243: Emergency Deployment and the Activation of "Hidden Lines"

The intense attention from Elder Black Sha and the Discipline Hall towards the Falling Star Lake area hung over "Starfire" like a Sword of Damocles.

The joy brought by the recent "starnet" Breakthrough was instantly replaced by a strong sense of crisis.

The atmosphere in the council chamber was so heavy it felt like it could drip water.

"We must act immediately!" Wen Youyi said decisively. "Passive waiting is a dead end! I have decided to launch two emergency plans!"

His gaze was sharp as he quickly issued instructions:

"First, the Falling Star Lake passage defense and monitoring upgrade plan. Senior Brother Li, you are responsible. Immediately build more concealed and powerful early warning and defense Formations near our exit of the passage using 'Flowing Silver' and existing Materials. At the same time, dispatch 'hummingbird' Puppets for twenty-four-hour uninterrupted monitoring. If any abnormal energy fluctuations or personnel approach are detected, issue a warning immediately!"

"Understood!" Senior Brother Li nodded heavily. "I will deploy the stocked 'Star Rain' Magical Artifacts and automatic turrets at key nodes. Even if they really manage to sneak over, I'll make them lose a few teeth!"

"Second," Wen Youyi looked at Mo Chen and Wang Wu, "the external 'starnet' node emergency deployment plan. We cannot just guard this small patch of land at the base; we must send our eyes and ears out! Brother Mo Chen, Senior Brother Wang, you must immediately select absolutely reliable core members to carry the second-generation beacons. Through backup exits and secret paths, select a few absolutely safe locations with stable energy environments in the outside world to establish the first batch of external 'starnet' nodes!"

He paused and emphasized: "The primary goal is to establish a backup communication channel that bypasses Falling Star Lake and can maintain contact with external reliable personnel like Chen Yuanshan (Old Diviner Chen)! Secondly, get as close to the Qingxuan Sect and Falling Star Lake area as possible to monitor the movements of the Discipline Hall and Black Sha!"

"Yes!" Mo Chen and Wang Wu responded in unison, their expressions solemn. They knew the importance and danger of this mission; once an external node was exposed, it could very likely lead to the destruction of the entire contact network.

"Third," Wen Youyi finally looked at Zhao Iron Pillar and the members of the combat team, "the combat readiness level for everyone is raised to the highest! Increase all training and patrols! We must ensure that at any time, we can field a team capable of fighting hard battles!"

"Don't worry, Boss!" Zhao Iron Pillar patted his chest. "The brothers have been holding back for a long time! We're just waiting for those blind fools to deliver themselves to us!"

The orders were quickly passed down, and the entire base operated with unprecedented efficiency and urgency, like a tightened spring.

The industrial area was brightly lit as Senior Brother Li led people to work through the night to reinforce the passage defenses; Mo Chen and Wang Wu began to secretly screen personnel for external missions and conducted emergency training, teaching them how to hide beacons and how to deal with emergencies; on the training ground, shouts of battle and the sounds of energy collisions were incessant as the combat team conducted high-intensity sparring drills.

Meanwhile, Wen Youyi was not idle. He knew well that passive defense and monitoring alone were not enough; they needed a more proactive source of intelligence. He thought of the list brought by Mo Chen.

In an encrypted communication room deep in the base, Wen Youyi initiated a one-way contact with Chen Yuanshan. Through a previously reserved, extremely secretive communication method, he sent a multi-encrypted instruction.

A few days later, in the back courtyard of Chen Yuanshan's inconspicuous grocery store in the Wild Boar Forest market.

Chen Yuanshan looked at the note he had just received, developed with special medicinal liquid, which had only a few short words on it: "Activate 'Dark Line', focus on the movements of Falling Star Lake and the Discipline Hall."

He took a deep breath and brought the note close to the oil lamp, and the flame quickly devoured it. He knew that "Starfire" needed him, and it was for the most dangerous intelligence work.

He did not hesitate. Being able to contribute to the unfinished cause of his ancestors was his lifelong wish. He quickly gathered his composure, transformed back into that submissive, bleary-eyed old Loose Cultivator "Old Diviner Chen", and began to quietly use the connections and channels he had cultivated for many years to carefully weave an intelligence network targeting the southwest area of the Qingxuan Sect, especially the Falling Star Lake area.

He contacted several Loose Cultivator friends who were also suspicious of the "spirit net" and had received his favors, promising them heavy rewards to help him keep an eye on the abnormal actions of the Discipline Hall Disciples around Falling Star Lake; he even used some shady connections to get in touch with a low-level leader of a Mortal caravan responsible for transporting supplies to the Discipline Hall's southwest stronghold, using a few pieces of high-quality "Star Iron" fragments (provided by Wen Youyi through secret channels) in exchange for the other party regularly revealing some general information about supply movements and personnel traffic.

This intelligence was fragmentary and difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood, but when gathered at Chen Yuanshan's, and then sent back to the base through secret channels for Wang Wu and Mo Chen to organize and analyze, it could often piece together some valuable clues.

Just as "Starfire" was intensively conducting internal defenses and external layouts, the first batch of external "starnet" node deployment teams selected by Mo Chen and Wang Wu also quietly set off.

They carried three precious second-generation beacons and, through a more secret and unstable backup spatial rift on the other side of the base, slipped out of the Starry Sky Debris to head to three predetermined locations: one in a rarely visited valley deep in the Black Wind Mountain Range; one in a natural energy shielding zone on the edge of the Endless Swamp; and the last one was risked being placed near the ruins of an ancient teleportation Formation a hundred miles away from the Qingxuan Sect gate.

The deployment process was full of risks and challenges. In the Black Wind Mountain Range, the team encountered a powerful Yao Beast and almost got exposed; in the Endless Swamp, they needed to constantly resist the poisonous miasma and attacks from strange creatures; and near the abandoned teleportation Formation, they had to act like ghosts to avoid all possible patrols and investigations.

But relying on their solid strength, careful planning, and a little bit of luck, all three teams successfully completed the mission, safely hiding and activating the beacons.

When Wen Youyi was in the control center, clearly receiving stable signals from these three distant external nodes through the crystal key, the heart he had been holding finally relaxed a little.

The tentacles of the "starnet" had finally, for the first time, truly extended outside the base!

Although there were still few nodes, the coverage was limited, and transmitting energy was still difficult, this meant they were no longer blind and deaf! They had their own eyes and ears, capable of perceiving the changing winds and clouds of the outside world faster!

However, Wen Youyi knew very well that this was just the beginning. The confrontation with the "Creation Heavenly Court" and Black Sha was an asymmetrical war. They had to make good use of every card in their hand, including this newborn "starnet", including "Dark Lines" like Chen Yuanshan, and even more so, themselves... their unyielding will and continuously breaking-through technology.

The storm was brewing, and "Starfire" had quietly spread its own web of information.

(End of Chapter)