212: Chapter 212 The Final Trump Card: Project Pluto

Inside the dim underground facility, dust drifted slowly in the beams of the emergency lights. Major General McCarthy's words were like a key, unlocking the cage named "unwillingness" and "delusion" in everyone's hearts. But restless ambition alone wasn't enough; they needed substantive power—power sufficient to pry open the GDA's seemingly monolithic rule and realize their fantasy of "setting things right."

The man named Davis, a former legal counsel for an energy giant, leaned forward slightly. His voice was lowered further, yet it couldn't hide a hint of urgency: "General, that 'little toy' you mentioned... what exactly is it? The GDA's surveillance is omnipresent; any large-scale operation is difficult to hide. We don't need a few guns or bombs; we need something that can truly shift the balance of power."

The grim-eyed technical expert, Kelson, also stared intently at McCarthy. As a former top researcher, he knew better than anyone that in the face of the technology the GDA now possessed, conventional resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

McCarthy didn't answer directly. He walked to the metal wall and pressed several spots on the stained and graffiti-covered surface with apparent casualness. A low mechanical whirring sounded as a section of the wall slid inward, revealing a hidden electronic safe. He entered a long, complex password and underwent iris and palmprint verification.

The safe door opened. Inside were no gold or jewels, only several ancient-looking black data keys and a palm-sized metal box sealed with radiation-shielding material.

McCarthy solemnly removed the keys and the metal box, placing them on the table. His fingers brushed over the somewhat blurred emblem on the surface of the keys—a design featuring the Stars and Stripes and a bald eagle. His gaze was complex, a mixture of reminiscence, hatred, and a nearly pathological fanaticism.

"Gentlemen, meet it," his voice carried a solemnity like uncovering a historical scar, "the 'pluto project'—the final 'gift' left to us by the old era, or rather... a curse."

"pluto project?" Davis and Kelson exchanged looks, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes. At their level, they had never heard of this name even in the old era.

"The top secret among top secrets. Controlled personally by Director Craig, it reported directly to a very small number of successive presidents. Even the Congressional Budget Committee only saw a ridiculous cover project called 'Deep Space Dust Monitoring Network Maintenance'." McCarthy's tone was full of sarcasm. "Its core objective was to retain the ability for a final strike—or rather, mutual destruction—in the most extreme circumstances, such as global defeat, regime change, or even... facing incomprehensible, extraordinary threats."

He picked up a data key and inserted it into an old-fashioned port on the table. The holographic projection lit up again, but it didn't show the GDA's polished visuals; instead, it displayed blueprints and test footage filled with noise, featuring a rugged and even somewhat menacing design style.

First to appear was a massive, irregularly shaped space structure. Its exterior was covered in solar panels and armor plates disguised as space junk, floating silently in a remote location in geostationary orbit.

"Code name: 'Hades'. An orbital weapon platform disguised as a decommissioned 'Explorer' series deep-space communication relay station." McCarthy's voice was like a cold narration. "Its primary weapon isn't a traditional kinetic or energy weapon, but rather based on some... incomplete and unstable technical fragments reverse-engineered from the wreckage of the Ripper—yes, that alien ship strictly controlled and studied by the GDA."

The image switched, showing energy circuits and field generator diagrams so complex they were dizzying. Many sections were marked in red with "theoretical deduction," "questionable stability," or "extremely high risk."

"We call it the 'Gravitational Tide Ripper'." A dangerous light flickered in McCarthy's eyes. "The principle is to simulate the violent localized gravitational field distortion caused by the Ripper during a space jump and emit this distortion as a directional beam. Theoretically, it can create an extremely unstable artificial gravitational vortex in the target area, capable of tearing apart any known material structure."

He paused, his voice dropping lower: "But the problem is, we only obtained fragments and couldn't fully understand its stabilization mechanism. Every firing of 'Hades' consumes a massive amount of energy and causes irreversible cumulative damage to its own gravitational stabilization system. It's more like a one-time... suicide weapon. That fool Craig tried to use it to attack the soaring heavens last time, but the platform was easily intercepted and destroyed. However, what he didn't know—or rather, didn't have time to activate—were the backup protocols for 'Hades' and its 'escort fleet'."

The image changed again, showing dozens of small, strangely shaped ships, entirely black with lines as sharp as blades. They had no obvious portholes or turrets; their smooth surfaces seemed to absorb all light.

"Code name: 'avengers'. A stealth drone attack fleet controlled by the core of the early strong AI nemesis." McCarthy introduced them. "The hull material is infused with a small amount of nano-coating we scraped from the hull of the piercer, giving them extreme optical and radar stealth capabilities, as well as a certain degree of energy resistance. The propulsion system uses immature micro-fusion engines, with speeds and maneuverability far exceeding any aircraft of the old era."

Kelson's eyes widened. As a technical expert, he immediately recognized the problem: "Early strong AI? nemesis? I've heard of that project! Wasn't it mothballed due to ethical concerns and uncontrollable aggressive tendencies? Also, we never fully mastered the synthesis method for that alien nano-coating; its stability..."

"You're right, Doctor." McCarthy grinned, a smile that sent chills down the spine. "The core logic of nemesis is full of aggression and paranoia. We can't fully control it; we can only set a target and let it run wild. The lifespan of those stealth coatings is limited and will degrade over time, exposing weaknesses. Most importantly, these avengers were designed for suicide attacks—their engines can be converted into powerful bombs upon overloading. In the AI's logic, 'mutual destruction with high-value targets' has the highest priority."

He looked around at the two of them, and seeing the shock and fear gradually appearing on their faces, he became even more satisfied: "Yes, unstable, flawed, and potentially harmful to ourselves first. But this is our trump card! Those hypocrites at the GDA are immersed in their dreams of 'civilization performance' and 'symbiotic potential'; they don't dare use truly extreme, truly dangerous power! They've put shackles on themselves! But we haven't!"

McCarthy stood up abruptly, leaning forward with his hands on the table like a predator about to strike: "The backup control keys for 'Hades' and the awakening commands for the avengers are in these data keys! That metal box contains a backup of the original core of the nemesis AI, as well as the last few sets of untested excitation parameters for the Gravitational Tide Ripper—which might be the most powerful and most unstable set. Craig failed because he was foolish and impulsive, wanting a decisive battle before the time was ripe. But we are different!"

His gaze swept over Davis and Kelson: "We will wait. Wait for the next attack from the Scavenger to leave the GDA exhausted, wait for Lin Mo to be hamstrung by his ridiculous 'civilization test', and wait for the cracks of doubt to appear in the public's perception of the GDA's 'absolute correctness'! And then..."

He picked up the black data key and gripped it tightly in his palm, as if holding the scepter of thunder:

"We will activate 'Pluto'! Let the gravitational tide of 'Hades' tear a hole in the GDA's defensive line! Let the stealth blades of the avengers pierce their most vulnerable rear! We won't attack the Scavenger—that's the GDA's problem. What we will attack is the GDA itself! Their command center, their pillars of faith, and that high-and-mighty navigator!"

"When the old order collapses amidst internal and external strife, when humanity falls into true despair and chaos, that is when we—those who hold the final, most dangerous power—will stand up and use iron and blood to rebuild the 'True Order'! A human civilization no longer bound by false morality, one that believes in absolute power, and one defined by us as 'free'!"

The crazed words echoed in the underground space. Davis turned pale, but a gambler's fire ignited in his eyes. Kelson stared at the metal box with both fear and the pathological excitement of a tech-maniac facing forbidden knowledge.

They all knew they were playing with fire—no, they were detonating a bomb of unknown yield, and they didn't know when it might blow back on them.