Translator: CinderTL
Winterfrost Supply Zone.
2:00 AM.
Facing the blizzard, Feng Qi drove his snowmobile northward.
He periodically checked his location using the snowmobile's navigation system to maintain his course.
Mu Qing had already departed.
At a normal driving speed, it would take approximately half a day to reach the Silent Domain Field.
Another half-day would be needed for preparations before formally exploring the Silent Domain Field.
Therefore, he wasn't in a rush.
After leaving the main road, the path ahead was completely buried under heavy snow. There were no streetlights along the way, forcing him to rely solely on the snowmobile's headlights.
The snowfall intensified.
Countless white flakes swirled down, striking the windshield. The wipers swept back and forth continuously to maintain visibility.
Glancing at the navigation system to confirm his current position, he pressed down on the accelerator.
With a roar from the engine, the snowmobile surged forward.
Looking up through the sunroof, he could see the ethereal green aurora borealis shimmering like smoke across the sky, amidst a sea of twinkling stars.
The sky here was beautiful, but Feng Qi had no time to appreciate the scenery.
He needed to reach his destination before Mu Qing shattered the Silent Domain Field, then lie in wait for the heavily wounded Lord of the Mist to flee, allowing him to proceed with the next phase of his plan.
If this first step failed, the rest of the plan would become pointless.
After driving for a while longer, he reached out and pressed the music switch.
The music's roaring sound immediately drowned out the engine's rumble.
It was clear the snowmobile's previous owner had been a heavy metal enthusiast; the music collection was filled with hysterical energy.
Feng Qi usually had no particular interest in heavy metal.
But now, listening to the music's cold, hard rhythms, he felt a different kind of resonance.
For frontline soldiers who constantly struggled on the edge of life and death, this hard-edged music truly served as an emotional release. The music's weight seemed to channel their inner pressures into cathartic expression.
When he heard the lyrics "This hellish journey, the road ahead shrouded in mystery," he couldn't help but smile knowingly.
In the vast, dark night, the snowmobile's headlights sliced through the darkness as it sped forward.
As the terrain ahead grew more complex, the snowmobile began to lurch and buck. Fortunately, the vehicle had been designed specifically for such conditions, and it encountered no serious problems along the way.
When he had purchased the snowmobile at the Winterfrost Supply Zone, the used-goods salesman had told him about its previous owner.
The original owner had been the vice-commander of a C-class battle group.
Six months earlier, he had died unexpectedly during an exploration mission in the Domain Field. His personal belongings and some of his effects had been sent back to his family in the city.
Weapons, equipment, and other items too difficult to transport were left behind and entrusted to the supply zone's used-goods dealers for sale. The proceeds from these sales would then be sent to the fallen warrior's family.
As he browsed the used-goods store that day, gazing at the various secondhand items on display, he couldn't help but feel a pang of melancholy.
In the salesman's words, behind every item on display lay the story of a fallen frontline warrior.
At that moment, the music switched.
The heavy music began, a melody he knew intimately.
It was the theme song from the pre-cataclysm television series Game of Thrones, "Main Titles."
In this modern era where entertainment industries had withered, many pre-cataclysm films and TV shows remained wildly popular, and Game of Thrones was among them.
As the music swelled, his mind involuntarily conjured images of the Wall standing against the howling blizzard.
Night's Watchmen, torches in hand, stood atop the Wall, reciting their solemn oath against the wind and snow.
The scene resonated perfectly with his current mood.
The snowmobile's headlights pierced the darkness, twin beams stretching endlessly forward.
The tire tracks left behind would vanish beneath the relentless snowfall within moments. In this unforgiving environment, their only guides were the navigation device and map.
After hours of driving, he still hadn't caught up with Mu Qing's convoy.
But he wasn't worried.
He had calculated the timing.
At his current speed, he would reach the Silent Domain Field well before Mu Qing could disrupt it.
The Snow Wolf Domain Battle Group's convoy stretched out in a long line, its vehicles bumper to bumper with those of other battle groups participating in the joint exploration mission.
Mu Qing sat in the back of a military truck, gazing up at the starry sky, lost in thought.
This was her first time on the front lines. She felt no fear, only a lingering melancholy.
The faces of her friends flashed through her mind, and she recalled their farewells before graduation.
Ultimately, Feng Qi's smile surfaced in her consciousness, along with the words he had spoken to her after the graduation banquet:
"Forget about becoming vice-commander. I've decided to stay at the Scarlet Research Institute and focus on my research. If you ever need anything, senior sister, feel free to contact me anytime."
At this thought, she unconsciously clenched her fist.
Yet she understood Feng Qi's choice.
In her eyes, Feng Qi was an even greater genius in cultivation studies than Lin Ran. Now that he had secured the Scarlet Research Institute's full support, his future prospects were limitless.
By comparison, becoming a frontline soldier would have been a waste of his innate talent.
Though they shared the same ultimate goal, they were now walking different paths.
A wistful expression crossed her face.
She pulled out the white harmonica Feng Qi had given her and pressed it to her lips.
A melodious harmonica tune filled the air.
Ye Niu and the others sitting beside him immediately stopped talking, listening quietly as Mu Qing played.
The unknown journey ahead weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
No one knew if they would return safely.
Before each mission, they always left behind farewell letters, and this time was no exception.
The atmosphere grew somber.
When the song ended, Mu Qing placed the white harmonica back in its metal case and looked up.
"Brother Niu, tell me what's expected of the team's core member."
Ye Niu nodded immediately.
The convoy continued for another half-day, arriving at 7:00 AM.
The sky remained dark.
As the polar night approached, the far north experienced short days and long nights, with the sun appearing for only a few hours.
During the polar night, the sun would vanish completely for 24 hours.
The convoy slowed and gradually came to a halt in an open area.
"Get out and prepare!" Commander Tuo Yan's voice boomed from the front of the convoy.
The soldiers disembarked, and Mu Qing slung her large backpack over her shoulder and followed them out.
After a brief assembly, they began setting up tents, starting fires, and cooking meals as instructed by Commander Tuo Yan.
Having set down her backpack, Mu Qing gazed northward.
Her gaze pierced through the darkness, revealing a towering gray barrier in the distance, stretching like a celestial curtain and blocking the convoy's path.
Upon closer inspection, she noticed a thin black thread at the boundary between the world and this gray Domain Field.
The black thread twisted rapidly, slowly extending outward, devouring the world around them.
This was clearly their destination: the Silent Domain Field.
She was confident in her strength, though she wasn't entirely sure of its limits.
Having grown up at the Scarlet Research Institute, she had undergone countless physical strength tests.
But years before joining Star City Academy, Wei Wei's physical strength had already exceeded the limits of the testing equipment.
The same held true for the academy's physical examinations.
Even the most advanced diagnostic instruments couldn't measure her true strength.
Now, on the verge of battle, she felt no fear, only an eagerness to enter the fray.
"Mu Qing, hurry up with the tent and come help!" Ye Niu's voice called from afar.
"Okay."
Withdrawing her gaze from the Silent Domain Field, she set down her pack, retrieved the metal suitcase containing the collapsible tent, and began setting it up.
Moments later, the tent was erected.
Mu Qing shouldered her pack and headed toward the area where the others were starting a fire and preparing food.
(End of the Chapter)
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