198: Information sharing and the troubles of "scavengers"

The success of the "Trade Wind Plan" was like opening a vent in a sealed room, allowing everyone inside the "Bedrock Base" to finally breathe "fresh air" from the outside world.

In accordance with the agreement with the "Peddler", three days later, Wen Youyi and the others carefully prepared a batch of supplies: superior wound medicine refined from medicinal herbs produced by the base, a batch of refined Low-Grade Spirit Stones (processed from energy crystal scraps), and a stronger, improved version of concealment Talismans that Senior Brother Li had developed by combining ancient techniques.

These supplies were successfully delivered to the Falling Star Lake drop-off point by the "Messenger No. 2" Puppet.

Not long after, "Messenger No. 2" brought back the "goods" provided by the "Peddler" — several Jade Slips recording information, and a hand-drawn map of the area surrounding the Qinglan Mountain Range with detailed annotations.

Wen Youyi couldn't wait to read the information in the Jade Slips.

The content inside made his mood heavy, yet it was within his expectations.

Under the control of Elder Black Fiend, the Qingxuan Sect had already changed drastically.

The Discipline Hall held immense power, and any Disciple who questioned the "spirit net" or had objections to the Sect's policies would face ruthless purges.

Some originally neutral peaks, such as Danxia Peak and the Sword Pavilion, were now silent as cicadas in winter, with their Disciples acting low-key for fear of inviting trouble upon themselves.

The "Spark Alliance" had suffered heavy losses, with multiple contact points uprooted, and many members missing or executed for "being possessed by demons".

The survivors had gone completely underground, making contact extremely difficult.

The "Peddler" himself had only managed to narrowly escape investigation and maintain this contact line with difficulty by relying on his inconspicuous identity as a grocery store owner and some connections accumulated in his early years.

As for the intelligence regarding the three "Scavengers", it left Wen Youyi feeling somewhat amused and exasperated.

According to the "Peddler's" description, those three lumps of iron seemed to be... very "troubled" recently.

They were still patrolling the Qingxuan Sect and surrounding areas at high intensity, but their behavioral patterns had undergone some changes.

They no longer rigidly executed "purification" orders as before; instead, they had developed a keen "interest" in some ancient ruins, inscriptions, and even pieces of ancient Magical Artifacts within the Qingxuan Sect, often spending half a day scanning them.

Even more absurdly, they seemed to be... learning?

A Disciple had witnessed a "Scavenger", after observing how the sweeping servant at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion cleaned the steps, actually imitating them by using an energy beam to sweep an area of the ground until it was spotless!

Although the servant was so scared that they fainted on the spot.

There were also rumors that a certain "Scavenger" had taken an interest in some medicinal herbs being dried at the Hundred Herbs Pavilion and tried to "dry" them using energy, resulting in an entire furnace of precious Medicinal Pills being roasted into charcoal, which made the Elder of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion furious, yet they dared not voice their anger.

"They are adapting, learning the rules of this world..." Wen Youyi stroked his chin and analyzed, "It seems completely rigid killing machines are not scary; these 'Scavengers' that have begun to possess learning ability and a certain degree of 'flexibility' are actually more troublesome."

However, this also brought a benefit — their attention had been diverted. The intensity of the pursuit of the "Spark" seemed to have decreased.

This gave the "Peddler" and other survivors a glimmer of breathing room.

"We need to seize this opportunity!" Wen Youyi's gaze was sharp. "The 'Peddler' urgently needs support and cover. We must increase the intensity of our 'trade', not only providing supplies but also finding ways to provide him with some gadgets that can help him better hide his identity or even reverse-monitor the enemy."

He looked at Senior Brother Li: "Senior Brother Li, can you design an extremely covert 'little thing' that can monitor energy fluctuations or personnel movement in a specific area, allowing the 'Peddler' to receive early warnings of danger?"

Senior Brother Li pondered for a moment and nodded: "Combining the micro-sensing technology in the database with our Talisman techniques, we should be able to make 'eyes and ears' the size of a fingernail. Their continuous working time won't be long, but it will be enough to issue a warning."

"Good! Get it done as soon as possible!" Wen Youyi then said to Wang Wu, "Senior Brother Wang, organize a list of the next batch of supplies we need, especially any scraps of information regarding the 'Creation Heavenly Court' and the 'Harvesting System', and also... inquire about the recent situation of Senior Sister Yun Zhi and Senior Sister Mu."

He had never forgotten the two women who had once given him help within the Sect.

Through this fragile "Trade Wind" channel, resources and intelligence began to flow in both directions.

The base used specialties from the Starry Sky Debris to trade for necessities and information from the outside world, while simultaneously silently supporting the remaining resistance forces outside.

This channel was still very thin and could break at any time. But everyone believed that as long as it was maintained, a single spark could eventually start a prairie fire.

Wen Youyi looked at the detailed map, his finger tapping gently on the location of "Luofeng Town".

"Just wait, we will go back," he whispered to himself. "When that time comes, I will definitely make that 'Ranch' change into a new world!"