Chapter 231: Fortification 001

Chapter 231: Project 001

Chen Jian could not fathom what the other meant by the term “Holy Father”.

Yet, in truth, it mattered little now.

The gateway to the secret loomed before him; once opened, perhaps all riddles would dissolve like mist.

Chen Jian approached the isolation door, studied it a moment, then spoke:

“Confirm it’s not the entrance to Project 001.”

“A mechanically locked isolation door—common in subterranean nuclear works.”

“Plenty of design tolerance; it should be turnable.”

“A code is required.”

“Fuxi, the code.”

“Understood.”

Fuxi’s voice crackled through the headset, his relentless counting echoing as Chen Jian and Lei Jie turned the heavy dials on the door.

To Chen Jian’s slight surprise, the expected screech of rusted metal never came.

The dials turned with uncanny smoothness, as if someone had recently tried to unseal this portal.

Chen Jian turned his head toward the so‑called “Holy Father”; the man gave a slight nod, his gaze fixed on the dials.

Six dials, over a trillion possible combinations.

Without prior knowledge of the code, none could decipher it.

Fortunately, Fuxi’s database already housed a compendium of code tables.

After temporal inference, on the sixth attempt a heavy “click” resonated.

Instantly, the self‑weight lock fell away, and the isolation door swung open slowly.

A stale breath exhaled from the deep darkness beyond; Chen Jian held his breath, steadied his mind, and with a surge pushed the door fully ajar.

Beyond that lay an even heavier tri‑shield isolation door.

The same procedure, the same motions.

When the tri‑shield door yielded, Lei Jie rushed ahead, unable to wait.

Yet the interior was utterly empty.

“Passage.”

Lei Jie said gravely:

“It is merely a corridor here.”

“I guessed as much.”

Chen Jian’s expression remained flat as he waved a hand, then surged forward toward the passage, commanding:

“Proceed onward; this is not yet the entrance we seek.”

“Understood.”

The group pressed forward, and after a brief hesitation, the Holy Father at the rear hurried to Chen Jian’s side.

His face bore an immense weight.

Yet within that heaviness lay an ineffable flicker of anticipation.

He seemed poised to ask, but after inner turmoil, he chose silence.

Chen Jian remained mute as well.

Though many questions begged the so‑called “Holy Father’s” answer, now was perhaps not the moment to ask.

They pressed onward down the corridor, and after several hundred meters, the view opened dramatically.

A main passage, towering ten‑plus meters, loomed ahead, and in a side‑wall cavity Chen Jian finally spied something familiar.

“DF‑41.”

Chen Jian inhaled deeply, turned to Lei Jie and asked:

“Do you think this thing still has any use?”

“Obviously, what’s stored here is beyond salvage—no warhead installed, the rocket corroded beyond recognition.”

“That matters not; our aim was never the missile.”

“Securing the launch key suffices; Shen Yue will handle the warhead.”

“I thought you’d be disappointed.”

Chen Jian teased:

“I was already prepared to haul a missile back for you; perhaps with the 011 equipment we might actually repair it.”

“Repair it, then what?”

Lei Jie rolled his eyes, retorting:

“Where would we fire? At Mountain City?”

“If Mountain City were so formidable that we’d need a nuclear bomb to raze it, then we ought not to destroy it.”

“If it isn’t strong enough, we have no use for a nuclear bomb. Thus, it’s a paradox.”

“Perhaps that’s why the ‘unknown force’ that controls Mountain City never resorted to nuclear weapons.”

“Their thinking mirrors ours.”

“This judgment rests on the premise that Mountain City truly harbors an ‘unknown force’.”

Chen Jian cut Lei Jie short, quickened his pace, and continued:

“It is the bleakest conjecture.”

“Yet I persist in believing that place is not a city deliberately sealed off.”

“Perhaps there lies a circumstance beyond our comprehension, and we—”

“Mountain City was the Holy Father’s former abode.”

Chen Jian’s words were cut short as a man's voice rang from behind him.

“There lies the origin of all, and our ultimate destination.”

“All we have done is merely to aid the Holy Father’s return to Mountain City, back to the throne that is his.”

“We once drew exceedingly close to that goal, yet ultimately fell short.”

“You mean those mimetic heresies?”

Chen Jian furrowed his brow and asked.

“The first‑generation genetic progenitors.”

The man corrected:

"They were once held in high hope, yet they ultimately failed."

"And after their failure, the Blood Skull was born."

"After that came us, these so‑called Holy Blooded."

"It is a long tale, and I cannot recount it to you here and now, detail by detail."

"But I can assure you, the existence of the Holy Blooded has never been about vying for the resources or power of this land."

"We are merely attempting to keep the flame alive."

When the man's words ended, Chen Jian nodded pensively, offering no immediate reply.

In fact, he had heard the claim that "Mountain City is the origin of all things" countless times.

The Ring Guild believes that secret to restarting the Ring lies there; the Mechanical Cult regards it as the terrestrial heaven of the Holy Trinity. Thus, it is hardly surprising that the Holy Blooded now deem it the dwelling of their Sacred Father.

The only thing that slightly surprised Chen Jian was how clearly this "Sacred Father" understood both himself and the Holy Blood Hall.

From beginning to end, he never claimed divinity, nor seemed inclined to deify himself.

That, in stark contrast, sets him apart from the Mechanical Cult.

Perhaps for this very reason the Holy Blood Hall cannot achieve the same cohesion as the Mechanical Cult.

As the vast tunnel neared its terminus, Chen Jian glanced at the route displayed on his smart visor and realized they had already traversed nearly fifteen kilometres.

In the distance, a dim light gradually illuminated the passage.

They were now quite close to their final destination.

"There's a light."

Leijie spoke:

"There can be no permanent lighting in a nuclear shelter; we must be nearing the 001 installation."

"It seems 001 indeed connects to the underground nuclear complex; the main control room of this facility is likely situated near the 001 site."

"That simplifies things for us."

"You wait a moment."

Chen Jian abruptly cut off Leijie's words.

Then he switched his tactical flashlight to flood mode, pointed toward the wall at the distant corner, and said:

"There are words on it."

Leijie followed the direction Chen Jian indicated.

Upon that wall, three lines of large characters were etched.

"The world is being filtered."

"We have taken everything that is needed."

"For humanity's future, we must ignite the flame."

(End of Chapter)