Strongest Soldier King

The barren mountains stretched endlessly, occasionally a few wild birds flew over, and the sun scorched the earth, adding a few bits of heat to the tranquility of the mountains and wilds. Luo Zheng calmly controlled the helicopter to a mountain valley. He quickly established contact with the ground to avoid being mistakenly attacked. His sharp eyes fixed on the valley, noticing many people busy there, and a group gathered on an open space, with soldiers signaling the landing spot through flag signals.

After Luo Zheng smoothly stabilized the helicopter and shut down the engine, he opened the door and jumped down. A Major ran up, saluted, and said, "I am Colonel Jia Tao, the temporary person in charge here. Please show your credentials."

The three presented their credentials, brand new ones, as the previous ones were naturally unusable after the reorganization, replaced with those from the Strategic Bureau Special Service Department. The Major checked the credentials thoroughly and respectfully returned them, saluting again as he said, "I have received orders from my superiors to cooperate with your operations as much as possible. Please let us know if there's anything you need."

"Bring the eyewitness over, arrange a place for questioning. Additionally, we need to inspect the site." Hong Meihua said seriously, after returning the salute.

"Yes, please follow me." The Major immediately agreed.

Everyone followed behind the Major, walking forward. As they walked, the Major explained, "The enemies came down from that hillside, infiltrating below it, someone hacked our surveillance and power, and there was no footage after that. These people crossed the open area. The open area has a motion sensor, but it was hacked. They rushed to the base and left a group to draw fire, while others dispersed and infiltrated the research lab from several points. The blast-proof door of the underground lab was remotely operated open by them. These beasts stormed into the research lab, slaughtered aggressively, and stole the activation device, it's simply brutal and inhumane."

"How did you come up with the sequence you just described?" Luo Zheng suddenly asked from behind.

"It was analyzed from a combination of eyewitness testimonies." The Major quickly explained.

Luo Zheng frowned slightly, his expression turning grave. Being able to hack the base's command system, surveillance, and power, showed that the other side had a brilliant hacker. He followed the Major further inside, who continued to explain the events, trying his best to describe the situation to the three.

Unconsciously, they arrived at the underground research lab. Many were still inspecting the site, with outlines drawn on the ground of many people's figures, curled or lying flat. The Major explained, "These people were all killed by the murderer. The bodies have been removed, and the outlines were drawn to facilitate reconstructing the truth."

While listening to the Major's explanation, Luo Zheng carefully observed the surroundings. The underground entrance had a blast-proof door, but there were no signs of damage, it was clearly opened normally. The people lying on the ground indicated that they were unaware at the time and were suddenly attacked to death.

Without realizing it, they reached the testing area. The Major pointed at a pile of equipment, saying, "At the time, the final test of the activation device was being conducted. Key engineers were present, and Academician Pan Chen, the person in charge of the project, also tragically died at the scene. The loss is severe." Saying this, the Major was emotionally distressed.

"You mentioned earlier that a final test was being conducted?" Luo Zheng keenly detected an issue in there and couldn't help but ask, "Also, where exactly did Academician Pan Chen die?"

"Yes, the old gentleman sacrificed himself here." The Major led everyone out of the testing area and to a nearby corridor, pointing at the outlined diagram on the ground with grief and anger.

"This is about five or six meters away from the testing area. When Pan Chen discovered the enemies breaking in, his first reaction would've been to take the device and withdraw from the scene or find a safe room to wait for assistance. These should be standard procedures at research bases. I believe you have safe rooms. Why did the old gentleman die here? Did he not have enough time to escape?" Hong Meihua suddenly asked sternly.

Hearing about standard procedures, Luo Zheng was taken aback for a moment and looked at the Major, who immediately said, "We have safe rooms. The old gentleman ran from the tester to here, which is the direction of the safe room. We are unclear about the specifics, things were too chaotic at the time, and witnesses have been harmed."

"Has everyone been accounted for? Is anyone missing?" Hong Meihua continued to question.

"What do you mean?" The Major was taken aback and asked.

"Have you checked both the deceased and the survivors? Is anyone not accounted for?" Hong Meihua continued.

"Are you suggesting we have deserters? Or that there's a traitor among us?" The Major was somewhat displeased by Hong Meihua's questioning and instinctively resisted, but maintained composure to explain, "Everyone here has passed a political screening, and we all know each other very well; it's impossible for anyone to defect. Of course, we were busy reconstructing the scene and conducting investigations, and haven't had time to tally personnel."

"Then hurry up and conduct an inventory." Hong Meihua said sternly, coldly.

The Major's expression turned unsightly, but thinking of the superior's strict orders, he still agreed, called over a subordinate officer to brief him, who then agreed and left hurriedly. The Major continued to lead Hong Meihua and the three on a tour of the scene. After viewing the underground research lab, Hong Meihua requested to meet the eyewitnesses, and the Major led them out of the underground lab to a room entrance on the surface.

As they were about to go out, the officer who had left earlier rushed over, whispered a few words in the Major's ear. The Major's face changed dramatically, looking a bit embarrassed at Hong Meihua, seemingly hesitant to speak. Hong Meihua immediately sensed something was wrong and asked sternly, "Speak, what's the situation?"

"Assistant to Academician Pan Chen is missing." The Major said, hardening his scalp.

"Missing? What do you mean?" Hong Meihua questioned.

"As per regulations, he was also involved in the final testing work, meaning he was also in the underground lab at the time, and now he can't be found, his phone is off, no contact can be made." The Major quickly explained.

"Could he have left the base on his own?" Hong Meihua asked.

"Impossible, everyone leaving the base must register, requiring approval to proceed. There are no such records, only two possibilities: either he chased the enemies, or he was taken hostage by them." The Major explained.

"Really? Let's hope so." Hong Meihua said noncommittally, "We'll address this issue later, right now, we need to talk to the eyewitnesses."

"Alright, they are all waiting inside, please." The Major didn't dare delay and gestured for the three to enter.

Once Hong Meihua and the three entered, the Major stepped out, waved over an officer, and with a serious expression, instructed, "Cheng He's disappearance is very strange. Take people and search around to see if any clues can be found. If there really is an issue and we need outsiders to point it out, that's quite embarrassing."

"Yes," the officer saluted sternly and left.