Monster Dismantling Company

"What happened?" Li Lin asked.

The order came from the Defense Forces headquarters, which was obviously very important.

Lin Ling pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Lin: "You also participated in this operation, so telling you isn't considered a leak—have you wondered why I can contact Guanzhong directly from here? Because just now, while you were still trapped underwater, a bolt of lightning struck the sky, breaking through the miasma layer covering the atmosphere. Wireless communication in this area was briefly restored, and the Lishan camp used that brief opportunity to issue me orders. Because the Lishan Observatory, taking advantage of that brief opportunity, re-established contact with the moon!"

"They've made contact with the lunar side?!"

Since the monsters attacked, all connections between humanity and extraterrestrial colonies have been severed. This is because miasma is not only distributed on land, but also in the oceans and atmosphere. The miasma layer in the atmosphere completely isolates the connection between heaven and earth; not only Mars and the moon, but even satellites in near-Earth orbit have all become inoperable.

This isolation is not simply a barrier against invisible electromagnetic waves. Like the barrier on the monster, it blocks the transmission of information.

Therefore, communication between Earth and Mars was completely severed for decades. Communication between Earth and the Moon can only be re-established under very rare circumstances.

It has been six years since the last Earth-Moon communication. This is the first communication in six years. Although it only lasts for 3 seconds, a considerable amount of information can be transmitted.

"The signals from the moon should have been recorded by the monitoring stations near Runzhou. However, since those monitoring stations themselves are not connected to the network, the defense forces are now going to observation stations in various places to collect those signals, and then using trucks to carry hard drives to collect the information."

"That's a good thing...right?" Being able to contact the moon seemed like a good thing. But Lin Ling's expression seemed a little off.

Lin Ling shook his head: "It might not be a good thing. We've been separated from the Moon for too long, 39 years now. The latest generation of Moon people haven't established effective contact with Earth since birth. And the Moon's environment is quite cramped."

In fact, in the past few communications, the lunar side has repeatedly emphasized the difficult situation they are in.

Those cities have limited resources and space, and their new population cannot keep up with the pace of urban expansion. But at the same time, they possess the helium-3 refining facilities built on the lunar surface, which once required the world's resources.

With mastery of those refining facilities, the lunar side will be able to operate its fusion reactor at full power.

"The Moon possesses inexhaustible energy resources and various rare mineral deposits on its surface. All they lack is living space," Lin Ling said in a deep voice. "Right now, no one knows what we will face once daily communication between Earth and the Moon is restored. Will it be a reunion after 39 years, or an interstellar war of independence?"

The living conditions on the moon were evident from Xin'an Prefecture, which Li Lin had passed through earlier—it was so cramped that everyone was on the verge of exploding, and they longed to return to their homeland and live under the sun. Not to mention the remnants on the moon.

"Will they really fight?" Li Lin asked.

"There are rebels on Earth, let alone on the Moon. Therefore, we need to properly analyze the intelligence transmitted from the Moon. I am responsible for ensuring the safety of the escort operation, so I cannot accompany you north. Take good care of Qingqing along the way. If you pass through Runzhou on your return journey, I will treat you to a meal as a pre-arranged family dinner."

"Okay." Li Lin nodded. "I'll definitely come."

She glanced out the car window and gently patted Li Lin's shoulder: "Go on, she's waiting for you. Remember to eat well and sleep well on the way, don't tire yourself out."

The car started moving.

Silver Dragon slowly passed through the area where the previous accident had occurred. The river pigs under the bridge were still having a meal, waving their fins at the bridge as they ate—after all, Li Lin had indeed treated them to that meal.

Although Li Lin was still a little puzzled as to why they knew they could get a free meal as soon as the train crossed the bridge, the clear eyes of those river pigs didn't seem to indicate any premeditation.

Perhaps they just happened to know that there would be food to eat today.

However, before those river pigs could disappear from sight, the Silver Dragon suddenly entered the branch line on the opposite side of the river. Instead of heading directly north, it made a temporary stop at Guazhou Station.

The announcement began over the loudspeaker:

"Urgent Notice! This train is making an unscheduled stop at Guazhou Station. Officers and soldiers belonging to the following units—Xin'anzhou Defense Army, Runzhou Defense Army, Danyang Joint Base of the Defense Army, Taiping Air Force Base of the Defense Army, and the 491st Field Mobile Brigade—are requested to disembark at this station and await further orders. Repeat, all personnel mentioned above, please disembark at this station."

The soldiers on the vehicle looked at each other in bewilderment. More than half of them stood up and began to line up to get off.

Going against the flow of people, Master Wang and Commander Xia from Xin'an Prefecture walked briskly from the front.

"Li Lin, let's get straight to the point," Commander Xia said. "I've already given you the intelligence. I hope you'll carefully consider whether you want to participate in the upcoming operation. I originally wanted to discuss this in detail with you on the way, but there's an urgent military situation, so we have to turn back. If you've made up your mind, you can come find me anytime."

After speaking, he saluted Li Lin, waved to Master Wang, and then quickly got off the vehicle. In the cargo hold behind, equipment belonging to Xin'an Prefecture, including the mechs of the [Fenfeng Force], was being unloaded.

"What happened?" Li Lin asked Master Wang, who was standing next to him.

"It's an urgent order from the Lishan camp," Master Wang replied. "The units whose names were just reported must immediately return to their posts to ensure the completion of another high-priority mission."

"Are we going to collect information transmitted back from the moon?"

Master Wang looked at him in surprise: "How did you know? Old Xia only received it five minutes ago. He was furious. He thought he could have a good talk with you about the plan to reclaim the lost territory. He wanted to know if he could get enough information to apply for a 'Great Purification'. He didn't expect that he would miss the chance to talk to you by just a little bit."

"There's no rush. Our mission to Raize shouldn't last too long; we should be back before spring. Besides, even if we write the report now, the specific plans won't be finalized until autumn, so there's no need to rush."

"You don't live in Xin'an Prefecture, so you probably can't understand that feeling of being stifled. You can see such beautiful scenery, but you have to live under a steel ceiling, like a prisoner. The thought of possibly recovering lost territory makes him unable to hold back his emotions at all. He said he wanted to go home and see the world, and that's not just empty talk."

"I suddenly have a bad feeling..." Li Lin looked up at the sky. Beyond the gloomy sky lay the distant and dark universe. Perhaps only war awaited them there.