As night fell over the metal fence of the command tower, Lin Yi's knuckles rested on the communicator, the screen's pale blue light reflecting a cold glint in his eyes.
The anonymous message notification was still echoing in his ears, but he had already chewed over every word in his mind—"Be careful of your left and right arms."
These seven words, like a fine needle, precisely pierced the surface calm of the alliance.
"Chu Yao, locate the source of this message." As he turned around, his tactical cloak swept across the railing, creating a gust of wind that sent sparks flying from the still-burning cigarette butt at his feet.
"Analyzing." Data streams poured from the optical interface on his wrist, condensing into a pale blue butterfly in mid-air. "The signal has undergone seventeen layers of encryption and is finally redirected to... the medical bay of the third supply depot."
Medical pod?
Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly.
Three heavily wounded epic-level officers had just been brought in during the day, two of whom were Long Wu's old subordinates.
He reached for the Star Key at his waist; the metallic pattern burned in his palm, and the resonance frequency was 0.5% weaker than it had been half an hour ago.
The communicator vibrated again; it was a message from Long Wu: "Commander, the usual place."
In the secret passage on the third basement level, Long Wu leaned against the blast door, his tactical boot heels tapping the ground intermittently.
He immediately stood up straight when he saw Lin Yi's shadow, his Adam's apple bobbing twice: "I just received intelligence that Staff Officer Zhang from the Logistics Department sent three encrypted communications toward the Mother Nest tonight."
Even more bizarrely—"He ripped off his tactical glove, revealing a half-melted fragment of black crystal in his palm," he said, "found in the ventilation ducts of his office, made of the same material as the locators used on the puppets on the battlefield."
Lin Yi took the fragment, rubbing the scorch marks on the edge with his fingertip: "Chu Yao, compare it to the database."
"98.7% match." The butterfly flapping its wings is the carrier of the Night Owl's 'consciousness seed'.
The implanted individual will be remotely controlled at a specific frequency, and their memories will be overwritten to create the illusion of 'sacrificing oneself for the Alliance'.
Long Wu's fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "That bastard learned his lesson last time, so he's resorting to underhanded tactics now!"
I'll take some men and raid Staff Officer Zhang's dormitory right now—
"Wait a minute." Lin Yi pressed down on his shoulder, "Chief Zhang is just a pawn."
"We're fishing for chess players." He glanced at his watch. "At three in the morning, the nurses on duty in the medical ward will change shifts."
You lead a team to focus on checking the officers newly admitted to the hospital tonight.
Long Wu's tiger-like eyes lit up: "Understood!"
"I had Haozi take the thermal imaging camera and feel around first. If there's a problem..." He patted the tactical dagger at his waist, the four characters "Life and Death Together" on the scabbard gleaming coldly in the dim light.
Lin Yi watched his figure disappear at the end of the secret passage, and when he turned around, he bumped into Chu Yao's data stream.
A pale blue light enveloped his wrist, emanating the mechanical warmth unique to AI: "Your adrenaline levels have increased by 12%."
Should I activate the emotion stabilization program?
"No need." He loosened his collar, revealing a pale pink scar beneath his collarbone—a mark left three days ago when he shielded Long Wu from a bone blade. "If we can't even trust our own people, how can we fight against the Mother Nest?"
At 4:17 AM, Long Wu's communicator suddenly blared: "Commander! We've captured him!"
The surveillance footage showed the isolation room in the third medical ward being knocked askew.
Two figures in white coats were pinned to the ground, one of whom was Zhou Ming, a newly promoted fire-element colonel.
His pupils gleamed with an eerie purple, and a non-human hiss emanated from his throat: "You can't kill me!"
The Lord will crush you—
Long Wu's tactical dagger was pressed against the back of his neck, and a trace of golden light seeped from the tip of the blade (that was tempered by Lin Yi with the power of time and space, which was specially designed to break through mental defenses): "Who is the master?"
explain! \"
Zhou Ming's body suddenly convulsed violently, and purple light poured out from his seven orifices.
Long Wu quickly covered his mouth, only to see a thin crack appear on his temple, and half of a black crystal chip popped out with a "click".
"The seed of consciousness is about to self-destruct!" Chu Yao's voice held an unusual urgency. "Envelop it with a spacetime rift!"
Lin Yi's fingertip swept across the void, and a semi-transparent crack instantly enveloped the chip.
The purple light struck the crack like a mud ox sinking into the sea, and a string of distorted characters appeared on the chip's surface: "Shadow Consultant".
"Shadow Consultant?" Long Wu kicked another "doctor" on the ground—the man was huddled up and trembling, with the edge of black scale armor peeking out from under his white coat. "Speak!"
Who is this person to Night Owl?
"It's...it's the adult's shadow!" The man's voice was choked with sobs. "He never shows himself, he only issues commands through the black crystal chip!"
Our job was simply to... to slip 'Soul-Corroding Powder' into the wine at the victory banquet, and then, after Commander Lin was poisoned..."
"That's enough." Lin Yi's voice was like ice. "Chu Yao, send this video to all commanders."
Long Wu, take them to the interrogation room. I need to know all of Shadow Advisor's contact information.
As dawn broke, the alliance tent was already packed with people.
The general of the Tech Federation gripped his tactical pen, his knuckles turning white; the patriarch of the ancient martial arts family touched the jade pendant at his waist, his gaze sweeping over every corner; even the Elementalist leader, who was usually a loner, was unusually seated in the front row.
"Gentlemen," Lin Yi activated the holographic projection, and Zhou Ming's distorted face and the image of the black crystal chip floated in mid-air. "This is the 'one of our own' who tried to assassinate me last night."
They were implanted with seeds of consciousness, unaware that they were serving the enemy.
A collective gasp erupted inside the tent.
The head of the ancient martial arts family slammed his hand on the table: "Commander Lin, how can we ensure we won't be next?"
"Therefore, I must announce the new system." Lin Yi raised his hand, and the Star Key rose from his palm, starlight flowing over the tent like water. "This is the Key of Destiny."
From this day forward, all commanders will infuse their will into it.
If anyone harbors thoughts of betrayal, the key will immediately sense it, seal their power, and issue a warning.
"This...this is a mythical-level contract technique?" The technology general's eyes widened.
"Yes and no." Lin Yi's fingers traced the patterns on the key. "It combines the power of time and space with your original will."
In short—"He looked at Long Wu, who immediately stepped forward, his palm resting on the key, "Now, if Long Wu tries to hurt me, his fire element will burn through his own meridians first."
Long Wu grinned: "Commander, if I really had that kind of thought, you would have thrown me back three hundred years ago to feed the dinosaurs long ago."
Scattered laughter echoed from inside the tent.
The elementalist leader was the first to rise, placing his palm on the key: "I trust Commander Lin."
The head of the ancient martial arts family followed closely behind: "This old man has lived for eighty years and has never seen a young man more capable than you."
As the last commander completed the injection, the Star Key suddenly trembled violently.
A blurry image emerged from the golden rain of light—Night Owl stood in the center of the hive, holding a fragment of black light flowing in his hand, a twisted smile on his lips: "You thought I was the one setting this up?"
No, it is guiding us all...
The image vanished in an instant, and the key returned to its tranquil state.
Lin Yi stared at the Star Key in his hand, a dark undercurrent surging in his eyes.
He could sense that something far greater was watching them from across dimensions.
But at this moment, inside the tent, the generals' gazes burned like fire, turning all doubts to ashes.
"The ceremony is complete." His voice was as steady as a bell. "Tomorrow, the Battle of the Brood."
Outside the tent, Xuanmingzi stood in the shadows, watching Lin Yi's back.
He touched the jade talisman on his chest—the token left behind from his communication with Night Owl last night.
The talisman was burning hot, but he pressed it into his chest with his other hand.
"Now you can witness the answer with your own eyes." Lin Yi's words suddenly rang in my ears.
Xuanmingzi suddenly looked up and saw that the other person was looking at him, his gaze piercing through the twenty-step distance, like a sword that had been tempered and polished.
His Adam's apple bobbed, but he ultimately remained silent.
But his fingertips had already quietly clenched the talisman—some questions might be answered today.
The Star Key swelled in Lin Yi's palm once more. This time, the resonance frequency did not weaken; instead, it seemed to be rising.
He looked toward the Mother Nest, where the void turbulence was still churning, but with a different kind of tremor, as if some dormant being was awakening.
"Contract of Fate, activate," he said softly.
Outside the large tent, the morning mist was being tinged gold by the rising sun.
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