Chapter 108: An Apocalyptic Method Straight Out of a Textbook (Part Three)

The leaders of the Southwest and South Sea military regions convened an emergency meeting immediately upon receiving the news. Despite the internal factions and hidden agendas prevalent among the high-ranking officials, Commander Pabson still commanded significant prestige. Few dared to dismiss his warnings as mere pranks.

Most attendees held a skeptical, two-sided view. The opposition argued that this was a conspiracy by the Eastern Military Region, suggesting that after using underhanded tactics to destroy the Northern Military Region, they were now using it as bait to lure other bases into unlocking the national missile defense system, only to strike them directly.

However, this theory lacked traction; it was too far-fetched. First, if Pabson had the means to silently and swiftly annihilate the Northern Military Region—the strongest in previous military exercises—why would he bother with the cumbersome process of using missiles? Furthermore, despite their mutual distrust, the military regions maintained close ties through frequent personnel rotations, making direct conflict unlikely.

Given the gravity of the situation, the hesitation seen when the Northern Military Region had previously called for help was absent. They quickly reached a consensus: if they remained indifferent, they might follow in the North’s footsteps, and there would be no one left to mourn them.

In less than two hours, both military regions responded to Pabson, agreeing to authorize the missile strike and activate the Salbo National Missile Defense System. This system required the fingerprints and passwords of at least two commanders, as well as the Eastern Commander’s authorized fingerprint, iris scan, and the highest-level authorization password. As the Federation's most advanced long-range missile system, it was designed with these stringent safeguards.

Although the system was based in the Eastern Military Region, it could not be activated by that faction alone—a failsafe established by the Federation from the start. While the Supreme Council theoretically held the power to override this, the politicians who comprised it had perished during the initial outbreak of the biochemical crisis. Thus, the remaining military high command became the sole keys to the system.

Outside the Eastern Military Region’s central control room, an elite special forces company stood in full combat gear. Accompanied by a few others, Pabson walked to the entrance of the authorization center. Turning to Wick and Alice, he said politely, "Please stop here; it is not appropriate to proceed further."

Wick frowned. The request was reasonable, yet he tried to negotiate: "Commander, these are extraordinary times. I believe it would be safer if we provided you with close protection."

"Rest assured," Pabson replied with a smile. "This area is guarded by our finest special forces; nothing will happen. Moreover, the control center is the most heavily fortified point in the facility. Just moments ago, our soldiers conducted a thorough inspection, including every ventilation duct. You have nothing to worry about."

The refusal was polite but firm. Wick knew that pressing further would only cause resentment. Ultimately, he relented. With so many soldiers present, even if something happened, he and Alice could reach him the moment a distress signal was sent. It should be fine.

Alice, however, habitually bit her thumb, feeling that something was fundamentally wrong.

***

Meanwhile, outside the base, Guo Lang, Xie Lin, and their group waited quietly for news. Unlike his usual self, Guo Lang seemed incredibly anxious, pacing back and forth with a pained expression that made even the composed Xie Lin roll his eyes.

"I say, what exactly are you thinking? Can’t you just say it? You’re making me feel restless too," Xie Lin remarked, uncharacteristically critical.

"If I could put it into words, would I be like this?" Guo Lang shot back. "I just have a really bad feeling."

"You’re one of those 'premonition' types?" Xie Lin shook his head with a smile. "Perhaps those with high sensory awareness rely on intuition, but I don’t buy into that. Most of the time, it’s just baseless worrying."

"Actually... sometimes our premonitions are quite accurate," Cang Jie said, rarely contradicting her boyfriend.

"Oh?" Xie Lin asked with interest. "Sometimes? What kind of probability are we talking about?"

"Hmm," Cang Mingyue tilted her head to consider. "Around five percent, I suppose."

Guo Lang: "..."

Xie Lin’s expression turned strangely solemn. "I see. That’s not actually that low."

"Hey, the two of you..." Just as Guo Lang was about to retort, the ground suddenly shook. His nerves went taut instantly.

Cang Mingyue pressed her hand to the ground, identified the source of the tremor, and pointed toward it, asking Miller, "Is there something at that location?"

Miller looked shocked. "The military region’s independent missile system!"

"An independent missile system?" A spark of clarity cut through the fog in Guo Lang’s mind. He felt he had finally grasped the point that had been bothering him. "What is its range?"

"Externally, it covers the entire border of the Ross Kingdom. Internally, it reaches as far as New Newton," Miller confirmed.

"What about the other military regions?" Guo Lang pressed.

"About the same... internally, they can only reach New Newton."

"Then why, after agreeing to a missile strike, would the other regions bypass their own independent systems and opt for the much more complicated national defense missile system?"

"The independent systems aren't powerful enough to destroy a city as large as New Newton," Miller said gravely. "Even if all three bases fired simultaneously, it wouldn't be enough. Since they’ve decided to strike that city, they naturally want to clear out every living corpse inside, so they would choose the national defense system."

"Let me ask you this: if the Eastern Military Region wanted to strike the Southwest or South Sea regions, could they do it?"

"No," Miller shook his head. "Not enough range."

"Which means the reverse is true as well... the other two regions shouldn't be able to reach the Eastern Military Region. But what about here?" Guo Lang’s face darkened. "Can this place hit the Eastern Military Region?"

"Here?" Miller looked terrified, stuttering, "I... I think... barely!"

Upon confirmation, Guo Lang’s expression turned grim. "Where is the central control room?" He finally understood why they had chosen to destroy the Northern Military Region first instead of the Eastern one, which was closest to New Newton. This had been a calculated conspiracy from the very start.

After Miller pointed out the direction, Guo Lang and Cang Mingyue vanished instantly. Before Miller could even register what happened, Xie Lin grabbed him and took off in hot pursuit.

The duo was incredibly fast. Even with his bloodline fully activated, Xie Lin struggled to keep up. He was stunned; he was used to Cang Mingyue’s speed, as no one in their team could outrun her, but he was amazed that Guo Lang could keep pace with her.

This added to his confusion regarding Guo Lang’s class. Theoretically, mimicking others' skills faced insurmountable obstacles, particularly regarding attributes. For instance, mimicking a mage’s skill required massive mental power, yet he had noticed during Guo Lang’s first attempt to mimic Jiang Liuying’s portal that his mental capacity was on par with his own. He still didn't understand how that was possible.

Even now, Guo Lang’s movements were not just physically similar to Alice’s; his agility was nearly identical. The class he had chosen was truly bizarre.

While Xie Lin pondered this, Guo Lang and Cang Mingyue had already reached the central control room.

The operators’ corpses were already decomposed. In the room, a body was strapped to an interrogation chair—clearly a high-ranking officer, judging by the uniform. The victim’s state was gruesome, suggesting he had suffered immense torture before death. Nearby, the control room’s computer screen was still active.

Cang Mingyue walked over, manipulated the console, and a countdown appeared on the screen.

"Can you stop it, Cang Jie?" Guo Lang asked anxiously.

"Hmm," Cang Mingyue stared for two seconds before shaking her head. "I don't understand it."

"What?" Guo Lang nearly choked.

Cang Mingyue looked at him, expressionless. "Is that strange? I’m a cheat-code developer. Not understanding such high-end tech is normal. Besides, aborting a program like this requires a password. To crack a national-level missile system, you’d need a master hacker like Kevin Mitnick. How could I possibly handle it?"

Guo Lang: "I..." He had a million expletives he couldn't voice.

As they spoke, Xie Lin arrived with Miller. When Cang Mingyue saw them, her gaze turned icy. Xie Lin froze, realizing she was looking at his hand, which was still wrapped around Miller’s waist. He pulled his hand away as if electrocuted, looking uncharacteristically embarrassed. "That... the situation was urgent..."

"Next time," Cang Mingyue stared coldly at Xie Lin, "do not use any excuse to grope another woman. If it happens again, I will kill that woman."

"Hey, you two!" Guo Lang nearly shouted. "Can we not discuss this at a time like this? And shouldn't you be chopping off the hand that did the groping? What kind of logic is that?"

"What’s the situation?" Xie Lin offered an awkward smile, naturally steering the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Not great," Guo Lang said, looking at the ten-minute countdown on the screen. "At least there's time to retreat, but since it’s started here, they won't be able to stop it on their end either. We must tell them to evacuate immediately!"