Chapter 79
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Chapter 79: Breaking the Balance
Zhu Long quietly listened to Ying Zhao’s account of time and space reincarnation, took a sip of her drink, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes in deep thought.
Ying Zhao and Hu Jiao exchanged a glance but didn’t say anything; the study was eerily quiet, as if time itself had stopped.
After a long while, Zhu Long opened her eyes and looked at Ying Zhao. “So, Luo Yu and Zhu Huai’s disappearance this time is aimed at the Federation, but what you plan to do upon your return is not solely to destroy the Federation. Instead, you want to collapse the Federation to disrupt the current world order, allowing humanity to face an unavoidable small-scale destruction ahead of time, and then build a new civilization on the ruins. Am I understanding this correctly?”
Ying Zhao seriously met Zhu Long’s gaze and slightly nodded, “No destruction, no establishment.”
She had just shown Zhu Long evidence related to time and space reincarnation, and shared that they had brought back radiation protection agents from thirty thousand years ago, which had already been deployed in the neutral state.
Zhu Long averted her gaze, reflecting on the increasingly worsening situation over the past few years. Humanity in this world would eventually perish due to the strife among powerful factions and the irreconcilable ideological differences. This was evident from the ongoing religious wars in various regions, showing that the world was already at a point of irreversible decline, almost beyond salvation.
Rather than watch everyone being dragged into the abyss, it would be better to actively disrupt the situation; at least there would still be a chance to fight back.
From a selfish perspective, the destruction of the Federation would actually benefit Zhu Long’s current endeavors. However, from the perspective of the World Unity Organization, such a dramatic change would turn the years of efforts to promote peaceful global integration into smoke.
Therefore, to drive such a change, not only would they face the ensuing chaos, but the World Unity Organization would also become an unpredictable obstacle. At that point, the cooperation of the Space Administration and other World Unity organizations, including the Special Operations Department, might encounter some conflicts.
Thinking of this, Zhu Long glanced at the world clock on the wall. It had been over twelve hours since Luo Yu lost contact. If she acted quickly, there should soon be breaking news.
By then, the Federation would embark on an irreversible path toward destruction, and she would also need to prepare for follow-up responses quickly.
“When was the last time Luo Yu contacted you?”
Ying Zhao and Hu Jiao simultaneously replied, “At seven this morning.”
Just as they finished speaking, Zhu Long’s phone, which lay nearby, rang. She picked it up and glanced at the screen: breaking news reported an airstrike on Apollo Port, three hangars were destroyed, and the fleet docked was heavily damaged.
Apollo Port was currently the Federation’s largest sea and air strategic port. In recent days, due to the nuclear leak at Poli Port in the Northern Continent, the Federation had been preparing to send people for intervention from here and had brought in many fighter jets and ships.
Zhu Long forwarded this news to Hu Jiao, and Ying Zhao quickly leaned over to look. While they were watching, Zhu Long received another breaking news alert: the Federation’s Special Operations Headquarters, the Zeus Building, suffered an unknown airstrike, causing severe damage.
Zhu Long also shared this news with the two in front of her, then closely examined the actual timestamps of these two incidents, noting they were only seventeen minutes apart.
She quickly calculated that the distance between these two locations was about seven hundred kilometers, and under normal circumstances, even the fastest planes would take at least half an hour to cross.
However, if equipped with supersonic fighters, one could travel from Apollo Port to Zeus Building in roughly fifteen minutes.
At that moment, an analysis popped up beneath the breaking news, suggesting that these airstrikes were coordinated, organized actions, initially thought to be executed by two different groups, but whether there was a single mastermind behind them remained to be further investigated and confirmed.
Zhu Long smirked at this analysis. Indeed, who would suspect that two incidents so close in time could be the work of the same group?
Ying Zhao and Hu Jiao finished reading the news and exclaimed in unison, “These two sisters have gone crazy!”
Zhu Long glanced at them but didn’t say anything. Instead, she used her phone to turn on the television in the study, which was now urgently broadcasting these two major events alongside the news of the mysterious explosion that occurred in the Eastern Federation waters last night. At this moment, everyone in this study knew this referred to the nuclear explosion at the Noah Launch Site.
Within less than ten hours, the Federation faced heavy damage at three significant sites, seemingly leaving the Federation’s decision-makers stunned. The spokesperson in the news struggled to articulate coherent statements of condemnation, while other key decision-makers had yet to publicly comment on the matter, stating they were still in emergency meetings.
As the three were watching the news, Zhu Long’s phone rang again. She picked it up and saw it was Yao Chi.
She quickly signaled to Ying Zhao and Hu Jiao, muted the television, and answered Yao Chi’s call, speaking first: “I’m watching the news. Were those two incidents this morning caused by Hoot-12?”
Yao Chi responded lightly, “No, Hoot-12 was equipped with only one nuclear bomb, and the aircraft has crashed at the Noah Launch Site.”
“Has that been confirmed? What about the person?” Zhu Long’s tone lifted slightly.
Yao Chi’s voice remained steady: “The person is still in a state of lost contact. I think this might be related to the two incidents this morning. What do you think?”
Last night, after the nuclear explosion at the Noah Launch Site, Yao Chi had contacted Zhu Long, asking if she had any recent news about Luo Yu. At that time, Zhu Long had said she hadn’t received any information and hadn’t shared Hu Jiao’s unusual circumstances with Yao Chi. Now, she quickly replied, “Are you suggesting that they might have been kidnapped?”
Yao Chi on the other end fell silent for a moment. “No, that’s not what I meant. Forget it; I’ll find you later.”
“Okay.” Just as Zhu Long finished speaking, Yao Chi hung up the call.
“Ah, I think I’ve learned something…” Hu Jiao, sitting across from Zhu Long, suddenly realized and summarized, “So the secret to lying is to prevent the other person from asking the question that requires a lie to answer. If they do ask it, you should avoid giving a direct answer.”
Zhu Long smiled at her, “I told you, you have great potential for Special Operations.”
Hu Jiao scratched her cheek, “I still have to study; learning has no end.”
Zhu Long raised her glass and finished her drink, then placed the cup down and addressed Ying Zhao, “I understand what you mean. You can see my attitude from the call just now. Please continue your research on the rules of reincarnation. As for the upcoming turmoil, since we cannot avoid it, let’s think of ways to deal with it together.”
After saying this, she stood up, and Ying Zhao also got to her feet. The two shook hands solemnly, and seeing this, Hu Jiao hurriedly stood up as well. Zhu Long then patted her shoulder, “Let’s go; there will be more matters to handle soon.”
With that, the three of them walked out of the study. Ying Zhao was still carrying the organized model. When they arrived in the small hall of the apartment, Zhu Long instructed her secretary on a few matters. After discussing a few more things, Ying Zhao and Hu Jiao said their goodbyes together.
Zhu Long escorted them to the apartment door, where the secretary opened it. The blinding sunlight poured in, and the two nodded at Zhu Long before turning and walking out. The apartment door slowly closed behind them.
“Click.”
The cockpit cover of the fighter jet snapped shut in the air, blocking the rushing wind, and the cockpit instantly calmed down.
“Oh, the clouds were really thick just now.” Zhu Huai exclaimed as she examined the functional panel of the co-pilot seat. “Great, great, same model seamless transition; I don’t have to reacquaint myself with so many control functions.”
After that, she took a closer look at several important display panels, “Loaded ammunition unused, fuel almost full—this is fantastic!”
Luo Yu, sitting in front, laughed, “When it comes to hijacking, we sure are quite professional.” Once she finished speaking, she checked their current coordinates, then grasped the control stick to steer the fighter jet out of the cloud cover, opening up a broad view ahead.
This morning, they had launched surprise attacks on two locations. The fighter jet they hijacked early in the morning had run low on ammunition. After leaving the Zeus Building, they managed to leave the heartland before the entire Federation’s airspace was put on lockdown, reaching one of the more remote routes for their aircraft’s return.
Luo Yu assessed that the Federation would likely experience an incident at Apollo Port and quickly recalled a batch of fighter jets that had taken off for the Northern Continent. After selecting a route, she started to slow down and wait. Sure enough, before long, they encountered three fighter jets of the same model.
After a fierce aerial battle, they executed their tactic again, shooting down the two neighboring fighter jets and hijacked the one that had the most ammunition, then changed direction towards the Northern Continent.
At that moment, Luo Yu looked down and realized they had left the continental areas and adjacent territorial waters of the Federation and were entering the open seas. The vast ocean surface was dotted with small ripples, reflecting the grayish-blue color of the water due to its higher latitude. The expanse was quiet and lifeless.
As she observed the view below, she slowly descended in altitude. Since their departure yesterday, they had been awake for over twenty hours and needed a place to rest before heading to the Northern Continent.
She selected this area, which was beyond any country’s jurisdiction. The remaining Federation ships could not reach this spot, and their new fighter jet was equipped with capabilities for takeoff and landing on water as well as hovering. So, she planned to land here for a quick nap.
While she scanned the surroundings, a massive aircraft carrier entered her line of sight from the north. The carrier was slowly coming towards them, and the spacious helipad on its deck was clearly visible, even the runway lines were discernible.
The carrier floated smoothly on the sea as if a giant mattress was drifting towards her. Luo Yu blinked, feeling drowsy.
Zhu Huai also spotted the scene and immediately became alert. “What’s going on? Isn’t this prohibited in international waters?! Has the Federation’s aircraft carrier chased us all the way out here?”
Luo Yu squinted to look more closely and quickly noted the insignia on the carrier’s signal tower: International Territorial Waters Convention Agency, with the name of the aircraft carrier printed beneath: Kun Whale No. 1.
“This isn’t a Federation carrier; it should be here to pick us up,” Luo Yu said, flashing a series of encrypted signal lights, cautiously waiting for the carrier’s response, as she couldn’t completely confirm who was on board the carrier yet.
After a moment, the carrier’s signal tower responded, sending back a coded binary message that spelled out four words: “Come down for dinner.”
That tone… Luo Yu understood immediately and sent out a request to land. The carrier soon stopped and replied that the runway was ready.
Zhu Huai looked a bit concerned, “Can we really land safely?”
“Yeah, it’s our people.”
Zhu Huai wanted to scratch her head, but as she raised her hand, she only felt the helmet, so she lowered it again. “Wait… how can you summon an aircraft carrier?”
Luo Yu smiled slightly, “To be honest, I have some connections at sea.”
