Volume 16 Tower of Babel Chapter 955: The Enemy from Within
"What do you mean by joining? Tell me clearly. Also, why are you so sure that we haven't rebelled?" The Hound read something wrong in Maginot's tone and asked.
"Huh?" Maginot also reacted at this time. The person on the other end of the communication seemed to be unaware of the current situation of the Ark.
"You... still don't know what happened on the Ark?" Maginot asked tentatively.
"I only know that the communications between the fortresses, bases, transit stations and the Ark on Alpha Star have been cut off. As for what happened on the Ark, we know nothing." Ke Lan took over the conversation. "So it seems that General Maginot should have known some very critical information, right?"
"Is that Ke Lan..." Makino took a deep breath, "It would be great if you were here too... The Undead Crew announced you missing before, and I thought you had been secretly dealt with by 'someone'."
"Why do you say that? What do you mean it would be great if I were here?" Ke Lan asked puzzled.
Although he had prepared himself mentally, he vaguely felt that the information Maginot had was probably worse than the worst-case scenario they had anticipated.
Otherwise, why would the appearance of this group of "rebels" make Maginot feel such a mixture of excitement and joy... as if he had been looking forward to seeing a savior.
"As for the Ark... it's hard for me to explain it clearly in just a few words. Since you can hack into my command channel, you should be able to browse the database of the Mukach Fortress, right? The highest-encrypted folder created three days ago contains hundreds of photos taken by drones. You will understand after you look at those photos."
…
When Ke Lan clicked on the first photo in the encrypted folder, Hound couldn't help but curse "Fuck!". Even Major General Alexander couldn't control his expression, his eyes widened as if their eyeballs were about to pop out.
"Is this photo...real?" Major General Alexander's voice trembled a little. "Ark...how could the Ark become like this?"
"I don't know either." General Maginot's emotions had long since calmed down, but when he thought of the scene in the photo, his heart rate would still soar a little. "This is a picture taken by multiple military drones. At present, I have sent special forces to the Ark for reconnaissance. At the same time, I am also contacting other military bases... to prepare..."
After saying the word "prepare", Maginot was silent for several seconds before continuing: "Prepare for the operation to retake the Ark."
He knew very well that the success rate of this operation was very low - the Ark was the greatest reliance of human civilization, and the center where technology, resources and military strength were most concentrated. Even the Ark was captured, and even the several garrison fleets that protected the Ark were completely destroyed... With their troops that didn't even have battleships and aircraft carriers, it goes without saying that it would be difficult to recapture the Ark.
But this is the only thing they can do when they are faced with desperate situations.
Just like the Alpha Civilization's "God-making Plan" which has no hope at all, at least General Maginot's plan still has some feasibility.
Ke Lan suddenly understood why General Maginot's tone became so surprised after hearing their voices - if humans had anything or power that could compete with the Ark, it would probably only be the "Aguna Tor", a super battleship classified as a "rebel".
With the participation of Yaguna Tor, Ke Lan and others, the Ark recapture plan seems to have a glimmer of hope for success.
"Are there any survivors on the Ark?" Ke Lan asked.
"Not sure." Maginot sighed, "Apart from these photos, we don't have any more intelligence... I sent out several batches of reconnaissance troops, but none of them sent back any news, including the recently sent out small team composed of elite mercenaries and special forces. In total, there are more than 140 people, and there is no news at all."
"Can't the drone get closer to take pictures? Or fly directly into the Ark?" asked the Hound.
"No, there is extremely strong signal interference inside the Ark. If a drone gets close, it will lose control... And the most fatal thing is those fleshy fungus blankets... They can grow into an air defense device similar to a crossbow. As long as the drone enters the attack range of these air defense devices, it will be shot down."
"This thing also has air defense capabilities?" Hound looked at the photos of the fleshy fungal blanket taken from different angles, and pursed his lips. "Don't tell me that the garrison fleet was completely wiped out by this thing..."
"Not sure... According to feedback from other drones, the lethality of these air defense equipment is enough to shoot down a heavy fighter with conventional armor, but this firepower does not pose a threat to warships. As for how the garrison fleet was destroyed, we know nothing." Maginot sighed, "Apart from these photos, I don't know much more than you."
"Then how did you know we'd 'betrayed'?" Ke Lan changed the subject and asked a question that seemed to have nothing to do with the current topic.
"Huh? This... this is a full-channel announcement. Almost every fortress base has received it. The announcement also said that if you find rebels, you need to report to the Ark immediately... But not long after this announcement was sent out, the communication between us and the Ark was completely cut off, and we have never been connected since."
General Maginot paused and continued, "According to the analysis of my staff, it is very likely that the Ark was attacked by these unknown creatures at that time, so... Oh, by the way, I have a guess, but I don't know if I should tell you."
"Why don't you just say it directly? Why are you hiding it now?" said the hound impatiently.
"I think that the undead crew may have noticed some anomalies at that time. These anomalies were most likely caused by these unidentified creatures. Their judgment was biased, or they were misled. They attributed these anomalies to you and concluded that Yaguna Tor was trying to rebel... In this way, everything can be explained."
"Although it's a bit far-fetched, at least the logic is self-consistent." The Hound commented, "Unfortunately, it's completely wrong."
"Completely wrong? Could it be that you have obtained other information?" Maginot asked in surprise.
"Some things are inconvenient to say here. Since we can hack into your encrypted channel, other people can do the same. I think we should have a face-to-face meeting. I wonder if General Maginot is willing to do so." Ke Lan said.
"Ah... Sorry, sorry, I was so shocked by your appearance that I forgot to greet you... It's convenient, of course it's convenient, I'll have someone prepare a place right away!"
"Just tell your men not to open fire during our landing. Those drones and anti-aircraft machine guns are still locked on us... Of course, it's okay even if we open fire. These little toys are no threat to us... But if we accidentally hurt some flowers and plants, that would not be good." The Hound seemed to have some grudges with Maginot. Every time he got the chance, he would be sarcastic.
Not long after Hound finished speaking, the locking warnings from the drones and anti-aircraft weapons all disappeared, and the soldiers in the base below also began to move. After a short while, they cleared a space large enough for the "Owl" to land.
As soon as the engine of the "Owl" was turned off, a slim and beautiful secretary walked out from a secret exit of the bunker. Following behind her was General Maginot himself, whose body width was more than four times that of the female secretary.
"This guy really knows how to enjoy himself." The hound glanced at the pretty female secretary, "With his poor body shape, I wonder if he will be crushed to death by this fat pig..."
"There was no sexual intercourse between them." Ze Luo said suddenly.
"Ah? How do you know?" the hound was stunned and asked.
"I can sense it... If two people have had sex recently, they will have the scent of each other on their bodies, and this scent cannot be removed by cleaning methods."
"Can this be sensed?" The corner of Hound's mouth twitched a few times, "Then when I took a few buddies in the group to soak their feet..."
"When you came back the next day, I could sense four kinds of... "
"Stop it, little girl, stop talking, stop talking." The hound waved his hands repeatedly, "But then again, this ability is very useful for checking whether your partner is cheating. Um, Ke Lan, you shouldn't be fooling around outside behind Miss Soma's back, right?"
"Old dog, I think you are very nervous now." Ke Lan said calmly.
"Why? How did you know that? How come I don't know?"
"You are a bit like me. When I feel nervous, I like to talk nonsense, and when you feel nervous, you like to tell dirty jokes. This is a way to relax yourself. But if the enemy knows this habit of yours, it will be easy for them to take advantage of it."
"Well, that's not the case. I don't have the time to argue with the enemy... They won't have the chance to listen to me. If there is someone who I consider to be an enemy standing here, I won't waste time talking to him. I will just pull out my gun and shoot him in the head."
"No one knows whether the people around you may be enemies." Ke Lan lowered her voice and said, "Don't let your guard down."
"Yeah." The Hound suddenly became serious and nodded imperceptibly. He could tell that Ke Lan's words were not a complaint about him, but a serious warning.
General Maginot treated them enthusiastically, and the trip went more smoothly than expected... but this does not mean that General Maginot is necessarily a trustworthy person, including those photos... All information must be marked with a question mark until it is personally confirmed by themselves.
General Maginot hurried to Ke Lan and the others. He knew Ke Lan and the others. When his sight moved to Major General Alexander, he paused for a few seconds. Major General Alexander was not wearing the uniform with the rank of general at this time. Instead, he was wearing an air force combat uniform with all the emblems removed. He also had a light powered exoskeleton installed on the outside of the combat uniform. This outfit was almost the same as that of a soldier, but this face gave General Maginot a familiar feeling.
"Excuse me, who is this..."
"Former commander of Fleet Zero, Alexander." Major General Alexander took the initiative to introduce himself.
The face in front of him immediately matched the person in Maginot's memory. He nodded repeatedly and said, "I remember, I remember... I am deeply sorry about what happened to Fleet Zero... I just don't know how many troops you have now, General Alexander. In this special period, any combat power is crucial to us."
"There are still 30,000 survivors of Fleet Zero, but we have lost all our warships." Major General Alexander said, "Excluding the wounded and those without combat capability, we can probably piece together a force of 10,000 people."
"Ten thousand people, that's a lot..." Maginot nodded and looked at Ke Lan, "Mr. Ke Lan, is Aguna Tor... still here?"
"Yes. But not here." Ke Lan said, "That thing is too conspicuous, and with the identity of a rebel, it is not convenient to drive it over."
"That's right..." After solving the problem that he wanted to get the answer to most urgently, General Maginot finally breathed a sigh of relief and led everyone into his office.
The office had been cleaned up, and several exquisite coffee cups were brought up and placed in front of everyone. The cups were filled with steaming hand-ground coffee. On the Ark, hand-ground coffee could be considered a luxury drink, but compared to the cups that held it, this coffee did not seem so precious.
General Maginot's personal hobby is to collect exquisite porcelain. Since the last time the coffee cup from the old era "fell", he commissioned a craftsman to make a batch of imitations. Although the imitation cups are almost the same as the originals with the current technology, Maginot always feels that something is missing.
Even so, this set of cups is still his collection, and the fact that he is willing to take it out to entertain guests at this time is enough to prove how much he values Ke Lan and others.
"There are no surveillance or recording devices here," General Maginot said. "The guards around here can also ensure that no one will approach. You can rest assured that what we discuss here will never be heard by outsiders."
Even the beautiful secretary retreated and closed the door at Maginot's order.
"I think there are probably still survivors inside the Ark." General Maginot sat down and said in a deep voice, "As long as we can contact those survivors and attack these unknown creatures that attacked the Ark from both sides, I think our chances of winning are still quite high... But the problem is how to get in touch with the survivors inside the Ark."
"General Maginot," Ke Lan took a sip of coffee and said, "What if these 'unknown creatures' that attacked the Ark did not come from outside the Ark?"
