Chapter 77: The Investigation Begins

As soon as those words were spoken, Du Huaishan and Xu Yuan instinctively exchanged glances, a flicker of shock flashing in their eyes.

The platoon leader who was tasked with escorting and guiding them—was dead?

Around them, the veteran soldiers, upon hearing the news once more, couldn’t help but bow their heads, their expressions somber, showing no signs of pretense.

Du Huaishan withdrew his hook-and-sickle spear, forcing himself to remain calm. “We’ve already accepted the military mandate. If we retreat now, we’ll face military justice.”

“At least that’s better than dying for no reason,” said the figure clad in armor, rising from the ground. The purplish-blue shell on his skin slowly faded. He was as robust as Pei Qingfeng, with a thick neck brimming with explosive strength and dark skin, yet sported a pair of tiny, comical mustaches, out of place with his tough demeanor.

“I was planning to capture you all, report to the higher-ups that you were unfit for duty, and have you reassigned to a different mandate. But now, it seems we misjudged the situation.”

“Wang Zhenglin, Deputy Platoon Leader of the Reconnaissance Second Platoon, Five-Seven-One Regiment.”

“Du Huaishan, Elite Trainee, 173rd Class.”

Du Huaishan briefly recalled the entire fight—his opponent hadn’t used any lethal moves, nor fired a single shot. After introducing himself, he quickly turned and shouted to Tan Hai and the others, “Stop! We’re all on the same side!”

Behind him, Tan Hai and his group were still fighting fiercely. Even though Pei Qingfeng had surpassed the first stage of the Ghost Transformation, he was still alone and couldn’t withstand the assault of so many elite trainees. His “muscles,” wrapped around his body, were being cut down piece by piece.

“Du Huaishan told us to stop,” Lin Sizhi said calmly, immediately ceasing her attack upon hearing the order.

The other trainees were utterly confused. He started the fight, now he’s calling an end to it—what is Du Huaishan up to?

They brought the battered Pei Qingfeng over. Seeing a group of veterans in uniform, armed with machine guns, startled them.

“Huaishan, what’s going on?” Wu Ming kept his right hand cautiously on the hilt of his military saber.

Du Huaishan repeated Wang Zhenglin’s words verbatim.

“The platoon leader was assassinated?” Li Mingcheng’s face changed instantly.

The others glanced at one another, their eyes betraying a hint of panic.

An officer of lieutenant rank had been killed. The waters here ran unfathomably deep!

But Guo Tingyu and Xing Zhenhao instead showed fervor in their eyes, sensing the scent of “great merit.” “Why was he killed?”

Wang Zhenglin pondered, “We don’t know the exact reason. In the afternoon, the platoon leader and Xiao Zhuang went to the outskirts to question a herbalist about wild ginseng. On their way back, he was assassinated.”

“The special operations platoon took over, sealed everything off. We suspect he must have discovered some inside story. But when we arrived at the herbalist’s home, he had vanished as well.”

Pei Qingfeng, still panting, continued, “Deputy Wang suspects there may be spies near the camp. After investigating, he didn’t return to base but hid with the brothers in the hills. He recalled new recruits would be arriving tonight and had me bring you over alone to scare you.”

“Didn’t expect you to strike so decisively. Kid, how did you spot the problem?”

Tan Hai, seeing Pei Qingfeng looking at him, waved his hand. “I was just following Huaishan’s lead.”

Again, it was him.

Wang Zhenglin turned his gaze to Du Huaishan.

Dispelling the power of the demon spirit, Du Huaishan spoke calmly, “It’s simple. This is a military mandate, not child’s play. Even the link to the new recruits can be delayed? That’s problematic in itself.”

Pei Qingfeng’s eyelid twitched. He recalled how Du Huaishan had immediately demanded his unit’s identification upon arrival. So he’d been suspicious from the start? Such vigilance!

“And the mandate—you never returned it after taking it, which made me think you were trying to forge or destroy our proof of identity.”

“Also, you led us to the outskirts. While most camps aren’t in the city, at least they should be accessible. There’s no reason to be on such a mountain path.”

“Finally, when Tan Hai shouted about an enemy attack, your first reaction wasn’t to look toward the camp on the hill, but to freeze in place, probably thinking whether your comrades had been exposed.”

Faced with Du Huaishan’s list of doubts, Pei Qingfeng pondered. He realized he’d indeed acted carelessly—mainly because the platoon leader’s sudden death had thrown their entire reconnaissance plan into chaos.

The veterans looked at the group of trainees before them. The comprehensive abilities of new recruits from the Martial Academy had been rising steadily, but this batch seemed exceptionally talented.

Especially Du Huaishan, who had managed to take down their deputy platoon leader amidst the chaos. Such a “monster” might not appear in years.

“Your reconnaissance skills are impressive,” Wang Zhenglin’s eyes flashed with approval. “I’ll let you choose. Continue the investigation with us, wade through this muddy water, or turn back. I can report to the Martial Academy…”

“Continue the investigation!” Guo Tingyu interrupted before he could finish.

“A military mandate is ironclad. We’re all soldiers—there’s no backing down!” Xing Zhenhao thumped his chest.

“Very well. We’ll set up camp back on the hill. Tomorrow morning, we begin formal investigation of the Baiweng Mountain incident,” Wang Zhenglin said briskly, leading everyone back up the hill.

---

It was now late April.

Though the nights were cold, the warmth from the bonfire soon spread.

The veterans sat around the fire, warming their hands, quietly muttering:

“Deputy Wang, are we really taking these greenhorns with us?”

“Yes, the platoon leader died too mysteriously. This could be linked to the Society of Light. I heard the Martial Academy had a similar incident recently!”

“I wonder if the Nipans are involved…”

“Hush!” Pei Qingfeng shot a look.

The speaker realized his mistake and quickly fell silent.

Wang Zhenglin, gently stroking his tiny mustache between thumb and forefinger, glanced at the trainees setting up camp across the fire.

“These trainees have good skills. Judging by their combat readiness, they’ve seen real action, faced bloodshed. Having them join might actually help the investigation.”

“Honestly, don’t you want to uncover the truth, find out the real cause of the platoon leader’s death?”

At that, the veterans couldn’t help but recall how Lian Zhen always looked after them like an elder brother. Each of them subconsciously clenched their jaws.

…

“Huaishan, are we really going to act with these veterans?” Li Anqi used branches to prop up the army blanket from her kit. Seeing the veterans biting their lips, she couldn’t help but ask.

Wu Ming, Lin Sizhi, and the others also looked to Du Huaishan. Clearly, the group still harbored doubts about the veterans.

Du Huaishan drove the tent stakes into the ground forcefully and dusted off his hands. “At least their second explanation doesn’t look like a lie.”

“A lieutenant platoon leader should be at least at the fourth stage of Ghost Transformation. How could he be assassinated so easily?”

“Ah, Old Wu, for all your skill with guns—even a stage one hundred, without activating Ghost Transformation, is just a stronger ordinary man. One stab, he’d die just the same,” Tan Hai pointed out.

Xing Zhenhao led the Seventh Training Team over. “Du Huaishan, who do you think killed their platoon leader?”

Du Huaishan pursed his lips. “Anyone could have done it—civil resistance groups, other warlords, Nipans, even the Yingzhou Army.”

“Yingzhou Army? Attacking their own?”

“For instance, if he was an enemy agent,” Du Huaishan offered, “or perhaps saw something he shouldn’t have.”

Xing Zhenhao narrowed his eyes, glancing toward the veterans. “I think we should take turns on guard tonight.”

“As expected of Hao, always practical,” Cai Zhizhong chimed in, flattering him and subtly mocking Du Huaishan’s ambiguous answer.

“Alright, you arrange the shifts. Wake me when it’s my turn,” Du Huaishan yawned. He’d been reading on the train, not resting well.

Once he crawled into his shelter, his sleepy eyes quickly cleared.

Though the death of the platoon leader was unexpected, it only reinforced his suspicions.

Where people are involved, it boils down to “interest” and “harm.”

Interest: military supplies, red marrow.

Harm: demon spirits.

Of course, these were just his temporary theories, not yet fit for open discussion. The specific direction would only become clear after tomorrow’s investigation.

He set aside stray thoughts, pulled out his notebook from his kit, ready to review the earlier battle.

Coach Luo Zongwen was right—ordinary second-degree spirit hosts couldn’t react to his Shadow Step move. Instructor Zhou Zhongai was the same, and so was Wang Zhenglin.

Though he’d fought three-on-one with Xu Yuan and Old Wu, in real combat, who cares about numbers or rules?

After jotting down key points, he took a pale pink pellet from the band around his waist—the red marrow pill he’d exchanged for merit this morning.

He tossed it in his mouth and swallowed.

The battle had awakened his guardian spirit, Yinglü, which seemed eager to advance further.

Compared to its previous size—like a heavy war horse—Yinglü had now grown to five meters tall thanks to the red marrow's energy.

No more electrical stimulation; actual combat had become the fastest way to increase fusion.

As his heart raced from the medicine, Du Huaishan gained new insights into the integrated strength used when wielding his hook-and-sickle spear.

Coach Luo said: First stage is understanding, second is integration, third is penetration.

Muscles and bones must not only be trained as a whole, but the force must be unified with intent and body, practiced until it becomes instinctive—feel it, react instantly.

---

When exerting force, there is no fixed position. Whether head, hand, shoulder, foot, elbow, knee, or hip—whenever you sense, you act. This is called “responsive force.”

Such force is cold, crisp, and swift.

Any part of the body can instantly unleash integrated strength, focusing immense power at a single point in the shortest moment.

Its penetrating power is great, its lethality high. Thus it is called “penetrating force,” or “true force.”

Indeed, if muscular and skeletal strength is always at the ready, hidden throughout the body, it does resemble the “true energy” of martial arts novels—described in Tai Chi treatises as “the whole body permeated.”

But Du Huaishan believed “penetrating force” was not so mystical—ultimately, it’s about improving physical qualities, with an emphasis on honing reflexes and speed.

Shortening the reflex arc—merging intent and action.

Through repeated combat stimulation, muscle and bone movement becomes pure instinct.

The night passed.

Du Huaishan was awakened the next morning.

Cai Zhizhong, sporting dark circles, was blankly roasting potatoes.

It seemed the Seventh Training Team had taken over all the night’s watch duties.

Du Huaishan took out his flask, rinsed his mouth, and started eating a potato.

“In half an hour, we’ll begin investigating Baiweng Mountain. But before leaving the city, we need to resupply,” Pei Qingfeng announced.

After a night, Pei Qingfeng looked untouched, save for his cotton armor, even cleaner than Wang Zhenglin.

Apparently, Tan Hai’s attacks had all been absorbed by the “muscle” layer covering Pei Qingfeng’s skin.

Du Huaishan marveled at this ability.

Tan Hai said that every slash extracted “flesh,” which turned to ash like the blood and flesh of demon spirits.

This “flesh” seemed tied to Pei Qingfeng’s stamina. As the fight dragged on and the damage increased, his “muscles” shrank.

A practical awakened skill—much like a tank in games.

Wang Zhenglin’s special skill was even more formidable, especially against agile soldiers like Xu Yuan. His water spheres and waves had powerful control. Had Du Huaishan not possessed Shadow Step, he would have been knocked down by the water.

After half an hour, both trainees and veterans were ready.

“Move out,” Wang Zhenglin called, leading the way east.

They were already in the outskirts; soon, Du Huaishan and the others saw towering city walls ahead.

On the patrol path atop the wall, several soldiers stood by mortars, occasionally scanning the horizon with binoculars.

At the gate, many merchants’ old transport vehicles and hired gang enforcers waited for inspection.

At the end of the queue were rugged civilians with firearms—hunters and herbalists, as Wu Ming explained.

With limited livestock in the city, meat was precious. Hunters profited well by selling their catch in town—provided they made it back alive.

Wang Zhenglin led the group to the camp area beside the wall—one of the Fifty-Seven Brigade’s supply depots.

“Reconnaissance Second Platoon, Five-Seven-One Regiment, ordered to investigate Baiweng Mountain. Here’s the list of extra supplies I need,” Wang Zhenglin said, presenting a slip.

The duty soldier checked the signature, then led everyone to the warehouse to repair gear, refill compressed gas, select army horses, and transport vehicles.

As an infantry platoon, unlike Chang Sui’an’s cavalry, they had no horses or sidecar motorcycles—such resources had to be requested for each mission.

Similarly, cavalry lacked light and heavy machine guns or mortars, and needed to request them as well.

Wang Zhenglin requisitioned two military horses, two transport vehicles—one for the veterans, one for the trainee teams.

Xu Yuan’s red marrow saber, nicked by Wang Zhenglin’s red marrow-forged sword the previous night, was polished back to perfection.

Once everyone had replenished their gear, Du Huaishan and the others climbed into the truck beds.

The vehicles followed Wang Zhenglin and Pei Qingfeng, who rode ahead on horses, to the city gate.

Rumble.

The gate slowly opened, sunlight spilling through the widening gap, illuminating each trainee’s face.

“All units—move out!”