Chapter Sixty-Seven: Countdown to Destruction

Hearing Zhang Desen’s words, Li Longfang immediately perked up, but his worry lingered as he asked,
“Desen, will there be any problems? The area here is so vast—we don’t even know if there’s enough explosives. And we still need to go to Gekur…”
Zhang Desen replied,
“There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve already thought it through—come, let me show you…”
As he spoke, Zhang Desen opened the intelligence reports he had gathered, letting Li Longfang read while he continued,
“You can see here: the self-destruct system of the Terrorfolk’s mountain base can destroy the entire facility. We won’t have to waste our own explosives.”
He pointed to another report and went on,
“Secondly, according to the information we have, the Gekur base’s passage to the nuclear detonation point—the one meant to trigger the volcano—isn’t finished yet. Their warheads must still be stored somewhere inside their Gekur base, not at the detonation site. Embedding them in the detonation point will take months; the scale of engineering is simply enormous.”
Then Zhang Desen turned to Li Longfang and continued,
“So, all we need to do is detonate their warheads before they’re moved to the detonation site. Their nuclear weapons won’t be able to artificially create a supervolcano, but they will help us destroy the Gekur base.”
Li Longfang responded with excitement,
“That’s wonderful…”
Yet he still had doubts, asking,
“I remember you mentioned those nuclear warheads—but won’t their explosion leave lasting consequences?”
Zhang Desen reassured him,
“Absolutely not. From what we know, their warhead storage must be deep underground and heavily fortified, with safeguards against nuclear leakage. As long as we detonate them before they are removed from their warehouse, the surrounding environment will remain unaffected.”
Enlightened, Li Longfang exclaimed,
“Alright, I understand now!”
Zhang Desen continued,
“What we must do now is follow the plan: destroy this base and immediately launch an attack on their Gekur facility, preventing completion of their doomsday weapon. I’ll activate the self-destruct mechanism here, then we’ll charge out, join up with reinforcements, fight our way out before the blast, hurry to Dali City to board the ship, and head to their Gekur base in the Shu River basin to destroy it.”
“Yes!”
Soon, Zhang Desen began the procedure, but to his surprise, the system required a specific palm print to activate. Fortunately, Dadu Kuer was nearby, so there was no cause for concern. Zhang Desen promptly had Dadu Kuer brought over.
Dadu Kuer was still blindfolded and gagged, believing he was being taken for execution, so he did not resist.
Zhang Desen successfully used adhesive tape to obtain Dadu Kuer’s fingerprint and brought him back. Dadu Kuer was somewhat confused, but Zhang Desen was able to activate the mountain base’s self-destruct system without issue. Immediately afterward, Zhang Desen addressed Li Longfang,
“It’s done. Tell everyone to evacuate immediately. The entire facility will blow up in three hours—I’ve installed a firewall, so nothing can be tampered with in that time. All other exits have been sealed; the route we came is the only way out. Let’s go!”
Li Longfang asked,
“I understand. But…”
Zhang Desen echoed,
“But what?”
“How long is an hour?”
Zhang Desen answered,
“About half a watch. Notify everyone—move quickly!”
“Yes!”
Zhang Desen led Li Longfang and the others, escorting Dadu Kuer, and retraced their steps.
By now, the entire base was filled with alarm sirens, warning of imminent explosion. The Terrorfolk civilians panicked, fleeing in all directions. Yet all doors had been forcibly sealed; none could escape. The creatures that had previously broken free from the cloning labs were out of control, and with the latest developments, chaos in the mountain base was unimaginable.

At that moment, the legion commander Saide Ori, leading the Terrorfolk reinforcements in battle against Zhang Desen’s forces, shouted,
“All this disaster was caused by those damned humans! Even if we cannot escape, we must drag them down with us. Bring all available troops and heavy weapons here—ignore everything else.”
“Yes!” His deputy, Gase Ori—his younger brother—immediately replied.
The fighting was deadlocked, as most of the Terrorfolk’s forces were tied up by various complications. The reinforcements numbered only a few hundred. The humans had inferior weaponry but outnumbered their foes, so they managed to hold their own.
Finally, before another wave of Terrorfolk reinforcements could arrive, Zhang Desen and his team, escorting Dadu Kuer, managed to join up with their own reinforcements. To Zhang Desen’s surprise, this group was led personally by Zhao Chengming. He rebuked him,
“Chengming, you ought to know the difference between primary and secondary duties. If you came in person, what if the retreat got cut off?”
Zhao Chengming replied,
“Rest assured, Desen. I’ve left my deputy in charge. He’s quite capable—there will be no problems.”
Zhang Desen said,
“Good, if that’s so. Regardless, let’s fight and withdraw—everyone must leave the Terrorfolk mountain base.”
“Yes!”
Suddenly, Li Longfang cried,
“Look! What’s that?”
Everyone turned to see, instantly captivated by a bizarre object. It resembled a small boat but hovered about half a meter above the ground, fitted with six cannon-like devices.
Zhang Desen immediately realized it was likely a Terrorfolk heavy weapon. Before he could issue orders, the strange machine opened fire. Thunderous salvos crashed down, launching volley after volley.
In an instant, Zhang Desen’s ranks were thrown into chaos, but their training prevented a total rout. He shouted,
“Don’t panic! Fight and retreat—withdraw in order!”
“Yes!” Even amid the chaos, they responded to his command.
But Zhang Desen now saw the Terrorfolk reinforcements arriving in waves. The number of heavy weapons had suddenly multiplied by more than ten. Strange, floating humanoids appeared as well, and in the distance, combat airships were approaching. Once again, Zhang Desen felt the crushing disadvantage imposed by technological disparity.
Weapons are wielded by people, yes, but when the gap is too great, it must be bridged by other means—certainly not by direct confrontation.
But the situation was clear: their swords were outmatched. Zhang Desen quickly surveyed the area and thought, If my sword is weaker, my shield must be stronger. He issued a rapid order,
“Everyone, retreat at top speed into the Strategic Food Chain Laboratory and hold out there. It’s more fortified—move!”
“Yes!”
Quickly, except for the fifty-three musketeers covering the rear, everyone managed to retreat into the laboratory and seal the doors. The musketeers, after closing the main doors, found small windows to continue resisting.
Li Longfang said to Zhang Desen,
“Desen, the enemy’s firepower is overwhelming. Let’s withdraw through the sewer we came from!”
Zhang Desen replied,
“No, we need to hold out a while longer. We’re backed against the passage and can retreat whenever we wish. But to keep the enemy from locating alternative exits, we must draw their attention here.”
“I understand!”
Suddenly, a massive explosion shook the laboratory, accompanied by violent tremors. The guards defending through the windows reported that the Terrorfolk were attacking their command room.
Alarmed, Zhang Desen pulled out his portable computer and connected to the Terrorfolk network. He found that the enemy had concentrated their firepower on destroying their own command room.
Even as he wondered at their actions, he discovered the mountain base’s various electronic programs were malfunctioning and in disarray. The doors were now even harder to open, but the explosion had been delayed—the new detonation time was now eight hours away.
Zhang Desen was irritated and told Li Longfang and the others,
“Everyone, I have bad news…”
“Speak, Desen…” they replied in unison.

Zhang Desen looked at them and said,
“The Terrorfolk destroyed their own command room—you should know what that means…”
Everyone responded,
“It’s good news—they brought trouble on themselves…”
Zhang Desen explained,
“No, it’s actually quite clever on their part.”
“Why is that?” They were puzzled.
He continued,
“Although it traps them more thoroughly, it has thrown their base’s systems into chaos, delaying the self-destruct to eight hours—four watches from now.”
“So…”
Zhang Desen said,
“Exactly. They must have realized we would never choose mutual destruction, so now they’re buying time, hoping to capture us and interrogate us for a way out. We now have to withstand at least seven hours—three and a half watches. The time we must hold out has grown longer.”
Everyone answered together,
“It doesn’t matter; this place is strong. We’ll fight them here.”
Zhang Desen responded quickly,
“Alright, listen to my orders…”
Except for those firing, everyone else fell silent, awaiting instructions. Zhang Desen called,
“Zhao Chengming…”
“Yes!”
“Take twenty guards through the passage to the fork, link up with the rear, and fortify the back. Then send another hundred or so guards to hold the passage. I worry some Terrorfolk remember their abandoned sewer and may use it against us. We must keep the passage clear for our retreat.”
“Yes!”
Turning to Li Longfang, Zhang Desen said,
“Li Longfang…”
“Yes…”
“Lead the rest and hold out here with me…”
“Yes!”
Then Zhang Desen addressed everyone,
“Carry out the deployment—move immediately!”
“Yes!” they replied in chorus.
As everyone began to carry out their assignments, the laboratory door shuddered violently. The guards called out,
“Their strange machines are gathering around again!”
Zhang Desen rushed to a window. Sure enough, after destroying their command room, the Terrorfolk had surrounded the lab with all their heavy weapons.