65: Chapter 65 The First Rivet

Light.

It was drawing closer.

The brilliant beam of a searchlight, like a finger reaching out from hell, moved slowly, inch by inch, across the rough rock wall.

It had just left the area marked with scrapes and was now crawling irreversibly toward the shadows where the Drone was hiding.

Chen Xi didn't move.

His finger hovered over the virtual controller, less than a centimeter away.

Beads of sweat on his fingertips gathered and dripped, shattering upon the rocks beneath him.

He was waiting.

Waiting for a command.

Or, waiting for a death sentence.

The Drone had already activated its "Mimetic Camouflage" system; the coating on its surface was simulating the texture and color of the rocks.

But under the direct glare of such a high-powered light, any camouflage appeared pale and weak.

If caught in the beam for more than a second, it would be as conspicuous as a firefly in the night.

[Don't move! Whatever you do, don't move!]

[It's over, it's over, it's going to be discovered!]

[Streamer, run! Hide!]

The bullet chat in the Livestream room, after a momentary explosion, fell into an eerie standstill.

At this moment, billions of viewers seemed to hold their breath along with Chen Xi.

Everyone's heart was gripped tightly by that slowly moving beam of light... 2026, Great Wall Command Center.

The atmosphere was as frozen as iron.

"Report! The enemy searchlight is manually operated with irregular scanning! 'Tianhe' cannot predict its trajectory!"

"The light source intensity exceeds the camouflage system's safety threshold by 300 percent! Once locked on, it will overload and fail within three seconds!"

A young staff officer looked at the approaching spot of light on the screen, his face pale. He couldn't help but shout into the microphone, "Elder Long! Quickly order an evasion! It'll be too late if we don't move now!"

Elder Long stood before the main screen, his eyes bloodshot.

He looked at the faint green dot on the screen representing the Drone and the massive white spot of light closing in on it.

His fists were clenched tight.

"Don't move."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a cold steel needle piercing the ears of everyone in the Command Center.

The young staff officer was stunned.

"But Elder Long..."

"I said, don't move!"

Elder Long suddenly turned his head, and from those blood-red eyes erupted an unquestionable, almost insane resolve.

This was a gamble.

Gambling on the patience of the Japanese Army operator.

Gambling that the camouflage system could create a miracle.

And even more, gambling on Chen Xi's iron heart, befitting a top-tier Soldier King... 1937, Sihang Warehouse.

By the window near the cliff.

Eighteen of the most elite Soldiers, like eighteen silent statues, gripped the Guide Rope that was barely thicker than a strand of hair.

The other end of the Guide Rope was connected to the "kite" hovering on the brink of death three hundred meters away.

They didn't know what was happening on the other side.

They only knew that this line was the only hope for over four hundred brothers to return home.

It could not break.

A burly squad leader stood shirtless, his bronze muscles knotted like granite.

Sweat ran down his dark back, pooling into a small puddle on the ground.

He felt it.

He felt a very faint, high-frequency vibration coming from the Guide Rope.

That was the Drone's propellers spinning frantically to maintain its hover in the strong winds.

He gritted his teeth, the veins in his arms bulging as he pulled the Guide Rope a bit tighter against his chest.

His back was the first anchor point for this line of hope... Light.

It finally reached the edge of the shadow.

Ten seconds.

The viewers in the Livestream room began a desperate countdown in their hearts.

Nine seconds.

The front of the light beam had already touched the edge of the Drone's wing.

Eight seconds.

In the Great Wall Command Center, everyone subconsciously stood up, staring fixedly at the screen.

Seven seconds.

Chen Xi's breathing stopped.

Six seconds.

The light beam paused.

It stopped right there, less than half a meter from the Drone.

Like a venomous snake that had discovered its prey, it flicked its tongue, savoring the prey's final moments of terror.

Five seconds.

Four seconds.

Three seconds.

The young staff officer closed his eyes, unable to watch any longer.

Two seconds.

The light beam began to move slowly.

It didn't cover the Drone.

Instead, it brushed past the edge of the Drone and continued scanning to the side.

One second.

Crisis averted.

"Phew—"

Almost simultaneously, a massive sound of exhaling in relief rang out in the 2026 Command Center and the homes of billions of viewers worldwide.

Elder Long's tense body suddenly swayed, nearly collapsing to the ground, but he was caught just in time by the guard beside him.

The white-haired chief structural engineer's legs gave way, and he sat directly on the floor, panting heavily.

Chen Xi's back was completely soaked with cold sweat.

He had no time to celebrate.

The moment the light beam moved away, he pressed down with the finger that had been hovering for so long.

"Deploy!"

The command was issued.

Beneath the Drone, an inconspicuous device was activated.

An "Electromagnetic Anchor Bolt," shaped like a rivet and entirely black, detached from the fuselage.

It didn't fall.

A faint blue electric arc sprayed from its tail, and with a sharp whistling sound, it shot like an arrow from a bow toward the hard rock wall below.

At this moment, time seemed to slow down once again.

The whole world went quiet.

Only the sound of the rivet tearing through the air remained.

Then.

Clang—

A crisp sound of metal striking stone rang out.

The sound wasn't loud.

But after that long, suffocating silence, this crisp sound was like a bolt of lightning piercing the eternal night, like a morning bell tolling in the depths of everyone's soul.

This was the sound of hope.

The first cry to break through despair... Inside the Sihang Warehouse.

The eighteen Soldiers pulling the Guide Rope felt a sudden weight in their hands at almost the same time.

The nano-filament, which had still possessed a hint of flexibility, was instantly pulled taut by a massive force, becoming as rigid as a steel wire.

It worked.

They all understood that the anchor point on the other side was fixed.

The burly squad leader's face, blackened by smoke, showed no expression.

He just stood there.

Two lines of hot, muddy tears silently rolled down from his bloodshot eyes.

Then, it was his comrade beside him.

Then the third, the fourth... Not one of these eighteen men of iron cheered; not one of them spoke.

They just stood there in silence, weeping in silence.

Using this most primitive and quiet way to vent the massive joy of having survived... 2026, Great Wall Command Center.

There was also no cheering.

Only the sound of heavy breathing, one after another.

And the irrepressible sobs of joy from the engineers.

The white-haired Chief Engineer took off his reading glasses, wiped his eyes haphazardly with the back of his hand, his shoulders shaking violently.

Elder Long slowly sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. Some color finally returned to his wrinkled face.

It worked.

The most difficult and critical first step of the "Hell Zipline" project, which spanned eighty-nine years of time and space and gathered the wisdom and courage of two worlds, was successful.

It worked.

However.

This suppressed joy didn't even last for half a minute in the air.

A young engineer rushed over from his workstation like he was possessed, stumbling along.

There wasn't a trace of joy on his face, only a deathly, ashen pallor.

His voice trembled violently with fear, almost losing its melody.

"Elder Long..."

"The... the anchor point for the Main Cable..."

Elder Long snapped his eyes open, an ominous premonition seizing his heart.

"What's wrong with the Main Cable anchor point?"

The young engineer pointed at the main screen, nearly on the verge of tears from agitation.

"The expert group... just finished the stress calculations for the Main Cable..."

"The only, the only fixed point..."

On the main screen, the 3D model of the battlefield was instantly enlarged.

The thin blue line representing the Guide Rope had been successfully connected.

But immediately after, a thicker red line representing the Main Cable appeared next to the Guide Rope.

Its endpoint pointed directly at the core of the Japanese Army's defense system on the other side.

A massive Main Bunker cast from reinforced concrete.

As the engineer operated the controls, the firepower coverage of that Main Bunker was marked with a glaring red area.

Machine guns, rifles, grenade launchers... countless fan-shaped red areas overlapped, covering the same point.

That was exactly the location of the only anchor point for the Main Cable that the expert group had just marked on the screen.

The young engineer's voice, carrying a sob, echoed in the dead silent Command Center.

"Elder Long... that anchor point... is within the Japanese Army's Main Bunker crossfire network."

"It's... it's their core defensive position."