Chapter 196: Underground Barrier

The underground space is always a bit stuffy; the fan blades of the air supply unit emit a well-lubricated whirring sound, and the air being pushed in carries a hint of chill.

"Really, will it really strike Haicheng?"

"It will," Liu Mu says, clasping her hands together and resting her chin on them, her thick, dark brows—sharp as swords—knitted tightly. "That group of people wants me to provide evidence. I don't have direct proof, but I can tell you the source of the information."

Qin Han doesn't actually doubt Liu Mu much; for one, he already believes the apocalypse has arrived, so no matter what happens, it seems reasonable.

Secondly, every piece of information Liu Mu provided in the past was never wrong, and it possessed considerable foresight.

But since she suddenly mentioned the source of the information, Qin Han cannot help but make a reasonable guess: "Could it be that our own people discovered it?"

Yet Liu Mu shouldn't have any personnel out at sea; could it be that she has developed a new force without his knowledge?

"I always said Uncle Qin is a smart man, reliable," Liu Mu says, a look of inscrutable appreciation appearing on her face. "It is Lv Ping. I know you find it hard to believe; I do too. Originally, I also thought he had sacrificed himself in Hongwu Valley..."

This time, Liu Mu does not play games and directly recounts the process of her reunion with Lv Ping. She does not detail the process of his Mutation, but she does not hide the fact that the Shengli Group Headquarters has his Split Body.

After hearing Liu Mu's words, Qin Han becomes increasingly convinced about the iceberg, and a hidden worry stirs in his heart.

Everyone knows the Southeast Three Provinces have a navy, and no one can find them; that is because half a month before the Ten-Day Burning, they were sent by Yang Shuo one after another to the southernmost part of the motherland, hidden among the islands at the southernmost edge of the territorial waters.

Without satellite or other communication means, he himself could barely receive information from there about once every half month.

The area they chose has relatively stable geological features, and each fleet has strong mobility on the sea, allowing them to relocate in time if they encounter a situation.

But what if it is an iceberg and Extreme Cold? If even the sea surface near the equator is frozen over, then how is the navy any different from a car that has lost its wheels?

Thinking of this, Qin Han becomes anxious to contact Yang Shuo; the latter has high military clearance and can also exercise some power at the General Command, allowing him to mobilize the fleet in time.

But without Yang Shuo's consent, he still cannot disclose the situation of the navy to the Acting Chief before him—not a single word.

As Qin Han thinks this, he recalls a conversation he had with Yang Shuo earlier, where he said that Liu Mu suspected their high-level officials knew in advance that the Ten-Day Burning was coming, and she nearly killed Chief Yang.

This child, she has a certain quality of hating evil as if it were a personal enemy, but...

Qin Han first says he will immediately set about preparing to meet the impact; he is not stupid enough to think that everyone in the Haicheng area can be relocated at this time, and he is even less capable of abandoning the public to save himself.

After the plan is finished, Liu Mu asks him to urge dozens of other large and small bases to take refuge.

Even though Liu Mu possesses the nominal highest authority, she is powerless when it comes to other bases—well, she is also unwilling to waste too much effort.

Speaking to the end, Qin Han finally mentions offhandedly, "The situation reported from the General Command does not include an iceberg. I will report today's intelligence and the source of the information truthfully. Is there anything you want to withhold?"

"This..." Liu Mu reacts almost immediately; isn't this middle-aged uncle indirectly saying that the General Command cannot predict disasters in advance?

Fine, or perhaps she is overthinking it; after all, Qin Han truly burns himself to light the way for others when it comes to work. "Regarding Lv Ping, just say it is a mutated marine creature. Try not to reveal his situation; I am afraid those people will be detrimental to him."

Regarding this point, it is exactly one of the problems Qin Han was considering. "Good, we will say it is a mutated marine animal you rescued while executing the mission at Hongwu Valley. After you let it go, it would occasionally transmit some information from the sea."

"Done!" Everything must have a cause and effect; Liu Mu strongly agrees with the explanation Qin Han provided.

After two hours, this meeting finally concludes.

With the work assigned, Liu Mu actually has a moment of leisure, and she goes straight to the residential area of the Barrier.

It is early morning, and she thinks about having a meal while chatting with everyone to stabilize public sentiment.

The living environment of the underground Barrier is a bit cramped compared to the Shengli Group; it is divided into ten areas, each with about three thousand to three thousand five hundred people.

The center of each area is a space supported by several concrete pillars, about one hundred square meters, equipped with some tables and chairs fixed to the ground for distributing food and leisure activities.

Of course, this space is not enough to accommodate everyone in the area; most people return to their own beds and sit in the corridors to eat after receiving their food.

The corridors are generally five meters wide, and the bottom and inner walls are coated with moisture-proof paint. The ground is fairly level, and along the walls are three-tier bunk beds; the top is small, the bottom is large, and three tiers are enough for a family of four with children to live in.

Families with fewer people, or those living alone, need to share with others.

As for private belongings, they are basically kept on the bed or under the bottom bunk.

Under specialized internal management, it is still quite tidy. Of course, this might also be because they haven't lived here for many days; I fear it will be a different scene after some time.

Every fifty meters in the corridor, there are drinking water points and public restrooms, which are convenient while also ensuring basic hygiene.

If the surface is a scene of apocalyptic misery, then the underground has a bit of the look of an apocalyptic shelter.

Here, regardless of whether one is rich or poor, a high official or an ordinary worker, everyone must accept unified management and material quotas. For a long time to come, the gap between everyone will not be too large, and they will also lose most of their freedom.

To cope with today's meeting, Liu Mu wore her military uniform, and along the way, many people took the initiative to greet her.

There is also a good portion of people who, upon seeing her, are too scared to speak or simply hide.

And this portion of people who fear her is not only because of her status as Acting Chief, but more because it is rumored in the Barrier that she is a mutant with three heads and six arms, a cold-blooded killer, and someone who could go berserk at any time.

Yes, almost everyone already knows about the existence of mutants.

Unlike ordinary animals and plants, humans are an extremely xenophobic group.

There may often be friction between individuals, but once an existence appears that is different from the concept of a human—especially one that is not weak—they will unite, and their first thought is to destroy the other party.

They call it: uncontrollable, a threat to human safety.

Those who are not of our race must have a different heart.

But now, this powerful alien possesses military force that they cannot defeat individually, and she is their highest leader.

The private resistance, intertwined with the outward respect or fear, makes even Liu Mu feel the complexity and contradiction.

Of course, those who truly know and have interacted with Liu Mu, although they are a minority, do not have the aforementioned complex and contradictory thoughts.

They also often defend Liu Mu, but they are inevitably refuted by others with incidents of mutant killings, such as the man-eating black lizard.

They can only be left with one sentence: "She is different from the black lizard; her dog doesn't eat people either."

The tentative greetings and hidden emotions make Liu Mu feel uncomfortable; she always has the feeling that in their eyes, she is not one of their own.

At this moment, she does not yet know that in the eyes of most people in the Barrier, she indeed no longer counts as one of their own.

Whether it is due to Mutation or social hierarchy.

Which person at the bottom would feel that they are the same kind as the head of the country?