Shen Kai was finally cleared for discharge.
He changed into a new dark gray combat suit bearing the "Pathfinder" patch on the shoulder. Standing once again on the cold, hard alloy streets of Rocky City, he took a deep breath of the familiar frigid air, scented with ozone and disinfectant. For a moment, he felt as if a lifetime had passed.
Captain Gestalt, Ryan, and Nadeshiko Sakuraba were waiting for him at the exit of the medical division's heavy alloy isolation doors.
"How are you feeling?" Gestalt asked, looking at Shen Kai, his tone as flat as ever.
"...Much better, Captain."
"Good." Gestalt gave a noncommittal nod.
"The Federation's Supreme Command has issued the latest combat sequence adjustment orders. Until the squad is officially reinforced with new combat members, we will be stationed in Rocky City for at least one week of 'Enhanced Adaptive Recovery and Guided Ability Activation Training.'"
"The focus of this training is to improve your control over your cores and the Basic-Type Forced Resonance Interfaces that will soon be issued, as well as the squad's tactical coordination."
"That's great! We can finally pilot our own 'Interfaces' for real combat training!" Upon hearing this news, Ryan couldn't help but shout excitedly, as if he'd been injected with a stimulant.
"Don't get too excited, rookie." Gestalt immediately doused his enthusiasm as if pouring a basin of ice water over him.
"The intensity of this training will be more than five times what you experienced in rookie training."
"Furthermore, the entire process will be provided with 'special technical support and data monitoring' of the highest clearance by Specialist Li Jian's team from the Federation Technology Division."
He deliberately emphasized the words "special technical support," a complex, hard-to-read look flashing in his eyes.
Their new billet was a standalone, multifunctional barracks located directly on the edge of the Federal Central Technoworks District. It was surrounded by visible and hidden sentries, as well as high-intensity energy detectors.
When they stepped inside, they were washed over by an invisible tide of a special atmosphere, completely different from before, filled with a sense of high technology and oppression. In the cold, narrow alloy corridors, they occasionally passed researchers wearing the Technology Division's special white lab coats, all hurrying along. When those researchers saw them—especially Shen Kai, who was walking at the back of the group—they cast unabashed gazes filled with inquiry, scrutiny, and even pathological curiosity.
This week-long "Enhanced Adaptive Training" was essentially a comprehensive, blind-spot-free "observation, testing, and data collection experiment" meticulously planned for the "Pathfinder" squad and, in particular, the "super anomaly" Shen Kai.
The Technology Division's special project team, led by Specialist Li Jian, recorded Shen Kai's physiological and core energy data changes in various simulated environments and during high-intensity energy conduction experiments and his daily sleep. They almost never left his side.
Ryan and Nadeshiko also received extremely high-intensity targeted enhancement training customized by the Technology Division based on their respective core characteristics. The Technology Division urgently upgraded and optimized their interface armaments to Tier 1 based on valuable real-world combat data from the brutal encounter in Sector T734.
However, Shen Kai could still only rely on the guidance of that simple manual. He tried to "communicate" with and "resonate" with the mysterious "Colorless Core" in his body step by difficult step. This core was filled with unknowns and dangers, all under the "benevolent" and "expectant" gaze of Specialist Li Jian's team.
To Shen Kai, every instance of Li's "technical support" felt like invisible scalpels and probes glinting with a cold light, attempting to dissect his soul and probe the secrets of his "Colorless Core." This made him even more wary of and resistant to the Federation Technology Division and this scientific madman. It also made him more desperate to understand and master his own power.
June 22, 2442, early morning.
On the fifth day of this special project, which was called "training" but was actually "comprehensive monitoring," an encrypted directive of the highest priority from the Pan-Abyssal Federation's Supreme Military Command abruptly interrupted their oppressive and exhausting daily "training" schedule.
On Captain Gestalt's wrist-mounted personal tactical terminal, a line of cold, glaring, blood-red text appeared without explanation.
"Order: "Pioneer" squad, all members, report immediately to Federal Central Technoworks District, Strategic Briefing Room Gamma-7. No delays."
The situation had changed abruptly. A new, unknown crisis had already descended.