Chapter Fifty-Nine: Encounter with Meteorological Weapons

The sudden appearance of thick fog had indeed caught Zhang Desen and the others off guard, but at this moment, all they could do was to evacuate as quickly as possible.

Yet, Zhang Desen knew well in his heart that the fog was descending rapidly. Without any new strategies, everyone would eventually be engulfed by the mist. If this truly was a weapon crafted by the Terror People, then all of them would face the same danger of disappearance as the villagers before.

Zhang Desen quickly surveyed his surroundings and soon spotted a large enough cave. Without hesitation, he shouted to everyone, “All of you, get into the cave immediately! Bring everything you can carry, hurry!”

“Yes!” The group responded in unison.

As they followed Zhang Desen’s command, some of the Liu family guards armed with Brown Bess muskets began to fire into the unexpected fog. The sound of gunfire echoed—“bang, bang”—while Zhang Desen urged everyone to enter the cave swiftly.

Taking advantage of the commotion as the group moved, Zhang Desen decided to observe the fog more closely; after all, he couldn't simply trust a madman's claim that it was made by the Terror People. Turning back and seeing the distance was still suitable, he took out an infrared observation device and examined the fog.

The sight startled him; within the mist, he discovered more than a dozen unidentified flying objects, each about 150 meters in diameter, releasing some unknown substance. Another dozen similarly sized objects appeared to be in standby mode.

Zhang Desen quickly snapped several infrared and visible light photographs, and used multispectral technology to capture more images, then rushed into the cave along with the guards.

Once everyone was safely inside, Zhang Desen immediately ordered them to block the cave entrance with cart shafts and sandbags. Surprisingly, even with the entrance sealed, the air remained fresh, suggesting the cave was extensive and interconnected—an advantage that meant they wouldn't be cornered.

Now, Zhang Desen needed to analyze the photographs and plan their next move. He transferred all the data from his camera to the compact computer strapped to his left forearm and began examining the images. Beside him, Li Longfang and Zhao Chengming watched and asked, “Desen, what are these?”

Zhang Desen replied, “These are photos I just took with the infrared device.”

“Photos?” Li Longfang and Zhao Chengming echoed in surprise.

“Don’t think too much about it yet,” Zhang Desen said. “Just look at these—it’s clear this isn’t ordinary fog, but the result of a meteorological weapon…”

“Meteorological weapon? What is that?” Zhao Chengming asked.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing before,” Li Longfang added.

Seeing their curiosity and that the situation was temporarily safe, Zhang Desen began to explain meteorological weapons to them, hoping to broaden their understanding.

So-called meteorological weapons, also known as weather weapons, are a category of military tools that employ advanced technology to artificially create natural disasters—earthquakes, tsunamis, torrential rains, floods, avalanches, heatwaves, fog, and more—to reshape the battlefield environment and achieve military objectives.

With the rapid advancement of science and meteorology, the technology to create artificial geophysical environments has greatly improved and is bound to play a significant role in future warfare.

Theoretically, extreme weather such as droughts, tornadoes, lightning, floods, and hail can all be artificially generated. The main methods involve controlling stratospheric airflows and pressure to influence climate. Devices like thunderstorm generators, tornado machines, and artificial mountains are considered part of future warfare systems.

Beyond meteorological weapons, there are also artificial earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and tsunamis. Even meteor storms can be induced in the asteroid belt—what nature can do, humans will someday achieve.

Li Longfang and Zhao Chengming listened in astonishment. “Is that really possible?” they exclaimed.

Zhang Desen continued his explanation, and the gist was as follows:

The principle is actually quite simple. Artificial weather manipulation works in certain conditions because the atmosphere contains immense energy and countless unstable factors.

If we can grasp the patterns of these unstable factors, we can, under favorable circumstances, use artificial catalysts and other techniques to influence the physical processes in the local atmosphere. With a small amount of energy, we can ‘trigger’ events, leading to massive energy conversions and steering the weather toward our desired outcome.

Of course, artificial weather manipulation is a complex system. From choosing the right catalysts and operational methods to monitoring and forecasting, every step must be precise and indispensable.

Even so, it’s nearly impossible to induce artificial rainfall under clear skies. For strong systemic weather, such as heavy rain, snowstorms, or typhoons, the role of artificial manipulation is minimal.

Zhao Chengming asked, “Does that mean what we experienced was also a meteorological weapon?”

“Yes,” Zhang Desen replied, “but only one kind.”

“One kind?” Li Longfang and Zhao Chengming were puzzled.

Zhang Desen then recounted a story: This time, the Terror People used a fog-creating weapon, a type of meteorological tool. Historically, in September 1943, during the U.S. Army’s attack on southern Italy, aircraft spread fog-making agents at low altitude over the Volturno River to conceal their crossing.

This formed a ‘wall of fog’ about 5,000 meters long, 1,400 meters wide, and 1,600 meters high. The defending German troops could only fire blindly into the dense mist, allowing the U.S. Army to cross the river and break through the German lines under cover.

After telling the story, Zhang Desen said, “Don’t worry about the history, just know that artificial fog has been used before.”

“Understood!” Li Longfang and Zhao Chengming responded together.

Zhang Desen continued, “You should be able to see…”

He pulled up the images on his computer and said, “Look, there are several unidentified flying objects releasing something in the fog, while others seem to be waiting. Clearly, this could explain the disappearance of the villagers.”

Seeing their confusion, Zhang Desen explained, “It’s simple—they first use meteorological weapons to create dense fog, then envelop their targets. Once the targets are shrouded, the standby flying objects move in to capture them.”

Li Longfang and Zhao Chengming suddenly understood. “So that’s how it works…”

Just then, voices were heard from the other side of the sandbag-blocked cave entrance—speaking a language none of them understood. Zhang Desen and the others glanced at each other, realizing the enemy was right outside.

With that realization, Zhang Desen signaled everyone to move deeper into the cave, searching for another exit. The group quietly gathered their belongings to avoid leaving anything behind and proceeded silently into the depths.

Meanwhile, outside the cave, Dadu Kur was extremely frustrated. Staring at the blocked entrance, he turned to his adjutant, Dade Ross, and asked, “What’s going on? They seem to know this fog threatens them—how could that be?”

Dade Ross answered, “Chief of Staff, could it be that the escaped specimen warned them? Among the group earlier, one specimen kept shouting—probably the one who escaped.”

Dadu Kur pondered this and said, “I see. But why did they still come? Don’t they know fear? Wasn’t last night’s warning enough to deter them?”

Dade Ross replied, “Maybe some still don’t believe…”

Dadu Kur thought for a moment, then sneered, “Well, all the better. Let’s play cat and mouse. Are there other exits to this cave?”

“I’m not sure…” Dade Ross replied.

Dadu Kur was stunned and angrily retorted, “What? Didn’t our underground base’s tunnels reach this mountain? Some facilities are already built—how can you not know?”

Dade Ross could only respond, “Chief of Staff, no matter how thoroughly we explore, there will always be gaps. Besides, even though our tunnels reached here, many caves remain unexplored. We intended to wait for the moss to cover them before exploring further.”

Dadu Kur said, “Fine, regardless, have the ships monitor the mountain comprehensively. They have many people—if they leave, they’ll be spotted unless they stay here forever. We’ll catch them like mice. Open up the cave entrance and send in a search party!”

“Yes!”

Inside the cave, Zhang Desen directed the guards to move deeper. As they advanced, they used various methods to observe air flow—wind direction—to find possible exits.

Strangely enough, after some distance, they reached a fork. This junction had many branches—besides the route they had taken, there were seventeen other passages, each with a slight breeze suggesting an exit.

To be safe, Zhang Desen sent scouts down each passage. With plenty of people, he assigned one team to each tunnel, five per team, at least two with muskets.

Each group tied a rope to one member; if anything happened, they would shake the rope for a quick rescue. The ropes would prevent anyone from getting lost. Once preparations were complete, the scouting teams set off.

After they departed, Zhang Desen assigned Zhao Chengming to lead fifty men to the rear of the group for surveillance. If the Terror People pursued, they were to report immediately.