Chapter 122: Probing Intelligence, Reception Bureau
Yujiang is very close to Yedu, one of the twelve cities of Yan State. It is a border city in the northwest of Yan State.
It was Yu Cang's first time to come to the border of Yan State, so he couldn't help but be a little curious. However, after being reminded by Wan Quan, he realized that this place was actually still within the scope of Yetu, and the real Yujiang could only be reached by walking further forward.
So Yu Cang and his companions got on the military vehicle of the Second Company. After driving through a vast desert, a black horizon suddenly became clear in the yellow sand... No, that was not a horizon, it was a high wall standing in the wilderness!
The Great Wall of Heaven!
This world is surrounded by wild beasts. If humans want to gain a foothold in it, they must have the means to resist the wild beasts.
There aren't many nations on Blue Star, but each one has its own unique skills. Take Haiting, for example. The entire nation is built within a massive ocean vortex called "Heavenly Waterfall Abyssal Flow," making it difficult for even mythical beasts to force their way in.
In this world, other countries mostly rely on external forces to resist wild beasts, either the power of nature or the power of spiritual beasts. Some countries don’t even fully understand what they are relying on until now, but only Yan Country relies on this man-made structure that stretches for thousands of miles - the Great Wall of Tianjiang.
Since Emperor Zulong, every myth has come to the Great Wall of Tianjiang to repair and patch up its gaps, which has allowed this miracle to stand until now.
Yujiang is a city built within the Tianjiang Great Wall.
Arriving at the inner entrance of Yujiang City, Yu Cang looked up at the city wall of Yujiang through the car window. It was dozens of meters high, and this was only the inner side. The real Tianjiang Great Wall would be even more magnificent than this.
Even Lin Yunqing couldn't help showing a look of curiosity when he looked around.
Entering Yujiang City, the buildings weren't very tall, but they were all sharply angled, with plenty of open space, seemingly used for drills. Gazing far off into the distance, one could see a high wall stretching out in the distance, extending infinitely to either side.
The military vehicle did not stop. It drove through several streets and arrived at their stronghold in Yujiang City where they had been for the past few days.
It can be seen that the base has been cleaned, and the facilities inside are all available and very clean, so you can move in directly.
"Captain Wan." Yu Cang found Wan Quan, "Can we go out for a walk?"
"Of course." Wan Quan nodded. "Yujiang is a border city open to the public. Most places here can be visited. If you apply in advance, you can even climb the Tianjiang Great Wall from here to enjoy the scenery."
"Is it okay?" Yu Cang's eyes lit up.
"Well, sure... If you're interested, I can take you up to the city wall someday. Honestly, the view is really nice."
"Thank you very much!" Yu Cang smiled.
…
After leaving Wanquan, Yu Cang called Lin Yunqing and walked out of the stronghold with Qi'er.
"This is for you." Lin Yunqing handed over a small bottle.
"What is this...?" Yu Cang blinked.
"Sunscreen." Lin Yunqing had already put on sunglasses and a face mask. "Yujiang is windy and dusty, and the sun is very strong. This is a necessary protective measure... But, didn't you make any preparations before coming to Yujiang?"
"Uh..." Yu Cang laughed awkwardly.
He really wasn't prepared.
Looking at Qi'er who was looking around curiously, Yu Cang pondered for a moment.
After Lin Yunqing mentioned it, I realized that I was indeed a little negligent. I was fine, but I didn't know if Qi'er could bear it.
Fortunately, there are some daily necessities stores in Yujiang, so Yu Cang randomly picked one and took Qi'er in. When they came out, the girl had changed her clothes.
She was seen wearing a pair of sunglasses and standing in front of the mirror. She seemed to find that she looked very handsome in her current outfit. She stepped on a small stone, put her hands on her hips, and made a cool expression.
Yu Cang silently opened the terminal, took a photo of Qi'er, and then said, "Okay, Qi'er, put on your mask and don't get choked by the wind and sand."
"I know, brother."
Yu Cang took the girl's hand and was about to start the tour when a voice came from behind him.
"Yu Cang? Is that you?"
Yu Cang raised his brows and slowly turned around.
There were two people standing behind him. They looked young and were probably students.
"It's you..." Yu Cang took off his sunglasses and a distant smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "...Wen Yang."
"Long time no see, Yu Cang." Wen Yang said with a smile, "Why, you don't call me senior brother anymore?"
"I've been kicked out of the lab, so let's forget about this relationship." Yu Cang looked into Wen Yang's eyes. "You're here too, so... your project is finally completed?"
"Yeah, it's not easy." Wen Yang sighed. "I've been working on this armament overhaul since I enrolled, and now I'm a researcher... What about you, Yu Cang? Why are you here?"
A sincere smile finally appeared on Yu Cang's face.
It seems that I am lucky.
I met you guys on my first session...
Wen Yang was a former student of his teacher Wu Chutai in the imperial capital. His main project was to prepare for a major overhaul of the military equipment.
Of course, Wu Chutai was the person in charge of this project, and Wen Yang was just an assistant. However, for a student, being able to participate in a project of this level was already quite impressive.
Thinking of this, Yu Cang said, "Of course, it's also for the purpose of major armament changes."
"Oh?" Wen Yang's eyes lit up. "It seems you've been doing well since returning to the ancient capital... The ancient capital came to participate in the military reform, and they were able to bring you along."
"Yeah, I'm lucky." Yu Cang smiled lightly.
Wen Yang suddenly moved closer and whispered, "Hey, what project are you guys from Gudu bringing this time? Can you tell us a little bit?"
"Sorry, I can't."
"Hey, we're classmates, let's exchange some news... I can tell you that we've achieved a breakthrough in light-attribute healing and sustained combat... Well, I'm being nice, aren't I? I've already told you this, so why don't you give us some information too?"
Yu Cang was happy.
He said, "Okay, it's the Department of Mechanical Engineering."
"Huh?" Wen Yang was stunned. "Yu Cang, don't try to fool me... How can a mechanical toy be related to the Armaments Overhaul?"
"If you don't believe me, forget it." Yu Cang said with a smile, "You'll know when the big changes start... We have things to do, so we'll leave first."
After saying that, he no longer paid any attention to Wen Yang and turned away.
On the side, Lin Yunqing looked at Wen Yang carefully through his sunglasses, then followed Yu Cang.
"Hey, Yu Cang!" Wen Yang stretched out his hand to stop him, but failed.
"Alright, Wen Yang, why waste time talking to this guy?" The person next to him snorted and spat out the grass in his mouth. "It's useless to talk to this ignorant person no matter how much you say."
"...Hu Chen, I just wanted to get some information." Wen Yang looked at Yu Cang's back and gritted his teeth. "This kid... If he doesn't want to talk, then forget it. But how could he lie to me about the Department of Mechanical Engineering? Do I look so easy to fool?"
"You're also lying to him. The light attribute's healing ability...it's hilarious."
"That's different. At least I didn't just make up something to fool people."
"Tsk, what a character." Hu Chen curled his lips. "Alright, let's go now, don't waste time. Gathering intelligence is completely pointless. You've seen the results this time, they're very strong. Plus, this year's major armaments overhaul has changed the subject, so first place is already in our pockets. Don't do anything unnecessary."
"……All right."
…
After walking for a while, Qi'er suddenly tugged at Yu Cang's hand and said, "Brother, that guy's smile is so fake."
"It's okay, don't pay attention to him." Yu Cang rubbed the girl's head.
Lin Yunqing looked over at this time and said, "Did you have any feud before?"
"Not really."
He and Wen Yang didn't have any grudges against each other. Although they were both students of the same teacher, they didn't have much interaction because the major armament overhaul project needed to be kept confidential.
In the few times we met, he always left me with the impression of being very utilitarian.
There's nothing wrong with being utilitarian, but it also makes Yu Cang have no desire to make close friends.
Just like this time, even though we weren't that familiar with each other, he still tried to get close to me, and the information he provided... forget it.
He didn't think Wen Yang would be stupid enough to casually leak information about his own laboratory, and there was someone standing next to him.
"Do you need me to gather some information?"
"Oh?" Yu Cang was curious. "How are you going to collect them?"
"I haven't thought about it yet." Lin Yunqing stroked his sunglasses.
"Forget it... Although Captain Wan said that before the major armament overhaul, this process of mutual intelligence gathering was tacitly considered part of the competition, it's unnecessary for us."
As mentioned earlier, the competition system for the Armament Overhaul has three required items and seven optional items, and there are a lot of things to consider here.
Leaving aside the three mandatory items, it is very important to choose which three of the seven optional items.
Because the scoring of optional items is based on your ranking in the item, and every achievement cannot be all-encompassing, so you must try your best to choose your strong subjects, or avoid other people's strong subjects.
This means that if you can get information about other participating teams in advance, you can use this information to specifically register your project and get your ranking as high as possible. Even if you use some strategies, you can get a better score for some less-than-excellent projects.
Therefore, it is very important to obtain as much intelligence as possible before the game, and the competition officials seem to be happy to see the teams testing each other. After all, reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance are also part of the test of ability.
With the tacit approval of the organizers, the week before each major armament overhaul will be very exciting.
However, Yu Cang and the others don't need to do anything fancy.
Because Lei Wanqing decided after discussing with Yu Cang that they had to choose all seven optional items!
As long as you get first place in all seven events at the same time, there is naturally no need to consider intelligence!
Yes, you can select all the optional items... This is the rule of the armament overhaul, but no one dared to try it before.
Because no matter how many are selected, the final score will be based on the three with the highest scores. There is not much advantage in selecting more than one, and it will only waste the soldiers' physical energy.
Another very important point is that if you expose your shortcomings in some weak projects, the final jury will not be polite in scoring. They will definitely give you a low score that breaks the lower limit. If they are in a bad mood, they may even give you a negative score.
But Lei Wanqing was very confident.
This mechanical department can definitely handle this kind of play!
If he could surpass all the others and make all seven candidates become the first at the same time, it would definitely give Lei Wanqing a lot of face in front of other military regions.
It doesn’t matter if there are a few second places. Those who understand this situation will understand that it will definitely shock the jury and the scores they give will definitely not be low. It may even affect their judgment and make them give low scores to other teams accordingly.
Yu Cang was speechless about this kind of showy and exaggerated fighting style, but seeing that Lei Wanqing was quite serious, he agreed.
Well, now that I think about it, it would be nice if we could completely suppress Wu Chutai's team.
Yu Cang and his companions were walking on the street. Suddenly, there were more pedestrians not far ahead. There were many shops selling souvenirs on both sides of the road, as well as some vendors. It seemed that this was a commercial street specifically for tourists.
Yan State has not experienced war for more than a hundred years, and the border has always been stable. The safety line has been pushed dozens of kilometers away from the Great Wall. In this environment, some border cities with good conditions have gradually relaxed entry and exit restrictions and are open to tourists.
Most of the people living in Xinjiang are descendants of border guards. It would be a good thing if their income could be increased through tourism.
Maybe because the Fire Festival is approaching, there are already quite a few tourists on this street, but it is not too crowded.
Yu Cang and his companions walked in and bought whatever they saw that was interesting. It was quite interesting.
Among them, Qi'er was naturally the happiest. After walking all the way, his little belly was already full of Yujiang's special snacks, and he also had a small windmill in his hand.
"Hey! This young man!"
"Hmm?" Yu Cang turned around, "Are you calling me?"
"Yes!" A young vendor walked out of his stall and said with a smile, "Hey, how about buying a sachet for your girlfriend? The fragrance is so nourishing. Wearing it for a long time will improve your skin and mood."
Qi'er was originally walking forward holding Yu Cang's hand. Upon hearing this, she immediately turned around and said, "Sister is not brother's girlfriend!"
The vendor's expression remained unchanged: "You can buy one, I have many scents here, suitable for both men and women."
Yu Cang smiled and said, "Let me take a look first."
He came to the stall and brushed his hand over the various sachets on the stall. Suddenly, his expression changed.
Ye Lai, who was taking a nap on Yu Cang's shoulder, raised his head slightly, but when he saw Yu Cang's changing expression, he seemed to smile and put his head back near Yu Cang's collarbone.
Yu Cang picked up a sachet and said casually, "This stall owner... doesn't sound like a local."
"Hmm...young man, your guess is spot on." The stall owner said with a laugh, "I came here with my parents, and setting up a stall just to make a living."
"I see... What's in this sachet? It's harmless, right?"
"Brother, you're joking. These are just some herbs and flower petals. I'm just running a small business. How could I dare to do anything that would kill or rob people of their money?"
"Really?" Yu Cang smiled and suddenly asked, "Are you here to participate in the armaments overhaul?"
"Huh?" The stall owner was stunned. "What major military overhaul..."
Yu Cang's expression lightened slightly: "If not, then I will call the police."
The stall owner's face changed, and he quickly said, "No, no, no... Oh, I told you, this trick won't fool anyone, and you still force me to do it!"
A smile appeared on Yu Cang's face.
There is a breath of soul energy in this sachet. Although it is very subtle, Yu Cang subconsciously activated the resonance just now and still sensed some clues.
He secretly activated a detection card, but found nothing. If Yu Cang had not used the entry recorder to set a one-hour countdown on the sachet, he would have almost thought that the soul energy fluctuations he had just sensed were all his illusions.
Yu Cang then tried to test it with simple words, and the stall owner really fell into the trap.
Seeing that the stall owner had revealed his hand, Yu Cang put the sachet back on the stall and asked casually, "Where are you from, brother?"
"Miaodu Military Region..." said the stall owner angrily.
"Miaodu." Yu Cang looked at him. "What's in this sachet? It's quite secretive. I almost didn't notice it."
"Hehe." The stall owner scratched his head, "Nothing special... just a few poisonous insects..."
"Poison insect?!" Yu Cang's eyes widened slightly, and he couldn't help but take a few steps back. "You guys are playing such a big game? You're even putting a poison on people?"
"No, no, don't misunderstand me." The stall owner quickly explained, "This insect only has a surveillance function, nothing else..."
Seeing that Yu Cang still looked unconvinced, he wanted to explain, but at this time, several urban management officers came over and walked straight towards him.
The stall owner's face changed, and he no longer cared about Yu Cang. He pulled the cart, went into an alley, and ran away!
"Stop!" The urban management officer immediately caught up.
Standing there, Yu Cang was stunned as he looked at the stall owner who suddenly disappeared.
So you haven’t even gotten a business license...you haven’t even said hello to the Urban Management Bureau!
After all, there is a military district behind them, so they can't be unable to do even such a small thing.
Yu Cang thought that setting up a stall was just a cover, but he didn't expect him to be so perfunctory.
This... If he accidentally didn't notice it and was deceived by such a perfunctory method, wouldn't it be very embarrassing?
However, I don’t think anyone will fall for it.
"How stupid." Lin Yunqing commented sharply.
"Forget it, don't worry about him, let's go somewhere else." Yu Cang sighed, holding Qi'er's little hand and left.
After walking out of the street, Yu Cang had several large and small bags of souvenirs in his hands. It was a rare trip to Yujiang, so he decided to bring some things for old man Ren Zheng and Jie Shuang.
Not to mention anything else, there is often wind and sand blowing here in Yujiang. If you are not careful, your skin will definitely be cracked. In this environment, the quality of the hand cream must be very good!
Yu Cang came to this conclusion after carefully observing the skin of those shop assistants.
Near noon, Yu Cang took Qi'er and Lin Yunqing to a well-reviewed restaurant nearby to solve the problem of lunch, and then strolled back to the base.
"Huh? Someone's looking for me?" Yu Cang was stunned. "Who?"
"Yeah." Wan Quan nodded. "I asked him, and he said his identity needs to be kept secret. But he also has a military rank, so he's a member of the military."
"Oh?" Yu Cang raised his brows, and had some guesses in his mind, "Okay, I understand."
"Then I'll go back first." Lin Yunqing took off his sunglasses. "If you need anything, feel free to contact me."
"good."
…
When he arrived at the reception room, Yu Cang saw the person that Captain Wan mentioned.
This is a middle-aged man, wearing a military uniform, with a straight figure. He is sitting on a chair, one hand supporting his face, the other hand holding a book, and his eyes are lazy.
However, this military uniform was too new, as if he never wore it normally.
"Who are you?" Yu Cang asked doubtfully.
"Hmm?" The man raised his head, his lazy eyes brightening, "Xiao Cang, you're finally back. You've kept me waiting for so long... Why, don't you recognize me? Sigh, it seems I didn't bully you enough when I was a kid..."
Yu Cang seemed to have suddenly thought of something, his eyes widened: "Wait, you...you are Cheng Mingye?"
"Hmm." Cheng Mingye hummed with a smile.
But Yu Cang immediately became alert. He quickly took out a soul detection card and scanned every corner of the room. Not feeling reassured, he searched under the table, behind the stools, and all other places where things could be hidden.
"...Okay, stop working." Cheng Mingye sighed, "If I still want to bully you, you won't be able to find any clues."
"What are you doing here?" Yu Cang still did not let down his guard and took a few steps back with Qi'er in his arms.
This Cheng Mingye was a classmate of his parents. In theory, he should call him Uncle Cheng, but the problem is that he has an extremely bad personality!
He especially liked to play childish games with his younger self, and his ways of teasing him were endless. He was also very keen on getting close to him and poking him with his stubble... If he really was a child, it would be fine, but he had the soul of a time traveler!
Because he didn't want his parents to see that he was too mature, he had to step into some obviously suspicious traps, and then he had to look at Cheng Mingye who suddenly appeared and laughed there in silence, and he had no way to deal with him.
After Yu Cang increased his guard against him, he actually changed his way of playing pranks on people in a crazy way. He even used the Soul Card to deal with Yu Cang, a little kid!
This guy is so bad!
Fortunately, after a few years, this guy ran away to who knows where and never came back. Yu Cang almost forgot about him.
His sudden appearance today really scared him.
"As for me..." Cheng Mingye said with a smile, "How about a guess?"
“…Don’t give me that.”
"Okay, okay, Yu Cang, you've become a lot more boring." Cheng Mingye yawned, then reached into his arms and pulled out a soul card. "Look, what is this?"
Yu Cang was silent.
What he took out was exactly the same as the soul card from the treatment bureau that Lei Wanqing gave him.
Yu Cang frowned with a headache: "Are you from the treatment bureau?"
"Of course." Cheng Mingye stood up. "You know what, nephew? When I heard that a little boy named Yu Cang was going to visit the treatment center, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep well for a few days. When I heard that you came to Yujiang, I came here immediately. How about it? Are you touched?"
Yu Cang: "...I remember that I would go to the Rehabilitation Bureau after the major armament overhaul."
"Well, it doesn't matter. It's the same if it's earlier." Cheng Mingye smiled and looked at Qi'er beside him.
At this time, the girl had huddled behind Yu Cang, with only her little head exposed, looking at him with great fear.
Seeing Cheng Mingye's gaze on her, the girl simply retracted her head behind Yu Cang and pretended that she was not there.
"Is this the Soul Card?" Cheng Mingye's smile gradually faded, and his tone suddenly became much lighter. "Don't worry, nephew, I will never let it hurt you at all. I promise..."
"...Don't do this, we are scared." Yu Cang swallowed.
"And..." Cheng Mingye tilted his head slightly, his eyes falling on Ye Lai on Yu Cang's shoulder, his eyes slightly narrowed, "There's also a suspicious little guy here... That's the 'Ye Lai' of unknown origin, right..."
"Greetings to you." Ye Lai looked at Cheng Mingye with calm eyes.
…
Although he didn't want to see this guy, since he had come to his door, Yu Cang still followed him to the treatment center.
"I'm so sorry, Yu Cang." Cheng Mingye's apology looked sincere. "My job is a bit special, and I can't leave Yujiang. After knowing what happened to you in the imperial capital, I can't do anything."
"...You still have the time to pay attention to me at the treatment center?"
"Of course, even if I can't do anything else, I can still gather some information." Cheng Mingye laughed again, "However, I don't think this is a bad thing for you. People always have to take more detours when they are young. My nephew is already very talented. If everything goes too smoothly, I'll worry that you will start to become a pervert like me."
"You still know... Forget it." Yu Cang sighed.
"But later I heard that my nephew had made many remarkable things."
“…”
…
The long journey was finally over, the military vehicle stopped, and several people got off one after another.
"Didn't we say we were going to the detention center?" Yu Cang looked around. "Where is this place?"
This looked like an ordinary dead end, located between two high walls, with no one in sight.
"Here it is." Cheng Mingye smiled, then reached out and took out the token soul card, "Yu Cang, next, remember my movements."
He stretched out his slender fingers, and the soul card automatically floated up, growing larger and larger in the air. The darkness in the pattern on the card also expanded, drowning out all the information on the soul card until it covered the entire card surface.
Finally, this soul card had expanded to the size of a door. Cheng Mingye moved his finger slightly, and it immediately rushed forward and stuck to the wall at the end of the dead end.
There seemed to be a buzzing sound, and the soul card seemed to be embedded in the wall. The darkness on the card surface continued to flow, forming a "door curtain".
"Okay, this is the gate to the treatment center." Cheng Mingye turned around and smiled at Yu Cang, "I'll be waiting for you inside, come quickly."
After saying that, he took a step forward and entered the dark door curtain. Then, the door rolled up in an instant and disappeared.
Yu Cang looked at the token soul card in his hand.
"So, this soul card is the key to the main entrance to the Intake Bureau... or is it the main entrance to the Intake Bureau? That's pretty amazing."
It seems that this soul card is exclusive to everyone, just like Cheng Mingye. The door he opened with his own token soul card can only allow him to enter, and Yu Cang cannot follow him in.
It's a pity that the token soul card in my hand is only for my temporary use. I have to take it back after Qi'er's matter is over.
"Okay, let me see, this is how it's used, right..." Yu Cang stretched out his finger, and the token soul card continued to expand, and finally opened a door on the wall.
Yu Cang took a deep breath and held Qi'er's hand tightly.
"Come on, Qi'er, let's go in."
"Yeah!" The girl nodded nervously.
As Yu Cang took a step forward, he felt a black screen in front of his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, the scenery in front of him had changed drastically.
Yu Cang's eyes widened slightly.
What he saw... was quite different from what he had imagined.
He originally thought that the treatment center should be like his laboratory, at most a little more secure, with more rooms and tighter security.
But in front of me... let alone a laboratory, it's not even a house.
This was a void space, and there was no end in sight whether one looked up or down. Yu Cang had reason to suspect the same was true for the front, back, left, and right. But at this moment, countless soul cards were arranged in a circle around him, forming a wide cylinder, which formed the shape of a tall tower around Yu Cang.
These soul cards are stacked layer upon layer, but not placed tightly. From the gaps between the soul cards, you can see many yellow, thin, straight lines swimming in the darkness, which looks very technological.
These soul cards all look the same as the token soul cards in Yu Cang's hand. To be more precise, they look the same as the token soul cards that turned into doors.
There was no ground here, and Yu Cang was standing on a Soul Card. After a moment's feeling, Yu Cang suddenly realized that the Soul Card he was standing on was the Keepsake Soul Card. However, now he was standing on the back of the card.
Buzz...
With a buzzing sound, a soul card suddenly flipped out from the void, and Cheng Mingye walked down from it.
At this moment, he had changed out of his military uniform and put on a loose white coat. When he walked out, he was still buttoning his clothes.
"Ah... this outfit is still comfortable." After the door disappeared, it immediately turned into a soul card and appeared at Cheng Mingye's feet. He smiled and said, "Welcome to the treatment center."
"This place..." Yu Cang's tone was a little amazed, "It's much more spectacular than I imagined."
"Of course - this is actually inside a heirloom soul card." Cheng Mingye walked towards Yu Cang, and the token soul card automatically moved under his feet, and the pattern on it also moved backwards as Cheng Mingye moved forward.
It didn't look like the token soul card was carrying him flying. It was more like there was already a piece of floor here, but it was invisible, and the part where the token soul card was located happened to appear.
Yu Cang tried to take a few steps, and the token soul card under his feet indeed moved along with him.
"Actually, the only thing that's spectacular right after you enter is this place. The rest of the place is no different from any other lab." Cheng Mingye said, "Let's go, I'll show you somewhere else... By the way, every Soul Card you see floating in the void contains a forbidden card."
Thanks to Takamiya Mio and ★Letu★ for the rewards!
(End of this chapter)
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