SCOM - Chapter 66

Chapter 66

The detection report seen in Hong Tongdao's study, was it definitely a report on silver-blue?

Ever since Hong Tongdao was captured so easily, Zuo Luohuan had been pondering this matter. She even went back to the Hong residence and searched Hong Tongdao's study. She did find a document with a cover identical to the one she had seen last year. It was a report on the existence of silver-blue in a mine, but it wasn't the eastern mine; it was a mine that had been previously excavated.

According to Hong Tongdao's transaction records, he sold the silver-blue he had embezzled to Zhang Yongzhen at a high price, which meant he sold it to the Gashiro people. And the professor who committed suicide was actually just a scapegoat Hong Tongdao had bought off and pushed forward.

The entire Federal Military Committee was shocked by the incident of Xijiang Exile Star stealing and selling silver-blue ore to the Gashiro. Now, only the mountain range in the eastern district remained. The Northern and Western regions had already dispatched troops for joint development, and this place was bound to become a key protection point.

Next, the two regions would begin relocating the residents, leaving only the military stationed there.

Silver-blue was too important. In previous years, the materials for light guns and other equipment in the hands of the army groups were all obtained from second-generation robot dogs from battles. Now that the Federation had the material, even though a large portion had been stolen by the Gashiro, the Federation could not afford to let even a little more slip away. No accidents could be tolerated.

Zuo Luohuan was already sitting in the waiting room, a voice in her head still telling her: Something's wrong. Something is definitely wrong.

Everything was too smooth.

Luo Shaoyuan and Jiang Hong still didn't understand, but Ji Yuezhi understood Zuo Luohuan's words. He even stood up and said, "Tell Yan Yan to stay at the hospital and not move. Don't bring his mother out."

Zuo Luohuan's eyes flickered. Without asking why, she immediately contacted Yan Yan.

"Jiejie?" After hearing Zuo Luohuan's words, Yan Yan looked back at his mother, who was still lying on the hospital bed. "Okay."

"Little Yan, what's wrong? Is your Jiejie rushing you?" Lu Hui asked from the side. He had been called over by Yan Yan's father to help.

Yan Yan shook his head. "No, Jiejie told us to wait at the hospital for now."

"Wait here? Won't we miss the starship then?" Yan Yan's father asked.

Yan Yan pulled over a nearby chair and sat down. "It's fine, Dad. Uncle Lu, you two rest for a while. You've been busy for so many days. I can watch over her here."

"Alright." Yan Yan's father patted his son's head. "Your Uncle Lu and I still have to handle the handover this afternoon."

"Not waiting here?" Lu Hui asked as he walked out of the hospital room. "Sister-in-law and Little Yan are going to the capital. Why don't you go with them, brother?"

Yan Yan's father shook his head. "Little Yan's care is enough. We still have to report for duty with the unit for the handover."

---

Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi didn't even grab their luggage. They left the waiting room directly, requested a flyer from the nearby Winter Army, and prepared to leave.

"Hey, I'm going too," Jiang Hong hurriedly followed.

Luo Shaoyuan was left standing there. She took a step to follow, then turned back, hoisted four suitcases, and chased after them.

"Wait!" Luo Shaoyuan shouted from below, watching the flyer take off.

The flyer's door opened. Luo Shaoyuan forcefully threw the suitcases up, then took a few steps back and used the momentum to jump up, grabbing the bottom of the flyer's hatch with one hand.

By this time, the flyer had completely taken off. Jiang Hong reached out and pulled Luo Shaoyuan in. "Classmate Luo, nice jump."

"It's average. Better than you," Luo Shaoyuan said, sitting on the floor and looking at Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi seated in front. "What kind of riddle are you two playing at?"

"Yan Yan's mother probably knows something," Ji Yuezhi said, but he was looking at Zuo Luohuan, clearly not intending to enlighten Luo Shaoyuan.

Jiang Hong was finally starting to understand a little. Following their train of thought, he said, "Even if there's a conspiracy behind this and Yan Yan's mother knows something, why is she still alive? Although she hasn't woken up."

At this, Zuo Luohuan glanced back at him. "The hospital was founded by the 377th Army. It's difficult for outsiders to infiltrate. Most of the patients are soldiers, and Yan Yan's mother isn't the only one in the ward. Besides, Yan Yan's father almost never leaves the room."

Jiang Hong had a sudden realization. He had almost forgotten that the 377th Army belonged to the Winter Army. Even if this unit wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, they were a branch of the Winter Army. They not only shared the Winter Army's honor but also had its spirit flowing in their blood.

In other words, the person behind the scenes couldn't find an opportunity to strike.

But now that Yan Yan was about to take his mother out, who knew what methods could be used to attack them on the way.

"A while ago, Fang Yong seemed to be looking for some medicine, possibly in the Western Region," Jiang Hong asked. "Luohuan, should we contact him?"

Zuo Luohuan nodded. "Ask him to come over."

After receiving Zuo Luohuan's communication, Yan Yan stayed by his mother's side, not heading out, and waited for them to arrive.

"Jiejie, what happened?" Yan Yan asked, standing up.

"We've asked a doctor to come over. You don't need to take your mother to the capital anymore." Zuo Luohuan looked at the person on the bed. "Jiang Hong and Luo Shaoyuan will stay with you and keep watch for the next few days."

If Yan Yan didn't understand the first half of the sentence, he immediately understood from the second half that something was definitely going on.

However, Yan Yan just nodded in agreement and didn't ask any further questions.

After leaving the hospital, Ji Yuezhi looked at Zuo Luohuan and asked her, "Where are we going?"

"The mines." Zuo Luohuan looked up at the distant sky. As always, it was filled with yellow sand, obscuring the path ahead.

---

The mining area was now under martial law, and a steady stream of troops was arriving from the port, all to guard this silver-blue mountain.

When Zuo Luohuan flew the flyer over, she was immediately warned to stop.

The two of them got out of the flyer. The leading soldier who rushed over was from the Winter Army. He was stunned when he saw Zuo Luohuan.

"I want to see the commander of the 377th Army," Zuo Luohuan said. "I have some questions."

The Winter Army soldier didn't immediately step aside. He only said that the mine was currently under lockdown. They could enter, but they would need an escort.

"Fine." Zuo Luohuan didn't mind the tail behind her.

Ji Yuezhi followed her in, his gaze sweeping over the troops inside the mine. There were too many people. The army groups from the Western and Northern regions had not only occupied the still-unexcavated eastern mountain but had also stationed soldiers all over the previously mined areas.

He reached out and tugged the person in front of him.

Zuo Luohuan noticed and turned her head to look at Ji Yuezhi. "What's wrong?"

"There are too many people." Ji Yuezhi had a bad feeling. Logically, the more army groups there were, the safer it should be, but... was that possible?

Zuo Luohuan stopped and looked directly into Ji Yuezhi's eyes. "A trap?"

For so many years, the Gashiro people had been suppressed by the Federation beyond the border. The various army groups had fought countless battles with second-generation robot dogs and were experienced. If the Gashiro wanted to set a trap to wipe out the continuously arriving troops in one fell swoop and severely wound the Federation, they couldn't possibly do it with second-generation robot dogs alone.

Unless they blew up the entire Xijiang Exile Star.

But that was impossible. The first thing the Winter Army did upon arrival was to check for explosives. Because this kind of thing had happened before, the army groups took this aspect very seriously.

"Let's go see the 377th Army's commander first," Zuo Luohuan said, turning around.

The commander of the 377th Army was not in a good position. With the Star Lord being interrogated and Hong Tongdao in custody, he was also under suspicion.

The 377th Army had been on Xijiang Exile Star for a full twenty years. In those twenty years, they had watched one mine after another be leveled, dug so deep the bottom couldn't be seen, yet not a single trace of silver-blue had ever been detected. Anyone would suspect that the 377th Army's commander had also been turned by the Gashiro.

The 377th Army's commander couldn't defend himself and could only wait for subsequent tests. Besides, he truly hadn't discovered any silver-blue. The detection work had been the same for twenty years, but while the 377th Army would bury their heads in mining, they didn't handle detection or purification; they could only rely on the research institute.

"You wanted to see me?" The 377th Army's commander walked out of his office. Although he was under suspicion, he was still handling all the handover affairs.

Zuo Luohuan's gaze swept over the row of army-green buildings behind him. She hadn't looked closely before, but now she saw that the buildings were dilapidated, serving only to block wind and dust.

"Commander, are all the ores mined here sent to the research institute?" Ji Yuezhi asked.

"Yes, the research institute originally had five professors," the 377th Army's commander said melancholically. "But over these twenty years, some passed away from illness, and others were transferred out, leaving only one in the end. I can't guarantee anything else, but the detection reports from the first ten years are definitely not a problem. Back then, it took five unified reports to be considered a pass."

"I heard you originally didn't plan to mine the eastern mountain," Zuo Luohuan asked, staring at the 377th Army's commander.

The commander nodded. "Many of our people have children about your age and wanted to leave Xijiang Exile Star early to find a future for them. After a general survey of that last mountain, we found its structure was no different from the previous ones, so everyone was thinking of giving up. Later, it was Sun Long who insisted on continuing to mine, saying she wouldn't be at ease until they dug to the very end. So I let her stay behind with her squadron. I never expected a collapse to happen."

Sun Long is Yan Yan's mother.

Zuo Luohuan's heart stirred. "Was this her first time mining?"

The 377th Army's commander shook his head. "Sun Long has mined many times and is very experienced. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sent just her squadron over."

Not her first time mining, and experienced, yet a collapse accident happened…

"Commander, do you know the detailed process of that mining operation?" Ji Yuezhi asked.

"I wasn't at the scene; I was in the office at the time. But Sun Long's husband wrote a report later." The 377th Army's commander turned and walked into his office. "I'll get it for you."

The report stated that on the day of the mining, Sun Long took six subordinates inside to place explosives while the others waited at a distance. The explosives were supposed to detonate after the group had withdrawn, but on that day, the people waiting from afar never saw Sun Long's group come out before the mine exploded.

Yan Yan's father immediately led people over to move the rocks, but it was already too late. All six subordinates were sacrificed. Only Sun Long, shielded by two of her subordinates beneath her, was saved, but she has yet to wake up.

The explosives detonated before they even left the mine?

Zuo Luohuan raised an eyebrow and asked the commander, "What was the reason your investigation found afterward?"

"The subordinate who placed the fuse was transferred from another team. He went to his former squadron leader's home for drinks the night before, which led to the mistake." The commander frowned. "He was one of the ones who protected Sun Long."

"...We'll go take a look at the eastern mine," Ji Yuezhi said to the commander after a glance at Zuo Luohuan.

"Alright. If you need anything, you can come ask me." The 377th Army's commander felt guilty.

Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi turned to head east. She glanced down at her optical computer and said, "Fang Yong is near the Western Region. He can arrive tomorrow. An Yingjing has arranged for people to escort him."

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