Chapter 1198: Protection

The hills were leveled.

A fiery fringe devoured the lush green land, instantly melting all wild animals within it. Death's absolute domain unfolded, harvesting tens of millions of natural lives in an instant.

Dense red papers, scorched and tattered, fluttered down from the sky. On the wasteland where remnants of fire flickered, an extremely disheveled figure emerged.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..."

Chen Ling, covered in blood, coughed violently. The air was filled with a pungent, strange smell, and hot blood dripped from his nose and mouth, spreading out on the dark ground.

But soon, the bleeding stopped. He swayed and stood up from the ground; despite being covered in blood, which looked a bit frightening, he had no serious injuries.

Chen Ling was a Calamity after all; his physical constitution was beyond that of ordinary humans. Even with the air now filled with nuclear radiation, he felt little effect, only immense discomfort from the shockwave of the recent explosion.

"Is this the power of a nuclear weapon...?" Chen Ling muttered to himself, wiping blood from his face.

"If nuclear weapons could still be used in the Era of the Nine Lords, resisting the Calamities wouldn't have been so difficult... Wait... I myself seem to be a Calamity..."

Chen Ling shook his dazed head and staggered forward.

During his escape from the recent explosion, he and Ying Fu had been completely separated. Ying Fu seemed to have other means of resisting nuclear weapons and had disappeared somewhere, but Chen Ling couldn't be bothered with him. The most important thing now was to rescue Lu Xun and the others from Wushan Town!

World War had already begun, and the Great Cataclysm had unveiled its prelude. Any corner of this world could be dangerous; he had to ensure the safety of the Nine Lords.

Chen Ling walked to the edge of the ravaged mountain range, looking in the direction of Wushan Town as he thought.

The next moment, he froze in place.

Through the hazy clouds, a second dazzling point of light was falling directly towards the center of Wushan Town...

Underground Project 7012.

Thump—!!!

A slight tremor shook the mountain, startling everyone in the conference room. They looked around blankly, as if they didn't know what had happened.

"An earthquake?"

"No way... Since this underground project was built here, it shouldn't be in an earthquake zone."

"Did the air raid siren just go off??"

"What exactly is going on?? Where's Director Sun? Why hasn't he come out yet?"

"I found it strange before why the meeting location was chosen here... What exactly is your Bureau 749 planning?"

A murmur of unrest spread through the conference room as the already uneasy crowd began to question Bureau 749's arrangements even more. Meanwhile, in the crowd, Han Xiang's eyes were fixed on the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Han Xiang... what exactly is going on?" Zheng Zhiqin moved closer to him and whispered.

"Something must have happened outside," Han Xiang sighed softly.

"I hope His Majesty can come through safely..."

A few rooms away.

Sun Bumian frowned, looking at the subtly trembling surroundings, and slowly released his grip on Sun Zhongliang's hand.

Sun Zhongliang's feet returned to the ground, his face still extremely pale. Staff and military personnel nearby immediately stepped forward to support him, shielding him behind them.

"You organized this Wushan Conference in advance just to gather all the inheritors and then send them into this underground project?" Sun Bumian seemed to understand something.

"This is a global nuclear war; no densely populated area will be spared," Sun Zhongliang said slowly. "You, the holders of the Divine Path, are treasures passed down through thousands of years of our nation's culture, the tangible embodiment of human spiritual civilization... It would be a tremendous loss if you were to die in a nuclear war."

Sun Bumian finally understood why the Wushan Conference had been organized so hastily. It was likely that, both domestically and internationally, the terrifying impact of technological regression had only truly been realized in the last two days. For Bureau 749 to gather so many people in just two or three days was already extremely efficient.

No wonder they insisted he return to the country immediately and were absolutely against him going out again. It seemed they had already anticipated that America would soon become a wasteland, and hastily calling him back was also to better protect him.

Sun Bumian admitted that he had previously held some prejudice against Sun Zhongliang, but now it seemed he had indeed done what Bureau 749 was supposed to do.

"If it's for protection, why not just say so clearly?" Sun Bumian asked again.

"Firstly, how to respond to nuclear war is a top national secret. If it were revealed in advance and the information reached foreign countries through spies, things would become extremely difficult. Not to mention, if many countries knew we were hiding in Wushan, dozens of nuclear weapons would turn this place into a wasteland beyond recovery for hundreds of years.

Secondly, people are self-interested. If they knew nuclear war was coming, what about their parents, wives, children, relatives, and friends? Underground Project 7012 is only so big; the population it can accommodate is extremely limited. There's no way to let them bring their families in... We need to protect the inheritors themselves, not their relatives and friends.

Thirdly, if they learned that Underground Project 7012 could not accommodate their families, they would either choose not to come and stay with their families, or they would secretly tell the people around them, allowing them to go to the best and highest-grade shelters first.

If these people were to spread the news, it would cause widespread panic. Once the public is in chaos, it will lead to numerous tragedies... Never trust human nature; when the threat of death is before them, too many people will choose to abandon their humanity and become utterly selfish beasts."

After listening, Sun Bumian fell silent.

Sun Zhongliang was right; no matter how one looked at it, not telling them the truth was the most correct choice. At least concerning the Wushan Conference, Sun Bumian couldn't find a single fault.

"I understand," Sun Bumian sighed.

"You are right. However, I don't intend to hide here... No matter how chaotic it is outside, this place doesn't belong to me."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sun, this is a one-way ticket," Sun Zhongliang calmly replied. "Once you enter Underground Project 7012, you cannot leave. You are also an important protection target for us."

"I can't go out either?"

"No, no one can."

Sun Bumian frowned again. "Then how long do we have to stay here?"

"Until all danger has passed... Perhaps a month, perhaps a year, or perhaps... ten years," Sun Zhongliang paused. "No one can leave until the crisis on the surface is completely resolved. This is an order from above.

Please rest assured, both of you, Underground Project 7012's supplies are enough for everyone for fifty years."

Sun Bumian shook his head repeatedly.

"Impossible, I won't stay here that long... I'm going up."