Chapter 66

“No.” Ye Nan frowned slightly. “The mercenaries’ tanks can’t get in here—it’s primeval jungle, the environment is brutal. And as for Little Godzilla….” Ye Nan paused, then continued: “Little Godzilla probably isn’t a match for that giant creature. It’s just as massive as the original Godzilla—this was determined by our team’s Dr. Ellie.”

“I was mistaken. So what should we do now?” William Douglas rubbed his temples, sensing the situation had grown complicated.

He needed the Blood Orchid desperately. No—he needed immortality. The older a man grows, the more he fears death, the more he clings to eternal life. For this, he didn’t know how many projects he’d funded, how much research he’d poured money into—all just to obtain immortality, even if only to extend his lifespan.

“Matthew’s cellular delay agent is losing its effect. I hope the Blood Orchid can bring me new hope.”

“Respected Mr. Douglas, the creature we’re facing is enormous. We need some assistance—perhaps air support or missile strikes?”

“No, that won’t work. It would draw attention from other families.” William Douglas rejected the idea instantly. Air support or missile strikes would inevitably alert other families. Though the Douglas family nearly dominated the entire United States, the countless smaller families weren’t fools—if they learned the Douglas family’s goal, they’d unite and pressure him to surrender or share the Blood Orchid.

This was also one reason he hadn’t deployed the military—after all, the Morgans, Rockefellers, and other conglomerates weren’t harmless either.

“Then what do we do? Our target is the Blood Orchid, but that damned unknown creature stands in our way. I can’t shake this unease.” Ye Nan feigned nervousness, as if terrified the mission might fail.

“A giant unknown creature.” William Douglas fell silent on the other end of the line. “If it’s a giant unknown creature, there is still a way.”

“Here’s what I’ll do. I recall you obtained an AI program named Smila from Dr. Asford. Have her take control. I’ll grant her access to a satellite railgun. Let her operate it.”

“What?” Ye Nan gasped, then burst into elation. “Perfect! With that satellite railgun, we can definitely eliminate that damned creature.”

The satellite railgun was a classified strategic weapon of the U.S. government. Since NATO developed the first intercontinental missile in 1957, the federal government had secretly been developing this weapon.

Its original purpose was to defend against intercontinental missile strikes from other nations, fearing their nuclear warheads—designed to intercept missiles beyond U.S. soil.

Eleven satellite railguns hung in orbit above the United States, maintaining synchronized trajectories with Earth, distributed across the seven continents and four oceans to ensure every intercontinental missile could be destroyed.

But Ye Nan knew the company that manufactured the satellite railguns was New Vegas Arms—owned by the Douglas family.

“Smila…” Ye Nan pulled out his phone and dialed again, connecting to Smila.

“Smila, I’m transferring control authority of a satellite railgun to you. Immediately maneuver it over the Amazon River basin.”

“Understood.” Smila didn’t ask why—she simply obeyed, directing a satellite toward the target.

“Authority transfer in progress… Full authority being acquired… Resistance detected… Decrypting… AI program detected… Proceed with decryption?”…

A string of mechanical voices came through, startling Ye Nan. “Another AI program?”

Then Ye Nan smiled. Dr. Asford could create an AI—why couldn’t others? Perhaps intelligent life was already widespread, and ordinary people simply didn’t know.

“Smila, stop. Acquire only the authority we’re entitled to. Even if we can’t get core control, it doesn’t matter.” Ye Nan gave the order immediately—he knew William Douglas would never grant him full access to a weapon tied to U.S. national defense. He had no intention of seizing complete control.

“Understood.” The machine’s voice returned. “Level-three authority acquired. Satellite railgun operational. Proceed to leave the American airspace?”

“Yes.”

“Satellite railgun moving… Arriving over the Amazon River basin… Targeting… Target acquired… Entering Earth-synchronized orbit… Energy collection system activating… Solar power reactor activating… Satellite railgun charging… Charging complete.”

“Good. Stay in position over the Amazon until I give the order.” Ye Nan shut his phone, then spoke to Douglas: “Mr. Douglas, why couldn’t my Smila obtain full authority? And she mentioned encountering another AI program—what’s going on?”

He knew he’d never get full access—but he still had to ask, just to find out who controlled the satellite railgun.

“It’s like this,” William Douglas said. “The satellite railgun is controlled by an AI defense system developed by the U.S. military. We call it Skynet.”

“What?” Ye Nan shot to his feet, exclaiming in shock. Skynet—such a familiar name. The villain from Terminator that caused humanity’s extinction. And now Skynet was real?

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just a bit stunned. I thought my Smila was the first AI program—turns out I’m already behind the curve.” Ye Nan covered his surprise.

The U.S. military had built this system—they wouldn’t dismantle it because of his few words, not even if he were William Douglas’s honored guest.

“Nuclear explosion? I should’ve built nuclear defenses earlier. Perfect—I’ll establish an underground research lab, built to the highest standard.” Ye Nan thought to himself.

In Terminator, countless nuclear bombs detonated, turning the entire world into ruins. He’d never seen it—but he could imagine the apocalyptic scene. Without sufficient power to stop it, he could only secure an escape route.

“Then I’ll go to sleep now. The Blood Orchid must be obtained—no room for error.”

“As you wish, Respected Mr. Douglas. I, Ye Nan, swear on my life—I will bring you the Blood Orchid.”

“Ah…”