360: Chapter 360 Caught in a Dilemma

5:00 AM.

Su Mingyuan's motorcade passed through the golden portal.

At the final moment before entering, there was a slight feeling of weightlessness, like taking an elevator from the thirtieth floor to the first.

When he opened his eyes again, the scenery outside had changed—the camphor trees of the Main World's night were gone, replaced by the massive apron of Tianmen Base. White guidance lines were painted on the ground, and the sky above was the grayish-blue of the approaching dawn.

The air was different too.

The air on the Main World side of Tianmen Base was dry, carrying a hint of diesel and metal.

The motorcade didn't stop, driving straight toward the center of the base.

The lights along both sides of the road lit up one by one.

The base didn't turn off its lights at night—people were working in the mecha maintenance area, logistics storage, and the engineering team's quarters.

An Engineering Mecha lumbered across the road from the right. Its feet thudded against the concrete, sending a dull vibration through the ground that Su Mingyuan could feel even inside the car as his seat trembled slightly.

He didn't return to his dormitory either.

He went straight to the Command Center.

The door to the Command Center had already opened before he arrived.

Tao Zhe was sitting in his usual spot. The gray jacket he wore looked like it had been on him for a full day.

Three documents were spread out before him, and a teacup sat by his hand. The tea had already gone cold, leaving a dark ring around the inside of the cup.

He looked up at Su Mingyuan and then vacated the seat.

"Has the countdown appeared again?"

"Yeah."

Su Mingyuan sat down in the main seat.

He didn't speak, first scanning the main screen.

The screen displayed the real-time status of the four worlds.

Everything was normal.

Su Mingyuan spent three minutes finishing the review of the data.

"What's been happening on the Main World side lately? Anything else to keep an eye on?" he asked.

Tao Zhe pushed the three documents aside and tapped the tabletop twice. The main screen switched.

Global Naval Situational Map.

On a vast blue background, twenty-eight red markers were scattered across the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

"The USA has twenty-eight aircraft carriers. The first batch of seven has already entered the forward edge of the Western Pacific," Tao Zhe said. "The second batch of twelve will be in place in three days. The remaining nine are still being moved east from the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. Full assembly—another six days."

Su Mingyuan looked at those red dots.

"Have they made any dangerous moves?"

"Not really."

Tao Zhe shook his head.

"They haven't entered the Air Defense Identification Zone. No carrier-based aircraft have taken off for reconnaissance. No electronic countermeasures. Communication frequencies are even twenty percent lower than usual."

"They don't dare move."

Su Mingyuan remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"After the United Nations statement, the 'Lion Fighting Rabbit' operation was completely canceled." Tao Zhe scrolled through the intelligence. "The gear of the Delta Force's Third Squadron has been returned to storage. All planes from Yokosuka and Osan have returned to their hangars. The Sea Wolf nuclear submarine has retreated to normal cruising depth, and those F-35Bs in Okinawa have also returned to base."

"But the aircraft carriers can't stop."

Su Mingyuan interjected, "Because it was made public."

"Right." Tao Zhe nodded. "CNN and FOX have been running headlines for two days straight. The whole world is watching. If the carriers turn around now—"},{