Chapter 195: Active Probing

"What should we do now, should we inform the authorities?" Hui Siye asked.

Chen Shicheng said nothing, merely biting his fingernails anxiously, his brows furrowing deeply.

If his and Hui Siye's speculation were true, then this trap could not be stepped into outright, after all it concerns the future of the Chinese nation, and the consequences of a failed action would have to be borne by all the people of the country.

After a while, Chen Shicheng still shook his head with difficulty and said, "It's not possible yet; we need to verify further."

The potential consequences of this intelligence are indeed too severe; whether true or false, the nation's actions will inevitably change because of this information.

The best outcome would be to send someone to investigate, but too few people are useless, and too many would alert the other side; if the altar is real, the righteous cultivators, once alerted, will certainly dispatch more troops, increasing the difficulty of the array‑breaking task.

Moreover, the most important point is what identity to use when notifying the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department.

A commoner?

As an external consultant for the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department of C City, he could indeed tell Song Bingyuan about the situation here, but would the words of an inconspicuous recruited player be taken seriously? San Ren Dashi Zishu?

This identity is indeed familiar to those at the Iron Blood Great Wall, and he has helped them complete tasks many times, but for a major event concerning the nation's future, they would certainly not take his single side of the story at face value.

Even if his words are heeded because of his strength, the result would still be that they first send someone to verify the truth.

Thus the matter returns to the original difficulty, which would alert the righteous cultivators.

For a moment, this revolving‑wheel situation gave Chen Shicheng a headache; he had no idea how to handle it at all.

Hui Siye dared not say anything further, fearing he might interfere with Chen Shicheng's judgment.

After a long while, Chen Shicheng let out a long sigh, his expression firm as he said, "There's only one way left!"

"What will you do?"

"I'll go test the altar's authenticity myself, and after confirming, notify the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department."

Indeed, after racking his brain, Chen Shicheng's solution was to venture out himself.

To be honest, he had always seen himself as an ordinary civilian, and even after gaining great power in the game, that view never changed.

So when faced with such a situation, his first reaction still carried a commoner's mindset, like the online saying, "the rich go first, the insiders go first."

Just like the Icefield mission and the sale of Yinxiang Incense.

He had no notion of serving the country; he acted only because it was profitable.

But this time is different; it concerns the nation's future, and with no way out, he for the first time feels the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He also wants to be a hero! He decides to do it right away!

Chen Shicheng immediately checked the remaining time of his ever‑changing Skill: 20:12:33. The ID transformation time was still ample, but the next change wouldn't occur until three days later, so he had to act within twenty hours.

"Hui Siye, are you ready?"

Chen Shicheng looked at Hui Siye and asked, then began to move his body.

"Always ready!"

"Whoa, you even learned this?" Chen Shicheng chuckled dumbly, warned through the private room door not to let anyone disturb him, then leapt out the window, and with a single stride instantly teleported to the camp beside the altar.

Although the altar still lacks a core treasure to complete the array, the nationwide array does not rely solely on a treasure.

At this point the array has already linked the national array nodes, exerting a certain effect; players elsewhere might not detect it, but anyone approaching here would be discovered by the array, triggering an attack of Four‑Element Divine Thunder.

Chen Shicheng spun around twice but found no gap, so he resorted to the same trick, deploying the Slashing Immortal Array to break through the unfinished array before him and infiltrate.

However, at the moment the Slashing Immortal Array collided with the Four‑Element Exorcism Array before him, a crystal placed on a desk inside the General's tent suddenly glowed red.

"Someone's definitely arrived."

The General sighed helplessly, then shouted loudly, "Intruder in the formation, on alert!"

With the order given, the entire camp sprang to life, countless uniformly equipped soldiers burst from the tents, forming a massive formation whose collective breath surged toward Chen Shicheng's direction.

"Whoa, they're that alert?"

Having slipped in only dozens of meters, Chen Shicheng froze on the spot; though there were no torches lighting the surroundings, the force locking onto him made clear that there was no escape.

"What now, keep going or turn back and look for another chance?" Hui Siye asked uneasily, feeling the power of the formation.

"Since we're already here, of course we have to make a scene!"

Chen Shicheng swallowed, cranked the Slashing Immortal Array to its maximum, the Golden Light Spell's radiance instantly enveloped his body, the Divine Summoning Skill activated as well, turning him into his strongest state, his gaze fixed rigidly on the formation, ready to strike at any moment.

The General, now also prepared, brandished a jet‑black horse spear in his hand and, together with his bodyguard Wang Peng, stood within the formation.

"General, should we follow orders and eliminate them outright?" Wang Peng asked.

Thinking the intruder might be a Returnee like Chen Shicheng, the General sighed inwardly, shook his head and said, "There's only one person coming, no need for a fuss; I can handle it alone."

Wang Peng understood that the General was giving the intruder a chance to escape, said nothing more, and silently fell back into the formation.

The General tipped the horse spear in his hand, his expression hardened, assuming a throwing stance, and hurled the spear toward Chen Shicheng, then his body turned into a fleeting shadow, chasing after the spear.

The released spear surged with tremendous force, carving a trench in the ground it passed over, yet it made not a sound, its stealth reaching its peak.

It was because Chen Shicheng kept the Slashing Immortal Array active that, at the moment the spear neared, he detected the clue, immediately attaching a blade aura to his left hand, ready to seize the flying spear.

At the same time, a huge question mark flashed in his mind.

What was the situation with the spear's owner? The trajectory was clearly off‑center; even if he did nothing, he wouldn't be harmed in the end.

"Could it be a warning?"

While Chen Shicheng was puzzling over it, his left hand had already neared the passing spear, but at that moment, a flash appeared before him—a fully armored figure suddenly emerged, snatching the spear a split second before him.

Then, spinning violently, the spear, accompanied by a howling gust, slammed hard onto Chen Shicheng's body.

(End of Chapter)