Chapter Eighty-Six: The Hidden Base

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Hidden Base

The capital lay hushed beneath the night, still as water. Liu Shaoyu stood in the courtyard, gazing across the sea toward Kyushu Island, where the lights burned through the night without pause. Searchlights rose straight into the sky, and their reflection shimmered over the waves.

The cliff-top courtyard had once been Liu Shaoyu’s residence. Now that he had returned to Earth, the property had been transferred back into his name. Fortunately, after his participation in the Vanguard Tower battle, he had been granted an honorary military title. Though it carried no real substance, it was still enough to include him within the orbit of the armed forces. That made the transfer of the house a simple matter.

The neighboring courtyard belonged to Master Wang, though it had now been sealed off with metal panels, for its owner was not at home.

"Thomas, how are things going?" Liu Shaoyu asked suddenly.

"The screening of candidate planets in the Federation’s outer star systems has been completed. Three planets meet the requirements."

"Good. And what about the monkey?"

"No communication from Mr. Hou Rongyao has been received yet."

Liu Shaoyu smiled. He had been too impatient about this matter. If news from the monkey had come through, he would certainly have received it at once as well.

As for the Battle Dragon Project Wang Weifu had mentioned earlier, the testing would not begin for another half month or so. And tomorrow he would have to go with him to meet some people. In the meantime, he could take the chance to begin carrying out part of his own plan.

The most important part of that plan was the piece to be handled by the monkey.

Liu Shaoyu needed a black-market buyer, or an intermediary. Only through such a channel could the ice ore in his hands be transformed into assets as quickly as possible.

And this method was also the most discreet.

Right now, Liu Shaoyu needed money. A great deal of money.

A little weary, he prepared to follow Earth’s traditional rhythm of life: rise with the sun, rest with the sun.

One morning, when the east had barely begun to pale, Liu Shaoyu opened his eyes. Having not felt Earth’s sunlight for so long, he hurried to wash up and begin the day.

The first thing after washing was to practice boxing. As his body had changed, Liu Shaoyu had come to understand this martial art he had learned since childhood in an entirely new light, even reaching a new realm altogether.

That mysterious strengthening of the body and sharpening of the mind gave him fresh insight each time he practiced the form.

On the cliff, with the sound of the waves in his ears, Liu Shaoyu moved his arms. The opening posture flowed into the full sequence, swift and slow in measured balance. Then the closing form.

He exhaled a mouthful of stale breath, and as he lowered his hands, he felt a warm current moving through his body, coursing over every inch of him before sinking back into his dantian.

"Mr. Wang is waiting outside," Thomas reported immediately. He had long understood that Liu Shaoyu could not be disturbed while practicing.

Liu Shaoyu opened the door and found Wang Weifu already waiting at the entrance.

"My heavens! Were you just asleep?" Wang Weifu complained when he saw Liu Shaoyu taking his time.

"Just did a bit of boxing," Liu Shaoyu said with an apologetic smile.

Wang Weifu knew of this habit and said no more.

"Get ready. They’ve already been contacted," he said directly.

"All right. Come in first. I’ll change clothes, and then we’ll go."

Liu Shaoyu invited Wang Weifu inside and headed upstairs.

A quarter hour later, Liu Shaoyu had bathed and changed into formal attire before leaving with Wang Weifu.

Inside the sedan, Wang Weifu looked at Liu Shaoyu beside him and said, "Actually, what you wore before would suit where we’re going today better."

Liu Shaoyu lowered his gaze to his clothes. "Do I have to run later or something?"

Wang Weifu merely smiled and shook his head. "You’ll see soon enough."

The sedan continued gliding through the air. On the Yanjing mainland there were not many buildings to begin with. Aside from the military zones, there were only forest preserves, so naturally there were not many vehicles either.

Judging by the speed and travel time, Liu Shaoyu estimated that they had already left Yanjing’s limits. Looking at their direction, they should have reached the vicinity of the Yellow River Military District.

Sure enough, the vehicle began to slow before descending. Hidden within the dense forest was a quiet little road.

"This place is remote enough," Liu Shaoyu said, glancing out the window.

Before Wang Weifu could answer, Liu Shaoyu heard the vehicle’s intelligent system speak.

"You have entered the Chinese military restricted zone. If you have not submitted an application, please leave immediately."

"Submit the request letter," Wang Weifu said at once, as if already prepared for the prompt.

"Scan complete. Permission granted."

As the artificial voice fell silent, the road before them warped and then vanished. What had seemed like a path now became a towering mountain wall, and within that wall stood a huge metal gate.

"An illusion?" Liu Shaoyu asked in surprise.

"Who knows? Using an illusion in such a remote place," Wang Weifu said, seeming to find it all rather unnecessary as well.

The vehicle passed smoothly through an electronic guard post and rose again, heading toward the metal gate.

"What... is this place?" Liu Shaoyu could not help asking.

"Your friend’s old home," Wang Weifu said, still unwilling to explain. As he had said before, he enjoyed seeing Liu Shaoyu’s shocked expression. It gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

As they drew nearer, Liu Shaoyu finally realized just how enormous the metal gate was. Then came a burst of grinding metal.

The gate opened from the center.

It was a multilayered gate, its opening determined by the volume of what passed through. For a sedan this small, only the innermost, smallest gate opened—but that was still more than enough for the vehicle.

They drove inside, and contrary to Liu Shaoyu’s expectations, there was no darkness, only a vast, brilliantly lit cavern. The exit at the far end was already in sight.

"Please park according to the guide lines."

The artificial voice sounded again. Yellow guidance markers lit up along the cavern walls. The sedan automatically read the instructions and moved toward a chamber on the right.

It turned out to be a parking area. There, Wang Weifu and Liu Shaoyu got out.

"Welcome, Mr. Wang and Mr. Liu. Please follow the guide lines to the elevator."

The voice echoed through the parking bay. Liu Shaoyu and Wang Weifu followed the illuminated path once more.

"This place is strange. I haven’t seen a single person," Liu Shaoyu muttered. Since entering, he really had not seen anyone at all.

Wang Weifu was silent for a moment, checked the time on his computer, and then said, "At this hour... they should still be training. It’s normal not to see anyone here."

"Training?" Liu Shaoyu seized on the key word Wang Weifu had let slip.

"Yes. Don’t be surprised when you see some familiar faces in a moment," Wang Weifu said, a classic conspiratorial smile spreading across his face.

Liu Shaoyu rolled his eyes and carefully studied the signs on both sides, trying to figure out what sort of place this was.

"Thomas, can you find out where this is?" he asked silently, communicating with his all-purpose computer.

"Military classified information detected. Clearance level too high. Access denied."

Liu Shaoyu gave up completely, his heart filling with even greater confusion. What exactly was this place?

At last they reached the elevator. And there, Liu Shaoyu finally saw someone other than himself and Wang Weifu.

The man waved as soon as he saw him. Liu Shaoyu looked closely, and his pupils contracted in astonishment.

"My God! Aren’t you—"

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