Chapter 287 Digging a Tunnel
Under Charles's command, the whole Tiger Special Forces and the folks from Cox Town got moving.
Charles, along with Lily and Shane, took charge of launching an attack on the shelter.
They figured out that the extradimensional space didn't mess with the human body, so they aimed to forcefully create a breach.
Of course, they were just pretending to be desperate; it was all a ruse to throw Steven off.
To make it look real, they even got a bunch of special forces members to attack from a distance using all sorts of methods.
They didn't use high-explosive bombs, but their offensive was still pretty intense.
If Steven hadn't gotten a heads-up from Lily, he might've thought they'd lost their minds.
Meanwhile, about 4,900 feet away from the shelter, on the river embankment, special forces members with guns started supervising the Cox Town folks as they dug.
Everyone from Cox Town brought tools, but no one had a clue what they were supposed to do.
This was Charles's plan; he couldn't let them know from the start that they were digging a 4,900-foot-long tunnel. Otherwise, the villagers would definitely riot.
Charles didn't want to kill a bunch of people to establish authority; he valued every laborer.
After all, most of these people would be sent to West Mountain Base to work in The Fourth Life Warehouse in the future.
Since the villagers didn't know what they were doing and saw that the whole town was split into many groups to work, they didn't feel too stressed.
There were professional engineers in the special forces who guided them on how to dig.
In the underground third level of the shelter, Steven sat on a leather sofa, wearing loose sportswear, while four women dressed casually in pajamas sat nearby.
Steven had already filled them in on the plan, so when they learned there wouldn't be a large-scale attack for now, they relaxed.
Through cameras embedded in the walls, Steven could clearly see Charles and the others angrily attacking the rear wall.
It was a shooting blind spot, so Steven couldn't use a sniper rifle to attack.
But even when Charles punched, he only left a shallow mark on the solid, thick wall.
Shane's attack left an even shallower mark; although he looked terrifying after transforming, his strength was still far less than Charles's.
As for Lily, she swung her newly acquired broadsword, leaving a slightly deeper but very thin scratch.
After one swing, Lily didn't stick around; she pretended to be wiped out and quickly backed off.
Among the four team leaders, Clay wasn't a strength-type Psychic, so he just provided support and didn't actually attack.
At their current pace, even if they worked non-stop for 24 hours, it would take a year and a half to make any real progress.
Steven sat cross-legged on the leather sofa, eyes glued to the screen like he was watching his favorite show.
Next to him were Elinor and Nora, dressed in sexy pajamas, each on one side, feeding him snacks and peeled fruit.
"Water," Steven said, and Nora quickly handed him a glass.
Elinor, who was a bit slower, shot Nora a resentful look.
The two women vying for attention made Cindy and Aubrey, who were watching, feel awkward.
Aubrey scratched her head and broke the silence. "These Psychics are amazing! Their attack power is stronger than a lot of conventional weapons. Are all Psychics this powerful?"
Steven, munching on snacks, replied, "These folks are the elite of West Mountain Base; it's no surprise they're this strong."
Then he turned to the women beside him and said, "See, the outside world is so dangerous with such powerful Psychics. We should never go out casually. Isn't it nice to stay here with food and drink?"
The women nodded in agreement.
Over the past few days, they'd been on edge, hearing gunfire and explosions outside.
Nora curiously asked, "Steven, even though we know their battle plan, we can't go out. How do we know how far they've dug?"
Steven smiled slightly and looked at Cindy, who was sitting elegantly nearby. "Cindy, why don't you explain?"
Cindy glanced at Nora, raised her chin proudly, and answered, "Sound travels faster in solids than in air. Since they're digging underground, the vibrations will be more noticeable. With a receiving device, I can use a computer to analyze their digging distance."
She elegantly sipped her coffee. "It's just a small trick."
Nora suddenly understood. "So, we don't need to do anything now, right? Our only task is to wait."
Steven nodded. "Yeah, basically, we don't need to do anything. Everything they're doing is just a waste of time. Let's conserve our energy and watch them waste their time—and lives."
It wasn't that Steven didn't want to do anything.
But as the defender, it was smarter to let the opponent make the first move and reveal their weaknesses before taking action.
What he needed to do was keep a constant eye on the opponent's movements and not miss any suspicious activity.
After all, he couldn't rule out the possibility that Lily was playing both sides.
The first day went by without a hitch.
To keep up the act, Steven even showed his face and fired a few shots with a sniper rifle.
But he quickly got bored and headed back to the basement to play cards with the women.
Under his guidance, the women had become pretty decent card players.
Especially Cindy, who had such a sharp mind that she almost had a photographic memory.
So, she quickly became the best card player in the shelter.
Since betting money was pointless, they added other stakes to the game.
For example, the loser had to perform a skit or share an embarrassing story from the past.
Steven and his household lived a peaceful and interesting life, but the folks outside weren't as comfy.
The warriors from West Mountain Base, including Charles, weren't made of iron.
Even though they wore specially designed combat suits with strong cold resistance, they couldn't completely ignore the extreme cold.
Ordinary soldiers had to rotate shifts after two hours of duty to return indoors and warm up.
As for Charles and the other Psychics, they found a corner and built an igloo.
The igloo was built by Clay.
His ability was different from Earl's; he could condense water molecules or ice from the air to create solid structures.
Their abilities had similarities but were fundamentally different.
Earl's ability was more terrain-dependent, usable only in icy or snowy areas. However, his ability covered a larger area and consumed less energy since he used local materials.
Clay, on the other hand, could create a frozen environment even without ice or snow. So, the igloo he built was sturdier than Earl's and could even withstand small artillery shells if he wanted.
Inside the igloo, they lit a fire to warm up. Once they were warm, they resumed harassing Steven.
By the end of the day, they had only left shallow marks on the outer wall, without making any real progress.
But Charles was very patient.
While warming up, he took out some meat from Cox Village and roasted it to replenish everyone's energy.
As the meat roasted, with the flames crackling and the rich aroma filling the air, he began to tell stories of his time serving in Sintros State.
When not in combat, Charles came off as a pretty humble guy. He wasn't tall and didn't look like a typical decisive special forces captain.
But beneath that unremarkable exterior was the heart of a true soldier.
"When I first enlisted, the captain gave us a lesson. He said, 'A good soldier doesn't need to have their own thoughts.' Of course, he wasn't talking about combat thoughts but strategic-level thinking. In war, the worst thing is for individual will to override collective will. Even if you know something is wrong, everyone has to move in the same direction for there to be a chance of victory. If everyone acts on their own ideas, it's game over."
As Charles said this, he looked at Lily with a smile. "Internal division poses the greatest threat to any organization's stability."
Lily glanced at him and tossed a piece of firewood into the fire. "But if someone knows something is wrong and still goes along with it, isn't that even worse?" she asked.
She was subtly referring to Charles forcing the villagers of Cox Town to dig the tunnel, regardless of their lives.
Charles humorously drew a circle with his hand. "But don't forget, this planet is round. If we keep moving in one direction, even if it's wrong, we'll eventually come back."
After this bit of sophistry, he said in a serious tone, "But if the team's morale is scattered and everyone's strength isn't united, even finding the right direction won't lead to success. We've tried many times and can't afford to lose again."
Charles didn't need to say these things to Lily. Just as he didn't need to explain anything to Clay and Shane.
But he still showed enough patience with Lily, understanding that she wasn't a professional soldier, yet recognizing her considerable capabilities.
He wanted this subordinate to be genuinely convinced by him, making future management easier.
Lily remained silent.
After a long while, she looked at Charles and asked in a playful tone, "So, are you confident that our operation this time will succeed? If we fail and many people die from exhaustion and frostbite, who will take responsibility for that?"
The atmosphere in the igloo got a bit heavy.
Charles lowered his head and thought for a moment before slowly saying, "I will!"
The next moment, he looked up with a bright smile. "I will remember those who died and live well for their sake too!"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
