Volume 12: Yaguna Kotor Chapter 577: The First Joint Exploration (Part 1)
The diameter of the glass pit was nearly ten kilometers, and Ke Lan estimated that the deepest part was about four or five hundred meters deep. The deepest part of the previous ravines was only about a hundred meters deep, and the underground ruins hidden in the rock wall were also about the same depth. Now, those tunnels and underground laboratories have completely disappeared from this world.
The sandstones melted directly in the high temperature of millions of degrees Celsius. The water and other impurities in them were evaporated in the blink of an eye. What was left was transformed into this glass-like substance, which reflected colorful and brilliant light under the sunlight.
But that's not all. Five high-speed bombers quickly flew over the glass pit in an arrow formation, and dense black dots fell from the sky. From Ke Lan's perspective, they were just some sesame-sized black dots, but in fact, each black dot was an incendiary bomb with a maximum diameter of 65 centimeters, a central axis length of 1.4 meters, and a weight of 122 kilograms. It was filled with a "new solid gasoline" with an improved formula... Just a drop of this stuff would be enough to burn a big hole in a person's body from front to back.
Hundreds of incendiary bombs were dumped into this huge glass pit. A curtain of fire hundreds of meters high shot up into the sky, and the scorching air waves hit Ke Lan's face - of course, compared to the high temperature generated by the nuclear warhead explosion and the plasma cannon burning the glass, this heat wave was just like a spring breeze to him.
Ke Lan did not remove the active armor on his body - anyway, he had already been seen in this state by everyone in Fleet Zero, and it would be better to maintain this monstrous state than to go back naked now... To be honest, the appearance of the active armor is actually more in line with human aesthetics, and it is quite similar to the heavy armor with exaggerated art styles in those fantasy online games, especially those spikes and barbs that look very prickly, which are exactly the same.
However, regarding this type of armor, Ke Lan has always had one thing she wanted to complain about - it's okay for the heavily armored warriors to wear it like this, but why are the equipment of many beautiful female characters also designed in this style?
It would be fine if the artists of those games used the same armor for both men and women, but they insisted on making "magic changes" to the style, designing the armor to look like a bikini swimsuit, and wishing to expose all the parts of the female characters that could pass the review - the prickly armor and large areas of exposed fair skin do have a strong visual impact and contrast effect, but if such a set of armor really existed in the real world, then the wearer would have their body cut and bled by those spikes and barbs if they made a few random movements, right?
"But as for games, as long as you can shoot enough, it's fine. After all, 'the less you wear, the higher your defense'... I must be crazy to pursue realism in a virtual world..." Ke Lan reached out and knocked on his "helmet" twice, then strode towards the group of Marines standing in the safe zone in the distance.
The Marines looked a little nervous. Although no one pointed a gun at Ke Lan, many of them had their fingers tightly on the trigger guard. Some of them even ignored the military discipline and whispered to each other. Needless to say, what they were discussing was definitely the strange crimson armor on Ke Lan.
"Is... is it Mr. Ke Lan?" Major General Alexander, who was dressed almost the same as other Marines, stood up and asked.
Although he knew that the person in front of him was probably the overly young "number one figure" of Fleet Zero, he still felt somewhat uneasy when he saw the other person appear in this image.
"It's me." Ke Lan nodded, and the mask on his face split into several pieces and then penetrated under the skin - he noticed that after seeing his face, the tension and vigilance in the eyes of both Alexander and the Marines were reduced a lot, and their tense bodies also relaxed.
"This..." Major General Alexander was about to ask something, but he paused as soon as he said the word "this".
Among the officers and soldiers of Fleet Zero, he should be the one who knows Ke Lan's background best. He naturally knows that anything that requires Ke Lan's personal involvement must be a top-level secret. The words that were often used by the Undead Crew to deal with Ke Lan were also very suitable for the Major General:
Things that you should know will naturally be told to you, and things that you shouldn't know are useless to ask.
Although the major general was really itching to do something, he was still able to keep his mouth shut since he had reached this level and was entrusted with such an important task.
Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask, and don’t know things that you shouldn’t know...even if you know them, pretend that you don’t know.
Only in this way can you sit on the seat firmly.
Ke Lan took a look at the expression on the major general's face, coughed, and whispered in his ear: "The heretic sect kidnapped and killed Dr. Renee, and used Dr. Renee's research results to create a new type of biochemical weapon. That thing has a very strong recovery ability. I can't kill it. I can only call in the fleet's heavy firepower."
"I understand!" Major General Alexander nodded quickly. "Then how do we report this matter? Do we need to file it within the fleet?"
"Anyway, the primary problem has been solved, so let's just follow the fixed process." Ke Lan glanced at Alexander and found that he was glancing at the "active armor" on his body from the corner of his eye, so he asked directly: "Are you curious about my equipment?"
"Yes...ah no, I'm not curious." Major General Alexander immediately looked away and said confidently.
"It's actually just a high-tech power armor, but the appearance is rather exaggerated." Ke Lan patted the other person's shoulder kindly, "If any of the soldiers feel strange, just explain it to them like this."
"clear!"
Ke Lan didn't want to explain too much about this. As for the confidentiality, he would leave it to the guys in the Undead Crew to worry about.
"Oh, there's one more thing."
"What's the matter? Go ahead." Major General Alexander's attitude was very respectful - as an Ark senior who knew about the existence of the Undead Crew, he was very clear about how powerful people who had connections with this organization would be... Although the star on his shoulder was almost unattainable in the eyes of civilians and soldiers, but in the eyes of the Undead Crew, there was actually not much difference between a general and a soldier.
"Don't disband the search team yet. Conduct a radial search around the bombing area... Also, set up a blockade in the surrounding area to prevent any unrelated personnel from approaching - whether they are heretics, exiles, hunters and mercenaries from the Ark, or even people from the field forces."
"Didn't you just say that Dr. Renee had been killed by the heretics? Then what... is it that we are searching for?"
"The remains of that monster." Ke Lan said seriously, "Even if it's just a drop of blood or a strand of hair...if you find anything like this around the bombing area, you must report it immediately."
"Wreckage?" Major General Alexander's expression changed slightly. He looked over Ke Lan's shoulder and towards the glass pit in the distance. It was hard for him to imagine what kind of wreckage the monster could leave behind after such a bombardment...
Could it be that the thing underneath... is a primitive species similar to Leviathan?
That 's not
"Theoretically, there shouldn't be even a slag left of that thing, but for the sake of safety, it's better to be cautious." Ke Lan said, "I'm afraid that during the first round of bombing, some tiny tissue fragments will be blown high into the sky and then carried far away by the wind. That would be troublesome..."
"Is that thing...highly dangerous?" Alexander asked. "Do we need to equip the soldiers with biochemical protective gear?"
In Alexander's opinion, the monster that Ke Lan mentioned must be dead. But since Ke Lan was so concerned about the remains of the monster, maybe even the remains of the monster were dangerous. When Alexander thought of this, he naturally thought of things like "seeds of erosion" and "alien viruses". If the soldiers were accidentally infected during the search, things might only get worse.
"It's better to match it." Ke Lan nodded in agreement. Alexander's suggestion added a lot of points to his image in Ke Lan's mind - someone like this who can pay attention to the details is worthy of being entrusted with important tasks.
"To be honest, I'm not sure how dangerous this thing is, but it has a very strong ability to proliferate. As long as one cell survives, it will recover in no time. Do you understand what I mean?"
"So that's how it is!" Alexander's eyes flashed with realization, and he nodded solemnly, "Then we should indeed send someone to search the surrounding area thoroughly."
"Okay, I'll leave this to you. I'll go back to the fleet first. If you're short of manpower or need technical support, go find the people above you... I don't like dealing with those guys. They're all like Riddler and can't even speak human language."
"Okay." The corner of Alexander's eye twitched suddenly, and he reached out to wipe the non-existent cold sweat on his forehead - he was almost scared to death when he heard Ke Lan describe the members of the Undead Crew like this... But this also proved Ke Lan's ability from another perspective: the guy who could complain about the Crew like this and still be safe and sound is obviously not someone that ordinary people can afford to offend.
…
…
After pushing all the cleaning duties to Major General Alexander, Ke Lan changed into a Marine Corps combat uniform and boarded the plane sent by the fleet to pick him up.
As soon as she entered the cabin, Ke Lan was delighted - the two pilots flying the plane this time were exactly the two who drove the transport plane in the last "stewardess incident".
Afterwards, Ke Lan kept his promise and only fired Colonel Roland and several of his officers who were involved in the incident. As for the two pilots, he did not hold them accountable and simply transferred them to another warship.
But I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that the plane that came to pick me up this time was driven by them again.
Ke Lan walked to the cockpit very familiarly, picked up the water cup next to the driver's seat, and drank all the water in it in one gulp.
The edge of the bombing zone was just like an oven. Ke Lan felt that all the water in his body had evaporated. Even if he was given a ten-liter bucket of drinking water, he felt that he could drink it all in one breath .
"Sir, this is my cup..." The lieutenant was about to remind Ke Lan when his companion patted him on the arm. The latter immediately smiled and said, "Sir, if you are thirsty, there are drinks in the refrigerator in the back cabin, including wine, tea, coffee and juice!"
"Okay, I'll get it myself." Ke Lan nodded and patted the two of them on the shoulders. "It's a coincidence that you two meet again."
"Well... Actually, unfortunately, we were sent here to pick you up. Colonel Yevgeni said... among all the pilots in the fleet, we two are the ones who know you best." The captain who interrupted his companion just now said with a wry smile, "We haven't had time to thank you for helping us to absolve ourselves of responsibility last time... otherwise, we two might not be able to stay in the army."
"I know that was Colonel Roland's order, and there's nothing you can do about it. But next time something like this happens, remember to report it," said Ke Lan.
"Well... To be honest, it's not that we don't want to report this kind of thing, but ... Alas." The pilot captain sighed heavily, and stopped talking.
"Just say it directly. I won't mind." Ke Lan leaned against the door frame of the cab and said while drinking a carbonated drink that she had just taken out of the freezer.
"The reason we didn't dare to report it was because at that time... we didn't know what kind of person you were."
Although the pilot spoke very tactfully, Ke Lan still understood what he meant.
"I see... You're worried that I'm actually into this kind of thing, and reporting it would ruin my 'good deed', so you chose to remain silent, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes, it's great that you understand!" The pilot responded hurriedly, "As for those bastards installing cameras on the plane, we really didn't know... We were not originally flying that plane, and we only received the mission to pick you up an hour before departure. If we knew that someone installed this thing on the plane, we would never have kept silent!"
"The ground crew responsible for checking the plane has been sent to prison. Judging from his confession, you really didn't know about it." Ke Lan nodded, "But there is one thing I'm curious about. Does this kind of thing... I mean, bribery, happen very frequently?"
"It's not high, but we don't dare to gamble." The pilot said honestly, "Those big shots, even if they don't accept bribes, they... won't do what you do..."
"Like me? You mean make it bigger, right?"
"Well..." The pilot's voice was a little lower. "Even if they refuse, they will pretend that it never happened. After all, we are all in the same system. We will meet each other sooner or later. If we quarrel, it will not benefit anyone. But if we meet a big shot who likes this and ruins the good thing because of our report, I'm afraid we will suffer a lot afterwards."
"I almost understand... Although those bad apples have ruined the whole porridge, those who choose to remain silent are actually the culprits of the current situation."
When the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Ke Lan knew that it would be very difficult for him to change this situation... But at least, within his Fleet Zero, he would never allow such a thing to happen again.
