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

Chapter 357 The Great Ring

Two hours later.

Wang Lizi finally met Shen Yue, who had just returned from the recruit training ground, and immediately went to greet him.

"Chief!"

He mimicked Jin Zan's gesture, saluted Shen Yue, and then spoke:
"Sir, I have an important report to make!"

"what's the situation?"

Shen Yue looked at Wang Lizi with a hint of doubt, but the latter didn't keep him in suspense and asked directly:
"I heard you've found a kind of 'living metallic material'? Can I see that material?"

Shen Yue keenly sensed the other party's slightly anxious state and, instead of answering immediately, asked in return:

"why?"

"Do you know what kind of material that is?"

"Or are you looking for that kind of material?"

Wang Li nodded slowly, then spoke:

“We have been looking for this material for many years.”

"To be precise, we started looking for this material 50 years ago."

"However, we never got any results—because the description of this material was too vague."

"We don't know its properties, its distribution range, or even its uses."

"The only clue is the fragments of information our leader deciphered from the knowledge base before the Great Cataclysm."

"That material should be alive and should have metallic properties."

"Apart from that, we know nothing."

"So even though we spent a lot of time and effort, we still couldn't find that material."

"But today, I heard from Jin Zan that you already have a lead?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Yue nodded slowly.

"There are indeed clues."

"But before sharing this clue, I need to ask you why you're looking for this material."

"A circle!"

Wang Li answered without hesitation:
"That material is the key to restarting the ring, or more accurately, the ring is constructed from it!"

"Where it is, there is a clue to the ring. If we want to find the ring, we must find it first!"

Circular ring?

Shen Yue's expression changed slightly.

He remembered what He Shuo had said before.

If two things appear at the same time and are both in a state of "unknown and unsolvable", then these two things are likely related.

Good guy.

How long has it been, and this prediction has already come true?
Shen Yue didn't speak immediately, but gestured for Wang Li to follow, and then led him into the 011 fortification and into the operations command room.

After closing the command room door and gesturing for Wang Lizi to sit down, he continued, "..."
"The situation has developed to this point, and I think we should be frank with each other."

“I remember you said before that after opening the passage to the mountain city, you would deliver information about the ‘Ring’ to us.”

"Now, our conditions have been met."

"Then, I suppose I can ask our questions now."

"What exactly is a ring?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Lizi on the other side slowly shook his head.

Then he answered:

"I do not know."

"You do not know?"

Shen Yue's expression changed instantly, while Wang Lizi immediately explained:
"It's not that we intentionally concealed it, but rather that we genuinely didn't know the exact shape of the ring."

"Even our leaders have very limited information."

"All we know is that the ring is a large, man-made device that requires a special procedure to activate and produces special effects."

"However, we have never personally verified its specific uses."

"Because we lack the necessary materials and knowledge—that's why we are so eager to enter the mountain city."

"Just like you, we believe that it preserves the most core, most important, and most complete knowledge from before the Great Cataclysm."

"Once we acquire that knowledge, we will have the opportunity to restart the circle."

"That doesn't make sense."

Shen Yue interrupted Wang Lizi and continued:

"If even you don't know what the rings are, how did your organization come into being?"

“A vague concept cannot unite a large organization, especially since your organization is quite stable and united in all aspects.”

"This is related to you."

"No, that's not the case!"

Wang Li interrupted Shen Yue impatiently and then said:

"Just because I say we don't know the exact shape of a ring doesn't mean we've never seen one!"

"what?"

After saying this, Shen Yue froze on the spot.

You've seen a ring, but you don't know its specific shape?
Isn't this a complete contradiction?
He frowned, but before he could even ask a question, Wang Lizi across from him continued speaking.

“We have not only seen toroidal systems, but in fact, we control a ‘miniaturized’ toroidal system, which is a simulation of a real toroidal system.”

"It was activated once—that was many years ago."

"According to the leader's account, when the ring was activated, it produced a rather magical effect."

"I can't describe the effect to you. Perhaps you should talk to our leaders directly."

"However, with my authority, I can confirm that this 'model,' or rather this 'miniature' set of rings, is damaged."

"And to restore it, we must use this living metal material!"

Wang Lizi's series of narratives can be described as entirely candid.

Instead of concealing information in a mysterious way as before, he poured out all the information he had.

No reservations.

Shen Yue was satisfied with his attitude, but what followed was a deeper doubt.

Circular
What exactly is that?
What exactly are these so-called miraculous effects?
Thinking of this, Shen Yue spoke up:
"I must meet your leader."

"Also, I want to see those so-called 'miniature' rings."

"can!"

Wang Li nodded without hesitation.

“I will arrange a meeting as soon as possible—I will have the leader come directly to Jinling New City to meet you.”

"But now, can I take a look at that material?"

"I only have video images."

Shen Yue shook his head and said:
"The samples of the materials have not yet been delivered—neither the samples from Chongqing nor the samples from Shanghai can be delivered in a short time."

"An image will do! Let me take a look first!"

Wang Li nodded again, and then said:

"I will then take the images and samples back to the leader, but that will take time."

"But I will do it as soon as possible!"

"Give me a week, give me a week."

"no problem."

Shen Yue turned on his PDA, and after the video from Shanghai finished playing in front of Wang Lizi, the muscles on his face began to tremble slowly with excitement.

"This is what we've been looking for!"

Meanwhile, in Shanghai.

After receiving confirmation from Shen Yue, the excavation of the underground works resumed.

The deeper you go, the higher the concentration of that special metal becomes. When you dig down to three meters underground, the metal material has almost formed a rock layer.

The bad news is that the rock strata are not short.

The good news is that these aggregated metal materials do not form a dense structure and are relatively soft, so they can still be penetrated and broken down by an excavator bucket.

Pieces of "active metal" were piled up on the mound of earth. Jin Zhong and Huang Meng squatted to the side, trying to break and twist the metal with their hands while discussing this strange material in a disjointed manner. "According to the information from Chief Shen Yue, this thing is very likely related to the Ring of the Ring Chamber of Commerce."

"So, it's a special material manufactured by humans? But what is its purpose?"

Is it a conductor used to conduct electricity? Or some kind of protective material?

After Huang Meng finished speaking, Jin Zhong's face showed a rare smile.

He tossed aside the completely twisted and deformed piece of material in his hand and said with a self-deprecating laugh:

"Have you heard the joke the commander told? The joke about whether rockets should use refined coal or washed coal?"

"Our current discussion is no different from this joke."

"It is obvious that the so-called ring is something that involves the most advanced technology before the Great Cataclysm. Even the leaders may not fully understand it, let alone us."

"Discussing this is pointless. We should think about how to dig faster."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Meng couldn't help but sigh.

"I was just chatting casually, and I didn't expect to draw any conclusions."

"But then again, don't you find it strange?"

"This material seems to have only appeared in Shanghai; there are no records of it in any other city."

"If it were man-made, the Circular Merchant Guild should have found clues by now."

"If it's a natural product, then why isn't it found elsewhere?"

"It seems that some special force has cast it here in Shanghai. Is there anything special about it?"

Jin Zhong frowned.

After thinking carefully for a long time, he replied:

"No."

"At least according to the information held by the Cult of Mechanism, this ruin has nothing special about it."

"It doesn't have the abundant usable resources that other sites have, nor does it have any special, worthwhile technologies to excavate."

"Furthermore, its natural resources are not particularly outstanding, and even the monsters living here are quite ordinary."

“I really can’t think of any property that would attract these ‘active metals’ to accumulate here.”

"Could this just be a complete accident?"

"Also a possibility."

Huang Meng stood up, and at that moment, the final excavation work was completed.

"Reporting, Company Commander, I see the main gate!"

The operator's voice came from the excavator, and Huang Meng's spirits lifted. He immediately looked towards the direction of the tunnel.

Amidst a pile of gleaming silver metal, a corner of a slightly 'old' metal door was revealed.

We finally found it.

Huang Meng let out a long sigh of relief and gave the order:

"Prepare for demolition."

"We need to use high-performance explosives to open this passage, insert a signal transmitter, and try to get Fuxi to establish contact with the fortification's communication network."

"If this fortification were still in operation, we might be able to open the main passage directly."

"if."

"I am Fuxi."

Before Huang Meng could finish speaking, Fuxi's voice suddenly rang out.

“Signal detected at the 016 Shanghai disaster recovery facility; access has been completed.”

"Please organize personnel to retreat. I am about to initiate the operation."

"understand!"

Huang Meng answered immediately, but at the same time, a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

Why did I suddenly get a signal?

His gaze fell on the active metal that had been excavated, and then he suddenly realized what was happening.

It was these metal materials covering the entrance to the fortification that blocked the communication network signal. Once the shielding layer was broken after the excavation, it was only natural that the signal would reappear.

This is good news!

This proves that the fortification is likely still in stable operation!

The equipment and facilities inside might still be usable, and as long as they can be replenished, the strength of the Chinese army can be raised to another level!

Without the slightest hesitation, Huang Meng immediately ordered everyone to retreat.

A few minutes later, after he signaled to Fuxi that he was ready, the closed isolation door slowly opened with a loud noise.

The active metal emitted a piercing sound as it was squeezed and collided. Huang Meng frowned and tightened his earphones, but his eyes never left the main passage of the fortification.

It took a good ten minutes before the gate of the fortification was fully opened.

Deep inside the fortifications, lights had already been turned on.

At this moment, Fuxi's voice rang out again.

"Confirmed that Fortification 016 is in a state of partial damage."

"The main computing unit is partially damaged, and the main communication unit is destroyed."

"Life support system is functioning normally, and basic function system is functioning normally."

"The remaining situation is unclear at this time."

"But based on the current situation, the risk is low, so it is permissible to enter."

"understand!"

Huang Meng turned and gave Jin Zhong a look. Without any hesitation, the two of them took the lead and headed towards the entrance of the fortification.

Before entering, Huang Meng thought it would be an ordinary fortification not much different from the 011 fortification.

But he soon realized he was wrong.

Behind the open door, there was no familiar living area like the one he had seen in the 011 fortifications, but a huge space filled with complex cables and a lot of equipment that he didn't recognize or could not even describe.

"This"

Huang Meng stepped forward and gently stroked the surface of the equipment.

Dust clung to his fingers. After a brief silence, he asked:
"Fuxi, what is this?"

After a brief pause, Fuxi's voice came through the earphones.

"Unknown device, function unknown."

"Quantum communication signals have been detected."

"The communication signal is clearly directional."

"The coordinates are clear."

"Shanghai".

"Han River".

Nagqu.

"Islamabad."