Chapter 379: The Knockout

Project Wildfire 3. This wasn’t the first time Zhang Wenda had seen the name. Back then, Old Tan had told him to go inside the Third Line and activate a silver bullet that could defeat 1999 in one fell swoop—and that silver bullet was called Project Wildfire 3.

But as everyone knew by now, that had been a complete lie. Old Tan had only said that to get him away from the heart of the battlefield. The button for Project Wildfire 3 was nothing more than a decoration.

Hearing Zhang Wenda’s question, Sun Qi pushed the cracked glasses up the bridge of his nose and said, a little sheepishly, “Actually, I haven’t told them everything about it. We only have value as long as we keep some things to ourselves. If we’d laid all our cards on the table, we would’ve been sold off as slaves long ago.”

“So your Project Wildfire 3 is a fake too?” Zhang Wenda leaned back slightly.

“No, no.” Sun Qi shook his head. “Project Wildfire 3 exists, but it’s not the project we were in charge of. We were responsible for Project Wildfire 6.”

“Can you explain in detail? What are these ‘Project Wildfire’ this-and-that’s?”

Sun Qi began to explain slowly. “Let me put it this way, it might be easier for you to understand. For example, Project Wildfire 1 was nuclear fission, and its product was the atomic bomb. You should be aware of this, it’s common knowledge, right?”

“I don’t know that. How would I know that?” Zhang Wenda looked completely baffled.

Hu Maomao, who was beside him, chimed in. “Engineer Sun, just ignore him. He got into the Third Line through the back door. Please, continue.”

“Alright, I’ll continue. In short, all the Wildfire projects are weapons projects. From 1 to 7, there are seven project groups in total, all under the direct leadership of the Third Line’s core Abacus Unit.” He paused here, a hesitant look on his face.

“What’s there to hesitate about? At a time like this, who still cares about non-disclosure agreements?”

Sun Qi quickly waved his hands. “No, no, it’s not that. It’s just that the source of this information is unclear. I don’t know if I should tell you or not.”

“Just tell me. I’ll decide for myself if it’s true.”

Sun Qi glanced at his colleagues, who were devouring their food, then lowered his voice. “I heard that the disappearance of the Tides of Thought, and the reason the world became like this… it’s all related to Project Wildfire 7, which has already been activated.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenda glanced at Hu Maomao. After a quick exchange in their minds, they both gave a subtle, synchronized nod.

“Alright, I understand. Let’s skip that for now. First, tell me about your Project Wildfire 6. What were you responsible for?”

Whether it was the atomic bomb or the Project Wildfire 7 that Old Tan used to take 1999 down with him, their power was immense. ‘It’d be great if these guys had something like that on hand,’ Zhang Wenda thought.

“We were responsible for finding the fundamental force of this world. Like the explosive burst the moment an atom splits. Once humanity completely masters that kind of power, we can create hydrogen bombs through nuclear fusion, as well as nuclear power plants.”

The moment he started talking about his profession and his passion, the weariness on Sun Qi’s face vanished, replaced by a surge of excitement.

“If—and I’m just saying if—if we can find the fundamental force behind all these changes, find our ‘neutron’ to bombard our ‘atomic nucleus,’ then not only will we have an incredibly powerful weapon, but we can also elevate our civilization to the next level. And we will go down in history!”

The atmosphere turned awkward for a couple of seconds. Zhang Wenda, watching from the side, was completely bewildered. ‘What’s this guy getting so fired up about? Are all researchers this cringey?’ He didn’t see anything inspiring about it at all.

Feeling Hu Maomao mentally rap him on the head, Zhang Wenda immediately picked up the conversation. “Impressive, impressive. So, has your project achieved any major breakthroughs?”

But those words seemed to hit a sore spot for Sun Qi. His expression immediately turned very awkward.

“Our project hit a bottleneck. It seems this isn’t as simple as just searching for a ‘God Particle’ on a physical level. We discovered that the fundamental source of all this also seems to be related to space and time. We were struggling to overcome that hurdle right before the cataclysm.”

“So, in other words, you have absolutely no results to show for it right now, is that what you mean?” Zhang Wenda now understood why the man had been so reluctant to talk. If word got out and the Big Circle discovered they had no real value, they would have all been killed long ago.

Hearing this, Sun Qi grew anxious. “No research is that easy! A breakthrough of this magnitude might require the continuous efforts of several generations, maybe even a dozen!”

“Then how come everyone else has results?” Zhang Wenda stood up, his interest waning. It seemed his hopes of getting a superweapon for free were dashed.

The topic seemed to be a major point of contention for Sun Qi. Forgetting completely that Zhang Wenda had just killed so many people, he launched into a heated argument.

“How can you expect every scientific research project to yield results? Take Project Wildfire 3 and Project Wildfire 4, for example. Even their chief engineers, Zhang Zhongliang and Zhao Yi, retired early!”

“But look, our funding increased year after year! That proves the leadership and everyone else strongly approved of our direction! The goal we were striving for was different from theirs. It wasn’t just about weapons. Its outcome would transcend nations and regimes! It would benefit all of humanity!”

“Wait, hold on a second.”

Zhang Wenda suddenly grew serious. “The Zhang Zhongliang you just mentioned… is this him?” Zhang Wenda reached into his Inner World and pulled out a memory fragment. On it was a smiling, white-haired old man.

“Oh, yes, that’s him. He was an old friend of my mentor. I heard he got disheartened and went home to look after his grandson. How do you have his picture?”

Hearing this, a wry smile appeared on Zhang Wenda’s face. “How could I not have it? That Zhang Zhongliang is my grandfather—the one who dominated the public square dancing scene, the Level-8 Fitter.”

When he had joined the Third Line, he’d been curious. His grandfather was a Third Line veteran, but he had never found out what part he was responsible for. To think he was actually the chief engineer for Project Wildfire 3.

“Oh! You’re Engineer Zhang’s grandson! Well, that makes us practically family! My mentor mentioned you before!” Sun Qi’s face lit up with understanding as he stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Wenda’s hand.

“I’m famous?” Zhang Wenda was a little surprised.

“Yes! A big, healthy boy, a full eight catties and seven taels! When you were born, your grandfather was constantly showing you off to my mentor, who didn’t have a grandson!”

“PFFT—HAHAHA!!” Zhang Wenda whipped his head around, only to see Hu Maomao quickly turn away, their shoulders shaking slightly.

At these words, the others also put down their food and gathered around. They had only just met, and if there had been a sense of unfamiliarity in their relationship with Zhang Wenda before, it was now rapidly replaced by the connection of being the grandson of a respected senior.

Zhang Wenda, however, would have preferred they remained strangers. This particular path to familiarity was not a good one.

Zhang Wenda pulled Sun Qi aside. “Um, Engineer Sun, what was my grandfather’s area of focus?”

“I believe his focus was also on trying to solve the origin of the changes in the Tides of Thought. I don’t know the specific project details, I only heard my mentor mention it a few times. Your grandfather had already retired before I started.”