"Your objective is to scout the area approximately eight hundred meters from K7 to the edge of the fissure’s core. Map out the detailed conditions, marking clear Energy Turbulence zones, hazardous terrain, and any potential Star Beast gathering spots."

"If you encounter Star Beasts, eliminate them if you can do so quickly. If you judge them to be a high threat or too numerous, mark their location and temporarily avoid them. Wait for follow-up teams to deal with them collectively."

"Your actions will clear the greatest obstacles for all subsequent teams to complete the base station deployment and collect Energy samples. The mission’s risk assessment has been adjusted to ’Extremely High.’ You have the right to refuse."

Xu Wuyi barely hesitated.

"I accept the mission."

"Good." Zhao Zhen’s tone softened slightly. "Be careful. Maintain open communications at all times and share your scouting data in real-time. The other squads will finish deploying their base stations as quickly as possible, then gather at K7 and follow the path you’ve scouted. Good luck."

The communication ended.

Xu Wuyi glanced at his terminal map. The point marked K7 was about a kilometer away.

He regulated his breathing as the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace within him began to operate faster. His Qi and Blood surged, dispelling the faint fatigue from continuous fighting.

’Becoming the new vanguard?’

’Just what I wanted.’

He liked this kind of clear, direct mission that got straight to the core of the problem.

Besides, the closer he got to the fissure, the stronger the Star Beasts he might encounter, and the higher the potential point earnings.

Pushing off with his feet, his speed became even a notch faster than before. He was like a gray bolt of lightning, streaking across the scorched and broken earth.

Along the way, scattered Star Beasts tried to block him, but whether it was a worm bursting from the ground or a lizard lunging from a rock crevice, none could make him pause for more than three seconds.

With a flash of his spear, a dark golden flame flared and vanished, leaving behind a rapidly cooling, charred corpse.

Twenty minutes later, Xu Wuyi set foot on K7 High Ground.

It was a raised, relatively flat rock platform with a wide field of view. From here, he could see the "7-C Fissure" about eight hundred meters away—a sunken area in the center of the region, emitting chaotic energy fluctuations.

Even after being bombarded by missiles, the place was still suffused with a heart-pounding sense of distortion. The sky’s color was gloomier, and faint, minute spatial folds could be seen flashing in and out of existence.

Xu Wuyi didn’t waste any time admiring the apocalyptic scenery.

He quickly took out the last, and most important, signal base station.

This was the hub station responsible for connecting the entire regional network, and it was slightly larger than the others.

He installed it at the designated spot on the high point of K7 and activated it.

HUMMM—

A stronger wave of Energy pulsed outward.

The signal light on top of the base station flickered rapidly a few times, then stabilized into a solid green.

"Hub station K7 activation successful. Regional network preliminary construction complete... Signal strength is good. Connecting to Federation surveillance satellites..."

The terminal reported back.

At almost the same moment, Xu Wuyi felt the chaotic energy disturbances in the surrounding environment become somewhat more "active," as if the station’s activation had startled something in the depths.

He tightened his grip on his spear and cast his gaze toward the final eight hundred meters of scorched earth.

The vanguard’s mission had begun.

He didn’t rush in recklessly. Instead, he first stood on the high point of K7 and fully unleashed his Spiritual Power.

His Level 36.9 Spiritual Strength spread out like an invisible tide, extending toward the fissure.

Perception became difficult. The closer he got to the fissure, the stronger the interference from the Energy Turbulence on his Spiritual Power, making it feel like wading through a thick, viscous swamp.

But Xu Wuyi could still "see" a few things.

The terrain ahead was even more shattered, crisscrossed by massive crevasses, some of them bottomless, with dark red residual heat churning within.

There were more obstacles formed from solidified lava, their shapes even more bizarre.

The Energy Turbulence was like invisible whirlpools randomly distributed along the path. Some were calm, while others contained a violent, tearing energy.

And amidst these dangerous environmental factors, he sensed more life signs.

They were denser and stronger than in the outer areas.

In a fissure thirty meters away, three Ash Worms with an Energy Level of 32 were coiled up. They seemed to be in a semi-dormant state, but were exceptionally sensitive to energy fluctuations.

Behind a massive, tilted slab of lava to his front left, five Lava Lizards lay in wait. One of them had a shocking Energy Level of 34, the fiery patterns on its body flowing like magma.

Farther away, about three hundred meters out, beneath a relatively open patch of scorched earth, he detected a life fluctuation that was heavier, more scorching, and tinged with a sort of greedy intention. Its Energy Level... was estimated to be above 35, and there was more than one.

Beyond that, there were also some more subtle, fast-moving, smaller signatures, possibly mutated insects or something else.

’It really is different here,’ Xu Wuyi realized.

These final eight hundred meters were the true danger zone.

Any Star Beast that could survive here was either immensely powerful or possessed special survival abilities.

He formulated a simple plan:

Stick to relatively safe routes as much as possible, avoid unnecessary battles, and quickly complete the terrain and threat mapping. But if an encounter was unavoidable, he would end it as fast as possible, with no delays.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Wuyi leaped off K7 High Ground and stepped into this final area, a land shrouded in chaotic energy and the stench of death.

His figure was quickly swallowed by the scorched black rocks and billowing heat waves.

Only the dot of light representing his position on his personal terminal began to move steadfastly toward the deep core of the fissure.

A continuous stream of data began to flow back to the command post in the rear: real-time scans of the terrain, the distribution of Energy Turbulence, and the Star Beast threat points he discovered and marked.

Inside the tent, Zhao Zhen and the other officers watched the screen. Their expressions grew exceptionally grave as they observed the lone green dot venturing deep into the most dangerous area, and the high-precision environmental data that was rapidly refreshing. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

They knew that the real test had only just begun.

Meanwhile, in another sector, Lei Lie had just finished clearing out a troublesome nest of Radiation Beetles.

He looked up at his terminal’s map, at the blinking light codenamed "Xu Wuyi" that had already left him far behind, even passing the rendezvous point and continuing forward. A complicated look crossed his scarred face.

To the southeast, a man with a blade on his back cleaved a Shadow Claw Mongoose in two with a single strike. He also glanced at his map and muttered to himself in a raspy voice, "Oh? Someone else is in the lead? Interesting..."

He licked his chapped lips, a glint as sharp as a knife flashing in his eyes. Without a trace, his pace quickened by a few degrees.

As Xu Wuyi entered the final eight-hundred-meter zone, his speed inevitably slowed.

But this deceleration was only relative to his own previous breakneck pace.

On the screen in the rear command post, the green dot representing him was still advancing steadfastly toward the fissure’s core at a speed that far surpassed the other five squads.

"Target Six’s speed has decreased by approximately twenty percent, but he is still maintaining high-speed movement," an officer reported.