Instinct said the big water pit was trouble, and Shen Cong's first thought was to leave and camp somewhere else. But this was the only halfway-open ground in the area — nothing to block or scramble Activity waves, easy to scout, easy to keep watch over, quick to catch an evolved beast's approach.

"We camp right here. I'd like to see for myself what goes on in this place. Something — no idea what — dug itself a pit here and then left. Interesting."

Shen Cong parked at once and set up for the night.

It was raining, so the first order of business was rigging a canopy over the Four-Legged Dragon's trailer out of saltwater croc skin-gold, so she could sleep in peace. The Oasis wasn't cold, but nights still cooled off, the drizzle hadn't let up, and the sodden ground was no good for digging her a sleeping pit.

The Vajra Ants needed nothing — their trailer came roofed, proof against wind and rain.

Even at night, the ants, communicating by pheromone, could range out to forage and stand sentry for Shen Cong. As a fighting force the colony wasn't there yet — but as a guard detail, they were an excellent choice.

Night fell.

Shen Cong sat cradling his laptop, working through the Liaoning Materials Compilation — above all, the records on multiplet iron cores.

Before leaving the Eastern Theater Command, he'd been confident he could crack the artificial-carrier-vehicle secret of the multiplet cores on his own. But cracking it wasn't the work of an evening; it would take enormous amounts of time to probe and verify. Fortunately he had that rotor shaft — a pair of twin iron cores — ready for experiments whenever he liked.

When his eyes tired, he played games.

Lately Shen Cong had gotten hooked on an old single-player title — Heroes of the Three Kingdoms 2, the fan-modded "Chen Mu Edition." Dead simple game. An hour or two a day: hunting down famous generals, lobbing strategist schemes, taking a city or running away. Good fun.

Sometimes he even took careful notes…