Chapter 196: Infiltration

Chapter 196: Infiltration

According to Jin Zhong, the Great Library is a standalone building situated on the east side of the Mechanical God Church's cathedral.

The edifice rises in three stories; the first floor serves as a relatively public repository of literary and historical materials, accessible to every warrior of the cathedral's guard regiment.

Below that lie the Confidential Level and the Top‑Secret Level, where the Mechanical God Church safeguards its most hidden knowledge and its most obscure intelligence.

In general, only clergy of archbishop rank may tread the second floor, while the third floor is reserved solely for the successive saints—namely the Black‑cloaked Archbishops.

If the Mechanical God Church indeed hoards information concerning the Beast Tide, there can be no doubt that such knowledge and records would be stored on the third floor.

Gaining access to that third tier thus becomes the immediate obstacle.

He Shuo and his companion could, of course, simply smash through the library’s defenses by force, blow the doors asunder, and storm inside.

But such an act would be tantamount to a declaration of war, inevitably crossing the Mechanical God Church’s red line and provoking an unforeseen battle.

And once war is ignited, it cannot be halted in the short term.

For the Huaxia forces, victory may be within reach, yet the drain of personnel and weaponry, the effort required to sustain a sprawling metropolis, and the backlash from zealot religious fanatics all pose vexing problems.

Therefore, before his own cadre is sufficiently strong and his ideological re‑education reaches its intended goal, He Shuo intends to avoid open conflict as much as possible.

His plan is simple: Jin Zhong will smuggle an ultra‑silent hummingbird drone and a miniature base station into the first floor, then wait for an opportunity to follow the Black‑cloaked Archbishop—or Jin Cheng, the so‑called “Saint”—downward.

He is not at all concerned about missing the chance.

The logic is crystal clear.

If the Mechanical God Church truly seeks to unleash the Beast Tide, they must require a massive trove of data to underpin their actions.

Penetrating the so‑called “Great Library” to consult those records is indispensable; they may even extract the relevant materials to use as direct operational references.

That is his opening.

Of course, as Zeng Yi has pointed out, should the opportunity never materialize and the plan fail, He Shuo is not without alternative schemes.

Zhang Tao is one breach, and the multiple unmanned combat units he commands constitute another.

With multiple threads running in parallel, He Shuo does not deem the acquisition of his desired intelligence to be especially arduous.

All he must do is wait.

——

Yet Jin Cheng did not keep him waiting long.

At eight o’clock that night, He Shuo received the activation signal from the drone.

Soon after, the drone’s video feed displayed Jin Zhong’s face, tense and strained.

Simultaneously, the microphone aboard the drone captured faint murmurs and chants echoing from the first floor of the Great Library.

“The light‑spirit that leaps through copper veins

Weaves the fragments of star‑maps into a holy scripture.

Interprets the ancient echo’s maxims

Guides the wayward currents back to the righteous path.

Bestows upon us the key to commune with the machine‑soul

Laying the track of truth amid chaos.”

“Three Saints forge, the mechanized flesh immortal

Three Saints share a source, all machines converge as one.”

Zeng Yi listened intently to the prayer, and after a moment he exclaimed in astonishment:

“Could the Mechanical God Church’s ‘Trinity of the Supreme Saint’ refer to three distinct elements?”

“They have spoken of steam and gunpowder before; now they invoke electricity.”

“What, then, does the ‘Three’ in the Trinity of the Supreme Saint signify—these three forces?”

He Shuo, standing nearby, gave a slight nod before replying:

“That is likely the doctrine upheld by fundamentalist zeal.”

“Yet in recent decades the Trinity of the Supreme Saint has been deified, becoming a singular entity.”

“Bah, the trinity of a religion.”

“It seems Zhang Tao was right; the entire Mechanical God Church is veering down a twisted road.”

“Let us set that aside for now.”

He Shuo gently adjusted the drone’s control stick, tilting the hummingbird micro‑drone’s axis ever so slightly, and signaled to Jin Zhong that he was “ready.”

Jin Zhong appeared startled by the drone’s sudden motion, but he quickly regained composure, carefully lifted the drone, and placed it in a spot more conducive to take‑off.

The drone’s base station, meanwhile, he concealed in a hidden corner, shrouded beneath a heap of miscellaneous debris.

With everything prepared, He Shuo immediately commanded the drone to ascend.

Moments later, the entire layout of the Great Library’s first floor unfolded in full view on the drone’s camera.

It was a vast hall no different from an ordinary library, even the shelves resembled massive alloy book‑cases that might have been transplanted from some other library.

Yet the volumes lining those shelves were not the commonplace tomes of their era; they were countless, yet uniformly repetitive, religious texts.

Doctrines, scriptures, standard prayers, hymn‑filled glorifications, and those obviously edited—perhaps even rewritten—“instructional picture books.”

The camera zoomed in, scanning in the dim light the books spread upon a table, and the contents made He Shuo furrow his brow.

“This is a textbook on ballistics.”

“The fundamentals are correct, but it has clearly been altered.”

“The formulas remain, yet the complex calculations have vanished.”

“These people are trying to simplify the computations; no wonder their aim is off.”

“A prophecy of electricity? Damn.”

“The Mechanical God Church indeed still preserves a wealth of knowledge, though it is wholly twisted.”

“So which came first—religion birthing knowledge, or knowledge being twisted before religion emerged?”

When his words faded, Zeng Yi’s gaze shifted.

He had encountered similar books before.

Although the content differed, the method of “twisting knowledge” was unmistakably the same!

“It must be the latter.”

Zeng Yi said gravely:

“I have seen comparable material in the archive of the Holy Blood Hall; at the time I thought those were relics that survived the Great Cataclysm.”

“But after witnessing the genuine scriptures at Project 7025 and the 011 Facility, I realized they were nothing of the sort.”

“It seems someone deliberately reshaped the knowledge.”

“What purpose could such a deed serve?”

I don't know.

He Shuo shook his head and replied:

"But if that were true, it would inevitably be a grave problem."

"Who committed this act, and what purpose drives them?"

"The three hundred plus years since the apocalypse are indeed not so simple. If we wish to find the answer"

"We must locate a chronicler whose record has never been broken."

"Shan City."

Zeng Yi spoke with a knowing smile, while He Shuo nodded silently.

At that moment, the prayers on the first floor of the Great Library fell silent, and one by one the people filed out.

"The time has come."

He Shuo said:

"The drone returns to the base to recharge, awaiting further orders."

"Hold off for now!"

Zeng Yi cut him off and then said:

"Someone's coming in."

"Commander, swivel the camera to the left."

"Understood."

He Shuo sprang into action, and the instant the camera locked focus, the silhouette that entered the Great Library materialized before them.

"Jin Cheng!" At that instant, they were on the third underground level of the Great Library.

Jin Cheng reclined in his singular wooden grand chair, exhaling slowly, then addressed the black‑robed archbishop beside him:

"Now, only here can I speak without any restraint."

"Concealment and performance are far more arduous and exhausting than governing an entire church."

"Even within the sanctuary, before my fellow bishops, I dare not relax for a moment."

"I must constantly feign intimate collaboration with those heretics, even extolling their deeds to the bewildered flock."

"It truly makes me nauseous."

"What disgusts me further is that they still question me."

"Especially those so‑called 'Loyalists', who incessantly clamour to end negotiations with the heretics and to cut ties with them completely."

"Are these people all fools?"

"Do they not understand the art of biding their time in obscurity?"

"The enemy is strong, we are weak; before we possess a trump that can match them, what 'hardline' leverage do we have?"

"I even suspect those individuals never meant goodwill; they merely seek to undermine my hold over the Church."

When Jin Cheng finished, the black‑robed archbishop beside him nodded, then, with a hint of hesitation, spoke:

"Perhaps they act solely out of devotion to the Holy Trinity."

"They do not stand in your position, so they need not wrestle with the dilemmas you face."

"They see only the heretics' blasphemy against the Trinity, blind to the compromises you have made for faith."

"But it matters not; history will vindicate everything."

"When the heretics are vanquished and the Divine Church endures, they will recognize the magnitude of your deeds."

"Let us hope so."

Jin Cheng nodded slowly, then said:

"In any case, unless you are here, you must at all times show 'respect' toward those heretics."

"They surveil the entire city; even the slightest irregularity they will spot instantly."

"Should our true intent be exposed, the whole Divine Church will face a cataclysm."

"Do not utter a false word, commit no misstep; every order you issue must be defensible."

"The disaster wrought by the 12th Guard Brigade in Jurong Town is already a warning—have you thought through how to explain it?"

"I have drafted a report, ready to submit to the Huaxia forces' office stationed in Jinling."

The archbishop replied:

"I clarified the Guard Brigade's motive for attacking the monsters, emphasizing why they abandoned the city and why they engaged the beasts on short notice."

"That, in fact, is the biggest inconsistency—I trust the Huaxia troops have already noticed it."

"Nevertheless, our justification is solid."

"The city of Yanling, where the 12th Guard is based, indeed suffered a monster raid, and their retreat path coincided with the monsters' march."

"We can frame the incident as an urgent rescue, and with sufficient evidence, it should persuade them."

"Very well."

Jin Cheng pondered briefly, then said:

"Add another clause to the report."

"Request that Huaxia dispatch reinforcements to aid in receiving the displaced refugees."

"That will lend credibility to our operation, and also drain their resources."

"The number of refugees is considerable, while they field only a few hundred men."

"I am convinced they cannot resolve the refugee crisis with ease."

"As you wish."

The archbishop bowed slightly, while Jin Cheng sat upright and opened the massive tome that had long been spread before him.

After turning a few pages in silence, he continued:

"The records left from over a century ago remain too vague; even supplemented by the testimonies of successive saints, discerning the pattern of the beast tide is still difficult."

"Nevertheless, we can be certain that the beast tide now teeters on the brink of eruption."

"The death of a second‑grade monster has left the entire Jinling ruins in a vacuum, and more beasts will soon migrate toward that direction."

"We must set a fire beneath them, yet how to do so remains a problem."

"Jin Feng, what do you think?"

"I know little of this myself."

The archbishop sighed, shook his head, and said:

"Perhaps the safest course is to proceed exactly as the current plan dictates."

"The rise of the beast tide comprises many stages; at present, even the conditions for the first stage have not yet been met."

“Rather than act blindly, it is better to wait patiently.”

“Let us finish all that we can, and leave the rest to time.”

“Indeed, that is so.”

Jin Cheng smiled helplessly, leaned back, and collapsed into the chair.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked again:

“Do you think the Beast Tide can truly eradicate this heresy completely?”

“Even though I know the Beast Tide is immensely powerful, my heart remains uneasy.”

“The greatest strength of the Huaxia army does not lie in its combat prowess, but rather in its potential.”

“They possess far more knowledge than even we can comprehend.”

“Intelligent machines governed by the Machine Soul, formidable weapons capable of striking from afar.

“If these creations reach their zenith, perhaps the Beast Tide…

“There is no need to worry, sir.

The archbishop interrupted Jin Cheng for the first time, then soothed him, saying:

“The Beast Tide will utterly shatter their Machine Souls, just as the mimetic heretics were in Chang’an.”

“Deprived of the aid of their Machine Souls, how much fighting strength could they still muster?”

“Their fate will not be much better than that of the mimetic heretics, perhaps even more tragic.”

“Those mimetic heretics also relied on Machine Souls, yet they were not wholly dependent upon them as these are.”

“Sir, rest assured.”

“They will not live long.”

“Perhaps they do not understand why we have chosen this path.”

“But if any among them survive, perhaps they will choose to embrace the Holy Trinity.”

“Let us hope so.”

Jin Cheng answered.

He exhaled slowly, then rose to his feet and walked toward the exit of the third floor of the Grand Library.

Behind him, the tome chronicling the Beast Tide of a century and a half ago lay open upon the table.

Perhaps he would never have imagined that less than three meters above his head, a tiny “hummingbird” hovered silently.

(End of chapter)