42: Chapter 42: The Gods Take Action, the Traitor Revealed
The pressure descending from the heavens came quickly and departed just as fast.
It swept across the entire base in a single instant, then vanished.
However, the consequences were worlds apart for those present.
The ordinary workers, soldiers, and people like Chief Engineer Wang Heshan only felt a momentary tightness in their chests; they were fine after catching their breath.
But for undercover agents like A-Biao, who harbored dark secrets, it was a nightmare.
They collapsed onto the ground one by one, their clothes soaked through with cold sweat. Their eyes were vacant, and they babbled nonsense, as if their souls had been scared out of their bodies.
"Ghost... there's a ghost..."
"Don't come near me! Stay away!"
"I was wrong... I was wrong..."
A few soldiers rushed forward and pinned them down without the slightest effort. These men had completely broken down, losing even the thought of resisting.
Chief Engineer Wang Heshan strode over and squatted down, grabbing A-Biao by the collar, his aged face burning with uncontrollable fury.
"Speak! Was this your doing?!"
Startled by the roar, A-Biao shuddered and finally regained some of his senses. He looked at Chief Engineer Wang Heshan, then glanced up at the swirling multicolored vortex in the sky, and burst into tears.
"It wasn't me... it was Chairman Qian... Chairman Qian Boan of the Huanyu Group made us do it..."
Once he started crying, everything came pouring out.
He confessed everything in detail—how they had infiltrated the base, how they used the specialized explosives, and how many benefits Chairman Qian Boan had promised them.
The other undercover agents were the same, wailing and scrambling to confess, fearing that if they were too slow, the "Immortal" in the sky would strike them with a bolt of lightning.
The truth was revealed in a way no one could have imagined.
The surrounding people listened to their wails, completely stunned.
After all that, this wasn't a natural disaster—it was a man-made catastrophe!
"Huanyu Group... Chairman Qian Boan..." Chief Engineer Wang Heshan muttered the name, nearly grinding his teeth to dust. He released A-Biao and stood up, his face frighteningly dark.
In his entire life, what he hated most were these parasites who disregarded the nation and human lives for their own private gain!
"Tie them up securely and lock them away! Don't let a single one escape!" he ordered the soldiers.
Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo, however, was captivated by something else.
Ignoring the traitors, he led several young engineers with flashlights, stumbling through the dark toward the area that had just been bathed in light.
Standing on the repaired ground, Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo stomped his foot hard.
Solid! It was even more solid than poured concrete!
He squatted down to feel the ground. The sand and soil had been forced together by some power, becoming hard, smooth, and a single solid block.
"Chief Engineer Wang... this... what exactly is going on?" a young engineer's voice trembled. The data on the screen of his portable geological detector was a complete mess.
"How should I know!" Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo replied, but his eyes were filled with excitement. Looking at this patch of ground, his engineering obsession flared up again.
"Quick! Take samples! From multiple spots!" he shouted excitedly. "Record all the monitoring data! This... this could be a brand-new soil solidification technology! No! This isn't technology at all, it's..."
He pondered for a long time but couldn't find a single word to describe it.
While they were busy studying this "miracle," the multicolored vortex in the sky finally showed a new development.
Its rotation slowed down, and the massive vortex began to contract, all its brilliance gathering toward the very center point.
The scene looked like time reversing, as all the energy returned to its point of origin.
And that point of origin was the top of the high tower.
Everyone held their breath; the most critical moment was coming.
The vortex shrank smaller and smaller, the various colors gradually turning into a pure, gentle white.
Finally, the entire vortex condensed into a light sphere the size of a fist. With a gentle flicker, it descended and disappeared into the top of the tower.
The moment the light sphere vanished, the entire world seemed to come back to life.
The wind began to blow again.
But this time, the wind carried no sand and wasn't parched; instead, it was cool and refreshing, carrying a pleasant scent of greenery.
The dark clouds in the sky dispersed, revealing a canopy of stars that were startlingly bright.
The air throughout the base became fresh; taking a breath into one's lungs made the whole body feel comfortable.
"Is... is it over?" Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo stared blankly at the calm night sky, not yet having processed it.
Such a grand spectacle had ended so quietly.
"The Chief Consultant... she... succeeded?" he turned to ask Chief Engineer Wang Heshan.
Chief Engineer Wang Heshan didn't say a word, merely staring fixedly at the tower standing straight under the starlight.
He didn't understand things like "breakthroughs" or "Foundation Establishment."
He only recognized one thing: that young girl, when everyone else was helpless, had used a method they couldn't even fathom to save everyone and protect the nation's most important project.
From this day forward, the things he used to believe in were no longer sufficient in the face of what he had just witnessed.
...
Beijing, The Ninth Bureau Headquarters.
In the massive conference room, one could hear a pin drop.
The signal on the large screen had been cut. But the scene of world-ending destruction followed by a miraculous revival was already etched into the minds of everyone present.
The Director of the General Bureau, a white-haired elderly man, slowly rose from his chair.
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the lights of Beijing, remaining silent for a long time.
Then, he turned around to face the group of high-ranking officials who were also still reeling, and spoke with uncontrollable excitement, emphasizing every word:
"Comrades, the era... has changed."
He picked up the red encrypted phone on the table and dialed a number that only he was authorized to call.
Once the call connected, he steadied himself and, with all his strength, spoke a sentence that would shake the very foundations of China's leadership.
"Reporting to the highest level: the 'Pangu Project'... no, the 'Seeds of Civilization' project, has observed its first manifestation of... a 'Miracle'."
"I recommend the immediate activation of the highest-level 'Skynet' operation."
"Target: Huanyu Group, Chairman Qian Boan."
"Operation Codename: Closing the Net!"