That must have been some kind of artillery shell, right?
Guan Tong stood by the window, staring at the lingering traces of explosions and gas in the distant sky. He felt certain he wasn’t mistaken.
It looked like there had been a long-range attack first, and then Pinglu’s side had fired interceptors. The result was a mid-air collision and explosion between the two.
...Was it deliberate, or caused by the Doomsday Rules?
Guan Tong didn’t think the Beixing military would be so slapdash as to accidentally shoot themselves.
An enemy strike was even less likely. If it had been launched by the Suroma military, there wouldn’t have been just one.
“It must be because of the Doomsday Rules... Could it be that under the influence of the Rule’s power, smart missiles developed some unintended iterative functionality?”
Guan Tong pondered for a moment and suddenly felt that staying inside his shelter wasn’t absolutely safe.
Though the odds weren’t high, if a large number of missiles and other weapons went rogue, flying everywhere and causing chaos, that would pose a real threat to him.
For instance, his shelter, forged from Mind Power, had been strengthened multiple times. It could withstand several waves of heavy firepower and low-intensity bombardment without issue.
But if a nuclear bomb suddenly fell from the sky, this shelter absolutely wouldn’t hold.
Not to mention a high-yield nuke; even the tactical nuclear bomb embedded inside the Red Demon mech on Eden Island would have been enough to destroy his shelter.
And besides...
“If some of Beixing’s electronic-chip-equipped weapons and equipment are going rogue, then Suroma’s modified bodies and war weapons will also be affected by the Doomsday Rules and malfunction, won’t they?”
This thought made Guan Tong’s eyes light up.
He had destroyed so many modified bodies on the day of Han Qiu’s wedding. Some of the more severely damaged ones had their internal chips exposed.
He had noticed them at the time, but hadn’t thought to grab a few and store them in his Storage Ring. Now that he thought about it, it was a bit regrettable.
Even though he didn’t understand the technology himself, he could have sold them to the Beixing government, the Xisiya Empire... or even through Black Star’s underground channels to the black market for a good profit.
Since Bruce was confirmed as an enemy, any move that could weaken the enemy’s strength was worth taking.
For now, if Suroma’s greatest reliance was affected by the Doomsday Rules and couldn’t perform at its usual capacity, why not use this window to look for an opportunity...
The more Guan Tong thought about it, the more he felt he should seize this chance.
Not just because it was a good opportunity, but because he, Adam, and Uenoshi had only recently caused a huge ruckus in Suroma. Most people would think they wouldn’t stir up trouble again anytime soon.
Even Bruce probably believed that after Adam’s death, Guan Tong would take some time to rest and regroup before continuing to oppose him.
“Right, I can exploit this gap in perception.” Guan Tong quickly made his decision. “I’ll go alone.”
Suroma’s national combat strength relied on smart weapons, and every single one of them was loaded with chips.
If these weapons couldn’t be operated normally due to the current Doomsday Rules, then Suroma’s military threat to Guan Tong would be greatly reduced.
He immediately decided to take advantage of this time window to double back and infiltrate Suroma again, doing something during the month-long Rule Period.
...
“What exactly is the situation?”
At a ground-level military depot somewhere in Pinglu City, Gao Liangwei, dressed in full military uniform, questioned the man before him.
The latter wore a lieutenant colonel’s shoulder insignia. He seemed only one rank below Gao Liangwei, but he knew very well that Gao Liangwei had been the head of the Countermeasures Research Office for over two years. His actual influence far exceeded that of an ordinary Senior Colonel.
“Report, sir. According to the investigation, a Feixing-2 missile equipped with a seek-and-strike guidance chip was launched. Based on feedback from the control console, the algorithm strategy inside the chip underwent a self-initiated change.”
“What kind of change?” Gao Liangwei asked in a deep voice.
“Originally, the Feixing-2’s algorithm strategy was to automatically search for targets and complete strikes, with the target range and marking handled by the control console... After its self-modification, the strategy became ‘unlimited target, prioritize observation and strike above all else!’”
Gao Liangwei was silent for a few seconds before saying, “So, under the influence of the Doomsday Rules, the missile’s self-updated algorithm strategy eliminated friendly-hostile target recognition and strengthened its observation and strike capabilities.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then why was it launched?”
Facing Gao Liangwei’s sharp gaze, the lieutenant colonel lowered his head in shame.
“It was my mismanagement. I didn’t carefully verify that all missiles were returned to storage, and one was mistakenly left in the launch vehicle...”
Hearing this, a rare flash of anger crossed Gao Liangwei’s face.
He rarely lost his temper, but this kind of mistake was far too serious.
Fortunately, Pinglu City had a permanent missile auto-intercept system. Otherwise, no matter where that launched missile landed in the city—even if it caused zero casualties—it would still be a massive problem.
“Lieutenant Colonel, I won’t cover up the dereliction of duty at this depot. The personnel responsible for inspecting the launch vehicle, and all superior officers—including you—will be disciplined and held accountable.”
“Yes, sir. I am willing to accept any punishment!” The lieutenant colonel straightened his back and replied.
The Beixing military system had long ordered all depots to implement Doomsday Rules preventive measures, temporarily shutting down and disabling all chip-based weapons.
Yet, a depot at this key location in Pinglu City had made a blunder. The lieutenant colonel in charge was mortified, and facing Gao Liangwei now, he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
After the problem was investigated, Gao Liangwei left the depot.
The security squad responsible for his protection followed close behind. The squad leader asked, “Commander, shall we teleport back to the base now?”
This security squad was made up entirely of Gao Liangwei’s old subordinates from his military days. When he transferred to the Countermeasures Research Office, he brought them along.
Unlike the rest of the office, who preferred to call him “Director,” these old subordinates were more accustomed to addressing him by his military rank.
“No.” Gao Liangwei said. “No teleportation.”
“No teleportation?”
The security squad members exchanged bewildered looks. The distance from the depot to the base was considerable.
Moreover, due to the Doomsday Rules, all means of transportation were now unsafe—vehicles with purely mechanical systems and no built-in chips had virtually disappeared in this era. The few that remained were antique cars used for collection and exhibition, with very little practical value.
“I’m going to walk back,” Gao Liangwei said.
At this, the security squad members were all taken aback.
The squad leader anxiously urged, “Commander, this is too dangerous! There’s no telling how many electronic devices out there have been affected by the Doomsday Rules and become hostile to humans. If you...”
“I’ve decided.” Gao Liangwei said in a tone that brooked no argument. “My purpose is to observe how the outside city changes after the Doomsday Rules take effect. No form of observation is more direct than seeing with my own eyes. Let’s go.”
He took the lead and strode forward. The security squad could only follow closely, forming a protective circle around him.
The squad leader immediately contacted the Countermeasures Research Office and reported Gao Liangwei’s decision.
At the office, Zhang Minglu quickly got in touch with Gao Liangwei and said he would dispatch an Ascendant mobile team to assist the security squad in carrying out the protection work.
...
On the outskirts of New Covenant City, in a large weed-covered farm, Guan Tong pushed open the barn door. A cloud of dust rushed into his face.
He waved his hand, watching the dust particles floating in the sunlight, his expression somewhat complicated.
Since Adam’s death, he hadn’t been back to this temporary hideout they had used a few times. Now, less than a month later, it was already covered in dust.
He swept his gaze around. Nothing in the barn had changed, which showed that the Suroma government had never discovered this hideout.
That wasn’t surprising. All the surveillance robots were concentrated in the urban areas. Suroma was a sparsely populated country with far too many desolate farms like this one. There was no way they could search them all.
He walked over to the table and picked up some intelligence documents lying on it.
These were leads Adam had gathered before, most of them related to Bruce, the Senators, and others.
Back then, both he and Adam had believed that Bruce and the Senate were of one mind. But the purge after the wedding incident showed they had been mistaken.
“Swish.”
As Guan Tong flipped through the materials, a photo fell out of a folder.
He caught it before it hit the ground. On the back was handwriting left by Ye Dang: “Me and my most beloved daughter, Ai Ya.”
Guan Tong’s pupils contracted slightly. He turned it over, and sure enough, the photo showed Adam with a rosy-cheeked little girl, both of them grinning widely.
“...”
Guan Tong looked at it for a few moments and was about to put it back. But after thinking it over, a faint light flickered on the Storage Ring on his left hand, and the photo was stored inside.
He felt this photo might come in handy someday, so it was better to keep it on him.
Then, from the materials, he came across a piece of internal intelligence recording that Yishan was going to hold a wedding.
Guan Tong stared at this intelligence, recalling that Adam had told him this news had come from his informant.
“...I remember that person was called ‘Wemban’?”
Adam had mentioned him a few times. Wemban was a friend he had made on Eden Island, who later joined the Suroma intelligence department and had been secretly feeding him information as an informant.
Now Adam was dead, but this Wemban might not have been exposed yet.
Should I try to contact this person?
Guan Tong had never met this Wemban, so he wasn’t sure if he could trust him the way Adam had.
And even if he wanted to make contact, he had no means to.
The attack on Adam had been too fatal, and death had come too suddenly. Apart from leaving Guan Tong a message through the Mind Network at the very last moment, he hadn’t had time to pass on any other dying words.
Thus, Guan Tong had no way to contact this Wemban. To get in touch with him, he would first have to have Shadow infiltrate the Suroma intelligence agency and then find the person.
But that seemed...
Guan Tong thought for a moment, then started frantically rifling through the rest of the materials in the barn.
He did this because he thought Adam might have prepared something in advance. Given Adam’s personality, he had likely quietly made some arrangements.
After all, the danger of the wedding operation was something both of them had been very clear about before the action.
Not just the two of them; Moon Key, who had made a prophecy about this matter, was also well aware.
But since Adam’s death, Guan Tong hadn’t gone to see Moon Key. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but that he felt it would be too sad.
It was like when three childhood friends grow up together, and if something suddenly happens to one of them, the other two will instinctively reduce or even avoid meeting each other.
It wasn’t that their friendship was strained; it was just that every time they met, they would inevitably think of the one who was gone, making the atmosphere heavy.
Though Guan Tong’s relationship with Adam and Moon Key wasn’t quite to that extent, similar emotions still lingered. He thought that perhaps not just him, but Moon Key might not want to see him anytime soon either.
“Got it.”
After searching for a while, Guan Tong found a note card inside a folder.
On the front was written: “Shadow, if we ever run into danger, your chances of survival are definitely higher than mine. When that happens, you’ll surely find this note.”
On the back was a contact account, along with the words: “This is my informant inside the Suroma government. We agreed that if something happens to me, someone will send a code phrase to him, and that person will be someone I trust. The code phrase is ‘the first item.’”
This guy...
Guan Tong finished reading the note and let out a sigh.
There was no doubt that Adam had had a strong premonition before the action that he might die. The all-around enhancement that Ascendants received might have included the sixth sense.
He flipped to the back of the note. The contact account was a combination of letters and numbers.
He guessed it was a username on the Ascendant Home website, since that was the only place where they could communicate securely via private messages.
As for the code phrase Adam had mentioned...
Guan Tong flipped back to the front of the note, looked at the hint “the first item,” and understood its meaning.
He went outside, summoned his shelter, and logged into the Ascendant Home website on his computer. After searching, he indeed found that account.
Then he sent a private message to that account, containing only a few words: Kimos Star fragments.
This was precisely the item that had first brought him and Adam into contact. It was because the latter had traded him two fragments that Guan Tong had been able to assemble the complete puzzle and obtain that crucial title reward.
Less than a minute after the private message was sent, the account replied.
“You’re Shadow Himself? Then you knowing the code phrase is proof enough!”
“Who are you?”
Though Guan Tong was fairly certain the person on the other end was “Wemban,” he asked to be safe.
“Didn’t Adam mention me? I’m Wemban. We met on Eden Island. If he hadn’t stopped the war weapon from self-destructing back then, I would have been blown up on that island.”
Guan Tong: “Wemban, Adam told me about you. You work in the Suroma intelligence bureau.”
Wemban: “That’s right. Is he... really dead?”
Guan Tong: “Yes. He’s already been buried.”
Wemban: “I was still holding onto a shred of hope that when you said he was dead in that long post earlier, you might have been deceiving Bruce. But... in any case, what a waste. Adam was truly a good person, rare in this era.”
Guan Tong: “Though he’s dead, the work he left unfinished must be completed by the two of us working together.”
Wemban: “You mean rescuing his daughter? Sigh... I hate to say it, but I’m afraid it’s really impossible.”
Guan Tong frowned at Wemban’s message.
“Why do you say that?”
Wemban: “After Bruce carried out his purge, the entire Suroma is now his one-man show. I can’t get a single piece of intelligence.”
Guan Tong: “The intelligence bureau can’t get intelligence?”
Wemban: “Our bureau’s current job is only to gather foreign intelligence. We can’t touch anything related to Bruce; otherwise, we’ll trigger an internal lockdown. A colleague triggered it before and was ‘disappeared’ shortly after.”
Guan Tong read Wemban’s reply and felt that if that was the case, this informant wouldn’t be of much use.
Wemban: “Oh, right. While I can’t get intelligence on Bruce, I do know something about one person connected to him!”
Guan Tong: “Who?”
Wemban: “His daughter, Yishan! I know where she is now. Regardless of anything else, she is Bruce’s daughter. Even if Bruce used her, she’s still a blood relative after all.”
Yishan, huh...
Guan Tong recalled the collapsed, despairing bride in Wensilisa Castle. He thought for a moment, then typed his reply.
“Tell me where she is. Also, how much do you know about Suroma’s current defense situation? Tell me that too.”