Lieutenant General Klitov's expression was grim, his tone aggressive. "So, why did you set out? Commander Wei gave clear orders to stand by, didn't he?"
"I'd like to know that as well," Wei Huan interjected, supporting Klitov. Asking this now was essentially a reckoning.
In this environment, the other captains were entirely dependent on Wei Huan to lead them out; they didn't dare say anything out of turn. Silence hung in the air for a long moment until someone, unable to withstand Wei Huan's gaze, stammered: "It was General Reitern... he said there was a Silver Treasure Chest not far below. He said if we pooled our strength, we could open it..."
That broke the dam. Others began to chime in, confirming the story.
"Yes, that's right. General Reitern said it wouldn't take even half an hour. But after forty minutes, we still hadn't seen a chest. Before I knew it, I was lost."
Someone immediately caught the flaw: "Could Colonel Reitern have already been under the influence of the illusion back then?"
"Colonel Reitern has sacrificed himself; his vehicle was destroyed," Mu Zhong said with certainty. "The first wreckage we found was his. It blew up from the inside. However, one detail: we didn't find his body. Those corpses are being controlled by an unknown entity. They can move and use class abilities. If you encounter them, treat them as living enemies."
"Controlling human corpses... how terrifying."
"Evil."
"Oh, no—I mean, specifically controlling 'human' corpses is evil."
"Exactly. Using the bodies of one's own kin is a wicked act, though using the corpses of enemies is a relief. If not for Commander Wei's abilities, our race would still be struggling against the Dark Beasts."
Perhaps because the "Fear Value" was too high, the IQ of these "shrewd" elites began to slip. They were saying things out loud they would normally never utter. Wei Huan's power was indeed "terrifyingly evil" to some; had humanity not been relying on him to stand tall, countries like Aosam would have labeled him a "villain" long ago.
Wei Huan didn't care. This profession gave him the combat power to snowball resources from the start. He never expected everyone to like him. But the fact that the enemy could control human bodies and use them to attack was something even he found intolerable.
As they spoke, they finally arrived before General Meyer's vehicle.
Wei Huan's undead and his vision had actually arrived minutes prior. He had remained silent only to observe the anomalies of the vehicle. Meyer's vehicle was a boxy off-road model with forest camouflage—pixelated patterns that were usually effective for hiding.
It floated motionless in the ink-black water, showing no reaction to the undead army. While the shell looked intact, the protective shield was offline. Upon closer inspection, the supposedly indestructible hull showed clear signs of corrosion.
A Facehugger crawled onto the hull and, under Wei Huan's command, struck the exterior with its foreleg.
'Crackle!'
The weakest unit in the undead army had just knocked a chunk out of a Level 6 vehicle. Wei Huan's face shifted. Corrosion combined with a hull that crumbled at a touch... a chilling theory entered his mind. He recalled sci-fi movies—had they entered a zone with a different flow of time? Had centuries passed here while only half a day passed for them?
Wei Huan briefly disengaged from his shared vision, the green flames flickering from the corners of his eyes as they returned to black. He glanced at the Heart of Steel on Mu Zhong's shoulder, thought for a moment, and let the green flames bloom in his eyes once more.
This time, he didn't let the undead get close. He used the observation powers of the Heroic Evil-Eye Overlord to look even closer. This time, he saw the truth.
"Don't get too close." As the fleet approached Meyer's vehicle, "Mother Point" received the order to stop and even drifted back slightly.
Wei Huan warned everyone: "The energy around that vehicle is extremely abnormal. Have your AI butlers perform an energy scan."
Nobody ignored him. Mu Zhong controlled both the AI butler and the Heart of Steel to scan simultaneously.
"This..." When Mu Zhong turned back in shock, Wei Huan knew the Heart of Steel had found the answer first.
"What is it?" Wei Huan asked.
Mu Zhong replied with surprise, "It says this is a 'Divine Surge' (Shen Yong)."
"What is a Divine Surge?"
"It says: 'Insufficient authority.'"
"Tell it to issue a quest then."
"This is the Main World," Mu Zhong explained. "It cannot bypass the monitoring of the 'Main Consciousness.' What we did in the Dark Beast dimension can't be done here unless I become stronger and discover more secrets. Only then will it gain more authority—perhaps even direct hints about the future."
Wei Huan pursed his lips in slight disappointment, but "Divine Surge" was a powerful new keyword to possess.
While they had been talking, the AIs on the other vehicles still hadn't detected the anomaly. Seeing the "wanting to ask but not daring to" expressions on the other captains, Wei Huan realized his own AI butler—though looking like an idiot next to the Heart of Steel—was still light-years ahead of the other nations' tech.
"Send them the detected images," Wei Huan ordered.
Mu Zhong nodded. "The Heart of Steel's mapping is clearer and more refined. Let's send that instead."
Wei Huan looked at the virtual image in Mu Zhong's hand and nodded after a long pause. "Good."
If his Evil-Eye vision saw "abnormal energy," the AI's scan was like a still photo, but the Heart of Steel's output was a high-definition live stream of the battlefield.
In Mu Zhong's hand floated a flat rectangular graphic filled with turbulent water—a miniature representation of the deep-sea world they were in. The water was clearly divided into three layers.
The first layer was standard seawater. With Level 8 lights, it looked like a bright, shallow sea from a documentary. The second layer was grayish-green, filled with a dense, coiling mass of seagrass secreting viscous substances—the domain of the "Liar Remnants."
Past the second layer was the true seabed. Here, everything was black, but the Heart of Steel rendered this blackness as wisps of multicolored smoke rising upward. It was terrifyingly beautiful.
General Meyer's vehicle was caught in the middle of one of these "smoke wisps." The multicolored vapor had coiled around the vehicle like a thick knot, pinning it in place. Interestingly, this specific wisp looked like it was dissipating; its color was faint, and energy was being pulled back down toward the deep seabed, as if something below was reeling it in.
"Divine Surge..." Wei Huan whispered. No wonder the World Consciousness restricted the Heart of Steel; it had basically given them a world map. If it gave more, it would be a total leak.
For a moment, Wei Huan looked at the Heart of Steel with genuine affection. A human-biased system like this was a treasure.
As he pondered, the other captains recovered from their shock. Realizing they were looking at a map of the world's core secrets, they began whispering to their adjutants. This was the greatest haul of the mission so far.
However, everyone's attitude toward being in the "core danger zone" differed. Some were nervous, some excited, and some were already discussing how to unlock the secrets. Through the Heart of Steel, Wei Huan could "see" through their privacy blurring functions if he wanted to, but he didn't bother. Humans are complex; as long as their goal in this racial war remained the same, it was enough.
"What is this? How is General Meyer? What happens if we touch this substance?" someone asked.
Mu Zhong answered for Wei Huan: "We aren't certain, but the General and his crew are likely lost. This energy is unique; its presence is why the plant Remnants cannot enter this area. Look closely—between this zone and the seagrass zone, there is a faint film of light formed by this energy, blocking the plants."
Wei Huan noticed Mu Zhong didn't use the term "Divine Surge," just "energy." They both understood the weight of that name.
Mu Zhong continued: "Next, we will perform a system intrusion on General Meyer's vehicle. This will take time. You may rest here, or briefly return to Blue Star to report your safety. We estimate the intrusion will take about three days. Those who leave, please return within that window."
'Go back?'
The smart captains sensed an anomaly. Before, they were moving as a unit; now, they were being told to leave while in the core zone. They realized Wei Huan might want to explore the secrets alone and was trying to brush them off.
Some decided they wouldn't leave no matter what. Others were tactful, knowing that as long as they kept Wei Huan's trust, they would learn the secrets eventually. A small group actually needed the break to recover from the oppressive atmosphere.
"Alright, I'll head back first. The mission has been smooth so far, and Blue Star must be anxious for news," General Klitov laughed. "Commander Wei, any messages for home?"
The Fence Country captain frowned. "I need to report safety, but I'll be back in a few hours, not three days."
The Three Nations captain said, "I'm staying. The rescue mission isn't over. I hope General Meyer is still alive."
Most chose to stay. The channel fell quiet as they studied the map.
Wei Huan had the butler blur his own audio, then turned to Mu Zhong. "What are you thinking?"
"The name 'Divine Surge' is key," Mu Zhong whispered.
"If the Heart of Steel can draw a map, why won't it explain the name?" Wei Huan asked.
"To know the truth, we have to explore the source of the Divine Surge ourselves. When we reach the bottom, we'll have the answer."
"Useful, yet slightly useless," Wei Huan joked.
The map showed they were only a hundred kilometers from the actual seabed. "Let's go down another seventy or eighty kilometers," Wei Huan said.
"They'll follow us," Mu Zhong pointed at the other vehicles.
"I'll use the undead for the final stretch." Wei Huan glanced at the Heart of Steel. "Can you do it?"
Mu Zhong listened, then smiled. "Yes."
"Then move out. And watch the Divine Surges—the further down we go, the more 'tentacles' they have. The Heart of Steel will scan a safe path and take over the driving."
Suddenly, the white vehicle—which was supposedly busy with a three-day system intrusion—started moving. It left behind one sentence: "Follow if you wish."
Of course they followed! In this darkness, without Level 8 lights, they were blind.
Wei Huan asked Mu Zhong privately: "Is it empty?"
"Yes. The vehicle is intact, but there isn't a single soul inside."
"Parasitized too?"
"Likely. We'll know what the parasites are once we know what the Divine Surge is. I have a theory."
"So do I," Wei Huan agreed.
The seventy kilometers passed quickly. The path was "safe" only because the Heart of Steel acted as an inside agent, marking a winding path that avoided all the "undercurrents" of the Divine Surge. This ease of travel gave some captains the wrong impression.
Wei Huan stopped at a certain distance and, under everyone's watchful eyes, sent his undead army further down.
Captain Pandit of the Three Nations grew anxious. "Commander Wei, what about the system intrusion on General Meyer's vehicle? Are we in signal range? Why have we stopped? Did your undead find something?"
The "fox's tail" finally showed. Pandit was clearly more interested in the world's secrets than in saving Meyer. Wei Huan's act of exploring alone had triggered his greed and urgency.
Mu Zhong replied smoothly, "The intrusion is ongoing while we scout the area. Please be patient, Captain Pandit."
Pandit wasn't satisfied. "What is on the seabed? Is this energy a resource? You gathered a massive amount of resources from the Dark Beast world—can we use this energy too?"
Mu Zhong smiled. "No comment."
Pandit's forced smile turned cold.
Wei Huan's vision was far away with the Evil-Eye Overlord. The Divine Surges were dangerous. He had tested them by sending a few ghouls into the colorless, formless vapor; in seconds, their green Nether Flame vanished, and their bodies rotted into nothingness. They didn't even return to the Great Tomb.
Without the Heart of Steel, Wei Huan would have had to sacrifice a sea of undead to find a path. But now, his army moved in a bizarre, zigzagging line, "driving straight in" without a single casualty.
As they reached the seabed, the Evil-Eye vision still couldn't pierce the final secrets. The path ended because the Divine Surge covered the entire floor like a protective layer over a substance that looked like black ash.
Wei Huan ordered a Facehugger to step into the surge. Its Nether Flame vanished, and it dissolved into a tiny wisp of ash that drifted to the floor.
'Is this endless layer of ash the remains of organisms that died here?'
Wei Huan sent a Two-Headed Hidden Demon Fiend. It vanished just as fast. To the Divine Surge, a demon and a ghoul were both just "ants." He stopped the suicide runs and sent Ghost Crows instead. They carried tiny green flames—Hellfire bombs—in their beaks. Fearing they wouldn't explode if simply dropped, the crows dove into the surges, activating the bombs as they died.
The crows at least returned to the Tomb when killed by Hellfire. The explosions shook the "undercurrents" on the seabed. As the surges shifted, even with the Heart of Steel's rapid re-mapping, some misplaced undead vanished instantly.
The other captains couldn't see this from their distance. They only saw the distant tremors and grew desperate to know what Wei Huan was doing—and what profit he was gaining.
"Commander Wei, do you need help?" Pandit asked again, his eyes screaming for a piece of the pie.
Wei Huan ignored him, focusing on how the explosions affected the surges, trying to trigger the Heart of Steel's higher authority. Mu Zhong played "Tai Chi" with Pandit, parrying his questions with vague, frustrating answers. Pandit, realizing he was being stonewalled, stared out the window with a dark, calculating gaze.