Steel torrents pioneering a different world

Chapter 75: A mineral belt containing strong electromagnetic interference! (Bonus chapter for monthly votes)
Wow, everyone's been incredibly supportive! I'll add an extra chapter to my stockpile and keep writing... I'll add another chapter before 6 PM and finish before 10 PM. I'm asking for monthly votes to motivate me; the more votes I get, the better my tenosynovitis will be managed. I... am a ruthless writing machine!

……

Ke Cheng grabbed the shotgun leaning against the car door, skillfully pulled the bolt, and loaded the bright yellow 12-gauge bullet with a crisp click.

He felt a little relieved after loading his weapon.

Then, as if remembering something, he quickly slapped the call button on the communication panel and yelled into the microphone.

"Zhao Chong! Something's happened! The detector has exceeded its limit! Repeat, the detector has exceeded its limit!"

He then turned on the car horn again, his shouts carrying through the loudspeaker and drowning out the roar of the construction machinery.

"Attention all units! Level One combat alert!"

"Damn it, don't just stand there! Use the construction vehicles as cover, and point your guns outwards! Get the defensive line up!"

His shout startled the workers who were still in a daze.

After a brief period of panic, the discipline ingrained in their bones after many days of training quickly took over.

"Quickly! Old Wang, turn the locomotive around!"

"The gun! Get the gun out of the driver's seat!"

Although the workers were not a regular army, their work in clearing land over the past few days was not in vain.

The hot-tempered driver jumped out of the cab cursing, while the bolder ones drew their weapons and looked around for the enemy.

Workers retrieved their uniformly issued rifles from designated locations and, using heavy engineering vehicles weighing over ten tons as a barrier, quickly constructed an ironclad defense line.

The workers, unwilling to give up the excavator, raised its giant arm high, like the stinger of a giant steel scorpion, aiming it at the dust-filled blasting area.

Although those undead were fast, the excavator's plowing mode was no joke!
Zhao Chong's urgent yet steady voice came through the walkie-talkie, accompanied by heavy breathing and the sound of wind.

"Instructor Ke, hold on! Our team will arrive in three minutes! Report your situation! Number of enemies? Type?"

"I fucking don't know!"

Ke Cheng stared intently at the reading on the screen, which had already soared to four digits, feeling a chill run down his spine. "Just one signal source, right there in the ore area that just exploded, and the energy intensity is getting higher and higher!!!"

"Understood! Your unit will hold its ground! Do not launch any attacks!"

Communication is interrupted.

The alarm blared in the valley, its sound piercing the eardrums.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the blast zone that had just returned to calm.

The smoke slowly dispersed.

The dark, blasted gap in the rock face resembled the maw of a monstrous beast ready to devour its prey, eerily quiet.

One minute, two minutes... Time passed in deathly silence, each second stretching to its limit.

Apart from the monotonous and piercing shriek of the probe, the entire valley was eerily quiet.

Finally, Zhao Chong and Xiao Zhou arrived at the rear of the defensive line almost by running.

Zhao Chong, panting, asked, "Engineer Ke? How is he?"

"You're finally here!"

Upon seeing the reinforcements, Ke Cheng's tense nerves relaxed slightly, and he pointed to the ore belt ahead.

"The detector kept switching directions forward, but we couldn't see a single ghost!"

Zhao Chong glanced at the workers who were on high alert around him, then looked at the off-the-charts detector on Ke Cheng's car, his expression becoming serious.

He glanced at Xiao Zhou, and the young soldier immediately turned on the portable detector to conduct a test.

“Ding ding ding—!”

A sharper, more urgent alarm suddenly sounded, as if in a duet with the alarm in the car.

"Report! The portable device readings are increasing simultaneously, at five levels, just like the vehicle-mounted device!"

Zhao Chong's eyes sharpened, and he made a decisive decision, issuing orders over the communication channel: "Wang Kang, you take over temporary command and call in drone reconnaissance support. Maintain vigilance. Xiao Zhou, come forward fifty meters with me and set up a firing point. The rest of you stay put and protect the workers' safety!"

"Roger that!"

The channel broadcast crisp and efficient responses from various units.

Zhao Chong then turned to Ke Cheng: "Engineer Ke, have the brothers bring the excavator back. We'll take care of this."

Even after the workers nervously moved the engineering vehicles back to a safe area, the blasting zone remained completely still.

Now, even the most nervous person started to have doubts.

Zhao Chong pursed his lips, showing no sign of relaxation, and directly connected to the communication with the artillery position behind the lines.

"Coordinates XXX, XXX, strong unknown signal source detected. Requesting fire coverage of five high-explosive rounds to conduct tactical probing."

"Artillery unit received. Five high-explosive shells will land in one minute. Take cover!"

As soon as the order was given, everyone instinctively shrank back.

A minute later, a sharp whistling sound descended from the sky, tearing apart the tranquility of the valley.

"Boom! Boom! Boom—!"

Five shells exploded precisely in the mining area in succession, sending mud, gravel, and sparks flying into the sky. The shockwave from the explosions caused the entire ground to tremble slightly.

When the smoke cleared, the area was left in ruins.

However, the alarms on all the vehicle-mounted and portable detectors did not weaken at all; on the contrary, they beat even more wildly due to the violent energy surge!
"Continue!" Zhao Chong's voice was completely flat. "Coordinates unchanged, firepower doubled, two more rounds!"

"Roger that!"

Ten more shells fell, almost completely plowing up the entire area.

The probe is still roaring.

"Not an ambush?"

Zhao Chong finally came to a conclusion. He pressed the communicator and said, "Artillery units, maintain firing data and be ready to provide support at any time. I'm going to lead a team to conduct reconnaissance."

He said to Ke Cheng beside him, "Engineer Ke, have the brothers put away their shotguns and switch to rifles to cover us."

"This... is fine!"

Zhao T subconsciously touched his chest, wanting to find a piece of chewing gum, but only felt the cold fabric of the isolation suit. He glanced at Xiao Zhou next to him.

Xiao Zhou was nervously swallowing his saliva. When he saw the captain looking over, he immediately straightened his back, holding the gun in one hand and tightly hugging the detector with the other, looking like he was ready to charge first if the captain gave the order.

Zhao Chong didn't say anything, but patted him on the shoulder, then gestured for a soldier on guard in the distance to follow, and they set up a three-on-three formation and walked forward.

"Stay vigilant on high ground and provide cover fire!"

The three men formed a combat formation, revealing the support firing angles of their coworkers and comrades on the high ground, and cautiously advanced towards the mining area that had been ravaged by artillery fire.

The closer they got, the more piercing the detector's shriek became, eventually merging into a long, chilling sound, as if something was roaring right beneath their feet.

"Safety!"

"Flanking secure!"

A few minutes later, the team arrived at the edge of the blast site and confirmed that there was no danger whatsoever. Xiao Zhou pointed the detector at the blasted, dark ore.

"Captain, strong electromagnetic interference... it seems to be coming from the pile of ore fragments?"

Little Zhou looked utterly bewildered.

Zhao Chong clicked his tongue: "We can only ask Engineer Ke and the others to come and dig it up and take a look."

"Wang Kang, an anomaly has been detected in Area A. The source is suspected to be the ore itself. Our engineering team will provide cover for excavation operations. Your unit will remain on the highest alert level!"

"Roger that, Captain! It'll be dark in an hour, hurry up!"

(End of this chapter)