Crimson Research Institute.
Three hours of recovery therapy had concluded as the nutrient liquid receded, and the capsule door slowly opened.
As the attached soft tubes retracted automatically, Feng Qi stepped out of the nutrient capsule. Grabbing a towel from the nearby table, he wiped off the residual liquid on his body and changed into a clean set of clothes.
Taking a deep breath, he felt rejuvenated, his entire body refreshed. The fatigue that had accumulated during his rigorous training was completely swept away.
He walked over to the sofa next to the nutrient capsule and sat down. Lifting his gaze to the monitor atop the capsule, he examined the detailed statistics: body condition, bloodline strength, age, and other data.
Three years had passed; he was now twenty years old.
As for how long he could survive in this timeline, he had no certainty. Judging from the circumstances of the previous timelines, living another ten or so years seemed plausible.
During this period of training, his control over his strength had become more refined. With the enhancement provided by the Demon Dragon Rune Crystal, his strength had reached a lower-tier Silver evaluation.
When it came to raw power, he could rival mid-tier Silver-level physical cultivators.
Meanwhile, Feng Qi had been keeping a close eye on Mu Qing's progress. He knew she had recently joined a domain combat squad and was about to set foot on the battlefield for real.
Feng Qi wasn't overly worried about her safety.
Even though altering the timeline had placed her in a different squad from the original history, her strength remained unaffected. The special rune crystal embedded in her body not only endowed her with tremendous power but also gave her unparalleled combat instincts.
As Wei Wei described it:
"If Mu Qing gets truly provoked, she could effortlessly demolish a Tier-3 Liao-grade domain field and chew through its spatial crystals like they were snacks."
Coming from Wei Wei, the very person who had engineered Mu Qing's rune modifications, such an assessment spoke volumes about her terrifying strength.
During her time at Star City Academy, Mu Qing had never revealed her true potential.
Apart from keeping tabs on Mu Qing, Feng Qi maintained regular contact with Lin Ran. Under the pretense of needing mental attack techniques for his research on cultivation methods, Feng Qi persistently urged Lin Ran to focus on that field.
From his correspondence, Feng Qi learned that Lin Ran had shown remarkable talent in spell research since joining the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Notably, Lin Ran had formally introduced the "Seal Formation Spell Flow" to the public.
Within a short span, he earned the prestigious Human Elite Contribution Gold Medal. The Seal Formation Spell Flow was in its infancy, yet it was poised to become a groundbreaking system worthy of historical recognition.
Lin Ran didn't stop there. He published several outstanding offensive spells in quick succession, cementing his place as one of the leading figures in the field.
News outlets scrambled to cover Lin Ran's achievements, painting him as a rising star.
However, during recent communications, Lin Ran disclosed a peculiar development.
After joining the Tiger Soul Research Institute, Lin Ran had repeatedly applied to join the cultivation method research group. But every request was denied.
Not only that, but the higher-ups of the institute convened a meeting to publicly criticize him as a cautionary example, discouraging others from following in his footsteps.
Their reasoning? Lin Ran's talents in spell research were unparalleled, and focusing on cultivation method studies would be a waste of his potential.
To prevent him from delving into cultivation methods, the institute inundated him with spell research assignments, further binding his focus.
To Feng Qi, this was highly suspicious.
Lin Ran had already made a name for himself. If the Tiger Soul Research Institute, under the influence of the Mist Lord, intended to launch the "Flesh Sacrifice" technique, manipulating Lin Ran's trajectory would be a logical step.
Yet, Lin Ran's applications to join the cultivation research group were being systematically rejected.
In the original timeline, Lin Ran eventually joined the cultivation method research group and even became the leader of the "Infinite Cultivation" team.
The current resistance to his involvement hinted at something strange.
This led Feng Qi to form two hypotheses:
The Mist Lord might believe Lin Ran's current influence was insufficient. They could be waiting for him to gain greater fame before introducing "Flesh Sacrifice" through him.
There were deeper, undisclosed motives within the Tiger Soul Research Institute that complicated the situation.
Feng Qi couldn't rule out either possibility. Both demanded further observation and analysis.
In Feng Qi's analysis, Lin Ran's current influence was already sufficient. Introducing Flesh Sacrifice now would quickly spread its renown among cultivators, ensuring its widespread adoption.
This raised a second, more plausible possibility: the Tiger Soul Research Institute had not yet fallen under the control of the Mist Lord.
From a human-centric perspective, the institute likely believed Lin Ran's unparalleled talent in spell research should not be squandered on cultivation method studies.
If Lin Ran did eventually join the cultivation group, it would only happen after the institute fell under the Mist Lord's control.
Feng Qi leaned toward the second hypothesis. It made more sense given the circumstances. Allowing Lin Ran to join the cultivation group early would only serve to further the Mist Lord's agenda, laying the groundwork for Flesh Sacrifice to be released under Lin Ran's name.
The timing, Feng Qi speculated, was critical.
If the Tiger Soul Research Institute had not yet been infiltrated, when would it happen? Based on historical records, Lin Ran's release of Flesh Sacrifice always occurred after Feng Qi's death in every timeline.
This suggested that the institute was infiltrated within a few decades after his passing.
However, Feng Qi recalled an incident from one timeline: while working at the Institute of Technological Research, he had sowed discord between the Tech Institute and Tiger Soul. Using the Veritas Apparatus, the Tech Institute uncovered Tiger Soul spies embedded within their organization.
This meant the infiltration had already begun while Feng Qi was still alive.
Narrowing the timeframe further, Feng Qi estimated the full-scale infiltration of the Tiger Soul Research Institute occurred roughly ten years after his current point in time—likely around the age of thirty, just before his death in previous timelines.
Yet another question arose: if the institute was infiltrated, why was Flesh Sacrifice only released a decade later?
The answer, Feng Qi theorized, was that the Mist Lord had not yet perfected Flesh Sacrifice. It likely spent those ten years refining the technique, waiting for the opportune moment to unleash it.
When the technique was complete, Lin Ran—by then a figure of immense influence—was co-opted. With the creation of the Infinite Cultivation Group, the Mist Lord used Lin Ran's reputation to validate and popularize Flesh Sacrifice.
While this theory remained speculative, it aligned with all available intelligence.
Satisfied with the reasoning, Feng Qi mentally cataloged the information for future reference.
Breaking Dawn Game Development
Beyond Lin Ran, the Breaking Dawn game project continued its development within the Crimson Research Institute. However, the game had not been made public for a simple reason: its release would draw unprecedented attention.
Such attention would risk exposing the institute to domain forces, even though Feng Qi's presence already made it a target.
The Crimson Research Institute leadership unanimously agreed: the game's technical advancements would be passed on to Feng Qi's future self for use in other timelines. For now, this timeline was considered expendable—a sacrifice line.
Releasing Breaking Dawn might change the future, but it wouldn't alter this timeline's grim outcome.
Instead, their priority was to establish contact with Mu Yan. Ensuring stability and avoiding unnecessary risks was key.
Winter City Supply Zone
Outside Winter City, the supply zone remained blanketed in heavy snow. The unending blizzard turned the landscape into a shimmering expanse of white, with the distant mountain range resembling coiled snow dragons.
Howling winds clashed and intertwined, their piercing cries echoing like the roars of mythical beasts.
The harsh environment of Winter City was unparalleled among the six Eastern cities, a fact reflected in its name.
To the north lay one of the Eastern Region's forward supply zones, known as the Winterfell Supply Zone. It housed numerous domain combat squads.
Even as the end of a celebration neared, the zone buzzed with activity. Reporters from various cities remained, documenting the bustling operations of the supply base.
Just a few days ago, the Bloodthorn Domain Field to the north of the supply zone was dispersed. The spatial crystals within the field were shattered, marking a significant victory for humanity.
The resources left behind in the Bloodthorn Domain Field were distributed among the participating domain combat squads according to their contributions.
One truck after another, laden with resources from the field, entered the supply zone. The resources were then loaded onto transport aircraft and sent to various cities.
The airport area was filled with a variety of supplies, with the cities' billboards broadcasting the joyous news repeatedly over the past few days.
Humanity celebrated together.
Meanwhile, at the Snow Wolf Estate, a team of over a hundred fully armed members had gathered.
Mu Qing stood at the back of the formation, carrying a backpack several times larger than herself, listening intently to Captain Tuo Yan's briefing.
Although she had already become a core frontline member, her understanding of the operational knowledge within a domain combat squad was still limited. She had only entered a domain field once, during the recent Bloodthorn Domain Field dispersal.
That was five days ago.
However, at the time, the Bloodthorn Domain Field had already been almost entirely cleared. The Snow Wolf Domain Squad had merely assisted with post-operation resource transportation. They didn't even encounter the final enemies before the domain field was dispersed.
Today would be her first time officially stepping onto the front lines as a combatant.
"After five days of recovery and rest, I trust all of you are in top form. We arrived too late to contribute much to the dispersal of the Bloodthorn Domain Field. Our next target is the Silent Domain Field, where we will serve as part of the main combat force. Let's move out!"
With Tuo Yan's command, the squad members began boarding their vehicles.
Mu Qing climbed onto a military truck designated for resource transportation, placing her backpack down before taking a seat.
"Nervous?" Wild Bull, sitting across from her, asked with a grin.
Mu Qing shook her head and answered honestly, "Not nervous. If anything, I'm a little excited."
Wild Bull was momentarily taken aback before bursting into hearty laughter.
The convoy departed the estate and headed northward, eventually joining other convoys en route to their destination.
This operation involved a collaboration between eight domain combat squads, including the Snow Wolf Squad, targeting the Silent Domain Field.
The Silent Domain Field had appeared over a decade ago. Early exploration attempts by several teams from the Winterfell Supply Zone resulted in heavy casualties.
The limited information available suggested that the field was home to bloodsucking creatures, but the dense fog shrouding the domain field made it impossible to confirm their appearance.
With early failures and other active domain fields nearby requiring prioritization, the Silent Domain Field's exploration was postponed.
Now, with the recent dispersal of the Bloodthorn Domain Field, the Silent Domain Field had become the primary target for combat squads in the Winterfell Supply Zone.
The field's decade-long existence meant its internal rules and environment had likely begun to integrate with the real world. It was highly probable that domain-transcending creatures capable of leaving the field had already emerged, posing a significant threat to humanity.
Freshly formed domain fields rarely spawned domain-transcending creatures due to the inherent difficulty of crossing the rule barriers between the field and the human world.
However, as the domain field integrated with the world, those barriers weakened, eventually disappearing altogether, allowing domain-transcending creatures to emerge.
In recent days, the Silent Domain Field had shown signs of rapid expansion, to the point of being described as aggressive.
As such, dispersing the Silent Domain Field became a top priority for the Winterfell Supply Zone, slated to be the next domain field cleared.
During the journey, Wild Bull shared his knowledge with Mu Qing, explaining the responsibilities of a core frontline member within a domain combat squad. He peppered his explanations with personal anecdotes, much to the amusement of the other soldiers.
When Wild Bull described his first time entering a domain field, recalling how he had turned pale with nervousness and exaggerated his expressions for effect, the entire truck erupted in laughter, Mu Qing included.
Among comrades who braved life-and-death situations together, there was no pretense, only genuine camaraderie.
This sincerity put Mu Qing at ease, melting away the last of her initial awkwardness.
The convoy traveled for most of the day. As night fell, the sky lit up with a dazzling aurora.
"Mu Qing, do you have any special talents? How about a performance for us?" A fully armed woman sitting beside Mu Qing teased with a smile.
"I... I don't have any talents," Mu Qing replied, shaking her head.
"Don't be shy. I saw you packing that harmonica before we left. You even polished it a few times!"
Encouraged by the group, Mu Qing decided not to refuse. She retrieved the white harmonica that Feng Qi had given her and, gazing at the ethereal green aurora above, began to play.
The once-lively truck fell silent as everyone listened to the hauntingly beautiful melody.
The music seemed to awaken memories buried deep within each soldier's heart.
As they looked at Mu Qing's youthful face, many recalled their own early days in the Snow Wolf Squad. Over time, their innocence had faded, replaced by the scars of blood and fire.
Every mission was a gamble with life and death. None of them knew how many of their comrades would return from this journey.
Under the shimmering aurora, they silently made their resolves.
From the moment they chose this path, they had already accepted the possibility of dying in battle.
Yet their conviction never wavered, and they pressed forward without regret.