Chapter 37

The Underground Research Institute's surveillance system was connected to the Ground Base. Likewise, this gave Ba Di an opportunity to use Artificial Intelligence Hera to take control of their electronic networks, weapons, and more.

But just as he had ordered Hera to hack and control the Ground Base and the Underground Research Institute, General Vick sent a request to communicate. Was it a coincidence, or had he found out in time?

Or had General Vick discovered something Ba Di had failed to notice?

Ba Di pondered carefully. After executing Slade, he had basically smashed all the surveillance equipment on the Negative Fourth Floor to pieces. There was no way the Ground Base could still monitor him.

The technology of this era could not possibly detect the existence of Artificial Intelligence Hera so quickly.

"Slade? Dean Bo Li?"

Before Ba Di could answer, General Vick's voice came through again.

Ba Di sneered. It seemed it really was just a coincidence.

"They're already dead." Ba Di replied coldly. He then used Hera to pull up all the Underground Research Institute's surveillance feeds and discovered that surface soldiers were steadily advancing. They had already descended to the Negative Second Floor.

The soldiers' equipment was even more exaggerated, and their firepower was stronger. They had clearly learned what had happened in the Underground Research Institute—the slaughter Ba Di had caused.

He pulled up the surveillance footage related to Jenny. While he had been fighting Slade, the surface elite soldiers had already entered the Negative First Floor. They found the thirty-one surviving soldiers and Jenny, then brought them up to the Medical Building on the surface.

Ba Di narrowed his eyes.

"Ba Miu Luo Di!"

General Vick's voice sank.

"Mm."

Ba Di answered indifferently. General Vick could do nothing to him now. At most, he could only send soldiers in to die. Ba Di was even waiting for him to send soldiers down into the Underground Base so he could release the poison gas and wipe them all out at once.

Gas masks would be useless. There was still the Level Two poison gas, which could take effect rapidly through skin contact.

This Underground Research Institute had three types of poison gas. Level Three was Hydrogen Cyanide, which required inhalation to poison someone. Level Two was Dichloroethyl Sulfide, the king of toxic agents that poisoned through skin contact. Level One was the nerve agent VX Nerve Agent. Ba Di suspected that even he might not be able to endure that gas for long, so he did not dare activate it lightly.

"Ba Miu Luo Di, you were able to endure until this point, so you can't be an idiot. Let's cooperate."

General Vick's tone carried suppressed fury. His trusted subordinate Slade was dead. Dean Bo Li was dead. At least three hundred people had died in the Underground Research Institute. Even as a general, it would be difficult for him to contain such a disaster. And if the true purpose of the research here were exposed, even he would face enormous trouble.

But what had happened could not be undone. More importantly, could he recover the losses another way?

"Go on."

Ba Di still responded coldly, not taking it seriously.

He pulled up a terrain map of the surface and began studying it, already planning his route out of here.

This military base was located in Nevada, not far from Utah. Ba Di looked across the map, his gaze sweeping rightward past Colorado before finally settling on Kansas.

Kal-El of the El Family, Clark, Superman—had you arrived on Earth yet? A cold gleam flickered in Ba Di's eyes.

"Whatever you want, I can give it to you. Become a researcher under my command. Help me study genetic engineering and strengthen my armed forces. What you gain will be more than you can imagine."

General Vick spoke in a deep voice. It did not matter that he had lost everything. Slade and Dean Bo Li were merely pieces in his hand. Anyone with value could replace them. Ba Di's value was something they could never compare to.

If he could truly gain Ba Di's help, it would be worth more than a hundred old Dean Bo Lis.

"Sure. Come over now, and we can talk."

Unexpectedly, Ba Di agreed immediately. But the agreement had come too quickly, with no sincerity whatsoever.

General Vick could practically imagine it. The moment he appeared before Ba Di, he would definitely be beaten to death. There would be no room for negotiation.

Hearing Ba Di's words, General Vick fell silent for a moment. A ball of fury swelled in his chest before he shouted coldly, "Ba Miu Luo Di!"

"You think you can escape?"

"Anything in the hands of General Vick will remain in my hands forever."

"Above your head are fifteen thousand fully equipped soldiers, heavy machine guns with greater firepower than assault rifles, and BGM-109B Tomahawk Missiles—enough to blast you into pieces."

"Your so-called power is nothing worth mentioning."

General Vick's face darkened as he fumed at Ba Di's refusal to recognize what was good for him.

Ba Di sneered. "General Vick, you should be glad you aren't in this military base. Otherwise, you would end up just like them."

The fury General Vick had been holding back erupted. He let out a deep, hoarse roar from his throat.

"Ba Miu Luo Di, choose life or death!"

General Vick's low roar was like that of a snarling beast. Everything he had achieved in this underground laboratory had been ruined by Ba Di. If he could not obtain greater value from Ba Di, then he would rather have his corpse.

"General Vick, in the future, you'll be glad you weren't here today." Ba Di said coldly.

General Vick snorted furiously through his nose and hung up the communication.

Ground Base.

The command center was under Brigadier General Kagel's command.

Although Brigadier General Kagel outranked Slade, in General Vick's eyes, he was still far inferior to Slade.

That much was obvious from the fact that he had never set foot in the important Underground Research Institute.

Brigadier General Kagel had always held a grudge over this. But aside from rank, Slade truly outshone him in every way—appearance, height, command, combat, firearms. Slade was better than him at all of it, which only made him more resentful.

Sometimes, even while Slade was in the Underground Research Institute, he could still issue orders to the Ground Base and treat Brigadier General Kagel like a puppet on strings. It was infuriating.

So when Slade caused trouble in the Underground Research Institute, allowed the alien to escape, and was fighting below, Brigadier General Kagel felt somewhat pleased.

So even you have a day like this, Slade.

But as Ba Di killed more and more people, his heart gradually turned cold.

The responsibility was too great. He would not be able to avoid taking some of the blame.

"Damn Slade."

Brigadier General Kagel cursed. Three or four hundred people had died. The burden was simply too great, more than he could bear. That was why he had informed General Vick earlier and harshly listed Slade's incompetence before him.

"Brigadier General Kagel, General Vick is on the phone."

A soldier reported.

Brigadier General Kagel's expression tightened. He took the desk phone and immediately heard General Vick's suppressed, teeth-gritting rage.

"Kagel, kill the alien. Use any means necessary—heavy machine guns, missiles, even if you have to blast him into dust. I don't want to hear about your failure. Slade has already failed. He died in there."

Brigadier General Kagel's pupils contracted. Slade had actually... died! "Yes, General." Brigadier General Kagel froze for a moment before recovering and accepting Slade's death.

Underground Research Institute.

Ba Di's eyes turned savage. Through Hera's control, he had already heard General Vick's orders to the Ground Base.

A cold smile curled across his lips as he gave Hera her orders.

"Release Dichloroethyl Sulfide on the Negative First Floor, Negative Second Floor, and Negative Third Floor."

"Hera, list the Ground Base's facilities."

"Take control of all signal networks."

"Open the missile silos."

"BGM-109G Tomahawk Ground-Launched Cruise Missiles, MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles, short-range missiles, medium-range missiles, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles—aim them all at the Ground Base."

"Calculate the missile blast radius. Blow up everywhere except the Medical Building and the helipad."