Book 3, Chapter 218: Terrifying Night

Around an hour later, everyone returned to the space at the center of the fort and reported their findings. Everything was normal. They had discovered nothing out of the ordinary.

A theory formed in Chen Chuan’s mind, but he had no way to confirm it. Being prepared was best, but since the sun had already set, he didn’t need to bother with it for the moment. Instead, it was more important to get through the night first. When the sun rose in the morning and he had plenty of time, he could think about how to confirm his theory.

In order to prevent his team from running into danger after splitting up, he didn’t ask them to move into the barracks. Instead, he had them all gather in the briefing hall.

He had the soldiers release the ten bioweapons they had brought with them. They were combat flying insects produced by the Great Shun Republic. Even though they couldn’t compare to the products made by Compound Eyes, they were good enough to serve as sentries.

Besides, with the help of a domain entity, the soldiers could connect with the bioweapons to make sure that they were okay.

After everyone moved into the briefing hall, Chen Chuan took a look outside and shut the door.

They turned on the lights inside. In order to prevent any anomalies, they brought out a small generator from the basement. They also rerouted the circuitry to the generator before locking up the underground generator room.

Even though it was cold and dark outside, the briefing room was quite warm when all of them huddled up together in the generator-powered area.

The fort had all sorts of resources, including food in the cafeteria, so Chen Chuan had retrieved it for everyone to have a warm meal.

He also allotted them a candy stick and warm drink only reserved for high-ranking military officers and martial artists. Chen Chuan didn’t let anyone take nutritional paste.

After the meal and candy sticks, the soldiers’ morale shot up. Smiles appeared on their faces as they held warm drinks while covered in thick blankets.

Even though the auxiliary and logistics unit hadn’t followed Chen Chuan out to hunt down the Iron Monster, they were rewarded and received bonuses, so they knew that he was a reliable person. Hence, even though they knew that this mission was going to be a headache, they didn’t complain, but were motivated to succeed.

Once everyone relaxed, one of the soldiers said, “Captain, why don’t you tell us about yourself?”

“That’s right, Captain. Tell us some stories about your life.”

Most of them were curious about Chen Chuan. He had become a squad captain at such a young age, so they wanted to know more about him. This knowledge would also be something to talk and boast about once they joined other units.

One of the unit captains immediately snapped at them. “What on earth are you saying? The captain is a martial artist. His background and identity are both confidential. You aren’t allowed to talk about it, nor spill any secrets!”

“But it’s boring just sitting here and doing nothing. We can’t even play cards. We need to talk about

something

.”

One of the more energetic team members joked, “Telling ghost stories in a place like this is perfect.”

With a teasing look, he glanced at one of his bigger team members. “I’m just worried that Dakui will pee his pants. I’m saying this right away: If you do, go wash up alone in the restroom next door. No one’s going with you.”

“I-I’m not going to wet myself!” Yin Dakui’s face turned red. Then, he turned to Chen Chuan. “Captain, don’t listen to their bullshit! It’s all lies!”

“Fine. Then, let’s get on with it?”

Another team member decided to join in the fun. “Sure.”

The team cheered.

Yuan Qiuyuan was watching them with interest. This atmosphere and location really made it perfect for a ghost story night.

He turned to Chen Chuan. The captain was reading through the information of the soldiers and martial artists stationed in the fort. When he saw Yuan Qiuyuan looking over, he gave him a nod.

Since Chen Chuan wasn’t against it, Yuan Qiuyuan cleared his throat. “Since we’re in the mood for ghost stories, let me start.”

“Okay!” The team clapped. Some people even whistled.

Yuan Qiuyuan puffed his chest out. “I’ll tell you something my friend saw with his own eyes.”

“Is that ‘friend’ yourself, Officer Yuan?”

“Hey, is that even important? Do you want to listen to my story or not?” Yuan Qiuyuan grumbled, displeased.

“Of course we do!”

The team members drew closer. Some even grabbed snacks. They spread out their blankets on the floor and sat down in a circle.

It was completely dark outside. The only source of light came from where they sat.

“When I-my friend was young, he loved going to a temple nearby to play. The statue of the goddess inside it was really unique. The statue had beautiful colors, and since everyone loves beautiful things, that statue was really attractive to my friend.

“One day, he was playing hide-and-seek with friends and hid under the offering table. A long time passed, but no one came for him. Then, he fell asleep.”

The team members were sucked into the story. No one made a sound.

“When my friend woke up, it was already dark outside. Only the candle on the offering table was still burning. The first thing that came to his mind was whether his family had saved dinner for him, so he crawled out in a hurry.

“The wind suddenly blew inside at that moment, and the clothes on the statue fluttered. This was the first time my friend noticed that the statue’s clothes were not made of clay, but cloth put on the statue. Curious, he went up to the statue. Just when he—”

Knock, knock, knock...

Someone knocked on the door.

Surprised and displeased, everyone turned to the door. Did someone stay outside? Why did they have to knock at this moment? They just ruined the mood!

Then, they realized that something was off. Everyone was present. No one had gone out.

Their hearts skipped a beat. If everyone was here and they didn’t find anyone else in the fort while searching through it, who was knocking on the door?

They turned to Chen Chuan.

He cast a glance outside before saying, “Continue, Officer Yuan.”

Yuan Qiuyuan looked around before sighing and shrugging. He grumbled, “I had set up the mood perfectly, but it’s all ruined now because of that knocking. I’ll tell the story another time.”

Many of the soldiers were pissed by that. How could he not continue his story and leave them all hanging?! Wasn’t he worried that they would beat him up for it?

After what Yuan Qiuyuan did, though, most of their unease disappeared, and they were no longer as nervous as before.

One of the unit captains stepped forward and said, “If Officer Yuan doesn’t want to continue his story, I’ll tell one.”

He talked about a water ghost in his hometown. It wasn’t all that exciting and full of cliches, but at least it officially started the ghost story night.

Another soldier stepped up to tell his story, and they quickly got into the mood. The knocking disappeared at some point.

Time passed, and they heard something else.

The sound of uniform footsteps unique to soldiers came from outside. They had gone on patrol and were now reporting for duty.

Whenever a soldier’s name was called, the person answered. They were all original soldiers from Fort 285. It didn’t stop even after all the hundred or so soldiers’ names were called, though. More names were shouted.

“Yin Dakui!”

“Present!”

Yin Dakui heard his name, and his face turned pale. “I-I...”

He wasn’t the only one. One by one, all the soldiers’ names were called. Even though none of them responded, chills crept down their spines, and unease filled their hearts.

“Don’t think about it too much. Just continue with your stories,” Chen Chuan said calmly. Then, he turned to Qin Qingque. “Officer Qin, sit by the door.”

“Roger!”

Qin Qingque got up without hesitation and sat down by the door. From her spot, she could hear all the sounds outside clearly, but she showed no panic. She brought out a stack of documents and started reading quietly.

Chen Chuan and Qin Qingque’s calm responses relaxed the soldiers, and they calmed down as well. One after another, they shared their stories. Loudly, too. Regardless of whether the stories were good or not, the soldiers cheered and clapped enthusiastically.

They were so loud that they drowned out the sounds outside and didn’t hear when they vanished.

Once half the night passed, all the soldiers had shared their stories, and they crawled into their sleeping bags to rest.

Chen Chuan remained sitting in his spot and reading the documents.

When the soldiers woke up, they found that the sun had already risen.

“Captain!”

“Captain!”

“Captain!”

All of them got out of their sleeping bags and saluted Chen Chuan.

He stood up and saluted them back before walking to the door as everyone watched him.

He unlocked the safety lock and opened it before pushing the door open. A bright ray of sunlight shone in, along with a gust of cold wind that swiftly filled the hall.

It had stopped snowing at some point, but a thick layer of snow had gathered on the ground.

Chen Chuan looked down and saw a row of footprints of an unknown creature before the door. Each one had a diameter of around 50 cm.

The footprints had sunk deep into the snow, but whoever made them had left the place quite some time ago, so many of them were already filled in. Still, it was clear they led to the gate.

Yuan Qiuyuan walked over and saw the footprints. He crouched down, examined them, and said, “Captain, is this...”

Chen Chuan didn’t answer the question. Instead, he looked outside and said, “Tell the others to clear up the snow. We have plenty of things to do today.”

“Roger!”

Once the soldiers went outside, the bioweapons in charge of sentry duty flew back. All of them were present. It was as if nothing abnormal had happened, but the footprints at the door told them that things weren’t as they seemed.

Chen Chuan gave Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque some instructions before returning to the office. If he looked down from the window there, he could see the door of the briefing hall.

He set down the stack of papers he held. While looking down, he asked, “You can observe everything clearly from here, can’t you, Sentry Fei?”

A moment passed before a voice spoke up behind him. “How did you know it was me?”