79: Chapter 79 China's bottom line has never been guarded by others.

Torch Base.

Lin Xiaoman placed the bronze box on the stone steps of the altar; the box knocked against them, emitting a dull metallic clatter.

Su Chen walked over from under the ancient tree and swept his gaze over the two of them.

"The mission was completed very well."

Lin Xiaoman's back instantly straightened by three inches.

Henry nodded slightly.

Su Chen opened the bronze box and took out two combat suits.

The dark gray material shimmered with faint, flowing runic light under the golden glow of the ancient tree, folded neatly.

"Standard combat armor left behind by the predecessors of Kindling."

He handed the combat suits to the two of them respectively.

"It doesn't have flashy skills, but it's tough enough. It can withstand E-Rank Exotic Beast physical attacks and reduces supernatural erosion by thirty percent."

Lin Xiaoman took the combat armor with both hands, her supernatural perception passively activating.

In those fine runic patterns on the surface of the armor, extremely weak energy fluctuations remained.

It was not new; it was old.

Old to the point of almost dissipating, yet still stubbornly pulsing.

Traces of use.

The protective layer on the left shoulder had been struck heavily no less than a hundred times.

Dense micro-cracks had appeared in the runic patterns at that location, only to be welded back together over and over again by the self-repair program.

The runic circuits on the chest had experienced at least three complete overloads.

Three overloads, three repairs, three times standing back up.

And then, there was no fourth time.

Lin Xiaoman's fingertips tightened.

She didn't know the name of the owner of this combat armor.

In the desert two thousand three hundred years ago, when that person wore it and charged into the rift, did anyone collect his remains?

Her nose stung.

Henry's reaction was quieter.

His fingers slowly stroked the surface of the other set of combat armor, his blue-gray eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses half-closed.

The Holy Healing Apostle's life perception was "reading" this combat armor.

Extremely faint biological information remained in the inner lining.

Traces of body temperature and heart rate fluctuations were sealed within the runic structure.

The heart rate of the last wearer was frozen at 187 beats per minute.

And then it returned to zero.

Henry's Adam's apple bobbed.

Su Chen looked at the two.

"Putting it on is equivalent to inheriting the will of the predecessors."

He paused for a beat.

"Don't bring shame to it."

Lin Xiaoman gripped the combat armor tightly, her voice muffled in her throat.

"I won't."

Henry pressed the combat armor against his chest.

"In the name of life, I will never fail it."

---

The moment Lin Xiaoman touched the combat armor, the entire combat suit exploded.

The dark gray material liquefied, turning into a flowing metal film that spread rapidly along her fingertips.

Three seconds.

The entire combat armor took form.

The dark gray exoskeleton fit her body perfectly, with gaps left at the joints for movement, and runic patterns spread along her limbs like circuits, silver-blue, the same color as the data streams deep in her pupils.

A translucent visor clicked onto her face, and a pale blue light screen appeared within her field of vision.

Vital signs, energy reserves, and heat source distribution scrolled in real-time.

"...So cool."

Henry's combat armor covered his body simultaneously.

It was the same exoskeleton, but the runic patterns were a warm pale gold.

Liu Yuyan was already waiting by the boundary marker.

In silver-white holy armor, her Sword of Judgment stood vertically before her.

Lin Xiaoman subconsciously took half a step back.

"Sister Yuyan, we just awakened—"

Su Chen interrupted her.

"You don't have much time left."

The last trace of relaxed atmosphere on the Training Grounds froze.

"Two weeks from now, large-scale E-Rank Exotic Beast invasions will break out simultaneously in Hangzhou, China, and the West Coast of the Lighthouse Country."

The soles of Lin Xiaoman's canvas shoes scraped against the stone bricks, sliding forward by half an inch.

Henry's fingers remained on the runic patterns of the combat armor, not pulling back.

Liu Yuyan's Sword of Judgment hummed.

"So, starting now, we begin combat training. Within two weeks, I want you both to possess the ability to face an E-Rank Exotic Beast independently."

Su Chen's voice didn't give anyone time to digest the information.

"Liu Yuyan, you attack. The two of them will defend."

---

At the same time.

Jingzhou, The Seventh Division research institute.

A compass floated in the center of the vibration-proof platform, with the bronze piece stuck to its surface, outputting golden light steadily.

Section Chief Han Zheng, Wang Hao, Professor Zhou, Zhao Xiaohe, and Chen Yiming—five people surrounded the vibration-proof platform.

Everyone's face was tense, but their eyes were bright.

Section Chief Han Zheng picked up the first sealed sampling tube.

A contaminated sample of a Mantis Beast collected from the War Zone.

He placed it on top.

Golden light surged. Text formed.

"Scythe-Blade Mantis Beast. Exotic Species Identification: Mantis Beast Tribe · Six-Legged Scythe-Blade Type. Morphological Characteristics: Six legs, dual scythes, green eyes, armored. Key to Attack: Seek the gaps in its joints and cut in with a sharp weapon."

Joint gaps.

A weak point.

This is a weak point.

Zhao Xiaohe's wrist trembled, and her recording pen drew a crooked line on her notebook.

She ignored it and continued writing, her handwriting so scribbled she could barely recognize it herself.

"Weak point..."

Professor Zhou's throat was dry and cracking. "It told us the weak point."

Chen Yiming stood up abruptly, his chair sliding back half a meter.

"Professor! If all Exotic Beast samples can be interpreted—every Exotic Beast's weak points, morphology, and attack patterns—couldn't we build a complete Exotic Beast database?!"

"Not just a database!"

Professor Zhou's graying hair stood on end under the lights.

"Targeted weapons! If we know the joint gaps are the weak point, we can develop armor-piercing warheads, directional cutting equipment—"

"What about materials?"

Wang Hao interjected, his voice louder than everyone else's.

He gripped the bronze piece, his knuckles turning white.

"Bullets can't even pierce the Exotic Beast's carapace; what are we going to use to cut it?"

That scene from the War Zone resurfaced in his mind.

Liu Yuyan's Sword of Judgment struck with full force, power surpassing human limits—only to leave a white mark on the carapace.

That was an Awakened.

The joint gaps require extreme speed, power, and precision; one has to find the gap amidst the crazy attacks of six limbs and cut in with one strike.

Ordinary soldiers can't do it.

Special forces can't do it.

And this is only E-Rank.

The lowest-level Exotic Beast.

Damn it—the lowest level.

What if D-Rank descends?

What if something higher than D-Rank comes?

Section Chief Han Zheng looked at his profile, opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Yes, there are weak points, but we can't hit them.

We know where to stab, but we don't have a long enough blade in our hands, and even less so, someone to wield it...

"It's better than crossing the river blindly."

Section Chief Han Zheng looked up.

"Three years is too short, but we have a direction. Developing targeted weapons and strengthening equipment—we cannot rely entirely on Kindling; we must save ourselves."

Wang Hao's fist loosened and then clenched again.

Right.

Even if the blade isn't long enough, we still have to stab forward.

Section Chief Han Zheng nodded and reached out to take the second sample.

The black mist coagulate of a Shadow Erosion Beast.

He placed it on top.

The compass's golden light changed.

It turned blood-red.

Everyone took a step back.

The blood-red light surged out from the compass, hitting the ceiling and all four walls.

The entire laboratory was stained blood-red, and everyone's face was cast in an ominous scarlet.

New text appeared.

Three sizes larger than all the previous text.

"Warning—Multiple spatial anomaly fluctuations detected."

"Assessment: In two weeks, a large-scale E-Rank Exotic Beast group invasion."

"Coordinate One: China · Hangzhou."

"Coordinate Two: Lighthouse Country · West Coast."

The text hung in mid-air.

The blood-red light shone on everyone's face.

Zhao Xiaohe's recording pen slid from her hand.

It fell to the floor, bounced once, and rolled to the side of a table leg.

She didn't go to pick it up.

Tears hit her notebook before she could even process the thought.

Hangzhou.

It has a permanent population of at least thirteen million people!

Chen Yiming was still clutching half a piece of compressed biscuit in his hand.

It crumbled.

Crumbs leaked through his fingers, falling onto the laboratory table, the faint sound exceptionally clear in the blood-colored silence.

Wang Hao froze in place.

The bronze piece on his chest was pressed against his heart, the metal cold.

Thirty seconds ago, he was still thinking about "stabbing."

The blade hadn't even been sharpened yet, and the Exotic Beasts were already coming.

Thirteen million people, two weeks.

He thought of Chen Xiaohui, thought of Huzi, and thought of the belly that was nearly five months along.

Hangzhou is not far from Jingzhou.

Not far.

Professor Zhou leaned against the wall.

The sixty-one-year-old man's gaze fell on the map of China's administrative divisions on the wall; the two characters for Hangzhou were particularly glaring under the blood-red light.

His lips moved twice, but he made no sound.

The laboratory was silent for a long time.

Then Wang Hao spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Kindling... Kindling will come, right?"

He didn't look at anyone.

"Last time at the War Zone, they came. In the East Sea, they also came. This time..."

He couldn't continue.

Because he himself knew how fragile that sentence was.

Section Chief Han Zheng didn't respond.

There was a five-second silence.

"If Kindling comes, Hangzhou will be saved. But what about next time? What if there are ten coordinates simultaneously? Twenty? What if rifts explode in every major city around the world at the same time?"

He didn't look at anyone, staring at his own shadow cast on the floor in the blood-red light.

"How many people does Kindling have? Three? Five? Ten? Is that enough to go around?"

No one answered.

Because everyone knew the answer.

Tears streamed down Zhao Xiaohe's face.

She bent down to pick up the recording pen from the floor; her fingers were shaking so much it took her two tries to grasp it.

When she stood up, she heard herself say one sentence.

"Then what do we do?"

The voice was even smaller than she expected.

So small that only she could hear it.

---

Section Chief Han Zheng dialed the encrypted phone.

---

Conference room.

The compass's blood-red warning was projected onto the screen in front.

Two lines of coordinates, two place names, like two swords hanging over their heads.

Over twenty people sat on both sides of the long table.

No one flipped through documents, no one touched their water cups.

Someone spoke: "Should we notify the public?"

There was an eleven-second silence.

The superior stood up.

"No."

The voice was not loud.

"If the news leaks, panic and stampedes will occur; we will have casualties before the Exotic Beasts even arrive."

He supported himself on the tabletop with both hands, his ten fingers pressed into the wood, his nails turning white.

"Within two weeks, citing a geological disaster warning, all personnel in the core urban area of Hangzhou will be evacuated."

Someone gasped.

"Thirteen million people... two weeks..."

"Other countries couldn't do it."

The superior's gaze swept from left to right.

"But this is China."

He slammed his palm onto the table.

The teacup jumped, and water splashed over the rim.

"In '76, Tangshan collapsed; the whole country's bricks, tiles, and cement were transported there, and a new city rose from the ruins."

"In '08, Wenchuan cracked; 140,000 soldiers parachuted in, and every single lifeline was dug out by hand from the cracks in the rocks."

"In '20, we locked down the cities; 1.4 billion people kept themselves at home for three months, forcibly crushing the virus's transmission chain."

He didn't raise his voice, but every word slammed onto the table.

"Economic losses, the state will shoulder them. The evacuation plan must be ready tonight."

He paused for a beat.

"As for those things that dare to come—"

He looked at the two lines of scarlet coordinates on the screen.

"Even if we don't have enough weapons."

"Even if we can't win."

"We will still grit our teeth and die standing."

No one in the conference room moved.

But the air had changed.

It wasn't just hot-blooded fervor.

It was something heavier, something that grew from the cracks in their bones.

Something that grew from Tangshan, grew from Wenchuan, grew from every piece of history where they were pressed into the mud and climbed back out.

The superior looked toward the corner of the screen.

Section Chief Han Zheng's video feed was there.

"Kindling will help as much as they can."

His gaze pierced through the screen.

"But the bottom line of China is never guarded by others for us."

Section Chief Han Zheng stood up from his chair.

"Yes."