The once bustling and noisy Port District now presented a strange sight.
At the main docks, vessels of all sizes were departing in an orderly fashion under the direction of port personnel, their horns blaring one after another. In the residential and commercial areas near the shore, civilians, with their families in tow, were being guided by public security officers and militiamen. They traveled by officially dispatched vehicles or on foot, relocating to designated shelters within the city.
Despite the anxious whispers and crying children, the overall situation remained orderly.
In some of the vital Warehouse Districts, fuel depots, and key intersections in Linhai, personnel from the technical department and Array Masters in Civil Affairs Bureau work uniforms could already be seen bustling about. They drove rune-etched metal stakes into the ground or erected temporary barrier generators, constructing the first line of defense along the coast.
When the Flying Shuttle landed in the courtyard of the Port District’s public security station, Yan Kuan was already waiting.
"Yang Group Leader, you’re finally here!" Yan Kuan said, speaking rapidly. "Most of the ships have evacuated, but a dozen or so deep-sea fishing vessels just returned to port. Their crews need time to unload cargo and get organized, and the owners are haggling over compensation. Also, over at Pier Seven..."
As Yang Wenqing strode toward the station’s command room, he listened calmly to Yan Kuan’s report. Liu Qin followed close behind, her notebook already out as she jotted down key points. Qian You and Zhao Qin, meanwhile, took it upon themselves to help the security officers maintain order at the entrance.
Inside the slightly noisy command room, a massive sand table map of the Port District and a real-time monitoring Water Mirror Screen were already active. Yang Wenqing stepped up to the head position, his gaze sweeping over the various critical areas and evacuation routes marked on the map.
"Captain Yan, you handle the specifics. I only care about the results," Yang Wenqing cut in. "If your colleagues in the Port District fall behind schedule, I won’t go easy on them."
With that, he turned to Liu Qin. "Xiaoxian, you’ll man the communications console. Maintain open contact with the sub-bureau command, the coordination teams in the other districts, and the maritime cordon. Funnel all information to me as it comes in."
"Yes, Group Leader."
Liu Qin acknowledged and sat down, her hands flying across the runic control panel. She quickly established stable connections with the sub-bureau’s command center and the various field posts. Soon, a steady, orderly stream of clear reports and commands began to fill the room.
Yang Wenqing said nothing more. He walked to the window, his gaze fixed on the bustling yet orderly evacuation outside.
’My job isn’t to handle every detail myself. It’s to ensure this massive machine operates efficiently according to the plan and to correct any deviations immediately. As the senior captain stationed at the Port District’s public security station, Yan Kuan is familiar with the local situation. As long as the pressure is on, he’ll know what to do.’
’The real challenge is completing the coastal defense line before nightfall.’
After a moment, he returned to his command seat and ordered the officer in charge of the imaging Arrays to pull up the feeds from the various locations.
Soon, on the massive Water Mirror Screen in front of him, a pale blue band of light could be seen slowly extending along the winding coastline. It was a complex barrier network composed of tens of thousands of basic defensive rune nodes and reinforced Array cores.
The view toward the coast resembled a massive construction site. Militiamen in different colored vests, Array Masters from the Civil Affairs Bureau, and technical personnel from the City Defense Bureau were all mixed together, yet they worked methodically in their designated zones.
In the foreground, a group of militiamen used a ’Floating Spell’ to hoist a thick metal stake—one so large it would take three people to wrap their arms around it. The stake, which was covered in earthy-yellow reinforcement runes, was then rammed into a pre-selected spot in the bedrock. Nearby, an Array Master holding a Spiritual Light Ruler carefully calibrated the orientation of the runes and the stake’s Spiritual Qi flow port.
Because the militiamen had low Cultivation, it took several of them to maintain the ’Floating Spell’. To stay in sync, they coordinated their efforts with rhythmic work chants, which added a certain flair to the scene.
On high ground with clear lines of sight, such as on promontories or in abandoned lighthouses, Government Soldiers could be seen. They were operating more professional equipment, setting up energy cannons on rotating turrets.
These cannons were astonishingly powerful and had an immense range, making them a key weapon against large-scale Demon Beast hordes or Entry-level threats. Around each emplacement, supporting Array Masters were inscribing amplification and stabilization runes to ensure the cannons could be integrated into the overall barrier network and accept unified commands.
As time went on, more and more militiamen joined the massive mobilization. Within a single hour, their numbers swelled to over ten thousand.
The mobilization of nearly ten thousand people, a hundred-kilometer front line, and coordination with the neighboring county—all of it proceeded in a tense, yet orderly, fashion.
The Port District was responsible for a roughly ten-kilometer stretch of the defense line. About a thousand militiamen, led by public security officers and divided into dozens of work teams, had been mobilized for the task. Though their progress wasn’t the fastest, it was steady.
As more time passed, the ships on the water grew sparse, and the flow of evacuees on the shore dwindled noticeably.
The clamor of the port gave way to the mechanical sounds of construction. The band of light from the barrier grew steadily brighter, eventually connecting into a seamless whole. In the twilight, it looked like a great blue serpent of light slithering along the coastline, emitting faint waves of Spiritual Qi.
"Yang Group Leader..."
Liu Qin’s voice came over the comms. "Deputy Section Chief Wang Ming reports that the main section of the barrier they are responsible for has achieved initial closure. They are performing the final calibrations now."
"Understood," Yang Wenqing replied, then turned to urge Yan Kuan to quicken the pace.
Finally, just before five in the afternoon, the main structure of the first coastal barrier in the Port District was complete, and its initial Spiritual Qi circulation was established. A pale blue curtain of light rose along the coast, seamlessly connecting with the barriers extending from the neighboring districts to form a continuous wall of light.