Azure Dragon managed to deliver the things they promised within the day itself. Among them were four armored vehicles, twenty boxes of weapons and ammo, tons of protective gear, and loads of supplies as well as spare parts.

Once they took inventory, they found that it was enough for their unit to fight a small-scale battle.

Of course, they wouldn’t have been able to get these things so easily on regular days. After all, once the Fu-Mu Entity started propagating, they wouldn’t know where its propagated parts would appear.

If one appeared nearby, a gap between the two worlds would open up as well. Then, who knew what was going to come out of it?

All of them had fought in the merged space before, so they knew just how difficult the creatures there were. If something from the merged space showed up, the house could serve as a defensive base.

Knowing just how complicated the situation was, Chen Chuan spent the next two days with his team members setting up the defenses in his house.

The four of them installed multiple barbed wires at the perimeter, then set up electrified fences.

Fortunately, they were also given multiple generators and a large amount of algae fuel. Otherwise, the house’s own generator wouldn’t have been enough.

The four of them weren’t the only ones defending the house. There was also a five-man team of guards patrolling the place. Yan Yi had sent them over to help. This way, Chen Chuan had sufficient manpower.

At that moment, the domain interference entity and the small domain entity they had rented out from the World Ring Defense System also arrived.

Qin Qingque made some adjustments and sent a contact signal to Chen Chuan.

“Captain, this is our channel. Once the domain interference entity is activated, all signals attempting to communicate with us outside the channel will face interference, unless they applied to join us beforehand.”

Once the Fu-Mu Entity began propagating, most Realm Nodes would become useless, and it would be practically impossible for resonators to use them to observe situations or people remotely. However, if mobile domain entities were brought within their proximity, they could continue their work.

Meanwhile, domain interference entities could allow a person to monitor and eavesdrop remotely without being noticed or giving the enemy a chance to destroy communications between Realm Passes.

Chen Chuan logged onto the channel and tried communicating with his team members.

“The domain entity we rented has a coverage of around three kilometers. We won’t have any problems communicating with each other if we work within this area.

“I found the internal platform belonging to the municipal government and the World Ring Defense System too. If anyone ends up outside our communication zone, you can try logging onto these channels, then change channels to look for and communicate with the others.”

Su Wei was impressed. He wasn’t very well-educated, so he was always impressed with technicians like Qin Qingque. In his previous teams, such people always occupied high positions.

Just then, Yuan Qiuyuan patted his shoulder. “Why are you daydreaming, Su Wei? Come on. Let’s test out the range of the channel and spar a bit.”

Over the past few days, whenever Yuan Qiuyuan and Su Wei had free time, they sparred to get used to each other’s styles. It was all in the name of making it easier to fight together in the future. Su Wei’s fighting skills had boosted his image in Yuan Qiuyuan’s eyes.

Su Wei was older than Yuan Qiuyuan and had never received formal training. His skills came from fighting in real battles within the merged space. He had also gotten all his training resources with his own hands. Yuan Qiuyuan was truly impressed with him.

Su Wei cast a glance at Chen Chuan. When he saw that the captain wasn’t going to stop them, he left with Yuan Qiuyuan.

Chen Chuan surveyed the house. When he found nothing wrong with the defenses, he told Qin Qingque that he was going to go back to Martial Valor University for a bit.

After all, training in the university was much better than training outside. In the university, he could use Hongfu to refine his mind every day, and he wanted to do everything he could to get his mind stronger during the last period before the Gate to Heaven opened.

When he returned to the Arcane Palace, he saw students hurrying about. Even lecturers were getting in and out of the elevator. A stern, tense atmosphere filled the university.

This was because a number of lecturers and students not associated with companies and government organizations had been drafted into the defense teams by the Department of Administrative Affairs. Over the past few days, they had been forming units and training.

While most of the students were at the Second Limit, once they put on protective gear and worked together, security guards and military units without heavy weaponry wouldn’t be able to stop them. They were quite a formidable power.

However, how was the municipal government going to explain the abnormalities that were going to appear soon?

After all, the government kept the Great Crash and everything associated with the other world a secret from the common citizens and regular students.

Chen Chuan went to the platform to check, and his expression turned strange. The explanation provided... was somewhat legit. He supposed it was pretty logical.

Once he returned to his room, he heard a faint thud from outside, as if something had crashed into his window and fallen on his windowsill.

Was it a bird? It didn’t sound like it.

Due to Hongfu’s domain, few birds flew close to the Arcane Palace. Even after staying in the university for so long, Chen Chuan had not seen any.

He went to the window and opened the maintenance hatch by the side before climbing to the windowsill outside. There, he saw something wriggling.

It was an insect about the size of a finger. Its wings were shattered, and while it wasn’t big, it had wicked-looking mandibles. Based on the thud he heard, it seemed to also have a sturdy body.

Was this... a creature from the merged space?

Chen Chuan narrowed his eyes. Its appearance meant that even though the gaps had yet to spread open, some small holes had appeared.

When Chen Chuan looked at the towering buildings outside, the wind blew his hair backward. The outline of the city was before him, and a lead-gray cloud hung above it in the sky.

The propagation was going to start within the next two days.

Chen Chuan wasn’t the only one who saw an insect. Plenty of unidentifiable insects appeared in the various districts. People taking the trams kept hearing thudding and cracking sounds outside the windows.

After the trams passed by an area, they left behind a stream of insect carcasses. Even so, more flew in the sky. Central City had plenty of green vegetation, and some insects attached themselves to the plants to begin feasting on them.

Occasionally, the sounds of pedestrians smacking at and cursing the insects could be heard on the streets. The insects didn’t just bite people, but tried to crawl into their eyes, nose, ears, and even under their shirts, which made them highly irritating.

Fortunately, most of the insects were small, and it was spring. It was the season when insects were plentiful, so the pedestrians only cursed a bit and did not panic because of them.

Half an hour later, City Patrol began patrolling the streets. Airships also passed by spraying pungent chemicals at the plants on the streets and the buildings.

***

Qi Gao and Wu Han were heading back to their house.

After Chen Chuan warned them to be careful, they stopped taking up new missions, but they couldn’t just cancel their ongoing ones. Once they finished their final mission, they headed back home.

While watching the insects crashing into the window, Wu Han mused, “It’s strange. Why are there so many insects? There weren’t this many a few days ago. Is this normal around here, Lao Qi?”

Qi Gao turned on the wipers to clean off the medicine and insect carcasses. “I’ve never seen these things before. Didn’t Chen Chuan ask us to be careful a few days ago? Could it be because of this?

“I have to say, though, I think I’ve seen it once. It was around twenty years ago.”

“What happened back then?”

Qi Gao thought back. “I heard that some foreign species invaded from the ocean, but I don’t remember the details.”

“Let me take a look.”

Wu Han searched using his Realm Pass and found that many people had been talking about this recently. Soon, he got his answer.

“It’s just as you said. The guys on the platform are saying that the insects came from another country. Apparently, they’re byproducts from an experiment the Linacrox Union did in the past.

“The ones we see today are the first batch. A larger swarm is going to come in a few days. Seriously, the Linacrox Union are such bastards.”

Just then, the large billboard screens on the sides of the road flickered, and the top half of a famous emcee appeared.

“After twenty years, we’re facing yet another invasion of a foreign species.

“Thirty years ago, the Linacrox Union refused to listen to any advice and conducted biological experiments on the ocean for ten years, which led to the worsening of the ocean’s environment and the mutation of multiple species.

“The invading creatures this time are highly destructive. The municipal government has set up tight defenses, but we hope that you will refrain from stepping outside your house over the next few days.”

Qi Gao became wary. “Looks like this is pretty serious. I have to pick up Xiao Qi earlier today.”

***

While they headed to Qi Qi’s school, an armored patrol car from the Resolution Department passed them by. Sun Rao and Wei Yuji were inside it.

As he watched the broadcast on the screen, Wei Wuji asked, “Do you believe what the higher-ups said?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did the higher-ups really increase patrol and security this much just to get rid of these creatures?” Wei Wuji wondered.

“Why else?” Sun Rao thought that Wei Wuji was overthinking things. “Don’t underestimate them. I heard that this is just the first batch, so they aren’t dangerous. Fiercer ones will be coming later.”

Wei Wuji just huffed at that. “Setting aside where these things are coming from, if this is really just an invasion of living creatures, we don’t really need to worry, do we? The domain entities aren’t just for show. Also, a lot of foreign martial artists have come into the country. Why are they here?”

“The government might have hired them, or they’re looking for a chance to grab one of these creatures for research. After all, they have some value,” Sun Rao provided a logical explanation.

“You believe that? I don’t. The higher-ups are hiding something from us,” Wei Wuji shot back.

“So? That has nothing to do with us. We just need to obey orders.”

“That’s why I said that you’re too rigid,” Wei Wuji retorted. “It’s because of this that you can’t seize chances even when they’re dangling in front of you. The higher-ups think that subordinates like you are useful, but that’s all.

“You often bragged that you were a captain for Captain Chen, but he’s a squad captain now, and you’re still on patrol duty.”

Sun Rao’s expression turned a little dark. He never bragged. That was real.

“I don’t care what you think. Right now, you’re on patrol duty, and you need to do your job well. If you disobey rules, I’m going to report it to the higher-ups, and that’s going to affect you. Think about it carefully,” he said.

Wei Wuji huffed again and stared at the insects flying about outside. “You’re wrong about it. Rules are for the mediocre. The ones who stand out are not bound by these things.”