Chapter 151: Trade-In for New

Chapter 151: Exchanging the Old for the New

When Wang Lizi uttered the two characters "Fuxi", Chen Jian almost instantly confirmed the authenticity of that information.

Because the naming convention of this thing indeed carried a hint of the romantic style familiar to him.

"Fuxi".

Isn't it in the same lineage as the names Chang'e, Jade Rabbit, Kunpeng, Jiaolong, Tianwen, Beidou, Mozi, and so on?

The only problem is that this name is "too big".

So big that only a non-ordinary project could possibly qualify to use it.

Chen Jian could not think of anything that could be named this way, nor did he know what technology or what kind of project lay behind it.

And after repeatedly questioning Wang Lizi, even threatening to terminate cooperation and launch an immediate attack, he finally confirmed that the other party's information was really not much more than his own.

The people of the Ring Exchange only knew that the Fuxi Project was a major undertaking, possibly related to "Restarting the Ring".

But they lacked the qualifications and the ability to open the sealed archives and fully uncover the truth.

So they could only rely on the extremely limited clues at hand, trying to obtain more information.

And the base of the Tenth Division in Anqing was one of the places most likely to yield clues.

Unfortunately, there was nothing left there.

Chen Jian described to him the situation in the archive room, recounting how he had learned this code name.

After repeatedly asking Chen Jian many detailed questions, Wang Lizi finally believed Chen Jian's statement.

Perhaps he had never held much hope to begin with, or perhaps he thought that, having already laid everything bare to this extent, Chen Jian had no reason to hide much more.

In short, both sides finally reached an agreement, and Wang Lizi also promised that in the upcoming actions he would not again use "withholding information" to exploit Chen Jian's squad.

That was a piece of good news.

Chen Jian had originally prepared to cut ties completely with them, but now, with the situation changed, continuing cooperation had become the more rational choice.

The fragile relationship between the two sides stabilized once more; after giving Wang Lizi a stern financial squeeze, Chen Jian ended the call.

Afterwards, watching the Ring Exchange squad withdrawing in the drone's viewpoint, he let out a long breath.

"The situation has become relatively clear."

"They are chasing clues about the Fuxi Project, which is related to restarting the Ring, which also means it is tied to the truth of Shan Cheng."

"Unfortunately, the Ring Exchange's understanding of this project is not much greater than ours."

"What they have grasped is merely a list of locations, and the vast majority of those places are currently off-limits to human activity."

"No wonder they have developed into such a strange organizational form; they are more like a professional archaeological team than we are."

Hearing his words, Shen Yue, standing nearby, said with a hint of teasing:

"Calling it archaeology is giving them too much credit; at best they are grave robbers."

"Buying the box and returning the pearl, wanton destruction—those truly valuable items dug up from the 'tombs' they excavate have probably already been wasted, leaving only some technology that can be directly utilized."

"If the ancestors knew they were doing this, they might well be so angry as to crawl out of their graves and give them a big slap."

"At least that's better than the Mechanical God Cult and the Holy Blood Hall."

Chen Jian waved his hand and said:

"No matter what, we have come one step closer to the truth."

"Originally those contracts meant to obscure things were cancelled, information was equalized, and in the upcoming missions we can go straight in."

"According to Wang Lizi's account, the nearest location of the clues they possess is the Lu Zhou ruins."

"And Lu Zhou is the location of Institute 096."

"In my memory, Institute 096 is the Intelligence Institute, right? So does this Fuxi Project relate to intelligence-related projects?"

"No."

Lei Jie corrected:

"The Intelligence Institute is in the capital; the one in Lu Zhou is called the Intelligent Machinery Institute."

"The Intelligence Institute mainly works on machine learning and machine vision, while the Intelligent Machinery Institute focuses mainly on modern agriculture."

"Institute 096 is fairly strong in bionic perception and micro-nano technology, though I can't say much about its overall technical strength."

"In short, I don't know how this institute could be leading a project whose importance is obvious at a glance."

"But it's also possible that, at some future point, they achieved a technological breakthrough."

"After all, twenty years have passed—anything could have happened."

"Indeed."

Chen Jian let out a soft sigh and continued:

"If that's the case, our investigative direction becomes even more vague."

"I don't even know whether this thing is worth pursuing further."

"After all, our main destination is still Jinling."

"If we detour to Lu Zhou, not only is the distance far, but if anything goes wrong we might not be able to withdraw intact."

"Or should we just go straight to Jinling?"

"No, let's not go to Jinling first; let's go to Tongling instead."

He Shuo raised his hand and said:

"The Mechanical God Cult in Anqing City is preparing for battle; large amounts of weapons and ammunition originally meant for trade have been banned from sale, so we can't buy anything."

"But now our supplies are in a state of severe shortage, making it hard to sustain large-scale combat."

"We need to first go to Tongling to resupply, replenish our strength, and then consider how to arrange the next steps."

"Whether we go to Jinling, to Lu Zhou, or straight to Quan Cheng to stuff a big one into Hua Du's mouth and beat them into submission, we must first get our equipment sorted before we can decide."

"That's right."

Chen Jian nodded in agreement, then made the decision:

"Then let's go to Tongling first."

"Eat rice bite by bite, walk the road step by step."

"The Ring Exchange has been chasing this target for decades; now they have only just touched the edge."

"We cannot hope to unravel the mystery that quickly; we must proceed gradually."

"Now we have a pile of things to do in our hands; we cannot afford to be overly ambitious."

"Come on, let's set out immediately—first to Tongling!"

"Understood!"

At the command, the squad members sprang into action.

Facing the newly risen sun, the eight of them once again stepped onto the proper path.

They continued along the overland route, but this time, while trading with the settlements, they also brought good news to every settlement they passed.

The horrors of Anqing had been eradicated, the conspiracies of Huadu temporarily checked, and the innocent civilians could finally catch a breath.

Chen Jian spared no effort in proclaiming the feats of the Huaxia Army, harboring no trace of modesty.

How did that saying go again?

If you do not seize the high ground of propaganda, the enemy will take it.

“Prestige” is something truly vital in this world.

Once fame spreads, as long as you survive the initial “cold start” phase, it will proliferate rapidly.

Of the eight in the party, the vast majority endorsed his strategy; only Ji Xing, upon seeing the grateful settlers, frowned and posed a question to Chen Jian.

“.So why are you fashioning yourselves as savior‑heroes?”

“I feel this clashes with your creed, and given the circumstances, it isn’t the wisest move.”

“Don’t forget, we just fought a major battle with those Huadu people.”

“Their losses in that battle are incalculable.”

“Their queen is probably pondering how to tear you limb from limb, yet you go about flaunting yourselves instead of staying low‑key.”

“What exactly do you gain from this?”

“The followers of the Machine God need idols for the masses—do you need them too?”

“We do not need idols.”

Chen Jian shook his head and replied:

“But we need people to erect belief.”

“I must let them know that a force exists in this world capable of becoming their lifeline.” “Perhaps they won’t think of that straw in ordinary times, but when they stare into the abyss, it will spring to mind unbidden, and they will ask themselves whether they should reach out and grasp it.”

“And clearly, in this world, the vast majority of civilians perhaps face the brink of despair once every ten days or half a month.”

“You’re being too cautious.”

Shen Yue interjected from the side:

“No need for ten days or half a month—I’d say it happens every three or five days.”

“.Indeed.”

Ji Xing’s face showed a hint of reflection, then she said:

“If this trend continues, more and more civilians will flock to you.”

“And with your abilities, you’ll likely turn them into useful soldiers soon enough.”

“Or perhaps not soldiers at all, but more valuable workers.”

“Workers?”

Ji Xing asked, bewildered:

“The workers in Anqing’s workshops?”

“Certainly not.”

Chen Jian shook his head:

“Are those workshop laborers really workers? Slaves, more or less.”

“We want genuine workers—though frankly, training workers is harder than training soldiers.”

“But if you can train a truly usable worker, the value he can produce might exceed that of three soldiers.”

“That exaggerated?”

Ji Xing questioned instinctively, while Chen Jian merely nodded firmly, offering no reply.

Ji Xing, lost in thought, lowered her head and silently gazed at the steering wheel Chen Jian held.

The “cat car” they spoke of—wasn’t it built by the very “workers” he mentioned?

If so, then he wasn’t wrong.

In a sense, workers are stronger than soldiers.

——

But does it really matter that much?

The Huaxia Army has too many enemies.

The Machine God Church and the Holy Blood Hall merely maintain a fragile peace with them; aside from monsters, the only overt powerful foe is Huadu.

Without doubt, Huadu has fully prepared for large‑scale war against the Huaxia Army and Huangshi City.

Has the Huaxia Army readied itself?

What do they intend to do?

Will they really march to Quancheng, storm Huadu’s stronghold, and exterminate them all?

At that thought, Ji Xing shuddered involuntarily.

She realized that the few people beside her were truly capable of such deeds.

——

Then the question arises.

In the face of the Huaxia Army’s offensive, has Huadu prepared?

Elsewhere, in Quancheng.

Ji Xing does not know whether Huadu has readied itself, but the “Queen” of Huadu clearly knows she has not.

Upon hearing that the horrors within Anqing’s ruins had been wiped out and her dispatched forces utterly annihilated, her expression turned chillingly calm.

She issued no order for revenge, nor did she devise any battle plan.

She merely dismissed all unrelated personnel, retaining only her most trusted “Chancellor”—also her strategist—and then addressed the memorial presented by her subordinates:

“This time we have suffered grievous loss.”

“Our research has suffered a devastating blow; vast achievements have gone up in flames, and many scholars who had just begun to glimpse the path perished in Anqing’s ruins.”

“Worse still, the horrors we had painstakingly gathered were scattered; though not eradicated, reassembling a camp of this scale is no easy task.”

“It may be that we must completely overhaul the direction of our experiments.”

“Shifting from a ‘maternal’ basis to a ‘paternal’ one.”

“That is almost like starting another ten years from scratch!”

Upon hearing the queen’s words, the strategist nodded slowly.

But after a moment of silence, he did not offer the usual platitudes of praise or comfort; instead, he calmly analyzed:

“This defeat was in fact inevitable; even without the Huaxia Army’s interference, we would struggle to achieve any breakthrough in Anqing’s ruins.”

“The reason is simple: we were too conspicuous, too rash.”

“We were negligent in concealing our true purpose, negligent in controlling the precious drugs, and once these substances leak, they will inevitably arouse the vigilance of the Machine God Cult and the Hall of Holy Blood.”

“Their actions have already made everything clear—even if the Huaxia Army does not move, they will strike us at some point.”

“Therefore, in the forthcoming research, we must proceed with extreme caution.”

“But this is nearly impossible.”

The Queen lightly tapped the table, then said:

“If we were to experiment with plants, we could readily cultivate a vast tract of land and harvest abundant altered specimens within a year.”

“If we used mice or rabbits, they would produce large numbers of offspring each month.”

“But our experimental subjects are humans.”

“And these people can bear only one child per year, and each pregnancy yields a single offspring.”

“Besides increasing numbers, what other recourse do we have?”

“Extend the timeline.”

The Strategist spoke calmly:

“Huadu will not perish within ten years, nor will the dread demons vanish in that span.”

“Even if we wait another ten years, what would that change?”

“We will both be dead.”

The Queen fixed the Strategist with a stern gaze and said:

“In ten years, we will surely die.”

“Huadu has gradually slipped from our grasp, the drugs have corroded the humanity here, and someday we shall be devoured by their side effects.”

“When that time comes.”

“Then we shall launch a great purge.”

The Strategist said without hesitation:

“Warriors bred from drugs ought to die on the battlefield.”

“They will be replaced by new people, and those new people will uphold the old order.”

“.Yes. But where should we strike? The Huaxia Army? Huangshi City?”

As the Queen’s words faded, the Strategist shook his head and said:

“.Do you truly believe revenge against them would be meaningful? They possess none of the resources we need, nor many people worth plundering.”

“Striking them would be a futile blow.”

“Moreover, we lack the capacity to retaliate against them.”

“The distance is too great, with the Machine God Cult’s territory lying in between.”

“We need not revenge them; since this conflict has ended, let it end.”

“All we must do is continue to fulfill what we ought to do.”

“Let us go to Jinling.”

“This relic has long been occupied by the Machine God Cult, yet they have failed to fully clear and develop it.”

“What they cannot accomplish, we shall do in their stead.”

“Fortunately, this opportunity also lets us see what we have long sought, what it truly is.”

“Good.”

The Queen nodded solemnly, ending this brief discussion.

And after the Strategist departed, she gazed upon the thin stack of paper on the table, now yellowed and brittle.

Upon the topmost sheets were printed lines of obscure text, so abstruse that she could not fathom their meaning despite racking her brains.

“Constructing a zmgi2 mutant using the Ac-Ds transposon system within the DAP‑seq technical framework.”

“Increasing the proportion of expressed genes in sperm via CRISPR/Cas9 and RNAa activation methods.”

“Storage location for core equipment and experimental materials such as qRT‑PCR and Cas9 enzyme.”

“Shancheng, Imperial Capital, Jinling.”

(End of Chapter)