189: Chapter 189 Head-to-Head

"Yes." The general stood at attention, saluted, then turned and strode toward the communication console.

The old man looked at the map coordinates of Jiangcheng on the big screen and let out a heavy sigh.

"Lu Chen," the old man muttered, "I have paved the way for you. Don't let me down."

That night.

Alarms blared across several old Third Front military industrial bases in Southwest and Northwest China.

The massive metal warehouse doors swung open with a roar.

Crates of special metal materials emitting a faint glow were hoisted out by large cranes and loaded onto the platforms.

Thirty-two heavy armored trains painted in military green let out deafening whistles.

The fronts of the locomotives bore the highest-level military transit markings.

Heavy anti-aircraft machine guns were mounted on top of every carriage. Fully armed soldiers stood at the junctions between carriages, their gazes as sharp as torches.

The trains rumbled over the rails, departing the military factory amidst a rainstorm, like thirty-two steel dragons carrying the essential nourishment for the nation's most important assets, heading straight for Jiangcheng.

An absolutely secure national artery was completely opened up for Chenguang Factory.

Across the ocean. Manhattan, New York.

The highest-level underground roundtable conference room of Freemasons.

On the massive holographic projection screen, satellite reconnaissance footage of the eight-thousand-acre base in Jiangcheng was playing. Although distorted by strong magnetic field interference and somewhat blurry, that massive, pure black inverted triangular chassis was still clearly visible.

Twelve dark figures, whose faces could not be seen, sat around the round table.

"Anderson is dead." Elder No. 1's voice, processed through an electronic voice changer, carried a metallic quality. "He shot himself in the hospital. His assets and our underlying communication network have been forcibly severed by Chenguang Factory."

The conference room was deathly silent.

All twelve Hive biological weapons were wiped out. Three strategic nuclear submarines were subverted and defected. Two upstream parent companies were fully acquired.

All the strangulation tactics that Freemasons had deployed in Jiangcheng, China, had been violently crushed by Lu Chen.

"The Chinese leadership has completely intervened." Elder No. 3 pulled up a set of the latest data. "Our moles report that the Chinese military has suspended civil rail traffic along half of the East Coast. Thirty-two armored special trains are transporting the special metals from their national treasury to Jiangcheng. We cannot physically intercept them on their home soil."

The land defense line had become an impenetrable iron bucket. China was using its entire industrial foundation to back Lu Chen.

"We cannot let him get that anti-gravity chassis airborne," Elder No. 5 said, pounding the table. "Once that thing achieves combat capability, our global hegemony will become a joke."

Elder No. 1 crossed his hands and remained silent for a few seconds.

"The path on land is sealed," Elder No. 1 said. "But the path at sea is not."

The image on the screen switched.

A global shipping map appeared. On it, a red dot was slowly moving across the Pacific Ocean.

"Chenguang Factory has bought out our 30,000 miners and twenty factory sites overseas," Elder No. 3 pointed at the red dot. "To satisfy their massive raw material gap. Last night, three super-freighters loaded with raw amethyst ore and special rare earths departed from a South American port."

"These three ships now belong to Chenguang Holdings. They have no military escort." Elder No. 3 sneered. "According to their route, they will pass through the Malacca Strait in forty-eight hours."

Elder No. 1 looked up, his voice issuing coldly from the electronic voice changer.

"Initiate the Deep Sea Hunt plan," Elder No. 1 ordered. "Notify the remaining battle groups of the 7th Fleet in the Asia-Pacific region. Contact the nearby dark web pirate armaments."

"Sink these three super-freighters," Elder No. 1 paused, "along with everyone on board. Send them all to the bottom of the Mariana Trench."

Jiangcheng. Underground Level 3 control room of Chenguang Factory.

Lu Chen sat on a worn-out sofa, biting down on half an unlit cigarette.

Wu Dong's hands typed rapidly on the keyboard, and sets of green fund arrival notifications kept popping up on the screen.

"Boss," Wu Dong turned his head, his voice trembling with excitement. "The hidden accounts of those two overseas upstream parent companies have been cleaned out. In addition to raw materials, they had twelve high-purity rare earth mines under their names. They have now all been transferred to Chenguang."

Old Zhou walked over with a stack of documents, his face full of joy.

"Brother, the brothers on the coast sent word," Old Zhou said. "They've handled the paperwork for the cargo terminal. The first batch of raw ore we're bringing back from overseas, three 50,000-ton bulk carriers, have already left port."

Lu Chen took the cigarette out of his mouth and twirled it between his fingers twice.

"Notify Wei Jianguo," Lu Chen instructed Old Zhou. "Get the Phase II pressure chamber of the quantum smelter ready. As soon as the raw ore arrives at the port, bring it straight back to the factory. Start smelting 24 hours a day without stopping."

Old Zhou nodded in agreement and turned to carry out the order.

Wu Dong looked at the shipping trajectory on the screen and frowned slightly.

"Boss, the route is a bit long," Wu Dong pointed to the map. "The three ships have too deep a draft. They must pass through Malacca."

Lu Chen leaned back on the sofa, staring at that flickering red dot.

He knew very well that Freemasons' bottom line had long been trampled. Those old ghosts sitting in the basements of Manhattan would never watch idly as these three ships, fully loaded with core materials, docked safely at a Chinese port.

"Who is the captain?" Lu Chen asked.

"A former backbone of the Ocean Shipping Group, named Zhang Qiang," Wu Dong pulled up the personnel file. "A veteran sailor with over thirty years of experience. He just signed a contract with us at the Nanchang toll station the day before yesterday."

Lu Chen opened the system panel.

Zhang Qiang's loyalty was firmly fixed at 100 percent.

"Contact Zhang Qiang," Lu Chen sat up straight, his gaze cold and sharp. "Connect the satellite line."

Five seconds later, the roar of ocean waves came through the control room's loudspeaker.

"Boss. This is Zhang Qiang." Zhang Qiang's voice was loud, carrying the ruggedness of the sea breeze.

"How are things at sea?" Lu Chen asked.

"The weather is good," Zhang Qiang replied loudly from the wheelhouse. "Sailing fully loaded. It'll take about two more days to pass through Malacca. The brothers are in high spirits. Having received triple wages, everyone is eager to get the cargo home quickly."

Lu Chen picked up the transparent plastic lighter on the table.

"Zhang Qiang," Lu Chen said. "From now on, cut off the ships' Automatic Identification System. Maintain the highest level of radio silence."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"Boss, if we don't turn on the transponders, it's easy to have collision accidents," Zhang Qiang reminded him.

"Don't worry about accidents," Lu Chen's voice remained without the slightest fluctuation. "Except for the factory's dedicated line, ignore anyone who calls."

Having sailed the seas for decades, Zhang Qiang immediately sensed something was up.

"Boss, is someone going to intercept our ships?" Zhang Qiang lowered his voice.

"Highly likely," Lu Chen said calmly. "If you encounter armed speedboats flying messy flags, or warships without identification codes approaching, do not slow down. Do not negotiate."

"Ram them directly," Lu Chen gave the death order.

Zhang Qiang gripped the communicator tightly.

"Understood, Boss," Zhang Qiang gritted his teeth. "As long as I'm here, the cargo is here. If they want to hijack the ship, they'll have to step over my corpse."

Lu Chen cut the call. He tossed the lighter in his hand onto the table.

"Old Zhou," Lu Chen called out.

Old Zhou hurriedly ran in from outside.

"Tell Da Biao to come see me," Lu Chen stood up. "Bring the factory manager's official seal."

Old Zhou's heart skipped a beat; he sensed that something big was about to happen.

Two minutes later, Da Biao, wearing a dark gray Exoskeleton, strode into the control room.

"Boss, got work for me?" Da Biao's face was full of excitement.

Lu Chen opened a black safe. Inside were three dark blue electronic cards.

Lu Chen took out the cards and threw them onto the table.

"Go pick twenty brothers who aren't afraid of death," Lu Chen pointed at the cards. "Bring your gear. Go to the military airport now. The transport plane has already been arranged by the Lone Wolf side."

Da Biao's eyes lit up.

"Where are we going to fight?" Da Biao rubbed his hands.

Lu Chen turned his head and looked at the huge world map on the wall. His finger stabbed heavily at the location of the Malacca Strait.

"To the open ocean," Lu Chen's voice was extremely cold. "Go give them some tickets."

Da Biao grinned, revealing his stark white teeth. His mechanical palm pressed directly onto the cards on the table.