Epoch of Twilight

Chapter 426: Out Of Reach

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Located within one of the mysterious corners underground the New Capital City, this place covered more than 50,000 square meters which were the equivalent of six or seven football fields. Tens of thousands of staff and a troop of elite soldiers have gathered in the giant hall.

However, it would seem that everyone was quiet and there was a pin drop silence as everyone stared hard at the screen, looking at various images that changes in the data that was being shown without so much as a blink. There was only the sound of the computer fan along with the constant sound of typing that came from the keyboards. The atmosphere was tense and depressing.

The High Commission that was directly under the command of the Land Observation, Strategy & Security Bureau was located in this place and was the most mysterious department in the reconstruction area. It ruled over the most powerful force mankind had on their side to this very day and at the same time, they were the last line of defense and also happen to be the best chance the reconstruction had in their arsenal.

From satellites to pre-emptive warning airships modified with the hides of high-level mutated beasts to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), they even had a ground penetrating radar (GPR) which served to turn the entire reconstruction area into an airtight surveillance network that closely monitored everything that posed a deadly threat to the reconstruction area.

Among all those, oversight of level eight life-forms as well as the execution of strategic attacks on them whenever deemed necessary were the main task of this department. The way they judged safety standards were based on the distance these life-forms were from the reconstruction area. All level eight life-forms wandering around the reconstruction area were grouped into three hazard classes.

If they were within 400 kilometers, far away from the control boundaries of the reconstruction area then they belonged to the group that needed to be attacked immediately. If they were within 400 to 800 kilometers away, they would fall into the medium-risk group where heavy surveillance was still necessary on top of constant vigilance. Those that were between 800 to 1000 kilometers away were considered to be in the low-risk group. The necessity for attention for life-forms in the low-risk group is significantly lower and the only action was a focus on their underlying movement.

For life-forms that were at greater distances, it was still like a blind spot for the reconstruction area based on the level of their strength today. Only satellite images could get traces of images. Of course, the further these life-forms were from the reconstruction area, the better insulated the reconstruction area was from an attack.

Today, within the observable range, they have already confirmed the presence of 12 level eight life-forms within range. Four were within the medium-risk group while the rest were in the low-risk group.

...

Out of the blue, a staff member stared at the screen with a changed expression. Without hesitating, he immediately sounded the alarm from the table.

All of a sudden, a staff member stared at the screen, with his expression changed. Without hesitation, he pressed the alarm button on the table. A loud, confusing alarm sounded in the empty, giant hall as the atmosphere tensed within the hall, making everyone stop their work subconsciously.

Soon, a group of people made their way into the hall. Across the passageway, an aged Colonel General with a solemn face could be seen saying, "Everyone, continue your work. Control station! Shift the UAV with the serial number A7990 to the central screen. The UAV team! Move all the UAVs in the A7 area to the coordinates we discussed prior to this and focus on monitoring their movements!"

Within a few moments, the image appeared on the screen. On the screen was a level eight mutated beast with the codename ’Blue Dragon’. It did, indeed, look like a dragon but it looked more like a Chinese dragon than the evil dragon hailing from the west.

Its body was slender, wavy like a snake with four thick, strong, incurved claws. There were two ferocious horns on its forehead and it had a horse-like mane. Aside from some minor differences, its appearance was strikingly similar to the dragon from the myths and legends of China. In addition to that, it even looked more dignified and ferocious than the dragon of legends!

If Wang Shishi was here, she would have recognized this deadly life-form which was similar to the one she and Luo Yuan encountered while they were seeking the heart of wisdom outside the city. It seemed like interference in the signals were causing the image on the screen to jitter incessantly. The screen was blurry and the signal was even completely lost at certain moments.

Even though the screen was somehow distorted, everyone still noticed that the level eight life-form was quite unhappy. It stood on a hill, jumping up and down from time to time, roaring towards the sky constantly. Its body gave off a strong aura that caused awful changes to the climate of nearby areas.

The white clouds in the sky were changing rapidly as they surged endlessly. At times, they would appear and sometimes, they would suddenly disappear.

Even if they had a screen separating them from the incident, they still looked at the chilling images. The life-force a level eight life-form had was immensely powerful, far beyond human comprehension. Such life-forms should not exist in reality and should only be in myths and fiction movies.

"It seems a little uneasy." A young Major gave his advice. He looked at the screen for a moment and after some analysis, he calmly said, "It seems like it’s afraid of something. Control station, try using the unused lenses and point them at the sky."

Soon, the huge screen was divided into four smaller screens.

"What is this?" he looked attentively. Instantly, he noticed a small dot which was moving slowly in the sky from the top-left corner of the screen. He shouted, "Enlarge the screen!"

The enlargement caused the image that was originally clear to become blurred. At the same time, the true identity of this dot on the screen was slowly revealed. Looking at its shape, it seemed to be a bird that was apparently a level eight life-form. It seemed to be the cause of the Blue Dragon’s irritation.

The Colonel General looked at the screen in anger. This was an absolute failure to perform their duty, failing to even notice a level eight creature that had gotten this close to the reconstruction area. However, it was not the time to point fingers. In a heavy tone, he said, "Lock the radar on it and calculate its height immediately!"

"The radars are unable to see the target. It’s seemingly invisible to our radars. Shifting to nearby satellites!"

"Through laser imaging, its height seems to be about 56,400 meters above the sky."

"The satellite has locked onto the target!" The satellite team reported after a short moment.

"Notify the review team of the High Commission for a nuclear attack!" The Colonel General said with a heavy tone.

A middle-aged man, wearing the military uniform of a major who was almost unnoticeable on the side, quickly took out a secret phone, walked to the side and muttered a few words. He hung up the phone moments later and walked back to the Colonel General and said, "They’ve been notified, a temporary approval has been issued!"

The nuclear keys were still a symbol of power. Even nuclear bombings had become so frequent that they were now treated like conventional weapons. Without a temporary approval issued by the review team of the High Commission for a nuclear attack, even the Colonel Generals in the reconstruction area would not be able to fire a nuclear weapon.

"Get the strategic forces on the line and sound a level one alert! Then inform the military in the southeast region to prepare their anti-nuclear efforts well!"

...

"The military in the southeast region has been informed, sir! They’ve acknowledged!"

"Connection ended. Colonel, we await your instructions!"

The Colonel General did not give the command to launch the nuclear attack immediately. Instead, he waited in silence.

It was uncommon knowledge that there were in fact, not many nuclear bombs that remained in the reconstruction area. Unlike Russia and the United States who had a large reserve of nuclear weapons prior to the apocalypse that they could squander at their pleasure, the nuclear weapon stocks in China were not even one-tenth of the combined stockpile for both countries.

In addition to the continuous use over these past two years as well as the scarcity of enriched uranium in the area surrounding them, the reconstruction area was only left with no more than ten nuclear bombs that got lesser following every detonation. Even the detonation of a hydrogen bomb would require an ignition by an atomic bomb.

The leaking of this information would cause widespread panic among humans. If this was not the case, how else would the reconstruction area tolerate such harsh living conditions and dangerous life-forms such as these who wandered around its periphery?

Time passed, second after second as the slender body of the Blue Dragon coiled around a hill, crawling around with unease in a meandering manner. It had gotten more irratable as a red light, similar to a mist of energy enveloped its body.

The images on the screen shuddered even more as the bird and the beast began to confront each other after more than ten minutes.

The small dot that was initially in the sky enlarged swiftly with a speed that was visible to the naked eye. There was a glowing smoke trailing its body in various enchanting colors, making it look extraordinary, like a supernatural being.

It dropped like a meteorite falling from the sky, swooping down from the high altitudes in a flash. It approached the ground within a dozen seconds as a pair of sharp claws were bared at the Blue Dragon. It looked like a streak of lightning as it swooped down from a thousand meters in the sky.

The Blue Dragon roared at the giant bird that was swooping down but it was just a fake show of strength as it did not really dare to fight the bird. Within a moment, its jumped slightly to balance its unstable body and leaped across a few kilometers, falling on another mountain in an attempt to evade the bird.

The next moment, the hill the Blue Dragon was originally on had been shredded to pieces by the claw of the giant bird.

The wings of the giant bird flapped vigorously, causing the wind to howl and the trees could be seen falling. As the wind blew up sand and stone, it took control of its posture and flew back into the sky, making a few circles. It was eyeing its prey at the bottom patiently. Once again, its body began swooping down at the very next moment towards the Blue Dragon that was desperately fleeing

Following that, there was a chase between the two giant beasts. Whether intentional or unintentional, the Blue Dragon was approaching the reconstruction area rapidly.

"They’ve almost broken through the cordon!" The young major reminded.

"Wait a little longer!" The Colonel General said in a heavy tone. He frowned as he stared at the screen hoping for a turnaround. Compared to killing two level eight life-forms, these nuclear bombs were undoubtedly more precious to the reconstruction area.

"Another two minutes remaining..." The officer reminded again after a short while.

"One minute..." Beads of sweat began appearing on the forehead of the officer but he dared not wipe them away.

"Launch the nuclear bomb!" The Colonel General sighed.

...

The cap on top of the underground silo gradually opened. The next moment, a medium-range missile that was carrying a hydrogen warhead was fired from the underground silo and sped into the sky.

The Blue Dragon had been caught in a more difficult and vulnerable position this time. One evasion after another had inevitably caused its body to get clutched by the giant bird for several times. Although it managed to eventually escape, its body had already ended up with its skin being ripped off and flesh being torn off, dripping in blood.

This giant bird was its greatest enemy. This was entirely in the mind of the Blue Dragon, causing it to lack the courage to fight back. Ever since it had been discovered by the giant bird during its morning hunt, the giant bird had kept its eyes on it like gangrene clinging onto the bone.

As a level eight life-form, its IQ did not differ much from that of a human and was perhaps, even higher. Even from afar, it could sense clearly the powerful energy fluctuations that were being released by the nuclear explosives one after the other.

It was becoming very clear to the Blue Dragon that moving ahead, it would get more dangerous. The region before it had been long determined as a restricted area and it would not have dared move one step further to the west in the past. However, today its life was at stake and it could neither fight nor escape. It had no choice but to run toward the restricted area in an attempt to scare the giant bird away.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the opponent had no idea on the danger that place posed and was in complete ignorance. The Blue Dragon was continuously chased by the giant bird. At this moment, the Blue Dragon had a very feeling of danger that came from its heart.

Its entire body shuddered, causing its horse-like mane to stand erect. It suddenly opened its eyes wide, not daring to move an inch forward. It moved its limbs swiftly, and then turned its back and ran. At this moment, the giant bird in the sky had already been forgotten. Compared to the critical danger that it faced now, the greatest enemy above its head could be completely ignored.

Expectedly, the giant bird had no intention of letting the Blue Dragon escape. A gust of wind was shot towards the Blue Dragon’s head three times. The pain could be felt all over its body before it could even react. A pair of large, ferocious, sharp claw, similar to old roots gripped its body.

The very next moment, its body felt light and it was taken away, flying off the face of the earth quickly.

Frightened, the Blue Dragon roared once as its body moved vigorously. The sharp claws were like iron claws, deeply embedded into its body. Aside from getting a larger, deeper wound, the struggle was of little use. It continued to fly higher and higher towards the direction of the restricted area.

This discovery frightened the Blue Dragon even more. Its body went stiff. In a moment, the wind whistled, and the hill seemed to move backwards swiftly. However, a dazzling light appeared a few kilometers behind them at the very next moment, spreading quickly as endless energy and radiation spread out in all directions.

They seemed to have reached the sun’s surface! Under the high energy rays, green smoke was coming out from the bodies of the giant beasts as their scales and feathers began to melt. In this moment of crisis, the giant bird spread its wings and fled as quickly as lightning. The shockwave from the hydrogen bomb’s explosion simply could not catch up. Unfortunately, the giant bird was also struggling to support itself and managed to only fly for half a minute and was unable to support itself any longer after sustaining such terrible injuries. It fell down mid-flight with smoke coming out from its whole body.

...

"Oh no! Hope City is below it!"

A group of people in the Land Observation, Strategy & Security Bureau have been looking at the screen and their expressions changed. They were covered in cold sweat and were least expecting such a situation. The two giant beasts were obviously still alive now, though they were severely injured.

This is the second largest city, just after New Capital City. This was one of the most important industrial bases within the reconstruction area. The entire reconstruction area would be greatly affected if it was destroyed.

"Notify the guardians and the Firearms Bureau of Hope City as well as the squads in nearby cities to immediately kill these two level eight life-forms." The Colonel General said, with a heavy tone.

The headquarters for the Firearms Bureau situated in New Capital City was too far a distance from Hope City. Distant water is powerless against immediate fire. It would already be too late when they arrived and based on the size of these two beasts and widespread damage would occur even if they were to just walk around.

At that moment, he recalled seeing a confidential file and quickly said, "I remember the new vice-captain of the Firearms Bureau staying in Hope City. Notify him quickly, there is still hope for a turnaround."

"I foresee the notification will be sent in vain!" A staff member nearby that was responsible for screening the satellite images said after bracing himself and stood up with a peculiar look on his face.

"Why is that so?" The Colonel General asked with a serious look on his face. The rest also looked at him, a puzzled look on their faces.

This young staff member looked tense, being noticed by a person from a high position. With a slight tremble in his voice, he said, "Report...., I... I’ve seen a face, which looks exactly like Minister Luo, from the unprocessed satellite images earlier."

All the people took a deep breath and looked at each other, right after the voices stopped.

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