Chapter 365: Neutrino Experiment Center

Chapter 365: The Neutrino Experiment Center

Base 011.

Shen Yue and Lei Jie, returning from Shen City, finally shed the Nezha exoskeleton they'd been wearing for nearly half a month, and their bodies felt instantly lighter.

For the past fortnight, that contraption had been fused to their flesh, denying them even the slightest breath of respite.

Even as they peeled it off, the indentations left by the close‑fitting components were etched deep into their skin, lingering stubbornly.

Shen Yue flexed his slightly stiff joints and exhaled a long sigh, saying:

“This thing is unbearably heavy. Though it offers assistance, its mechanical feedback diverges greatly from the logic of natural muscle movement.”

“By the way, could you tweak it a bit, at least make it more comfortable to wear?”

Hearing Shen Yue, Lei Jie shook his head helplessly and replied:

“In theory, this exoskeleton was never meant for everyday wear.”

“Its purpose is to furnish special forces with essential firepower when confronting extreme battlefield conditions.”

“After a strike, either we withdraw or the main force arrives.”

“When safety is assured, who would choose to don this contraption?”

“It’s simply that our situation is unique—frankly, that’s your problem.”

“The reason we cannot remove the exoskeleton in a safe zone is fundamentally the lack of trust among the rank‑and‑file.”

“Take those Sanctified Blood, even though we now share a semi‑subordinate alliance, can you claim we should leave them completely undefended?”

“Therefore, you must swiftly advance the ideological work; the moment we no longer need to wear the exoskeleton constantly, your task will be done.”

“Enough of that.”

Shen Yue rolled his eyes with disdain.

“I’m in charge of internal ideological development; the Sanctified Blood issue is essentially an external matter.”

“That falls to He Shuo’s responsibility—but he’s currently occupied with the campaign in Jinling, so he can’t attend to this side.”

“Let’s wait a bit longer; we’re not that urgent.”

“First let him resolve the most pressing issues.”

“Understood.”

Lei Jie nodded.

“Just venting a little—can anyone take that seriously?”

“Sigh.”

Shen Yue sighed.

“Back then, when we wanted to complain, at least there was someone to direct our grievances toward.”

“Now, to be frank, the only complaints we receive are from others about us.”

“Indeed.”

Lei Jie nodded in agreement, and the two walked into the shower, gave themselves a quick rinse, then changed into clothes that had long been cleaned.

It was a rare moment of ease, a breath of fresh clarity.

They poured a cup of tomato juice, freshly squeezed from tomatoes harvested only days before, and seated themselves in a small gazebo beside the plaza outside the main base thoroughfare, each exhaling a long, synchronized breath.

“You’ve done a fine job managing the home front,”

Lei Jie began:

“The leisure and residential zones are taking shape, and the peripheral housing area is gradually acquiring the semblance of a true neighborhood.”

“Indeed.”

Shen Yue nodded proudly and added:

“In truth, it’s not my merit—I merely co‑drafted a plan with Fuxi.”

“Do you recall the comrade Huang Fei? She oversaw the farmlands and later took part in renovating parts of the residential districts.”

“She has keen insight regarding water usage and irrigation.”

“Moreover, Jin Zan is a talent; his organizational skills are strong, and communication poses no issue.”

“Any resident who joins Jinling New City possesses ample initiative, and they have not yet reached the stage of jealousy or the ‘you have, I lack’ disparity.”

“With proper communication, mobilization becomes effortless.”

“Our primary focus remains industrial development; the growth you see in these living quarters and amenities, to be frank, is merely a garnish.”

“The goal is simple: to let them witness tangible benefits and truly feel an elevation in their standard of living.”

“Well said, well said.”

Lei Jie gave Shen Yue an approving thumbs‑up and then asked:

“How are things at the mine?”

Shen Yue casually transferred a report to Lei Jie’s PDA and replied:

“The expeditionary force has just cleared the surrounding monsters, blood‑stained skeletons, and assorted marauders, and the environment of Tongling City has only just settled.”

“We estimate another week or two, and we’ll have the first mine erected, securing a steady iron ore supply thereafter.”

“The equipment is largely in place; at this point, we can say we’ve reached the basic industrialization level of the steam era.”

“Beyond that, we must begin scaling the technological tree of the internal‑combustion era.”

“We need to hurry on that.”

Lei Jie said solemnly:

“I truly need an internal‑combustion engine, for the bombers require it.”

Shen Yue looked at Lei Jie, slightly surprised, and asked:

“You really intend to build piston‑type bombers? Wouldn’t the airship we test‑flew a couple of days ago be more useful?”

“Not necessarily.”

Lei Jie shook his head:

“Airships deploy too sluggishly; they can serve as a deterrent for public order, but for ground support they’re simply too slow.”

“The piston‑type bomber is a compromise solution.”

“It’s more reliable than our current pure‑electric bombers, and its payload and range can be modestly increased.”

“Moreover, its resistance to damage is far greater, and its survivability rises accordingly.”

“Understood.”

Shen Yue nodded.

“A thousand tangled threads—let’s take it step by step.”

“For now, our main line remains to secure the mountain city.”

“What plan does the captain have over there?”

“A cyber intrusion.”

Lei Jie replied:

“We estimate they’ll implant something akin to a resonant virus, breaching the physical isolation set by Lingxi and crippling the entire computational core.”

“Fuxi is already drafting a plan, but the exact execution must wait for the next negotiation.”

“Likewise, in the next talks we’ll try to glean further intelligence on the Ring.”

“How shall I put it, this thing?”

Lei Jie paused, then after a few seconds of silence said:

“It may prove invaluable, or it may be utterly useless.”

“Yet it is, at present, the closest avenue we have to solving the apocalyptic crisis.”

“Understood.”

Shen Yue, thoughtful, nodded and then asked:

“Can you roughly guess what it’s meant for?”

“The core component is a monitoring device, now confirmed.”

Lei Jie answered:

“It operates in concert with other similar—or analogous—devices scattered across the globe.”

“It follows a stringent temporal monitoring system, likely only activatable at a particular moment—when the universe’s myriad parameters align to a specific threshold.”

“Beyond that, the details elude us.”

“The Lingxi in the mountain city should know.”

Shen Yue listened silently to Lei Jie’s account, then suddenly asked:

“What of the Ring Consortium?”

“They.”

Lei Jie was about to answer when, abruptly, Fuxi’s voice crackled over the radio. “Chief.”

“We’ve just received word from Jinzan.”

“Wang Lizhi has arrived in Guangshen, completing contact with the Ring Consortium’s leader.”

“The Ring Consortium formally extended an invitation to us, asking us to go to Guangshen to inspect their ‘small Ring device.’”

As the words fell, Lei Jie sat upright.

He turned to Shen Yue and asked:

“Shall we go?”

Shen Yue was silent for a moment, then replied:

“We go!”

Another long haul, but this time we need not parachute.

Over a thousand kilometers, the transport plane refueled overnight at Chuan Sha City, now cleared by merchants, before taking off again toward Guangshen.

After landing on a pre‑leveled strip, Lei Jie led an elite interleaved company off the aircraft, while the transport lingered, ready to turn back at a moment’s notice.

Not far from the airport, Wang Lizhi stood with the Ring Consortium’s delegates awaiting us; upon seeing Lei Jie and his men, he promptly approached and bowed respectfully.

“Mr. Lei Jie, you’ve labored hard.”

He no longer called Lei Jie “Chief,” perhaps because on his own turf he still felt obliged to retain a measure of decorum.

“Indeed, it has been arduous.”

Lei Jie gave a slight nod.

“And the Ring?”

“It lies underground.”

Wang Lizhi answered at once, then asked:

“Do you wish to rest first? We have prepared quarters for you; you may dine now, and then—”

“No need.”

Lei Jie waved his hand in refusal, then said:

“I’m truly pressed for time.”

“Skip the formalities; take me to your leader, and once we’ve met, we’ll head straight to test the Ring.”

“Understood.”

Confronted with Lei Jie’s decisive manner, Wang Lizhi swiftly altered his approach.

He ceased any delay, leading Lei Jie straight toward the convoy waiting behind.

At that moment Lei Jie noticed that, besides the armed men’s steam locomotive, the Ring Consortium also kept a diesel engine.

Yet that contraption had, through countless repairs and even rebuilds, been morphed into a hybrid scarcely distinguishable from the diesel engines employed by the Mechanical Cult.

Under Wang Lizhi’s lead, the party boarded and set off toward the Ring Consortium’s “headquarters.”

Lei Jie, eyeing the road scarred by repairs and reconstructions, said to Wang Lizhi beside him:

“Your operations here are impressive—I mean, your use of roads and infrastructure far surpasses that of other factions.”

Wang Lizhi nodded at the remark, then humbly replied:

“Because we are, after all, a merchants’ guild; we must rely on external communication and exchange to grow strong.”

“So such facilities are essential.”

“Understood.”

Lei Jie first nodded, then asked sharply:

“So, your headquarters’ location isn’t a secret?”

“It is a secret.”

Wang Lizhi answered:

“Even our closest partners only know that our headquarters lie in Guangshen.”

“But, as you know, ‘Guangshen’ is not merely a city; it’s a vast region.”

“Our headquarters are not within the commercial hub of Guangshen city itself.”

“We are headed to another place.”

“A place not far from Guangshen city.”

It is not near Guangshen city.

Lei Jie had already studied maps of the area around Guangshen, and had a rough grasp of the surrounding human settlements.

He truly could not recall which location, at a certain distance from the Guangzhou‑Shenzhen area, would meet the requirements for the Ring Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

To power the Ring devices, they would need a sufficient energy supply.

To preserve such Ring equipment, they would need a fully developed infrastructure system.

The surrounding area lacked any disaster‑recovery works.

Then what could it be?

A thought flashed through Lei Jie’s mind.

Daya Bay??

But that didn’t fit.

The Daya Bay nuclear power plant had already been shut down the moment the disaster struck; with most facilities destroyed and the surrounding power grid damaged, restarting the plant was virtually impossible.

Moreover, there were no corresponding research institutes or facilities near Daya Bay.

Logically, the Ring Chamber could not have originated there.

Lei Jie furrowed his brow, watching the inertial navigation map on his smart visor, and saw that the convoy had been heading steadily toward the northeast.

The convoy was moving away from Guangzhou‑Shenzhen and also away from Daya Bay.

So that ruled it out.

“Where exactly is the location? Can you tell me now?”

Lei Jie asked Wang Lizhi.

Wang Lizhi shook his head slowly, his tone gentle yet firm:

“We cannot disclose the precise location of the headquarters to anyone.”

“Rest assured, the journey ahead will be safe.”

“And once you have entered the headquarters, there will be no secrets left for you.”

“You only need to wait another four hours.”

“After four hours, our leader will explain everything to you.”

Seeing Wang Lizhi’s resolute stance, Lei Jie had nothing more to say.

What should we do then?

Should I now press a gun to his head, or simply shoot him dead?

Apart from venting the irritation in my heart, such an act would serve no purpose.

As the old saying goes, if you’re already here…

Since we’re here, we might as well follow them to the end and see what, if anything, makes their so‑called “headquarters” different.

With that thought, Lei Jie let out a soft sigh, leaned back in his uncomfortable chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

At this moment, the squad’s link to the Fuxi network had been severed; any contact could only be made through inefficient radio communication.

Lei Jie had no intention of bothering Fuxi any further—just as Wang Lizhi said, it was only four hours anyway.

Wait.

Lei Jie suddenly opened his eyes.

He glanced again at the navigation system; according to the inertial trajectory, the convoy was moving at roughly fifteen kilometers per hour.

Four hours would be about sixty kilometers, give or take?

Sixty kilometers northwest from the landing point.

An answer suddenly formed in Lei Jie’s mind.

He turned to Wang Lizhi and asked:

“Are we heading to Jiangmen?”

As the words left his mouth, Wang Lizhi stared dumbfounded.

Lei Jie exhaled lightly and continued:

“I now know where your headquarters is.”

“Damn, I should have guessed it ages ago.”

“Indeed, there is no place more suitable for deploying the Ring equipment than that spot.”

“Because it was already the facility with the strongest anti‑interference capability.”

“The Jiangmen Neutrino Experiment Center!”

(End of chapter)