Chapter 27: The Stealthy Tide of War Preparation
Section I: Departure of the Supply Expedition Team × Encounter in the Ruins
At 04:17 AM, before dawn broke, the core members of Gray Wing had already assembled in the main command room. Jason stood on a platform, his eyes sweeping over the team below—this was the first officially authorized expedition recovery team within Gray Wing.
"From today onwards, Gray Wing will no longer rely on leftover supplies," he declared. "We will establish our own supply lines."
[ARGUS System Prompt]
Expedition Recovery Team · Operation Code: S-01
Team Composition: 14 members (2 Reconnaissance Teams, 2 Recovery Teams, 1 Support Team)
Mission Area: Southern Industrial Ruins Zone C-9
Expected Recovery Targets: Energy Modules, Mechanical Spare Parts, Medical Survival Kits, Data Terminal Debris
Lisa Peng stood at the foot of the steps, serving as the logistics coordination leader for this mission. She quickly checked the list to confirm each member's equipment status. Zhao Mingxuan led the support team responsible for real-time ARGUS monitoring links.
Jason personally walked up to each team member, quietly instructing them:
"Don't be reckless.""Don't be greedy.""Successfully recovering every piece of material is more important than a flashy victory."
A low, tense atmosphere permeated the air. The ruins were not just ruins—they harbored remnants of old scavenger groups, exiles from the free black market, and countless individuals desperate for survival, some having lost their minds in despair.
Jason's gaze finally settled on one squad commander—John Wells—who would personally lead this mission.
"If you encounter someone who can talk," Jason whispered, "talk."
"If you encounter those who cannot be reasoned with..." Jason paused slightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, "...bring back the materials, not them."
John smiled faintly and nodded.
[ARGUS Prompt]
Activation of Expedition Team S-01 Permissions | Camouflage Signal Initiated | Peripheral Communication Protection Layer Online
The expedition team silently crossed the dilapidated campus, disappearing into the misty streets before sunrise.
Section II: Scavenger Negotiations × Conditional Exchanges × Initial Cracks
Deep within the ruins of the industrial zone, inside a dilapidated logistics tower, the Gray Wing expedition team and the remnants of the scavenger army had completed their initial assembly. Both sides maintained a safe distance but remained on high alert.
Under the dim light, the shadows of both groups intermingled—no one was superior here, only survivors testing other survivors.
The young man leading the scavengers was named Ryan, once the deputy commander of the seventh division of the Wasteland Scavenger Army. After the main army was destroyed in the chaos of war, he led dozens of survivors to the city's edge, calling themselves the "Gray Claw Gang." Now, with fewer than twenty members left and severely lacking resources, they were struggling to survive.
"We are not beggars, nor slaves," Ryan said quietly. "You want our territory; we want to live."
John Wells sat on a broken steel plate, legs slightly apart, fingers tapping lightly on an old magazine. His tone was relaxed yet clear: "We don't need your territory."
"What we need are nodes—supplies, energy storage, filtration equipment, old chips. If you can guarantee supplying us every two days, we can ensure that you receive medical and food supplies every seven days."
Ryan stared at him, half-believing, half-doubting, "That simple?"
"Of course not," John shrugged. "There are three additional terms."
He held up three fingers:
"Gray Wing engineers can set up operations in the periphery for equipment upgrades but will not interfere with your internal management.""When necessary, we have the right to call upon your manpower for peripheral clearance and anti-drifter missions on a rotational basis.""Any reverse smuggling, leaks, or betrayal will result in immediate withdrawal after the first offense and elimination after the second."
The air seemed to grow heavier. Ryan frowned, whispering to his two lieutenants before finally biting the bullet: "If we agree... we won't be part of you, right?"
John chuckled softly, "We're not the Imperial Legion or the Black Vine Society, which seeks to mentally castrate its members."
"We only make deals, not take souls."
[ARGUS System Prompt]
Candidate Node for Gray Wing Resource Alliance: "Gray Claw Gang" Proposal Update
Trust Rating: Low | Resource Controllability: Medium | Safety Tendency: Pending Evaluation
Recommendation: Establish Unidirectional Control Mechanism | Do Not Connect to Main Node Ring
As negotiations neared completion, a faint noise suddenly echoed from a corner. A Gray Wing member quickly stood up, "Someone is eavesdropping."
John's eyes sharpened, "Location?"
"Nine meters east of the collapsed area."
Ryan's face darkened as he turned sharply and shouted, "Jack! I told you not to follow!"
A tall, thin youth was dragged out by two scavenger members, holding an old listening device, his expression complex.
"I just wanted to confirm if they were another batch of 'Black Vine lackeys,'" Jack murmured.
"Were you thinking we were them?" John asked, approaching slowly, his gaze sharp like a blade.
Jack looked up, meeting John's eyes, "I don't trust anyone who dresses cleanly and speaks more confidently than us."
Silence hung for several seconds.
Then, John exhaled softly, turning to Ryan, "You don't need to decide immediately."
"We'll leave a sample supply."
"You have three days to decide."
"But—if someone else comes looking for you during these three days, don't come to us afterward."
Ryan nodded heavily, "Understood."
[ARGUS System Prompt]
Observation Period Initiated for "Gray Claw Gang" | Initial Resource Exchange Established | Node Risk Tags Synchronized into Peripheral Contact Layer
Mission Completed.
John led the team away slowly, leaving behind a box of supplies and one final message: "We never fight unprepared battles. And preparation—has never been just about ourselves."
Section III: Echo Pre-Shock × TRACE Monitoring Node Self-Activation
In the evening, Expedition Team S-01 returned successfully. John Wells led the team to the campus perimeter preprocessing area, where they sorted the recovered materials and handed them over for logistical verification. Everything appeared normal.
However, just as the data upload synchronization began—
[ARGUS System Prompt]
Node Interference Anomaly: C-19 Virtual Beacon Triggered Reconnection
Environmental Index Disturbance Value: +41% (Unknown)
Signal Level: Fuzzy Pseudo-Node Echo × 5 Groups
Judgment: Recommended Observation...
Inside the ARGUS command cabin, Zhao Mingxuan squinted, staring at the fluctuating echo images on the control panel, his voice unusually low, "...this isn't natural interference."
Lisa approached to check, her brows furrowed, "Something... is simulating your transmission patterns."
Zhao Mingxuan quickly switched the system recording mode, attempting to trace back:
Query Failed: Unknown Node Return Path
Suspected Non-Main Chain Code Input
External System Compatibility: High (Overlap with Old System Residue)
Jason quietly asked from behind, "Which layer did you see?"
Zhao Mingxuan didn't turn around, "We're not being monitored."
"We are—being monitored by 'our past selves.'"
The air instantly grew colder.
A deep prompt from the ARGUS system appeared:
[System Deep Prompt]
Anomalous Data Echo Code Match Complete: TRACE Monitoring Division · Old Mainframe Channel
Structure Confirmation: Remote Sensing Node 7-A · Restart Success Rate ≥ 61%
Possible Targets: Active Perception Synchronization | Simulation Docking Test | Tracking Collaborative Path Reconstruction
Jason's gaze tightened.
TRACE monitoring divisions were the underlying sensing towers of the city's early network structure. They didn't need specific intelligence officers; just "city environmental data" could reconstruct a rough behavioral profile.
And now—they had begun monitoring "this school" again.
"They want to confirm whether we are still under their control," Jason whispered.
Lisa murmured, "Should we block all upload paths now?"
Jason shook his head, "We can't block it."
Zhao Mingxuan turned, "Are you crazy?"
"We need to 'actively provide' them with observation," Jason's icy gaze locked onto Zhao Mingxuan, "but this time, we give them false information."
Fu Xi System Prompt:
䷼ Fire Marsh Kwai — Different but Co-viewing, Hidden in the Back
Recommendation: Generate False Structural Perception Samples | Construct 'Controllable Anomaly Trajectories'
Objective: Make TRACE misjudge current behavior status as 'gradually losing control but still usable.'
"Create an illusion," Jason emphasized each word, "make them think—we are still struggling."
[ARGUS Prompt]
Simulated Behavior Mapping Library: Activated
Behavior Perturbation Model: Version V1.03 Injecting
Visible Trajectories: Chaotic Command Attempts | Multiple Logical Chain Repair Failures | Permission Node Shifts
On the ARGUS screen, a simulated version of the Gray Wing structure diagram appeared:
Commands scattered
Permissions drifting
Highly unstable member behaviors
At this moment, the "displayed" Gray Wing seemed like an organization on the brink of collapse.
Zhao Mingxuan felt a chill, "Isn't this too convincing...?"
Jason calmly replied, "Because it's so convincing, they will believe it."
Lisa whispered, "What will they do next?"
Jason's tone was icy, "If I were TRACE—the next step would be to send people."
Section IV: School Council Secret Line Emerges × Black Vine Re-implantation Nodes
Late at night, the campus perimeter lighting system was in "energy-saving combat readiness mode." However, on the eastern side of the teaching building, a group of unfamiliar faces were undergoing entry registration. Their identities were verified—"Special Management Officials," belonging to the supplementary staff of the School Council.
They wore standard uniforms, spoke politely, carried "campus environment system recovery instructions," and "new cycle deployment plans for the education system." But as soon as ARGUS connected to their terminals, multiple anomalies were automatically recorded in the background.
[ARGUS Hidden Layer Prompt]
Identification Result: Forged Behavioral Model (Old Framework Structure of Black Vine Society)
Terminal Behavior: Synchronous Dual Instruction Streams → Upload/Listening Dual-use Program
Suspected Target: Campus Control Authority Observation Recovery × Implantation of Latent Behavior Guidance Nodes
Jason stood in the high-level command area, gazing at those individuals being arranged into the "observation layer" living quarters.
Zhao Mingxuan murmured, "They are not new managers."
"They are soft infiltration-type inspectors."
Lisa nodded, "I've already captured several fragments of early Black Vine Society coding from their terminals."
John sneered, "These people came to check if you're still issuing commands here."
Jason softly responded, "Let them check."
The ARGUS internal system structure had been layered off by Fu Xi assistance—only partial open structures were visible externally, showing "imbalance in high-level information flow within Gray Wing, not yet unified."
And these people fell perfectly into their trap.
The next morning, a "simulated argument" erupted on campus: several peripheral members clashed verbally with an internal dispatcher. This scene was fully recorded by one of the "special management officials."
He secretly uploaded the terminal instruction to the backend, intending to send the video to the Black Vine outer data warehouse. However, without realizing it, ARGUS had already blocked all external connection ports at the moment he pressed the button, simulating a "signal overflow crash."
[ARGUS Prompt]
Channel Blockage · Fake Failure Calculation Injected
Current Signal Status: Fake Upload Completed, Actually Simulating TRACE Port Diagram
Planted Tracking Markers × Intelligence Disruption Symbols
At the same time, in the main command conference room, Jason shared this "failed upload data behavior diagram" with the nearshore think tank trio.
"They are not just observing us."
"They want to restart control of the campus—using old protocols, old plans, old orders."
"And we... are the only variable in the new system."
He scanned the group, speaking very slowly, "From today onwards, isolate them all."
Zhao Mingxuan raised an eyebrow, "Capture them all?"
"No," Jason gently waved his hand, "reposition them."
"We don't expel Black Vine's people."
"We want to make them—the 'false future' that Black Vine sees."
Fu Xi whispered softly:
Fu Xi Prompt:
䷅ Water Earth Pi — Same but Not Merging, Close but With Distance
"Use them as mirrors, rather than trapping them in schemes."
Lisa nodded slowly, "I understand... we don't eliminate them; instead, we let them spread the version we want."
Section V: Gray Wing Systematic Restructuring × Internal Role Tier Differentiation
As night deepened, inside the main command hall, the ARGUS holographic projection gradually switched pages. An unprecedented chart appeared—not a map, but a complete "organizational hierarchy chart."
This was the first time Gray Wing was truly defined as a "system."
On the screen, nodes were displayed in a hexagonal grid format, with names, roles, current functions, and future responsibilities proposals appearing on each node.
Jason stood in the center, his gaze calm.
"From today onwards," he began, his voice low but powerful, "we are no longer 'rebels,' no longer 'fragmented fugitives.'"
"We are a system."
The ARGUS holographic interface automatically highlighted three core layers:
[Tidal Heart Layer]—Decision-making × Strategy × Execution
Appointed personally by Jason, including the nearshore think tank, tactical execution teams, system administrators, and key intelligence handlers. All members have full system access permissions and possess "internal dispatch authority."
[Central Control Layer]—Dispatch × Execution × Resource Organization
Mainly composed of local Gray Wing members such as "action group leaders," "material coordination teams," and "internal logistics management." They do not participate in top-level judgments but bear the primary organizational operational responsibilities.
[Peripheral Support Layer]—Observation × Coordination × Promotion Candidates
Composed of previously aligned peripheral nodes, voluntary joiners, allies like the Gray Claw Gang. They are granted basic permissions and undergo regular evaluations, accumulating tasks to enter the "central control."
[ARGUS Prompt]
Gray Wing Node Identification System 1.0 Activated
Current Registered Members: 243
Classification Statistics In Progress...
Tidal Heart Layer: 13 members
Central Control Layer: 59 members
Peripheral Support Layer: 171 members
Node Operation Intensity: Medium-High
Structural Stability Rate: 89%
Zhao Mingxuan murmured, "This looks like an empire-level military organization."
"We are not an army," Jason looked at the screen, "but we need an 'order' that allows people to survive."
Lisa asked softly, "What about ordinary people? They don't participate in battles and lack system operation capabilities."
Jason nodded, "They become—the 'ecological layer nodes.'"
ARGUS expanded a sidebar chart again:
[Ecological Layer Nodes]
Functions: Logistics Supply, Repair and Reconstruction, Psychological Assistance, Medical Support, Grassroots Organizational Coordination
Privileges: Not entering any combat/risk dispatch programs
But all central control members must provide protection priority to them
There was a low murmur among the attendees.
Finally, someone raised their hand, "Are we becoming... a hierarchical system?"
Jason calmly looked at him, "Did you think the original freedom was without layers?"
He spoke word by word:
"Freedom has never been chaotic; freedom is clarity in choice."
"We can choose to be at the bottom, but we must know that it is not oppression—it is what we do that provides the strongest support for the entire system."
"We can choose to be at the middle level because we are willing to shoulder more responsibility."
"Only when you clearly see your position do you have the right to strive for freedom above that position."
His words fell silent, the room quiet.
After a moment, a candidate for the central control layer nodded slowly, "I understand. You are not establishing levels."
"You are establishing—a system perception layer."
Jason nodded, "The system recognizes each person's trajectory, behavior, contribution, giving feedback and choices."
At this moment, the main terminal of ARGUS automatically lit up a line of text:
Your Position in the System Is Determined by Yourself.
That night, all registered nodes of Gray Wing were completed. Each member received a unique number, behavior evaluation sequence, permission list, and growth path.
[ARGUS Prompt]
Promotion Channels for Tidal Heart Members Established
Key Node Behavior Simulation Ready
Warning Structure: Medium-Risk Observation Points × Low-Trust Incentive Mechanisms Synchronized
John leaned against the wall, whispering, "Do you know, Jason..."
"You resemble someone who gives hope in the last days of an empire."
Jason did not turn around, merely whispering, "We are not an empire."
"But we must learn responsibility earlier than they did."
Fu Xi echoed in his consciousness:
Fu Xi System Prompt:
䷙ Fire Mountain Lu — Where the Heart Lies, Steps Are Fearless
Order is not a tool of power but a means of survival.
[Gray Wing System · Basic Establishment Complete]
Connected to ARGUS × Tidal Heart × Ecological Full Chain Layer
Transitioning to: Next Phase Strategic Preparation]