Chapter 1202: There Is Simply No Absolute Safety

“Hmph, Fei Ningxiao, you are simply dreaming. Do you think you can destroy the foundation of our Research Institute with these ridiculous earthquakes? You’re making a fool of yourself,” Nie Haijun sneered mercilessly.

“This Ghost-faced Boiling Blood Race member is an idiot too. He knows absolutely nothing about Earth’s data storage technology,” Su Yue let out a cold laugh.

Leaving aside whether he could actually succeed, even assuming he did, the only thing Fei Ningxiao could destroy were the Research Institute’s buildings. This wasn’t the Wet Realm. Storing data didn’t require primitive methods like carving on tree bark. A few hard drives were enough to store a massive amount of information. Moreover, this was the Research Institute; they definitely had more advanced military-grade storage devices. One could only destroy the buildings, not the data.

Su Yue had just muttered this when Wuteng Feng, whom he was carrying on his back, spoke in a chilling voice.

“No, Su Yue, you’re wrong! What he said is true. You might not understand how the Research Institute operates. There are at least a hundred thousand researchers in the Research Institute’s Underground City, along with countless pieces of Martial Arts Technology equipment. If even a tenth of these hundred thousand researchers die, many of the Research Institute’s projects could be paralyzed for at least four years. The scale of this is far greater than you imagine. Even if we have data backups, training a researcher to be proficient in everything takes at least four years, not to mention the practical experience required for certain tasks.

“Personnel is just one aspect. You probably don’t know this, but many of the Qi Blood research machines in the Underground City are the only ones of their kind on Earth. The power sources for some of these machines are treasures that Divine Land Martial Artists risked their lives to bring back over the past few centuries. Some of these items are considered sacred relics even in the Eight Races Sacred Land. Getting a second one is nothing short of a fantasy.

“Furthermore, while Divine Land has massive weapon, armor, and elixir factories in various cities, those facilities only produce minor peripheral parts. The true core factories are actually located within the Research Institute’s Underground City. If the Underground City is destroyed, the blow to Divine Land will be absolutely devastating.”

As Wuteng Feng spoke, Su Yue palpably felt a chill. His heart pounded fiercely. It seemed the problem was indeed quite serious.

“With the mass death of researchers and the destruction of our core machinery, Divine Land’s Qi Blood industry will truly be set back many years in an instant. Furthermore, Divine Land has signed a massive amount of foreign orders, which means we will face terrifying compensation claims. The data backed up in our databases won’t be enough to save Divine Land. After all, technology must progress so we aren’t left behind by the rest of the world. The other four nations on Earth haven’t slacked off for a single moment; they’ve constantly been trying to surpass Divine Land,” Wuteng Feng added.

“Out of the hundred thousand researchers, how many have managed to escape?” Su Yue asked, his voice hoarse.

“Probably fewer than thirty thousand. At least fifty thousand are still trapped in the Underground City’s shelters. It’s a disaster! Divine Land is truly facing a catastrophe this time. With an Apex expert sacrificing his life to strike at Divine Land, it’s impossible that they didn’t lay out a broader plan. The schemes are interconnected. This should only be the beginning; the real killing blow is likely yet to come,” Wuteng Feng said, his tone growing increasingly grave.

By this time, Su Yue could already see the Dongdu City shelter in the distance. It was situated a good distance away from the main city. Currently, all the gates of Dongdu City had entered a state of full alert, and ordinary people were forbidden from entering or exiting. Medical personnel were rushing frantically toward the shelter. There were many wounded—far more than Su Yue had imagined.

Some casualties were being carried in on the backs of Legion Martial Artists. These were the critically injured who could lose their lives at any moment. Others had braved the risks of falling rocks and earthquakes, stumbling their way here at the risk of their lives. These were mostly Qi and Blood Martial Artists. Though they didn’t know combat tactics, their physical endurance gave them an advantage, yet most of them still bore minor injuries.

Wuteng Feng was right. The number of researchers who had managed to flee to the shelter so far was less than thirty thousand. Meanwhile, in the Research Institute’s massive Underground City, there were still sixty to seventy thousand researchers remaining. Even assuming another ten to twenty thousand were currently fleeing, that still left fifty thousand trapped. Just how massive was this Underground City buried beneath Divine Land?

“Sigh, Divine Land shouldn’t have gathered everything in one place. It should have been decentralized long ago.” Su Yue set down the unconscious casualty he was carrying and then helped Wuteng Feng sit down.

The unconscious victim was quickly taken away by the medical personnel. The triage priority placed unconscious martial artists first, followed by the critically wounded. Since Wuteng Tian was only suffering from excessive blood loss, he was placed in the third batch. It was obvious that with so many unconscious victims, it wouldn’t be his turn anytime soon.

“Su Yue, you’re still too naive,” Wuteng Feng shook his head with a bitter smile. “The Research Institute’s main focus is Qi Blood technology. In Divine Land, there aren’t many places with Qi Blood fluctuations to begin with, and this Underground City is located in the area with the densest concentration. Moreover, Divine Land’s Defense Power is limited; we simply have no way to decentralize our core technologies. Factor in the logistical challenges of transportation, and every step becomes difficult. You might still be underestimating the infiltration capabilities of the Yangxiang Sect. Gathering everything together and protecting it with Divine Land’s strongest forces is the optimal solution. Otherwise, we would be defeated one by one, and Divine Land would lose even more disastrously. We live in an era of war. Absolute safety simply does not exist.”

How could the government not have realized this problem? They simply had no other choice. If they could have a few more secondary defense shields like the one above the Research Institute, they would gladly decentralize their technology. Unfortunately, Divine Land only had one secondary defense shield, and it had to rely on the Underground City to operate. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to choose, nor was it a lack of foresight. They simply had no choice to begin with.

“Take him away. I’m sorry!”

Not far from Su Yue, a researcher was carried away on a stretcher, his face covered by a white cloth.

Su Yue sighed. There were too many ordinary people in the Research Institute. This earthquake had long since exceeded the highest magnitude recorded in the technological era, and the crucial fact was that the Research Institute was located in a densely built area.