perceptual precision of his "Spiritual Sense" to the limit, attempting to capture more details.

However, those two red dots and life signs only appeared for less than ten seconds before they seemed to merge into the darkness, vanishing without a trace. Even the weak signal pulses fell silent along with them.

Had they left? Or had they gone into hiding?

Ling Ye slowly lowered the curtain, his back against the cold wall, his brows furrowed.

The water was getting murkier and murkier.

He needed to make a decision. Should he remain in the apartment, staying still to control the situation, and wait for developments? Or… take advantage of the night and the chaos potentially brought by those briefly appearing "mysterious people" to risk a closer, targeted investigation?

The target was not the core of the Old Factory District, but that corner of the perimeter wall where the red light had flashed, and any "traces" that might have been left behind.

The risk was immense, but opportunity might also coexist with it.