Chapter Nine: Dialogue and Action
Two of the soldiers broke away to report back and request reinforcements, while the rest continued the pursuit. Zhang Desen judged it necessary to speak directly with their leader to avoid misunderstanding.
Having reached a decision, Zhang Desen surveyed his surroundings, then deliberately let out a loud cry—“Ah!”—as if he had lost his footing and tumbled from a tree. He quickly regained his balance and darted deeper into the woods.
“After him!” shouted the leading soldier, who promptly led the others in hot pursuit.
But just as before, none of them could match the stamina of Zhang Desen, who had undergone rigorous training as a special forces operative. Soon, the soldiers were left panting, always behind, never able to close the distance.
Yet Zhang Desen did not intend to lose them entirely. Instead, he planned to use the forest’s terrain to disperse the group during the chase, so he could seize an opportunity to capture their leader and explain the misunderstanding.
He maintained a pace just swift enough to be within reach, yet always eluding capture. Along the way, he put his special forces training to use, swiftly setting up a series of decoys and traps, causing the soldiers to become increasingly jumpy and on edge.
Finally, the leader, realizing the futility of chasing as a group, ordered everyone to spread out and search in all directions, reminding them that capturing the “assassin” could earn them great merit.
Zhang Desen saw his chance. The leader continued forward with only two men, while the others moved off elsewhere. Zhang Desen drew his Eltase gun and silently followed.
One of the soldiers asked, “Squad leader, he’s vanished again. Have we run into a ghost?”
“Nonsense,” the squad leader replied. “It’s broad daylight—where would a ghost come from? He must be hiding. You check the left, you check the right. Quickly!”
“Yes, sir!” came the replies, and the two soldiers split up. But as they began searching, their footsteps fell suddenly and utterly silent.
The squad leader immediately sensed something wrong. “What’s going on? No slacking—keep searching, and be careful!” he called.
But only silence answered him. Alarmed, he shouted again, “What’s happened? Answer me!”
He glanced around, but in that brief moment, both his men had disappeared. Instinctively, the squad leader took a few steps backward.
He had barely moved when, from the thick grass behind him, someone burst forth, pressing a serrated combat knife to his throat before he could react, and clamping a hand over his mouth.
“Brother,” a voice whispered, “don’t be afraid. I’m the man you were chasing. I think there’s been a misunderstanding, but I won’t hurt you—rest assured. I only wish to explain myself. I am neither a spy for your enemies nor an assassin. As for your two men, I only hit them with my Eltase gun. They’re merely incapacitated and will recover shortly. I’ll let you go in a moment—just drop your weapon, don’t shout. Blink three times if you understand.”
The squad leader obediently blinked three times.
Zhang Desen, still wearing his gas mask, released the squad leader and sat down with him. “Why do you think I’m an enemy agent?” he asked.
The squad leader, still nervous, replied, “Forgive me, good sir. Last night, we fought mountain bandits backed by a neighboring country. Though we drove them off, everyone’s nerves are stretched tight. Seeing you dressed so oddly, with such skill, and hanging around the city’s edge without coming in, we acted rashly and misunderstood. Please don’t take offense—I’ll go back and set things straight!”
Zhang Desen was surprised. “Mountain bandits? Neighboring country? Are we near the border? This is Hangzhou, isn’t it?”
But the squad leader looked puzzled. “Hangzhou? Where’s that?”
Now it was Zhang Desen’s turn to be confused. “Wait, isn’t that city called Hangzhou? What’s its name, then?”
The squad leader stared. “Good sir, do you not even know the name of the country or city? This is the Western Capital.”
Zhang Desen was even more startled. “The capital? Then what’s the name of this country, and why is its capital so close to the border?”
The squad leader replied, “Sir, where are you from, exactly? How can you not know? This is the Great Xing Kingdom.”
Zhang Desen pressed the squad leader with more questions, gradually piecing together a rough picture of the situation in this universe’s Central Plains. He could not help but feel grave concern at the chaotic state of affairs—especially considering that even among humans, things were in utter disarray.
At the same time, in the command room of the Ormei Empire’s coastal base, the Supreme Leader, Yuri Gotner, faced Dal Kind and his wingman. Both men were anxious, uncertain how to account for their failed mission.
Yuri Gotner was the first to speak. “Can one of you explain to me who is responsible for this failure? Was it the ground command center, one of you, or some other organization?”
Dal Kind answered, “My Leader, I believe I am primarily responsible. As an experienced pilot, I failed to anticipate the enemy’s ambush, causing us to miss our chance to capture the target. This is inexcusable, and I request appropriate punishment.”
Yuri Gotner’s tone remained calm. “I want to hear: what exactly was your mistake?”
Dal Kind replied, “As a veteran pilot, I should never have let us get caught off guard by an ambush, losing our opportunity. This is a fundamental error for someone of my experience. I ask to be punished.”
His wingman spoke up as well. “Leader, I am also at fault—please...”
But before he could finish, Yuri Gotner suddenly slammed the table and stood up, roaring, “Enough! I don’t care about your camaraderie right now. Do you realize what consequences your blunder could bring? I won’t even mention those of our kind still living in the primitive age.”
He slammed the table again, voice thundering, “We, the technologically advanced Therans, are forced to dwell underground—must we remain there forever? The human population now outnumbers both our advanced kind and our primitive kin who still wield nothing but crude weapons.”
He struck the table yet again, continuing, “The reason our Ormei Empire can stand against humanity’s overwhelming numbers is that humans have not yet redeveloped a civilization like ours. But if even one or two humans with advanced technology emerge to lead their kind, how will we maintain our technological edge?”
His voice softened slightly, but the anger remained. “Do you not see the impact this could have on our plans to return to the surface and reclaim the beautiful Earth for our advanced civilization?”
His tone rose again. “The last human we captured with advanced technology nearly succeeded in rallying the primitives. Fortunately, we captured and subdued him. But now, another has appeared—and you let him escape! Do you realize how serious this is?”
Dal Kind and his wingman said in unison, “We’re sorry, Leader, we...”
Yuri Gotner cut them off. “Enough. The truth is, in the past, even though the most advanced human civilizations failed to prevent their own regression during the catastrophe, they were not entirely unprepared.”
He sat down, his tone more measured. “According to intelligence left by our ancestors, humanity foresaw that every civilization on this planet could be forced into decline by disaster. So they built a secret base, location unknown to us, preserving all the achievements of their people—technology, historical records, weapons manufacturing equipment, and arms.”
He continued, voice rising again, “All that’s needed now is for an exceptional human to discover and use these treasures to restore civilization. And you let the target escape! Do you realize the risk? If they join forces with the beings beneath the sea, what sort of situation would we face? Who among you can tell me what we should do then?”
At that moment, Chief of Staff Damor Kin spoke up. “Leader, we need every capable person now. Why not give them a chance to redeem themselves?”
The intelligence director agreed. “Leader, let me take them. Though their operation failed, I have a plan that could let them make amends and recover our losses. Trust me—I will handle everything perfectly.”
Yuri Gotner considered, then nodded his assent. For now, the matter was set aside, and the command room fell quiet.
Soon after, the intelligence director boarded a spacecraft with a team to search for the target. Meanwhile, in orbit, a massive artificial satellite—previously unnoticed by Zhang Desen—activated more surveillance systems, monitoring every region day and night.