Chapter 220: South of the Barrier, New Schemes and Powerful Companions

South of the Haicheng Barrier, in a place Liu Mu would absolutely never have gone before the apocalypse, lies Haiyang, a coastal resort destination famous both domestically and abroad.

After the planning of the past few days, the center of the impact was indeed not in Haiyang, but even if it were only a small portion, the impact and the tsunami stirred up by the massive iceberg cluster would be enough to bring about a tremendous disaster.

Liu Mu looked at the remaining wreckage with a pang of heartache, then looked at the heart-palpitating silver-white lines on the horizon, and had no choice but to return to the shore immediately.

As for the floating corpses and struggling living people around her, she ignored them all; sympathizing with the enemy is equivalent to killing oneself.

On the shore, the Base Command Center, the moment they received the news, immediately notified all the places they could contact and sounded the alarm.

While locked in a stalemate with the Assassination Squad, Bai Chonghuan also received the notification and requested to speak directly with Liu Mu.

With Niu Boyi by her side, this request was not a problem, and then he heard Liu Mu's cursing voice over the headset.

"Such good stuff, damn it! Can't it be later, damn it! Can I still salvage it after the iceberg passes? Or maybe I'll take the impact head-on; I might not necessarily die..."

These mutterings made Bai Chonghuan feel as if he were looking at a junk dealer who was facing a pile of recyclable waste but couldn't take a single bit of it; sure enough, Liu Mu was truly vivid.

But he had to interrupt, "Chief Liu, didn't the impact route provided by the Barrier earlier only graze Haiyang City?"

"Maybe it's because you're too upright," Liu Mu said, truly distracted and using a double entendre, "Brother Bai, you don't know, the ones that graze are the most lethal. Go back, let the people of the Viper Sect face the impact of fate head-on."

Her tone was quite helpless, and she didn't forget to add at the end, "Tell everyone to pretend to be defeated, don't give them a chance to run. Meow, the last few times they sent things, they were very sincere, but this time they really don't know how to pick their timing. I don't know if I'll still be able to salvage anything after the impact..."

Bai Chonghuan silently ended the call; as a core general of the Southeast Military Region, he knew about the several battles Liu Mu had with the Viper Sect... Were they really sending her things? They were clearly trying to take her life.

Should one say she is thick-skinned? Or lucky? Or... that she has a tricky perspective on problems?

This is not important; as an excellent commander, he could handle the matter of feigning defeat with ease.

In warfare, deception is the way.

Half an hour later, all survivors and military personnel in the Haiyang area retreated to the core of the Base; based on strategy, the core was built far from the coastline, on high ground, with its back against a large mountain.

Staying far from the coastline was naturally to avoid the danger from the sea, and having its back against a large mountain was, of course, to establish underground fortifications.

Under the "retreating step by step," the army of Haiyang Base contracted rapidly; in less than half an hour, it looked like a defeated force that could only hold the high walls.

The Viper Sect, fighting with their backs to the water, would of course not give up such an opportunity; while several of their army units advanced smoothly, they also took the opportunity to clear a wave of Zombies encountered on the road.

After leaving the necessary things in the water, Liu Mu went ashore and put away her Mecha; running alone through the ruined city, it was not so easy to attract attention.

Aside from warm clothing, she had almost no other protective gear on her, yet she soon discovered that more than half of the Viper Sect people were not wearing masks either, and these people were not avoiding the Zombie swarms they encountered at all...

It is common knowledge that once a virus involving respiratory transmission is involved, if there are no protective measures, there is only one possibility: these people have antibodies in their bodies capable of dealing with the infection.

She had long known that the Viper Sect's research was much faster than China's, but she hadn't expected it to reach this extent; Liu Mu took a turn and directly ambushed a squad.

Time was tight; she killed half of the ten-man squad, tied the remaining five into a bundle after knocking them out, and lifted them up to leave. Uh, at this time she put on her Mecha again, because the high wall was right before her eyes, and the enemy was also before her eyes; she could not let the people inside open the main gate again, so she decided to use the Mecha to fly in.

The gorgeous and domineering Golden Wings unfolded one by one, rising in the ruined city; amidst the night and the artillery fire, they carried their own lustrous glow, like a god.

Yet, she still had to shout a few words, "People of the Viper Sect, the tsunami is coming, your leader Heilian has already been killed by me, flee for your lives."

People inside and outside the high wall who heard this were all dumbfounded at the same time... So pretentious, really too pretentious!

However, how could the Viper Sect's army retreat because of such a sentence? The several artillery shells that came rapidly were their answer.

The Mecha shook its head slightly; amidst a huge sigh, the silver-white figure suddenly disappeared from where it stood, and the shells collided with each other, blooming into huge and expensive fireworks in the night sky of Haiyang.

"Didn't I tell you to retreat?"

Liu Mu had landed directly inside the high wall, but she had suddenly turned off the Mecha's lights, so it looked like a mysterious disappearance.

It must be said that the effect of this entrance and exit was still maxed out.

"Let's go, let's go down together." Bai Chonghuan had people escort the five people she brought in, and without asking further questions, he led the way.

From his tall back and silver-white hair, one could see a trace of exhaustion, tsk, and it seemed there was also a bit of forbearance.

Liu Mu listened to the gunfire outside, as well as the low and heavy rumbling from further away, and shook her head slightly, "These few people should have the Zombie Virus antibodies in their bodies, don't kill them easily."

A quarter of an hour later, the Viper Sect army, most of whom were ordinary people, also heard the huge commotion; they initially thought it came from the Base core, but when they confirmed the source was the ocean behind them, the iceberg pushed by the giant waves was already visible through binoculars.

"A tsunami! It really is a tsunami!"

That enemy hadn't lied to them; unable to accept it, regret, and at the same time collapse... the flight began.

It was also at this moment that the Base core, which still had gunfire, suddenly turned off all lighting, and the gunfire stopped abruptly.

The sudden silence made this disaster even more terrifying.

Not to mention the layers of heavy doors inside the Base closing, cutting off all contact with the outside world.

Over in Dongyang County, the slacking Heihu Mecha Squad had actually received news of a suspected tsunami on the sea surface one step earlier; the source was the Airdrop Transport Plane equipped by their squad.

The transport plane had taken off from an island near the coast; after dropping off Heihu and the last batch of team members, it was supposed to return, but it was blocked by a storm halfway, and the cause of the storm was naturally the moving iceberg cluster.

The pilot realized the natural disaster and wanted to notify the Warship at the first moment, but the Warship was exactly at this time becoming a living target for the Haiyang Base.

They couldn't notify the Warship, and naturally couldn't notify the ground troops even more; after some deliberation, they decided to go directly to pick up their own team and see how Heihu would arrange things then.

Because they bypassed the area struck by the Haiyang Base, the transport plane successfully found the Heihu squad, but Heihu had already led the team to prepare to move away from the Haiyang Base.

What a joke, under that kind of firepower coverage, even the Warship had no power to fight back; what else could their squad do.

Having received the call from the transport plane again, Heihu naturally chose to abandon the troops and save his own team first.

Thus, they chose to enter the mountains; from now on, they wouldn't mix with the Viper Sect, "Find a place to paint over the logos on the equipment first; in the future, we'll have to mix under a different name."

One must know that the Viper Sect is feared by even Heihu, this former mercenary, when it comes to traitors.

In the mountains, they also heard the earth-shattering iceberg tide approaching; even though it was already night, that side of the sea was still silver-white and surging, and before the momentum arrived, the extremely low-temperature hurricane swept through the entire ruined city, charging straight toward the mountain forest.

Their retreat was still too slow; the transport plane's engine made an abnormal sound in the hurricane, and the fuselage swayed as it rushed toward the cliff; the pilot didn't have time to say another word before turning into a fireball upon impact with the fuselage.

"Abandon the Mecha, go!"

Heihu decisively left his Mecha; the mountain road was already difficult to walk, and carrying the heavy Mecha would instead make it impossible to escape.

And staying in place would only turn them into ice sculptures in the Extreme Cold.

There were many others fleeing in the true Extreme Cold just like them, and the most successful one was a submarine that quietly left from the seabed.

Heilian's suit was damaged in several places, and there were charred burns; his white gloves were stained with blood due to his injuries.

In front of the console, his complexion was as cold and frozen as the dim blue light of the screen, and the flames of hatred in his pupils were burning; he slowly tore off the glove that was stuck to his hand by blood, and the wound on the back of his left hand that had just stopped bleeding began to ooze red again.

He wiped it hastily with the glove, and his fingers tapped rapidly on the screen—【Confirmed, the Chinese have already colluded with the outsiders and have already obtained support from some alien weapons. New World Plan, China portion, failed! Request: 1. Completely annihilate the Chinese, and fully withdraw the China portion after completing the strike. 2. Activate the North American "New World", please approve.】

The information was transmitted, and a reply was received one minute later: 【Approved, execute in three days. Your unit is to immediately withdraw to Hell Sea Base and prepare to depart.】

Hei Lian read the message and immediately pressed another message: 【Hei Lian requests to participate in the mission to eliminate the strike on China.】

The other party: 【No, you should go to North America to support Night Owl. Within one week, complete the decapitation strike on the North American leader. At all costs, you must succeed.】

Hei Lian: 【Received. This time, I will not disappoint you again.】

The consequence of failure would likely be that he and Night Owl would be completely removed from the organization.

At this moment, the submarine vibrated, the internal temperature dropped once more, and Hei Lian gave the order to leave rapidly.

Frowning, he knew that Number One sending him to North America did not mean there would be no punishment for this failure. It was just that he had never expected Number One to give up on China just like that, even though this land was clearly the most suitable place to establish the New World.

Was it really because of the continuous failures of these few operations?

Perhaps, Hei Lian left the control console and stood before the submarine's reinforced glass window, where he could see the massive shadow moving above the seawater, "Perhaps, we still underestimated China's capabilities."

Failure is failure.

"Failed again! I thought you had some ability, but I didn't expect you to be a piece of trash too!"

A woman with an abnormal face approached from the cabin corridor, her entire body wrapped in a black down jacket, her eyes behind black-rimmed glasses filled with resentment and mockery, "We couldn't take down Haiyang Base, so what are we doing next? Exactly when will we be able to kill that woman, Liu Mu?"

Facing the woman's questioning, a flash of irritation crossed Hei Lian's face, "Miss Jiang, I will have someone send you back to the North. After the iceberg impact, you can return to the Jiang Family."

"What do you mean?" Jiang Xue's voice remained caustic, "I am one of your fiancées, and you want to abandon me? You are incompetent yourself, the operation failed, and if you want me to leave, that's fine, but dissolve the engagement immediately!"

After Jiang Xue left the South previously, she had returned to the Jiang Family with the Sky Viper. She had thought that by bringing the enormous benefits offered by the Sky Viper, she could easily sway her father, gain his trust, and then plot to kill Liu Mu for revenge.

But her father did not easily trust the Sky Viper and insisted that a powerful figure within the Sky Viper marry into the Jiang Family before he would nod in agreement to cooperate.

Her father had three daughters in total; besides Jiang Xue herself, there was an older sister who was about to get married to someone, and a younger sister who was already engaged to a Major General of the Chinese military.

She, the daughter who had been chasing Xing Tianyang for years, was the only candidate left.

To achieve her goal, Jiang Xue had no choice but to agree, but before the engagement, she had already reached a private understanding with Hei Lian that they would cooperate and the engagement would not count.

But the Sky Viper's operations failed repeatedly, and she had to return to the South with Hei Lian for the final operation.

In order to take revenge as soon as possible and then trick Xing Tianyang into coming to Haiyang Base to be controlled, she had insisted on acting before the iceberg impact.

"You bunch of trash, you can't get anything done. Now what face do I have to go back and see my father?"

Jiang Xue's complaints drifted through the room like a curse, making the Sky Viper members, who were already terrified due to the failed operation, feel even more enraged.

Hei Lian's plan was to take down Haiyang Base in one fell swoop after the iceberg impact; the plan's advancement made time extremely tight, not to mention the investment was larger than before, and now the iceberg impact had even become a safeguard for Haiyang Base.

Not to mention that Mecha suspected of having technical support from outsiders—they simply had no power or opportunity to counterattack.

"Miss Jiang, we can take this opportunity to dissolve our cooperation," Hei Lian had only agreed to the marriage with the Jiang Family for their assistance, and now that both Jiang Xue and the Jiang Family had lost their value, he naturally would not let this woman stay by his side any longer.

"What do you mean? Hei Lian, don't forget what you promised me. You must help me get my revenge first before our engagement can be dissolved." Jiang Xue naturally could not let go of the best opportunity for revenge; she knew this man's status and power within the Sky Viper, "If you can't kill Liu Mu, our Jiang Family won't let you off!"

"Is that so?" Hei Lian hid his emotions and said indifferently, "Then go back and rest first."

After saying this, he ignored Jiang Xue.

Jiang Xue's repaired face was very stiff; once her emotions fluctuated significantly, her muscles would become uncontrollable, and the expressions she made were extremely eerie, "No, I want to stay here. You go to the Haicheng Barrier and kill Liu Mu right now!"

Her spoiled-brat temper had not diminished at all; instead, after her face was injured, she had become even more overbearing.

But there was one thing she failed to realize: she and the Jiang Family no longer had any utility value to the Sky Viper.

The only reason Hei Lian could still tolerate her was because he had no time, "Liu Mu is in Haiyang City, and her dog is by Bai Chonghuan's side."

So, that Mecha was being piloted by Liu Mu.

Originally, he had wanted to hide this matter, but now, he would use Jiang Xue one last time.

"What? Then why don't you kill her?"

"Because," Hei Lian finally turned around with a gentle yet helpless smile, "Xue'er, haven't you realized it yet? That Mecha is Liu Mu. Otherwise, how could our mission have failed? You have also witnessed the combat power of the Mecha; I used every attack method and couldn't move her in the slightest. I'm sorry, it is I who failed to fulfill my promise and made you unhappy."

"You're saying that Mecha is Liu Mu?" Jiang Xue was very receptive to Hei Lian's gentleness; she believed she was born a young lady and should receive special treatment wherever she went, and these men should cherish her and adore her... after all, these men were not geniuses like Xing Tianyang who possessed the capital to be proud.

"I must tell my father about this immediately. You," Jiang Xue saw Hei Lian's face, which was better looking than her own, and even though it was full of apology, it still made her unhappy, "Your ability is limited, you don't need to worry about what comes next. Send me back to the Jiang Family."

She lifted her chin, looked at that face with disgust, and left with a cold snort.

"Leader..."

An unhappy subordinate made a throat-slitting gesture, "Should we...?"

"No need, fools have a fool's use," Hei Lian's smile did not fade; he only took a silk handkerchief printed with a black lotus pattern from his suit pocket and gently bandaged his injured hand, "Send her to the Haicheng Barrier to have a good meeting with her little lover."

By the time their small conflict was resolved, the iceberg had already been pushed onto land by the tides and wind.

The iceberg, which looked like an ordinary mountain from afar, grew taller as it came ashore, and by the time it hit the wall piled up with the abandoned buildings of Haicheng, it was like a hill on land, continuous and unstoppable.

Liu Mu had originally wanted to watch the scene from outside, but Bai Chonghuan did not agree and brought out the Safety Agreement that the head of the Southeast Three Provinces should respect.

"I have an obligation to protect your safety. If something happens to you here, I won't be able to answer to the General Command."

The descending elevator did not travel for long before they switched to an upward incline.

Liu Mu, who had the design drawings of the Haicheng Barrier in hand, did not feel surprised at first, until she saw that all the inclined elevators were underground, and each one was ten meters wide, with eight in total.

This meant that there were at least eight such passages leading into the interior of the mountain, all electrically driven.

Both the massive engineering feat of the excavation and the energy consumption opened her eyes.

Even wearing the Mecha, she did not feel cramped. It was no wonder the government in her previous life could persist for a full ten years in the apocalypse of constant natural disasters; she had to say that China's strength was still hidden too deeply for ordinary people like her.

This shock did not last long; the Mecha suddenly retracted, she landed, and she blinked at Bai Chonghuan on the moving elevator, "Division Commander Bai, want to see the scenery outside?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a vibration came from all around, and several pieces of rubble even fell from the stone ceiling above, blocked by the canopy.

"The iceberg has arrived, hasn't it?" Bai Chonghuan did not avoid it and leaned over to look at the image in Liu Mu's hand.

It was a device like a tablet, but it was placed flat in Liu Mu's hand, and it displayed a 3D image of Haiyang City as if it were a miniature sand table.

Liu Mu nodded, listening to the massive commotion coming from above, "Yes, it's not as shocking as watching it from inside the Mecha, but... look here."

She tapped the image with her finger, and a spot was magnified; it was a piece of azure-blue solid ice, and as it was magnified, one could see a black shadow inside the ice block.

Bai Chonghuan did not quite understand and asked in confusion, "What is inside that piece of ice?"

"That is not a piece of ice," Liu Mu raised her hand to gesture, "According to the system data, it is at least seven or eight times the height of this passage of ours; it is an ice peak. This shadow has signs of life; I don't know what it is yet, but it is definitely huge."

"Frozen creatures?" Around Bai Chonghuan, her red pupils stared fixedly at the shadows, "Could these icebergs really have come from the Arctic? Before the disaster, some scientists speculated that prehistoric creatures were frozen beneath the Arctic ice sheets, but the possibility of them still being alive is slim."

At this moment, the image flickered for a while and then vanished.

Liu Mu casually put away the tablet, her expression turning serious, "No matter what era these creatures are from, they are a disaster for humanity. I'm afraid you won't be able to leave the underground for the time being. By the way, are your supplies sufficient? Do you need them to be transferred from elsewhere?"

"We have war reserves. Aside from the anti-Zombie Virus medicine you mentioned, we don't need anything else for now," Bai Chonghuan was still a head taller than Liu Mu; seeing her become grave, he asked, "Are you not staying?"

"Me?" Liu Mu gave a wry smile, "What do you think? Your place is the second stop on my inspection tour; for at least the next year, I'll be on the road."

She appeared to be waiting for the elevator to arrive, but in her mind, a map of the Southeast Asian waters had already unfolded, with a red dot on it constantly moving further away, while at the same time, some information files had been saved.

After Heitao A analyzed the files, it offered a suggestion, 【The distance is too great and time is insufficient; it is impossible to track the specific location of the opponent's terminal. According to their conversation, a full-scale strike on China is no joke. We had best obtain maps of China's major Barriers to analyze the scale of the strike required, so as to formulate interception and counter-attack strategies.】

【That is not my concern. Use the Military Base in the mountains to send the movements of the Sky Viper directly to that mysterious General Command. We only need to ensure the safety of the Haicheng Barrier, have Qin Han and the others activate the Barrier's shielding system, and simultaneously prepare for interception and counter-attack.】

Liu Mu gave the order, then set aside the matter of the Sky Viper claiming it would annihilate China.

The reason she could be so at ease was, on one hand, that in the twenty years she lived in her previous life, she had never heard of, let alone experienced, China being subjected to large-scale strikes; on the other hand, even if the situation had changed and the Sky Viper had gone completely insane, the targets of the strikes would only be the Barriers of various regions, not small bases.

The Sky Viper did not yet have the ability to strike wherever it wanted; otherwise, why not just launch a long-range, large-scale strike on Haicheng and then take control? Wouldn't it have already controlled everything?

Heitao A, however, disagreed, 【Perhaps they are worried about situations like nuclear radiation. After all, according to the Sky Viper's logic, their New World must have a perfect ecological environment.】

This might be a reason, but as the saying goes, the situation is already formed, and the cause is unimportant.

When the elevator arrived at the floor, Bai Chonghuan finally noticed that something was off with Liu Mu. An arrogant person suddenly going quiet must mean there was some trickery afoot.

"Chief Liu?"

When he called out, Liu Mu actually ignored him completely, just walking forward step by step until she bumped into a wall.

Liu Mu rubbed her head, and upon looking up, she saw a white-haired man with eyes full of mockery, "Why are you standing in my way?"

"Me?" As a Division Commander, no one had ever dared to slander Bai Chonghuan like this. The originally heavy atmosphere instantly became somewhat comical.

Bai Chonghuan suddenly stretched out his arm, turned Liu Mu half a circle, and braced himself against the rough wall, staring at Liu Mu from an absurdly close distance, "Chief, it seems you bumped into me."

This lowered voice, paired with his bronze skin, tall stature, and most fatally, his red pupils and white hair, made Liu Mu's heart, which had been dormant for two lifetimes, suddenly skip a beat.

"Hiss," Liu Mu felt something was wrong. She raised her gaze to stare at his undeniably masculine, handsome face and reached out to flick him, "I've always felt you looked familiar, but now that I think about it, you look a bit like my ex-boyfriend."

"Really?" Bai Chonghuan's expression was somewhat strange, "And then? Did you break up?"

Liu Mu shook her head, "We didn't break up. Later, I stopped topping up my account, and he stopped talking to me."

"Ah?" What kind of nonsense was that? Bai Chonghuan's mind uncontrollably drifted toward some rather unsavory possibilities, but seeing that Liu Mu didn't seem like that kind of woman, he became even more confused.

"Ah what ah, move aside, don't block the way," Liu Mu couldn't be bothered to explain, pushed him away, and rubbed her stomach, "Where is your cafeteria? I'm starving to death, day after day..."

Bai Chonghuan stood frozen in place, repeating Liu Mu's words in his mind, and it took a full half-minute for him to react, "Are you playing a game?"

"Yeah, what else?" Liu Mu looked back, feeling that Bai Chonghuan's reaction was a bit strange, "Are there other ex-boyfriends who need topping up? Forget it, hurry, lead me to the cafeteria. Even if the sky outside falls, I have to eat my fill first!"

Ever since leaving Qijia Village, Liu Mu really hadn't had a single hot, filling meal on this journey, and she had been constantly expending energy. Being able to hold on until now meant she was truly famished.

The Underground City, planned to accommodate one hundred thousand people, now held only a little over ten thousand, and the path they walked was empty.

It was also a dining hall; there were quite a few people in the cafeteria, but the vast majority were listening to the movements above and had no appetite even while sitting at the tables.

When Liu Mu and Bai Chonghuan entered, the low murmurs instantly vanished, and everyone turned to look at the two of them.

"Hard work, everyone," Liu Mu was now very accustomed to being watched and wasn't shy at all, "Are you all eating?"

Silence...

An awkward silence. In any case, Liu Mu didn't feel awkward; she walked straight toward the food window. Upon reaching it, she let out an exclamation, "Impressive, you actually use robot chefs; I've never seen that before."

"Hello, can I have some braised pork?"

As she spoke, the simple-line expression on the robot's screen in the window shifted for a moment, appearing very confused, "May I ask if you are a member of the Base? I don't have your data. If you are not a member of the Base, you cannot eat in the cafeteria."

Speechless, Liu Mu turned back, her gaze fixed on Bai Chonghuan like a hungry wolf, and the latter then strode over.

"Information authorization, Acting Chief, Liu Mu, long-term free access." Bai Chonghuan pulled a card from his military uniform pocket, scanned it on the robot's card-reading panel, and authorized Liu Mu's information for the robot.

Of course, it was impossible to involve too much data; it was just a simple registration to allow Liu Mu the permission to eat.

"It's done. What would you like to eat, Acting Chief Liu Mu?" The robot revealed a smile with curved eyes, and its tone also became cute.

"Is there braised pork?" Liu Mu didn't actually have to have braised pork; she just wanted to eat something hot, "Also, a bowl of seaweed soup and some rice."

"Braised pork requires a ten-minute wait," the robot replied, and then it actually turned its body and headed toward the back kitchen.

Liu Mu, who was used to being with Heitao A, was a bit unable to adapt for a moment, and only realized it when she heard the ordering robot report the dish names to the kitchen, "So human-like?"

Heitao A suddenly sent a message, 【Host, I can upgrade their systems to increase their work efficiency by at least ten times. Do you need me to?】

Bai Chonghuan was just about to answer when he saw Liu Mu shake her head, "No need, they are quite cute like this; don't destroy this primitive beauty. Oh, I'm answering Heitao A, what do you want to eat?"

"Please give me a number three set meal," Bai Chonghuan ordered the standard cafeteria meal, which was already prepared in advance. In just over ten seconds, it was delivered from the pickup window.

"I'll have one too," Liu Mu saw the three dishes and one soup, plus a piece of bread, which didn't look very appetizing, and her stomach felt even hungrier, but she didn't forget to add, "And the one I ordered before, I'm too hungry."

Of course, she couldn't just stand here waiting for the braised pork, so she took the number three set meal and went to an empty table with Bai Chonghuan.

Quite a few people had already finished their dinner and left one after another, all looking gloomy.

Some people came over to greet them, but they were almost all Bai Chonghuan's subordinates; the other surviving residents didn't seem to be in the mood.

Bai Chonghuan said a few words to his subordinates and sent them away. When he started eating again, he discovered that Liu Mu had already eaten more than half of the food on her tray.

"Chief, you can eat slower now. There's nothing else to do later; you can have a good rest after you finish."

"Just call me by my name. 'Chief, Chief'—it sounds uncomfortable to me. Or you can call me Boss Liu," Liu Mu ate quickly, not dropping a single grain of rice. Although her table manners couldn't be called deliberately elegant, they weren't off-putting because they were clean and efficient.

Anyone could see that she was truly hungry.

"That wouldn't be right," Bai Chonghuan was also hungry, but his brows were furrowed so tightly it seemed he could crush a fly, "After all, you didn't top up for me."

Liu Mu stopped, thinking to herself, why is this person so unable to take a joke? "Then consider it as if I never said it."

Nothing could affect her eating, not even a mature, handsome Division Commander. Liu Mu would not suffer a loss at the hands of a man in this life.

"You give up too easily," Bai Chonghuan had originally thought Liu Mu's skin should be thicker, "Persist for two more sentences? Maybe I would have agreed."

Liu Mu's braised pork was brought over at this moment. The one delivering the meal wasn't a robot, but actually the young man who had been following Bai Chonghuan earlier.

The young man, Zhang Lin, seemed not to have expected his idolized Division Commander to say such things, and he stood frozen by the table, holding the tray.

"Many thanks, please put it here," Liu Mu flashed a smile at him and pointed to the table in front of her, "is your evacuation going smoothly?"

"S-smoothly, I suppose," Zhang Lin put the things down, first glancing at Bai Chonghuan; was he coming at a bad time?

"If it's smooth, then it's smooth, report properly!" Bai Chonghuan felt a bit muddled inside; in truth, he wasn't sure if he was just too shocked that there was a woman as strong as Liu Mu, or if he really was... a little fond of her?

"Reporting to the Commander!" Zhang Lin immediately stood straight and saluted, "The city area and other bases have conducted multiple evacuation drills, so this time, the evacuation from the surface to the underground was very smooth. Among all the civilians who entered the core of the base, there was not a single casualty."

"That's good, young man, thank you for your hard work, what is your name?" Liu Mu was a bit annoyed by people disturbing her while she was eating, but the young man in front of her clearly had something to say, so she had to deal with him for a moment.

"Reporting, my name is Zhang Lin, I am Division Commander Bai's Adjutant," Zhang Lin reported with a resonant voice, even drawing the gaze of those who hadn't yet left the cafeteria.

"Alright, sit down," Liu Mu pointed at the seat next to her with her chopsticks in the air, "What is it you need to tell your Division Commander?"

Seeing him not speak, Liu Mu asked again, "Is it inconvenient for me to hear? Should I leave?"

"There is nothing that cannot be heard," Bai Chonghuan stated his position, but he also saw that Liu Mu had no intention of leaving at all, "Speak."

"News came from the mountains saying they have already linked up with the Sea Soul Squad and hope to obtain authorization to open the Wartime Channel, so it will be convenient for them to come over directly from the mountains."

"Does that Wartime Channel lead directly to the underground here?"

Liu Mu had wanted to say this before; although the mountain range is huge, if every direct contact required driving for several hours on mountain roads, it would be unaffordable even in peacetime. Not to mention now, when it takes at least ten hours; let alone providing support, if a normal army arrived, they would just be collecting corpses...

*Cough cough*, children speak without taboo.

Liu Mu's gaze was so clear that Bai Chonghuan didn't even question why she didn't know, "Yes, when the underground works here were designed, they took wartime communication and support into account; after opening it, it only takes two hours to get to the Mountain Base."

"That's great," Liu Mu mixed her rice directly into the braised pork and switched to a large spoon to eat, "Don't let the Sea Soul people come down the mountain, I'll head over there in a while. By the way, where is my dog?"

"You're leaving?" Bai Chonghuan hadn't expected this at all; the iceberg impact hadn't even ended yet, why was Liu Mu leaving already?

"Didn't I say, I have to be on the road," Liu Mu wanted to say she was still a bit worried about Qijia Village; if Qian Kesheng knew about the state of Haiyang Base, he might take action against Qijia Village.

"That's not necessarily true," Bai Chonghuan wanted to persuade her to stay and signaled his Adjutant Zhang Lin, but the latter couldn't understand him at all, "Don't you need to look at the specific situation here? If Yang Siling asks, you will need to answer some questions."

"Big brother, your base is already gone," Liu Mu was blunt, and as she spoke, she reached out and patted Bai Chonghuan's thick, broad shoulder to show sympathy, "I will have the Barrier find a way to support you during the reconstruction later, but everything must wait until the sea tide ends. The Black Rain was originally expected to last only three months, but it has been falling for over a year; I don't know how long this Extreme Cold will last, so try to go to the surface as little as possible."

"You... you are a Commander, how can you just leave like this," Bai Chonghuan didn't really want to show weakness, nor did he want to persuade her too much, lest he appear small-minded and unable to shoulder responsibilities.

"I can take Commander Liu up," Zhang Lin once again displayed his lack of awareness, "A veterinarian has already cleaned Niu Boyi's wounds, and it fell asleep in the infirmary after it was full. Should I go call it over?"

"Let it sleep for a while," Bai Chonghuan almost kicked the kid, but he found a reason, "It consumed too much physical energy and was injured. Why don't you all rest well before leaving? Besides, I have some work here that I need to report to you."

"What is—ah," Zhang Lin was finally kicked, and as he complained in confusion, he received a murderous look from the Division Commander, "That is true, we should rest. Sorry, Commander, I will go arrange your accommodation right away. It is my ignorance; you just finished a battle, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Go," Liu Mu watched the unlucky kid, and once he left, she continued, "One day, I will stay for one day at most, but we must communicate with the mountains immediately."

"Fine, we'll go after we finish eating," Bai Chonghuan smiled, his white teeth showing, which didn't match his rumored domineering and shrewd nature.

Liu Mu had the Sea Soul Squad give the medicine to the soldiers coming from the mountains and also had someone find a way to return to Qijia Village.

She learned that Zheng Tian had previously brought people to support Haiyang Base, but they were spotted by equipment the Military Base had placed in the mountains and were intercepted halfway. Fortunately, the Mountain Base had received the news of the iceberg impact from here, otherwise, this team would have likely frozen to death in the mountains.

Upon learning that Qian Kesheng was also in the team, Liu Mu immediately had people detain him; she couldn't let the other party know about the Wartime Channel.

The Mountain Base had many confidentiality clauses; as long as they said Qian Kesheng was not military personnel, he naturally wouldn't be allowed to move around freely when he returned.

After ending the call, Liu Mu went to the dormitory Zhang Lin had arranged to take a hot shower; she originally wanted to sleep, but Bai Chonghuan came looking for her again.

This small underground city was far too spacious, so they had turned the middle level into a commercial and leisure area, though there were no commercial activities yet, and almost no people.

Liu Mu wrapped herself in a military overcoat, yawning as she curled up on a sofa that was supposedly meant for a beverage shop; she had to admit, the people at Haiyang Base knew how to enjoy themselves—their foresight was a bit too extravagant.

"You want to know about the Thirteen Holy Nuns Association?" Liu Mu looked at the instant coffee on the table in front of her with quite a bit of disdain; she really wasn't used to drinking this bitter stuff, "Can I have some sugar water or milk tea? I don't like bitter things."

"People around Yang Siling said you could drink raw-brewed coffee, so I thought you liked it," Bai Chonghuan moved the coffee cup in front of Liu Mu to his side and actually took a large thermos out from behind him; when the lid opened, a sweet, cloying scent of red dates wafted out.

To others, this scent might just be rich, but to Liu Mu's nose, her mouth felt a little sweet, and sometimes she was a bit annoyed by her own keen sense of smell.

"This is good, I like it," Liu Mu waited for Bai Chonghuan to pour a cup, then took it directly, leaned in to blow on it for a while, and took a sip.

So sweet! (*? ▽? *)

Seeing her look as happy as a squinting kitten, her tongue tip slightly reddened from the heat, her demeanor finally relaxed a little.

But after watching for a moment, the cat opposite put down the cup and locked eyes with Bai Chonghuan, "Speak, Big Brother Bai, what is it you want?"

In Liu Mu's logic, there must be a reason for others to be good to her, especially someone she had only known for a day.

"Rest assured, if it is within my authority, I will definitely help you get it done, and I will never break my word."

A flash of disappointment crossed Bai Chonghuan's heart; this woman was indeed different from ordinary people. No, perhaps the method that blockhead Zhang Lin gave was simply useless?

That's right, brown sugar, red date, longan, and astragalus soup—it was said to be especially good for women; it was the method that idiot Zhang Lin thought of for him to get close to Liu Mu.

"Actually, it's nothing," it really was nothing, but since Liu Mu asked, Bai Chonghuan had to come up with a reason on the spot, "I heard your group does a lot of business; why don't you come here to open a shop or something else? Mainly, I want to repay your kindness; I owe you so much this time..."

It was too rash to say "I'll offer myself in marriage," and he was afraid of scaring her away.

It must be said that Bai Chonghuan was worthy of being Yang Shuo's disciple; he was also a strategist with plenty of patience. He was not in a rush. Especially after knowing there was no man around Liu Mu who could compare to him, Division Commander Bai, he had even more of a mind to plan carefully.

But what he didn't know was that for Liu Mu, expressing one's heart directly and sincerely was more useful than any scheme.

"That's true, so many people can't just be locked underground; you should set up a trade zone here first, and I will send people to check the situation later."

Liu Mu felt relieved at once, glad that Bai Chonghuan didn't ask her for energy or ammunition, otherwise, she would have had to rack her brains to find a way.

"You can form a caravan to go to other bases to exchange goods. By the way, the Extreme Cold is different from ordinary natural disasters; can you bring over people from some small bases nearby? With more people, it's easier to get things done."

Bai Chonghuan really hadn't thought of this point, but he didn't agree immediately, "This attack cost many soldiers their lives, and the treatment of the wounded also takes time. If it's convenient, why don't you let them come over themselves?"

"Alright, I'll find a way," there were still many small settlements nearby like Qijia Village; now it was only the beginning of the cooling, and as it continued, the lack of supplies would be secondary—people freezing to death directly would become very common.

In her previous life, she had already applied for a mission from the shelter by this time, and after coming out, she really encountered many people who had frozen to death. Especially in small bases; it wasn't that they didn't want to escape, but they didn't dare to leave. Freezing to death at home was better than freezing to death on the road.

The topic seemed to end there; Liu Mu continued to drink the sweet soup, calculating whether to contact Qin Han to see if this old guy was willing to talk about the navy. In other words, China was now at a point of life and death.

"Do you have any navy in your hands?" Liu Mu asked just like that, not expecting Bai Chonghuan to tell her any secrets.

However, Bai Chonghuan nodded, "I do, but I cannot use them without the Barrier's special permission. The Military Base in the mountains here is used to distribute supplies and monitor the movements of the navy; to put it bluntly, it is also monitoring me."

"…Impressive," Liu Mu's large eyes almost popped out, and she scrutinized Bai Chonghuan under the deliberately arranged warm orange light, "To be honest, Big Brother, this is the first time I've received such a definitive answer from one of your people. Then do you know where they are?"

"I do, if you stop using honorifics with me, I'll tell you," Bai Chonghuan said as if joking; he truly couldn't fathom Liu Mu. Upon first meeting, he only felt she was decisive in killing, later he saw she had a sense of righteousness, and then... her image was collapsing.

But after spending this day together, he felt at every moment that Liu Mu was on guard, seemingly deliberately keeping a proper distance from everyone; she didn't make people feel alienated, but it definitely couldn't be called close.

If this were a romantic relationship, it would be ambiguous but difficult to advance. Now, in a workplace setting, it really made the smooth-sailing Bai Chonghuan feel a bit troubled.

"Fine, it's just a form of address, Brother Bai, why must you fuss over such a small matter?" Liu Mu's tone was as if she were saying why bother with such trifles. "Then tell me, when exactly do you intend to use the navy, since you've been keeping it so hidden?"

"Naturally, it is to be used in times of life and death. Since I've said so, I won't lie to you." Bai Chonghuan leaned forward slightly; the round table was barely half a meter wide, so this brought him significantly closer. "Our plan is to use the navy as a trump card to defend against foreign military forces. Of course, the army and air force have similar reserves. It's just that those covetous major powers don't seem to have the strength to invade us, and in a few years, this plan will likely change gradually. You may know that hiding one's strength is a tradition of our military..."

Liu Mu's expression, however, gradually sank. She was puzzled. "Uncle Yang told you it was about foreign invasion? Heh, those old fogies hide things deep enough. Brother Bai, perhaps we can talk about cooperation. Do you know what the background of the Sky Viper is?"

Bai Chonghuan shook his head slightly. This was not him being modest or evasive; it was mainly because the force China had been using to deal with the Sky Viper was never the regular military, but rather those fighting in the shadows.

A famous military region general like Bai Chonghuan was not much involved in these shadow conflicts, at most having someone protect him from assassination under the Safety Agreement.

"Isn't it said that they are an international terrorist organization?"

"They are, but not entirely." Having reached this point, Liu Mu could not help but have some selfish motives.

The old fogies in the Haicheng Barrier never gave her the full picture, and she couldn't get a hand into the Southeast Military Region at all; a Sea Soul Squad was nothing in front of the military region's regular troops.

When it came down to it, if Liu Mu hadn't taken a fancy to the huge benefits the Haicheng Barrier could bring her, and the fact that she could incorporate the barrier into her own forces ten years later, she would never have agreed to do things for them.

Working for free was something she wouldn't do even if she were reborn a hundred times.

If one is placed in a high position, one must obtain the corresponding benefits of that high position. As long as Yang Shuo handed the Southeast Three Provinces to her for a single day, she would squeeze out enough benefits from them.

This was also why Liu Mu kept harping on the navy issue; only by knowing the core secrets could one have the stepping stone to seize core benefits.

Bai Chonghuan clearly could not imagine the tangled calculations in Liu Mu's mind, and the depth of those calculations was something someone who had only known her for a day could not fathom.

Especially after she finished talking about the origins of the Sky Viper, what they had done before, and what they were currently doing, Bai Chonghuan felt completely invigorated.

The bitterness of the coffee was neutralized by the Milk, and he let out a long breath. "I have indeed heard some rumors about outsiders, but our official side has never acknowledged them. I have a question: if the Sky Viper already possesses some of the outsiders' technology, why are they still so vulnerable?"

"No," Liu Mu suddenly smiled. "Even if they have the outsiders' things, they cannot crack the technology within, let alone apply it. Speaking of which, there is something I might need Brother Bai's help with."

"Go ahead," Bai Chonghuan was not a particularly suspicious person, especially after witnessing Heitao A and Mecha Zero; he only believed that Liu Mu's understanding of the military department was superior to his own, and he found a reason for this 'understanding': Yang Shuo.

"Before I leave, I need to check the things inside the iceberg, but for safety reasons, your people should restore your own communication systems as soon as possible. Heitao A is not an official system and cannot continue to be used by you."

"... What do you mean?" Bai Chonghuan never expected this. "Heitao A is not from the military?"

"No, its origin is confidential." This was also the first time Liu Mu let someone outside the Shengli Group know of Heitao A's existence. "You also know that the situation was truly critical at the time, otherwise I couldn't have let it come out. You have your own communication engineers, right?"

A powerful system like Heitao A was actually not the military's? Then where could it have come from?

The woman before him was becoming increasingly mysterious. Bai Chonghuan gradually extinguished his previous shallow thoughts and was instead even more attracted. "We do have them. What needs to be done?"

"It's very simple." Liu Mu snapped her fingers at the air, and Heitao A appeared beside her.

Still in a Western-style formal suit, it sat beside Liu Mu, removed its silk top hat very elegantly, and nodded to Bai Chonghuan. "Hello. According to the host's request, I will remove and disable the system. I need you to confirm the removal authorization. May I ask, Major General Division Commander Bai Chonghuan, do you wish to disable all services of this system at the Haiyang Base?"

Fearing that Bai Chonghuan might say too much and let Heitao A find a logical loophole, Liu Mu reminded him, "Just answer 'Yes' directly."

"Yes." Bai Chonghuan couldn't help but sit up slightly, no longer leaning so close to Liu Mu; it was mainly because there was suddenly a... shadow? between them, making the originally relaxed atmosphere feel somewhat strange.

A blue light flickered in Heitao A's pupils, which simulated human eyes, and several lines of data flashed by: 【Disabling successful. Thank you for your use. Heitao A wishes you peace today.】

"Hibernate!" Liu Mu issued the new command without a gap.

As the words fell, Heitao A's figure flickered a few times as if unstable, then turned into points of light and vanished.

Bai Chonghuan looked around uncertainly, and only after discovering it had indeed vanished did he ask cautiously, "You don't trust this system?"

In his understanding, Heitao A was just like the mobile phone systems people used in previous years; installed in commonly used devices, it could almost know all the user's private information.

Trusting an electronic device's system naturally carried some risks, but the average person wouldn't be overly suspicious.

"It..." To gain Bai Chonghuan's trust, Liu Mu had to provide information that would make the other party feel trusted. "It is neither official nor from China. More accurately, it is not even a system that humans could create. I obtained and activated it by chance during an operation against the Sky Viper after the disaster."

"I suspect it might come from the outsiders. Let's return to the matter I wanted your help with."

Bai Chonghuan was truly shocked. He had his own guesses, but he never expected Heitao A to be related to the outsiders.

"The matter you wanted my help with isn't disabling Heitao A?"

Liu Mu rolled her eyes at him. "What kind of help is that?"

"That's true, hahaha." Seeing her return to her relaxed demeanor, Bai Chonghuan immediately felt a bit happier. "Tell me about it."

Since it was something the system couldn't know, it likely wasn't a small matter.

"I have already had Xing Tianyang—you know this person, the one called Doctor Xing—establish an independent Mutation research center. The things researched will only be reported to me; no one else, including the General Command, will know."

"So?" Bai Chonghuan's thoughts were meticulous, and he immediately thought of something else. "You are guarding against the outsiders?"

"Perhaps not just the outsiders." Liu Mu did not mention the Thirteen Ring Cities; given the current combat strength of humanity, it would only add to Bai Chonghuan's pressure. "You also know about the Sky Viper infiltration in the General Command, right? This is what I'm thinking..."

Liu Mu detailed the things she had been working on for some time; summarized, it was actually very simple: she wanted to set up a research institute independent of all factions.

One that was neither under the control of the General Command nor associated with evil forces, and even had to guard against aliens—an independent biological research institute belonging to humanity itself.

It was not just about researching the Zombie Virus and Mutation, as well as the human Awakening that had already appeared, but also about finding ways to promote human Awakening, preferably being able to artificially intervene in Awakening, so that humanity would have the ability to confront extraterrestrial life in the near future.

"I don't know how many years this plan will take to realize, but I hope you can protect them." After Liu Mu finished speaking, she actually revealed a trace of exhaustion. "Among the people around me, only you have the strength to do this."

Bai Chonghuan looked into Liu Mu's eyes and did not see any calculation; instead, there was a kind of courage to cast everything aside. Honestly, he never expected Liu Mu to have such depth of character. If what she said was true—and of course, she had no need to lie to him—at least for now, he couldn't see what benefit Liu Mu could gain if this matter were false.

"What specifically do you want me to do?" Bai Chonghuan was a man who guarded a region; even if he had sufficient real power, he couldn't just interfere with matters at the Haicheng Barrier. "If you need me to send a unit over, it's not difficult, but it requires a suitable reason."

"No, I will send Xing Tianyang over." Liu Mu wanted to have Xing Tianyang move and completely shake off the control of the General Command. "I will provide the funds they need in the future separately, but there is one point: no one can know he is still doing research, including those at the General Command."

"I can also provide a portion of the funding on my end. Since they are to serve as humanity's frontier and trump card, we naturally cannot let those old fogies have a chance to interfere." Bai Chonghuan raised some detailed questions, discussing them thoroughly with Liu Mu in advance to avoid trouble during execution.

After the discussion ended, Liu Mu said directly, "I will take the Sea Soul Squad and go personally. If anyone asks about our whereabouts..."

"Checking the disaster situation of the iceberg impact outside and being unable to be reached—how does that reason sound?" Bai Chonghuan helped Liu Mu think of the best excuse for now.

"That works, as expected of my Brother Bai!"

Liu Mu left as soon as she said she would; the inspection of the mysterious shadow inside the iceberg would have to be postponed.

Before coming to Haiyang, she had been worrying about how to protect Xing Tianyang from the General Command once they came to their senses. Now it was fine; she had directly staged a 'death' for him. Even if they knew there was something fishy, they wouldn't be able to find the person in a short time.

As for the Researchers under Xing Tianyang, it would depend on Xing Tianyang's own choice. There weren't many he could trust who had no ties to the General Command or outside forces... not many at all.

This brings us to the role of the Confidential Clerks of Yang Shuo; the background checks on key personnel in the barrier were done in great detail, including whether they still had family and who they tended to serve; these were all placed in the files.

Liu Mu left the Haiyang underground base directly through the Wartime Channel. After meeting up with the Sea Soul Squad, she assigned a battalion from inside the base to take all the remaining people from Qijia Village to the Haiyang Base, while they themselves left directly.

The noted destination was the one Bai Chonghuan had thought of: checking the disaster situation of the iceberg impact.

Afterward, she led the team and vanished into the vast white snow.

By the time they arrived at the mountain where the Laboratory was located, Xing Tianyang, who had been suddenly ordered to move, was vehemently opposed; his experimental equipment and data were not things that could be moved so easily.

Liu Mu did not say a word and tied him up directly, while the other Researchers were brought under control, with those she selected being escorted away together.

"Someone will come to move your things, rest assured, Doctor Xing. I have found a good place for you; there are prehistoric creatures waiting for you there."

Xing Tianyang certainly did not trust Liu Mu; he had only a mediocre impression of this leader after the Mutation, and since he had known her, she had always been someone who would not get up early without profit, never understanding the importance of research or the dedication of researchers.

"What about the rest of the people?"

"Those people were all undercover agents sent to your side by others; in the future, they could very likely leak your research findings or even threaten your personal safety, so they cannot be allowed to continue participating."

On the way back, Liu Mu was idle anyway, so she kindly explained everything to him and also spoke about the arrangements at Haiyang Base afterward.

"If you don't trust me, can't you trust the arrangements made by Yang Shu? Bai Chonghuan is Yang Shu's prized student, after all; entrusting your safety to him could not be more appropriate."

This string of rhetoric directly bluffed the 'naive' Xing Tianyang, "Since it is the arrangement of Yang Siling, then let it be done. But can your people successfully move those materials over?"

Liu Mu patted her chest in assurance, "Rest assured, they are professionals."

The Sea Soul Squad, left behind by the Special Action Team from the front, basically consisted of the people who had previously guarded the Laboratory; they had already helped Xing Tianyang move once, and this time they even kept a few Researchers to follow the operation the whole way, so basically nothing would be left behind.

Liu Mu personally protected Xing Tianyang and the trustworthy Researchers as they left first, while Niu Boyi's Sea Soul Squad transported the data.

After the packing was completed, the Sea Soul Squad even staged a realistic attack, burning the Laboratory inside the mountain to the ground.

As for the Researchers who were not trusted, except for the three who were discovered to be from the Jiang Family, the rest also 'safely' escaped.

By the time the news was sent back to the Barrier, it had become that the Laboratory was attacked by Sky Viper Snakes, and Xing Tianyang and the others had died in the line of duty.

Added to the news of Sky Viper Snake attacks coming from Haiyang Base and the Military Base in the mountains, the destruction of the Laboratory seemed equally credible.

By the time everything was properly arranged for Xing Tianyang's side, another five days had passed.

Time reached the tenth day of the iceberg impact; during this period, China had not been hit by a full-scale strike, which showed that the Sky Viper Snakes' actions had failed again and again.

Liu Mu also finally truly set off with her people to inspect the iceberg.

Of course, this was still just a superficial excuse; the focus was still on the 'creature' inside the iceberg that she had been eyeing before.