141: Chapter 141 Outpost

"...Helena, you're here."

"Where is the Commander?"

Helena stepped out from the distorted space.

"The Commander has already..."

Memphis looked toward the garage on the side.

An American T26E1 sat there quietly, its engine already shut off.

"He's already left?" Helena raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Memphis gave her affirmation in the simplest way possible.

Helena looked around; this was an isolated area, concealed by walls.

She walked over to the Panther tank and, through her rigging space, deployed the tiger ii tank that Li Ming had left behind when he last departed.

"He's so cute." Helena then silently stroked the King Tiger's upper glacis armor. "Memphis, have you ever tried stroking his turret? The Commander makes such a cute expression, you know?"

"..."

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you..." Helena circled the two tanks. "Is the Commander doing okay?"

"He's under quite a bit of pressure," Memphis replied while looking at a holographic screen. "A few people from Iris have returned, but he's still very anxious."

"How so?"

"You know the situation on his side... everyone is scattered and missing; the situation is not optimistic." Memphis expanded a map of the continent across the holographic screen. "I'll send you a copy of the data. Based on the Commander's description of shifting wind patterns across both the land and sea, there might be other continents beyond this one, or perhaps a device is manipulating the winds. Either way, both possibilities are very problematic."

Helena stepped in front of the screen, looking at the massive sphere—a large portion of which was gray and marked as unknown. "Indeed, in the long run, both pose a massive threat to the Commander's goals."

Helena spoke while turning off the holographic screen. "However, our information is currently incomplete and we aren't all here yet, so we'll table that for now. Anyway! Why did you call me here?"

"The Commander requires us to take over this area."

"He would actually use the word 'require'?" Helena crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"...His exact word was 'request'." Memphis paused. "He set up a beacon here. If he returns to this world next time, he can find this place via the beacon, or be sent directly here through Logic."

"Hmm, not bad." Helena nodded. "If it's just a beacon, wouldn't self-maintenance be enough?"

"Naturally, it's more than that," Memphis replied. "Through that Logic, he has built a... construction center here."

"Oh?"

Helena moved toward the main gate. "What is it like exactly?"

"This base is located near some city ruins. The Commander prepared five sets of Nanoclouds for resource reclamation," Memphis said. "The Commander's goal is to build an area with potential self-defense capabilities that ensures overall logistics—including our own supplies—while stockpiling materials. Each time he comes here, he might take a batch of usable resources back with him."

"Wow..." Helena marveled, pressing the button to open the door. "He's made quite a bit of progress."

As the door slid upward, Helena turned back to Memphis. "So, how long will it take to complete? Or do you need us to help with the planning?"

"...You should just see for yourself." Memphis glanced at her.

"Well, of course there's no problem, it's not like it's already built... yet?" Helena turned her head and froze in place.

"You mean to say that in twenty-four hours, the Commander completed the preliminary construction of an entire industrial base? From scratch?"

"Yes." Memphis followed her to the doorway. "The Commander has already completed the first phase of the base's layout."

Helena walked forward.

Although the ground beneath her feet was still sandy, the sight of more than a dozen large buildings neatly lined up on both sides explained everything.

"A Nanocloud depot, Helena. Have you ever seen so many nanomachines?"

"...Rather, have you ever seen them, Memphis?"

"No, that Logic's technology is different from ours." Memphis shook her head. "We have never researched so-called... nanotechnology."

"A different scientific path from ours." Helena looked at the gray clumps of gas slowly drifting through the sky. "Did that Logic say anything? Are we considered high-threat units to her as well?"

"Authorization was provided directly by the Commander."

The two of them officially reached the ground via the steps. Helena looked around; although the base wasn't fully completed, the speed of construction was already quite rapid.

There were frames for hundreds of large buildings being constructed by the Nanoclouds. If the terrain here wasn't relatively flat, it might have been impossible to support such a massive construction project.

Transport drones flew through the sky, and a specialized defense drone descended to scan Helena.

Soon, the drone flashed a green light, changed direction, and flew toward the end of the path.

"That direction leads to the command center," Memphis said.

Helena nodded and followed.

Arriving at the entrance of the command center, Helena looked up at the low-slung building.

"This was the Commander's idea." Memphis looked at the structure. "A semi-submerged design with a reinforced roof. It provides protection while allowing other equipment or buildings to be constructed directly on top of the command center."

Helena nodded and stepped inside.

Within a sea of holographic screens, the displays began to reorganize upon Helena's entry, eventually forming several large monitors.

They precisely detailed the base's status, resource stockpiles, surrounding information... and the status of various protocols.

Command Transfer Protocol - Active

Nanocloud Construction Protocol - Active

Autonomous Weapon Operation Protocol - Active

Technical Database Access Protocol - Active

...

Helena nodded, and then a holographic screen appeared before her.

It was a saved audio recording.

"Helena... er, or possibly Memphis, Elizabeth, or someone else. By the time you hear this recording, I've likely... left this area."

"I hope this base can be of help to you. Although I can't provide much substantial help to myself through this base, since you were able to find this place, I imagine you can find the others as well, right?"

"If everyone doesn't have another place to stay, could I trouble you to arrange for everyone to rest here for a while?... Of course, if people don't want to come, that's fine too. Just leave a message; remember to let me know you're safe..."

...

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