Chapter Seventy-One: Clearing Up the Misunderstanding

The mountain communications officer glanced at the time and replied,
“It’s been almost two hours already, and—”
Yuri Gotner immediately interrupted,
“What? Are you sure? Two hours?”
The communications officer answered at once,
“Yes, my Leader.”
A sudden buzzing filled Yuri Gotner’s mind, but he quickly pressed on,
“How did the enemy begin their attack? What’s the process, what’s the current situation?”
The mountain base communications officer answered Yuri Gotner’s questions at lightning speed. Upon hearing it all, Yuri Gotner lost all composure; perhaps his confidants had never witnessed him in such a state. He jumped to his feet, shouting,
“Damn it! We’re attacking our own men! Order your people to stop immediately—we’re fighting ourselves!”
The others present were equally stunned.
“What? Yes, my Leader, I’ll notify the provisional command right away!”
Yuri Gotner then issued orders to those around him,
“We’re fighting our own men—everyone must cease fire at once and begin a gradual withdrawal, quickly!”
The communications officer promptly contacted the provisional commander, Said Ori, who was directing the mountain base troops at the front.
“Provisional Commander, please cease fire and disengage immediately. Please cease fire and disengage; you’re fighting your own men, you’re fighting your own men...”
Said Ori was taken aback,
“What? Are you sure? If you’re wrong, I’ll have your head.”
The communications officer replied,
“No mistake—it’s our own men.”
The situation suddenly became chaotic.
And indeed, now things were truly lively. Both sides had become so bloodthirsty that any words from their commanders could scarcely stop the carnage; only by withdrawing and disengaging could the situation be explained.
Now, communications officers from both sides were urgently contacting their respective commanders. The mountain base communications officer had already reported everything to Said Ori, the provisional supreme commander. Said Ori immediately ordered all communications staff, including the officer,
“Immediately inform all levels of commanders fighting at the Air Gate—gradually cease fire, withdraw, and disengage completely.”
Orders were quickly relayed, but the rush led to tremendous confusion, especially among the mountain base troops.
The coastal base units, being newly arrived, had not endured previous chaos, making their situation more manageable.
But the mountain base was different. Earlier, Zhang Desen and his team had infiltrated, releasing monsters from the abandoned clone labs, throwing everything into disarray.
Then, as the situation spiraled, abnormal signals emerged, prompting fears of a human uprising by captives. Troops were sent to the so-called specimen labs for support. Then Zhang Desen launched an attack on the command room—all these events drove the mountain base into utter chaos.

So now, even units from the same division could find their companies scattered in various locations: two companies might be together at the northern Air Gate, while another operated elsewhere, complicating the transmission of orders.
This confusion, perhaps trivial at first, became problematic as the ceasefire order reached the mountain base troops, who were busy with their own tasks. Though each unit obeyed, their differing circumstances led to trouble:
First, some main forces were fighting the monsters released from the abandoned clone labs. Amidst the confusion, they received the disengagement order and withdrew as instructed. The result was predictable—the monsters grew even more violent, worsening the chaos.
At the northern Air Gate, the situation was slightly better, but the sudden withdrawal and disengagement left formations in shambles, and accidents were frequent.
Other incidents abounded. Zhang Desen and his group watched as the enemy outside the Strategic Food Chain Lab retreated, leaving them bewildered.
Li Longfang said,
“Desen, why are they pulling back? It seems unnecessary at this point.”
Zhang Desen replied,
“I don’t know. Based on what I saw, they might have realized they were attacking their own. But why are they withdrawing units in front of us as well? That’s odd.”
Li Longfang asked,
“Do you think they have some other tactic against us?”
Zhang Desen mused,
“I suspect so. Perhaps they plan to isolate this area and cut off the oxygen supply, forcing us to surrender without a fight?”
Li Longfang shivered,
“What should we do? I don’t want to collapse without resistance—it would be humiliating!”
Zhang Desen glanced at him and smiled,
“Don’t exaggerate. It’s just speculation. Maybe it’s simply a mistake. Besides, we’re not cornered, and even if they cut off the oxygen, the passage we used earlier will let in plenty of air. Let’s watch how things unfold.”
“Yes!”
With the lull, Zhang Desen reviewed all the intelligence they had gathered.
Everyone, under his guidance, began preparing for any sudden developments.
Meanwhile, at the eastern Air Gate of the mountain base, reinforcements from the coastal base finally opened the gate and rushed in to mount a rescue. Unfortunately, they were immediately confronted by monsters from the abandoned clone labs, throwing them into chaos.
These monsters, secretly created by the mountain base, stunned the coastal reinforcements, who were quickly overwhelmed.
Outside the eastern gate, the communications officers from the coastal base were busy reporting the latest developments to Yuri Gotner.
As communications resumed, all information about the mountain base’s earlier turmoil converged.
Upon receiving the latest reports, Yuri Gotner was astonished, repeatedly scanning the documents, muttering,
“How can this be? How can this be?”
Indeed, with the constant emergence of new situations, the ever-composed Yuri Gotner was now visibly shaken.
Just then, Kaba Dool returned to the frontline office and, with a formal salute, reported,
“Reporting: Intelligence Director Kaba Dool has withdrawn his team and is here to report as ordered.”

Yuri Gotner glanced at her intelligence director and, with a blank expression, pointed to the chair before her,
“Sit.”
Kaba Dool responded promptly,
“Yes!”
After sitting, Yuri Gotner slowly asked,
“My dear Intelligence Director, you must have seen quite a lot lately?”
Kaba Dool’s heart skipped a beat; he knew Yuri Gotner well and sensed trouble was afoot, but could only face it,
“My Leader, if I have erred, I am willing to bear all responsibility.”
Yuri Gotner cut him off,
“That’s enough...”
Waving her hand, she continued, “I just want to ask you: why did that fellow at the mountain base conduct cloning experiments? Why were they abandoned? Why weren’t those failed creations destroyed?”
Kaba Dool was stunned. As intelligence director, he should not be unaware of such matters, yet it had happened. His intelligence work had clearly fallen short.
He wondered if this was a mistake, and replied with some reluctance,
“My Leader, could this be wrong? It’s impossible, isn’t it?”
Yuri Gotner grew stern,
“Impossible? Are you sure? Are you certain these things couldn’t have happened?”
Kaba Dool answered,
“Yes, it’s incredible—there’s no way I wouldn’t have heard a word.”
Yuri Gotner said,
“Very well, see for yourself what these are.”
She handed him the latest reports.
Kaba Dool took the documents and began flipping through them.
He had previously assumed Yuri Gotner’s information came from unreliable sources, but the more he read, the more anxious he became.
He realized these reports were from the frontline troops, detailing their own encounters; firefights were underway at the eastern Air Gate.
These intelligence reports were corroborated by personnel inside the mountain base via radio—there could be no doubt.