SCOM - Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Sun Long's words startled everyone. She was still clutching Yan Yan's father, frantically asking how she'd gotten out.
Jiang Hong reacted first, turning to Fang Yong. "Is there something wrong with your medicine?"
Fang Yong stammered, "…There can't be anything wrong with the medicine."
Luo Shaoyuan spoke up, "Do you know about the Silver-Green in the Dong'er mine?" Having little connection with Yan Yan, and having heard from Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi that Sun Long might know something, she sensed the gravity of the situation. Disregarding Sun Long's mental state, she pressed for answers.
Luo Shaoyuan's question brought Sun Long back to reality. Releasing her grip, she looked at the unfamiliar faces around her. "Who are you?"
Before anyone could answer, she struggled to sit up. "Silver-Green? Didn't you see those things?"
Luo Shaoyuan and Jiang Hong exchanged glances. Luo Shaoyuan stepped forward, pulling Yan Yan aside to stand before his mother. With a serious expression, she said, "What things? The West and North District armies are currently stationed at the Dong'er mine, waiting to begin operations."
A flicker of understanding lit Sun Long's eyes, quickly replaced by a rigid fear. Gripping Luo Shaoyuan's hand, she exclaimed, "No, no! There are robot dogs in the mine! Tell them to evacuate immediately!"
“The Winter Army came prepared. They've dealt with Gen 2 robot dogs for years; they'll be fine." Though unsure what Sun Long meant, Luo Shaoyuan remained confident in the Winter Army's capabilities.
Sun Long shook her head, her body still trembling from the recent trauma. "Not Gen 2… new robot dogs. We used explosives to destroy the entrance and the energy source, but there are… there are still some left…"
A wave of shock washed over the room, leaving everyone speechless.
Finally, Yan Yan's father grasped the implication. "It wasn't an accidental detonation? You caused the mine collapse?"
Tears welled in Sun Long's eyes as she recalled the horrific scene. "Yes. Where are the others I brought in?"
Yan Yan's father hung his head. "None survived."
Luo Shaoyuan, already on the comm with Ji Yuezhi, uttered her first words: "Something's wrong."
She quickly relayed Sun Long's account to Ji Yuezhi, who then requested a detailed explanation from Sun Long herself.
Despite her physical distress and constant trembling, Sun Long insisted on recounting the events.
Unable to bear witness to her suffering, Fang Yong administered another dose of medicine, gradually calming and stabilizing her.
"We went in to plant the explosives…"
Most of the 377th Army was eager to seal the mine and leave Xijiang. After nearly twenty years of fruitless labor, with Dong'er yielding no detectable minerals, many had lost hope.
Sun Long, however, felt obligated to complete the mission thoroughly. She believed they needed to excavate and re-test the mine to definitively rule out the presence of Silver-Green before departing. It would only take another year, she reasoned, not a significant difference.
Some disagreed, arguing that Sun Long's son had already left Xijiang for a bright future in the Capital, while their children, who hadn't made it into military academies, were stuck wasting their time on this desolate planet.
The 377th Army commander privately agreed with Sun Long, authorizing her to proceed while the others took a break, hoping their resentment would subside.
As a squad captain, Sun Long accepted the task and began preparations the following day.
She would never forget the sky that day. With all mining operations halted and transport vehicles undergoing maintenance, the usual dust clouds had settled, revealing a patch of blue.
She led a small team into the opened mine shaft to plant explosives, while the others waited at a safe distance.
Beyond a narrow, winding tunnel lay a surprisingly spacious cavern. Instead of immediately planting the explosives, Sun Long and her team first set off a small charge against a section of the rock wall. Their instruments indicated a more suitable location for the main explosive behind it.
They proceeded cautiously to avoid a cave-in. However, once the dust cleared, Sun Long noticed something amiss. The ground beneath the blasted section was unusually thin, as if it had been previously excavated.
Initially suspecting a flaw in the original survey, perhaps an underground river, Sun Long chipped away at a corner of the thin floor. To her surprise, it revealed a hollow space, not a river.
She and her team entered the opening, only to be met with a chilling sight: a row of silver-white robot dogs.
Although the 377th Army had never served on the front lines, as part of the Winter Army, they recognized the robot dogs instantly.
But Sun Long's attention was drawn to the 10-inch silver-white boxes stacked behind the robot dogs. She tried to contact the outside team, but something unseen destroyed her optical computer.
Not only hers, but everyone's optical computers were disabled. One team member, unable to react quickly enough, had their wrist severed.
The attacker was too fast for Sun Long to see, until it came to rest on the rock wall.
A half-human-sized robot dog, with four hand-like paws and glowing red eyes.
Unlike the Gen 1 and Gen 2 models, this one had paws shaped like hands.
"Go!" Sun Long urged her team to report the discovery. But at that moment, the Gen 2 robot dogs suddenly activated, launching an attack. Simultaneously, the 10-inch silver-white boxes on the ground began transforming into the new type of robot dog.
They could handle the Gen 2 models, but these new ones were impossibly fast, several times quicker. They were practically invisible.
Sun Long's eyes fell on the network of supply lines laid out on the ground, powering the robot dogs. She realized there must be a central energy source.
They couldn't let these things escape. If they got out, Xijiang would be doomed.
Sun Long looked at the explosive packs on her team's backs. "Give me the explosives. You… try your best to get out."
No one agreed. The team member previously accused of drinking on the job grinned. "Captain, there are too many of these things. You can't do it alone. I'll stay."
"If we can't get out," another team member said, eyeing the menacing robot dogs, "we might as well destroy these things first."
Fighting for their lives, they finally located the energy core: a large tank continuously feeding power into the supply lines.
The robot dogs were relentless. One of Sun Long's team members, furthest from her, sacrificed himself to buy them time, his neck snapped by the razor-sharp teeth of a robot dog without a single cry.
Sun Long placed the explosives between the energy core and the rows of 10-inch silver-white boxes. Then, she yelled to her remaining team member, "Detonate!"
The sheer volume of explosives intended for the mine guaranteed devastating power. From the moment they made the decision, Sun Long and her team had accepted their fate.
They had no other choice. Unarmed and facing an army of rapidly activating robot dogs, they couldn't risk letting them escape.
Sun Long never imagined she would wake up again. Seeing her son, her only thought was: I'm alive. I was rescued. Does that mean those things got out too?
"You've been rescued for a while now. There's been no activity at the mine," Zuo Luohuan said flatly from the doorway of the hypnosis room. "Either your plan worked, and everything inside was destroyed, or… someone is controlling them, preventing them from leaving."
Sun Long, struggling to comprehend Zuo Luohuan's words, began trembling again.
"Please rest. We've notified all army groups on Xijiang," Ji Yuezhi reassured her.
Ending the communication, Ji Yuezhi turned to Zuo Luohuan. "You…"
Another incoming call from Luo Shaoyuan interrupted him. Unaware of what Zuo Luohuan had recalled under hypnosis, he listened.
"The real Hong Tongdao was killed by Zhang Yongzhen last year," Zuo Luohuan said as she and Ji Yuezhi walked towards their aircraft. "That adopted son bears a striking resemblance to him. He's been controlling the Hong family all along."
If the Hong family was already his, why kill Hong Tongdao and impersonate him? Unless it was to conceal something.
This thought made Ji Yuezhi pause.
Seeing him stop, Zuo Luohuan reached out and took his hand. "Let's go."
Ji Yuezhi pursed his lips. Zuo Luohuan's demeanor had returned to normal, but he suspected she was merely masking her emotions.
"First, notify the warship escorting Hong Tongdao, then contact the Capital," Zuo Luohuan instructed as they boarded the aircraft.
"…We can't reach anyone on the warship."
Zuo Luohuan scoffed. "He's Gashro."
The army had only investigated Hong Tongdao's background, not the adopted son's. No one suspected Hong Tongdao was an imposter, let alone a Gashro agent.
"The warship transporting Hong Tongdao also has…" Ji Yuezhi began hesitantly, "the Hong family's belongings?"
All of the Hong family's possessions were being seized and transported to the Capital. If the ship contained a large quantity of those 10-inch silver-white boxes, it would be in grave danger.
"There are no silver-white boxes," Zuo Luohuan said, her gaze distant. "Only black boxes, filled with energy blocks."
Ji Yuezhi felt no relief. If they could make silver-white boxes, they could certainly make black ones.
"If no anomalies were detected, Hong Tongdao and those things would be delivered straight to the Capital. Even if detected, they could still destroy a warship." Zuo Luohuan suddenly turned to Ji Yuezhi, a brilliant smile on her face that didn't reach her cold eyes. "I wonder if I should be flattered to have been part of his plan."
Ji Yuezhi froze, instantly understanding who she meant.
—Ren Pingbo, the strongest Alpha who betrayed the entire Federation.
Back then, it took both Zuo Dihong and Ji Xixiu combined to match Ren Pingbo.
Ren Pingbo was using Silver-Green here to create new weapons, but Zuo Luohuan had stumbled upon Xijiang and uncovered the Hong family's secret.
Originally destined for death, Zuo Luohuan, after her facial disguise was discovered, had become a pawn in his game.
From her return to Xijiang, to searching for the inspection report, to reporting Hong Tongdao, it had all been a trap.
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