Chapter 10

The past five days were difficult for everyone in the team. The sense of threat was always there despite them hiding far from the steel fortress. A squad of Decepticons patrolled right past them every two hours. They almost got discovered in the first few patrols due to the scent of the Autobots they possessed. The team had to back off fifty meters further. Even communication between the two groups became difficult.
“Xuan, what are you really thinking?” Zheng poked the campfire and asked. “It’s only my intuition but I feel that you are scheming something. Same with HongLu. What are the two of you planning to do? Understand that you two are still part of the team no matter how smart you are. Don’t make plans based on however you want.”

Xuan turned around and glanced at him. He did not say anything then continued eating his food, a bunch of bananas he brought from Shelter 1.

Zheng was defeated seeing Xuan didn’t talk. He turned to the other members and especially chatted with Lan. The main focus of conversation was on the psyche scan.

“The area fifty meters beneath the fortress have been converted into several floors. Each of these floors is larger than the fortress above ground and bigger than the original St. Louis. I can’t probe further than fifty meters downward. It feels like it’s being masked.” Lan said with her eyes closed.

A warm breath of air blew by her ear. She opened her eyes in a shock and saw Zheng spoke next to her ear. “Don’t just focus on the scan. Say, what do you think will happen between the two of them?”

Lan was surprised. Zheng gave a nod. She touched her forehead then muttered. “I think the highest possibility is they diverged on the plan concerning nuclear weapons. Or perhaps they both have their own plan regarding nuclear weapons. The details are beyond my ability. Don’t you feel suspicious that HongLu chose YinKong?”

“Suspicious?” Zheng became curious. “Of what?”

“YinKong was the key to stealing the nuclear arsenal password. I can control a person temporarily but I can’t insert a piece of information into a person’s mind and hypnotize him for days like movies and novels depict. The password is dynamic so sneaking to the secret place was their criteria. YinKong could put the CD into the computer while I controlled the president temporarily.” Lan said.

“Yeah, that’s Xuan’s plan. There doesn’t seem to be anything suspicious on this.” Zheng looked to Lan and saw a smile on her face. A thought suddenly struck his mind. “I get it. The CD was in YinKong’s hand during that time. Only she knows what HongLu coud have done on the CD. That’s why HongLu chose her. Her close combat ability is less effective than Kampa and WangXia in enacting the bait plan. Even Gando would be more useful than her.”

Lan just smiled without responding. Her gaze was tender.

Although Zheng still didn’t know what HongLu did but if YinKong helped him complete the plan and hid the fact, it shouldn’t have a big impact on the team. HongLu was still a boy after all. He might be smart but he would get influenced by his emotions. As long as he did not cause a negative impact on the team, it was fine to let him contend with someone stronger than him.

However, Lan… She had been quiet ever since being revived. Zheng occasionally could feel her gaze. Most of the time she played her role as the psyche force user in the team to the best of her ability but beyond that, her sense of existence in the team was thin. Zheng knew what Lan was planning. She was attempting to shut herself off using this method. The distance between the two of them would grow with time until they become strangers to each other.

On the edge of a tiny forest far from Zheng’s camp was HongLu’s group. They backed off further from the fortress due to a lack of a psyche force user in the group. YinKong was proficient in hiding so there was no need to worry about being discovered. They sat by a small campfire and ate some simple foods.

“… So the CD is confirmed to have inserted into the black box?” HongLu asked for the third time.

YinKong nodded. “Yes. It was indeed inserted into the black box along with Xuan’s program and your program.”

HongLu let out a sigh of relief. “Then does Xuan know? Have you told him about the CD?”

YinKong raised her head and glanced at him. Her tone remained calm. “I didn’t say anything unnecessary. We cooperated a few times before. Do I seem like someone who would talk more than needed?”

HongLu laughed. “Relax. I am only being so overly suspicious because I want the plan to succeed too much. Haha. There’s nothing to worry since Xuan doesn’t know what I did. Tomorrow is the beginning of the fifth day. Just wait. Wait for the arrival of the hydrogen bomb.”

HongLu was a cooperating partner for YinKong before she met Xuan. Although they wiped in Resident Evil, she had just as much trust in HongLu as she had in Xuan. However, since Xuan had proved himself to be one step ahead of everyone, she decided to remain neutral in this competition.

Back in the Shelter, HongLu told her his plan in full. She weighted the pros and cons of the plan then decided to help him. There were almost no cons for HongLu’s plan. In contrast, it would lower the danger they would face if it worked. HongLu wrote another program in Xuan’s CD that would activate three hours after the hydrogen bombs launched.

“It’s just a small trojan. Xuan’s program can break through the firewall and bypass the network password. So the code of this trojan is fairly small. It’s main function is to issue an attack order… To the American army on standby outside the steel fortress. The time is three hours after the nuclear strike!”

HongLu wanted to compete with Xuan but he wasn’t going to doing anything harmful to the team. He merely wanted to show Xuan that he wasn’t weak. Maybe not as strong as Xuan but he could think of things that Xuan didn’t think of, such as using the American army.

“Information exchange is crippled due to the loss of satellites and cities. Only a few military communications lines are preserved. They can still send Morse code telegrams but this method is too slow. I left the president a message before leaving, telling him we have a bacteria that accelerates the rusting process which counters the Transformers. Once we found their main base, we can annihilate them. However, I am an American troop in the future and want to leave the U.S. with some useful technology and the AllSpark. So he needs to surround St. Louis with the army. Once we destroyed the robots with the bateria and obtained the AllSpark, the army could detain us.

“The truth is to have the American army surround St. Louis. Three hours after the nuclear strike, the trojan will issue an order to attack the fortress in the name of the military base. Xuan’s virus will destroy the central computing system afterward. No one can stop the American army from attacking at that point. This is my plan, to have the army become our bait! While they fight the Decepticons, Zheng’s group can easily sneak into the fortress and steal the AllSpark! Xuan, wait and see. I am not weaker than you! My plan is designed with you in mind!”

The sun rose on the horizon. Dawn of the fifth day came. Over half a million soldiers surrounded St. Louis in the past few days. They were awaiting for the order from the base. This was the last full army of the U.S. They would attack into the main base of the Decepticons.

Humans began with fire from wood, to fire from charcoal, to coal, to fossil fuel, and natural sources such as hydroelectric, wind, solar. All sorts of energies had always existed around us, waiting for people to discover and gain control of their usage. There was only one type of energy humans obtained by altering natural structures. It was a big leap in our understanding of the universe. The development and usage of nuclear energy.

The success of altering atoms and the conversion between mass and energy signified our advancement in our knowledge of the universe and also brought forth a danger beyond anything that had happened in our history. Humans became threatened by our own weapons. A push of a button could put an end to human history.

“Can’t stop it!” Deep beneath the ground of Shelter 1, hundreds of people were rushing to repair the huge central computer, the center of information exchange of the United States. It could send messages to anywhere within the U.S. as long as the receiving end still had its military lines intact.

Sparks were flying off the central computer’s hardwares. Of course, the main issue wasn’t hardware related. A virus that infected the computer drove it to overload. If this state continued for thirty more minutes, the central computer would be fried.

“Cut off its power supply! All important personnels evacuate from the lower floor!” Roosevelt listened to the reports then sent out the order.

The lieutenant who reported to him replied. “Mr. President, this isn’t possible. The power supply room has been sealed off. The central computer gained automated control of the defense system. We aren’t able to enter it in a short period of time without resorting to heavy firearms and explosives. Furthermore, looking at the output from the central computer, any attempts to damage it will make it conclude the base has been occupied. And the consequence is…”

“Self destruction. I also put down my signature when this base was built. The central computer has the permission to self destruction the base in order to prevent our enemies from obtaining any technology and classified files in the event this base is occupied.” Roosevelt sighed. “Let’s evacuate first.”

“It’s disastrous!” A black major came in the room shouting. “Password to the nuclear weapons has been generated. It’s being verified through the black box. Once the verification completes…”

Roosevelt’s face turned pale. He ran out the room without a moment of delay. People were running to him on his way. Despair was overtaking him as he heard the incoming reports.

“The password to the first hydrogen bomb has been sent. Our communication to the nuclear carrier submarine 3 was cut off. The hydrogen bomb probably has been launched already. The second password was sent. Communication to nuclear carrier submarine 6 was cut off. The third password is being verified.”

The stress was nearly giving Roosevelt a stroke. He rushed into the lobby shouting. The lobby was filled with people, researchers putting all their efforts on the central computer and people staring at the big monitor, seemingly frozen in place. White codes flowed through the monitor and before long, a set of numbers appeared for an instant before it faded.

“Hurry! Destroy the central computer even if it’s at the cost of the base!” Roosevelt shouted in madness. He knew what the numbers signified, and what a hydrogen bomb meant in the current state of this world. A hydrogen bomb could lead to the end of the world.

Pah! Darkness overtook Roosevelt. He collapsed on the floor. A major standing behind him sighed.

The major shouted to the rest of the people after knocking Roosevelt unconscious. “Everyone evacuate the base. Set up timed bombs to detonate the central computer once everyone is out.”

The frozen crowd began running again. However, it was to leave the base this time. The major sighed again as he carried Roosevelt to the elevator.

“Sir!” A voice came from behind the major.

The major replied. “What’s it? Another hydrogen bomb launched?”

“No. The central computer issued another order to command the army surrounding St. Louis to attack after the third hydrogen bomb.” The person reported.

The major said. “Is that so? If all three hydrogen bombs are targeting St. Louis, our loss is almost negligible. And it would not turn out as worse as expected if we can put an end to this calamity… The result is better than humans being wiped out by nuclear weapons.”

However, panic never left the other person’s face. “Right after this order, the central computer issued another order… A fourth hydrogen bomb is to strike St. Louis three hours after the third strike. This will be the time when our army reaches the center of the city!”

Xuan stood on a large boulder looking out at the steel fortress in the distance. Strangely, he wasn’t wearing his usual glasses but a pair of sunglasses instead. He gave off a sense of freedom.

“Twenty more minutes and the first hydrogen bomb will strike this place. Judging by our position, a gale will swept over us. However, it shouldn’t affect us.” Xuan said calmly.

Zheng sat on a hill not far away. He was also wearing a pair of sunglasses and looking out. He nodded but couldn’t find any word to respond. His mind was on the hydrogen bomb that was going to come.

“Humans…” Xuan suddenly turned around and looked to Zheng. “What are humans? I have tried to induce what exactly are humans from scientific and historical literatures long ago. Although humans are defined as primates, ruler of Earth, lord of all beings… but what are humans? Kindness, evil, good, bad, surviving, and death…”

(Is he being emotional? Could Xuan even be emotional?) Zheng looked at him with surprise and asked. “What do you mean? Did anything happen to you? Why did you suddenly talk so strangely? Are you not feeling well?”

Xuan lightly laughed. Even though it seemed like a mechanical movement of the muscles to Zheng, it represented the unusualness happening in Xuan’s mind. “Perhaps you couldn’t understand this with your intelligence. To put it in another way… I remember you were once asked if you could dirty your hands to survive. Your answer was you could dirty your hands but not your heart.

“The time to face your consciousness has come…

“Do you still wish to live on if your heart has been stained?”

A projectile glided across the sky behind Xuan, leaving a trail of white smoke that nearly separated the blue sky in halves. At the front of the trail was an intercontinental nuclear missile. Xuan turned around just as the missile landed on St. Louis.