The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

Page 254

Zheng Weiguo quickly calmed down.

His injuries were relieved, and his mental state recovered at a visible speed.

Zheng Weiguo tried to move his remaining arm. The numbness caused by the black energy had subsided considerably, and he had already returned to normal.

He shook his arms, casually tore off the bandages on his body, sat up straight, glanced at the medical staff around him, and said:

"I'm fine now. Thank you all for your hard work. Please go out and rest. I have important matters to discuss with Chief Han and Captain Li."

Upon hearing this, everyone silently packed up their equipment, left the infirmary one by one, and gently closed the door behind them.

Only Han Ning, Zheng Weiguo, and Li Feng remained in the room.

Zheng Weiguo looked at Han Ning with a complex expression, a mixture of relief at surviving a disaster and gratitude:

"Chief Han, I, Zheng Weiguo, will remember your life-saving grace."

Han Ning waved his hand, interrupting him:

"Commander Zheng, you flatter me. It was just a small favor. Now is not the time to talk about that. What's more important is, what exactly happened during the reconnaissance operation? What did you encounter?"

When the investigation was mentioned, both Zheng Weiguo and Li Feng's faces darkened.

Zheng Weiguo leaned against the headboard and gestured for Li Feng to speak.

Li Feng gestured for Han Ning to sit down, then pulled up a chair for himself and explained:

"Our three teams descended according to the predetermined coordinates. The initial part of the journey went smoothly, and we avoided several waves of patrolling water zombies. As the depth increased, the situation began to deteriorate rapidly."

"The first thing is the concentration of Kuroshio energy."

Li Feng looked surprised.

"The Kuroshio Current's pollution level far exceeded our expectations and completely surpassed the upper limit predicted by the atomic fission model. Even the pressure-resistant diving suits jointly designed by the Navy and atomic fission could not withstand its penetration."

Han Ning frowned: "Is there something wrong with the atomic fission model?"

"I don't really understand the specifics."

Zheng Weiguo took over the conversation,

“The underwater environment is dynamic, especially near the source, where the energy field is unpredictable. What’s more deadly is that it’s filled with a strange spiritual energy field.”

"A spiritual energy field?" Han Ning's heart skipped a beat.

"Correct."

Li Feng affirmed.

"Silent and invisible, it affects people's rationality at all times, creating all kinds of terrifying illusions and amplifying the fears and negative emotions deep in their hearts."

"Several people in my squad suddenly lost control of their minds, either attacking their comrades or leaving the group and disappearing into the darkness... Even the mental protection devices provided by the atomic fission were greatly reduced in effectiveness."

Zheng Weiguo added, "We suspect that this spiritual substance, in addition to being spontaneously generated at the source, has also been specially enhanced by the water corpse demon."

"The three teams paid a total of twenty lives to barely penetrate the outer interference zone and get close to the core area of ​​the source point, but they only got close and could not truly approach the core area."

"The number of monsters lurking there is so great that it's despair-inducing."

"It's like all the monsters in the ocean have gathered there. These three source points aren't actually that big, but the energy fluctuations far exceeded our expectations, but fortunately, they're still under control."

Zheng Weiguo looked at Han Ning and said, word by word,

“Approaching...the Radiant Silver level.”

"Infinitely close to the Radiant Silver level?"

Han Ning frowned even more deeply.

"There are also massive numbers of monsters guarding it, plus that bizarre mental interference. What's so 'good' about this? How can we destroy it? Even if we combine all our current strength, a direct assault would probably result in total annihilation."

He's not even close to the Radiant Silver level yet, let alone the Quasi-Radiant Silver level with three source points, which is equivalent to a radioactive source with infinite energy.

This is something that a near-Silver-level expert cannot compare to.

Zheng Weiguo remained silent for a moment, and the air in the medical room seemed to freeze.

A few seconds later, he raised his head, his lips moved, and he uttered two words:

"Nuclear weapons."

Upon hearing this, Han Ning's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Nuclear...nuclear weapons?" He almost thought he had misheard, and subconsciously repeated, "We...we still have nuclear weapons?"

Zheng Weiguo nodded and slowly began to speak:

“Nuclear strikes are usually carried out in three ways: sea, land, and air. Now, the sky is completely covered by the energy of the Black Tide and the mutated birds, and our bombers cannot take off at all. The route of air strikes has been cut off.”

He paused.

"At present, all we can rely on are our sea-based and land-based forces."

"The navy was very lucky, or rather, extremely lucky. One of their strategic nuclear submarines, codenamed 'Changzheng,' happened to be at a secret base off the coast of Bailu City for resupply and maintenance when the disaster struck, having just completed its long-range mission."

Han Ning's heart stirred; he knew what such a national treasure meant.

Zheng Weiguo continued, "'Changzheng' submarine carries the Julang-7 submarine-launched ballistic missile, which is our sea-based nuclear deterrent force. However, it is also the only strategic nuclear force that the Navy currently has. Every missile fired is one less."

"The situation is slightly better on the land-based side."

Zheng Weiguo turned his gaze to the window, as if he could see through the mountains to the silent missile silos in the distance.

"The Army also possesses some DF series strategic missiles, including some liquid-fueled and more advanced solid-fueled models, with a wider yield range and more options."

Hearing this, Han Ning's previous doubts deepened:

"Commander Zheng, since we have nuclear weapons as a trump card, why did we discuss forming a commando team of Black Iron-level Awakened individuals for a massive assault with heavy casualties at the Aoki Group meeting?"

He originally thought that the so-called "Deep Tide Decapitation" required top awakened individuals to carve out a bloody path with their lives.

A bitter look appeared on Zheng Weiguo's face.

"We did prepare two plans. The initial plan was to rely on the source point defense force within our capacity."

"If it's just a matter of quantity, and the individual monsters aren't much stronger than the Iron level, then it's possible to forcibly destroy the source by gathering elite Awakened Ones, taking advantage of the energy low point, and combining it with conventional missiles."

"In this way, we can save extremely valuable nuclear weapons and use them to deal with more dangerous threats."

His tone was heavy:

"The investigation results... you heard them too. The energy fluctuations of the small source points are almost at the Silver level. Add to that the strange mental pollution and the massive number of elite monsters... filling the gaps with human lives is a bottomless pit, and the success rate is almost zero."

"So many Iron-level lives were sacrificed for this hopeless answer. Changing the plan was a last resort, and a nuclear strike was definitely the worst possible option."

"The price is too high."

Han Ning murmured, imagining the inner struggles Zheng Weiguo and Colonel Pang must have gone through when they made this decision.

Chapter 295 The most important weapon of the country

"Yes," Zheng Weiguo said, his eyes filled with even deeper worry.

"According to the latest energy model of atomic fission, the number of Kuroshio source points surrounding this mountain range alone is probably no less than twenty, and this is only in the vicinity of the mountain range."

"We are now going to use our precious nuclear weapons to wipe out three of them... To be honest, it's a huge loss, a very huge loss, like using a family heirloom to smash the enemy's minions."

"However, even these 'small fry' are behemoths that are difficult for us to resist."

Zheng Weiguo leaned against the headboard, gazing at the sky outside the window shrouded in leaden-gray clouds, and murmured:

"After the nuclear explosion, no one knows whether the monsters there will be completely killed, or... mutations that we cannot predict may occur."

"More importantly, the core area of ​​the source point may contain 'shards of Radiant Silver,' which is the key to our future survival and resistance against the Black Tide."

"Chief Han, the Sword of Judgment suffered heavy losses this time. Flint, Fire Wolf... two captains were killed inside. We lack strong reinforcements."

"I formally invite you and your Biyun Gathering Area to join this final cleanup mission."

Han Ning fell silent.

There are no eggs left under the overturned nest.

Moreover, when he went to the meeting and chose to join the Sword of Judgment Alliance, it meant that he had already agreed to join the plan.

"I agree, the Biyun settlement area will participate in the cleanup," Han Ning replied.

……

A week later, on the southern edge of the mountains, in a secluded valley facing turbid, churning waters.

Three massive land-based missile launchers, painted in military green, were parked quietly in a triangular formation on a flat piece of ground.

Soldiers from the Strategic Nuclear Missile Force conduct a final check around the launch vehicle.

The hydraulic system made a low humming sound.

The enormous launch tube slowly rose, pointing towards the gray sky.

Cable connection, data verification, final parameter injection...

The high ground on both sides of the valley was densely packed with people.

Han Ning, along with Zhao Kai, Xu Ming, Professor Ye, Lin Qianqian, Yu Na, A Long, Jiang Yuan and his sister, Xiao Yu, A Cai, Brother Yu, and more than ten other top-tier Black Iron level experts from the Biyun Gathering Area, stood together at the front of the group.

Behind them were more than 100 members of the Blackstone level.

This is the elite force dispatched by the Biyun Cluster Area for this general offensive.

The main base at home was guarded by Chairman Wu, Cheng Rui, and the extraordinary bees.

Zheng Weiguo and the other three captains of the Sword of Judgment, along with more than two hundred members, stood in an area adjacent to Han Ning and the others.

Colonel Pang's navy unit was located in another area.

He was wearing his naval uniform today, standing ramrod straight, with his hands clenched into fists behind his back.

Major Zhou and his army officers stood as straight as javelins, their eyes fixed on the launch vehicle.

People from Atomic Fission, White Shark, Aoki Group, and Blue Lake were all present.

Further out are elites from other clusters.

Everyone held their breath, their expressions solemn, their eyes filled with a complex mix of anticipation and awe, while simultaneously feeling the faint tremors emanating from the ground beneath their feet—the pulse of the destructive beast before its awakening.

No one spoke; only the whistling of the mountain wind through the cracks in the rocks and the faint hissing of a monster in the distant waters.