36: Chapter 36 Military Camp

As soon as they entered the gate of the West Mountain Camp, Chen Aoyun noticed a series of characters formed by rows of ants in the corner of the gate:

[Plot Rule 4, you must return to the camp before nightfall and go to sleep at midnight.]

[Plot Rule 5, characters with a status higher than the Roleplayers can hear your conversations.]

The ants quickly disappeared, and the three of them exchanged glances.

Since the rules had already made it clear that 'characters with a status higher than the Roleplayers can hear conversations,' the three of them immediately became vigilant, avoiding unnecessary communication and trying to use only eye contact for anything that came up.

The three of them, having just returned to the camp, were led into a large tent by a messenger officer.

Inside the tent, the commander of the army sat in a high seat, while generals on both sides were arguing fiercely.

"In less than five days, multiple generals patrolling the border have been ambushed. The attackers were all people from the direction of the Imperial Capital. These people are formidable and ruthless. The ambushed generals and their troops were caught completely off guard, and most of them were killed miserably. Something must have gone wrong in the Imperial Capital. Commander, I propose leading the army into the Imperial Capital to uncover the truth."

"Enter the Imperial Capital? Entering the capital without an imperial decree is treason! Do you want the Commander to commit treason?"

"Bullshit, treason! Do I have to spell it out? The people doing these things are all from the Second Prince's faction. It must be the Second Prince harboring malicious intentions. Our West Mountain Camp is the closest to the Imperial Capital; the Second Prince is eliminating potential threats!"

"Framing! You are framing him! What evidence do you have that the Second Prince has malicious intentions? Just based on these few wretched corpses?"

"Aren't these corpses enough? These people are clearly the Second Prince's men. The fact that they appeared here and were killed by the Commander is enough to prove that there is a major crisis in the Imperial Capital!"

"It is precisely because their identities are too obvious that I find it suspicious! For something as significant as attacking the West Mountain Camp, would the Second Prince be stupid enough to let his overt subordinates do it? Furthermore, although these people are ostensibly the Second Prince's men, their status is not high, and they are not that close to the Second Prince. Can't you see this is an obvious frame-up?"

"Regardless of whether it is a frame-up, it proves that there is a problem in the Imperial Capital. Shouldn't we enter the capital to uncover the truth all the more?"

"Enough!" The commander sitting in the high seat slammed the table, and everyone fell silent.

Chen Aoyun followed behind Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong. He noticed the few corpses covered in white cloth in the large tent. Even through the cloth, Chen Aoyun could sense the aura of corruption within the corpses.

Chen Aoyun was astonished inwardly, "These corpses have been corrupted and polluted into 'Anomalies.' Can the people present not see it?"

The commander stood up and came before the three of them, "I heard you also encountered an ambush? Not only did you not die, but you also killed the enemy general? Where is the enemy general's corpse? Bring it up!"

Zhao Hongxiu ordered someone to bring the corpse into the large tent.

The white cloth covering the corpse was opened. The commander frowned at the sight, while the surrounding generals exclaimed, "How is this possible? Isn't this the First Prince's subordinate? Isn't it the Second Prince who is plotting? Why would the First Prince's men appear here?"

The military tent erupted in chaos.

The Second Prince's men and the First Prince's men were lying on the ground as corpses at the same time, but no one noticed the corruption on these bodies!

"Since both the First Prince's and the Second Prince's men are here, it shows that this is merely factional strife within the Imperial Capital. The West Mountain Camp does not participate in factional strife. I will report the situation to His Majesty. Do not mention leading the army into the capital again!"

There were still generals in the tent who wanted to say something, but they were all glared back by the commander.

Looking back at Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong, the commander said expressionlessly, "Slaying the enemy general counts as one military merit for you two. This is the reward for the military merit. If there is nothing else, you may all withdraw."

The generals in the military tent exited one by one. Chen Aoyun followed silently behind Zhao Hongxiu until there were no outsiders around, and the three of them gathered together.

The three of them were a bit dizzy from the scene that just unfolded, especially Chen Aoyun, whose brows were knitted so tightly they were almost knotted.

"There are 'Anomalies' in the plot, and the enemy general who launched the ambush was also polluted and became an 'Anomaly.' The characters in the plot cannot perceive the existence of the 'Anomalies' and only regard the crisis in the capital as factional strife. It is indeed troublesome, but there is no need for you to knit your brows like that, right?" Xiao Zhenghong said.

It was normal for characters in the plot not to perceive the existence of 'Anomalies,' but that was not the reason why Chen Aoyun was frowning.

"The people in the military tent were actually discussing whether or not to 'enter the capital'? This kind of thing is absurd in itself. Don't you find it strange?"

Entering the capital without an imperial decree, and leading an army into the capital at that, would be a capital crime in any Huaxia Civilization dynasty. Unless the West Mountain Camp itself had intentions of rebellion, merely discussing such a thing would be high treason.

But the reality was that those people actually discussed it, and it seemed that Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong didn't think there was any problem with it.

"Strange? What's strange?"

Even though Chen Aoyun had explained it very clearly, Xiao Zhenghong still did not understand where Chen Aoyun's confusion lay.

Zhao Hongxiu, who was on the side, took a deep look at Chen Aoyun, appearing thoughtful. After pondering for a moment, Zhao Hongxiu looked at Chen Aoyun and said, "Are you using the logic of Huaxia Civilization to think about everything that just happened in the large tent? In Huaxia Civilization? Military generals cannot enter the capital at will? So you think the discussion just now was very unreasonable?"

Chen Aoyun nodded. Zhao Hongxiu's gaze towards him became even more complex. Simply organizing her words, Zhao Hongxiu explained, "You are actually so deeply knowledgeable about the history of Huaxia Civilization that you can even see details that do not conform to historical logic! But you cannot apply historical logic like this! I have said that the characters and environment in the plot are just wearing a layer of civilization's skin! The skin of civilization does not affect the plot; you cannot use the logic of Huaxia to view this matter of 'entering the capital'!"

Chen Aoyun was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized.

'No entry into the capital without an imperial decree' is a logic unique to Huaxia Civilization, not the plot itself.

The plot is universal, and other countries are also clearing the same script. If all scripts were based on the logic of their respective civilizations, wouldn't it be chaotic?

Having figured this out, Chen Aoyun smiled bitterly, "It was me overthinking. I shouldn't have dwelled on these details too much."

Zhao Hongxiu walked to Chen Aoyun's side, looked at him very seriously, and said, "No! Keep your understanding and pursuit of this 'skin'! Although the direction of the plot will not be affected by the 'civilization skin,' some elements can be utilized!"

Chen Aoyun was surprised, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Hongxiu shook her head, "Huaxia Civilization has long been obscure in the Game of National Destiny, and I also know very little about Huaxia Civilization itself. I have no idea how to utilize the elements in the plot. After this Game of National Destiny ends and we return to the Support Group base, perhaps someone can explain it to you. Now, let's return the topic to clearing the plot itself."

Zhao Hongxiu's eyes never left Chen Aoyun, "As for the clearing of the plot itself, what do you think?"

Chen Aoyun analyzed while speaking, "First, let's summarize the known information. The known information is: 1. Anomalies have appeared in the Imperial Capital. 2. The West Mountain Camp encountered an enemy ambush. 3. Facing the ambush, the characters in the plot think it is factional strife."

Chen Aoyun paced back and forth, then suddenly turned around, "Don't you find it strange? If the plot itself has its own internal logic. Whether it is factional strife or Anomalies, why launch an assassination targeting the West Mountain Camp? No matter how close the West Mountain Camp is to the Imperial Capital, it is far from the imperial court. Logically, if the emperor in the Imperial Capital is controlled, controlling the officials should be the top priority. Why bother coming to the West Mountain Camp to cause trouble? Isn't this actively alerting the enemy? Unless..."

Chen Aoyun's analysis was similar to what Zhao Hongxiu was thinking, so she took over the conversation, "Unless there is someone or something in the West Mountain Camp that is worth worrying about for the 'Anomalies'! Many generals were ambushed, and only Xiao Zhenghong and I survived. Perhaps we ourselves are the clues."

The air was silent for a moment, and a breeze blew by.

Chen Aoyun and Zhao Hongxiu spoke at the same time, "The military tents!"

"There might be clues in your (my) and Xiao Zhenghong's personal military tents!"

Chen Aoyun's current status was Zhao Hongxiu's guard. Chen Aoyun followed Zhao Hongxiu, while Xiao Zhenghong went alone. They each returned to their respective living tents to search for clues, agreeing to meet here again in half an hour.

It didn't matter if he didn't know the location of his own tent. Finding a guard nearby, Zhao Hongxiu said to him, "Go to my tent and fetch my cloak."

The guard accepted the order and turned to walk towards Zhao Hongxiu's tent. Following far behind, wouldn't the location of their own tent be revealed?