"Stop!" The Party Secretary made a firm gesture. "Stop talking nonsense. Let's get a little closer. There are figures moving around at the cave entrance. What country are we from? I absolutely do not believe that those mountain people would dare to rebel."
As they got closer, they could see more clearly that it was a group of people dressed in what appeared to be metallic sheen. They were busily setting up scaffolding at the entrance of the cave, as if they were carrying out some kind of project to cover the large cave.
The town mayor asked the police station chief, "Have you figured out where they came from?"
The station chief shook his head: "No, let's go up and arrest them. We have guns, what are we afraid of?"
The town mayor consulted the party secretary, who pondered for a while before saying, "Be careful. I think there are a lot of them. Don't provoke them. We probably don't have enough manpower to keep an eye on them."
The station chief got up from his hiding place and, while directing the officers who had followed him, said, "Don't worry, I know best how to deal with these mountain people. They'll definitely try to scare them. Once we scare them, things will be much easier."
Everyone says mountain people are unruly, and sometimes being too nice to them has no effect. The station chief didn't say anything, letting his men charge out with guns. "Who! Who are you? Stop!" the station chief shouted, trying to get their attention. After all, he was an official, and his actions were aboveboard. The men stopped what they were doing. Some were moving steel, others were installing it; each one seemed very strong. The station chief was somewhat overweight, and judging by how easily they moved the steel, each of them was stronger than him.
No one responded. The director assumed the other party was scared. He took two more steps forward and had his men advance in a semi-encircling formation. The suddenly appearing cave was very large, comparable to the size of a football field. From one direction, the number of people looked only about a hundred, but when they stopped and came down from the shelves, it became clear that there were several hundred people.
The director was somewhat uneasy. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the metallic figures that were surrounding them from the opposite direction. He was worried and prepared to turn around. There were many of them, and even though they were officials, they couldn't help but feel afraid.
"You, you all stop and talk." The station chief waved his gun, and whether his action was interpreted as a danger signal by the other party, a 'person' fired at him with a whoosh. The station chief felt a sharp pain in his wrist, and he could no longer hold the gun, which fell to the ground. There was a large hole in his wrist, and one of his hands was no longer his, with only a bit of burnt flesh still attached.
"Ah!" The station chief screamed, the sound echoing through the valley, startling the town mayor and secretary who were standing guard in the distance.
When the director was attacked, the other team members lost their composure. Someone fired the first shot. Bang, bang, the gunshots were very loud in the night. The bullets made a buzzing metallic sound when they hit those people, but they did not cause them any harm.
The other side retaliated after the police officers fired their guns. Their weapons were silent, only producing a blinding white light. But when the white light hit a person, it immediately created a large hole, accompanied by a burning smell. Several team members even had their heads pierced, leaving a terrifying, light-filled hole in their heads. Such people would certainly not survive.
The town mayor and party secretary, who were observing from a distance, were also stunned by what they saw. They hadn't expected those people to be so barbaric, completely ignoring any threats. The mayor turned and ran without a word. The party secretary wanted to say something, but everyone around him was running with the mayor, so what could he do alone? When he saw that the police chief in front of him had his head blown off, he felt a tightness in his chest and vomited. He then ran after them, not even noticing when he lost his shoes.
The group, in their panic, took twice as long to get out of the mountains. Meanwhile, the county magistrate and secretary, who were waiting in the town, had taken a long nap and couldn't hear the gunshots. Otherwise, they would have been on edge too.
Soon, someone woke up Tang Yuanfeng and Tian Zhenming at the guesthouse. When the two came to the guesthouse lobby, they saw the town mayor and secretary looking disheveled. Tang Yuanfeng asked in surprise, "What happened? Why are you in such a state?"
The town mayor hadn't recovered yet when he cried out, "No, no, it's terrible! It's...it's bad people! They killed Chief Niu and the others..."
"What?!" Tang Yuanfeng and Tian Zhenming jumped up. If it were just the destruction of the forest, it would be fine, but the discovery of a murder case was a big deal. Moreover, there should be more than one dead. The work group had not yet left, and it was a turbulent time. If the news of the deaths got out, the two of them would be in serious trouble.
The secretary, pale-faced, said, “They are a strange group of people using strange weapons. The beam of light was a huge crater, whereas it was flat ground just before. These strange people are building a scaffold around the crater. Our men were shot through the body and died. Please send troops to capture them immediately.”
Tian Zhenming said, "Old Tang, immediately notify the county public security bureau and the armed police force, and request them to send reinforcements."
Tang Yuanfeng naturally didn't want to personally go through the danger; this was a matter for the public security and armed police. So he agreed and made the call. The public security and armed police arrived in less than two hours. After all, it was an order from the county head and the party secretary. This was not a simple 110 call; otherwise, it would have been questionable whether the police would have arrived before dawn.
The police chief questioned the town mayor in detail, and then personally led a team of several people, including armed police officers. Considering that the other side had unidentified weapons and more than several hundred people, they marched in secret to first arrive at the scene to investigate the situation before requesting reinforcements from the rear. They were determined not to open fire on the other side without authorization.
As dawn broke, Tang Yuanfeng and Tian Zhenming received a report from the front lines while anxiously waiting. In the communication, the police chief's tone was one of shock: "Secretary Tian, County Chief Tang, I simply cannot believe my eyes! That's not human! It's not human!"
Tian Zhenming's voice was displeased: "What nonsense are you talking about? Explain yourself clearly. Please be mindful of your status."
The police chief paused for a moment, probably to calm himself down, "Secretary Tian, I didn't lie to you. We can see them clearly now. They're not human; they're like robots from a movie! If my calculations are correct, the weapon they used to kill our first team was a laser!"
County Magistrate Tang took the communicator and asked seriously, "Can you convince me that you are mentally sound right now?"
The police chief said, "County Chief Tang, I assure you, there is also an armed police captain here. You can ask him."
So it's true. Tian Zhenming grabbed the communicator: "Hold your ground and don't act rashly. We need to report this to our superiors immediately. We're no longer in a position to get involved in this matter."
The matter was reported up the chain of command, and soon the provincial and central governments were aware of it. Such a serious matter couldn't possibly be due to cheating to attract the attention of higher authorities; after all, people had died, and no one could bear the responsibility for such cheating. However, the described robot couldn't exist, let alone a small laser weapon that was currently impossible to realize. Therefore, Zhao Qiang immediately received inquiries from the state. Some people thought that the situation there was definitely orchestrated by Zhao Qiang to allow the troops to continue their deployment to Chenguang County. However, Zhao Qiang's answer disappointed them: Creating a robot of that level was just a dream.
By noon, clearer satellite images were on the desks of provincial and central government officials. The situation had developed to this point and should no longer be related to humanity, especially since the central government itself was aware of the existence of spaceships in the underground world. It seems that Zhao Qiang's earlier haste to evacuate Chenguang County was also due to consideration that these spaceships were about to land on the surface.
(Thanks to Piaoxue Manjianghong for the 588 Qidian coins! Thank you to Piaoxue Dongtingtian and DAVID Wentian for the 100 Qidian coins! Thank you to Fengzhi Saisai and Dugu Yu for the monthly ticket support!)
Volume Two [777] Resistance
Zhao Qiang took Yang Shiqi on vacation. Hu Weimin and Yang Zhaoxi were both amused and exasperated upon receiving the news. It seemed Zhao Qiang was determined; this matter wouldn't end well, just like when he went to America—no matter how many people you sent to "invite" him back, it was useless. Troops were dispatched to Chenguang County. They were essentially the same soldiers from before, now ordered to turn around and return to Chenguang County. Tens of thousands of troops formed an encirclement, completely sealing off the valley.
A group army commander from the provincial military sub-district personally directed the battle. Although it was unclear whether the other side was friend or foe, the defense had to be arranged according to the enemy's requirements to avoid being bitten in return for treating them as friends.
The reconnaissance system clearly showed the situation near the sinkhole. The robots had covered the sinkhole with steel, and it was almost completely closed off. Troops were waiting for orders a few kilometers away. Several armored vehicles were ordered to drive into the vicinity of the sinkhole, and a loudspeaker began to broadcast, "Listen up, creatures over there, you have been discovered, but we are friendly. Please ask your leader to come out and speak."
The busy robots seemed oblivious, continuing their work tirelessly. The loudspeaker broadcast over a dozen times without any response. So, several armored vehicles escorted a squad of infantry forward. Since the other side refused to communicate, force was necessary; they couldn't wait for them to close the building—who knew what the consequences would be? Of course, missiles were already aimed at the area. These infantrymen were merely probing. The nation still held a sliver of hope that the underground creatures would be friendly, allowing humanity to acquire more advanced technology.
As they drew closer, the robots moved when they were less than 200 meters away. As if they had received a unified command, all the robots simultaneously abandoned their work, drew laser guns from their legs, and aimed them at the approaching armored vehicle. No one gave the order, but all the robots still fired at the same time. There must have been some kind of wireless signal communicating between them. Whoosh, a puff of white smoke rose, and the armored vehicle hit by hundreds of laser guns disappeared. Even the infantry behind it suffered the consequences.
"Attack! Attack!" The commander gave the order, and the war finally broke out. The intelligent life underground had no intention of communicating with humans; they chose to fight.
The gap between human weapons and robots was simply too great. Ordinary rifles were completely ineffective against them, while the robots accurately attacked the armored vehicles with laser guns simultaneously. As a result, none of the heavy weapons carried by the armored vehicles were effective, and the probing squad was quickly scattered. Roars erupted from the command post at the rear: "We must stop them, no matter the cost! Move the 3rd Division forward! The 602nd Brigade, dig trenches and set up heavy weapons at the 3rd Division's position to intercept them!"
The central government is, of course, closely monitoring the situation. The fact that the robots refuse to make contact with humans shows that the other side has no goodwill; otherwise, they wouldn't have started fighting without a word. Perhaps humans and machines are natural enemies, neither wanting to be ruled by the other, so it's not easy to negotiate peace with them.
"Launch the missiles." Finally, the top leader gave the order. This was the best way to solve the problem: blow up the sinkhole, seal off the underground world again, and deal with them after the country's technology had developed for a while.
The missile, which had been aimed at them, was successfully launched and flew straight toward its target. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, and everyone was in high spirits. The shadow of the previous failure had been swept away. One missile could solve the problem. It was really irrational of us to make contact with them so rashly.
However, to everyone's surprise, the missile suddenly went out of control just before entering its attack range. It seemed its flight path was disrupted by an extremely strong interference wave, and it hurtled towards a mountain peak. With a deafening roar, half of the mountain was blasted away, while the distant sinkhole remained unscathed. The top leader was furious, but the investigation into the missile's misfire quickly yielded results: it had nothing to do with the launch; the missile's components had been functioning normally until the interference wave appeared—something that current human shielding technology could not prevent.
"So you mean we have no way to deal with this?" The top leader frowned. Launching more missiles would probably still have the same result, so there was no need to waste resources. They were only launching jamming waves. If they were launching weapons to intercept them, that would be fine. We could launch a missile salvo and see who has the stronger capability.
Hu Weimin stepped forward and said, "General Secretary, there are actually people who can solve this problem."
The top leader waved his hand, signaling that they should stop talking. He already knew exactly what Hu Weimin wanted to say, but the key issue was that it would be difficult to ask Zhao Qiang for help again. He had to be responsible for what Zhao Qiang had said, and if he couldn't, Zhao Qiang would definitely not agree.
One of the opposition members said, "General Secretary, I think we could send the special forces division to destroy the enemy's signal jamming equipment, and then we could take the opportunity to launch missiles to destroy it." Of course, the opposition wouldn't let Zhao Qiang come back, otherwise they would be in trouble.
Another person said, "To be on the safe side, I suggest transporting a large amount of explosives over there. If that fails, we can use other methods to blow up the sinkholes and completely seal them inside. After all, we humans have been operating on the ground for thousands of years, so we definitely have an advantage over them."
The General Secretary said to Yang Zhaoxi, "Old Yang, notify Division Commander Yang to come over and discuss tactics." The General Secretary had faith in the combat effectiveness of the special forces division, and at this moment it seemed that only they could be mobilized.
Yang Zhaoxi said, "Chairman, it seems she's on leave." Yang Zhaoxi had no choice but to tell the truth.
The General Secretary was very displeased: "What? Taking a vacation at this time? Who gave her the authority? Call her and tell her to come back immediately!"
Yang Zhaoxi said with difficulty, "Her phone is off, and we can't reach her."
The General Secretary said, "It seems she doesn't want to be the commander of this special forces division anymore."
Yang Zhaoxi remained silent; it was not appropriate for him to get involved, as he should theoretically avoid any appearance of impropriety.
The opposition seized the opportunity to say, "General Secretary, Commander Yang has been in his position long enough, and at such a critical moment he has delayed military operations. I think we must send a more suitable candidate to the Special Forces Division."
The General Secretary said, "Order the troops to do their best to hold off the robots, send helicopters to transport explosives over there, and find someone to take over the special forces division. At this time, the special forces division must play a role, rather than hold us back."
China has no shortage of people, so finding someone to take over the special forces division was very easy. The person was in place in less than an hour. He took the document personally approved by the General Secretary to the special forces division. Thinking that he was about to become the commander of the special forces division, Commander Sun was so excited that he could hardly walk. Although it was suspected of being a demotion for the commander of an army to become the commander of a division, the level of the special forces division was higher than that of an army commander. In fact, the status was much more superior.
Commander Sun was forced to land before even entering the special forces division's camp. Although a temporary landing pad had been built inside the camp, helicopters from outside were not allowed to land there. Commander Sun tolerated it, knowing he would soon be an insider.
At the camp gate, Commander Sun's staff officer stood with his hands behind his back, looking quite imposing: "Have your chief of staff and deputy division commander come out to greet us!" There's usually a welcoming ceremony for new leaders, but here there wasn't a single person in sight; it was deserted and quiet.
The sentry said, "Our division commander said they're all not here."
"You..." Commander Sun was so angry he almost vomited blood. He had been an officer for more than a year or two, but this was the first time he had seen such an arrogant soldier. If this soldier were his subordinate, he would have been punished and locked in a dark room long ago.
"Excuse me, please move away from the restricted area," the sentry said earnestly.
The chief of staff snorted, "What a show of power! Do you even know who we are?"
The sentry said, "No matter who you are, this is a special forces division. Special forces divisions have their own rules, and you must abide by them."
The chief of staff snorted again: "Rules? Looks like I need to change your rules, isn't that right, corps commander?"
Commander Sun said, "The rumors outside are true. The Special Forces Division has become arrogant and needs to be rectified. The country's decision to appoint me as the division commander at this time is also intended to save the Special Forces Division from danger. I feel a heavy burden on my shoulders."
The chief of staff pulled out a document and flashed it in front of the sentry, saying, "See? Let your new division commander in! You ungrateful wretch, just wait to be punished."
To everyone's surprise, the sentry completely ignored them, simply bringing his gun closer to the group, seemingly unintentionally. The chief of staff, trembling with anger, said, "You...you're not letting us in right now?"
The sentry said, "No one is allowed to enter the camp today without the division commander's order."
The chief of staff, shaking the appointment document in his hand, said, "You dare disobey the Central Committee's order?"
The sentry said, "Dare," and then ignored him.
The chief of staff turned to Commander Sun in frustration and said, "What should we do, Commander? We can't get in."
Commander Sun was furious and said, "Take him down!" A mere sentry dared to defy him. He hadn't even had a chance to make a name for himself as a new officer. It seemed he had to start by reforming these low-ranking soldiers and teach them the meaning of obeying orders.
When Commander Sun came to take office, he didn't come empty-handed. After all, the Special Forces Division was Yang Shiqi's domain, so it was impossible for him not to bring a few trusted confidants. These people were the most combat-effective in the army, but they were not equipped with super equipment.
At the commander's order, his trusted guards rushed forward. They dared not be careless. The combat power of the special forces division had always been mythologized. They would not fight the sentry one-on-one. Could the sentry, who came out with six men, handle it?
The sentry didn't even try to grab the six men who rushed at him, letting them do as they pleased. But just as the men were about to succeed, the sentry's clothes suddenly changed, and he was covered in a layer of armor, which must have been protective gear.
Commander Sun nodded. It is said that this armor can protect against a lot of damage, especially bullets. Even machine guns would find it impossible to penetrate this armor in a short time. Moreover, the most valuable thing is that this armor can become invisible at will, which is the most amazing feature.
Commander Sun was thinking about what he would do after acquiring the armor technology when he was suddenly met with a series of screams. The six experts who went to capture the sentry were trembling and smoking, unable to remove their hands from the sentry's armor, which was electrified!
Bang, bang, Commander Sun's men were thrown back one after another, lying on the ground foaming at the mouth. They had lost their ability to move and would not recover for a day or two. The remaining men were not in good condition either. Their hair was messy like a hedgehog, and their bodies were trembling from the electric shocks. It was impossible for them to make a move to arrest people. It was good that they hadn't lost control of their bladder and bowels.
The chief of staff stared wide-eyed, at a loss for words. He had thought that six men could easily take on one person. Even though the special forces were all highly skilled, they couldn't possibly fight six people at once. But to his surprise, the other man didn't even make a move. He just stood there and let them grab him, and then they electrocuted him, rendering him completely incapacitated.
The sentry sounded the alarm. If the other side made a move, it would endanger the safety of the military camp. So, squads of special forces soldiers ran out. Commander Sun was a little scared and said repeatedly, "It's a misunderstanding, this is a misunderstanding. We have appointment letters. I have now taken over the special forces division. I am your new division commander. Here are the documents. Please have the officers come out and speak."
Someone took the document from Commander Sun's hand, glanced at it, and then threw it on the ground, saying, "Go, don't come back, or don't blame us for being impolite."
Commander Sun couldn't believe his ears and asked, "You really dare to disobey the Central Committee's appointment?"
The officer said, "You can have a special forces division if you want, but you'll have to wait a while."
Commander Sun said, "Wait a few days? I have been ordered to take up my post immediately. The country is in danger and we must use your special forces division, so we cannot delay even a minute."
The officer said, “First, our division commander is not here, so we cannot get accurate information and therefore we will not let you in; second, even if you really want to take over, there must be handover procedures. We will not rush to seize the fruits of victory like you are. The establishment of the special forces division did not cost the country a single penny, so if you want to take over all the equipment, you must withdraw it. So you will have to wait.”
General Sun was taken aback: "Withdraw all the equipment? Are you kidding me!" The special forces division relies on all kinds of super equipment. If you withdraw them, these soldiers are only slightly stronger than ordinary people. You can easily select some experts from other armies to reach their level. There is no need to fight to the death to seize control of the special forces division.
The officer said, "This is no joke. If you continue to force your way in, it won't be as simple as just electrocuting you. We have the right to kill you, so please have some self-respect." After saying that, the officer turned and left. Commander Sun and his chief of staff looked at each other. Neither of them had the courage to force their way in again. The special forces division was simply lawless.
Meanwhile, the battle with the robots continued. Although the robots had defeated the human forces, they did not continue to advance. Instead, they surrounded the sinkhole and waited for orders. Perhaps more troops would come up from below. They were not in a hurry to advance rashly, but wanted to conquer the surface world step by step.
The army is constantly reinforcing Chenguang County. The surrounding farmers are terrified by the large-scale deployment and are fleeing in droves. They don't even have time to pack their belongings. Now many regret their decision. Not only do they have nowhere to live after fleeing, but they are also struggling to find food. The army had previously encouraged them to move to the city and even provided them with housing and jobs. Now they have nothing left and have to abandon everything they own. As a result, many people flocked to the county government.
At this moment, the Chenguang County government was in chaos, with villagers everywhere seeking refuge. If they were just seeking refuge, it would be fine; at worst, they could be provided with a place to stay. But now, people were demanding that County Chief Tang and Secretary Tian come out and give an explanation. They had accepted the army's demands and were to move out of Chenguang County.
Tang Yuanfeng and Tian Zhenming huddled in the office. They had witnessed the robots' formidable strength before—they were fearless of bullets and moved with incredible agility. Such creatures were probably beyond the capabilities of human troops. Now, they finally understood why Zhang Junpeng had ordered them to withdraw without explaining the reasons. Could they even discuss such matters? Even Tang Yuanfeng and Tian Zhenming dared not speak out now, lest they cause panic among the people and be dismissed from their posts with a single word from their superiors.
"What should we do, Lao Tian?"
Tian Zhenming said, "How would I know? If I had known it would end like this, I should have agreed to abolish Chenguang County."
Tang Yuanfeng said, "Isn't it too late to talk about this now? Let's hurry up and find a way to deal with the trouble outside. If it causes chaos, you know we won't be able to escape responsibility."
Tian Zhenming said, "I'll go out and appease them. You contact the city and tell them that we agree to abolish Chenguang County, and have them notify the troops to come and take over immediately."
Tang Yuanfeng said, "Will this work? We were the ones who drove the troops away in the first place. Can we really get them to come back now?"
Tian Zhenming said, "Can't we at least give it a try? Are we just going to sit in the office and do nothing? Besides, did we drive the troops away? I remember it was the provincial work group leaders who drove them away, it has nothing to do with Chenguang County."