Stars, Players and Immortals

Chapter 46: It's almost time~

Zhang Qiming placed the toolbox behind the brake base next to the track well and reached out to unfasten the outer tool seal.

The lid popped open, revealing maintenance tools, a calibrator, and diagnostic cables on the first layer, while the Minotaur-class tactical nuclear device was secured on the next layer. The black titanium alloy casing was pressed into the frame of the positioning maintenance module, with a temporary calibration label from the tower engineering department affixed to the outside. When the scanner looked at it from the outside, it would only identify it as a hoist shaft brake calibration component.

Doraemon and Tomoyo had already completed the necessary pre-installation work for this device.

What Zhang Qiming needs to do now is to put it in the correct position, access remote authorization, and then confirm the detonation of the window.

He took out two magnetic locking clips, clipped the device into the pipeline interlayer behind the moving base, and then raised his hand to snap the maintenance pipeline baffle back on.

Click~

The moment the baffle closed, the Minotaur was completely covered, with only a brake calibration module appearing on the outside, mixed in with the surrounding wiring and cooling pipes. Even the inspection machine would only classify it as a new maintenance part when it was scanned.

[The Minotaur-class tactical nuclear device is now in place.]

[Disguised Label: Hoist Shaft Brake Calibration Module]

[Audit Tower Local Identification: Normal!]

[Ares Audit Chain Log: Normal!]

[Remotely Detonate Link Access]

[Security Lock 1: Authorized by Zhishilang!]

[Security Lock Two: Skydrive Leader's Personal Key!]

[Countdown: 02:59:59.]

Three hours was enough for him to leave the Auditorium, pass through the outer corridor of the Olympus Hub block, and enter the secure area.

Zhang Qiming closed the lid again, put the repair tools back in their place, and reattached the outer seal. Zhi Shilang kept updating the patrol robot's movement trajectory at the edge of his field of vision; there were 27 seconds left until the next round of inspections.

He raised his hand and tapped a few times on the terminal next to the brake base, activating the work projection commonly used by the engineering department. A light blue screen was attached to the outside of the brake base, displaying the newly generated work order receipt.

[The braking module of elevator shaft line 3 has been re-inspected.]

The temporary calibration component has been integrated.

The next routine review will be scheduled in 72 hours.

The inspection robot slides in from the other end of the maintenance bridge. The camera scans the brake base, identifies the completed maintenance projection, pauses for one second, and then uploads the record to the Audit Tower local maintenance chain.

Inspection Log: Normal.

[No exceptions.]

Zhang Qiming picked up his toolbox, turned around and went back the way he came. This time he did not encounter any accidents and went smoothly all the way. Gates opened in front of him and closed behind him.

As he walked out of the lower passage of the Tower Engineering Office, the night wind of the Olympus Hub blew in from the outer corridor bridge.

The Auditorium is located in the high-level government control zone on the east side of the hub, which is the area where Martian elites and high-level institutions operate. There are no residential areas or densely populated urban neighborhoods nearby, so there is no need to worry about unrelated civilians being drawn into the core of the explosion.

Zhang Qiming glanced at the countdown; there were still about two hours left, and he should hurry up and make his escape.

Ten minutes later, he had left the eastern high-level government control area belonging to the Ares Auditorium. A few minutes later, Zhang Qiming changed out of his maintenance clothes, took off the [skin-mimicking memory mask], and put the mask away in a sealed box.

He followed the underground magnetic track on the north side of the Olympus Block, turned into the outer perimeter of the Argo Block, and finally arrived at the top observation platform of the Argo Ninth Heat Exchange Tower. From there, he could see the towering Ares Auditorium to the east, even across several kilometers of light rails.

Ares Auditorium is the fourth tallest tower on Mars, but unfortunately it will become a thing of the past after today.

Standing on the observation platform, Zhang Qiming sent a message to Hagia Sophia via a secret link.

"I'm all ready."

Saint Sophia: "Understood, I'm ready too."

After replying, Saint Sophia went silent, and Zhang Qiming didn't send any more messages. He just silently observed the countdown timer.

[Minotaur Countdown: 00:13:42]

He stared at the string of numbers for a few seconds, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"It's almost time~"

……

……

Meanwhile, inside the Ares Auditorium, the six members of the Elimination List, unaware of their impending doom, gathered together.

They gathered together because Hagia Sophia had just claimed to have intercepted an unusual communication, alleging that one of them had overstepped his authority during quarantine by contacting an external fleet and had secret ties with Skyward Underworld members, attempting to usurp the authority of the College of Cardinals.

Upon hearing this news, the six people burst into laughter in anger.

The meeting room was dimly lit, and several cut crystal glasses were placed on the table. Captain Romulus of the Red Crown was holding a freshly opened bottle of Romanée-Conti, the deep red liquid slowly sliding down the glass, reflecting the sarcasm on his face.

"It seems our Holy Maiden is obsessed with power."

"Now they don't even bother with acting anymore, and they dare to throw all sorts of dirty water on us. Does she really think the Olympus Hub is some kind of toy house in space?"

Alberto, a core member of the conservative faction of the Holy College of Cardinals, sat on the other side, his face filled with anger.

"A puppet that climbed up from the bottom of the monastery dares to put on airs in front of us."

He spoke harshly, his knuckles striking the table with a dull thud.

"If I had known she would cause so much trouble, I should have disposed of her and all that experimental supplies back then."

At this point, Alberto's anger shifted to another area.

"And those damn Skywalkers, where did they even come from?"

Captain Red Crown took a sip of his drink and slowly placed the glass back on the table.

Romulus raised his eyes, swirled his wine glass, and spoke with a condescending annoyance.

"Where else could they have come from? They most likely crawled out of the stinking ditches of those Red Dust People."

"The screw makers in Sailor Valley, the lower-level technicians in Tharsis, the 'waste people' in the mining area who rely on prosthetics to prolong their lives, the widows in the military dependents' area who cry and wail all day long while clutching their compensation bills, and the accounting rats we keep."

"The College of Cardinals has given them jobs, prosthetic bodies, and the nutritional supplements that will allow them to survive on Mars over the years. And yet, they take the tools bestowed upon them by the Church and turn around to bite their master."

Alberto couldn't help but scoff, "Aren't you giving those people too much credit? I'm more inclined to suspect they're a terrorist organization supported by the Terra government, with the aim of hindering Mars' development."

Captain Crimson Crown smiled noncommittally and continued, "Let's forget about the Sky Destroyers for now and talk about our Saintess."

"During this period, the power of the Truth Investigation Committee has expanded a bit too quickly. The College of Cardinals is well aware that the old folks are best at balancing things. They removed me from the Red Crown, seemingly to support Saint Sophia, but their real purpose was to make us a rival to her."

"Our Holy Maiden has been jumping around a lot lately, and seems to be a bit too confident. The Holy Cardinals need her to investigate the Skywarders, but they didn't let her touch anything she shouldn't."

As soon as he finished speaking, several bursts of laughter rang out in the meeting room.

In their eyes, Saint Sophia has been jumping around like a clown lately. She has no idea that there are some things that you can't accept unless the College of Cardinals tells you to.

Alberto bluntly stated, "Once we find out who's behind Skydrive, we'll send her flying."

Captain Red Crown nodded, raised his glass again, and prepared to drink the rest of the wine.

Just as the rim of the cup touched his lips, his heart suddenly clenched.

Romulus is a level 60 Holy Body Forger with an extremely high degree of cybernetics. His battlefield reaction system, danger warning core, and other cybernetics are all top-of-the-line military configurations. Years of orbital warfare and bridge command have given him an almost ingrained intuition for danger.

At that moment, he felt his hair stand on end, and his entire senses seemed to be displaying a red word, and that word was...

—Danger!!!!

He tried to pinpoint the source of the crisis, but his senses told him that danger was everywhere.

The other five noticed something was wrong with him, and Alberto frowned and asked directly:

"Romulus, what's wrong?"

The captain of the Crimson Crown replied instinctively, "I have a feeling something's wrong..."

Before he could finish speaking, a burst of dazzling light and heat erupted in the Auditorium.

The next instant, Romulus's tactical prosthetic eye caught a flash of white light, which looked as if... it was dawn.

The white light shot up from under the floor, first swallowing the table legs, then tearing open the metal floor, and engulfing the table, wine glasses, chairs, and several high-ranking officials who hadn't had time to react into the light.

His prosthetic system sent out a series of warnings within a thousandth of a second.

[High-energy reaction out of control!]

[Thermal shock exceeds limits!]

[Armor layer melted down!]

[Neural pathway disruption!]

Romulus raised his hand, trying to block the light with his heavy prosthetics, but as soon as his arm reached his chest, the alloy armor began to turn red, peel off, and melt.

The world in Tactical Yi's eyes quickly became distorted, and firelight filled his vision.

……

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