The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

Meanwhile, within the territory of Dafeng, in a vast city in an extremely cold region.

In a gray-white conference hall of a building, the gray-haired soldier summoned Bai Liuxi again.

The map on the desktop has been changed to the latest situation map of Ash City... The half-blue and half-red color blocks clearly delineate the controlled areas of the entire city.

"It's a draw over there," the gray-haired soldier said bluntly. "The Golden Pagoda organization has held half the city. This is an opportunity for us."

Bai Liuxi remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm preparing to have you teleport there." The gray-haired soldier's tone was calm, but every word carried the weight of careful consideration. "Find out what's happening over there. Focus on that man named Su Mu... we need accurate intelligence on his current location and condition."

Bai Liuxi was silent for a moment. "The cost of teleportation is not low."

"It's worth it." The gray-haired soldier didn't explain further.

The order was issued very quickly.

Bai Liuxi, along with Lao Wei, Zhao Cheng, A Qi, and Xiao Jiu, stood in the teleportation array. Energy began to gather, and space began to distort...

However, at the very last moment before it was fully formed, the teleportation coordinates jerked violently and then shattered into countless chaotic fragments.

The light from the teleportation array quickly dimmed, as if something had forcibly severed the connection from the outside.

Bai Liuxi stepped out of the teleportation array and reported the situation.

When the gray-haired soldier heard the news, he pressed his palm on the table... It was a very light touch, but a thin crack appeared on the edge of the table.

He quickly regained his composure, though his voice was deeper than before: "They've realized it too. Su Mu's appearance has likely attracted enough attention. They're going to great lengths to disrupt the coordinates, precisely to prevent other forces from gaining direct contact over there."

Bai Liuxi stood on the other side of the table, waiting for the next instructions.

The gray-haired soldier looked up, his gaze falling on her face. "Contact the nearest military base to Ash City and have them walk there."

Bai Liuxi's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Hiking through areas teeming with ghosts can result in extremely heavy losses.

But she didn't ask why, because she knew the decision had been approved by higher authorities.

She simply nodded, turned, and walked out of the conference room.

And now, he deserves this level of sacrifice from the organization...

It was all for the sake of "the possibility of recruiting".

After she left, the gray-haired soldier looked down at the half-blue, half-red map on the table and remained silent for a long time.

.......

Meanwhile, somewhere in Ash City, a faint silvery-white light membrane was enveloping half a street.

Inside the light membrane, seven or eight thousand people sat scattered among the ruins and makeshift shelters. Some leaned against the wall with their eyes closed, some lay on the ground, and some were slowly bandaging their wounds.

Healing light slowly poured down from the top of the light membrane, covering the wounded and healing the torn flesh and broken bones at a visible speed... But the light was much dimmer than at the beginning, as if the energy was being gradually consumed.

If Su Mu were here, he would definitely recognize that these people were the professionals who descended from the sky with those giant towers. The number of people in the country has now increased from fifty or sixty thousand to seven or eight thousand.

At this moment, whispers could be faintly heard from the crowd, but they were not dense, carrying an extreme sense of quiet exhaustion.

In a relatively intact corner of the building in the center of the light membrane, an old man was sitting on a low wall, surrounded by five or six people.

His face was gaunt, with prominent cheekbones, and he wore a long robe so worn that its original color was no longer discernible. A dried, dark bloodstain ran down his shoulder. His gaze was lowered, as if he were listening, or perhaps waiting.

"The Tenth Pharaoh has sent a telepathic message."

He spoke, his voice not loud, but everyone around him fell silent. "He wants us to do something. Find out who took down that ghost general on that cable. If we find out, we must win them over at any cost."

Someone nearby frowned: "Is Pharaoh sure it was someone from that cableway who did it? They're gone already, and the cable car has long since left Ash City's territory. We don't even know which direction they went."

The old man didn't answer directly. He took out a palm-sized stone slab from his robes; its surface was engraved with fine lines, and it briefly shone when it came into contact with the air before dimming.

The Pharaoh deduced from the remaining traces outside Ash City that only those people connected by that cable existed outside the city. Those inside couldn't leave, and the large army outside couldn't possibly have killed each other. Only those who had just left the city could have accomplished this.

"As for whether they will return, the Pharaoh consulted the ancient texts and determined that they would return in a short time."

"But what if... what if they didn't do it?" another person chimed in, a hint of hesitation in their voice. "The death of the Ghost General could be due to other factors... like some infighting among those monsters, or something else we don't know about operating outside the city..."

The old man shook his head. "Pharaoh wasn't entirely certain. But he considered it the most reasonable guess. So what we need to do is assume this person exists, and then find a way to locate him."

How do I find it?

The old man's gaze swept over the crowd: "Start with those people on that cable. Once they show up... whoever is the strongest is most likely to accomplish this."

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then someone spoke, their voice tinged with barely concealed anxiety: "Will we get reinforcements? With our current manpower, we can barely hold this area."

The old man shook his head.

His movements were slow, as if someone who had pondered this answer many times was finally speaking it aloud. "You all know the cost of fixed teleportation. After the first batch of people were randomly selected to come, the channel was already nearing its limit. The cost of teleportation is too great."

Moreover, the news that the battle in Ash City ended in a draw has already spread. The various factions to the north are likely all watching this area; some are observing, while others are waiting for the outcome. Requesting additional manpower at this point will only draw more attention to this region.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding ruins and the figures tending to their wounds. "And I've already examined the traces around here."

We are not the first forces to come here. Before us, others had already explored this area, leaving traces of their investigation. Now, the Tenth Pharaoh has ordered the teleportation coordinates here to be completely scrambled, making it impossible for anyone to be accurately teleported in from the outside.

After those words were spoken, there was a long silence around them.

Some clenched their fists, some looked down at the ground, and some turned their gaze to the distant outline of the city, still shrouded in gray fog.

Then a voice rang out from the crowd, carrying a weariness that had been suppressed for a long time: "A draw is only temporary. Those ghosts... they're infecting too quickly; we can't wipe them out completely. This city will fall sooner or later. How long can we hold out here?"