Chapter 451: The Mountain That Should Not Exist!!

Somewhere deep inside the mountains...

Far from regular roads.

Far from any tourist map.

Far from places where normal people were allowed to wander.

A massive camouflaged infrastructure was hidden between the cliffs.

From above, it looked like nothing.

Rock.

Fog.

Dense forest.

Uneven terrain.

Cold stone.

But beneath it...

An army lived.

An army of men who were officially dead.

For the outside world, the entire region had been restricted by law for years.

People who tried reaching the deeper mountain routes rarely returned in good condition.

Some became sick.

Some collapsed on the way.

Some died.

And some simply disappeared.

Nineteen years ago...

A research expedition had entered the region with proper equipment.

Gas masks.

Protective clothing.

Navigation systems.

Medical support.

They returned with a report.

According to the research...

The mountain range naturally released harmful gases through underground cracks.

Certain valleys contained concentrations high enough to cause unconsciousness.

Respiratory failure.

Hallucinations.

Even death.

The report spread quickly.

The government restricted the region.

Maps were updated.

Routes disappeared.

Warning boards were placed.

And after enough years...

Nobody questioned it anymore.

People simply stopped coming.

Which was exactly what someone had wanted.

...

Reina adjusted the binoculars.

Then lowered them.

"I wonder who fabricated that story."

Darius remained crouched near the rocky edge.

Reina looked around.

Trees.

Mist.

Cold wind.

Nothing else.

"We’ve been here since the helicopters dropped us."

She looked toward him.

"And somehow..."

"We’re still alive."

Darius smiled faintly.

Reina raised the binoculars again.

The hidden compound was visible in the distance.

Not clearly.

But enough.

Structures had been built into the mountain itself.

Reinforced entrances.

Camouflaged roofs.

Storage areas.

Weapons platforms.

And farther above...

A communications tower stood between two rocky ridges.

Darius pointed.

"You see that?"

"The tower?"

"Yes."

Reina focused the binoculars.

"That’s their main communication source."

She looked toward the gray sky.

"Doesn’t modern technology have eyes in space?"

Darius chuckled.

"Satellites?"

"Yes."

Reina lowered the binoculars.

"You can hide buildings."

"But can you really hide an entire army from above?"

Darius looked toward the sky.

Then around the mountains.

"We’ve spent two days here."

Reina waited.

"I haven’t seen direct sunlight even once."

She looked up.

Thick clouds hung permanently over the region.

Darius continued,

"The magnetic readings are unstable too."

"The terrain interferes with signals."

"The valleys twist everything."

He looked toward the mountains.

"These peaks are basically creating their own fake North Pole."

Reina raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds scientifically questionable."

Darius looked at her.

"You understood what I meant."

She smiled.

Darius continued,

"Whoever built this place researched it properly."

"Weather."

"Terrain."

"Signals."

"Natural interference."

"And even if someone does have eyes in orbit..."

He shrugged.

"...why waste those eyes watching a place where everyone believes nothing exists?"

Reina slowly nodded.

"Fair."

Then she smiled.

"Our bases are usually hidden in places like this."

Darius immediately looked suspicious.

Reina continued,

"Should we build one here after we take it?"

Darius laughed.

"Very ambitious."

Reina shrugged.

"Think like Leader."

She looked toward the compound.

"If he wants something..."

"He can achieve it."

Static came through their radios.

Then Marina’s irritated voice.

"What are you two blabbering about?"

Reina looked upward.

A helicopter was moving over the mountain ridge.

Flying low.

Heading toward the hidden compound.

Darius smiled.

"Great work, Marina."

He pressed the radio.

"Take that thing out."

Marina replied,

"Copy that."

A pause.

"I’ll tell the pilot."

...

Near the compound...

Several soldiers were already moving toward the landing area.

One looked up.

"This week’s ration arrived."

Another soldier adjusted his rifle.

"Let’s go."

Several men started walking.

Then one stopped.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Wait."

The others turned.

"Where is the helicopter going?"

The aircraft wasn’t descending.

Instead...

It had started shifting sideways.

Away from the landing route.

One soldier frowned.

"That’s not right."

Then...

The mountain exploded with sound.

A siren howled across the compound.

Soldiers instantly stopped.

Someone shouted,

"Incoming!"

A missile appeared over the ridge.

It crossed the valley in seconds.

Then struck the communication tower.

BOOM!

Fire erupted.

Metal twisted.

The upper portion of the tower broke apart.

Debris fell across the mountainside.

Inside the helicopter...

Marina watched through the open side.

A grin appeared on her face.

"Take that, cowards."

The pilot immediately turned the aircraft away.

Below...

Chaos erupted.

"The tower is gone!"

"We’re under attack!"

"Positions!"

"Move!"

Soldiers rushed in every direction.

Weapons were raised.

Several men immediately started firing toward the helicopter.

Automatic rounds echoed through the valley.

Marina ducked slightly.

"Move faster!"

The pilot laughed.

"Relax."

He pulled farther away from the ridge.

"They can’t reach us from there."

More gunfire followed.

Marina watched the rounds fall far behind.

Then sighed.

"Good."

Back at the compound...

Hundreds of soldiers were already moving.

Not randomly.

Not like frightened recruits.

In formation.

Efficiently.

Weapons in hand.

Heavy ammunition came out of storage.

An older man stepped from one of the reinforced structures.

His hair was gray.

His posture remained straight.

And the soldiers around him immediately responded to his presence.

"Prepare the RPGs."

Several men moved at once.

Launchers were brought forward.

Ammunition crates opened.

The older man’s eyes remained fixed on the sky.

But the helicopter was already moving beyond range.

...

Reina watched everything through the binoculars.

Then passed them toward Darius.

"Is he the one?"

Darius adjusted the focus.

The older man came into view.

He stared for several seconds.

Then nodded.

"Yes."

Reina’s expression changed.

Darius continued,

"That’s the king."

"The king?"

Darius smiled faintly.

"The one Vivienne Horrow uses to keep the chessboard stable."

Reina looked toward the compound again.

"Then does that make Vivienne the queen?"

Darius smirked.

"A queen?"

He looked toward her.

"What is she going to do without her knights?"

Reina smiled.

Then picked up a handheld microphone.

A cable ran from it toward a portable system hidden between the rocks.

She handed it to Darius.

"The speakers are ready."

Darius accepted it.

Several hidden loudspeakers had already been positioned around the valley during the previous two days.

Reina looked toward him.

Darius smiled.

"Time to play the game."

He adjusted the microphone.

"Our ancestors had a saying."

Reina waited.

"When you’re outnumbered..."

"You don’t fight head-on."

He looked toward the hundreds of armed soldiers.

"You make the enemy fight the game you choose."

Reina smiled.

"Classic war tactics."

Darius tapped the microphone.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound echoed throughout the valley.

Every soldier in the compound stopped for half a second.

Some looked toward the mountains.

Others raised their rifles.

The older leader narrowed his eyes.

Darius cleared his throat.

Then spoke.

"My name is General Wilfred Wraithbourne."

The voice carried across the entire mountain.

Several soldiers froze.

Darius continued,

"These illegal bunkers are currently surrounded by the Provincial Army of Haven."

The reaction was immediate.

One soldier looked toward another.

"General Wraithbourne?"

Another man’s face changed.

"He’s here?"

"What do we do?"

The older leader raised his hand.

"Do not panic."

The soldiers quieted.

He looked around the surrounding ridges.

"There is no way."

His voice remained firm.

"They don’t have an army here."

He looked toward the destroyed tower.

"At most..."

"Ten."

"Twenty."

He smiled coldly.

"We still have the advantage."

Several soldiers nodded.

The leader continued,

"And they won’t have reliable communication with the mainland either."

He pointed toward the mountains.

"This place belongs to us."

A soldier beside him nodded.

"We have enough ammunition."

"Heavy weapons."

"RPGs."

"We can finish them."

Darius’ voice came through the speakers again.

"I order everyone inside the compound to surrender immediately."

The soldiers looked toward the cliffs.

Darius continued,

"Lay down your weapons."

"Walk into the open."

"And nobody will be harmed."

The older leader smiled.

Darius’ tone became colder.

"Refuse..."

"And some of you won’t get the opportunity to say a final goodbye to your families."

A few soldiers shifted uncomfortably.

The older leader suddenly shouted toward the valley.

"Since when did your voice change, Wilfred?"

Reina looked toward Darius.

Darius stared back.

The man’s voice continued from below.

"You think you can fool us?"

Several soldiers laughed.

The leader shouted,

"You made one thing very clear."

"You are no authority."

He spread his arms.

"We stay here."

"If you have the guts..."

"Come forward."

"Stop hiding in the rocks like cowards."

Farther away...

Marina had already left the helicopter.

She crouched behind a cliff ridge with several warriors.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Guts?"

She looked toward the compound.

"You’ll regret provoking him, old man."

...

Darius slowly lowered the microphone.

He sighed.

"If Leader hadn’t specifically told us not to kill anyone..."

Reina looked toward him.

Darius continued,

"I would’ve turned that place into a mess already."

Reina smiled faintly.

"Losing your calm, Darius?"

He gave her a look.

"I’m perfectly calm."

"Sure."

Darius looked toward the compound.

Then toward the mountains beneath them.

His expression changed.

"Looks like we need to shake the ground under their feet."

Reina stopped smiling.

She slowly looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

Darius didn’t answer.

Then realization appeared.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"The warriors you sent into the caves..."

Darius grinned.

Reina stared.

"You brought that thing here?"

He smiled wider.

"Leader asked us to test it."

Reina looked toward the compound again.

Darius continued,

"I couldn’t think of a better place."

"Or a better opportunity."

...

One and a half months earlier.

Bauer’s Chocolate Shop.

Frankfurt.

Miles stood with Thea.

Thea reached into her bag.

Then placed a small thumb drive on the table.

"This is for you."

Miles looked at it.

Then at her.

"What is this?"

Thea pushed it closer.

"The final copy."

"Of what?"

Her expression became serious.

"The intelligence on the weapon of mass destruction."

Miles stopped.

His eyes moved toward the thumb drive again.

"The one from the Conclave?"

Thea nodded.

Miles picked it up.

"You spent twenty-five million dollars on this."

Thea remained silent.

Miles looked toward her.

"Why give it to me?"

Thea looked down for a moment.

Then answered,

"Because I want you to find it."

Miles listened.

"And destroy it."

He stared at her.

Thea continued,

"I can’t."

"Why?"

She smiled bitterly.

"You know why."

Miles said nothing.

Thea looked toward the window.

"I’m still bound by my fate."

"By the WEB."

Her eyes returned to Miles.

"But you..."

She paused.

"You can do it."

Miles looked at the thumb drive again.

Then sighed.

He closed his fingers around it.

"I’ll take care of it."

Thea’s shoulders relaxed.

"Thanks."

Miles slipped the drive safely away.

Neither of them knew then...

How soon he would actually find a place to use what was hidden inside it.

...

Present Day.

Star Harbor Convention Center.

Morning.

Sterling Launchpad was entering another busy day.

Participants moved through the entrances.

Security lines were organized.

Escorts waited in separate lanes.

Foundation volunteers guided people toward their assigned halls.

And near one of the security checkpoints...

A man stood wearing a face mask.

Simple clothes.

Nothing particularly noticeable.

Except every Sterling Security employee nearby knew exactly who he was.

One security agent gave a small respectful nod.

"Morning, Boss."

Miles smiled beneath the mask.

"Good morning."

He looked toward the rest of the team.

"Everyone."

Several agents turned.

Miles continued,

"Thank you for your hard work."

One of them smiled.

"Just doing our job, Boss."

Miles nodded.

"Keep it up."

Then he moved through the checkpoint.

No special announcement.

No attention.

No one around him realized that the man everyone had been hoping to see...

Had already entered the Convention Center.

...

Escort Lounge.

NULL sat alone at a corner table.

A small plate rested in front of him.

Apple slices.

He casually picked one up.

Bit into it.

His eyes never left his phone.

The screen displayed one of the feeds he had managed to access.

People moving through security.

NULL stopped chewing.

He zoomed in.

A masked man.

Nothing special.

But security behavior around him was different.

Too subtle for most people.

Not for NULL.

His eyes narrowed.

Then a smile appeared.

"Finally."

He leaned back.

"There you are..."

He tapped the screen.

"Miles Sterling."

NULL took another apple slice.

Before he could continue watching...

His phone vibrated.

A new message.

Unknown sender.

He opened it.

Is your work finished yet???

NULL’s smile disappeared.

"Damn."

He stared at the message.

"This brat..."

Then glanced back toward Miles’ feed.

He sighed.

"Miles Sterling..."

"Give me two minutes."

"I’ll come back to you."

NULL placed the phone aside.

Then pulled his laptop from the bag near his feet.

He opened it.

Logged in.

Several windows appeared.

Internal server access.

And finally...

The section he had been waiting for.

NULL’s eyes brightened.

"Finally."

His fingers moved across the keyboard.

"They completed the monthly archiving."

He smiled.

"Perfect timing."

He checked the timestamp again.

Old files had already been moved.

System indexing had finished.

No major administrative process was currently active.

NULL cracked his fingers.

"Now..."

"I can safely push mine in."

Rapid keystrokes began.

Commands appeared.

Folders opened.

Permissions checked.

Another command.

Another.

Then...

He pressed Enter.

A new window appeared.

UPLOAD STARTED

NULL leaned closer.

The progress bar moved.

1%.

4%.

8%.

His eyes narrowed in satisfaction.

Then an estimate appeared.

ETA: 03:00

NULL smiled.

He tapped the table.

The progress bar continued.

And he waited.

To be continued...