It had been more than half a year before Tong Zhanyan finally had the opportunity to go on wilderness training.

By then, two harvests had already been gathered from the fields, the new lottery-and-farm-stay model was up and running, and the infection rate among the rice crops had begun to steadily decline.

It all started when Tong Zhanyan casually mentioned it during the off-season; the very next day, Qing Jiyue began packing his things.

“Do we really have to rush this?” Tong Zhanyan looked at the backpack shoved into his hands, then at Qing Jiyue, who was already standing in the room with his backpack packed.

“Aren’t you free lately?”

“…I’ve just finished the work I had on hand for now.” Tong Zhanyan could easily think of a whole list of tasks off the top of his head. “How many days will we be gone?”

“Half a month.” Qing Jiyue paused, then added, “Ning Langdong and the others are going too. I’ve already made arrangements with them; they should have packed their things by now.” 

“Half a month?” Tong Zhanyan hesitated.

Now that Old Xu, Gu Yunyang, and the others had left, the only people left in charge of the base were Ning Langdong and his two companions. If they all left together and something went wrong… 

“I’ve already made arrangements with Old Xu and Old Wang—they’ll take turns coming by to keep an eye on things during this time,” Qing Jiyue said. “Don’t you want to go?”

With Qing Jiyue having gone this far, Tong Zhanyan couldn’t very well refuse. “All right, then I’ll pack my things.” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go; it was just that the thought of all the matters at the base weighed heavily on his mind.

Still, if Old Xu and Old Wang could help keep an eye on things, it wouldn’t be so bad. Standing in front of the closet, Tong Zhanyan reached out, but hesitated just as he was about to grab his clothes.

After four years at Sidi Military Academy, he’d been on every field training exercise, so he was well-prepared. Qing Jiyue noticed this and stepped forward to help.

During field training, they ate and slept outdoors, so regular clothes wouldn’t do. After Qing Jiyue packed three sets of undergarments for Tong Zhanyan, he also gave him two sets of his own field combat uniforms.

Tong Zhanyan was a bit taller, but the combat uniforms were quite loose-fitting, so they fit him perfectly.

After packing everything up, the two headed downstairs, where Ning Langdong, Tian Xinqing, and Su Yanran were already waiting by the back door. A minivan was also waiting there.

“Where are we going?” Tian Xinqing asked as they got into the van.

Before switching majors, Tian Xinqing and the others had participated in two field training sessions, but back then they were only sophomores, and those sessions were more like an introduction to the terrain than actual training.

During those training sessions, they’d only spotted a mutant beast from a distance once; the rest of the time was spent hiking and trekking through the mountains. Now that they suddenly had the chance to go again, it felt like a vacation to them.

“Outside the protective shield,” Qing Jiyue said as he was the last to get in and closed the door.

“Outside the protective shield?” Tian Xinqing’s voice shot up suddenly, and Ning Langdong and Su Yanran both looked over.

Unless you join one of the Four Great Families and become a frontline member, ordinary people rarely get the chance to go outside the protective shield—and with Tong Zhanyan among them, was Qing Jiyue really taking such a huge risk?

“The Qing Family is conducting a purge operation soon, and I’ll be going too—you two can join me.” Qing Jiyue looked at Tong Zhanyan.

“I’ve been to the woods surrounding the Sidi Military Academy. They do keep mutant beasts there, but since it’s a training ground, there aren’t many, and they’re relatively docile. With your abilities, you could easily overpower them all without breaking a sweat.”

If they went there, it would really just be like going on a trip to the mountains.

Even without intervening, Tong Zhanyan’s own spirit beast possessed formidable power.

If he lost control and killed all the mutant beasts in there, that would be one thing—but what if he ended up wreaking havoc on the mountain itself? What would happen to the students coming after them? So if we really want to train rather than go sightseeing, heading out into the wild is actually the best option.

Besides, since this is an eradication operation, it won’t just be the few of them. As long as nothing unexpected happens, it shouldn’t be a problem.

“This is my first time going out there…” 

“I think Tong Zhanyan has been there before?”

“What’s it like out there?”

Tian Xinqing and the other two immediately began discussing it.

Tong Zhanyan chatted with them off and on.

It was quite a long way from the base to the Qing Family’s place—first by van, then by plane, followed by another car ride. It wasn’t until late afternoon that they finally arrived.

The last time something happened to Qing Jiyue and Tong Zhanyan went to look for him, they’d gone to the Gu Family’s place; after finding him, they’d taken him to a nearby hospital within the protective shield.

This time, however, they were heading to the Qing Family.

Tong Zhanyan had actually realized this before getting out of the van, but it wasn’t until he glanced back and saw the grand courtyard gate with its plaque that it fully sank in. Ning Langdong and the other two looked at Tong Zhanyan at the same time.

Everyone knew about Tong Zhanyan and Qing Jiyue’s relationship, but this was Tong Zhanyan’s first time visiting the Qing Family, so everyone was quite curious to see how he would react. Tong Zhanyan was indeed a little nervous and instinctively looked over at Qing Jiyue. 

“Let’s go inside. Your room has been prepared,” Qing Jiyue said as he led the way.

The Qing Family residence wasn’t just where Qing Jiyue’s family lived; it was also the main hub for the Qing Family to handle various affairs, so the grounds were quite expansive. Upon entering, the first thing that caught the eye was the building.

The pathways between the buildings were bustling with people coming and going.

It was dangerous, so anyone with the means and ability had moved away; consequently, the buildings on the outskirts were increasingly dilapidated. The Qing Family residence, however, looked quite new, even though it was multi-story.

Qing Jiyue led them over there; after entering the gate, he guided them to the left, where there was a small grove of trees like the ones commonly found on their school grounds.

Those trees are widely planted because they have a low infection rate.

Walking more than five hundred meters along the grove, they came to an iron gate ahead; behind it lay a relatively secluded courtyard that resembled a siheyuan.

The courtyard didn’t consist of tiled-roof houses, but rather two- or three-story single-story buildings—still low-rise but looking quite new.

“My father and grandfather live across the way; we live over here.” Upon entering, Qing Jiyue led the way toward the row of houses on the left.

The houses were arranged back-to-back, but in between was a garden filled with flowers and plants, complete with a pavilion—so there was no need to worry about privacy.

“You can use any of these three rooms.” After climbing to the second floor, Qing Jiyue looked at Ning Langdong and the other two. The three exchanged a glance and headed toward the room closest to them.

Tong Zhanyan followed Qing Jiyue to his room; he lived in the first room on the right as you go up the stairs.

Before entering, Tong Zhanyan couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

After all, this wasn’t like the dorms at school or the base—it was just a temporary residence. This was the place where Qing Jiyue had lived his entire life.

White walls, tile floors, a two-meter-wide bed, a desk, a study area, and a small tea corner—to his surprise, the room was larger and newer than he’d expected, with almost no personal belongings in sight.

“Over there,” Qing Jiyue said, pointing to the floor-to-ceiling window opposite the door after setting his luggage down next to his wardrobe.

Tong Zhanyan looked in that direction and was immediately drawn to a massive, black, chimney-like structure at least one li in diameter. Tong Zhanyan recognized it almost instantly: it was the energy conversion device for the protective shield.

Tong Zhanyan had always heard that the Four Great Families’ headquarters were located next to these conversion devices, but the moment he actually saw one, a sense of awe still washed over him.

For the Four Great Families, it was not just a matter of prestige but also a responsibility.

The Qing Family didn’t build their compound so lavishly simply because they were wealthy; it was a necessity. Since this place could be attacked at any moment, building it any more elaborately would be a waste of money.

Not long ago, when the defenses were breached and the energy conversion device was destroyed, this entire area would likely have been reduced to ruins—which is why the entire Qing Family seemed so “new.”

Tong Zhanyan turned back, his expression a complex mix of emotions.

He had always known that Qing Jiyue was obsessed with guarding the defense line, but it wasn’t until this moment that he truly felt that pressure firsthand.

“Want to go take a look?” Qing Jiyue clearly treated the conversion device as a sight to show Tong Zhanyan. “I’ve long since gotten used to it—after all, I’ve lived right next door since I was born. “Tong Zhanyan, look…”

Just as Tong Zhanyan was about to open the door, Ning Langdong and the other two squeezed their way in, and they all noticed the conversion device.

They’d seen it from the car earlier, but since they’d been so far away at the time, they hadn’t paid it much mind—it wasn’t until that moment that they realized they were already so close to it.

“Let’s all go take a look.” Qing Jiyue led the way downstairs. The others followed.

Presumably for security reasons, the back gate of the small courtyard led directly to the area where the conversion device was located.

It was a vast courtyard. Inside was a circular open space, with the conversion device situated at the back; outside the courtyard were ordinary residences.

The surface of the conversion device was a sheet metal wall made of a special metal; the actual conversion mechanism lay beneath it.

To the naked eye, the entire conversion device appeared to consist of a massive furnace at the bottom, topped by a chimney-shaped structure composed of various mechanical components in operation.

The upper section soared into the clouds, while the lower section was deeply buried underground; viewed from ground level, neither the top nor the bottom seemed to have an end. Also, because of the distance, the heat from the furnace was barely perceptible at ground level.

The metal shell was teeming with workers.

It was Ning Langdong and his two companions’ first time inside, and their attention was immediately captivated.

“I used to be pretty scared of this place when I was a kid. I always thought there were monsters down there, and that they’d crawl out and eat me,” said Qing Jiyue, leaning on the railing and looking down.

Tong Zhanyan stifled a laugh; Qing Jiyue certainly had quite a vivid imagination. “It wasn’t until I grew up that I realized monsters were out there,” Qing Jiyue said. Tong Zhanyan suddenly recalled the story of Qing Jiyue’s mother.

Chu Yi’s way of calming Qing Jiyue down was to throw him into a monster’s lair so he could kill to his heart’s content—and at the time, Qing Jiyue was only four years old. The group didn’t stay there too long, as it was already getting dark, and they were set to depart the next day, so they needed to get an early night’s rest.

After a full day of traveling by carriage, Tong Zhanyan fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow that night. The next day, before dawn, Tong Zhanyan was roused. The expedition team preparing to go out on a purge was ready to set off.

After a quick breakfast, the group rushed to the entrance of the Qing Family estate, where more than twenty people were already waiting.

They were all wearing protective suits resembling capes and had a large amount of supplies with them.

Even before they got close, Tong Zhanyan spotted several familiar faces in the group: Chu Yi, Devil King, Yang Hong, and Tang Shijin. Qing Suifeng was there as well; after Qing Zhenhai’s condition gradually improved, he had returned to the Qing Family compound and was now stationed there permanently.

They had met last night; this time, they were there to see them off.

Tong Zhanyan exchanged greetings with them.

As they drew closer, Qing Jiyue picked up four specialized backpacks and handed them to Tong Zhanyan and his three companions. “Inside are some survival supplies, along with enough nutrient solution and water to last one person for half a month. Don’t lose them under any circumstances.”

“Why are you guys here too?” Tong Zhanyan took the backpack, transferred his clothes into it, and looked over at Yang Hong and his group.

Neither Yang Hong nor Wang Yanzhou was on the Qing Family’s side, and Chu Yi wasn’t on either side. 

“We just happened to be free, and since you wanted to go out and have some fun, we decided to stop by,” Tang Shijin said.

Not counting that first year at school—on the balcony, in the training room, and in the greenhouse—it had already been four years since Tong Zhanyan moved into the training base.

Everyone had watched through the security cameras just how busy he’d been during those four years.

It was a rare chance for him to go out and have some fun—even if it was just a simple field training exercise, or even if he wanted to take to the skies—they’d all be there to accompany him.

“Let’s go,” Wang Yanzhou said, leading the way toward a person nearby who had already transformed. The group set off.

In addition to the nutrient solutions and first-aid supplies in their own backpacks, each beast-form member was also carrying several large bundles filled with additional supplies.

Once everyone had gathered, the group set off in a grand procession toward the outer perimeter. A few minutes later, they reached the edge of the protective shield.

The protective shields there were all identical—a transparent layer of energy resembling a city wall.

Tong Zhanyan had passed through it several times before, and Yang Hong’s group returned frequently, so it was nothing new to them. For Ning Langdong, Tian Xinqing, and Su Yanran, however, it was their first time, and they were quite excited.

The last time Tong Zhanyan had passed through, it was still winter outside the shield—as far as the eye could see, everything was blanketed in snow, and the temperature was extremely low.

This time, however, it was late summer, early fall.

Temperatures should have been cool by this time of year, but the moment they stepped out of the shield—even though the sky was still bright with only a hint of pale white on the horizon—a wave of heat hit them in the face.

“Is it this hot?” Tian Xinqing asked, holding back a laugh. “How hot will it get by noon?”

The school also taught about the world outside the protective shield, but what they learned from textbooks was nowhere near as vivid as the reality they were experiencing.

“At least forty or fifty degrees,” Yang Hong said. 

“Forty or fifty…” Ning Langdong was taken aback.

At Tong Zhanyan’s base, the hottest it ever got was around forty degrees, and that lasted only half a month—and only during midday. Even then, they spent almost all of that time in air-conditioned rooms; now, however, they were heading outside. “So don’t lose your water under any circumstances,” Yang Hong reminded them.

Wang Yanzhou added, “The sunlight is very strong this time of year. Direct exposure will burn your skin instantly, so we must find a place to set up camp before the sun gets too intense. We’ll mainly be traveling in the mornings and evenings.”

Hearing the Devil King’s voice, Tong Zhanyan and the other three felt as if they’d been transported back to school; their backs straightened involuntarily. At the same time, they hurried to take notes.

Seeing the expressions on Tong Zhanyan’s and the other three’s faces, Wang Yanzhou couldn’t resist adding a few more words: “The outside and the inside are two different worlds. Out here, there are many things we don’t understand; many of those mutated beasts are quite intelligent. So remember this: no matter what you see or hear, never trust them lightly.”

“Got it,” Tong Zhanyan replied.

“You had a mop-up mission earlier…” Su Yanran asked.

Wang Yanzhou said, “Over the past two months, a section of our right-flank defense line has come under attack several times, and each time by the same type of monster. We have good reason to suspect there’s a nest nearby. Our main objective this time is to locate that nest and then wipe it out.”

“Even with Tong Zhanyan here, the Qing Family’s people will still have to make the trip this time.”

As he spoke, they had already moved far from the defensive line.

Beyond the defensive line lay a grassy plain. After walking for several minutes, they came upon a fairly extensive forest, beyond which stretched a mountain range sloping off into the distance.

They entered the mountains and, once they neared the mountain range, followed it to the right, heading further into the distance.

Since they couldn’t move at noon, once they officially set out, the people carrying them quickly began running.

Having transformed into beasts, they were massive in stature, and since they had all taken the forms of fierce beasts adept at running, they moved extremely fast once they started running.

At first, Tong Zhanyan’s attention was entirely focused on them, but as they gradually moved away from the protective shield and the surrounding scenery began to change, his attention was quickly drawn to the landscape rushing past them.

The protective shield was very tall and vast, so a ring of shadow stretched around its outer perimeter.

Thanks to that shadow, the plants within its range, though mutated, were not particularly extreme, but once they left that area, the changes became dramatic.

Tong Zhanyan had been so focused on Qing Jiyue during the previous visit that he hadn’t paid any attention to them before. Now, looking again, he realized that those mutated trees and grasses were quite eerie.

The grass was moving too fast to see clearly, but the trees right next to us stood out distinctly.

They were far taller than anything inside the protective shield—some were even more than twice as tall—which gave them the illusion that we’d stumbled into the Land of the Giants.

Not all of them grew tall; here and there, they could see some that were short, but their branches were twisted like knotted ropes.

They were like a series of nets woven through the forest, as if they might come to life at any moment. The mountain range was quite long; it took us nearly two hours to finally reach the end. By then, it had long since grown light, and the sun had risen.

They had been running along the leeward side of the mountain the whole time, so the moment they emerged from the shadow of the mountain range, the scorching sunlight hit them with such intensity that it felt almost tangible.

Along with it came the intense heat of direct sunlight.

Tong Zhanyan tugged at his protective suit, covering himself completely, but even so, it felt like being inside a steamer. They weren’t exposed to the sun for very long; in less than a minute, they spotted another forest.

The trees in this grove were the same species as those in the previous one—exceptionally tall. This time, with a mountain nearby, the group headed straight into the woods.

Fortunately, the trees were tall enough to allow them to pass through unimpeded.

The moment they entered the woods, the sensation of sunlight on their skin faded, but the stifling heat remained. As daylight broke, the temperature gradually rose.

Tong Zhanyan glanced at the others and, noticing someone had exposed their nose, tugged at his own hood.

The temperature in the woods was slightly cooler, though not by much.

Just as Tong Zhanyan was about to check the time, something suddenly moved above his head. He instinctively looked up and summoned his spirit beast at the same time.

“Squeak…”

A group of monkey-like creatures leaped over the tips of the branches above their heads.

For a split second, Tong Zhanyan thought he was seeing those strange monkey-like beasts from before, but once he got a clear look, his tense nerves finally relaxed. They clearly resembled real monkeys much more closely, though they were slightly larger and covered in bright red fur.

Yang Hong and his group paid them no mind.

Tong Zhanyan was about to recall his spirit beast.

“That’s enough,” the Devil King’s voice rang out. Tong Zhanyan looked over.

“Stay alert,” the Devil King said, glancing at Tong Zhanyan, who nodded, letting the chicken hover above his head.

His desire for field training wasn’t simply because he’d tested it out and wanted to play around—it was to learn how to fight.

In this world, without combat prowess, Qing Jiyue couldn’t possibly stay by his side forever.

The Devil King must have sensed his thoughts and intended to teach him.

Ning Langdong and the other two exchanged glances; they also considered summoning their spirit beasts, but after a moment’s thought, they decided against it. Tong Zhanyan’s spirit beast could fly and was much faster.

Their spirit beasts, if merely summoned without fusion, were too small and would have a hard time catching up to the group currently carrying them.

“We’ve caught up,” someone remarked. Tong Zhanyan turned to look back.

The monkeys that had passed them by earlier had caught up at some point, and their numbers had doubled since then.

Those monkeys had clearly changed their diet and were no longer eating vegetarian food.

“Don’t worry about them,” said the Devil King.

At the same time, the people carrying them began to run faster. Ahead, the forest was coming to an end.

Just as this grove ended, another one began not far ahead. 

As if sensing their intention to escape, the monkeys chattered loudly while swinging forward at breakneck speed to cut them off. The Devil King and his group dropped to the ground.

Tong Zhanyan followed suit.

The moment they crouched, the rest of the group accelerated once more.

The monkeys were fast, but the people carrying them were even faster, and they easily shook off the monkeys. The moment they burst out of the woods, sunlight even more scorching than before immediately beat down on them.

Tong Zhanyan dodged the sunlight and glanced back; the monkeys were furious up in the trees but didn’t dare to chase after them. They knew full well just how intense that sunlight was.

“Are there many beasts at night?” Tong Zhanyan looked at Qing Jiyue in front of him. If the beasts also knew how dangerous the sunlight was, they would likely avoid it when moving about.

A faint smile played beneath Qing Jiyue’s hood. Tong Zhanyan’s mind worked quickly. “Plenty. In summer, the night is the most dangerous time.” His bad premonition had come true, and Tong Zhanyan felt a headache coming on.

It was already so hot during the day; if they couldn’t get a good night’s rest, it would be pure torture. Just as the two were speaking, they had already entered the woods.

They weren’t running in a straight line, but were following the path through the woods.

Spirit Beasts are in a special state, so sunlight doesn’t harm them. While in a fused state, sunlight also causes reduced damage to humans, but you should still avoid it if possible.

There were no monkeys from earlier in this forest.

After traveling for a little over two hours, the group suddenly stopped at the foot of a mountain range.

They were already some distance from the protective shield, but still within the area they were familiar with.

Upon approaching the mountain range, the group skillfully located a mountain crevice on the side facing away from the sunlight. The crevice did not reach all the way to the summit; it formed a triangle that was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.

The crevice was quite deep—more than two meters in the sections accessible to people, and as for the parts further inside where no one could squeeze through, they were simply too deep to see the bottom. After everyone had descended, the beings who had carried them for several hours resumed their human forms.

The group carried all their belongings into the crevice, then dug out a sunshade made of the same material as their protective suits from the pile of luggage they’d brought, using it to securely seal off the entrance from the inside.

“Are we resting now?” Ning Langdong held back a joke, since it was still only a few minutes past dawn. 

“Yeah, it’ll get way too hot soon,” said Devil King.

“So what time do we leave this afternoon?” Tian Xinqing asked. 

“Four.”

Tong Zhanyan and the other three were taken aback because if they did that, they’d have to spend seven hours just avoiding the sun during the day.

With beasts active at night and travel impossible during the day, they were limited to just a few hours each morning and evening—the conditions were exceptionally harsh.

“You should get some sleep.” Qing Jiyue sat down beside Tong Zhanyan. Tong Zhanyan, Ning Langdong, Tian Xinqing, and Su Yanran were the four on duty, so they had been stationed at the very back of the fissure—that way, if anything went wrong, they’d be the first to react.

Tong Zhanyan wasn’t the least bit sleepy. He’d intended to say, “No, thanks,” but swallowed the words before they left his mouth. They didn’t know what the situation would be like next, so they had to conserve as much energy as possible while they could.

Tong Zhanyan set his backpack aside and lay down next to Qing Jiyue. Aside from the two on guard duty, the others gradually lay down as well. Seeing this, Ning Langdong and the other two followed suit.

With only a little over four hours until they had to get up, and having slept soundly the night before, Tong Zhanyan understood the importance of replenishing his energy, but found it extremely difficult to fall asleep.

Especially as the temperature kept rising—the fissure, which had been relatively cool, was gradually becoming so stifling it was hard to breathe—making it even harder for Tong Zhanyan to fall asleep. Not long after, just as Tong Zhanyan was beginning to feel drowsy despite being drenched in sweat, a sudden cough rang out from his right.

Tong Zhanyan rolled over and, half-asleep, glanced at Qing Jiyue lying to his left. Qing Jiyue was fast asleep and showed no reaction.

Tong Zhanyan closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Amid the stifling heat, drowsiness gradually crept over him.

“Cough, cough…”

Just as Tong Zhanyan was about to drift off, the coughing sound rang out again.

It was already hot, and now that he’d finally managed to doze off, he kept getting woken up—Tong Zhanyan couldn’t help but turn his head to look.

The moment he turned, however, all he saw was a narrow, pitch-black crack.  Lying at the very back of the crack, with no one behind him at all.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

T/N: I need to stop reading this in the middle of the night.