Chapter 244: Joy for Some, Woes for Others

The clock turns back to the day before.

In the southern part of the United States, on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, within a camp.

Woxen was washing up when suddenly, a voice came from behind him.

“Captain, we’ve just received news that last night the U.S. Army launched a nuclear strike on Dream Technology’s industrial park in the Tanga Federation!”

Woxen’s gargling abruptly stopped, and he quickly spat out the water, turning around to look at the tall black man who had spoken. “How many casualties were there?” he inquired.

The black man shook his head, “No casualties. Dream Technology intercepted the intercontinental missiles in space.

The nuclear explosion occurred in space, causing an electromagnetic pulse attack on India, resulting in widespread power outages.”

Woxen’s eyes widened. “Dream Technology successfully intercepted an intercontinental missile?”

“Yes. And they even sank the U.S. Navy’s submarine that launched the missile.”

“Where?” Woxen asked urgently.

“In the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. The exact location is unclear.”

“Tiago didn’t get hold of this information?” Woxen frowned.

“No. He said it’s not available online. He has found an intelligence site on the dark web recently, but to access this piece of information costs $100,000, so…”

Woxen was stunned, “He couldn’t break through the site?”

“Yes. Tiago says it’s a firewall like none he’s ever seen before; he has exhausted all means and still can’t break through.”

Woxen couldn’t help but take in a sharp breath; Tiago was the newly appointed Minister of Information for Natural Greatness—a super hacker.

“To think Dream Technology could possess such strong technological capabilities; it’s truly unexpected.”

“Right, Mr. Gold has sent a message saying he wants to talk to you at eight o’clock sharp.”

Woxen looked at his watch, “Oh, it’s about time. Let’s head to the communications room.”

He quickly wiped his face with a towel and then hurriedly led the black man towards the communications room within the camp.

The camp was hidden deep in the jungle at the foot of a mountain range. The entire camp covered a few thousand square meters, with low-built buildings all camouflaged to some extent.

Near the foot of the mountain, vehicles were entering and exiting, hauling large amounts of dirt and stone.

If one were observant and knowledgeable, they’d notice among these construction vehicles were the new-type engineering robots, exactly the products Dream Technology was currently heavily promoting and selling.

In a room with satellite antennas installed on the roof, Woxen had a video call with Gold, the president of Natural Greatness.

“Woxen, I’m sure you’re aware of last night’s major event. The U.S. government used nuclear weapons so recklessly. Although it was intercepted in space, the nuclear pollution may still settle. We must take action.”

Woxen nodded, “Understood. I’ll devise a plan to initiate a global petition against nuclear weapons. Earth cannot continue to be damaged so wantonly.”

Gold sighed, “Just a petition, I’m afraid, won’t be enough. We need to contact Dream Technology. They have the technology to intercept intercontinental missiles and might help us unravel the mystery left by the Mayan civilization.”

Woxen was startled, “We’ve already solved half of the Mayan mystery. If we ask for their help, won’t we be sharing the secret with them?

More importantly, they might not even be able to solve it. Disputes could arise, or they might use it to harm the ecology of Earth. We’d be the sinners then.”

Gold pondered for a moment and asked, “How’s the progress of your construction?”

“With Dream Technology’s engineering robots, progress is many times faster. I estimate in another half a year, we should be able to reach the appropriate location.”

“Woxen, hand this over to Brend. You make a trip to the Tanga Federation as soon as possible. Try to meet with the upper echelons of Dream Technology and probe whether they have the capability of space travel.”

“You think they have the capability of space travel just because they intercepted a missile?”

“Woxen, don’t forget, according to the half of the mystery we’ve solved, the event might also occur next year. Your construction project will only be completed by next year. We don’t know if the item at that location can be used…”

Woxen immediately understood Gold’s concern and said, “Understood. I’ll set off right away.”

“Remember, if they really have such capability, we can agree to any conditions, but we must ensure enough spots for us to board.”

Woxen could hear the urgency in Gold’s voice. In fact, since deciphering half of the mystery, the higher-ups of Natural Greatness and their backers had all started to become anxious.

After ending the communication with Gold, Woxen packed up and hastily left the camp with the black man in a helicopter.

++++++++

Gilt woke up.

The first thing he saw was a snow-white ceiling and some kind of top lamp embedded in the ceiling, emitting a soft white glow.

He tried to slowly sit up, feeling some faint itchiness from two wounds.

Gilt looked around, no doubt this was a hospital room. It was not the interior of that unseen aircraft where he had lost consciousness.

Because, not far from the bed, through the ground-to-ceiling window, he could see many skyscrapers.

Such a plethora of tall buildings clearly indicated an ultra-modern metropolis. Yet, Gilt did not see any landmark structures of the cities he knew.

Gilt tried to get out of bed and found an IV needle in his arm with an infusion bag, so he carefully took it off and held it high above his head.

A pair of slippers lay bedside. After putting them on, he walked over to the window.

There were indeed many tall buildings outside.

Suddenly, Gilt’s face showed surprise.

He saw a skyscraper that reached into the clouds!

From the height of what seemed to be the 15th floor where Gilt was, looking at that building felt like standing at the foot of a mountain.

It had to be over a kilometer high, but he’d never heard of such high-rise buildings on Earth.

Because the blue sky above the skyscraper couldn’t be seen directly from the window, Gilt slowly squatted down, looking up, then his mouth opened in shock, unable to close.

He saw that the skyscraper appeared to be propping up the blue sky!

“Brother—”

The door opened silently behind him, a woman entered and upon seeing Gilt squatting in front of the window, she exclaimed.

Gilt quickly stood up and turned around, his shock turning into delight.

“Imanka, what are you doing here?”

Imanka rushed over, taking the IV bottle from Gilt’s hand and said, “I’ve been here for a long time, waiting for you. You’re injured, so get back in bed quick!”

Gilt gazed at his sister happily, having not seen her for nearly five years.

Once Gilt was back in bed, he couldn’t help asking, “What is this place? The skyscrapers outside reach up to the sky.”

Imanka smiled back and asked, “What do you think it is?”

Gilt thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, “To my knowledge, no metropolis has skyscrapers like this, nor this kind of skyscraper-topping sky feeling.

Don’t beat around the bush with your big brother. Tell me, where are we?”

“This is the Underground City, 2000 meters below ground,” Imanka said.

“What?!” Gilt sat up abruptly.

“Hey, why are you sitting up? You need to stay in bed to recover. Lie down,” Imanka insisted, pushing him back onto the bed.

“That blue sky and sunlight seem too real. Are we really 2000 meters underground? You’re not fooling me?” Gilt was still somewhat incredulous.

Imanka nodded, “Why would I lie to you? This is truly the Underground City.”

“Oh, right. Who exactly is Qiu Mu then? An alien? How does he have the means to bring you here?” Gilt finally remembered to ask about this.

Imanka couldn’t help but laugh, “Alien? No, he isn’t called Qiu Mu; his real name is Du Qiu.”

“Du Qiu?” Gilt was stunned for a moment. “Why does that name sound familiar? It seems I’ve heard it somewhere before.”