Chapter 247: Explosion

Li Mochen immediately hung the gun around his neck and continued to deduce with the compass.

"How is it, Sampson? Any difficulties with the explosion?"

"No problem at all, Boss, as I said. Major Adams is the most professional explosives expert in the Red Scorpion unit, and our preparations are very thorough. We've added thirty percent more charge while ensuring the two cooling shafts are blown open."

Sampson explained confidently: "At most three minutes. If the blueprints provided by Jeremy Burt are accurate, then in three minutes we can enter the underground."

"Tell him to speed up as much as possible."

At that moment, Li Mochen suddenly paused, his eyes turning somber as he looked south.

"Sampson, there's another entrance to the underground over there, about 15 to 20 meters from my position. Go find it. It might be very well hidden, but it does exist."

Li Mochen didn't know much about modern architecture, but the feng shui and geomancy derived from the Primordial Dome had their own wonders. He was quite accomplished in this area, as the 'feng shui' of one's residence or cave dwelling could greatly improve one's fortune.

Unfortunately, in this world, he had neither a true residence of his own nor found any truly effective feng shui artifacts, so this ability had yet to be put to use.

Sampson was clearly skeptical of Li Mochen's speculation, but after mobilizing his men to search, he said with admiration: "There really is one! They hid the cooling shaft's vent under the base of a semi-automatic machine tool, covered by a precise magical array. Jean says there's a strong magical energy fluctuation below. I think this cooling shaft is unusual—it might be their real weak point, connected to the magical array's central nexus."

Jean—Jean Reddy—was one of Sampson's capable subordinates and one of the two magic-energy mages Sampson had lent to Li Mochen during the robbery of the Craig Community Bank.

"Then change the plan. Make this the main direction of attack."

Li Mochen thought this made sense. A level-17 magical array, when fully activated, would generate tremendous heat.

Although the blueprints provided by Jeremy Burt didn't include this cooling shaft and the structure below it, his soul had a premonition that attacking through this shaft might be their best choice.

"Do we have enough Explosive Flame Crystals and C4?"

"More than enough!"

Sampson Brute laughed: "To be safe, I had someone buy extra on the side. If necessary, we can abandon one ventilation shaft."

...

While Li Mochen was talking with Sampson, Edwin Antonio stood before a stairwell, looking upward with a grim expression. His face showed not only intense killing intent but also surprise and gravity.

Antonio hadn't expected the surface battle to end so quickly. In the time it took him to awaken the six Calamity Flame Apostles besides Aonzo, that man's private army had already breached Warehouse No. 2. Of the eighty-four magic-energy professionals stationed above, only twelve had safely retreated underground.

—And this was despite their advantage of terrain and reliance on a level-17 magic-energy defensive array!

"The enemy numbers are between one hundred and one hundred twenty, with about fifteen Outlaw-level fighters. That includes the Eye of the Sky, the Natural Punisher Dainn Stacy, and the mysterious top-tier sniper. The latter's marksmanship is extremely powerful; Roddy died at his hands."

Antonio's face twitched. Roddy Cottrell, a level-15 powerful magic-energy shooter, was one of his hidden trump cards.

Even under the cover of the magical array and semi-permanent fortifications, he still lost to that man? Andre Li Wiltenstein—where did he find such a monster? Or had Dwight Payton or other forces intervened?

He then suppressed these thoughts and focused on the stairwell above: "What are they doing now? I suppose they won't attack from here, right?"

Three minutes had passed since Warehouse No. 2 was breached, yet not a single person had appeared at the stairwell.

"They're probably preparing for an explosion."

The speaker was a commander of the Dragon Witch Cult, dressed in a red robe: "Though we can't see outside, that's the only possibility. Clearly, they have the layout of this base. Also—"

"The two mercenary groups we hired were intercepted before entering this domain. They can't participate."

Antonio's brow furrowed deeply: "Two A-rated medium-sized mercenary groups."

"Lord Antonio, the enemy also has A-rated groups—three of them. Their arrangements are very thorough."

"Didn't any more mercenary groups accept the commission? We offered generous payment. There are more than just those two mercenaries and assassins active in Atlanta, not to mention the Ghost War Hunting Group that cooperates with us."

"Ghost War has explicitly refused our request for aid. As for the others—I suspect some influential people in Atlanta have interfered, exerting their influence on the mercenary world. So far, apart from the two groups close to our cult, the other mercenary groups and assassin organizations have ignored our commission posted at the Red Sparrow Club. In fact, hiring more people now would be useless."

The red-robed commander's expression was unusually grave: "According to information from outside, they are acting without restraint—I mean the mercenaries on the other side. They opened fire fiercely in the East District, drawing the attention of Atlanta's FBI and the police SWAT. This is clearly premeditated, to force government intervention."

Antonio snorted, a look of understanding on his face.

The enemy clearly understood the situation. This method could make official violent agencies like the FBI and SWAT bypass internal resistance.

"Forget it! It seems they don't intend to rely on those mercenaries, right?"

Antonio turned and walked in another direction: "Have the other directions been arranged?"

"Yes!"

The red-robed commander followed closely: "Since we're not sure of their main attack direction, I've focused defense on the two motor rooms and the outer central chamber of the magical array. Additionally, I've prepared ten combat teams, totaling thirty men, as a mobile force for contingencies. Lord Antonio, we can't spare any more magic-energy professionals. We lost too many in the warehouse above. Also, the fighting at the Fire Club is intense. To ensure it's not breached, I sent ten more people there. So now, this is all we have. I don't know if it's enough—"

"It's enough! Give me that mobile force."

Antonio's lips curled coldly as he looked at the seven figures behind him, clad in heavy armor with black flames in their eyes: "If they're only as strong as those above, then this place will be their grave!"