166: Chapter 166 Dimensional Reduction Attack

5:00 AM. The core area of the three-thousand-acre construction site in the north of Jiangcheng.

The downpour had just stopped. Muddy water streamed in thick rivulets down the edges of the makeshift waterproof shed. The sound of seawater surging back from the depths of the ocean was thousands of miles away, and in Jiangcheng at this moment, only the violent roar of diesel engines remained.

One hundred thousand workers, divided into four shifts and all wearing yellowing, low-quality raincoats, pushed dump carts along the edge of a twenty-meter-deep circular foundation pit. High-grade cement was poured down cart after cart. Fifty high-power searchlights illuminated the entire night sky with a ghastly white light.

This was a fortress being forged with flesh, blood, and steel.

Inside the command shed.

Several empty Red Bull cans were scattered on the folding table. Old Zhou sat on a canvas stool, his hands clutching a faded green canvas bag tightly. Inside the bag was the red official seal of Chenguang Factory.

Three pitch-black off-road vehicles with Beijing defense license plates, their headlights off, drove straight over the military roadblocks set up at the entrance. The brake pads emitted an extremely sharp screech, and the tires kicked up half a meter of mud as they came to a steady stop ten meters outside the command shed.

The car doors opened simultaneously.

Three men in black trench coats stepped out. The leader went by the code name Goshawk. His eyes were icy as he swept a glance at the military sentry who was approaching quickly.

"Halt. This is a top-level military restricted zone. Present your identification." The sentry held his assault rifle with the muzzle pointed down, issuing a stern warning.

Goshawk didn't even look him in the eye.

"Red Flag Department business. Get lost." Goshawk's voice was harsh.

The sentry's expression changed, and he was just about to raise his rifle.

Goshawk took a step forward, his left foot slamming heavily into the mud, and used his momentum to swing his right arm diagonally. His elbow struck the sentry's carotid artery solidly.

The sentry didn't even make a sound; he simply collapsed limply into the mud, his assault rifle skittering two meters away.

The other two men in black didn't even glance at the sentry on the ground; they stepped over his body and strode toward the canvas door.

Bang.

Goshawk raised his military boot and kicked the command shed's canvas door, along with its wooden frame, flying open.

The cold wind, mixed with rain, instantly poured into the shed.

Old Zhou shuddered violently, scooting back half a meter along with his stool. He hugged the canvas bag to his chest, staring fixedly at the three men who had burst in.

Lu Chen leaned back in the canvas chair at the far end. His feet were resting on the edge of the folding table, and he didn't even lift an eyelid.

Goshawk walked to the folding table. He pulled an A4 sheet of paper stamped with a blood-red seal from the inside of his trench coat. With a flick of his wrist, he slapped the paper onto the folding table with a sharp thwack. The empty Red Bull cans on the table were knocked off onto the ground.

"Red Flag Department special transfer order." Goshawk looked down at Lu Chen with an unquestionable, commanding tone. "Article one: The Jiangcheng fusion project, along with the surrounding eight-thousand-acre defense zone, is to be fully taken over by us immediately."

No one in the command shed replied. The sound of excavator tracks crushing rocks outside continued incessantly.

"Article two." Goshawk stared at Lu Chen's expressionless face. "All accounts, technical blueprints, and R&D personnel of Chenguang Factory are to be sealed on-site, pending review by special commissioners."

"Article three." Goshawk leaned down, bracing his hands on the table, and lowered his voice. "Lu Chen. Hand over the underlying control keys for the fusion reactor. Then put on your coat and come with us to Beijing."

Old Zhou felt a buzzing sound in his head.

He had heard of the Red Flag Department. It was the most unreasonable group of people at the very pinnacle of the pyramid. Anyone taken away by it would have their name completely erased from all archives. Old Zhou gritted his teeth hard, clutching the canvas bag even tighter, forgetting even to breathe.

Lu Chen sat up straight.

He reached into the pocket of his black jacket.

The two men in black behind Goshawk instantly reached for their lower backs, entering a combat stance, ready to draw their guns at any moment.

Lu Chen pulled out a transparent plastic lighter. Click. He lit a damp double happiness, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled a cloud of grayish-white smoke.

"Can't you understand human language?" Goshawk's eyes darkened, and his right hand slowly pressed against his waist. "Resisting a special transfer order. We have the right to take physical destruction measures against you on the spot."

"Old Zhou." Lu Chen, holding his cigarette, glanced at the old housekeeper beside him.

"Here... Brother, I'm here." Old Zhou's throat was dry, and his voice trembled violently.

"Go outside and keep a close watch. The pouring progress tonight cannot stop. If even one cart of cement is missing, deduct half a month's pay from the construction team leader." Lu Chen flicked the ash into the ashtray, not even bothering to look at Goshawk properly.

"Understood." Old Zhou stood up immediately and walked out, head lowered.

"Stop!" Goshawk shouted coldly, slamming his hand onto his sidearm. "Until the handover is complete, no one is allowed to leave this shed a single step!"

Old Zhou froze in place.

From the shadows at the very back of the shed, a rough sound of metal gears meshing suddenly rang out.

A strong smell of industrial machine oil instantly permeated the shed.

Da Biao strode out.

Strapped to his legs was a mechanical Exoskeleton, roughly forged from special steel just last night. It had no paint, retaining the dark gray color of the raw metal. Large gears were exposed, and un-wiped black grease still clung to the thick hydraulic rods.

Da Biao walked in front of Old Zhou and looked at Goshawk.

"Get lost." Da Biao spoke, his voice rougher than the diesel engines outside.

Goshawk's eyes instantly turned extremely dangerous.

In the ten years since he joined the Red Flag secret guards, this was the first time he had been pointed at and cursed by a security guard from a local factory.

"A suit of scrap metal. You're asking for death."

Goshawk didn't waste any words. He pushed off hard with his feet, his non-slip military boots digging a deep pit into the muddy ground as his body lunged forward.

He drew a three-edged bayonet made entirely of carbon fiber with a reverse grip. The sharp tip left an afterimage as it thrust straight for Da Biao's throat. He held nothing back; this was a standard kill-shot.

Da Biao stood still.

He didn't even make a move to dodge.

Just as the tip of the bayonet was less than ten centimeters from his throat.

Da Biao slightly raised his right arm.

Hum.

The miniature servo motor emitted a short, extremely piercing shriek. A faint blue glimmer of source energy flashed across the metal joints.

Da Biao swung his arm casually.

A full two tons of pure hydraulic thrust was poured into that mechanical arm without reservation.

The back of that rough, oil-stained steel hand struck first despite moving later, slamming solidly into Goshawk's chest.

Bang.

A dull, thunderous sound to the extreme.

Goshawk didn't even have time to scream. His close-quarters combat skills, which he took such pride in, became a joke. The polymer bulletproof vest he wore, capable of stopping armor-piercing rounds, instantly caved in significantly.

His entire body flew backward at three times the speed he had lunged forward.

He slammed heavily into the temporary load-bearing concrete wall behind the command shed that served as support.

Boom.

The twenty-centimeter-thick high-grade concrete wall caved in, forming a large crater. Spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly from Goshawk's back, and large chunks of debris and dust rained down.

Goshawk was embedded in the wall.

His mouth hung wide open, and mouthfuls of blood mixed with organ fragments sprayed directly onto his clothes. His eyes bulged completely, and he clawed desperately at the cracks in the wall, trying to pull his body out, but he couldn't muster any strength at all.

The other two special commissioners' pupils contracted sharply.

They were terrified to the point of their livers splitting, the veins on the backs of their hands bulging out.

Both of them simultaneously drew large-caliber pistols, aiming the muzzles directly at Da Biao's head.

Da Biao grinned, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth.

Facing the two dark muzzles, he took a large step forward.

His heavy metal boots crushed the wooden floorboards with a heavy thud.

The hydraulic pumps in his legs emitted a low, beast-like roar, and the sound of the rough metal frame grinding was extremely clear in the quiet command shed.

The two top-tier special commissioners' wrists trembled uncontrollably. Their fingers were locked onto the triggers, yet they didn't even have the courage to pull them. This was simply not a steel monster that flesh and blood could contend with.

A chaotic and hurried sound of footsteps came from outside the canvas door.

The military Colonel, Lone Wolf, rushed in with a squad of heavily armed special forces soldiers.

As soon as Lone Wolf entered, he saw Goshawk embedded in the wall, vomiting blood frantically, and Da Biao standing in the center, glowing with the blue light of source energy.

The Colonel's eye twitched violently.

He recognized the clothes Goshawk was wearing. That was the most unreasonable, highest-authority department in Beijing.

But he only hesitated for a tenth of a second.

The Colonel straightened his back instantly. He drew his sidearm and stepped directly in front of the two special commissioners who were holding their guns.

"Colonel!" one of the special commissioners roared through gritted teeth. "Look clearly at who we are! If you dare to touch us, the hat on your head will be gone by tomorrow!"

"The hat on my head was given by the state; it's not for you people to point fingers at!" The Colonel's voice boomed like a bell, shouting sternly, "This is a top-level military restricted zone! Anyone who trespasses into the restricted zone will be treated as a hostile target."

The Colonel raised his gun, aiming at the center of the other man's forehead.

"Disarm them! Take them down and interrogate them separately!"

The surrounding soldiers immediately pulled back the bolts of their assault rifles. A wall of dark muzzles was pressed against the heads of the two special commissioners.

The two special commissioners' hands froze completely.

The situation was lost. They slowly loosened their fingers, and their pistols fell into the mud. Soldiers quickly stepped forward, twisting their arms behind their backs and pinning them down tightly.

"Lu Chen!" the pinned special commissioner turned his head with all his might, his eyes filled with insane threats. "You dare to detain people from the Red Flag Department. Have you thought about the consequences? Can a private business owner like you bear the weight of such a massive responsibility!"

Lu Chen sat in the chair, finishing the last drag of his cigarette.

He stood up, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stepped on it with the heel of his yellowing old leather shoe, and crushed the spark out with force.

Lu Chen walked to the folding table.

He picked up the special transfer order stamped with the blood-red seal, glanced at it, and then crumpled it into a ball, tossing it directly into the empty Red Bull can at his feet.

"Da Biao." Lu Chen turned his head.

"Here. Big Brother." Da Biao's mechanical arm sank, and the hydraulic valve vented a puff of white steam.

"Pry that one off the wall, too. Together with these two, throw them all outside the outer national highway." Lu Chen's tone was as flat as if he were ordering the disposal of three bags of trash.

Goshawk on the wall stared fixedly at the metal monster on Da Biao's body. In those eyes that belonged to a top-tier special agent, there was now only despair and incomprehension after being hit by a dimensional reduction strike of absolute power.

Lu Chen leaned down, looking at the pinned special commissioner on the ground.

"Go back and tell the people in charge in Beijing."

Lu Chen's voice was cold and hard, carrying an unquestionable, absolute order.

"If you want to cooperate, bring money."

Lu Chen straightened up, his gaze passing over the dark night rain outside the shed.

"If you want to rob us, bring your lives."