He stared at Kevin Lin silently for two seconds before brushing aside the camera Kevin Lin had passed to him. "No need."
Following that, Fang Zhao continued to treat the wounds of the injured.
During the Period of Destruction, this sort of situation was a daily occurrence — a sudden attack and the threat of death.
Back then, it was all too normal. No one knew what would happen to them in the next moment. But this was the New Era. For people who were used to living peacefully, this sort of attack was akin to doomsday, and it put a lot of pressure on their psyches.
Actually, according to the customs of the Period of Destruction, Fang Zhao had written his will shortly after his rebirth and saved it on his personal terminal. However, he would revise it every once in a while because his assets were changing. And if one day he suddenly passed away due to an accident, once it was determined that he was dead, the will saved on his personal terminal would automatically be made public.
However, the current situation wasn't that bad. According to Fang Zhao's own judgment, there was still a chance of survival. At least for now, they were all taking refuge in the basement. Based on the sounds of activity, there weren't many attackers.
But Kevin Lin didn't know anything. This was the first time he had experienced something like this. Although he had encountered some dangerous situations in the past, it had never been as stressful as this one. When the explosion had happened, he had even thought that he was going to die.
However, as a reporter, Kevin Lin knew how to weigh the pros and cons. After weighing the pros and cons, he made up his mind. Although he didn't know if he could safely survive this crisis, this was also an opportunity. Since he couldn't extricate himself from this predicament, he had to grab hold of this opportunity. He wanted to record this real incident and report the real situation on the battlefield like those outstanding predecessors at Frontline First had done. The difference was that he didn't have a high level of awareness like "fearlessness." On a mental level, he was still at the level of "scared to death but helpless."
If he had not survived, what he had recorded might have made him a member of the Hall of Fame in the journalist circle. His portrait would have been revered by others. In the future, when he made documentaries or educational films, it might even have been an excerpt from the real footage.
And if he could safely survive this ordeal, he... would be rich!
Although there were no written rules in the circle, when it came to reporting on entertainment programs and war situations, the latter was much more impressive. Even political news couldn't compare to the value of war reports. But professional war reporters didn't show their faces, and amateur reporters didn't want to encounter a real war. It was easy to lose their lives. But no one would be willing to give up such an opportunity!
Taking a deep breath, Kevin Lin tried his best to calm the fear in his heart. His slightly shaky hand once again controlled the camera and continued to record. "I can still hear some noises, big and small. There is a firefight going on up there. We were bombarded three times in total. The first two were blocked by the defense system, and the third one was not completely blocked. We were all injured …"
Kevin Lin had wanted to slap Fang Zhao first, but when he scanned the area, he realized that Fang Zhao was the only one who could be considered "unscathed." Not wanting to slap himself in the face, Kevin Lin directed the camera toward Fan Lin and the other researchers, skillfully capturing only Fang Zhao's back view.
As a reporter with many years of work experience, although it was his first time filming in such a situation, Kevin Lin was very good at controlling the camera image. The images captured by the camera were very good at exaggerating the atmosphere. He captured the mess in the room and the tragic situation of the injured. He did not cherry-pick his words. He was good at using the camera to speak. Words were only supplementary. Simple words could better explain the scene in the camera.
"My guess is that the attackers this time are terrorists. Moreover, they have been planning this for a long time …"
Once his brain started working, Kevin Lin's thoughts became much clearer, unlike when he had been in a stupor when he had been frightened.
Kevin Lin analyzed the situation from the loss of signal to the loss of contact with the base, all the way to the current situation.
Fang Zhao helped apply medicine to the injured while listening to Kevin Lin's analysis of the attackers.
Having been reborn for so long, Fang Zhao had indeed never experienced war. Life in the New Era cities was very peaceful. Even though there was the matter of Su Hou in Muzhou, generally speaking, it was still considered peaceful. After all, the world was unified, and the various continents cooperated as one. However, in the unseen places, there were still disputes. There were internal conflicts among the ruling class of the alliance, but the outside world was not peaceful either. It just did not affect the lives of ordinary people.
Fang Zhao did not find it strange. During the Period of Destruction, everyone had united against the outside world. However, after the founding of the era, the distribution of benefits was uneven, and people were greedy. If things were not controlled well, there would be more internal conflicts. Yanzhou was the best example.
Back then, when Yanzhou's founding great general Wu Yan had died, the Wu family's internal strife had caused the number one person in Yanzhou to change hands. For a long time, the Wu family had been in a rather awkward position. Even though they had developed again, they had no way of regaining absolute authority and could only change their development path.
As for those extremist terrorists, Fang Zhao had also heard some people mention them. Before his military service, when Great-Grandfather Fang had been discussing experiences with Fang Zhao, he had also mentioned those people who went against the allied government.
Great-Grandfather Fang commented, "Those people are all lunatics. No matter what they say, it is all an excuse. They are just doing it to satisfy their own desires."
There were many organizations that the allied government could not control. Actually, there were such organizations in every era, whether it was the New Era or the Old Era. However, not every organization would harm society. Those that could be classified as terrorists were considered highly dangerous.
At the same time, on planet Baiji base.
Shanta was currently in a state of violent rage. He had just vented his anger at his subordinates in the command center. Now that he had calmed down, the killing intent in his eyes made a few military reporters who had been about to ask about the situation swallow their words.
Shanta did not even look at those reporters. He immediately closed the door to the command center, blocking off the view of others and also isolating the sounds outside.
Forty minutes ago, the base's communications network had suddenly been paralyzed, catching Shanta unprepared.
"How many times have I emphasized that we must be vigilant and cautious when upgrading the communications network? Can't they f * cking remember? So what if they are communications engineers from the Academy of Sciences? Careless and self-righteous. They are usually praised so highly by others that they have forgotten their own capabilities! "Shanta's suppressed rage flared up again.
"They still have some ability. It's just that this time, they were not able to execute it perfectly, allowing others to take advantage of a loophole," a high-ranking member of the base said. "This time, it is very obvious that someone had planned this long ago. It is very likely that it was planned long before the discovery of Baiji ore. They also had a thorough understanding of planet Baiji's military arrangements. This was not a last-minute decision."
"Those engineers are just asking for a scolding!" When Shanta thought about what had happened in the past 40 minutes, he could not contain his anger. "If they had been a little more cautious, would this have happened? Even if the communications network had been paralyzed, there would not have been any major problems and could have been repaired quickly. But now? It has been 40 minutes! I don't need to tell you what can happen in 40 minutes. You all should know! "
The room was silent for a moment. Those present were all experienced people. In 40 minutes, the base had no way of knowing the situation in other parts of planet Baiji. Who knew how many losses there would be if things went out of control.
Now, they could only use the base's internal communications network to communicate.
Shanta knocked on the table and asked, "Guess who did it this time?"
Everyone present thought of the same thing. "Besides'T, 'who else could it be?" The "T" organization was their abbreviation for the extremist organization known as "Tomorrow's Empire."
A new call came in, and Shanta hurriedly picked it up.
"The people who were sent to scout out the nearby outposts have returned. For now, there are no abnormalities."
"People from the mining area have reported that the mining area was attacked. The situation is under control. Seven terrorists have been killed and 31 active personnel have been injured. For now, there are no fatalities."
These reports made the people in the command room heave a rare sigh of relief.
The defense of the mining area had been personally laid out by Shanta, and he had repeatedly emphasized that the troops guarding the mine should not let any suspicious points slip by. Now, it seemed like it had been effective.
It was rare to get a few pieces of good news, but Shanta still felt uneasy. He picked up his communications device and contacted the engineer who was repairing the communications network. "Is it done?"
It was just three words, but each word carried a hint of gunpowder.
The engineer on the other end of the line sounded a little timid and stiff. "Not yet."
"20 minutes. If it can't be repaired in 20 minutes, the few of you can scram back to where you came from!"
Without waiting for the engineer to say anything, Shanta cut off the call. He would wait for at most an hour. Forty minutes had already passed. If he continued waiting for another 20 minutes, if it still couldn't be repaired, he would implement another set of plans.
The engineer, who had been mercilessly flung at by Shanta, had no choice but to endure it, even though his face had turned red. This time, they had gone to great lengths to snatch a spot on planet Baiji to upgrade the communications network, but they had never imagined that there would be a problem right after they arrived. It was indeed their negligence that had given the enemy an opportunity. If it couldn't be repaired in 20 minutes and they were chased back by Shanta, they would not have the face to continue staying at the Academy of Science HQ. Most importantly, being chased back would be a black mark on their careers. In the future, they would no longer have the chance to advance.
Luckily, under the heavy pressure, they were finally able to temporarily restore the communications network at the 19th minute. Although it was still not stable, at least they had saved some face. At most, it would be completely stabilized in another 15 minutes.
Practically the moment the communications network was restored, Shanta received news from the various outposts. The other outposts were still fine, but Outposts 8, 23, 61, 85, and 97 had been attacked.
The communications network had not been completely restored, and the signal was still unstable. Shanta wanted to contact these five outposts, but the connection was intermittent. However, he was still able to report the general situation.
Luckily, due to the discovery of Baiji ore, the various outposts' defense systems had been upgraded. Otherwise, the five outposts would surely have completely lost contact. Or perhaps, the five outposts would have already disappeared from planet Baiji.
This also made Shanta certain that this attack had definitely been premeditated. Long before the discovery of Baiji ore, planet Baiji had already been targeted. It had not been a last-minute decision by those people. And now, those people had still launched an attack. Perhaps they were worried that planet Baiji's defense forces would be even larger in the future, and their defenses would be even tighter, making it more difficult to strike. They also did not want to give up on this attack, so they had hastily staged this attack.
Suddenly remembering something, Shanta jerked his head up and asked the person in the command room, "Where did Fan Lin transfer Fang Zhao's military service position to?"
The adjutant pulled up Fang Zhao's military service file. In the "active service" column, it read: "Outpost 23."
The room once again fell silent. The atmosphere was heavy.
Fan Lin, a senior professor at the Academy of Science HQ, a senior professor in charge of a major project, was a celebrity in Muzhou.
The eight scientists were all elite researchers under Fan Lin. If something really happened this time, Fan Lin's laboratory would be wiped out in one go.
There was also Fang Zhao and Kevin Lin, who carried Project Starlight missions and received a lot of attention. If something happened, it would definitely not be covered up, not to mention that they had been broadcasting live before the signal had been cut.
Fang Zhao, the discoverer of Baiji ore, could be considered the person who had changed planet Baiji's fate. Shanta was also grateful to him, especially for that pair of ears. If something happened to them because of this attack, it would be a pity.
"Fang Zhao's change in military service was not made public. Even during the live broadcast, it was not announced that Fang Zhao was at Outpost 23," someone said.
"Fan Lin's decision to come here was also because he saw that Baiji ore had been discovered, so they were not the target."
"It's a diversion. T's people just want to create an ambush. The base's defenses have been strengthened. They know that attacking a base is asking for trouble, so after probing here and attracting our attention, they might as well give up on the base and attack the outposts. As for why Outpost 23 was chosen, all we can say is that Fan Lin and Fang Zhao were unlucky, "a major general said.
Shanta did not continue wasting time here. He immediately sent people to the five outposts that had been attacked to provide support.
Online, people far away from the battle did not know the current situation on planet Baiji. At this moment, they only felt resentment.
"First Frontline people, don't play dead!"
"Where's the live broadcast? Why isn't it done yet! "
"Complaint, we want to complain!!"
At the start, many media outlets had taken advantage of this opportunity to attack First Frontline, especially those news agencies that were similar in nature to First Frontline. Previously, they had been jealous that First Frontline could use Project Starlight to regain their popularity. Now, they finally had a chance to criticize them.
Besides people criticizing First Frontline, there were also people who took advantage of this opportunity to criticize Fang Zhao. After all, Fang Zhao had risen too quickly and blocked many people's paths.
As for those entertainment magazines, at this moment, they were even more excited. They loved to take advantage of this opportunity to muddy waters. After all, they would not be caught if they followed in to criticize, and they could also take advantage of this opportunity to attract traffic. Who knows, after the momentum was set, there might be people who would use money to shut their mouths. If they did not take advantage of this opportunity, how could they be worthy of their bank accounts?
Thus, in the short half an hour that the live broadcast had been cut off, the internet was filled with cursing. However, as time passed and the live broadcast did not resume, First Frontline also continued to play dead and did not make any public replies. However, people with sharp senses discovered that the voices of mainstream media criticizing First Frontline gradually disappeared. Popular entertainment media also gradually quieted down. Those who were still stirring up the momentum online were either not sharp enough and did not have a news channel, or they were idiots who were blinded by profits.
At a certain Huangzhou news agency, the people who operated the online communication platform had received instructions from the top to delete the article that had just been posted criticizing First Frontline.
"Why delete it? There are many people who reposted it. This is all traffic, and traffic means money! "The people who operated the platform did not understand.
"Could it be that someone is throwing money at us to delete it?" another person guessed.
"Regardless of the reason, since the top wants us to delete it, then let's delete it."
Yanzhou, Silver Wing headquarters building.
After Duan Qianji received a call from her husband, Hong Lou, she told the public relations department to temporarily keep quiet.
There were still many people online who were spurred on to curse Fang Zhao. It didn't matter if they were purely looking for something to vent their frustrations or if they were really full of resentment. After cursing, they would follow others and say, "Silver Wing, come out and clean up the mess!" After all, this sort of thing was not illegal.
Silver Wing 50th floor, virtual projects department.
Zu Wen and a few other technical staff were currently using sockpuppets to fight online.
Pang Pusong was puzzled. "It has been almost an hour, and the company's public relations personnel have yet to make a move."
"First Frontline also did not give an explanation."
"It is not just them. Did you all notice that the few news agencies that attacked First Frontline at the start have all deleted their posts?" Jinro said.
"That's true. Not only have they deleted them, they have also maintained their silence. Even those few Yanzhou companies that have always been at odds with us have shut up! Does that mean that the company and First Frontline have actually made a move? "Zu Wen asked.
"No," Jinro said in a low voice. "I feel that something might have happened."
Silver Wing did not have the ability to simultaneously make so many competitors maintain their silence, unless there was something that could make so many large media companies in Yanzhou and outside of Yanzhou keep their mouths shut and not dare to speak carelessly.
Zu Wen was about to continue asking when he heard the notification of a new message. When he opened it, his eyeballs almost popped out.
"F * ck! Terrorist attack?! "
Jinro clicked on the link. It was the news being broadcasted on Huangzhou's military news channel.
"... Planet Baiji suffered a terrorist attack. Communication network temporarily paralyzed. Unable to contact..."
This news caused the online war of words to suddenly come to a halt, as if a large-scale freezing spell had been cast on it.
Alien bases being attacked by terrorists wasn't news. It happened once or twice a year, especially those remote places with inadequate equipment and poor conditions. They were the easiest targets.
But it was also precisely because of the distance that people would listen to it, comment on it, and let it pass. It had nothing to do with them. Only those who were about to serve would pay attention to it and try their best to keep their places of military service as far away as possible. And people who did not pay attention to political news simply did not know what a terrorist attack was.
But this time, planet Baiji was really in the limelight, and there were too many people paying attention to it. Even through the internet, everyone felt as if it had happened right in front of their eyes. As a result, many people were stunned by this news.
"Terrorist... terrorist attack?"
"Look at the time. It happened when the live broadcast was cut off!"
"Is this really not a movie?"
Five minutes later.
A piece of news appeared online with an accompanying picture. The picture was a screenshot of planet Baiji's promotional video, except that there was an extra large "T" on it.
Very quickly, all the major media outlets reported on this matter and explained the meaning of the picture: The terrorist organization "Tomorrow's Empire," or "T" organization, claims responsibility for the attack on planet Baiji.
Yanbei retirement home for retired officials. When Great-Grandfather Fang, who was watering the plants, saw the news, his hands trembled and he dropped his watering can.
Great-Grandmother Fang hurriedly picked up her communications device and contacted her former comrades, hoping to get the latest news on planet Baiji.
The two elders' faces were pale. Now, they regretted agreeing to let Fang Zhao serve on planet Baiji. Even though they often said that the younger generation should enlist in the military and serve in tough places, sometimes they turned a blind eye. Speaking of which, they still felt sorry for the younger generation. At that time, the two elders had been very happy with Fang Zhao's decision, but at the same time, they were also worried that Fang Zhao would encounter some bad things.
The discovery of Baiji ore had made Great-Grandfather Fang very proud in the retirement home for a while, but he had never expected that after a few days, he would encounter such a situation.
"Little Zhao is the discoverer of Baiji ore, and he is also a celebrity. They have probably sent quite a number of people to protect him. He should be fine. Yes, he will definitely be fine." Great-Grandfather Fang did not know if he was consoling his wife or convincing himself. After muttering a few words, he hurriedly picked up his communications device and continued contacting people to help him gather information.
On planet Baiji, when Kevin Lin received the notification that the transmission had been successful, he was ecstatic.
A successful transmission meant that communications had been restored. Restored communications proved that the base had definitely received the news and would surely send reinforcements. Even if the base was too busy, he could still send the news back to the news agency and even get in touch with his family!
However, when he saw the status of the transmission, he felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head.
He had taken so many videos, but only the first video had been successfully transmitted. He still did not know how long it had taken for the transmission to succeed. The second video was stuck at 19%, and progress was slow. Live broadcasts were even more impossible. He could not contact the base either. He did not know why.
"Is it because the signal in the basement is too weak?" Kevin Lin asked. "Professor Fan, have you managed to get in touch?"
Fan Lin shook his head. He felt very sorry for Fang Zhao and Kevin Lin. After all, he had played some tricks to transfer Fang Zhao over. Who knew that this would happen?
Fan Lin sighed. "Fang Zhao, this time it was my fault. I should not have transferred you over."
After waiting for a while, Fang Zhao did not reply. Fan Lin looked over and saw that Fang Zhao, who had been tending to the wounded, had stood up and was looking at the basement door.
The room suddenly became a little brighter.
The light emitted by the "rabbit" in the water tank was much brighter than before. The originally soft fur stood up one by one, and the ends of each strand of fur had some bright spots. It looked very beautiful, but Fan Lin felt a sense of danger — anyone who touched it now would be unlucky.
Many animals had a stronger sense of danger than humans. The people in this basement were no fools. That was why they were nervous.
"What... what... what's outside?" Kevin Lin's excitement had already faded completely. Now that he had calmed down and listened carefully for even the slightest movement, he could faintly hear strange howls that made all the hair on his body stand on end.
Fang Zhao did not reply. Instead, he walked to the door and pressed a button on the wall. A screen popped up, showing the scene outside the basement door. Because it had not been changed in a long time and had not been maintained, the equipment was rather old, and the image would jerk from time to time.
There were no lights outside, and the camera was in night vision mode. The colors were not that bright, but they were still rather clear, transmitting the situation outside the door.
A creature with four slender limbs walked past the basement door. It had hook-like claws, and the fur on its body seemed to be knotted inch by inch. On parts of its exposed skin, tendons bulged and throbbed. Its face was ferocious, and there was some liquid dripping from the edge of its fangs. It was unknown whether it was saliva or blood.
This sort of sick creature was definitely not a wild animal of planet Baiji.
Bang!
The crisp sound of a hard object breaking suddenly rang out in the quiet basement, startling everyone.
Everyone followed the sound and saw that Fang Zhao had been holding onto a piece of metal he had taken from a wounded soldier, but it had been forcefully snapped in half.
Fang Zhao's back was facing them. His usually calm and composed eyes were now like a sharpened blade, suffused with an ominous glint.
He seemed to be standing there calmly, but Fang Zhao's heart was raging with rage.
Those creatures from the Period of Destruction were no longer considered a threat to the people of the New Era. There were even some wealthy people who wanted to keep a Period of Destruction creature as a pet, but the law forbade it. There were strict regulations regarding experiments on Period of Destruction creatures. Applications had to go through layers of scrutiny, and if any violations were discovered, the offender would be sentenced to death.
Some people had illegally conducted Period of Destruction experiments for the sake of money, such as collecting specimens and bone ornaments from the Period of Destruction. Some people had other motives, such as using the creature as a biological weapon.
There was definitely more than one in the outpost. The attackers had deliberately let them in to attack the outpost team.
The people of the New Era might have just been disgusted by the actions of terrorists, but Fang Zhao was furious!
Nearly a hundred years of war and so many sacrifices had been made just to see you guys let them out again?
Is this a rebellion?!
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