Chapter 531 - 40: Abundant Harvest

"Chen Tao," the Rebel leader began, his voice deep and low.

"The Northwest Inspector, the investigation commissioner personally promoted by Ji Lixian...

"Not satisfied with merely taking Fortress Mountain City, you actually dare to attack my Northwest Branch Base. You truly have a lot of nerve."

His tone was bone-chillingly cold. He clearly possessed the relevant intelligence and recognized Lu Chao’s identity as an Inspector. With a placid expression, Lu Chao met his gaze, offering no rebuttal.

"I will remember you." The Rebel leader paused, his voice lacing with murderous intent. "Make absolutely sure I never find you in the Northern Territory."

The temperature in the command room suddenly plummeted, becoming abnormally freezing. The air itself seemed to solidify, suffocating anyone present.

"Heh." Unexpectedly, Lu Chao chuckled.

"Do as you please." His tone was casual and entirely unbothered, as if he were just commenting on the pleasant weather. He even stared directly into the eyes on the screen and calmly added, "However.

"You’d better hide well in that turtle shell of yours at the Northern Territory headquarters... lest you end up as a prisoner of my Alliance Country."

As his words fell, dead silence filled the command room. To the side, a middle-aged technician turned pale, staring at Lu Chao with utter astonishment and terror. He wondered how this man dared to threaten the leader like that. That was a genuine Non-human Level powerhouse, one of the few strongest individuals on the entire Earth Star. Not even Supervisor Tan would ever dare to speak in such a tone.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, he subconsciously stole a glance at the communication screen from the corner of his eye. On it, the Rebel leader, clad in black, stared fixedly at Lu Chao for several seconds. Even though it was merely a holographic projection, it forcibly gave everyone the sensation that his true body had arrived. An invisible aura enveloped the command room, making it impossible to breathe.

Until finally—

"YOOOW~"

A low cry rang out, and the communication’s magnetic field abruptly severed. Ghost Element, resembling a black cat, appeared at the command room entrance and strolled inside. Its invisible Spiritual Power interfered with the magnetic field and destroyed the connection, causing the light screen to spark and turn pitch black.

The atmosphere sank into a brief silence, returning to quietude. Only then did Lu Chao retract his gaze, turning to look at the approaching Ghost Element and the metal corridor outside.

TRAMP TRAMP TRAMP!

The dense sound of approaching footsteps echoed from outside, accompanied by the sporadic, popping gunfire of a skirmish. Lu Chao quietly expanded his Life Sensing, and familiar Life Magnetic Fields appeared.

His brows smoothed out. He knew it was Yue Zhenhong and the others breaking into the base. In other words, this battle had already come to an end.

Several hours later.

At the canyon pass.

Deep craters, rubble, blood, and corpses littered the ground. The scorched remains of armored vehicles rested against the mountain walls, still crackling with burning sparks. The massive army of the Alliance Country had successfully breached the Rebel base’s defensive lines, taking full control of the area. A small number of elite squads dispersed in all directions to survey the surrounding terrain and hunt down the fleeing remnants of the enemy.

WHOOSH!!

A fierce gust of wind kicked up a cloud of sand and dust.

The Alliance Country army began sweeping the battlefield and transporting the bodies. Soldiers from the logistics division set up camp, erecting tents and nailing down steel wall plating. From time to time, transport trucks streamed out of the base entrance, fully loaded with captured supplies and prisoners.

The mobile command vehicle, flanked by tanks and armored cars, was parked on a flat patch of high ground. Inside the cabin, a holographic sand table projected the complete terrain surrounding the base. Every Superpower Commander who returned to the command center was buzzing with excitement.

"Hahaha, the results of this battle are fantastic! To think we actually took this base in less than a day!"

"Tell me about it! I originally thought we’d have to fight for at least ten days to half a month."

"It’s all thanks to Inspector Chen. If he hadn’t risked his life to personally fight his way into the base, our casualties probably would have multiplied several times over."

The Superpower Commanders chatted with smiles on their faces. They were all more or less covered in dust and smelled of gunpowder, and some bore minor injuries. However, almost everyone wore an expression of intense thrill and exhilaration, their gazes frequently darting toward Lu Chao as he entered the command cabin and took the main seat once again.

Awe and admiration filled the room... Even Zhu Chen and the other newcomers from the Superpower Bureau harbored similar sentiments. By fighting his way into the underground base single-handedly, he had greatly reduced the pressure on the surface troops. It could be said that he had indirectly saved thousands of Alliance Country soldiers, preventing a secondary spike in casualties.

"Sir, all threats within the branch base have been eliminated." Yue Zhenhong stood before the sand table, holding a newly compiled report in his hands. "All seven defensive lines have been completely routed, and we’ve breached all thirty-two fortified defense points, dispatching troops to occupy and secure them.

"Additionally, we’ve captured various weapons and ammunition, discovered a massive stockpile of war provisions, and found a Superpower Resources vault... The exact numbers of the spoils are still being tallied.

"As for the base’s control system, it has already undergone three rounds of regulatory checks. The hacker squad forcibly severed the Rebel headquarters’ control permissions over this location, so there are no longer any threats."

As he spoke, every Superpower Commander’s eyes lit up brightly. The situation was far better than they had anticipated. The losses from this war were almost entirely offset by this base, and then some. Furthermore, the captured supplies and resources would give everyone a chance to advance another step in their strength.

Lu Chao thought of the exact same thing, a smile gracing his face. He knew he might no longer need to go out of his way to find materials for his potion brewing; the inventory of this base would be the perfect provisions for his cultivation.

However, his expression soon turned serious. "What about the self-destruct system?" Lu Chao asked.

This was his greatest concern. The Rebels would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, so there was no guarantee this base wouldn’t suddenly explode and threaten everyone’s lives.

"That has already been inspected as well."