Chapter 292
Even if it makes me a target of public criticism for initiating the war, I will not stand idly by and watch Lungmen fall into our hands.
Amiya does not want to see war, because that would mean a large number of casualties.
"Your Excellency, perhaps we should reconsider whether there is a peaceful way to resolve this?"
"Peace?"
Wei Yenwu sneered, dismissing the idea with disdain.
"If the intelligence that the Ursus regular army is hiding among the refugee groups is true, then this is no longer a simple test between the two countries. This war, which the enemy has been preparing for a long time, has had no possibility of peace from the very beginning."
The key to this war is whether or not we can paralyze that Core City. If we can, we'll be branded as having waged war against Ursus. But that would allow us to eliminate the hidden regular army as infected rioters. Since war is inevitable anyway, let's kill them first.
If the situation isn't paralyzed, and the Core City crashes into the Lungmen, the Inner Guards should be strong enough to hold out until those people arrive. At that point, a large influx of regular troops into the city will escalate the situation completely. The ensuing territorial conflicts will also breed endless disasters.
"Then why can't we evacuate the crowd now?"
"Miss Amiya, you're too naive. How many people do you think can be evacuated in two days?"
Senator Witte of Ursus originally had the ability to contain the internal situation. However, he was a cowardly politician who only knew how to run away from such matters.
Kal'tsit knew that was all she could do for now, but she still frowned and tried to advise him:
"Mr. Wei, please think it over. If a war breaks out between Great Yan and Ursus, the consequences will be very serious."
"La Signora. Kal'tsit, I know that. There has never been a war that could be ended with zero casualties."
I'd rather bear eternal infamy to protect everything in Lungmen than do nothing and watch the Ursus regular army slaughter innocent civilians in the city.
"Your Excellency, I actually have a solution."
Chen, who had come here with Wenyue, listened quietly for quite a while.
Now, the choice is either to ignore the Core City and let the people of Lungmen suffer, or to bear the blame for going to war with Ursus and protect the people of Lungmen. Either way, there will be significant losses, making it a true dilemma.
For the past two years, whenever Chen encountered a difficult problem, she would always think of one man.
If you encounter a hostage situation, contact him.
To raid the hideout of notorious criminals, find him.
If you want to help Talulah, go find him.
If you want to capture Talulah, go find him too.
In short, if you're ever unsure what to do, just ask Shi Lei.
Upon hearing Chen say she had a solution, everyone present turned their gazes to her, waiting for her to continue.
"Your Excellency, you just mentioned that the key to the whole matter is intercepting the Core City area. However, using the official power of Lungmen would be seen as a declaration of war."
In other words, as long as someone who isn't an official Lungmen official paralyzes the Core City area, this major catastrophe targeting Lungmen can be averted, right?
Wenyue had thought her niece might offer some reliable solution, but what she said was tantamount to saying nothing at all.
"Currently, there is at least one Inner Guards stationed in the Core City area. Which non-official organization do you think could match that?"
Hey, you know what, there really is.
Chen still remembers the shocking scene of Shi Lei defeating five Inner Guards in Ursus.
If five can be defeated in one hit, why can't one?
But she wouldn't bring it up herself, offering the only solution under her aunt Wenyue's questioning gaze:
"I think Mister Zhongli can do it."
These words were like the detonation of a depth charge. Instantly, the room fell silent.
Kal'tsit had always believed that Shi Lei was an alien from another planet, so she was constantly on guard. Faced with Officer Chen's suggestion, she chose to remain silent.
Amiya had collaborated with Shi Lei many times, and upon hearing this proposal, she immediately expressed her support.
Wenyue didn't recognize Shi Lei, so she turned her head to look at her husband, wondering what he thought.
Wei Yenwu's tightly furrowed brows relaxed:
"Officer Chen, your idea is excellent."
Zhongli is Messenger for Penguin Logistics and has no official Lungmen affiliation. If he can paralyze the Core City, Ursus will have no excuse to send troops. Instead, they can turn the tables and accuse them of starting a war.
This is truly Third Path that has been forcibly carved out in the face of a difficult choice.
Brilliant!
But can Zhongli defeat the Inner Guards?
Never mind, I have to give it a try.
"Officer Chen, contact Zhongli now. Ask him to help paralyze the Core City. There are still 48 hours left, which should be enough time for him to prepare. If that doesn't work, we'll think of other methods."
"Good!"
Chen nodded, dialed Shi Lei's number in front of everyone, and put it on speakerphone. The next second, however, an embarrassing sound came from the receiver.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off. Please try again later..."
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January 4th, 8:20 pm
Trimon, Columbia.
After a long journey of more than 2,000 kilometers, Shi Lei landed on the rooftop of the Rhine Lab Headquarters.
He actually arrived around six o'clock, but the book he was carrying was almost finished. Anyway, he wasn't in a hurry, so he waited until he finished reading before slowly landing.
Kristen knew Shi Lei would be coming tonight and waited for him on the rooftop beforehand. To avoid revealing the 'god's' whereabouts, she gave all department members a mandatory day off. She told them to go home and rest well, and then catch up on the work tomorrow.
Today, there is no other employee in the entire Rhine Lab campus besides Kristen.
"Lord Zhong, all the books, Fowlbeast cubs, feed, and fertilizer you needed are here. The generator-related modules are too difficult to carry up, so they're in the basketball court downstairs."
"Um."
Shi Lei nodded, then swooped down to the basketball court on the ground. He used Rock Constructs to transport the twenty generators and auxiliary equipment to the huge Rock House in the air. Only then did he return to the rooftop to roughly count the items on site.
The agricultural books were selected by Kristen when Shi Lei visited Trimon a few days ago. The content mainly focuses on the cultivation of agricultural products and the breeding of Fowlbeast.
Yan also has similar agricultural books, but it's always good to buy more here. After all, there's little experience with planting in high mountains on this land, and it's uncertain whether the soil there can cultivate suitable crops.
After flying away from Trimon, Shi Lei will also go to the deserted wasteland to dig up some soil and airlift it back to Liyue City. He'll try out different farming combinations to see which one yields the best results, and then use that one.
Shi Lei bought these books for the more than 300 people in the logistics unit. As for the former guerrillas, they were all Sarkaz brought from Kazdel by Patriot. Their general education level was low, so there was no need for them to learn these things.
Even if the logistics troops were severely lacking in foreign languages and didn't know Columbia, surely Hegre, as a former Ursus general, should have been familiar with these languages derived from Victoria?
Shi Lei systematically translated these books into understandable language. However, he simply didn't have the time or energy to teach them, so he took the time to slack off whenever possible.
Besides farming, Shi Lei also asked Kristen to help purchase Fowlbeast cubs and feed. He plans to set up a breeding farm in Liyue to supply the Qianyan Army with Fowlbeast eggs daily.
Kristen was quite curious about the contents of the shopping list. She didn't believe Zhongli was buying all these miscellaneous items for his own use. Perhaps he was planning to start a brand new town on the outskirts of Trimon?
As she watched the supplies ascend into the sky, Kristen finally couldn't suppress her intense curiosity. For a scientist, the thirst for knowledge was instinctive. The inability to find answers to her questions made her extremely distressed.
"Lord Zhong, may I ask you two things?"
"Um?"
Where do you plan to use these?
To date, Shi Lei has never publicly promoted Liyue City. Many people on this land could never have imagined that a brand new city existed high in the mountains of Ursus.
"I'm sorry, I can't say about that."
Having received a reply, Kristen didn't pursue the matter further. She took out several business cards from her pocket and presented them with both hands:
"Mr. Zhong, it takes a lot of time for you to wait for me to purchase the goods before shipping them out. Here is the supplier's phone number; you can have them deliver to your door."
Upon hearing this, Shi Lei grinned slightly.
It seems Kristen assumed he lived nearby, which is why he offered the time-saving solution. But the straight-line distance from Trimon to Liyue City is over 2,000 kilometers. If they were to deliver it to his door, it would take at least 3,000 kilometers via a detour. Who would deliver that?
Considering the other party meant well, he didn't expose them:
"Yes, I'll contact you if needed. Didn't you just say you wanted to ask two questions? What's the other one?"
Shi Lei didn't know what the Rhine Lab's Director General would ask, but he couldn't answer anything too technical.
"It's like this, Lord Zhong. I recently detected a signal coming from three or four thousand meters underground, located on the outskirts of Trimon. I'm not sure if this is related to you, so I wanted to ask here."
Three or four thousand meters underground?
Based on Shi Lei's understanding of the Terra, he couldn't imagine anyone digging such a deep mine, so he shook his head.
"I don't recall, but if you find anything, remember to let me know."
Terra's technology tree is haphazardly developed. Many high-tech devices are actually unearthed from ancient ruins. Shi Lei wouldn't be surprised if an aircraft carrier or a powered mech appeared one day.
"OK."
Kristen nodded, but still looked hesitant. Only after watching Shi Lei launch all the supplies into the sky in preparation for evacuation did she finally muster the courage to speak:
"Lord Zhong, may I make a request?"
Shi Lei did not agree directly, but instead asked:
Tell me your requirements first, and I'll consider it.
"Okay, here's the situation..."
Kristen explained to him the Columbia Ministry of Defense's 'Arc Light Horizon' program, which involved a large investment in developing superweapons, and her own idea that she had no intention of actually working on it, but rather to use the money to research aerospace technology.
"Thanks to you last time, many of my long-standing questions were answered. In order to avoid the delay plan being exposed, could you send me to the sky to retrieve some samples of Star Pod? In the future, when the Ministry of Defense gets impatient with the delays, I will at least have something decent to show for it."
Shi Lei is a pacifist who opposes war and is extremely averse to superweapons. If sending Kristen to collect the Star Pod can delay the plan and reduce Columbia's military spending, it would undoubtedly be a good thing.
After thinking for a moment, he nodded in agreement.
"Sure, can we leave now?"
"Sure!"
Kristen was overjoyed upon hearing this, a fervent glint in her eyes. She immediately ran back to the rooftop entrance and retrieved the full spacesuit she had prepared beforehand from the stairwell.
With a 'god' taking me to heaven, I wonder how much research funding I can save for other projects.
Seeing that Kristen was well-prepared, Shi Lei smiled and built a brand new Rock House.
Given the thin oxygen at high altitudes, it's perfectly reasonable for an ordinary person like her to wear a spacesuit.
"Come in, I'll take you upstairs."
After Kristen entered, Shi Lei sealed the Rock House. Under the cover of night, it slowly flew into the sky.
At an altitude of 2,000 meters, the temperature and air pressure were not significantly different from those at ground level, and I did not feel any discomfort at that time.
At an altitude of 3,000 meters, Kristen felt the temperature inside the room begin to drop, and a slight chill appeared.
At an altitude of four thousand meters, Kristen felt a distinct chill and some chest tightness. She quickly turned on her breathing mask, and gradually returned to normal.
At an altitude of 5,000 meters, the cold and low temperatures become even more pronounced. If it weren't for the fully enclosed Rock House, the outside temperature would be at least minus 20 degrees Celsius.
"Arrive."
Shi Lei to an altitude of over 6,000 meters and removed one of the doors to the Rock House. Instantly, a biting wind swept in. Even though she was wearing a warm spacesuit, Kristen was still shivering from the cold. According to the thermometer she carried, the temperature here was below thirty degrees Celsius.
Seeing her tremble slightly, Shi Lei reactivated his shield. The strange phenomenon from before vanished in an instant.
My God, is this the power of 'God'?
Kristen looked up at the sky; it was as black as spilled ink. Come to think of it, she must have been the first scientist on this planet to have such prolonged, close contact with Star Pod, right?
As for gods, they are not included in the category of humankind.
Seeing Kristen dressed in a heavy spacesuit and looking clumsy, Shi Lei asked:
"Are you available to collect the data? Or should I do it?"
"No... I can do it."
Before her lay the Star Pod, a place unattainable to countless Terra poets and scientists. Its color was indistinguishable to the naked eye, and it had a soft, clay-like texture to the touch.
Kristen used the mechanical extension arm to collect the Star Pod, but found that he encountered strong resistance after inserting it.