Chapter 32

Chapter 32

He Yilan wasn't in a deep sleep. Noticing Bai Luming stand up, he opened his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Bai Luming gestured with a glance to the side, his tone uncharacteristically devoid of teasing: "See for yourself."

Following his gaze, He Yilan saw the number on the pollution detector had risen to "37."

He remembered the initial reading and immediately understood: "There's a problem here."

"More than that—it's likely a major one," Bai Luming said, rubbing his temples as if nursing a headache. "Come on, let's check the lake."

It was late, and Bai Luming hadn't wanted to disturb the other sleeping team members. Yet, upon reaching the lake, they found a tall figure already there: "Ji Xinghan?"

Ji Xinghan, who had been standing quietly by the lake, turned at the sound. His golden hair seemed to take on a deeper hue in the night. He appeared surprised by their presence, his gaze flitting between Bai Luming and He Yilan for a moment: "You two..."

He seemed to recall something suddenly, pondering briefly before asking: "Are you two on a date?"

The question was rather blunt, and He Yilan chuckled.

Bai Luming: "..."

He hadn't expected the nightmare from that morning, days ago, to still linger. He cleared his throat softly. "No, just couldn't sleep and came out to look around."

Bai Luming emphasized "just," which brought a subtle shift to Ji Xinghan's otherwise impassive face.

But after a moment, Ji Xinghan warned: "You really shouldn't wander around here."

This response surprised Bai Luming, and he exchanged a silent glance with He Yilan.

It seemed Ji Xinghan had already sensed something—he was more perceptive than Bai Luming had given him credit for.

When Bai Luming asked, his expression was completely innocent: "Why? Is there something wrong here?"

"Not yet sure," Ji Xinghan shook his head, glancing at the detector in his hand with a slight frown. "But according to the readings, the closer you get to this lake, the higher the pollution levels become."

Bai Luming feigned surprise: "Really? Let me see."

With that, he carefully walked toward the lake.

He Yilan watched Bai Luming's exaggerated acting from the side, a faint smile playing on his lips.

As he walked, Bai Luming pulled out his detector. Upon reaching the shore, he held it suspended over the lake's surface, and the number jumped up twice right before their eyes.

"It really is," Bai Luming said, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He then slowly bent down to observe the lake.

He Yilan watched Bai Luming get more and more into his act. Just as he looked up, he heard Bai Luming suddenly exclaim, "Ah!" Seeing Bai Luming slip and about to fall forward, He Yilan quickly stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

Then, as Bai Luming turned and fell into his embrace, He Yilan caught a glimpse of amusement flashing in his eyes: "..."

So it was all an act again.

Bai Luming used He Yilan's support to collide with his chest, naturally releasing his grip. The detector traced a graceful arc through the air and "accidentally" dropped into the lake.

"Splash—!"

The burst of water was the only movement in the night.

Immediately, the entire lake seemed to boil, as if something deep within had been startled and scattered in all directions.

Ji Xinghan had also been distracted by the minor incident. Just as he was about to ask about Bai Luming, his gaze froze.

First, thousands of glowing green compound eyes came into view. Before he could track the compound-eyed maggots, the detector sinking into the water became more noticeable—its operational indicator light continued to flash, changing from green to yellow as it descended, finally turning a striking red just before disappearing completely.

The range from "0" to "50" defined an F-grade pollution zone, "50" to "100" an E-grade, and anything over "100" required official notification and the establishment of a dedicated outpost for D-grade or higher pollution zones. According to the detector, the first red light indicated pollution levels had exceeded the "100" threshold, marking the boundary for high-risk zones.

But now, more alarming than the flashing warning light was what it revealed beneath the algae in that instant.

Dense sac-like structures, resembling fish eggs dozens of times larger, clung together in layers, elasticly changing shapes with the rippling water.

The living creatures inside, like infants in amniotic fluid, sensed the water's movement and occasionally shifted their soft, boneless bodies. Glowing green viscous fluid enveloped them, ready to burst forth at any moment.

Normally hidden beneath thick algae, their dark green forms blended seamlessly with the surroundings. Diluted by the lake's water, the pollution had gone unnoticed by patrol teams.

No one had imagined that the pervasive dark green of Green Algae Lake wasn't due to thick duckweed on the surface but rather the countless insect eggs attached underneath, spread across the entire lake.

Moreover, besides these incubating insect eggs, there might be other things deep below actively tending to them.

And once these eggs fully hatched...

A gust of wind swept through, and the surroundings fell into a deathly silence.

The lake before them was still the same Green Algae Lake, but now, the eerie green glow seemed to possess a sinister magic, sending shivers down their spines.

The thought of these things swarming out at any moment made even Ji Xinghan struggle to maintain his composure.

The unimaginable, terrifying consequences sent a tingling sensation shooting from his feet to his head.

After his "accidental fall," Bai Luming still leaned against He Yilan's chest. He withdrew his gaze from the lake and spoke with appropriately feigned fear: "What exactly is going on in this lake? Did you both see that?"

"We saw," He Yilan played along smoothly, even patting Bai Luming's shoulder reassuringly and offering Ji Xinghan a suggestion: "It looks like there's a lot hidden in this lake. We should probably report this."

Bai Luming felt He Yilan's hand patting his shoulder intermittently and glanced at the arm casually wrapped around his waist, subtly adjusting his posture.

But He Yilan tightened his grip, pulling Bai Luming even closer against his chest.

Bai Luming: "..."

No need to commit to the act *that* much.

"We really need to report this as soon as possible. Let's head back," Ji Xinghan said, turning to leave without looking back.

Watching him walk away, Bai Luming finally spoke: "He's gone. Can you let go now?"

He Yilan spread his arms open: "I thought you'd appreciate my full cooperation."

"Yeah, thanks," Bai Luming said, extricating himself from He Yilan's embrace and straightening his clothes. After a perfunctory thank you, he glanced at Ji Xinghan's retreating figure: "Now, let's hope he makes the right choice."

He Yilan was used to Bai Luming's habit of burning bridges after crossing them and replied: "If it's Ji Xinghan, he will."

Soon after, all team members were awakened.

After hearing Ji Xinghan's account, everyone's drowsiness vanished completely.

Tang Ruyan frowned, clearly struggling to imagine the scene: "You're saying the entire lake is full of insect eggs, and they're all in the incubation stage? How could the daily inspection teams miss something this big?"

Pei Suqi's face turned grim: "Compound-eyed maggots... isn't that the disgusting thing we saw on the first day?"

"Not just the Fumumaggots; if nothing unexpected happens, there should be higher-tier insectoids as well." Ji Xinghan's cold gaze swept over everyone as he stated calmly, "Every second we delay now increases the danger. I called you to get up because there's something we need to do next. It takes too long to return to the camp from here. For efficiency's sake, I need to press the distress button."

As his words fell, the surroundings sank into a long silence.

During the assessment period, cadets did not have the authority to initiate communication unless through the distress button. However, pressing this button would also mean the entire team would have the assessment terminated early.

And now, there were still two full days left before the official end of the assessment.

Someone still held onto a glimmer of hope: "If... I mean if we complete this assessment and then report the news, wouldn’t it still be possible to make it in time?"

"It’s possible," Tang Ruyan said with a leisurely laugh. "It’s also possible that before the assessment ends, everything in this lake has already hatched and directly devoured all of us."

Her words made the speaker shudder, and he immediately fell silent.

"I agree to press the distress button." Chu Xiao's clear voice broke the surrounding silence. Under the collective gaze of everyone, he shrugged indifferently, "It’s just a reserve force selection, right? It’s not my first time participating. Even if I fail this time, I can just reapply next year! But if this lake really has a problem, once something happens, it’ll be too late!"

"Yeah, that makes sense. I agree too." A soft laugh came from Bai Luming, who had been standing by the tree with his arms folded, listening to the entire team meeting. He spoke up at the right moment, "Besides, I have the lowest score on the team. If the elimination list comes out, it won’t affect any of you."

He Yilan: "Yeah, that’s right."

Tang Ruyan: "I'll cast my vote too."

Pei Suqi timidly raised a hand: "Then I also..."

One after another, people voiced their stance. The remaining members exchanged glances and gritted their teeth before nodding.

After all, a good ranking wasn’t going to fall to them anyway, and with two at the bottom, it really wasn’t out of the question.

Ji Xinghan got the result he wanted and pressed the distress button to initiate the call.

After a string of static noise, the operator's voice came through: "What’s wrong? Team 13, right? Your position has been locked. We’ll immediately arrange a team to come for rescue."

"It’s us, Team 13." Ji Xinghan got straight to the point, "We don’t need support. We’ve discovered a special situation here. Please connect the communication to the command center. Thank you."

The other side paused, surprised by this turn of events: "The command center?"

Ji Xinghan: "Please hurry."

The brief, icy words left no room for doubt. After a moment of silence, the operator replied, "Hold on."

Watching Ji Xinghan from afar, Bai Luming also looked somewhat thoughtful: "How nice. It seems the Golden Army will have someone to carry on its legacy."

As he finished speaking, he noticed the gaze still fixed on him and couldn’t help but turn back with an amused look: "Why have you been looking at me like this?"

He Yilan replied: "Nothing, really. I was just thinking that you’ve always been very patient."

Bai Luming raised an eyebrow: "For example?"

He Yilan said: "For example, even though you knew the things in the lake wouldn’t take more than three hours to hatch, you didn’t tell them the real situation and were still willing to wait for them to finish their internal meeting."

The detector’s light was very faint, but even with just a quick glance, it was enough to see that these insect eggs were already in the final stage of incubation.

Once the things in the lake fully completed their hatching, it would be time for a full-scale outbreak.

Bai Luming wasn’t surprised by He Yilan’s understanding of insectoids and just smiled: "What else? Decisions that affect everyone’s future should be a bit more democratic."

He Yilan clearly didn’t buy this excuse: "What if someone had refused to call for help?"

Bai Luming said without a second thought: "Oh, then I would’ve just pressed it myself."

He Yilan let out a light laugh: "That’s one way to be democratic."

Bai Luming directly ignored the teasing tone in the other’s attitude and looked at Ji Xinghan with satisfaction again: "But no matter what, it’s good to have someone take the lead for us. It’s just that we could’ve returned safely in a couple of days, but now... ah well, what a pity."

At this, he shook his head somewhat helplessly: "This time... it’s a mess."

Ji Xinghan quickly completed the communication connection. Turning to face the expectant gazes of everyone, he replied: "Colonel Xiao said he will send someone to investigate as soon as possible."

"Investigate?" Pei Suqi was stunned, "We’ve already pressed the distress button. Aren’t they going to send someone to pick us up?"

Ji Xinghan shook his head: "He told us to stay put."

Pei Suqi was even more confused: "Huh? I thought pressing the distress button meant the assessment was over. What are we staying put for?"

Not far away, Bai Luming also heard their conversation.

He wasn’t surprised at all by this response and could only shake his head helplessly again, uttering the same two words: "Tough."

At the same time, the previously silent outpost was now filled with an atmosphere of gearing up for deployment.

The team by Green Algae Lake had already sent the scan results from the lake—large-scale Class D insectoids, final incubation stage, projected to burst forth in three hours.

With only three hours left, there was clearly no time for preemptive clearing. In fact, the entire force at the outpost wasn’t enough to handle a confrontation on this scale. Although a signal had been sent, the nearest intermediate outpost would take at least six hours to dispatch a team.

Before the command platform, Xiao Nuoya and Liang Deng both wore tense expressions.

The sentry captain had already assembled the team in a short time and hurried in, asking uncertainly: "Are we really not going to recall the cadets?"

"At a time like this, and you’re still thinking about recalling them! Rather than that, we should pray those damn insects don’t hatch so quickly." Liang Deng slammed the newly obtained intelligence report onto the table, his tone low, "Support will take at least six hours to arrive. Before then, we must hold the line until the Blue Whale Port transports are in position to ensure the safe evacuation of people from the nearby villages."

After speaking, he strode swiftly toward the door: "We’ll leave this place to you. Remember to contact us immediately if any emergencies arise."

"Liang Deng and I will head over first. You can leave the contaminated area to us with confidence." Xiao Nuoya wore a smile on his face, but his eyes held no humor, "As for those cadets, recall is indeed impossible."

As he passed by, he lightly patted the sentry captain’s shoulder and casually placed his military cap on his head: "No matter what, they are all formally registered in the military roster. If something really happens... before support arrives, the soldiers of Fortress 6616 are the final barrier standing before those villages!"