The dark green military transport plane roared as it landed at a military airport on the eastern outskirts of Songdu City.

The cabin door slid open, and instead of the expected bloody insect tide or the smell of gunpowder, a salty, fishy sea breeze greeted them, along with the unique noise and clamor of this coastal port city, mixed with cargo, fuel, and urban life.

Fang Qingyu was the first to step out of the cabin, followed by Jiang Wei and the others.

Looking up, the airport's elevation offered a panoramic view of the core urban area of Songdu City.

Tall buildings stood like a forest, neon lights began to flicker, and the massive port terminal blazed with lights. Cranes, like giant steel arms, methodically loaded and unloaded container ships.

Ships came and went on the sea like shuttles.

Everything was far from the apocalyptic scene he had imagined when he first heard about the Molting Level pit.

His gaze swept across the city's edge.

Fang Qingyu squinted slightly.

In the vast suburban area on the west side of the city, where it borders the mountains, an enormous, almost invisible energy film, like an overturned giant glass bowl, firmly enveloped its core area.

Force Field!

It was this powerful force field that forcefully isolated and compressed the deadly purple miasma and terrifying howls and writhing sounds of the pit into that small area, maintaining the facade of prosperity and "normalcy" of this port metropolis.

"Tch... it looks truly sinister,"

Qin Hui walked up beside Fang Qingyu and also looked toward the dome of the force field in the distance.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the film occasionally had energy ripples visible to martial artists.

"With such a big bowl covering it, and everything underneath going crazy, yet outside there's singing and dancing?"

"Weren't we the same before?" Qi Hao took off his gloves and chimed in, "This is the largest freight hub in the southeast, with several million people. You can't just let the entire city collapse because there's a hole underneath, right? Even though the force field is expensive, it's currently the most effective solution."

He glanced towards the direction of the city, "Did you not feel that after that tremor, there was only a brief panic in the city, and then everything was back to normal? People went back to eating and going to bars."

As Qi Hao said, although there was a noticeable tremor felt over in Qingjian City, for the residents of Songdu, it was more like a slightly stronger apparent earthquake, and once it was confirmed there were no aftershocks, the city's pulse quickly resumed its usual rhythm.

Fang Qingyu withdrew his gaze without a word, simply saying, "Keep up. Let's head to the temporary base for assembly."

They didn't enter the bustling main urban area but instead took an internal transport vehicle arranged by the Divine Management Bureau, traversing the complex suburban terrain directly toward the edge of the force field encompassing the massive pit.

The closer they got to the force field, the more tense the air became.

Replacing the city's skyline were enormous temporary military tent clusters, frequently taking off and landing transport planes, and engineering vehicles with flashing warning lights.

As well as logistics and technical personnel wearing standard combat uniforms, hurrying and sporting tense expressions.

The air was also filled with the smell of disinfectant and a faint tension.

The vehicle finally stopped on a highland about a kilometer from the force field barrier's edge.

Here, several rows of simple yet highly durable modular metal barracks had been set up, serving as one of the temporary bases for frontline support troops.

Teams from Qingjian City gathered here to receive tasks and supplies.

Fang Qingyu led his squad to a room situated towards the back.

Inside was unusually simple, with a few bunk beds, a metal table, and some stools.

Qin Hui and Old Qiao put down their large backpacks and began organizing temporary bedding.

Qi Hao and Lv Chen were inspecting the environment's surveillance systems.

Fang Qingyu didn't participate; instead, he pulled a thick, old booklet with a blank cover out of his backpack, dragged over a chair, and quietly began perusing it in the corner.

The inner pages were not printed but rather hand-copied saber technique diagrams, the brushwork vigorous, the diagrams' moves bizarre and fierce, exuding an air of relentless determination.

Qi Hao leaned closer, unable to contain his curiosity, "Qingzi, even now on the frontline, what treasure are you holding? A sword manual?" He remembered that Qingzi often browsed through martial arts classics while in Qingjian these days.

Fang Qingyu raised his eyes from the pages, glanced at Qin Hui, and spoke in an even tone as if discussing something entirely ordinary, "Yes, saber techniques. Before setting out, I exchanged some with merit points and thought that since we might be staying in Songdu for quite a while, I might as well take this opportunity to hone my skills in actual combat."

He turned a page, the yellowing paper outlining tracks of saber momentum, sharp and strange with ink strokes.

Qi Hao shrank his neck, muttering, "You're quite hardcore. I've just broken through as a Martial Artist, it's good enough for me to master my fundamentals." He ceased to bother further and turned to organize his equipment.

After a simple meal of single-soldier rations sent by logistics, night fell completely.

Fang Qingyu and his squad received the order to assemble, converging with other teams from Qingjian City. Led by a local Divine Management Bureau commander, they boarded an armored personnel carrier, heading towards the entry point closest to the pit's force field edge.

The armored vehicle jostled along the rugged temporary road, finally stopping before a large semi-concealed entrance reinforced with high-strength alloy, leading deep underground.

The air suddenly became dense and sticky with a potent, sweet fishy stench mixed with the decay of corpses, blood, miasma, and secretions from biological tissues.

Even through the heavy sealed doors of the armored vehicle, it seeped into their nostrils, making one nauseous.

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