Chapter 149: The Disappeared Items

Chapter 149: The Vanishing

Through the warehouse doors, Chen Jian could already see the interior layout.

Like the vast majority of small nuclear weapons depots worldwide, this warehouse employed a 'rack-style' layout.

At least thirty massive racks stood in three parallel rows inside the warehouse, with transport rails laid in the aisles between them, and on the ceiling, lifting arms were installed for moving and grasping cargo.

Each rack was relatively self-contained; judging by its heavy metal construction, it likely served not only storage but also maintenance and self-sufficiency functions.

Nevertheless, self-sufficiency always required electricity, regardless of conditions.

Now, however, the entire nuclear arsenal's power system had failed, rendering these racks useless for their original purpose.

At least, their corrosion resistance was excellent, and their seals were likely largely unaffected.

Theoretically, as long as isotopic decay remained within controllable limits, these tactical nuclear weapons should still be largely usable.

This was truly a treasure unseen before.

Chen Jian had never imagined he could find such a thing in the Anqing ruins.

——

After all, although he indeed knew of this base, he had always subconsciously thought that the weapons stored here were not meant for him to scavenge.

But now it seemed the loophole truly existed, and it was not insignificant.

He felt impatient, eager to rush into the warehouse and pull out every nuclear weapon.

Yet Ji Xing's words made him halt abruptly in his tracks.

“The ghost is inside?”

How could this possibly look like there’s any kind of 'ghost'?

Chen Jian frowned at Ji Xing, then asked:

“Are you sure? What exactly is in there? What makes you feel it’s different?”

His words hung in the air; this time, Ji Xing gave a definite answer.

“Smell!”

“I’m certain there’s a scent in here like that of Shan Cheng—very faint, but unmistakably present!”

“What kind of smell?”

Chen Jian raised his hand, signaling the restless others to stand by, then continued:

“Is it a smell you know? Besides Shan Cheng, where else have you encountered it?”

“Only Shan Cheng has this smell! I can guarantee it—only Shan Cheng!”

That was the one-of-a-kind thing.

Chen Jian didn’t know exactly what the Shan Cheng smell was, but if he looked at it from another angle...

...what in the nuclear depot could be unique?

He turned to Lei Jie, Shen Yue, and the others, asking:

“Is there anything in the nuclear arsenal that you can’t find elsewhere?”

“.Nuclear weapons.”

Shen Yue answered solemnly.

“.Can you tell me something I don’t know?”

Chen Jian glared at him; the latter spread his hands innocently and continued:

“It’s a fact—aside from the nuclear weapons themselves, I can’t think of anything that would differ greatly from other depots or locations.”

Of course, our thinking shouldn’t be limited to the weapons themselves; related factors can also be considered.

For instance, the lead cabinets used to store nuclear weapons—this stuff looks anything but simple; perhaps they’re filled with some inert gas, producing a different odor?

How could that be?

Chen Jian shook his head in rebuttal:

“Do you think inert gases are dangerous? Look at her reaction—does she seem like she’s joking?”

“Perhaps it’s a lingering symptom of some psychological trauma.”

Shen Yue paused, his joking demeanor fading, then spoke seriously:

“The so-called smell isn’t the point; the point is Shan Cheng.”

“Her experiences there have sunk deep into her subconscious, so any contact with familiar elements will instantly trigger an empathetic response.”

“She fears not the smell, but Shan Cheng itself.”

“So my meaning is, this smell may not be particularly special or mysterious.”

“Good idea.”

Chen Jian nodded slightly, but then added:

“But this doesn’t explain why Ji Xing says the smell is one‑of‑a‑kind—it must have a source.”

“The only way to find out is to go inside and search.”

Shen Yue looked toward the warehouse doors ahead; Chen Jian fell silent for a few seconds, then spoke:

“No matter what, we’ve come this far.”

“Lei Jie, Zeng Yi, you come with me inside and try to open the lead cabinets.”

“Since Ji Xing said the anomaly’s source is ‘smell,’ we’ll start with the smell.”

“If opening the lead cabinets makes the smell stronger, then the smell is related to the nuclear weapons.”

“If not, then it’s tied to the warehouse facilities.”

“As long as we empty this place and examine everything, we’ll surely find the true source of the odor.”

“Understood!”

At the command, the group hesitated not a step, striding straight into the warehouse.

Ji Xing wanted to stop them, yet she felt she might have overreacted.

The warehouse looked harmless at a glance; her intuition was merely an unfounded panic.

Not only Shen Yue, but even she herself began to wonder if she’d been traumatized by a snake bite ten years ago and now feared every rope.

So in the end, she did not block Chen Jian and the others again; instead she stood silently to the side, ready to act.

If any danger arose, she could rush in immediately to back them up and get them out.

——

Last time she fled, but this time she had no intention of running again.

This wasn’t because she had suddenly become self‑sacrificing; she simply felt this was her closest approach yet to the Shan Cheng secret, and she wasn’t about to give up.

Meanwhile, Chen Jian had already stepped into the warehouse’s perimeter.

He was merely an ordinary man, and though he had undergone years of training, the ceiling of his physical capacity remained fixed.

What the holy-blooded could sense, he could not feel.

To him, it was truly just an utterly ordinary warehouse.

Although it housed nuclear weapons, what of it?

Chen Jian switched on his tactical flashlight and examined each container in turn.

Almost all the lead cabinets were sealed; only two had been opened, and beside one of them a rail cart sat, its nuclear warhead lying still upon it.

".This is the warhead of an air-launched DF-21, already fully assembled."

Chen Jian carefully examined the warhead's model, then said:

"One could infer that, during the great cataclysm, this place had already shifted to combat readiness."

"Otherwise, these warheads ought to have been stored in disassembled form."

"But if that were the case, a bigger problem would arise."

Having said that, Chen Jian paused, then continued to ask:

"Where are the people?"

"Where did everyone here go?"

As his words fell, everyone stood frozen in place.

Only then did they finally realize where that profound sense of dissonance came from.

Yes, this underground facility was a tomb for aircraft and equipment, but not for people.

From the moment they entered, they had seen no human corpses!

This was starkly different from Facility 7025, which also lacked occupants, but there they had withdrawn voluntarily and sealed the site themselves.

And here?

"There is only one possibility."

"The unit was urgently summoned and moved away."

Lei Jie exhaled softly, then said:

"But that reason is rather intriguing—the warheads were fully assembled, about to be mounted, and yet at this critical juncture everyone was withdrawn."

"Either they had discovered a greater threat that even nuclear weapons could not neutralize."

"Or they had a compelling reason to leave."

"We must first find where they went, then we can gradually infer the truth."

"But having said that, what do you think—might these 'vanished people' be connected to the 'smell of the mountain city' that Ji Xing mentioned?"

"Hard to say."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"Our understanding of this world is still too limited; although the National Library's archives contain some technical data, the overall technological level and its applications remain unclear to us."

"We cannot simply judge this era's technology by past experience—if the earlier exoskeletons were within the realm of foreseeable development, then that sky‑land machine already speaks volumes."

"Therefore, accurately speaking, it is not only Ji Xing who must learn, but we as well."

"Indeed."

Lei Jie brushed the dust from his hands, then said:

"Regardless, these nuclear weapons are genuinely fine assets."

"This DF-21 warhead is no trifle—six hundred kilograms, three hundred megatons TNT equivalent, a bona fide weapon of mass destruction."

"Unfortunately, we cannot now achieve a two‑in‑one configuration, nor do we have air‑launch capability."

"Can it be detonated?"

Chen Jian asked briefly.

"It can be done, but it is extremely difficult—no one in history has ever managed it."

"In the 1990s, Chechen militants also obtained a nuclear bomb, yet they ultimately failed to detonate it—not due to political maneuvering, but purely because of insufficient technology."

"The nuclear warhead we previously found was a special case; it ought to have been reassembled after a two‑in‑one configuration."

"That warhead's PAL system had already been disabled; a simple circuit restoration would enable detonation."

"But the warheads in this warehouse remain locked; we lack the authorization codes, and nearly all electronic gear has failed, so to detonate we would need to bypass the PAL, tamper‑proof mechanisms, and self‑destruct devices."

"Yet the DF-21 warhead possesses a physical lock and anti‑tamper cutting protection, making disassembly implausible."

"If we wish to detonate it, we must expend great effort and also rely on a measure of luck."

"How so?"

Chen Jian pressed further.

Lei Jie pondered briefly, then replied:

"We need to repair the electronic systems of these warheads."

"At the same time, we need to find a way to unlock them."

"Do you think such an unlocking method exists?"

Chen Jian asked, somewhat doubtful.

Lei Jie, however, nodded firmly and said:

"They even considered the Three Gorges issue; it is inconceivable they would overlook the transfer of this vast legacy."

"Somewhere there must be hidden the method to unlock the warheads, and they would surely have employed some means to screen their heirs."

"We are merely finalists in the heirs' selection, yet we have not truly obtained the key."

"Understood."

Chen Jian let out a long breath.

Indeed, they thought of everything—how could they have missed this point?

So what, exactly, does the mountain city have?

Chen Jian grew ever more curious about that enigmatic city.

Thus far, all clues point to that city, as if it holds the cipher to save the world.

Yet how to reach it remains an unresolved question.

"No matter what, first we must find a way to move this stuff out."

"Even if we cannot detonate them, these warheads are vital assets; we cannot simply leave them here for others to seize."

Chen Jian patted the cart beside him and continued:

"Take this thing out and let Ji Xing see whether the 'smell' she spoke of is related to the warheads."

"If that is the case, it would be interesting."

"If not, then it would be all the more intriguing."

Lei Jie teased, asking back.

"Indeed."

Chen Jian greeted Zeng Yi, and together they heaved the nuclear warhead along the already rusted tracks, pushing it out of the warehouse.

They encountered no danger, nor did any mishap occur.

Aside from being drenched in sweat, the three were no different from when they had entered the warehouse.

The ever‑vigilant Ji Xing finally exhaled, but before Chen Jian could speak, she blurted out:

"It’s not this thing."

"The source of the smell isn’t this thing."

"It’s still in the warehouse; I just can’t find it."

"Do you want to go inside and have a look?"

After a moment’s thought, Chen Jian asked.

Ji Xing hesitated, then nodded.

She knew that if Chen Jian and the others could come out, it proved there was no great danger inside.

Thus, following closely behind Chen Jian, Ji Xing finally entered the warehouse that filled her with dread.

As she made sense of the tangled tracks on the floor, she first froze, then dropped to her knees and sniffed the ground like a hound.

After a moment she rose again, somewhat disappointed, and said:

"Not this."

"I also think it can’t be this; it’s just an ordinary rail system."

Chen Jian waved his hand, signaling Ji Xing to keep looking around.

After circling the warehouse once, Ji Xing still could not locate the source of that peculiar "smell."

She furrowed her brow and said:

"That smell was originally very strong—at least in Shan Cheng, the fog there carried a potent odor."

"But here, whatever was giving off the smell has completely dissipated; only because the place is relatively sealed does a faint trace linger."

"Sorry, I may have overreacted; the dangerous thing is gone, so this place should be safe."

"No need to apologize; your vigilance is commendable."

Chen Jian gave Ji Xing an encouraging glance; she nodded gratefully, about to utter a few polite words, when suddenly she lifted her gaze to a corner.

"Why is that empty?"

Chen Jian followed the direction of her finger, first startled, then replied:

"That spot should have originally held another lead cabinet, but it has been moved away."

"Why was it moved?"

"Why do you ask?"

Chen Jian keenly sensed Ji Xing’s unusual reaction and immediately pressed on:

"Is the smell stronger there?"

"No, it’s the same."

"I just feel it shouldn’t be empty."

Indeed.

It shouldn’t be empty.

Chen Jian only then realized what had happened.

He had been completely captivated by the warehouse full of nuclear weapons, while Ji Xing, who had no concept of such arms, was the first to notice the problem.

In this orderly warehouse, that empty rack was the sole point of disorder.

Something had been taken away from here.

What could it have been?

Chen Jian drew a deep breath and then said:

"We need to figure out what that was."

"I don’t know why, but I have a hunch."

"The thing that vanished from here is what the Ring‑Circle Trading Company truly seeks!"

(End of chapter)