August 22nd, after sunset.
The members of the Children of Argan tribe sat around their tents, enjoying the rare coolness before nightfall.
"Finally cooled down a bit. During the day, I felt like I was being roasted alive."
"Yeah, the desert heat is the most terrifying thing."
"Don't stay outside too long," Camp Leader Jie said. "The temperature difference between day and night in the desert is huge. Go back inside the tent once it gets colder."
After speaking, Jie walked over to the wooden crates storing food and water, crouched down, and checked the quantities.
The food and water Guan Tong had left were enough for them to use normally for about twenty days, no major issues until the Doomsday Rules ended.
But that was under normal circumstances. In truth, he had noticed yesterday that, after entering the desert due to the high temperatures, the tribe members' water consumption had skyrocketed, draining several days' worth of resources in a single day.
Fleeing into the desert to avoid the plant threat, only to face a water shortage crisis because of the heat—there was no denying it was a helpless situation.
Still, Jie wasn't too pessimistic.
Thanks to the Ascension Store in the Terminal, if it truly came down to it, they could always spend Ascension Coins to buy some "items like drinking water."
There were plenty of such items in the store, and they were cheap, easily affordable for the tribe's Ascendants.
But tomorrow morning, he should still remind everyone to conserve water...
"Jie."
The Moon Key's voice suddenly rang out from behind, interrupting Jie's thoughts. He turned around and found her expression extremely grave.
"What's wrong, Moon?"
"Someone will attack us tonight. We need to prepare early."
Jie shot to his feet. "What did you say?"
"My friend warned me earlier to be careful of others taking refuge in the desert. I wasn't reassured, so I used my ability to make a prophecy. It revealed that a group will attack us tonight."
"You foresaw enemies coming? That's bad... I'll go tell everyone now!"
After running a few steps, Jie stopped and turned back to the Moon Key. "How many enemies? How many Ascendants?"
The Moon Key shook her head slightly. "I can't predict every detail of an event."
"...There are only about thirty of us in the tribe, with just seven or eight Ascendants. If the enemy has more Ascendants or full weaponry, we'll be at a disadvantage. Especially here in the barren desert—there's no cover at all."
Jie paused, then asked with some anticipation, "Moon, maybe you could ask your friend for help again?"
The Moon Key replied, "Camp Leader Jie, if we rely on others to solve every problem, I'm afraid the tribe won't last long."
Jie was stunned for a moment, then nodded firmly. "You're right. We can't count on others for everything. Alright, this time, the Children of Argan will handle this crisis on our own!"
With that, he immediately went to gather the entire tribe and inform them of the news.
The Moon Key, meanwhile, touched the [Whistle] Guan Tong had given her.
Although she had told Jie to rely on themselves, if the enemies were powerful enough to crush and eliminate the tribe at will, she wouldn't be so rigid as to not call for help.
Soon, after learning there would be an attack tonight, the tribe members became very tense.
They didn't doubt the Moon Key's prophecy had made a mistake—they were just worried about how to face the enemy.
After a discussion, Jie made arrangements.
"There's a small sand dune further into the camp. Tonight, everyone will lie on that dune and bury themselves in the sand for cover. Leave the tent lights on to make the attackers think we're inside. A few of us Ascendants will buy trigger bombs from the Ascension Store in the Terminal and set them up inside the tents. When the enemies enter, they'll trigger the bombs. Even if some aren't blown up, they'll panic and fall into chaos. Then I'll lead the Ascendants to charge down and wipe them out completely."
At that, a regular tribe member spoke up. "Jie, we may not be Ascendants, but we're still part of this tribe. You can't take away our right to fight for it!"
"Yeah! Even if we have to use rocks as weapons, we'll join in. How can we just hide in the back?"
"But..." Jie hesitated, but faced with everyone's resolute gazes, he finally nodded in agreement.
"Alright. Then let's all fight for the tribe. Start preparing!"
The setting sun fell, and night's splendor blanketed the desert.
The temperature was dropping rapidly. Without thick clothes, it would be hard to survive the desert night.
Fortunately, the tribe members all wore warm animal-hide clothing, so they weren't too worried about that issue.
By the time the bright moon hung high, the tribe members hiding on the sand dune spotted several figures appearing in the distance, heading toward their camp.
"They're here!"
"There really are attackers!"
The tribe members gripped their weapons tightly, waiting for Camp Leader Jie's order to charge down the dune and engage the enemy.
Jie wasn't in a hurry. He carefully counted—eight enemies in total, far fewer than the tribe's thirty-some members.
But the problem was that five of them were carrying guns, while the other three, unarmed, were likely Ascendants.
"They've got guns. This is bad."
Jie's face darkened. A few Ascendants were manageable, but ordinary people charging head-on against firearms would just be throwing their lives away.
He could only hope the sensor bombs placed in the tents would take out a few of the enemies.
The eight attackers had no idea the tribe had already learned of their plan through prophecy. They crept closer, saw the lights in the tents, and exchanged glances.
"Let's move."
At the boss's command, the ones with guns opened fire on the tents.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
*Rat-a-tat-tat!*
Some used handguns, others used rifles. Several bullets tore through the tents, turning them into sieves.
Hiding on the sand dune, the tribe members felt their hearts pound wildly. They hadn't expected these thugs to be so ruthless—opening fire without even seeing anyone.
If not for the Moon Key's prophecy, they'd likely be dead under that hail of bullets by now.
"Wait, something's off!"
After the first volley, the boss didn't hear any screams and immediately sensed something was wrong.
He led his men to the tents, tearing apart the shredded fabric. Inside, there was no one—only a few empty wooden crates.
"Where are they?!"
"Boss, what's going on?"
"Shit!"
The boss realized they'd been tricked, but it was too late. The sensor-triggered Mind Power bombs detonated the moment they entered the tents.
*Boom!*
Jie and a few other Ascendants had bought three bombs total. They went off in succession, and the blast instantly engulfed the men near the tents.
"Charge!"
The moment had come. Jie shouted from the sand dune and led the tribe charging down.
The gang lost four men to the explosion, one was crippled, and the remaining three Ascendants were also injured.
Hearing the war cries approaching, they realized they'd fallen into an ambush. Shocked and furious, they immediately clashed with Jie and the others.
Within minutes, the battle was over.
The three Ascendants of the gang were surrounded and killed, but the tribe couldn't bring themselves to celebrate.
"Waaah..."
Someone wept over the corpse of a fallen member. Camp Leader Jie wiped the blood from his face and looked around, counting eight bodies of their own people.
Surrounded by so many, attacking just three enemies, and still losing eight—Jie's vision went dark, and he nearly collapsed.
He knew the tribe's combat prowess couldn't compare to a group of bandits, but he couldn't help feeling sorrow and pain.
Just then, a young tribe member crouched beside one of the bandits' bodies and shouted, "I recognize this one! He's from that camp we passed during the day!"
"Do you remember how many are at their camp?"
"What if there are still people in their camp? Will they attack again?"
"Listen up, everyone!" Camp Leader Jie raised his arm. "Anyone still fit to fight, take these bastards' guns. We're going to counterattack their camp!"
Everyone's hearts jolted at this. The Moon Key was also surprised, but she understood Jie's thinking.
"That's right! We can't give the remaining bandits time to react!"
"I'm going too! I want revenge for our dead!"
The night was cold as water. By the time the next morning's light appeared, other refuge groups saw the gang's corpses and a few animal hides discarded on the sand dunes and understood.
That "savage" tribe they had mocked—it was better not to provoke them.
...
"These vines all spread from a single root system. I've marked the source location on the electronic map."
In the combat helicopter, Chen Na opened her eyes, tapped a few times on the electronic screen in front of her, and said.
Bai Xuewu's voice came through the communicator. "Got it. I'll handle it now."
The communication ended. Just as Chen Na felt a faint sting in her head, a pair of hands reached from behind and gently massaged her temples, helping her relax.
"Xiao Na, take a break. Your ability consumes a lot of mental energy. Don't use it continuously."
"Mm. Thanks, Sister Silver Fox."
Sitting behind Chen Na, giving her a massage, was Silver Fox. She was accompanying Chen Na on this mission, tasked with providing protection.
Chen Na's mission, meanwhile, was to use her [Perception Domain] ability to quickly locate the gathering points of mutated plant clusters around Pinglu City, so that top operatives like Bai Xuewu could go clear them out.
"You've been working hard," Silver Fox said. "Pinglu has too many plant clusters around this mountain city. Otherwise, you wouldn't have to work nonstop at such high intensity."
Chen Na gently shook her head. "It's fine. This is my duty."
"You've done well. If nothing unexpected happens, after this mission, the person in charge will probably grant you a rank."
"A rank? Like Sister Bai and the others?"
"Yeah. The Professional Ascendant Military Rank System—it's a policy the authorities are gradually rolling out. All Ascendants under official command will be awarded military ranks based on merit, with corresponding benefits. Your Sister Bai is a Captain. I estimate Xiao Na you..."
Before Silver Fox could finish, Chen Na turned around. "Sister Silver Fox, I don't want a military rank."
"...Why?" Silver Fox was surprised.
"I don't know if I'm thinking right. But having a military rank would tie me even closer to the authorities than just a regular affiliation, wouldn't it? I... I said before that I might leave the Countermeasures Research Office one day, so..."
Silver Fox understood. She knew Chen Na didn't want to be further bound to the authorities by accepting a rank.
And she had to admit, though Chen Na was young, she was very sharp—she had already guessed the intention behind the authorities promoting the "Professional Ascendant Military Rank System."
"Sister Silver Fox, are you upset?"
Seeing Silver Fox silent, Chen Na asked cautiously.
"How could I be?" Silver Fox smiled. "Everyone can make their own choices. Of course, you can refuse the rank. That's your right."
"Mm..."
"But Xiao Na, if you're doing this, you must want to go find Guan Tong one day."
Chen Na bit her lip and nodded. "Brother Guan... I feel like he faces too much danger alone. I want to go help him."
Silver Fox sighed softly and said nothing.
She recalled the investigation after the Gambling Round rules ended. She knew the research office would investigate all her contacts.
And the result was that the only one who could likely help her reclaim what she had lost in the gamble was "Shadow" Guan Tong.
Besides him, none of her other contacts had the ability.
But this investigation had stalled because the research office had lost contact with Guan Tong recently.
On her day off, she had visited Shi Jingyi once, hoping the latter could ask on her behalf if the chance arose.
She was acting purely on intuition—her gut told her that Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi had a special relationship.
She thought that if Guan Tong returned to Pinglu, he might not see others, but he would definitely visit Shi Jingyi.
As for Chen Na's reliance on Guan Tong, she could understand that too.
Based on the past records of Chen Na and her mother, if she were in Chen Na's shoes, after everything she'd been through, she'd also prefer to join Guan Tong's organization and act with him rather than stay at the Countermeasures Research Office.
But...
Silver Fox looked at Chen Na's still-innocent face and felt a twinge of worry.
Even if Chen Na wanted to leave, the person in charge probably wouldn't let her go easily...
After all, no Ascendant in the research office could match Chen Na in terms of perception.
Especially as she continued to develop her ability—her [Perception Domain]'s range grew larger and larger, and its detail grew finer and finer.
From only sensing living things at first, she gradually could sense Mind Power, and even mark and locate different Mind Powers—it was becoming more and more incredible.
In past operations, she had performed exceptionally well, completing every mission smoothly.
Zhang Minglu had said more than once publicly that Chen Na was one of the Ascendants he had the most hope for.
Especially given her young age—it meant she still had enormous development potential. Once she truly grew up, her abilities would surely be even more astonishing.
Under these circumstances, how could the Countermeasures Research Office bear to let her go?
"Xiao Na, have you considered that since Guan Tong faces a lot of danger, going to him would mean facing that danger too?"
"I know! I'm not afraid of danger."
"But what about your mom... Would she agree to you taking risks?"
At the mention of her mother, Chen Na's spirits dampened. "Mom... she really wants me to stay in the research office's base. She says it's the safest..."
"So, even if you want to leave one day, you'll have to convince your mom first."
Silver Fox didn't want to tell Chen Na that the research office wouldn't let her go yet—that would only add more worries for the girl.
Just then, Bai Xuewu's somewhat urgent voice came through the communicator. "The target plant cluster has undergone a major mutation! Yang Ran and I can't handle it! Requesting backup!"
Both Silver Fox and Chen Na's expressions changed drastically.
What kind of mutated plant could be so bad that even Bai Xuewu and Yang Ran couldn't deal with it?