Chapter 81 A Net of Heaven and Earth, The Art of War

Establishing this 'grand net' was not a project that could be completed overnight.

This was a meticulous two-week-long layout.

Most of the supplies in your hands were military surplus purchased from the black market through Old Wu's connections before you came.

A portion of it was 'seasoning' you prepared yourself using your knowledge of chemistry.

First Stop: Dry Bone Cliff.

You began constructing a surveillance network.

Dry Bone Cliff is the gateway to the canyon and the only high ground.

To control the overall situation, you must first secure this place.

Late at night, the fierce wind howled.

You were like a gecko, relying on the strength of your fingers and the suction force provided by your Origin Power.

You silently climbed the nearly vertical cliff face.

Upon reaching the cliff top, you opened your backpack and took out three black spheres—military-grade high-definition monitors.

Although these devices didn't utilize any powerful technology, they were equipped with strong magnetic bases and biomimetic camouflage coatings.

You fixed them respectively in three hidden rock crevices on the cliff top.

The lenses adjusted their focus, firmly locking onto the canyon entrance, the essential path through Cobble Beach, and the treacherous One-Line Sky.

"It's still not enough. The magnetic field here is too chaotic; the signal can't get out."

You pulled out a pitch-black metal box from your bag—a signal repeater.

You found a large boulder sheltered from the wind and used tools to embed it deep within a rock crevice.

Then you wrapped it with waterproof tape and covered it with camouflage cloth and gravel.

As the indicator light emitted a faint green glow, your tactical watch instantly received clear, real-time footage.

The canyon, which had been a blind spot due to magnetic field disturbances, now became transparent in your eyes.

"I have eyes, but it's still not enough."

You buried thumb-sized vibration sensors every twenty meters along the essential path on the cliff face.

These small devices could resist weak magnetic field interference.

Once a creature with high Qi and blood intensity approached, even from a considerable distance,

your watch would immediately vibrate and alert you.

Second Stop: Cobble Beach.

Here, you replicated the 'Vietnam War traps'.

Beyond Dry Bone Cliff was the open expanse of Cobble Beach.

The visibility here was excellent, but it was also the most exposed, making it a natural battleground.

It was also the first grand meal you prepared for the invaders.

You squatted in a pile of gravel, observing the terrain.

Your mind recalled documentaries about jungle guerrilla warfare you had watched in your previous life.

"In this high-martial world, people are accustomed to straightforward clashes of Qi and blood."

"They probably forgot that there's an ancient art called 'trapping'."

You took out your entrenching tool and began digging.

Instead of powerful but hard-to-obtain landmines, you chose the more insidious 'armor-piercing nail array'.

This inspiration came from the 'punji sticks' used in the Vietnam War.

You buried several specially made high-strength alloy long nails, points upward, into the dirt pits you dug beneath the gravel.

The tips of these long nails were specially treated, enough to pierce the soles of ordinary Martial Artists' combat boots.

The most crucial part was the coating.

You carefully took out a sealed glass bottle.

This was 'nerve paralyzing toxin' you bought at a high price from the black market.

It was extracted from the venom sac of a third-order mutated beast, the 'Ghost-Faced Spider'.

"Just a scratch, and half a leg will lose sensation in three seconds."

You evenly applied the venom to the nail tips.

After covering them with grid plates, you then sprinkled fine gravel and withered grass for extremely meticulous camouflage.

Not to mention humans, even mutated beasts with keen senses wouldn't detect anything amiss.

In addition to the poisoned nails, you also placed a dozen pressure-sensitive flashbangs in the crevices of Cobble Beach.

The pressure threshold was precisely adjusted to 50 kilograms.

Once triggered, the instant release of strong light would blind an unsuspecting Martial Artist for five seconds.

And in the bushes on both sides of Cobble Beach, you set up two remotely controlled sniper crossbows.

The crossbow bolts were also poisoned, and their arrowheads featured a barbed design.

Once they entered the body, they would be difficult to remove unless the flesh was dug out.

"Blinding, leg-breaking, cold arrows."

"This is called—a Three-dimensional offensive."

Third Stop: One-Line Sky.

This was the choke point leading to the core area of the canyon, and also where the magnetic field was strongest.

The rock walls here were as steep as if carved, with only a narrow passage less than two meters wide in the middle.

"This is a place of absolute slaughter."

You took a deep breath and began to set up the most lethal trap.

You set up a 'trigger-activated electric net' here.

Several alloy wires, as thin as hair and almost invisible to the naked eye, were embedded by you into the grooves of the rock wall.

They remained dormant normally, but once the alarm was triggered, the electric net would instantly activate.

In that narrow space, the high-voltage current would be unavoidable.

But this was not enough.

You took out a geological detector and found several loose boulders in the rock wall above your head.

Below the stress points of the rocks, you inserted several miniature directional blasting charges.

As long as you pressed the remote control, these massive boulders, weighing several tons, would come crashing down.

This would not only crush the enemies but also completely block the passage, effectively 'closing the door to catch a dog'.

Finally, you took out a small cloth bag from your backpack.

Inside were seeds emitting a faint, pleasant fragrance—Soul-Bewildering Grass.

This was the 'seasoning' you specifically prepared, combining it with the 'Study of Sunset Canyon Vegetation' from the library.

You scattered the seeds into the damp rock crevices on both sides of the passage and watered them with the purified water you carried.

In this relatively abundant Spiritual Qi environment, they would soon sprout.

That extremely faint fragrance, mixed with the canyon's poisonous miasma,

could subtly make people's reactions slow and their judgment decline without them realizing it.

And you had specially prepared the corresponding antidote.

Fourth Stop: Establishing your temporary shelter.

After completing these arrangements each day, it was usually almost dawn.

You would withdraw to Chiyang County before dawn, continuing to play your role as a university student.

But within the canyon, you also left yourself a retreat.

You established a temporary safe house in an extremely hidden rock cave just above the One-Line Sky.

This place offered an open view, allowing you to overlook the entire battlefield, and was backed by a sheer cliff, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

You set up a miniature infrared warning device at the cave entrance and activated a low-power energy interference device.

Perfectly blending your aura into the surrounding magnetic field.

...

Just like that, two weeks passed quickly.

At the end of February.

When the last sensor was debugged, you stood on the summit of Dry Bone Cliff.

Looking at the canyon below, which you had transformed into a 'war fortress', you felt very satisfied.

Dry Bone Cliff was the eyes, Cobble Beach the teeth, and One-Line Sky the throat.

The Sunset Canyon was no longer that dangerous place full of unknowns; it was now your home ground.

"Hoo..."

You exhaled a white mist and turned to descend the mountain.

Back at the rental house, the sky was already bright.

You washed your face and changed into your scholarly attire.

Picking up a thick copy of "Geological Structures of Tiannan," you pushed open the door and walked out.

Passing downstairs, the landlord, Old Man, was squatting at the entrance smoking.

"Oh, Little Li, off to the library again?" The old man greeted with a chuckle.

"Yes, Old Man, my thesis isn't finished yet. I need to hurry and look up more information."

These days, you had been diligently conducting research and writing your thesis.

This made the old man once doubt if he had made a mistake before; you looked just like an ordinary student.

You pushed up your glasses, your smile gentle and shy.

Who would have thought that just a few hours ago,

this person had just laid so many deadly traps in that canyon of death?

You entered the library and found a seat by the window.

Spreading out your book, your thoughts, however, sank inward.

"The layout is complete; next is my own cultivation."

Although you had been busy setting traps for the past half month, your Cultivation had not fallen behind.

During the day while 'reading' in the library, you had actually been multi-tasking, using your Divine Thought to nourish your yuan seed.

You took out a small bottle of water-attribute Origin Sand, poured it out, and held it in your hand.

"The current resources are enough for another month."

"Before the anomaly erupts in May, I must open at least three more acupoints and push my strength to its current limit."

You closed your eyes and entered a meditative state.

Outside the window, the sun was bright, and the years were peaceful.

Meanwhile, a few kilometers away in Sunset Canyon, that massive net quietly awaited its prey.