I started with a portal, then turned around and handed it over to the nation.

"Buzz!"

The last tremor in the air disappeared.

The five-meter-high black light curtain rapidly contracted towards the center, turning into a black dot, and then disappeared.

All that remained were tire tracks scattered across the ground and the strange smell in the air, a mixture of rotting matter and ozone.

"All off combat alert level 1."

Zhao Zhenguo's voice rang out over the training ground via the loudspeaker; his voice was somewhat hoarse.

"Security level downgraded to level two. Armored units withdraw, medical teams move in."

"receive."

The turret of the 99A tank slowly returned to its upright position, and the hydraulic suspension emitted a whistling sound.

Engines roared, tracks rolled over the concrete, emitting a screeching sound and kicking up dust as they orderly withdrew from the core area.

Before the dust had even settled, more than a dozen Mengshi ambulances painted with the Red Cross rushed in.

The car door was slammed open before it had even come to a complete stop.

A group of military doctors in white protective suits jumped down, carrying sampling boxes and testing equipment.

"Hurry! Move quickly!"

"All personnel, stand by! Do not remove your equipment!"

"Hey you! Don't take off your helmet! It hasn't passed the inspection yet!"

A military doctor yelled at Zhang Yi, who was about to reach for the buckle.

Zhang Yi's hand froze, and he awkwardly lowered it, muttering through his mask, "The smell is too strong, I just want some fresh air..."

"Hold it in."

Li Na walked up from behind, skillfully tossed the medical kit on the ground, and poked Zhang Yi's breastplate with her gloved fingers:

"Take it off if you want to be put in solitary confinement in an isolation room."

Soon, several isolation tents were set up at the edge of the training field.

The white tarpaulin was dazzlingly white under the searchlight.

"Line up, one at a time."

Lin Mo stood at the front of the line, mechanically extending his arm.

The cold needle pierced the vein.

Dark red blood flowed into the blood collection tube through the catheter.

"Body temperature 36.5°C, heart rate 98 bpm, slightly fast, within the normal range."

The military doctor in charge of the testing glanced at the equipment and quickly made notes on the form:

"Go over there to shower and disinfect. Leave your clothes and equipment behind; someone will take care of them."

"What about those truckloads of stuff?"

Lin Mo pointed to the wooden carts that were still parked in the center of the field.

Especially those boxes of moon soil; although the boxes were sealed tightly, no one could guarantee that there weren't any deadly spores stuck to the surface.

"rest assured."

The military doctor didn't even look up; he tore off a barcode and stuck it on the blood collection tube.

"Professor Sun almost rushed in to grab the box just now, but the guards took him away. Now that area is under the strictest biological and chemical containment, not even a fly can get out."

……

Silent all night.

Outside the one-way glass of the isolation room, the red light stayed on all night.

The worrying red light finally turned green at six o'clock the next morning.

"Click".

The electronic lock pops open automatically.

Lin Mo rubbed his throbbing temples and pushed open the door to walk out of the isolation room.

The hallway smelled strongly of disinfectant.

Long Fei was already standing outside, having changed into a clean training uniform, and was leaning against the wall smoking.

Seeing Lin Mo come out, Long Fei threw his cigarette butt into the trash can and stomped it out.

"The results are in, everyone is negative. Apart from a few abrasions, no one was seriously injured."

Long Fei exhaled a puff of smoke: "Let's go, the old men are getting impatient."

Conference Room 1.

The oval conference table was already full of people.

Zhao Zhenguo sat at the head of the table, holding an enamel teacup in his hands. There were obvious dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept all night.

To the left is Sun Dehai, the old professor who seemed restless, constantly glancing towards the door.

On the right are Chen Yan, who is in charge of weapons development, and Wu Qian, the person in charge of the Night Watchman Project.

Logistics Minister Liu Jianjun was furiously typing away on a calculator, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Report!"

Long Fei's voice came from the doorway.

"Enter."

Zhao Zhenguo put down his teacup, glanced at Lin Mo and Long Fei as they walked in, and relaxed his tense lips a little.

"sit."

Lin Mo pulled out a chair and sat down.

The moment his bottom touched the chair, Sun Dehai leaned forward, his face almost touching Lin Mo's nose.

Sun Dehai's voice trembled: "I've seen the test report, it's high-energy active soil! It's..."

"Old Sun!"

Zhao Zhenguo slammed his fist on the table: "We're in a meeting! Show some manners!"

Sun Dehai shrank back at the shout, but before reluctantly sitting back down, he still stared at Lin Mo: "You must explain in detail later! You must explain in detail!"

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Zhao Zhenguo looked at Long Fei: "Besides what we brought back, what other details are there from this mission?"

Long Fei stood up and opened the folder in his hand.

"Mission objective cleared, zero casualties."

Long Fei paused for a moment, then pulled out a hand-drawn map from the folder and laid it on the desktop.

"That's the key point."

Long Fei's finger touched a red circle on the edge of the map:

"The abandoned camp in Shigu Town. Before we left, we completed a transaction with the locals using a batch of supplies."

"trade?"

Wu Qian raised an eyebrow and leaned forward: "What kind of transaction is it?"

"Buyout".

Lin Mo picked up the conversation, looking Wu Qian in the eye and saying:

"Perpetual usage rights. We've reached an agreement with the local town head."

That camp is ours now.

The meeting room fell silent for a second.

Then came a collective gasp.

"You mean..." Zhao Zhenguo's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, "We acquired a piece of land over there? And it's legal, recognized by the local authorities?"

"right."

Lin Mo nodded: "Not only that, we've also hired a local guard. Raine, the hunter from before. He's now considered an unofficial employee."

"Okay! Okay!"

Wu Qian, who had been silent all along, suddenly slapped his thigh, and a rare smile appeared on his usually stern face:

"This move was absolutely brilliant! With territory, the Night's Watch can truly take off. We won't have to sneak around every time; we can establish outposts and supply depots!"

"Even..." Wu Qian's eyes lit up: "Build a fortress."

"We have the territory, but what about the equipment?"

Sun Dehai finally couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up again, bracing himself on the table with both hands, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"Don't just talk about the land! Those boxes of soil! And those plant samples! Those are treasures!"

"I just glanced at the initial test data outside the quarantine area."

Sun Dehai was so excited that his spittle flew everywhere:

"That blue powder... what you call Moonstone Soil, contains tens of thousands of times more energy than Earth's soil! Tens of thousands of times more!"

He grabbed a report from the table and waved it around forcefully:

"Just a tiny bit, even one ten-thousandth, can double our crop yields!"

"Moreover, it has a strong promoting effect on traditional Chinese medicine... no, on all plants!"

Sun Dehai became more and more excited as he spoke, and he almost climbed onto the table:

"If we could analyze its components, or master the method of artificial synthesis... the food crisis in China could be solved! We could even grow rice in the desert!"