Chapter 357: Big Ring

Chapter 357 The Great Ring

Two hours later.

Wang Lizhi finally laid eyes on Shen Yue, who had just returned from the recruit training ground, and the moment he saw him, Wang Lizhi rushed forward without hesitation.

“Chief!”

He mimicked Jin Zan’s gesture, saluted Shen Yue, and then spoke:

“Chief, I have an urgent matter to report!”

“What matter?”

Shen Yue looked at Wang Lizhi with a hint of puzzlement, and Wang Lizhi did not waste a moment; he asked plainly:

“I heard you have discovered a ‘living metallic material’? May I see it?”

Shen Yue, sensing the other's impatience, did not answer at once but turned the question back:

“Why?”

“Do you know that material?”

“Or are you still searching for it?”

Wang Lizhi nodded slowly, then said:

“We have been searching for this material for many years.”

“To be precise, we have been seeking it since fifty years ago.”

“Yet we have never succeeded—because the descriptions of the material are too vague.”

“We do not know its properties, its distribution, nor even its purpose.”

“The only clue is a fragment of text our leader extracted from the pre‑cataclysm knowledge vault.”

“That material should be alive, and it should possess metallic characteristics.”

“Beyond that, we know nothing.”

“Thus, despite pouring countless time and effort into it, we still have not found the material.”

“But today, from Jin Zan’s mouth, I heard you have a lead?”

As the words fell, Shen Yue nodded slowly.

“Indeed we have a lead.”

“But before we share it, I must first ask: why are you seeking this material?”

“The Ring!”

Wang Lizhi answered without hesitation:

“That material is the key to restarting the Ring, or more accurately, the Ring is forged from it!”

“Where it exists, there are clues to the Ring; if we wish to find the Ring, we must first locate it!”

The Ring?

Shen Yue’s gaze shifted slightly.

He recalled what He Shuo had said before.

If two things appear together and both remain “unknown and unsolvable,” they are likely intertwined.

Good heavens.

How quickly has that conjecture already borne fruit?

Shen Yue did not speak at once; instead he gestured for Wang Lizhi to follow, and led him into the 011 bunker, toward the combat command room.

After the door of the command room closed and he invited Wang Lizhi to sit, he continued:

“The situation has come to this point; I think we should be frank with each other now.”

“I remember you once promised that after opening the passage to the Mountain City, you would hand us intelligence concerning the ‘Ring.’”

“Now our conditions have been fulfilled.”

“So I may pose our question as well.”

“The Ring—what exactly is it?”

As the words faded, Wang Lizhi on the other side shook his head slowly.

Then he answered:

“I do not know.”

“You don’t know?”

Shen Yue’s eyes flashed, and Wang Lizhi immediately clarified:

“It is not that we are deliberately concealing it; it is simply that we truly do not know the Ring’s precise form.”

“Even our leader’s knowledge is extremely limited.”

“All we know is that the Ring is a man‑made colossal device, requiring a special protocol to activate and capable of producing extraordinary effects.”

“But its exact purpose has never been verified by us.”

“Because we lack the requisite materials and knowledge—that is why we are eager to enter the Mountain City.”

“Like you, we believe that there lies the most core, most important, and most complete repository of pre‑cataclysm knowledge.”

“If we can obtain that knowledge, we will have a chance to restart the Ring.”

“That is illogical.”

Shen Yue interrupted Wang Lizhi, then said:

“If even you do not know what the Ring truly is, how did your organization come into being?”

“A nebulous concept cannot coalesce into a massive organization, especially when your group is so stable and united in every regard.”

“That has nothing to do with you—”

“No, that’s not it!”

Wang Lizhi could not wait and cut Shen Yue off, then said:

“When I say we do not know the Ring’s exact shape, it does not mean we have never seen the Ring!”

“Huh?”

With those words, Shen Yue froze in place.

You have seen the Ring, yet you do not know its exact form?

Isn’t that a pure contradiction?

He furrowed his brow, but before he could question, Wang Lizhi on the opposite side continued:

“We have not only seen the Ring; in fact, we control a ‘miniaturized’ Ring system, a simulation of the true Ring apparatus.”

“It was once activated—many years ago.”

"According to the leader's records, when the Ring is activated, it produces a rather miraculous effect."

"I cannot describe that effect to you; perhaps you should go directly to our leader for discussion."

"However, within my authority, I can confirm that this 'model', or rather this 'miniature' Ring, is already damaged."

"And to restore it, we must employ this living metal material!"

Wang Lizhi's series of statements could truly be called candid.

He no longer, as before, cloaks information in mystifying riddles, but instead pours out all the knowledge he possesses in one breath.

Not a iota withheld.

Shen Yue was pleased with his attitude, yet a deeper puzzlement followed.

Ring

What on earth is it?

What exactly is this so-called miraculous effect?

With that in mind, Shen Yue spoke:

"I must meet your leader."

"And I want to see that so‑called 'miniature' Ring."

"Very well!"

Wang Lizhi nodded without hesitation.

"I will arrange a meeting as soon as possible—I'll have the leader come directly to Jinling New City to see you."

"But now, may I have a look at that material?"

"I only have video images."

Shen Yue shook his head and said:

"The material samples haven't arrived—whether from Shan City or from Shen City, none can be delivered in such a short time."

"Images will do! Let me see them first!"

Wang Lizhi nodded again, then continued:

"Afterwards I will bring the images and samples back to the leader; that will take some time."

"But I will hurry."

"One week—give me a week."

"No problem."

Shen Yue opened his PDA, and when the video from Shen City finished playing before Wang Lizhi, the muscles on his face began to tremble slowly with excitement.

"This is exactly what we have been looking for!"

Meanwhile, in Shen City.

After Shen Yue's confirmation, the excavation of the underground works resumed once more.

The deeper they went, the richer the concentration of that special metal became; at three meters underground the metallic material had almost formed a stratum.

The bad news was that the stratum was not thin.

The good news was that the accumulated metal had not solidified into a tight structure; its texture remained relatively soft, and the excavator's bucket could still penetrate and break it.

Chunk after chunk of "active metal" piled upon the soil; Jin Zhong and Huang Meng crouched nearby, trying with their hands to snap and twist the metal while chatting intermittently about this strange substance. ".According to the message from Commander Shen Yue, this stuff is likely related to the Ring of the Ring Guild."

"So, is it a specially engineered material? But what exactly is it for?"

"Is it a conductor for electricity? Or perhaps some kind of protective material?"

When Huang Meng finished speaking, a rare smile appeared on Jin Zhong's face.

He tossed aside the completely twisted piece in his hand and said self‑deprecatingly:

"Have you heard the joke the commander once told about whether rockets should use refined coal or washed coal?"

"Our current discussion is no different from that joke."

"Obviously, the so‑called Ring pertains to the pinnacle of technology before the Great Cataclysm, something even the commanders may not fully grasp, let alone us."

"Debating this is pointless; we'd be better off figuring out how to dig faster."

With those words, Huang Meng let out a sigh.

"I was just chatting, not trying to draw any conclusions."

"But come to think of it, doesn't this strike you as odd?"

"This material seems to have appeared only in Shen City; no other city has any record of it."

"If it's man‑made, the Ring Guild should have found clues long ago."

"If it's a natural product, then why is it absent elsewhere?"

"It seems some special force placed it here in Shen City—does that imply any particular significance?"

Jin Zhong furrowed his brow.

After pondering for a long while, he answered:

"No."

"At least according to the information held by the Mechanical Cult, this relic has no special attributes."

"It does not concentrate abundant usable resources like other sites, nor does it harbor any particularly valuable technology."

"Moreover, its natural resources are hardly remarkable, and even the monsters that dwell here are unremarkable."

"I truly cannot imagine what quality would attract these 'active metals' to amass here."

"Perhaps it's merely a pure accident?"

"It could be."

Huang Meng stood up, and at that moment the final excavation work was completed.

"Report, company commander, I've sighted the main passage gate!"

The operator's voice came from the excavator; Huang Meng's spirit lifted, and he immediately turned toward the tunnel.

Amid a heap of silver‑shimmering active metal, a slightly 'aged' metal door revealed a corner.

Finally, they've dug it up.

Huang Meng exhaled deeply and ordered:

"Prepare for demolition."

"We need to use high‑performance explosives to breach this passage, insert a signal transmitter, and attempt to link Fuxi with the works' communication network."

"If this structure is still operational, perhaps we can open the main passage directly."

"If."

"I am Fuxi."

Before Huang Meng could finish speaking, Fuxi's voice suddenly rang out.

"Signal from the 016 Shen City disaster‑relief facility detected; connection established."

"Please organize a withdrawal; I am about to initiate the active activation procedure."

"Understood!"

Huang Meng answered immediately, yet a wave of doubt rose in his mind.

Why has a signal appeared all of a sudden?

His gaze fell on the exposed reactive metal, and he suddenly realized.

It was these metal panels covering the facility’s entrance that had shielded the communications network; once they were excavated, the shielding was broken, so the signal’s return was inevitable.

That is good news!

It proves that the installation is likely still operating stably!

The gear and apparatus inside may still be usable, and with a resupply of equipment, the forces of the Huaxia army could ascend another rung.

Without any hesitation, Huang Meng immediately ordered everyone to fall back.

A few minutes later, after he signaled Fuxi that he was ready, the sealed isolation doors creaked open slowly amid a tremendous roar.

The reactive metal shrieked under compression and impact; Huang Meng furrowed his brow, tightened his headset, yet his eyes never left the main corridor of the facility.

It took a full dozen minutes before the facility’s massive doors finally swung wide.

Deep within, the lights had already ignited.

At that moment, Fuxi’s voice sounded again.

"Confirming that Facility 016 is in a partially damaged state."

"The primary computing unit is partially compromised; the main communications unit is destroyed."

"The life‑support system functions normally, as do the basic utility systems."

"Other conditions remain uncertain for now."

"However, based on current assessment, the risk is low; entry is permissible."

"Understood!"

Huang Meng turned his head, gave Jin Zhong a glance; the two hesitated not a moment, and with a single stride

they headed straight for the facility’s entrance.

Before entering, Huang Meng had assumed this would be an ordinary installation, not markedly different from Facility 011.

But he soon discovered he was wrong.

Beyond the opened doors lay no familiar living quarters like those he had seen in Facility 011, but a vast chamber tangled with complex cabling and filled with countless devices he could neither recognize nor even describe.

"This"

Huang Meng stepped forward, extending his hand to gently brush the surface of the apparatus.

Dust clung to his fingertips; after a brief silence, he asked:

"Fuxi, what is this?"

After a short pause, Fuxi’s voice came through the headset.

"Unknown device; function indeterminate."

"Quantum communication signal detected."

"The communication signal’s direction is clear."

"Coordinates are definite."

"Shen City."

"Han River."

"Naqu."

"Islamabad."

"Tehran"

"...and others!"

Huang Meng cut off Fuxi’s report.

"Mountain City?!"

"These devices are linked to Mountain City??"

"Uncertain."

Fuxi replied again:

"At present we can only determine that the coordinates point to Mountain City; we cannot

confirm a direct link between the two locations."

"Wait, that’s wrong, not

correct."

Huang Meng interrupted Fuxi once more, then lowered his head toward the PDA.

He shrank the map on the PDA

to its widest view.

Then he exhaled deeply.

"If we connect the locations you just mentioned,"

"this is

not just a circle??"

(End of Chapter)