Armor-piercing bullets don't believe in carbon-based monsters

Chapter 356 Living Metal

What does "alive" mean?

Huang Meng nimbly jumped off the tank and squatted down next to Jin Zhong.

At this moment, Jin Zhong had already picked up a pile of silvery-white metal powder from the ground and spread it on his palm.

"What is the problem?"

Huang Meng looked at Jin Zhong's actions with a puzzled expression. Jin Zhong did not answer, but simply flicked the powder with his fingers.

Soon, unusual phenomena began to appear.

Loose powder at greater distances showed no change.

But those that were relatively close began to move slowly, getting closer to each other.

Huang Meng stared in disbelief at the changes in the powder. A moment later, a tiny metal ball condensed in Jin Zhong's hand.

A silver-gray, smooth, round metal sphere.

Although it is very small, when Jin Zhong rolls it in his hand, it quickly attracts the rest of the powder on his hand, and its volume begins to gradually increase.

"This is."

Huang Meng reached into Jin Zhong's hand and took a metal ball the size of a sesame seed, frowning as he said:

"Some kind of magnetic powder?"

"Not quite like it."

Jin Zhong slowly shook his head.

"If it's magnetic powder, it should attract metallic objects."

But look.

Jin Zhong drew his dagger and approached the metal ball, but the metal ball did not react at all.

"It's not a magnet."

"what is that?"

Huang Meng tentatively squeezed the metal ball with his hand, and then said:
"It's very hard—it was just a powder a moment ago, but now it seems to have completely fused together??"

"It's heavy and small, but you can clearly feel its weight."

"Come and try."

As he spoke, he handed the metal ball to Jin Zhong.

Jin Zhong weighed it a few times, frowned, and said:
"It seems to be heavier than gold."

"how do you know?"

Huang Meng asked in surprise:

"You can sense that? Is it some kind of special ability?"

Jin Zhong gave an awkward smile and replied:
“In the past, the Cult of Mechanics distributed stipends directly in gold. We are quite sensitive to weight, but that’s not the point.”

"I have never heard of anything heavier than gold."

"Have you ever heard of this kind of thing when you were studying before?"

"No."

Huang Meng did not hesitate at all.

He has already completed the introductory chemistry course and has gained an understanding of some basic theories and fundamental knowledge.

"It's not that there are no elements heavier than gold, but rather that elements heavier than gold would not exist in this form."

"This could be a new element, but where did it come from?"

"Is it related to the disaster preparedness works under the ruins of Shanghai?"

"Or perhaps, it's related to the Great Cataclysm?"

Huang Meng asked a series of questions, which Jin Zhong had no way of answering.

After a moment's hesitation, he spoke:
"It's pointless to focus on this—it's beyond our ability to explain."

"Take it back to the commander; they might have the answer."

"We need to head to the disaster recovery base in Shanghai as soon as possible."

"Time is running out. We've been away from Base 011 for too long. We need to get back as soon as possible."

"clear."

Huang Meng nodded and quickly returned to the tank.

Although he and Jin Zhong were formally in a superior-subordinate relationship, Jin Zhong's rich combat and battlefield experience was extremely useful to this infiltration company.

Therefore, he did not object to Jin Zhong's suggestion.

The team continued forward, and guided by the drones, even without the support of inertial navigation and positioning, they still traversed the ruins via the shortest route and directly entered the area where the underground disaster preparedness works were located.

"right here."

Huang Meng pointed to the ground while looking at the altimeter he was carrying.

"The altitude is incorrect. The elevation here is 6.4 meters, but according to the information provided by Fuxi, the entrance to the disaster preparedness fortification should be located on flat ground at an elevation of less than 3 meters."

"The base entrance is completely covered. Fuxi!"

Huang Meng called out, and with the help of the cellular network, Fuxi's reply came quickly.

"I'm here, please speak."

"Can it be connected to Shanghai's underground disaster recovery network?"

"Unable to connect".

Fuxi answered again:
"No abnormal electromagnetic signals were found near the fortification, suggesting that it may have been damaged and rendered inoperable."

"It is recommended to organize excavation on-site to open the main passage before making further judgments."

"clear."

Huang Meng breathed a long sigh of relief.

The 3-meter-deep layer of accumulated soil is neither particularly deep nor shallow.

If you really had to dig with your bare hands, it wouldn't be an easy task.

Fortunately, their team was originally there for the disaster recovery base.

In addition to the necessary combat equipment, they also carried an octopus-type multi-functional excavator.

Huang Meng decisively issued the order, and the operator immediately drove the excavator off the flatbed truck, and the intense excavation work began.

The remaining combat team members scattered to establish a perimeter around the excavation site, while Huang Meng and Jin Zhong squatted down beside the excavation site, desperately holding off the loose soil that was being thrown out.

"The deeper you go, the higher the content of this metal powder."

Jin Zhong said in a deep voice:

"The powder on the surface of the soil is very sparse, only a thin layer."

"But now, when we dig down to a meter, even the color of the soil has changed."

"Silver-gray? Are you kidding me?"

"Even if this is a metallic mineral, how could there be so much of it?"

"In the realm of mineral resources, this would be considered an unprecedentedly rich mine, wouldn't it?"

"really."

Huang Meng's expression began to turn serious. He realized that what his team had discovered might be even more valuable than the underground disaster preparedness facilities themselves.

The metal is strange, and its enrichment pattern is unusual.
This is completely illogical and contradicts the common sense I learned during my intensive study at Base 011.

Excavation work is still ongoing.

As the excavator continued to dig, a harsh, screeching sound gradually began to rise.

"Did you dig up a rock?"

Huang Meng asked the operator.

"No...it's not a stone!"

The operator rotated the bucket in front of Huang Meng and then poured it down.

Several fist-sized pieces of metal fell to the ground. Huang Meng picked them up and frowned instantly.

"It's that kind of metal."

"A lot! A lot!"

"I can see it."

Jin Zhong answered in a deep voice.

At this point, the excavator had already dug to a depth of nearly three meters underground.

The excavator bucket made a sharp metallic clanging sound as it struck the soil, and the density of that "metallic" distribution increased.

By the end, it had almost formed a dense band of rock strata.

"We can't dig any further."

Huang Meng took a deep breath and decisively stopped the excavation work.

"We must report this to the commander immediately!" "There might be danger down there. We need to bring this metal back first and find out what it is!"

On the other side, in the mountain city.

Chen Jian stared intently at the video coming from Huang Meng's side. When he saw the separated metal powder slowly coming together, his face instantly contorted with pain.

"What is this thing?"

He turned to look at Lei Jie, who could only shake his head in return.

"There is no record of such a thing in any known human database."

"This is most likely a new material that repels substances, a superconductor?"

"How can there be a refusal to stay or leave?"

Chen Jian frowned and asked.

"The attraction and rejection are not necessarily manifested at the macro level—based on the existing videos, tiny metal dust particles attract each other and maintain stable properties after aggregating into new metal materials."

"This may not necessarily be a superconducting property, but it is possible that the complex internal structural changes after polymerization caused the superconducting property to disappear."

"If this problem can be solved, achieving superconductivity is not impossible."

"The only question now is where this thing comes from and what its function is."

"I don't know if the people in those mountain towns know about the existence of this material. But logically speaking, they shouldn't know."

"If they knew, there was no way they wouldn't have made a fuss about this material."

"After all, this is the strongest evidence we can find at this stage that is linked to the cataclysm."

"Compared to it, even the research value of something like a 'monster' is less than that of a single hair of its."

As Lei Jie finished speaking, a strange expression appeared on Chen Jian's face.

After a moment's hesitation, he spoke:
There's a paradox here.

"If Chongqing has already collected most of the quantum computers used for disaster recovery projects to support the computing power of the virtual city, then they should have already been to Shanghai."

"If they had already been to Shanghai, how could they not have discovered this material?"

"Even if they had never been to Shanghai, given the richness of this material, they should have discovered it long ago."

"But the truth is, no."

"So is it possible that this thing only started appearing recently?"

After saying this, Lei Jie also frowned.

"If this thing only appeared recently, then it is completely decoupled from the Cataclysm."

"Another mystery has been added to our list—we not only need to find the truth about the cataclysm, but also the source of this substance."

"It's getting increasingly complicated."

"I have a feeling that this matter has completely exceeded our capabilities?"

"Can the problem of catastrophe really be solved without fundamental physics research?"

Chen Jian put down the PDA that was still playing video, paused for a moment, and then said:
"That's really a problem."

“Our previous development strategy has always focused on the industrialization system, and what we wanted to solve was simply a ‘survival problem’.”

"But the threat posed by the monsters has now been largely eliminated."

"Our main contradiction has also changed."

"The conflict between monsters and humans has degenerated into a secondary conflict, while the conflict between the cataclysm, its aftermath, and human survival has become the primary conflict."

"It's time for us to adjust our thinking."

"Go find Jin Zan and tell him to get moving."

"Four hours have passed, hasn't he found Wang Lizi yet?"

"I'll go and urge them."

Lei Jie nodded decisively.

Chen Jian picked up the metal block left behind by He Shuo and fell into deep thought.

Two hours later, outside the 011 base.

Jin Zan sat opposite Wang Li and spoke with a sigh:
"Finding you all is really not easy. So, does this so-called hibernation really mean everyone is in a hibernation state?"

Upon hearing his words, Wang Li shook his head with a slight smile, and then replied:

"Not really."

"We have simply retreated into various safe houses and hidden underground dwellings, temporarily cutting off our contact with the outside world."

"In fact, even in this state, we still maintain observation of the outside world."

"We know that the Huaxia army has thwarted the beast tide, and we even know that they have entered the mountain city."

"To be honest, this news is just too unbelievable."

"We spent some time verifying the authenticity of the message."

"This made us a step behind - otherwise, I should have taken the initiative to contact you, instead of waiting for you to contact me."

"clear."

Kim Zan nodded slowly.

"It's really incredible—even I thought it was just some kind of exaggerated boast when I first heard the news."

"But earlier today, we established network communication with the mountain city, and real-time video data has been transmitted back."

"Honestly, you guys should probably go check it out too."

"The mountain town in the video is just an ordinary ruin, no different from any other ruin."

"The so-called 'holy city' is pure nonsense; there's nothing in it."

"Of course, there's a high probability that you won't find the so-called 'ring' you're looking for."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Li shook his head again.

"No, the specific state of the mountain city has nothing to do with what we are looking for."

"However, I'm afraid I can only get more specific and detailed information by talking to the regimental commanders of the Chinese army."

"This involves our deep-seated interests, so I hope you can understand our confidentiality measures."

"I understand. Of course I understand."

Kim Chan shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm a newcomer, and I'm just a messenger. I don't expect to be involved in the highest level of negotiations after only two months here."

"I have that much self-awareness."

"--Just like I told you from the beginning, my task is simply to find you and convey the leaders' invitations to you."

"As for what you want to talk about and how you want to cooperate, that's your business."

"That's fine."

Wang Li nodded in satisfaction.

"Cooperating with you is as pleasant as ever—you should have left the Cult of Mechanism and joined the Chinese Army long ago."

"That's what I think now too."

Kim Chan smiled broadly and agreed, behaving exactly like a shrewd businessman.

The two raised their cups to each other, drank their tea, and then Wang Li asked:
"So, what specific discoveries did the Chinese army make in the mountain city?"

"That's a mysterious city after all. Surely they didn't get any information at all?"

Upon hearing this, Kim Chan subconsciously scratched his head.

Then, he answered frankly:

"Perhaps there have been discoveries—but we haven't been given much information at the moment."

"However, I did hear that they discovered a strange metal there."

"A strange metal?"

Wang Li became interested.

What kind of metal?

"It's hard to describe."

Jin Zan frowned, organizing his thoughts, and after a moment replied:
"I heard that kind of metal is alive."

"boom!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Lizi suddenly stood up.

The chair behind him fell to the ground, but he didn't have time to turn around and help it up.

He looked at Kim Zan with disbelief, then asked in a slightly trembling voice:

"Are you sure?"

"They really...discovered living metal??"

(End of this chapter)