Command Tower

Sun Hang's words were actually full of calculation—if analyzed word by word, every single sentence had been true, perfectly avoiding any possibility of "deception."

Since he had not lied, there would be plenty of room to maneuver if anyone tried to hold him accountable afterward. He could even shake off all responsibility entirely.

But when those few sentences were put together, they inevitably gave the sergeant the wrong impression: it seemed that the hijacker had been infected with the Anomalization Virus, which was why he had committed such a horrifying crime as hijacking the base commander...

And these two Anomaly Hunters had come precisely because of that.

A trace of hesitation appeared on the sergeant's face.

"Think it over carefully," Sun Hang said. "When dealing with anomalies, rifles and cannons might not necessarily be useful. You still need professionals to handle it... If you stop us here and something happens inside, can a mere corporal like you bear the consequences?"

After hesitating for a moment, the sergeant said, "Please wait a moment. I'll make a call and request instructions."

A little while later, the sergeant jogged back and nodded at Sun Hang. "You may enter, but someone must accompany you throughout. The assigned escort will be waiting for you at the base entrance."

"Alright, sorry for the trouble, soldier boy. Love you~" Sun Hang flashed the sergeant a brilliant smile, took back his and Wang Xiyi's licenses, and hit the gas, slipping beneath the rising barrier.

"Uh... honestly, the way you acted just now was kind of disgusting." Yang Lian wore a look of disdain. "I always feel like your mental state isn't quite normal..."

"Disgusting? Hehe, then I did it right." Sun Hang's smile remained unchanged. "To be fair, that sergeant was pretty good. He was loyal to his duty. Even after learning that there were two people in the car capable of killing him instantly, he didn't back down. He handled everything according to the rules and regulations. I quite like people like that... If all the upper echelons of the Xiazhou Federation were like him, how great would that be?"

"It's good to be loyal to one's duty, but being rigid and inflexible isn't necessarily a good thing," Wang Xiyi remarked. "If the hijacker really is infected, then by the time we finish a whole application process, the place inside will have long since turned into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood."

"I'd rather there be no flexibility. Too much flexibility breeds privilege, privilege breeds corruption, and corruption turns administrative bodies bloated and inefficient... If everyone could strictly follow the rules and regulations and faithfully fulfill their duties, humanity's living space would probably be much greater than it is now, wouldn't it?" Sun Hang could not help sighing.

"What you're describing is a computer program, not human society. People have desires, all kinds of desires... Besides, even computer programs can develop bugs... The society you idealize is too perfect. It can't be realized." Wang Xiyi continued.

"Too perfect... like a utopia." Sun Hang smiled self-mockingly and said nothing more.

Perhaps anomalies had appeared precisely because this world was too terrible...

If humanity were truly wiped out by anomalies, that would only mean humanity had ceased to be suited for this world... The weak were prey to the strong, and only the fittest survived... To nature, that was the most reasonable thing in the world.

Civilized society was utterly meaningless before absolute power.

After driving into the base, Sun Hang and the others transferred to an open-top off-road vehicle driven by their escort. In addition to the off-road vehicle, there was a wheeled light armored vehicle ahead of them and another behind them. Squinting, Sun Hang saw the barrels of the vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns gleaming with the dark iron luster of metal beneath the sun.

"Tsk, this security detail is pretty extravagant. Even people from the Management Committee might not get two armored vehicles escorting them when they go out, right?" Sun Hang muttered.

"These two armored vehicles aren't here to protect us. They're here to guard against us." Wang Xiyi yawned and spoke slowly. "Don't forget, we're the most dangerous creatures here."

"Mm, that makes sense... By the way, how long would you need to deal with those two armored vehicles?"

"It'd be a little troublesome without beastification. With beastification..." Wang Xiyi thought for a moment before saying, "Only a few seconds if I tear them apart by hand. Flame breath would be even faster."

Sun Hang glanced at the pale-faced soldier in the driver's seat, then smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. We're just joking... Still, you people have really put on quite a show."

The open ground inside the air force base was already packed with armored vehicles, tanks, and self-propelled artillery. Countless gun barrels were aimed at the distant Command Tower, while large numbers of military drones and helicopters hovered around it. Dense auxiliary targeting lasers passed through the Command Tower's windows, locking onto some target inside.

"From the looks of it, you aren't trying to capture the hijacker. It seems more like you want to blow up the hijacker, your commander, and this entire Command Tower together," Sun Hang said.

"W-we're here."

The open-top off-road vehicle stopped in front of the Command Tower. An officer jumped down from the armored vehicle ahead, walked over to exchange a few words with the people guarding the entrance, then had the blockade opened and said to Sun Hang and the others, "Follow me inside."

The Command Tower was also packed with soldiers at this point—all of them were regular Federation troops. There was not a single Peacekeeper or city guard among them. Every weapon had already been loaded, and an atmosphere of extreme tension hung over the corridors.

In comparison, Wang Xiyi in her ill-fitting clothes and Sun Hang in casual attire stood out glaringly. Nearly every soldier who passed them gave them an extra look—in a time like this, non-military personnel appearing in this building was truly difficult to understand.

"The hijacker and the commander are on the fourth floor of the Command Tower. We'll take the elevator up." The accompanying officer spoke to Sun Hang.

Although it was called the fourth floor, it was more than seventy meters above the ground. The elevator took nearly half a minute to carry the group up to the fourth floor.

"I already know that the hijacker is the leader of the Special Operations Team, but what about the rest of the Special Operations Team? Were they involved as well?" Sun Hang asked casually.

"They were all there... Earlier, they had a violent conflict with the base officers. One of them was injured, while five base officers were wounded."

"Looks like they're fairly capable fighters. By the way, nobody died, right?" Sun Hang asked again.

If someone had died, then the nature of the matter would be completely different.

"No one died." The officer shook his head. "But the situation has been deadlocked until now... And because the hijacker has a special identity, we don't dare rashly use a sniper to kill him..."