The shield tunneling fusion unit burst out of the ground. After a brief moment of disorientation, its grotesque body—a twisted amalgamation of metal and flesh—gave a peculiar twitch.
With a loud sputter, a massive burst of red clay and gravel spewed from its tail, kicking up a choking cloud of dust.
Pei Ran: "…"
Did it just… relieve itself?
W explained, "This type of tunneling machine uses a spiral conveyor to transport excavated soil and rock fragments to the rear. Normally, other robots would haul it up to the surface. Looks like this one doesn't have any assistants—figured out a way to do it on its own."
The fusion unit had surfaced simply because it was full and needed to offload soil.
It left behind a giant mound of earth, seemed satisfied, then squirmed like a worm in a circle, as if preparing to re-enter the hole it had just come from.
Attached to its tail was the Intelligent Mobile Combat Center, swaying violently as it was dragged along.
Pei Ran immediately swung her aircraft around and dived toward it at full speed.
She had to be fast.
The tunneling fusion unit was already pulling the Intelligent Mobile Combat Center underground. Who knew where it was heading next?
Pei Ran asked W, "Captain Xiao Hai's original mission was to bomb the Thinker, right? So how exactly was that supposed to be done?"
W had mentioned that the NG_y8 bomb was loaded onto this very aircraft. The red button triggered the drop, but NG_y8 didn't detonate automatically—it required remote activation.
"The NG_y8's detonator is right here," W said, extending a folded arm to tap a panel on the dashboard. A small section flipped open, revealing a black button with a red heart at its center.
"The Thinker's Intelligent Mobile Combat Center is heavily reinforced. Its exterior was designed to be nearly indestructible. As of now, Heijing only has one weapon that can destroy it: the NG_y8."
"The NG_y8 is a specialized bomb that can pierce the center's protective shell. But the blast radius capable of breaching that armor is very small—just ten meters."
"Originally, the NG_y8 had target-lock and self-guidance capabilities. It would detonate upon close approach. But during the Silence, its guidance systems stopped working. We haven't finished retrofitting them. Since we had to deploy it, we gave it a manual trigger instead."
"So, you drop it, make sure it lands within ten meters of the target, and then press the red center. That will detonate it."
As he spoke, Pei Ran's aircraft was already plummeting like a meteor toward the ground.
She snatched the button-shaped trigger.
If she destroyed the Thinker, she could protect Heijing—the only remaining refuge on the East Manya continent.
But based on the distance… it didn't look like she'd make it in time.
Earlier, underground at Heijing Base
In a small conference room, the refugee intake plan had just been finalized. W was now briefing the temporary decision committee on the northern front:
"We've repelled another wave of attacks. This time, we managed to push the line forward. The engineers will have time to continue checking the Phase II shielding layer for damage."
"Same as their preliminary assessment this morning. The good news is, the core mechanism of the shielding layer is repairable. They've listed the parts needed."
W's voice was calm. "I checked every item. Most components can be sourced inside Heijing. A few might require dispatching a team outside. But there's one particular coating compound… that's a problem."
Marshal Veina asked, "Problematic how? We can't find it?"
"This coating was custom-made by the Musa Base military factory for this device. Musa Base was completely destroyed."
Everyone knew: on the first day of the Silence, the western Musa Base had been obliterated.
Veina considered. "We have extensive military tech archives here in Heijing. Can't we just produce it ourselves?"
"Yes, Heijing's archives include full documentation for the coating's production process," W replied. "But it requires a special selective catalyst. We have the blueprints for that too. Unfortunately, we lack the necessary facilities to produce it."
"Can we find this catalyst outside?"
W answered, "That's the tricky part. It needs to remain active and can't be stored—it has to be synthesized and used immediately."
Like needing a hammer to build a house, but you don't even have the metal to make the hammerhead.
The Phase II shielding was critical. If completed, it would expand the defense perimeter and relieve pressure on Heijing.
W continued, "I did find a note in the archive. Many years ago—before the First Federal Unification War—a more primitive method was used to make this catalyst. That method was inefficient and phased out, so it wasn't included in Heijing's databases."
"But the Federal Digital Library contains many old, obsolete books. It should be in there."
Veina nodded. "And that library's contents are inside your patrol unit's memory banks?"
W confirmed, "Yes."
"Can you access them now? Transmit the info via military channel?"
"Unfortunately, no. My patrol unit's interface was flooded at the Tangu Dam. I can't access its memory at the moment."
Veina asked, "Agent W, is your patrol unit back near Heijing? I'm ordering you to return immediately with the memory module."
That tiny data storage—previously overlooked—was suddenly critical.
W replied calmly, "I can't return to Heijing at the moment."
General Delsa snapped, "You're refusing a direct order?"
W answered evenly, as if he hadn't heard him, "Just now, we located the last missing Thinker—an Intelligent Mobile Combat Center."
Silence fell.
Even Veina's expression shifted. "Where is it?"
"Northwest of Heijing. While evading a mutated aircraft fusion unit, Pei Ran and my patrol unit spotted it."
A new aerial feed lit up on the screen—dusty red earth, and the massive shield tunneling fusion unit drilling into the ground. Clinging to its tail: the Thinker.
The camera dove rapidly toward it.
Basserway blurted, "Pei Ran? Who's that?"
Veina didn't even glance at him. "Agent W, follow it—no matter what it takes."
W replied, "Our aircraft has an NG_y8 onboard. We're going to try and destroy it."
General Song Wan leaned across the table and whispered to Basserway, "She's the one who saved the Tangu Dam."
Basserway still looked confused. He had been asleep during the dam incident, missed the command center chaos, and hadn't paid much attention to the morning's award discussions. But realizing everyone else—especially the military officers—was fixated on the screen, he wisely kept quiet.
But the tunneling fusion unit moved quickly, diving into the pre-dug tunnel. Within seconds, the Thinker, attached to its tail, disappeared underground.
A wave of regret swept through the conference room.
"It's a fusion tunneler," Veina muttered. "It'll probably start boring tunnels all over."
W replied, "I've already rerouted all aircraft carrying NG_y8s to converge on this location."
General Eugene asked, "Do we have any Groundwalkers in storage? They could track underground targets."
Someone answered, "They can't break through the Thinker's armor. Only NG_y8 can."
"What if we mount the NG_y8 on a Groundwalker?"
W said, "Not yet. The Groundwalkers haven't been modified to operate outside the shield during the Silence. They're nonfunctional. Estimated upgrade time: over two days."
Two days—far too long. The northern front might collapse by then. Heijing couldn't wait.
The virtual screen still streamed live footage. Though the fusion unit had vanished, the camera didn't stop—it plunged toward the ground, braking just before impact, landing beside the hole.
The girl in the cockpit appeared in frame. She didn't even open the hatch—just leapt out the skylight.
W said, "She's going for the NG_y8. She's going after the Thinker."
Veina blinked. "On foot?"
"On foot," W confirmed. "Manual detonation."
Outside Heijing, on the dry, rust-red soil—
Pei Ran carried no backpack, just the metal sphere. She bent beside the aircraft, eyes scanning underneath.
She asked W, "You said the NG_y8 is hidden here?"
"Yes," W replied.
She found a small recessed panel and pressed it.
A hatch sprang open.
She reached inside and pulled out a disk-shaped object—small, heavy, black.
Quickly, she unwound her scarf, wrapped it around the disk, slung it over her back, tied it tightly, then grabbed the sphere by its top cord and took off running.
She had to be fast—fast enough to catch the fusion unit.
W's voice came through. "I've updated Heijing on our situation."
Pei Ran just grunted in acknowledgment as she ran.
W added, "Marshal Veina ordered me to return to Heijing immediately, but locating the Thinker changed everything. Destroying it takes priority."
Pei Ran glanced at the metal sphere.
For him to say something like that now… that meant a lot.
Heijing was urging him to return immediately—clearly eager to retrieve the storage unit on him.
Judging by their reaction, destroying the Thinker was the highest priority, but that tiny storage unit he carried wasn't far behind.
Whether it was the Thinker or the storage unit, Heijing was piling more and more bargaining chips into her hands.
The tunnel sloped downward, unexpectedly lit from within.
The moment the shield tunneling machine hybrid burrowed underground, every light from its head to its body blazed to life. It looked like a massive glowing insect, wrapped head-to-toe in lights.
Only upon arriving did Pei Ran realize just how massive it was—two to three stories tall at least.
Accordingly, the tunnel it bored was just as enormous—wide and tall, not the least bit cramped.
The shield machine was moving fast, already carving out a long stretch of tunnel.
Pei Ran frowned. "Shield tunneling machines are this fast?"
"Of course not," W replied. "Shield machines can't move forward autonomously unless they're actively drilling. Even then, they rely on hydraulic propulsion. The best tunneling machines the Federation has can only dig about one to two hundred meters per day."
But this thing, now in a frenzied hybrid state, was moving like it had grown legs—so fast it practically flew.
Pei Ran soon realized it wasn't even digging in a straight line. It had turned the entire underground region into a maze, tunneling chaotically in all directions. The resulting network of passages was even more intricate than the subterranean corridors of the Bunker World.
As soon as she grasped the layout of this massive underground labyrinth, Pei Ran broke into a sprint, chasing after the colossal shield machine.
W immediately grasped the danger.
This place was vast and chaotic—lose sight of the machine for even a moment, and they might never find it again.
Pei Ran asked, "Can you pinpoint our current location exactly?"
"Absolutely," W replied.
"Then remember where we entered," she said.
They'd need to find their way back out eventually.
"I'll memorize the path you take," W promised.
His role was like the ball of yarn in those ancient tales of labyrinths.
BOOM—
A sudden explosion behind them shook the earth. Dust billowed up, choking the air and obscuring vision.
Pei Ran crouched instantly, clutching the metal sphere.
After a moment, the dust settled. She glanced back and saw that the tunnel entrance had completely collapsed.
"Cave-in," W said.
Given how wildly the tunneling machine hybrid was digging, it was a miracle the tunnel held this long.
Pei Ran didn't bother looking again. "There's not much soil on the floor here. If it can carry debris to the surface, then this can't be the only exit. Let's blow up the Thinker first—then we'll figure out how to get out."
Fortunately, the shield machine hybrid was still ahead.
It didn't seem to care about the cave-in at all. Its flickering lights danced down the tunnel, moving with a deafening roar. Dangling from its rear was the struggling Thinker—impossible to miss.
Pei Ran charged after it at full speed.
But the machine was just too fast.
The NG_y8 had to explode within ten meters to breach the Thinker's protective casing.
Pei Ran did everything she could to keep up, twisting and weaving through the underground maze. At best, she could avoid losing sight of it—but narrowing the distance? That was another story.