Chapter 447: Two-Eight-Five Outpost
Chapter 447: Two-Eight-Five Outpost
The squad soldiers exchanged bewildered glances. Forty-eight hours ago? That was the day before yesterday? Who were the three people they greeted before that?
Chen Chuan instructed the guard behind him, "Wake everyone up, and then thoroughly inspect this place again."
The guard saluted and ran back to the barracks with his gun on his back.
Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque were the first to arrive. Yuan Qiuyuan looked at the three corpses and exclaimed, "Captain, is this an anomaly?"
"It's too early to tell," Chen Chuan replied, not rushing to a conclusion. He didn't sense any signs of his second self's fading, so either there was another reason or the anomaly wasn't severe.
Once the personnel were awakened, they thoroughly re-inspected the rest stop from start to finish, confirming that there were no other people besides the three corpses.
However, after learning the situation, everyone carefully recalled, and it seemed that no one had direct physical contact with these three people before.
Chen Chuan thought for a while and said to Yuan Qiuyuan, "Executor Yuan, you stay here tonight."
Yuan Qiuyuan agreed without hesitation, "Captain, don't worry."
Chen Chuan walked a few steps away from the group and addressed everyone, "We are here to investigate unclear situations, and we will encounter more of these in the future. You all need to be mentally prepared.
But I and the two executors will handle each matter. Those on duty, stay on duty. Those who should rest, go back and rest, but remember to stay vigilant."
"Yes, sir!" The team members saluted respectfully and then returned to their duties.
The night passed without any further incidents for the guards on duty. The next morning, the team didn't plan to stay any longer and set off as a group.
The convoy left the rest stop and drove for about ten minutes before Chen Chuan instructed the driver, "Turn back."
The driver didn't ask questions and immediately turned the vehicle around.
The other off-road vehicles also received instructions through the Boundary Token, although they didn't know the situation, they understood the importance of following orders and drove back as well.
When they returned to the rest stop, they suddenly saw the door they had deliberately closed before opening again. A voice came from the loudspeaker inside, requesting confirmation of their identities.
Everyone was taken aback.
Yuan Qiuyuan turned and said, "Captain, what's going on?"
Chen Chuan spoke into the Boundary Token, "Follow the procedure." Then he said to Qin Qingque, "Executor Qin, you and them go and check."
"Yes, Captain!" Qin Qingque immediately got out of the vehicle and walked forward with two team members.
The process went smoothly. After exchanging signals according to the established procedure, they waited for a while, and then the rest stop's main gate opened. The three soldiers, who had been confirmed dead, walked out and carefully checked their documents, just as they had done the day before.
But they had clearly seen these soldiers die the day before, and this eerie situation sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Chen Chuan stepped out of the vehicle and glanced at his second self, still showing no signs of fading. He approached the three soldiers, and they saluted him upon seeing his uniform. Their expressions and demeanor were no different from normal people.
At that moment, he reached out and touched their foreheads. The three soldiers froze for a moment and then collapsed straight down.
After a while, something white crawled out of their ears, wriggling as it moved outward.
Yuan Qiuyuan, who had followed, stomped his foot on one of them, squashing it. He saw the creature curl up under his foot and looked at it closely. "Activated brain tissue?" he asked in surprise.
Chen Chuan nodded.
Yuan Qiuyuan looked at the three soldiers on the ground with curiosity. "But they're ordinary people."
Generally, only fighters with altered tissue had to worry about activation issues. Ordinary people rarely encountered such situations; otherwise, the main force at the base camp would be these ordinary soldiers.
Chen Chuan slowly explained, "They are ordinary people, but these activated brain tissues might not be from their own brains."
Yuan Qiuyuan was taken aback but quickly made the connection. He glanced into the distance and whispered, "Captain, is it from the fortress?"
There were no fighters here, but there were several at the Two-Eight-Five Outpost.
"You're right," Chen Chuan confirmed.
After the brain tissue of fighters is activated, some will use their original bodies, but if their original bodies encounter problems, they might seek new hosts, devouring the brains of the new bodies to acquire memories and transform into different individuals.
This was why the base camp was so vigilant about activation—sometimes, it was genuinely challenging to determine if the person in front of you had encountered any issues.
He thought back to the information he had reviewed earlier. According to the original configuration, there should be one Tier Three combatant on duty, along with three Tier Two combatants at the Two-Eight-Five Outpost. These activated brain tissues likely belonged to those three Tier Two combatants.
"Captain, there's a signal from the Two-Eight-Five Fortress."
A communications officer brought over a telegram.
Chen Chuan took it and examined it, but it was still the same unintelligible gibberish. He handed it to Qin Qingque, who carefully scrutinized it before speaking up. "Captain, there's no content."
Yuan Qiuyuan spoke up, "Could this be a telegram sent by this thing?"
Chen Chuan replied, "You'll know once you see it. No need to delay here. Let's quickly pack up and report the situation to the base camp. We're heading out now, so hurry to get there."
After the order was given, some team members immediately came to collect the bodies of the three soldiers and placed them in body bags, storing them in the freezer. The convoy then set off again.
Fort Two-Eight-Five was an expansion-type base camp, and such locations were typically situated in critical terrain. Its purpose was to provide cover for the rear while the front advanced.
Meanwhile, the rear could calmly organize the demarcated territory. This method had its advantages and disadvantages. Initially, with the support of airships for transportation and combat, many difficulties could be overcome. However, once stability was achieved, the lack of airship assistance made things relatively more challenging.
If a critical location like this encountered problems, subsequent tasks would be hindered. Therefore, it was crucial to get to the bottom of this issue.
This time, the convoy advanced at full speed and arrived at Fort Two-Eight-Five before 5 p.m. However, there was no one guarding the outside. After cautiously entering, they found the place eerily empty.
The base camp was built according to standard specifications, capable of accommodating a force of one hundred people. So, when they entered, the surroundings felt unusually quiet, and their footsteps echoed unusually clearly, causing a slight unease among most of the team members.
Chen Chuan instructed, "Contact the base camp and inform them that we've reached Fort Two-Eight-Five. Also, ask them to pay attention to any telegrams sent from this location tonight."
The communications officer immediately followed the order and began transmitting the message.
Chen Chuan added, "We have more than an hour until complete darkness. Each team will have half an hour to inspect and tidy up their areas. Remember, every team member, regardless of entering or exiting, must maintain constant communication at all times."
"Yes, sir!"
The team members promptly split into groups of three and dispersed around the perimeter, following his instructions.
Chen Chuan turned to Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque, "You two, check the defensive equipment and the outer fortifications of the fortress. Pay attention to the vitality index, and don't rely solely on the readings from the Boundary Token."
Yuan and Qin both acknowledged with a sense of alertness, indicating they understood.
Chen Chuan asked them to keep an eye on the team members while he headed to the officers' office within the base camp.
He should be able to find some action logs there, which were required records at the base camp. Perhaps he could discover some useful clues from them.
The office, like the other areas, was neatly organized. He quickly located the logs and flipped through them, finding that the records ended on December 10th, the day before the mysterious message was transmitted.
All the previous records were normal, detailing patrols, duty shifts, organization, and reports, with no unusual discoveries. It seemed the anomaly had occurred suddenly, catching everyone off guard.
However, while flipping through a personal memo of the base camp's commander, he noticed several pages had been torn out. After a brief search, he found the shredded pages in a wastebasket nearby.
He managed to piece the torn pages back together and saw chaotic lines, large patches of color, and illegible words. Looking at this, he could almost envision a person driven mad, muttering incoherently while writing these down.
He stared at the pages for a moment, deep in thought. At that moment, Qin Qingque's voice sounded from the Boundary Token, "Captain, I've checked all the walls, and there are no signs of breakage or leaks. I broke open a section and checked; the protective materials and coating in the sandwich layer are intact. The water tank has enough water and food stored according to standard quantities for a team of a hundred people to use for a month."
Yuan Qiuyuan also reported, "Captain, I've circled the outside, and there are no signs of climbing or attacks. There's no biological convergence either. The vegetation outside has been cleared, although it's grown back a bit these past few days. But the base camp is still at least two or three miles away, and the moats and barbed wire dug according to the tactical manual haven't been damaged."
"I understand," Chen Chuan said. "Since there's no issue, let's head back."
He exited the office and looked at the fortress below. With no external problems, the issue lay within. It was still daytime, and there was nothing to fear. But in less than an hour, night would fall, and things might be different then.
...
...
(End of Chapter)
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