“Your coordination is rusty, but your execution is sharp enough.” The barrier resumed its flow after the small gate closed. Teacher Liu, his large hand calloused and firm, gave Shen Huaiyun’s shoulder a not-too-light, not-too-heavy pat. “You’ll need extra training in teamwork when we get back. Individual bravery isn’t enough.”
He turned, sweeping his gaze over faces still flushed with excitement or pale with lingering shock. The forest breeze passed by them, carrying a chill that didn’t belong to the camp.
“You’re judged as top students based on your grades, but are you really when it comes to real combat?” His voice wasn’t loud, yet it cut through all the hushed murmurs. “That thing just now? In a real Aberration Tide, it would barely qualify as an appetizer. Ask yourselves: if its evolved form had charged at you, how many seconds would it take you to locate its psychic core? And how many seconds would you survive?”
The students fell silent.
The third-years tightened their grips on their daggers, knuckles turning white. The fifth-years’ psychic energy stirred restlessly before quickly deflating and settling back down. No one answered. The answer was all too clear in their suddenly heavy breathing.
Teacher Liu let out a snort through his nose whether from disappointment or because he’d expected this, it was hard to tell.
“Take down another one. Rotate the team.”
The second practical engagement ended slightly slower than the first. By the time the foul green ichor seeped into the soil, the sky had quietly taken on the glaze of dusk. The dappled light in the forest grew sparse and scattered, stretching shadows long.
Teacher Liu looked up at the dimming light filtering through the canopy, clicked his tongue, and finally waved a hand. “Head back. Once it’s dark, this forest is no longer a training ground.”
Fatigue and silence began to spread on the return journey. The initial exhilaration had been thoroughly consumed by the reality of the fight, replaced by aching arms, the strange, lingering metallic scent in their nostrils, and a certain indescribable clarity.
Shen Huaiyun looked down at his own hands. His fingertips seemed to still carry the cold, slimy sensation from when he’d used his psychic energy to pierce the monster’s body.
Truthfully, he was the most unusual one in this field exercise. Because everyone else had either already undergone differentiation or had tested positive for the potential, while he was just clutching onto the pitiful amount of psychic energy within him, pretending he wasn’t any different from them.
The teacher was right. If he were truly standing on a battlefield facing more formidable monsters, could he perform like he did this time.
Ah, he forgot.
He wasn’t a Sentinel, nor a Guide. He didn’t have the qualification to face the Aberration Tide at the frontlines of the Sentinel Towers.
But Shen Tangmo would definitely go.
“Dinner should have been delivered to the camp,” Teacher Liu’s voice came from behind, breaking the silence and dispelling some of the gloom. “Eat quickly, rest quickly. You’ll have plenty of time to improve yourselves after we return. Tomorrow, I’m taking you to see the control room of the simulated Great Wall barrier. Anyone who dares stay up late tonight will be running laps around this training ground until they puke tomorrow.”
A few muffled chuckles rose from the group, and the atmosphere lightened slightly. Shen Tangmo inconspicuously moved half a step closer to Shen Huaiyun. A psychic tendril silently extended, lightly brushing against Shen Huaiyun’s fingertips, which had grown slightly cool in the evening breeze.
Shen Huaiyun didn’t speak, just gave the tip of the tendril a slight tap.
Seeing the bright lights of the camp in the distance, everyone couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, quickening their pace. Soon, they were back at the cooking area.
The boxed meals prepared by the academy were quite decent. Before they rested, Teacher Liu did another headcount, then finally allowed them to return to their tents.
Slipping into his sleeping bag, Shen Tangmo turned his head toward Shen Huaiyun’s direction. He had wanted to ask again if there were any abnormalities in his body or mental energy, but recalling that he had already received two “all fine” answers during dinner, he simply whispered, “Goodnight.”
“Mhm, goodnight.”
There were no abnormalities in his voice or mental energy fluctuations. Shen Tangmo set his worries aside for the moment and closed his eyes to sleep.
Shen Huaiyun remained awake. He had a premonition that tonight would not bring pleasant dreams and suddenly wished intensely to be enveloped by those cool, soft blue-purple mental tendrils, to be surrounded by his brother’s gentle mental energy.
Even though that sensation felt strange to the human body, in his perception, it was as if he were being held in Shen Tangmo’s embrace.
But they would have to part eventually.
He exhaled a heavy breath, forcing himself to close his eyes. Rather than imagining how to face life without Shen Tangmo in the future, he would rather endure the nightmares.
At least those dreams had repeated for so many years he had experience with them.
More disruptive than the morning sunlight was Teacher Liu’s booming voice.
“Wake up!” He turned the megaphone volume to maximum, recorded his own voice, and played it on repeat as he walked past every tent.
Shen Tangmo sat up abruptly, intending to nudge the boy beside him, only to find him already dressed and packing up his sleeping bag.
So he quickened his pace as well, not forgetting to ask between brushing his teeth, “Did you sleep well last night?”
“Not bad, just that the ground here is too hard.”
“Do you want to use my jacket as a cushion?”
Shen Huaiyun shook his head. “No need. We’re going back tomorrow anyway just one night.”
After a simple breakfast, they gathered. Teacher Liu led the students toward the gray-blue building not far from the campsite. Its exterior was simple and understated, with only the metal door appearing unusually thick.
Standing by the door, Teacher Liu scanned his iris while reminding everyone, “Once inside, do not touch anything carelessly. Even a small erroneous command could lead to serious consequences.”
The door slid open to the right, releasing a distinct metallic scent. The first thing that caught their eyes was the curved screen on the wall, followed by a ring-shaped control console resembling a galaxy. On the dark base, command keys were arranged like chess pieces, orderly and precise.
Two uniformed operators were already waiting inside. Upon seeing them enter, they offered formulaic smiles.
“Welcome to the simulated Great Wall Barrier control room of Wenzhou No. 2 Field Practice Training Ground.”
One of them turned slightly, gesturing for them to look at the screen. It displayed a map of the area, with deep green light bands encircling the entire campsite and part of the forest. Within the forest area, intricate patterns flowed, delineating several zones separating different species.
“This is a portable barrier developed using the technology of the Great Wall Barrier. It can enclose smaller areas to protect important zones like research bases and can also serve as a cage to trap species inside, functioning as a teaching ground.”
The other operator, who appeared a few years younger, tried to lighten the mood by asking, “What is the principle behind the Great Wall Barrier? Can any student answer?”
“It is a new-era Great Wall constructed by our country through simulating the mental energy flow of high-level Guides and Sentinels,” the students recited mechanically from their textbooks.
“That’s correct, but the textbook explanation is too abstract. Come closer, everyone.” He pulled up a holographic 3D model and beckoned the students forward.
Now everyone was wide awake, crowding forward to get a closer look. This was a section of the Great Wall Barrier, but unlike the brick-built structure they had imagined, this new Great Wall resembled a thick scarf woven from strands of “yarn” in various colors.
“Like the scarf my grandma knitted for me,” someone whispered.
The operator affirmed her thought: “Exactly. You can think of the Great Wall Barrier as a massive, thick scarf. The yarn used to weave it is the psychic energy of high-level Sentinels and Guides. Of course, it’s not directly extracted it’s all high-tech replicas created through scientific means.”
“The entire Great Wall Barrier is like a giant scarf wrapped around our homeland.”
“What a romantic way to put it…” one student sighed.
“Yeah, it sounds so warm,” the surrounding students chimed in.
Another operator walked over, gently nudging aside a student who had unconsciously leaned too close to the console. He adjusted the state of the holographic model, and the “scarf” began to ripple, its “yarn” strands swaying outward.
“This is the attack mode of the Great Wall Barrier. It releases psychic energy waves to sweep away the vast majority of ordinary Aberrants. The remaining ones are then eliminated by Sentinel squads dispatched from the watchtowers.”
“That sounds so cool! A scarf that shoots yarn or something.”
After all, they were still teenagers. Once their imaginations were sparked, they began chattering excitedly.
However, the teaching effect was evident. The two operators secretly breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to exchange a few words with Instructor Liu. They handed him a real-time map to assist in leading the students into the forest later for Aberrant training.
Unexpectedly, in the brief moment they stepped away, a student became so engrossed in observing the holographic model that they accidentally pressed a button that looked like a decorative piece.
A sharp-eyed student nearby noticed immediately, pulling the offender away and shouting, “Instructor! They just pressed something!”
Instructor Liu quickly ushered all the students away from the console, frowning as he stared at the large screen. He saw the dark green light band fade for half a second but quickly return to normal.
The operators’ expressions also turned serious the moment they heard the shout. They hurried to the console, swiftly restored the original commands, and checked the barrier’s status. Then, they walked over to the screen to observe the detected Aberrant positions. Only when they saw no changes did they relax.
“Fortunately, it only triggered a momentary fluctuation in the barrier. No actual command was issued. Still, we’ll need to conduct a more thorough inspection later.”
“Be extra careful from now on. Today’s lesson is about over. Everyone, head back first,” the younger operator said, switching off the holographic model with a hint of helplessness.
What was supposed to be an easy task had now turned into a mess. They were definitely going to have their bonuses docked.
“Who was it just now? Step forward,” Instructor Liu said, his face pale with anger. No one dared to speak as the guilty student, flushed and on the verge of tears, stepped out.
“Didn’t I tell you to be extremely careful and not touch anything? What if an accident happened? Could you bear that responsibility?! Go run fifteen laps around the entire camp!”
The student bowed deeply to the two operators, then rushed out the door to start running. Those near the entrance could hear him cursing himself through sobs: “How could anyone make such a huge mistake?!”
The younger operator finished his phone call in the corner, let out a sigh of relief, and walked over to pat Instructor Liu on the shoulder. “Thank goodness, nothing major went wrong. Those aberrations didn’t notice the barrier fluctuations. Just proceed with their training as usual. Oh, and don’t punish him too harshly if he runs fifteen laps, will he even be able to train afterward? Make it eight laps.”
Instructor Liu remained frowning. He dismissed the other students to rest and strode purposefully toward the student who had made the mistake.
Just before the door closed completely, Shen Huaiyun glanced back at the curved screen one last time. He saw a red dot marking an aberration instantly jump to the other side of the barrier’s glowing band in the forest, flicker, and then return to its original position.
A bug? A faint unease stirred in his heart.
Unable to shake his concern about the abnormally moving red dot, he pulled Shen Tangmo aside and told him about it. The other gently patted his back in reassurance, his bluish-purple mental tendrils lightly brushing over Shen Huaiyun’s head. “The staff said there’s no major issue, so it should be fine.”
Shen Huaiyun’s agitated mental energy gradually calmed under the soothing, cool therapeutic influence, but a lingering sense of foreboding remained. He quietly resolved to protect his brother if anything went wrong.
In the afternoon, the camp atmosphere was tense. Still shaken by the earlier incident, the students moved cautiously, careful not to make any further mistakes.
After everyone had cleaned up the biodegradable meal trays and tidied the area, Instructor Liu returned with the student who had run eight laps. He planned to take them into the forest as scheduled to find an aberration, giving the fifth-year students a chance to practice.
But suddenly, the metal door of the barrier control room slid open. Two operators rushed out, their faces pale, sprinting toward the group and shouting at the top of their lungs, “Old Liu! Get the students out! Now, immediately!!”
“What?!” Instructor Liu froze in shock.
The answer came in the form of a piercing, shrill shriek that tore through the air, filled with ravenous hunger.
“Screeee”
A massive aberration, its sheathed wings flapping, burst from the forest. It extended crab-like mandibles, aiming directly at the panting student beside Instructor Liu.
It moved so fast that no one could react in time. It slammed into Instructor Liu, sending him flying, and the razor-sharp edge of its wing sliced deeply into his back. A spray of blood filled the air, the wound so deep the bone was visible.
The man tumbled across the ground, while the student had no time to dodge. The iron-hard mandibles clamped around him, bones cracking under the pressure. He didn’t even have time to scream before the pain knocked him unconscious.
All of this happened within mere seconds of the aberration’s sudden appearance.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Instructor Liu pushed himself up. The mental energy of an A-rank Sentinel surged forth, coalescing into a scythe that slashed toward the aberration’s dark green, thorny carapace.
“Protect the third-years! Guides, construct mental barriers! Sentinels, with me restrain the aberration!” His words came rapid-fire, his voice twisted with agony.
The fifth-years swiftly followed orders. The Guides’ mental energy blocked the creature’s retreat, while the Sentinels’ mental force transformed into invisible blades, hacking at the repulsive insectoid aberration from all sides.
The two operators also rushed to the third-year students, shielding them as they retreated toward the vehicle lane.
Shen Huaiyun’s mental energy was trembling violently something that had never happened before.
He shielded Shen Tangmo, gripping the dagger tightly in his hand, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the giant insect. This small amount of mental energy was nowhere near enough to contend with it. His fingers trembled uncontrollably under the grip of fear.
“Huaiyun, follow the operator and retreat first!” Shen Tangmo’s tone was unusually stern as he pushed the boy toward the evacuation route, stepping in front of him. A translucent, bluish-purple mental energy barrier instantly formed, connecting with the others.
To the alien species, a guide’s mental energy was a deadly poison. The insect’s wing covers trembled, forcing it to fly toward the sentinels instead. Its carapace was slashed with cracks, but they were quickly sealed by its own mental energy shield.
Noticing the boy still standing in place, Shen Tangmo urged anxiously, “Go now!”
But Shen Huaiyun didn’t hear his voice. The moment he was pushed away, the longing and fear in his heart swelled to their peak, coinciding with the trembling of his mental energy.
Then, a crisp shattering sound drowned out his hearing, followed by a prolonged ringing in his ears.
The dagger in his hand fell to the ground instantly, replaced by a long blade formed from condensed mental energy.
His eyes seemed to be flooded with mental energy as well, leaving only the faintly glowing green core of the insect’s mind in sharp focus.
Like an arrow, the boy shot straight toward the giant insect at the center of the encirclement.
“Huaiyun!”
“Damn it, kid, don’t throw your life away!”
Unfortunately, none of these words reached Shen Huaiyun’s ears.