Chapter 237: How Could a Rocket Force Base Not Have Rockets??

Chapter 237: How Could a Rocket Force Base Possibly Have No Rockets??

“We got one, there’s another.”

“Distance fifteen kilometers, grid 363, bearing 3351, grenade instant‑fuse fully loaded.”

“Fire.”

“Adjust parameters.”

“Charge set.”

“Three, two, one, fire!”

“Hit.”

“Third round, fire!”

With the nuclear blast, the two monsters that had been lumbering toward the Imperial Capital erupted into a berserk frenzy.

One of them wheeled and fled, while the other, as if bereft of reason, charged headlong toward the capital.

Their divergent choices sealed their disparate fates.

The one that escaped clung to a sliver of life; the one that stayed fell, crippled by three precise grenade strikes, becoming a mere after‑dinner trifle in the feast.

The scent of gunpowder in the capital was faint, yet those fearsome beasts were undeniably dead.

When Chen Jian stepped down from the wall, the crowd still awash in stunned euphoria fell silent.

Countless eyes turned toward the members of that special squad; perhaps they were scrambling for words to praise the unit’s deeds, to convey their respect, yet the shock that far exceeded their comprehension also

shattered the limits of their expressive capacity.

In that hush, in that stillness, Chen Jian led his team toward the Hall of Sacred Blood.

The throng gradually split before them, forming a broad passage like a Red Sea cleaved by divine force.

Chen Jian said nothing, and walked toward the “Holy Father” Lin Shen, who had been waiting on the other side of the sea.

“Is it over?”

Lin Shen’s voice trembled with a barely perceptible quiver.

“It is over.”

Chen Jian gave a slight nod.

Lin Shen exhaled a long breath, then asked:

“Will they come again?”

“Hard to say.”

Chen Jian shook his head and replied:

“But I think they won’t return in the near term.”

“These monsters are controlled by some force—that’s the question I must ask you.”

“If you came from Chang’an to the capital 150 years ago, does your so‑called ‘Holy Scripture’ mention the truth about these monsters?”

“No.”

Lin Shen answered:

“At least in our records, no one knows where the monsters originated, nor any information indicating what power manipulates them.”

“They appear as if from nowhere; we don’t even know when they first emerged.”

“The only certainty is that the monsters had been present long before we returned to the capital.”

“The split between the Sacred Blood and the Academy stemmed from an inability to agree on a strategy toward the monsters.”

“The first leader of the Hall of Sacred Blood seemed to have foreseen the beast tide, but alas, by then the Academy had already declined to its limits, leaving few reliable reports.”

“Thus, the answers I can give you are scant.”

“Yet perhaps, with your abilities, you can find some answers in the ancient texts.”

“No rush.”

Chen Jian waved his hand and said:

“Honestly, the answer matters less to us now.”

“The first wave of survivors solved the greatest crisis before knowledge was completely severed, and that is enough.”

“From now on, all we need to do is swiftly eliminate the monsters that still threaten humanity, continue our exploration, and uncover the truth of the secondary disaster.”

“Nevertheless, we need not hurry.”

“Come, the matter we must discuss now is the relocation.”

With those words, Chen Jian led the way into the hall behind Lin Shen.

Inside the hall, celebratory dishes and wine were already laid out; Chen Jian did not issue a pretentious order to clear them, but sat down unabashedly, eating and drinking with his men while debating the next steps with Lin Shen.

As Lin Shen had said, to accomplish a massive migration, the two greatest constraints are food and safety.

Safety is now effectively assured; the most pressing issue before everyone is the food supply.

In this world there is no grain reserve like the one Chen Jian knew; because barter is difficult and central authority is absent, the whole world barely clings to the edge of survival.

Even in the most prosperous capital, the vast majority of commoners cannot store more than two months of provisions.

Those supplies can sustain them to reach Jinling, but how they will survive after arriving there is another question entirely.

“According to your proposed first‑stage relocation plan, we must amass enough grain to feed ten thousand people for eight months.”

“Frankly, even draining Jinling and its surrounding regions would not yield that amount.”

“This is no longer a matter of trade; it is a pure productivity issue.”

“You cannot rely solely on us; you must find a way yourself.”

“I understand.”

Lin Shen swallowed his wine and replied:

“In the name of the Hall of Sacred Blood, I will issue a decree ordering the northern regions—Liaodong, Ulanqab, Songzhou, and others—to conduct large‑scale hunts and stockpile as much food as possible.”

“If all goes well, before summer arrives we can store enough grain for ten thousand people for three months.”

“Moreover, we will convert any surplus material into grain; perhaps we can secure a month’s worth.”

“That should greatly ease your burden, but it is the limit of what we can achieve.”

“In other words, we still face a four‑month food shortfall that must be covered.”

Chen Jian tapped the table instinctively and asked:

“Fuxi, with the current grain stockpiles at Project 095 and Project 011, how long can they sustain a population of roughly eleven thousand?”

“Seventy‑four days.”

Fuxi’s voice echoed through the headset.

“Excellent, that leaves us with less than two months of deficit.”

Chen Jian nodded approvingly and said:

To be frank, this is proceeding more smoothly than I had imagined.

Optimistically, the two‑month food shortfall should be easy to make up through trade, hunting, and production.

Even accounting for new refugees and townsfolk who may join us along the way, our present output should barely suffice.

The plan may now press onward.

Chen Jian rose to his feet and continued:

Whatever force commands the beast tide, the intelligence we have shows its targets are unmistakably clear.

The first to feel the blow will be the key metropolises—Imperial Capital, Chang'an, Jinling, and the like.

The Imperial Capital's situation is perilous; its people must depart first.

As for the other towns, they may hold off for a while.

Notify the locals here to prepare for relocation.

We shall set out at six o’clock sharp tomorrow morning.

The first wave of evacuees, march with us!

When Chen Jian's words faded, Lin Shen also rose to his feet.

He then bowed slightly, his tone tinged with a hint of reverence, and said:

Understood.

I will see to it at once.

Meanwhile, southeast of the Huangshan Ruins, Shen Yue led his squad through the dense jungle, straining to locate a path long since concealed.

The task was far from simple; after all, his only guide was a hazy recollection, and even Fuxi himself could not pinpoint the exact location he sought.

Fortunately, his luck was not entirely lacking.

After dispatching several level‑four beasts in succession, he finally sighted the two familiar peaks.

Then, gazing down the gorge between the summits, he discerned the faint outline of a base.

It lay there.

The long trek had left Shen Yue exhausted in body and spirit, yet now he could finally draw a brief breath.

Fuxi, I have locked onto the coordinates of Base 61.

Plot an ingress route and dispatch drone reconnaissance.

Understood.

Fuxi's voice crackled through the headset; Shen Yue waved, signaling his squad to hold position and rest.

He himself flopped onto the ground, twisted open his flask, and gulped a mouthful of water that had been scalding but was now cooling.

Ah.

He exhaled a long, fetid sigh and asked again:

How does the captain's side fare?

The nuclear warhead has detonated successfully; discussions are underway on the southern migration of the populace.

They will set out at six tomorrow morning, bound for Jinling.

If the road proves smooth, arrival is expected within two weeks.

Two weeks?

Shen Yue was mildly startled.

Can a force of that magnitude reach the destination in just two weeks?

Chief He Shuo has already liaised with the Mechanical Cult; they will provide support along the way.

The first wave comprises roughly five hundred souls; with vehicles usable on most stretches, two weeks is a reasonably ideal timeframe.

Understood.

Shen Yue switched to the drone's perspective; through the smart visor, the base's silhouette—once familiar, now utterly alien—came into sharp view.

Aerial reconnaissance complete: no anomalous heat signatures, no odd optical readings, no vegetation or terrain alterations detected.

Preliminary assessment: the path ahead is clear.

Then let us depart!

At Shen Yue's command, everyone sprang into action.

At that moment, the road from their position toward the base was entirely choked by foliage, rendering any vehicle impassable.

Thus, after ordering two men to guard the gear, he decisively led the party deeper into the jungle.

Compared with the arduous trek from Jinling's Base 011 to Huangshan, this final stretch to their objective felt comparatively easy.

In less than ninety minutes, Shen Yue's foot crossed the threshold of the base.

Within a collapsed guard post, a decayed garment lay draped over a stark white skeleton.

Passing by, Shen Yue gave the skeletal remains a respectful nod.

He could not say why he did it; perhaps it was merely instinct.

Pressing onward, guided by vague recollection, Shen Yue located a reference point amid the tangled woods.

Missiles, poised to launch, pierced the canopy with unyielding resolve, like steel trunks propping up the very heavens.

Under their towering shadows, Shen Yue quickened his stride.

At last, he beheld the entrance, now cloaked in thick vines.

Detonate!

It was Shen Yue's decisive order.

Acknowledged.

Fuxi's voice rang out, and a spear‑bot moved forward, laying the charges; moments later, a deafening blast tore the entrance asunder.

Yet immediately before them stood a massive isolation door.

The entrance to the underground arsenal lay here.

How to open it?

The power grid here was utterly dead; if the door sealed from within, Shen Yue had no means to breach it.

He furrowed his brow and stepped forward, intending to inspect the door through the lingering haze.

But at that instant, he realized his worries were unfounded.

The door was already ajar.

Shen Yue gestured, beckoning the others to follow him through.

Descending further, the layout resembled that of the Airborne Tenth Division Base's underground hangar.

The lowest level, it seemed, was the nuclear armory itself.

Shen Yue's heartbeat began to quicken.

Even though he knew that Chen Jian's side had already secured enough nuclear weapons, the realization that he was about to personally unlock another vault embodying ultimate power still stirred an involuntary excitement within him.

As they descended, the stale, decaying atmosphere grew ever heavier.

Through the view of the thermal‑fusion night vision device, Shen Yue saw one relic after another, long shrouded in dust, long rotted, yet still standing unbowed.

A pang of regret rose in his heart.

Time, after all, is an unconquerable foe.

The thing he truly sought may already have ceased to exist, perhaps.

His pulse gradually steadied, and Shen Yue found himself at the deepest level of the underground complex.

A completely independent, sealed weapons vault loomed before him, its mechanically locked doors still steadfastly guarding the heavy armaments beyond.

This was the final step.

No password required, Shen Yue turned the lock mechanism of the door.

Then, along the rusted tracks, the massive door began to open slowly.

Air surged in, light flooded the chamber, and Shen Yue's eyes fell upon the isolated storage cabinets meant for nuclear weapons.

Inside lay what he had been searching for.

——

But now, his gaze was captured by something far more conspicuous.

In the middle of the warehouse, a heap of enormous cargo containers was crudely stacked.

He could vaguely guess what lay within.

So he led the group forward, unlocking the seals of the sealed containers one by one.

Inside was evidently at least a partial vacuum; under the crushing atmospheric pressure, only by the combined effort of the men and the assistance of combat robots could they barely pry the container open.

A sharp, whistling wind roared, and Shen Yue stepped back.

The Chinese soldier standing beside him stared curiously at the contents of the container, unable to comprehend what this tangle of dense, intricate piping truly was.

‘Commander, is this the nuclear weapon we’re looking for?’

‘No.’

Shen Yue shook his head.

After a brief pause, he spoke:

‘It’s a rocket, disassembled for preservation.’

‘I told you so.’

‘How could a Rocket Force base possibly have no rockets??’

(End of chapter)