Apocalypse: The Primordial Pearl Recognizes Its Master, Starting with Infinite Space

Qianqian nestled into his arms, tracing circles on his chest with her finger: "What's wrong with me? Yong-ge is the one who's suffering. He worries about so many things during the day, and can't even get a good night's sleep. But... how long do we have to keep going?"

Chen Huaiyong was silent for a moment, then gently patted her shoulder: "It'll be soon. My elder brother has already sent people to Shanghai to negotiate with that Lin guy, and I believe there will be results soon."

Qianqian looked up, her eyes sparkling: "Really? Then Brother Yong won't have to hide anymore? I won't have to live in fear every day."

Chen Huaiyong did not answer, but simply hugged her tighter.

In the attic, Lin Chen heard every single word clearly.

He raised an eyebrow, not expecting that the Chen family had already sent people to look for him.

He's been at Liu Feifei's camp for the past two days, and there's still no news from Shanghai.

If Chen Huaiyuan really sent someone to the Financial City, Su Yun should tell him.

After a moment's thought, he made up his mind: in any case, he had to first confirm the location and number of nuclear weapons.

As they talked, the two got up and walked towards the bedroom on the second floor.

In the bedroom, warm yellow light shone down from the crystal chandelier. The bed was already made, and two glasses of red wine sat on the bedside table.

As soon as the two entered the room, a strange young man was standing in the center of the room, looking at them calmly.

Chen Huaiyong reacted very quickly, his hand suddenly reaching for his waist, and he opened his mouth to call for help.

But Lin Chen only glanced at them, and their eyes instantly became unfocused before regaining their clarity.

Lin Chen's gaze fell on Chen Huaiyong's face, and he said in a calm tone, "Tell me everything about the Chen family's nuclear weapons deployment."

Chen Huaiyong respectfully said, "The Chen family controls three nuclear missile silos. The first one is located deep within the underground ammunition depot of the Zhengcheng Military Sub-district, where twelve tactical nuclear warheads are stored."

The second location is in the mountainous area of ​​Taicheng, Shandong Province, an abandoned position of the former Second Artillery Corps. After the apocalypse, we reactivated it and stored eight missiles there.

The third location, in a secluded underground bunker in the suburbs of Xiangcheng, Hubei Province, contained ten more. A total of thirty.

Lin Chen frowned slightly. Thirty pieces, divided into three locations—this was going to be a bit troublesome.

"Under what circumstances would you detonate it?"

"Currently, the three locations are interconnected. Every day at 10:00 AM, 6:00 PM, and 2:00 AM, the three locations report their status to Chen Huaiyuan's headquarters in Beijing via shortwave radio. If any location loses contact for more than an hour, Chen Huaiyuan will notify the other two locations to launch an attack on a densely populated city."

Lin Chen's heart sank. The Chen family's ruthlessness far exceeded his expectations.

"So you're in charge of Zhengzhou?"

"Yes. My cousin Chen Huaijun is in charge of Shandong Province, and my nephew Chen Haoran is in charge of Hubei Province."

"You hide in the nuclear arsenal during the day?"

"No. I'm hiding in the slums. My daughter is stationed at the nuclear arsenal; if she doesn't receive a message from me at the same time, she'll activate the launch silos. The other two locations also have similar double-layered protection."

Lin Chen remained silent for a moment. This man had completely disrupted his original lifestyle in order to save his life. No wonder he couldn't be found in the villa area yesterday.

Moreover, with three nuclear bombs and six hostages, any mishap could have far-reaching consequences. This security mechanism was far more robust than he had anticipated.

"What if you report normally from your end, but the other two locations are still out of contact?"

"The same detonation method. The three points act as a safety net; if any one of them fails, all three will detonate."

Lin Chen glanced at the clock on the wall; it was one o'clock in the morning. There was still an hour until the next report.

He couldn't kill Chen Huaiyong, nor could he make him disappear, and he couldn't even let the other two places notice anything unusual.

To resolve the crisis, he must simultaneously control all three locations before the next reporting cycle.

"Tell me the exact locations of the three nuclear arsenals."

Chen Huaiyong reported everything in detail. The location of Zhengcheng was deep within the underground fortifications of the former military region in the north of the city, and the locations of Shandong and Hubei provinces were also explained in detail.

After obtaining the exact location, Lin Chen suddenly changed the subject, gesturing to Qianqian beside him, and asked curiously, "Given your cautious nature, why did you leave such an obvious weakness?"

A hint of nostalgia flickered in Chen Huaiyong's eyes: "Qianqian looks just like my first love from college. She came from a poor family, her family opposed her relationship, and later... she committed suicide. Twenty-five years have passed in the blink of an eye. When I first met Qianqian, I even thought she was her reincarnation..."

Lin Chen was taken aback. He had thought that such a shrewd person would not reveal a flaw, but it turned out to be the power of the white moonlight.

He nodded, snapped his fingers, and disappeared into the night.

Chen Huaiyong and Qianqian's eyes glazed over for a moment again before returning to normal.

The two seemed to return to the passionate moment when they first entered the room, and both fell onto the large bed.

----------------

Not long after, Lin Chen returned to Liu Feifei's camp.

Liu Feifei, Duan Rong, and Tian Tian were still waiting for him in the room. The charcoal fire was burning brightly, making the warehouse warm and cozy.

As he lifted the curtain and entered, the three of them looked up at the same time.

"How is it?" Liu Feifei asked first, her eyes filled with urgency.

Lin Chen smiled slightly, took out a map and placed it in front of everyone, pointing three times with his finger: "The Chen family has three nuclear missile sites. Zhengcheng, the mountainous area of ​​Taicheng in Shandong Province, and the suburbs of Xiangcheng in Hubei Province. A total of thirty tactical nuclear warheads."

He briefly explained the detonation mechanism, the contact time, and the double-insurance setup.

There was a moment of silence in the tent.

Duan Rong frowned: "Three locations were linked; if one lost contact, all three were detonated. And there's the reporting window with an eight-hour interval..."

"Reports will be submitted at 10:00 AM, 6:00 PM, and 2:00 AM daily, with an eight-hour interval. If contact is lost for more than an hour, the detonation procedure will be initiated in Beijing."

"In other words, we can start taking action after the next reporting cycle ends, which means we'll have a maximum of 8-9 hours for actual implementation?"

Tian Tian suggested, "We should make our move from all three locations simultaneously. Otherwise, if any movement is detected at any one location, the other side will definitely give us advance warning and spread the news."

"Yes." Lin Chen nodded. "But then there are the Li and Liu families in Beijing. Even if we deactivate the Chen family's three nuclear weapons, will they stand up for the Chen family?"

The three looked at each other, bewildered. Liu Feifei couldn't help but ask, "What do we do then? The Chen family is already causing so much trouble..."

After a long silence, Lin Chen said in a deep voice, "It seems I have to go to the capital myself and find out the situation of the other two families as well."

Liu Feifei and the other two exchanged glances and fell silent.

Seeing their silence, Lin Chen smiled and said, "I know you feel frustrated, but don't worry, this will be resolved soon. Let's rest first."

The three nodded helplessly, having no choice but to wait patiently for a while longer. Their Second Army Corps' performance was now truly going to be left far behind.