Chapter Fifty-One: Entering the Base Smoothly
ps: Special thanks to Tang Murong, a reader whose generous support is deeply appreciated. Every day, you bestow rewards—truly, I am grateful!
“Your weapons are no ordinary issue either. These are specially manufactured rifles, the next generation of standard-issue firearms. Although the caliber has been reduced, their power has increased dramatically, and their penetration is far greater than that of most sniper rifles!”
As Lu Cang explained, everyone gazed at the rifles in their hands. They took out the bullets and examined them. Though Lu Cang had already briefed them, seeing the actual rounds extracted left the group astonished. The bullets were only 4.58mm—very small, exquisitely crafted, almost like works of art.
“Although this is experimental equipment, the tests have shown it outperforms any current weapon. Because of the special nature of this mission, these weapons were specially authorized. What you’re wearing is also classified—equipment never before revealed to the public!”
“Any other questions?” Lu Cang looked around at the group.
No one nodded; they simply sat silently.
“Very well, everyone go rest now. Tomorrow, we’ll travel to our destination by vehicle.”
The next day, Zhu Lan and the others set out from the base. After two hours, they arrived at the military’s temporary outpost outside the cement plant, a camp located halfway up the mountain.
“Go in from here and you’ll be inside the cement plant. If you have any needs, speak up. If you truly require it, we can provide air support at any time!”
“Reporting, Sir! Black Scorpion, standing by!” Zhang Sanxian saluted and spoke loudly.
“Excellent. If that’s all, set out!”
Zhang Sanxian saluted again, turned, and commanded, “Prepare your equipment, begin the mission!”
Passing through the woods, they came upon the abandoned cement plant. It was massive—its boundaries vanished into the distance.
“All right, we’re in the mission area now. Everyone, be cautious! Mr. Zhu, you and your secretary, be especially careful.”
Zhu Lan smiled and nodded, surveying the surroundings.
Seeing Zhu Lan’s reaction, Zhang Sanxian sighed. “Scorpion, Red River, you two stay close and protect Professor Zhu!”
Zhu Lan rolled his eyes. Well, promoted to professor now.
“Yes, Captain!” a man and a woman replied immediately, moving to stand beside Zhu Lan and Kong Yan, vigilant and alert.
“Tianyi, Tian San, search left and right. If anything happens, no need to request permission—open fire immediately. We’ll cover you!”
The two nodded and slipped away, advancing cautiously into the plant.
No one dared to let down their guard inside. They’d seen plenty of videos of the monsters—their speed meant that a surprise attack could end in decapitation in the blink of an eye.
Strangely, however, there was no sign of monsters all the way to the base entrance. It was as if they had all vanished.
Just yesterday, drone footage had shown many monsters in the plant, hiding well but still clearly visible to the drones. The military had even attacked, but as soon as missiles locked on, the monsters simply disappeared, impossible to target.
Three types of monsters, all genetically modified from alligator gar, prevented large-scale military assaults. Their bodies were massive—tank-sized—and their strength could punch a hole through solid steel.
More importantly, these alligator gar had developed unusual abilities.
Military estimates concluded that a direct assault would result in devastating losses.
Only after much deliberation was it decided to send in special forces. Previous teams had been the best of the best, but all had failed. This time, the squad was even more elite—each a king among soldiers, equipped with never-before-issued, newly developed weaponry from the Chinese military.
“Shall we go in?” At the entrance, Zhu Lan looked at Zhang Sanxian—no, Black Dragon, his codename now—amused by the total absence of monsters.
Black Dragon spared Zhu Lan only a glance. “Tiger, take two people and search the perimeter.”
“Got it.” A burly man nodded, motioning to several others to follow him.
Seeing Black Dragon ignore him, Zhu Lan shook his head, unamused.
No one noticed that Zhu Lan’s eyes seemed almost artificial—like electronic optics.
He was equipped with two devices: an earpiece receiver and a detector.
Both were remarkably small. The detector, worn in his eye like a contact lens, was completely unobtrusive.
Both devices were made by Kong Yan, forged with nanotechnology and minuscule in size. Perhaps only one or two places in the world could manufacture such things—they were truly nanoscale.
Kong Yan herself was a nanotech robot, wrapped in liquid metal, capable of endless transformation.
To others, creating nanoscale devices was a feat. For Kong Yan, it was simple. Her method for controlling machines was to inject nanobots directly into core chips, bypassing all access restrictions.
“Boss, there are a total of nineteen sets of footprints. All are agile types, but their flexibility doesn’t match any of our known data sets.”
Kong Yan’s voice reached Zhu Lan’s ears.
Studying the tracks on the ground, Zhu Lan grew solemn.
Others might not notice, but Kong Yan was a Terminator. Skynet controlled all of Earth’s technology—there was nothing on the planet she couldn’t detect.
Unless, of course, it came from another world.
Scent was always the best means for predators to track prey.
Back when Skynet sought to root out hidden humans, it specially modified some robots to simulate animal olfaction. After over a decade of development, as long as the faintest scent remained, robots could sniff out any hiding human.
That method had made Skynet enormously effective at first. Survivors never understood how they were found.
Kong Yan, a T-1000, possessed fragments of Skynet’s data, including simulated olfaction.
Using this, she could reconstruct the scene in three dimensions—monsters had nowhere to hide.
Having detected traces of monsters—possibly new variants—Zhu Lan said nothing, only observing quietly.
After all, this time, he was “as good as dead.”
A few minutes later, Tiger returned with his team and shook his head at Black Dragon.
Black Dragon frowned.
“Enter the base!” After a moment’s thought, Black Dragon decided to proceed, but left four men guarding the entrance.
The base’s entrance was in the mixing area, at the end of a conveyor belt.
If the base wasn’t open, it looked like an ordinary conveyor for materials. When activated, the wall at the end of the belt would split open, revealing a metal passageway.
On the other side of the passage were piles of stone for cement production, all stored in a massive warehouse. The cover of materials allowed the base’s entrance to remain hidden.
After traversing dozens of meters—enough room for a tank—Black Dragon waved for everyone to stay alert.
A small, thin man stepped forward.
He felt along the wall and soon a computer console emerged.
The man pulled out a laptop, connected a cable, and began typing rapidly.
With a loud bang, a huge passageway appeared before them.
Two men immediately rushed in, weapons raised.
After a moment, the lights came on.
But they quickly flickered, the white glow dying, leaving only red illumination.
Black Dragon frowned at the sight.
“Captain, the lines seem sabotaged. There’s no connection to the main power!” one of the scouts reported.
Black Dragon nodded. “Switch on night vision. Everyone stay sharp!”
Turning to Zhu Lan, he warned, “Professor, look after your secretary. Don’t wander off!”
Zhu Lan smiled, nodding, and followed the group inside.
They entered onto a vast platform, complete with guardrails.
“All clear!”
“All clear!”
“All clear!”
The search reports came in quickly—no threats detected.
Black Dragon’s frown deepened.
He walked to the rail and looked down. The base’s structure unfolded below.
Zhu Lan joined him, also peering down.
“What an immense undertaking!”
The base resembled a giant cylinder, so deep its bottom was invisible. Every five to seven meters was another floor—a ring atop a ring, the circles stacking to form the whole.
Where they stood wasn’t the very top, but a little lower.
“Captain, something found!”
Black Dragon followed the scout. Zhu Lan hurried after, with Kong Yan close behind.
Instead of heading down, Black Dragon led them up.
After climbing the stairs, the scene before them left everyone stunned.
It was a round platform, upon which stood several transport helicopters. Some were old models, but a few were clearly gunships.
“Captain, here’s our location,” someone said, opening a laptop and displaying the map.
Black Dragon took a deep breath after looking.
Because directly above was a highway.
“Damn it, this is a transport passage! Find a way to open it for me!”
If they could get it open, the highway above would connect directly to the base. The military could pour in, and the passage was clearly large enough for the most advanced helicopters to land. At that point, no monster could withstand the bombardment from above.
Hearing the order, the technician shook his head with a wry smile. “It’s no use, Captain. I’ve found the controls, but don’t have the clearance.”
“Clearance? You’re one of the military’s top hackers! You can’t crack the main gate?”
Black Dragon’s temper flared, nearly striking the man.
“Captain, the base’s control system is too strong. It’s no weaker than our domestic systems. If I want access, I need to find the main server for the control system. Only then might I get the necessary clearance and open this gate.”