CHAPTER 430: DEMON CLAN BASE FOUND AT COORDINATE 430

"I’m going down to take a look!" Wang Lan said hastily, his figure swiftly submerging into the ground and vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"Let’s go together!" Yu Ruoyun hurriedly called out, her figure flashing as she too sank into the ground. Wang Lan was proficient in the Earth Travel Skill, and so was Yu Ruoyun. Jiang Xinyu, however, was not of the Earth Attribute.

Although the S Independent Squad had members of the Earth Attribute, they didn’t dare to follow without Wang Lan’s order. Jiang Xinyu, though very worried, could only wait silently at the Flying Horse Farm.

This was the only time Wang Lan had prayed for fate to favor him, as he had no confidence in this conjecture. If the Biochemical Demon Soldiers weren’t tunneling underground, he couldn’t think of any other way to find their cultivation base.

Following the trail of loose soil from the tunnel, Wang Lan kept diving. When he was twenty meters deep, the tunnel gradually changed direction, extending eastward parallel to the surface. Wang Lan understood then that his gamble had paid off.

"Wang Lan, did you guess correctly?"

"It seems so. Let’s go, and be extremely cautious. I have the Sea Demon skill, so I can scout ahead. You follow behind me, and don’t surface without my order."

"Are you concerned about me?" Yu Ruoyun asked slyly. "Or do you think my strength would be a burden to you?"

"If we find the Biochemical Demon Soldiers’ production base, we win. Let’s slip into the village quietly, and no firing of guns!"

The speed of the Earth Travel Skill depended entirely on one’s mastery of it. Wang Lan knew that experts who were truly proficient in the Earth Travel Skill could travel underground at over three hundred kilometers per hour.

Wang Lan’s Earth Travel Skill wasn’t refined enough; he managed just over a hundred kilometers per hour. Even so, this speed would undoubtedly rank him within the top 100 in the world.

"We’re heading directly east now. If I’m not mistaken, we’ll reach the Bund soon," Yu Ruoyun said, her voice close to Wang Lan’s ear.

By this logic, the Biochemical Demon Soldiers’ production base is under the sea, Wang Lan realized. No wonder we couldn’t find it even after digging three feet deep; it turns out it’s not in Modu City at all!

This discovery greatly relieved Wang Lan. If the base were in the city, finding it, even early, would have meant fatal damage to Modu City. Once a major battle started, half of Modu would have become ruins.

Now that it wasn’t in Modu City, there were far fewer concerns. The Jade Country’s conventional weapons might be enough to teach the Demon Clan a lesson, perhaps without even needing Star Martial Warriors to act.

For the Demon Clan, hiding in Modu City was akin to plunging a dagger into its heart, but it also meant the constant risk of exposure. Once exposed, the consequences would be dire. Therefore, safety was their utmost consideration.

The tunnel suddenly plunged hundreds of meters deeper before continuing eastward. Wang Lan was now nearly a thousand meters underground. The East Sea’s depth ranged from three hundred to eight hundred meters. At a thousand meters down, Wang Lan was still traveling beneath the seabed.

The Biochemical Demon Soldiers had tunneled through the seafloor, possibly because they feared water or, more likely, to maintain secrecy. If this tunnel connected directly to the East Sea, seawater would pour through the passage. Soon, geysers would erupt at the Flying Horse Farm, creating a spectacle. If it wasn’t obvious by then that they came from the East Sea, it would be idiotic.

After two hours of pursuit, having traveled two hundred kilometers eastward, the passageway suddenly ascended. They carefully entered an underwater cavern. It was densely packed with countless cultivation chambers, which, to Wang Lan, looked like endless coffins laid side by side, sending shivers down his spine.

Wang Lan instantly activated his Void Purple Eyes, scanning the entire cavern. Yu Ruoyun silently moved beside him, extending her perception. After a long while, both ceased their investigation.

The precise targeting of the Void Purple Eyes, combined with Yu Ruoyun’s incredibly strong perception, meant that not even a Titled Strongman hiding in the dark could escape detection. Furthermore, before they emerged, Yu Ruoyun had activated an electromagnetic signal jamming device, ensuring all electronic equipment within a seven-hundred-meter radius was temporarily disabled.

With this triple layer of security, Wang Lan confirmed that the cavern base truly seemed unguarded.

Perhaps the Demon Clan spies were very confident in such a well-hidden base. Moreover, the current situation in Modu City required them to commit maximum resources and manpower there. Even if they had infiltrated deep into Modu City, the academies and the Heavenly Sword Bureau were not to be trifled with.

If they could have maintained as many hidden agents in Modu City as they did in remote areas, the Heavenly Sword Bureau would have found traces of them long ago. Hence, this base was likely left mostly unattended. Even if the ancient Giant Demons hadn’t suddenly appeared, the spies would have probably continued to lie low, awaiting the right moment.

Having confirmed the base’s location, Wang Lan heaved a sigh of relief. "You retreat the way we came. I’ll go up and mark the coordinates."

"Should I go with you?"

"No need. I have the Water Demon skill, and you don’t. Could you withstand the deep sea?"

Yu Ruoyun thought for a moment and then shook her head. Although she was of the Water Attribute, she didn’t possess Star Martial Skills suitable for deep-sea activities. Such skills were quite prevalent in island nations, but in continental countries like the Jade Country, few researched them, so they had become obscure.

"Be careful," she said, then once again used the Earth Travel Skill to descend.

Wang Lan’s body flashed as he entered the rock wall. However, he didn’t leave immediately but first thoroughly searched the base. It stored plenty of diving equipment and small submarines. There were even old-fashioned large submarines, likely the spoils accumulated by Demon Clan spies over many years.

Damn!

Wang Lan inwardly exclaimed.

After thoroughly searching the secret base, Wang Lan carefully ascended from the seabed into the water. He quickly activated his Sea Demon Star Martial Skill and effortlessly surfaced.

Like a sea god emerging from the depths, he slowly rose above the sea level. Quietly standing on the water’s surface, he took out his phone and sent location coordinates to Cheng Jianlong.

「Inside the conference room」

Cheng Jianlong was fiercely debating with the Modu City Committee about the next steps: whether to lock down the city or to relocate immediately.

Relocating was not feasible without confirming the location of the Demon Clan’s Biochemical Demon Soldier production facility. The resulting damage and impact would be colossal. Besides, where could so many people be moved? But if they locked down the city, how many would die once the Demon Clan unleashed their terrifying forces?

"Modu City is not incapable of facing challenges, but we can’t just run off without even knowing where the enemy is," a committee member said. "The so-called one hundred thousand Demon Soldiers and fifty Biochemical Demon Generals with the strength of Titled Strongmen—these are just predictions from the Heavenly Sword Bureau. To ask Modu City to lock down or relocate based on mere conjecture isn’t something we can easily explain to the public."

"Chief Cheng, can’t you produce more evidence?" someone asked.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Just as Cheng Jianlong was about to speak, his phone suddenly lit up.

Seeing the message was from Wang Lan, Cheng Jianlong hurriedly opened it. A set of coordinates? Then, the phone began to ring.

"Hello, Wang Lan—"

When they heard Wang Lan’s name, everyone in the conference room fell silent. Which of the high-ranking city officials present didn’t know who Wang Lan was? He was someone who, despite being active for only two years, had repeatedly achieved great feats, forcing the state to keep his profile somewhat low to prevent him from overshadowing others.

Even top leaders had commented that Wang Lan was a national hero, a hidden blade in its sheath. A hidden blade is rarely drawn, but once unsheathed, it is sure to taste enemy blood. To put it in internet slang terms: "Our side promises not to deploy Wang Lan preemptively under normal circumstances... unless we really can’t help it."

"What?!" Suddenly, Cheng Jianlong roared, slamming his palm on the table in front of him. He shot to his feet with a WHOOSH.

Meanwhile, far out on the East Sea, Wang Lan, who was treading the waves, swiftly pulled the phone away from his ear. Did Chief Cheng just use a Star Martial Skill with that shout? he wondered.

「Back in the Modu City government conference room」

Everyone was startled by Cheng Jianlong’s sudden outburst. The table in front of him collapsed instantly.

After a long moment, Cheng Jianlong slowly put down his phone, his face stunned and expressionless.

Seeing Cheng Jianlong’s expression, the high-ranking city officials panicked. Something big must have happened! they thought. Otherwise, why would Cheng Jianlong, a Titled Strongman, lose his composure like that?

Could the Demon Clan have launched those one hundred thousand Demon Soldiers? Impossible! If something had really happened in Modu City, their secretaries would have informed them by now.

Seven or eight pairs of eyes stared intently at Cheng Jianlong. Although they burned with questions, they forced themselves to remain composed. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Cheng Jianlong gradually regained his senses.

"Wang Lan just called to say... the Demon Clan’s base... has been found."

Confusion spread across everyone’s faces. Found? What were you saying just now? No clues, searched high and low, nothing? And you were talking about a scorched-earth policy or a city lockdown?

"Found? Where is it? What’s the scale of the enemy’s forces?"

"The coordinates are on my phone—Beidou positioning, accuracy within one meter..." Cheng Jianlong showed his smartphone to everyone. "It’s in a seafloor cavern one thousand meters under the sea. The Demon Clan has hidden all sorts of supplies there. Most importantly, there are nearly one hundred thousand cultivation chambers inside. Our previous speculation was correct: the Demon Clan might indeed possess one hundred thousand Biochemical Demon Soldiers."

"Damn it!" the Chief of Police exclaimed upon seeing the coordinates. "These coordinates... they’re under the sea, about seventy kilometers from Modu City? Our torpedoes and deep-sea missiles can definitely hit that!"

"So..." a representative looked up, bewildered. "We don’t need to discuss locking down the city or evacuating anymore? Instead, we should be discussing how to eliminate this base?"

"What’s there to discuss? Send in the navy! Submarines, destroyers—bomb the seabed directly!" the Chief of Police said with a laugh, spreading his hands.

"Contact the Southeast Military Region immediately!"

"Wait! Personnel from the Heavenly Sword Bureau and the police shouldn’t make any unusual moves yet. Maintain the current posture to mislead the enemy. It will take the East Sea naval forces at least three hours to assemble and launch an attack. We can’t let them escape!" The officials, regaining their composure, instantly transformed into strategic advisors, each chiming in with suggestions.

WOO! WOO! WOO!

「Southeast Military Region Naval Headquarters」

The combat readiness alarm blared.

"Level one combat readiness! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill! All ships, full load of live ammunition! All submarines, assemble at designated positions and await combat orders—"

In human history, due to the common enemy—the Demon Clan—internal conflicts had been few and far between. Traditionally, investment in the air force and navy hadn’t been significant. The primary military focus had been on missiles, specifically long-range ones.

Only in the last twenty years, as the Jade Country’s economy began to soar, did significant investment in strengthening the air force and navy begin. After all, the Demon Clan’s armies weren’t limited to land and air; their aerial and deep-sea forces were equally terrifying.

The Jade Country’s defensive strategy against the Demon Clan had shifted from merely defending within their borders to repelling the enemy at the gates. The air force was humanity’s shield in the sky, and naturally, the navy was its shield in the ocean.