Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!

This is completely unreasonable, and does not align with the common knowledge I learned at Base 011.

The excavation work continues.

As the excavator keeps digging, the piercing sound of friction gradually starts to arise.

"Did we hit a rock?"

Huang Meng asked the operator.

"No... not a rock!"

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

Several fist-sized pieces of metal fell to the ground. Huang Meng stepped forward, picked one up, and immediately frowned.

"It's that kind of metal."

"A lot of it! A whole lot!"

"I can see that."

Jin Zhong replied in a deep voice.

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

The bucket made a sharp metallic collision sound in the soil, and the density of that "metal" was increasing exponentially.

Until finally, it almost formed a dense band of rock strata.

"We can't continue digging."

Huang Meng took a deep breath and decisively called a halt to the excavation work.

"We must report this to the commander immediately!"

"There might be danger below... We need to take this metal back first and figure out what it is!"

....

On the other side, in Mountain City.

Chen Jian fixed his eyes on the video from Huang Meng's side. When he saw the separated metal powders slowly coalesce, a mask of pain immediately dawned on his face.

"What is this... thing??"

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

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

"This is most likely a new material... come or go, a superconductor?"

"What do you mean by come or go?"

Chen Jian asked, frowning.

"Come or go may not necessarily manifest on a macro level---- from the existing video, tiny metal dusts attract each other, and after aggregating into a new metal material, they maintain stability in shape."

"This might be a superconducting trait; it's just possible that the complex structural changes post-aggregation have caused the superconductive properties to vanish."

"If we can resolve this issue, achieving superconductance isn't impossible, either."

"The only remaining question is, where does this thing come from, and what causes its existence?"

"I don't know if those Mountain City People know about this material's existence... But logically inferred, they probably don't."

"If they did know, there's no way they wouldn't exploit this material."

"After all, it's the strongest evidence we have at present connecting to the great disaster."

"Compared to it, even the research value of 'monsters' is inferior by a hair..."

As Lei Jie finished speaking, Chen Jian's face showed a trace of peculiar expression.

After pondering for a moment, he began:

"Here's a paradox."

"If Mountain City has already collected most of the disaster-prevention quantum computers to support virtual city computing power, then they should have been to Shen City."

"If they have been to Shen City, how could they not have discovered this material?"

"Even if they haven't been to Shen City, given the enrichment property of this material, they should have already discovered it long ago."

"But the fact is, they haven't."

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

Upon saying this, Lei Jie frowned too.

"If this thing really only appeared recently, then it completely severs its link with the great disaster."

"The mysteries weighing over us have increased again---- not only do we have to find out the truth of the great disaster, but we must also hunt down this material's origins."

"... It's getting more complicated."

"I feel like this matter has already exceeded our capability scope."

"Without foundational physical research, can the problem of the great disaster really be resolved?"

Chen Jian put down the PDA still playing the video picture in his hand and, after a brief pause, spoke:

"That indeed is a problem."

"Our prior development focus was always centered on the industrial system, aiming to solve merely a 'survival problem'.

"But now... the threat of monsters has been largely eliminated."

"Our main contradiction has also shifted."

"The conflict between monsters and humans has degraded to a secondary contradiction, and the conflict between the great disaster, its aftermath, and human survival has become the primary contradiction."

"We should adjust our approach."

"Go find Jin Zan and urge him to get going."

"It's already been 4 hours; hasn't he found Wang Lizhi yet??"

"I'll go and push for it."

Lei Jie nodded decisively.

Meanwhile, Chen Jian picked up the metal block left by He Shuo beside him, falling into contemplation.

....

Two hours later, outside of Base 011.

Jin Zan sat across from Wang Lizhi, speaking with a tone of admiration:

"Finding you all wasn't easy... So, the so-called dormancy, does it really mean everyone enters a dormant state?"

Hearing this, Wang Lizhi shook his head with a slight smile, then replied:

"Not exactly."

"We just retracted into various safe houses, various hidden underground dwellings, temporarily cutting off contact with the outside world."

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

"We know the Huaxia Army has thwarted the Beast Tide, and we even know they've entered Mountain City."

"Honestly, this news is quite... incredible."

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

"This made us a step slower---- otherwise, it should have been me reaching out to you, not waiting for you to contact me."

"Understood."

Jin Zan nodded slowly.

"It truly was unbelievable---- even I, upon hearing the news, thought it might be some kind of... exaggerated bragging."

"But just earlier today, we've already established network communication with Mountain City, and real-time video data has been transmitted back."

"To be honest, maybe you should also take a look."

The Mountain City in the video is nothing more than an ordinary ruin, no different from any other ruin."

"The so-called 'Holy City' is pure nonsense; there's... nothing there."

"Of course, it's also highly unlikely that you'll find your so-called 'Ring' there."

Wang Lizhi shook his head once more as Jin Zan finished speaking.

"No, Mountain City's specific condition has nothing to do with what we're looking for."

"However... for more detailed and specific information, I'm afraid I can only converse with the Huaxia Army's commanders."

"This pertains to our deep interests, so I hope you understand our confidentiality measures."

"I understand, of course."

Jin Zan nonchalantly spread his hands.

"I'm a newcomer, only a messenger. I don't expect to partake in top-level negotiations after just two months here."

"I have that much self-awareness."

"---- As I told you from the start, my task was just to find you and convey the commanders' invitation to you."

"As for what you will discuss or how you'll cooperate, that's your business."

"That's good."

Wang Lizhi nodded satisfied.

"Working with you is still just as pleasant---- you should have left the Mechanical God Sect and joined the Huaxia Army a long time ago."

"I think so now, too."

Jin Zan smiled and agreed, fully embodying the guise of a shrewd merchant.

The two raised their glasses to toast each other. After drinking the tea, Wang Lizhi asked:

"So, in Mountain City, has the Huaxia Army found anything specific?"

"After all, it's a mysterious city; surely they must have gathered some information?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Zan reflexively scratched his head.

Then, he candidly replied:

"Perhaps there's something—though publicized information to us is currently scarce."

"However, I heard they discovered a peculiar metal there."

"A peculiar metal?"

Wang Lizhi's interest was piqued.

"What kind of metal?"

"It's hard to describe."

Jin Zan frowned as he searched for words, then after a moment, replied:

"I heard it's a living metal..."

"Bang!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Lizhi abruptly stood up.

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

With disbelief in his eyes, he looked at Jin Zan and, with a slightly trembling voice, asked:

"Are you sure?"

"Did they really... discover living metal??"