Chapter 119 Zhao Gang's Garrison
When Zhao Gang received his appointment, he was standing at the sentry post of Kunlun Base.
The call came directly from Beijing.
The person on the other end spoke for three minutes, he listened for three minutes, and in the end, he only replied with one word:
"Yes."
Hanging up the phone, he stood in place, watching the apparatus in the distance that had been operating for countless days and nights, watching for a long time.
Then he turned, went downstairs, and walked into Lin Mo's Prefabricated Building.
"Professor Lin, I'm leaving."
Lin Mo looked up at him.
"A new base?"
Zhao Gang nodded.
"Chief of Security. Stationed there permanently."
Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds, then stood up.
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning. The troops have already set out, and I need to catch up with them."
Lin Mo nodded and said nothing more.
He just reached out and shook Zhao Gang's hand.
"Take care."
Zhao Gang gripped it firmly.
"Rest assured."
At four o'clock the next morning, the sky was not yet bright.
Zhao Gang stood at the entrance of the base, a truck full of supplies in front of him.
Captain Zhou was making final checks with a few soldiers, the engine sputtering in the cold wind.
Lin Mo, Chen Xueming, Li Xiao, and Zhang Zhe had all come.
Chen Xueming handed him a thermos.
"Drink this on the road. It's mutton soup stewed by Captain Zhou; it's still hot."
Zhao Gang took it and nodded.
Li Xiao stood to the side, her eyes a little red.
"Captain Zhao, you must be careful. There's nothing there, and the sandstorms are severe..."
Zhao Gang smiled.
"Girl, I stood guard at the border defense for five years; what kind of sandstorms haven't I seen?"
Li Xiao was amused by him, but her eyes remained red.
Zhang Zhe didn't know what to say; he just stood there, watching foolishly.
Lin Mo walked up and patted his shoulder.
"I'm leaving that place in your hands."
Zhao Gang looked at him and nodded earnestly.
"Professor Lin, I guarantee—not even a fly will be able to fly in."
Lin Mo looked at him without speaking, just patted his shoulder again.
Zhao Gang turned and jumped onto the truck.
The vehicle started and slowly drove away from the base.
In the rearview mirror, those few people were still standing at the entrance, getting further and further away, smaller and smaller.
Finally, they disappeared into the morning mist.
Zhao Gang withdrew his gaze and looked ahead.
Ahead lay the endless Gobi Desert, the unknown land, and the base that was about to be built.
He knew that from today on, his battlefield had changed.
Three days later, Zhao Gang stood in the basin where the site was selected.
The wind was strong, whipping sand against his face, stinging painfully.
But he didn't move, just stood there, looking at this desolate land before him.
Behind him, over thirty trucks were unloading cargo.
The soldiers were shouting chants as they moved bundles of tents, crates of equipment, and rolls of barbed wire off the trucks.
The locations for the temporary barracks had been marked out, and the foundations were being leveled.
Captain Zhou ran over, holding a blueprint in his hand.
"Captain, the layout of the barracks follows your requirements, divided into three sections—the living area, the work area, and the security zone. The living area is closest to the water source, the work area is in the middle, and the security zone is on the outermost perimeter."
Zhao Gang took the blueprint and looked it over carefully.
"The barbed wire in the security zone needs two layers. Install sensors in between, buried at least half a meter deep to prevent them from being buried by the sandstorms."
Captain Zhou nodded.
"Understood."
"Start building observation posts at those three high points tomorrow. Assign four people to each post, rotating in three shifts, with night vision goggles and infrared surveillance running twenty-four hours a day."
"Understood."
"Follow the patrol route I've drawn. Four times a day, rain or shine."
"Understood."
Zhao Gang returned the blueprint to him, looked up, and surveyed the surrounding hills.
"From now on, this will be our home."
Captain Zhou was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"Captain, the way you say that, it sounds like we're going to live here for a lifetime."
Zhao Gang glanced at him.
"Not necessarily. We might actually live here for a lifetime."
A month later.
The basin had changed completely.
Three rows of neat barracks stood on the east side of the basin, their white walls gleaming in the sunlight.
Around the barracks, two layers of barbed wire formed a perimeter, with a surveillance camera every fifty meters.
On the three distant hills, observation posts had been built, their telescope lenses glinting in the sun.
In the very center of the basin stood a tall flagpole, with the five-starred red flag flying atop it.
Zhao Gang stood beneath the flagpole, looking at everything around him.
A month ago, this was still a desolate Gobi Desert, with nothing but gravel.
Now, there were barracks, barbed wire, surveillance, and soldiers.
There were people.
Captain Zhou walked over, holding a report.
"Captain, the surveillance network is fully calibrated. Infrared cameras cover the entire basin, drones patrol four times a day, and there is a ground sensor every five hundred meters. It's safe to say that if any living thing enters, we will know within three seconds."
Zhao Gang took the report and looked it over.
"Are there any blind spots?"
Captain Zhou shook his head.
"No. I checked it three times myself."
Zhao Gang nodded.
"Good."
He looked up at the canyon in the distance, the only route for vehicles to enter.
At the mouth of the canyon, an iron gate was being installed.
Workers were chanting as they lifted the heavy gate panels, aligning them with the hinges.
That gate was twenty centimeters thick, weighed five tons, and was bulletproof and blast-proof.
Once the gate closed, people from the outside couldn't get in.
And people from the inside couldn't get out.
Zhao Gang looked at that gate, suddenly recalling what Lin Mo had said that day: "I'm leaving that place in your hands."
He took a deep breath and turned to walk toward the camp.
At night, Zhao Gang stood outside the camp alone, watching the night sky in the distance.
In the Gobi Desert at night, the stars were exceptionally bright.
The Milky Way stretched across the skyline like a glowing ribbon.
He thought of Kunlun Base, he thought of those people.
Lin Mo should be studying blueprints now.
Chen Xueming was surely still staring at the Tritium Extraction data.
Li Xiao was probably debugging her simulation platform again.
Zhang Zhe should be busy in the equipment room.
He remembered the day he left, when Li Xiao, with red-rimmed eyes, said, "You must be careful."
He remembered the cup of mutton soup Chen Xueming had handed him, still hot.
He remembered the two pats on his shoulder from Lin Mo at the end—he hadn't said anything, but he had said everything.
He stood there, watching those stars, watching for a long time.
Then he turned and walked toward the camp.
Tomorrow, there would be patrols to arrange.
There would be surveillance to check.
And that gate, he would have to test it himself.
He knew that from today on, this was his battlefield.
He would hold it.
Just as he had promised Lin Mo.
Not even a fly would be able to fly in.