novelsite Chapter 32 Forging Scales
Chapter 32 Forging Scales
He left the warehouse and returned to the truck. He started the engine but didn't turn on the lights, relying on night vision and his supernatural senses to reverse in the dark.
In the truck's rearview mirror, the warehouse's loading dock receded into the distance. In the rain, the building looked like a silent, dark shadow.
The truck drove out of the backyard and turned into the alley. Wang Zhengyang did not go directly back to the marshalling yard, but instead followed the fourth route he had planned in advance—the abandoned freight corridor.
The road conditions were worse than expected, with potholes filled with water. The truck bumped along, but Wang Zhengyang's skillful driving allowed him to avoid the worst sections of the road.
When passing through the railway culvert, he got out of the car to check. There was indeed water inside the culvert, about twenty centimeters deep. Freight trains could pass, but they needed to be careful.
He got back into the truck, shifted to a low gear, and drove smoothly through the culvert. The wheels splashed water, but the truck passed through steadily.
At 12:17 a.m., the freight train approached the rear gate of the marshalling yard. Wang Zhengyang stopped the engine 300 meters in advance and observed through binoculars.
Only a few lights were on inside the marshalling yard, and light shone through the windows of the technical center—Lin Luo'er was still working. There was no unusual activity.
He started the truck again and slowly drove through the back door. Chen Yishang was already waiting there, gesturing for him to stop at the entrance of warehouse number three.
"Dr. Wang, you..." Chen Yishang was so shocked when he saw the fully loaded truck that he was speechless.
"Move everything in, put it at the very back," Wang Zhengyang jumped out of the truck, his voice hoarse from prolonged tension. "Handle with care, especially the alloy. Once finished, drive the truck to the abandoned parking lot in the west of the city, leave the keys in the truck, and don't touch anything."
"Understood!" Chen Yishang didn't ask any more questions and immediately woke up his four reliable apprentices who were sleeping nearby to start unloading the goods.
Wang Zhengyang quickly changed back into his original clothes and packed all his camouflage equipment—work clothes, night vision goggles, accelerant canisters, and remote control devices—into a waterproof bag. Then he walked to the edge of the marshalling yard, where there was a deep pit that had been dug and camouflaged beforehand.
He buried the waterproof bags, filled them with soil, tamped it down, and then sprinkled pre-prepared gravel and weeds on top. After doing all this, he returned to the technical center.
When the door opened, Lin Luo'er was taking a nap at the table. Hearing the noise, she immediately woke up: "Dr. Wang! You're back!"
Her voice carried a clear weariness, but even more so, a sense of relief and relaxation.
Lin Luo'er rubbed her eyes, looking at Wang Zhengyang's pale face and wet hair: "You look...very tired. Running so far in the rain."
Lin Luo'er bit her lip, got up and walked to the small cabinet in the corner of the carriage, took out a thermos: "I made some ginger tea, I was going to wait for you to come back to drink it... It might be a little cold, I'll heat it up again."
"No need," Wang Zhengyang took the thermos, unscrewed the lid, and steam mixed with the spicy aroma of ginger wafted out. "It's still hot."
He took a sip, the warm liquid sliding down his throat, dispelling the chill of the rainy night. The flavor was simple: ginger, brown sugar, and a few red dates. It must have been simmering for quite some time, as the brown sugar was completely dissolved.
Lin Luo'er watched him drink, a faint smile unconsciously appearing on her face, but she quickly suppressed it and sat back down in her seat: "Um... have you eaten? There should still be some left in the food cart, I can go heat it up."
"No need," Wang Zhengyang shook his head. "I've already eaten out. You should go and rest; you've had a hard day."
"I'm not tired," Lin Luo'er said, but she yawned as soon as she finished speaking. She quickly covered her mouth, her face slightly red. "Uh... I mean, the plan isn't finished yet."
Looking at her forced composure, Wang Zhengyang felt a slight stirring in his heart. This pure concern, this clumsy attempt at concealment, was like a faint but warm ray of light, beyond the cold, rational calculations.
"I'll put together the plan," he said, his voice softening slightly. "You go and rest, that's an order."
"But……"
"Lin Luo'er," Wang Zhengyang called her by her full name for the first time, "you've been working for over twenty hours straight. As an engineer, you should know how much a person's judgment and operational precision decrease when fatigued. I don't need an assistant who'll make mistakes tomorrow."
These words were spoken rationally, even somewhat coldly. But Lin Luo'er understood the underlying meaning—he needed her to maintain a good state because her abilities were important.
"Okay," she stood up, walked to her folding bed, then turned back, "You should get some rest too. Those plans... we can look at them again tomorrow."
"Um."
Lin Luo'er lay down and pulled the blanket up. But she didn't fall asleep immediately; instead, she lay on her side, watching Wang Zhengyang's silhouette in the lamplight. He was intently studying the layout diagram, his brows slightly furrowed, his fingers tracing lines on the paper, pausing occasionally to jot something down in the notebook beside him.
His profile was sharply defined under the light, possessing a sculpted, cold hardness. But for some reason, in Lin Luo'er's eyes at this moment, this cold hardness seemed to reveal a hint of... weary gentleness?
As she looked at it, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she finally drifted off to sleep.
Wang Zhengyang was indeed organizing data, but half of his attention was focused on sensing the situation outside the marshalling yard. He could hear sirens and fire trucks in the distance, heading towards Zhang Yiqiang's warehouse. But the sounds were fading into the distance, indicating the fire was likely under control.
At 1:20 a.m., Chen Yishang quietly came in: "Dr. Wang, the goods have all been unloaded, and the trucks have arrived at the designated location. There are too many supplies... Warehouse No. 3 is almost full."
"Installation will begin tomorrow," Wang Zhengyang said without looking up. "Start with the front armor. Control the installation progress; complete only a portion each day, making it appear as if materials have been procured normally."
"I understand," Chen Yishang hesitated for a moment, "There was a fire in the south of the city just now, and a lot of fire trucks came."
"It might have been an accident," Wang Zhengyang said, closing his notebook. "Berlin is in a bit of a turmoil right now. Go and get some rest; you've had a hard day."
After Chen Yishang left, Wang Zhengyang pulled up the news on the encrypted network. A breaking news report at 1:00 AM read: "A fire broke out in a warehouse in the eastern suburbs of Berlin, suspected to be caused by a short circuit. Signs of a struggle and a few items left behind were found at the scene. Police have launched an investigation. There were no injuries, and property damage is being assessed."
There was no mention of large-scale looting or military supplies. The initial assessment is that it was an "accidental fire that may have involved black market transactions."
perfect.
Wang Zhengyang turned off the news and walked to the window. The rain had stopped, and the clouds in the night sky had dispersed, revealing a half-moon. In the distance, to the south of the city, the sky still glowed with a faint red light—the embers from the fire.
Phase 1 completed.
Fifty-two square meters of composite armor plating, twenty bulletproof alloy plates, four boxes of special seals, and other supplies. The total value exceeded six hundred thousand euros, and much of it was stuff that simply couldn't be bought on the market.
More importantly, all clues point to the Iron Hand Gang, and Zhang Yiqiang will take full revenge on Wolf. The two sides will be locked in a fierce battle, and no one will investigate the missing armor materials.
Wang Zhengyang felt the Caldova gene engine within his body. During the recent operation, he had used his superpowers to a new level—electromagnetic interference, metal friction control, multi-threaded perception… The engine seemed to be running even more smoothly.
He closed his eyes and entered a state of introspection.
Activation level: 0.46%.
It increased by 0.03%, a result of continuous high-intensity use. Moreover, he felt his control over his abilities had become more refined, his perception range of electromagnetic fields had expanded to thirty-eight meters, and his precision in manipulating metal had also improved.
His physical body was simultaneously enhanced. He could clearly feel his muscle fibers becoming denser and his explosive power increasing; his nerve reaction speed accelerating; and his five senses becoming more acute—now he could hear Lin Luo'er's steady breathing and could clearly see the feather patterns of the night birds perched on the fence fifty meters away outside the window.
This is an evolution in all aspects.
Wang Zhengyang walked to Warehouse No. 3 and pushed open the door. Moonlight streamed in through the high window, illuminating the mountains of supplies. Armor plates were neatly stacked, and wooden crates of bulletproof alloy were piled up beside them, with Russian labels affixed to the sealed boxes.
He reached out and touched the surface of an armor plate. It was cold, hard, and had the precise texture of an industrial product. These materials would cover the vital parts of the "Longyuan": the engine room, the main control room, the engine compartment, the ammunition depot... giving it the means to survive the initial chaos.
But that wasn't enough. Zhang Yiqiang had much more: heavy weapons, ammunition, and possibly even armored vehicle parts. Those were the true henchmen the "Longyuan" needed.
"Wait a little longer," Wang Zhengyang muttered to himself, "Let's process this batch of spoils first and get the basic defenses in place."
He closed the door and returned to the technology center. Lin Luo'er was already fast asleep, the blanket had slipped halfway down. Wang Zhengyang walked over and gently pulled the blanket up to cover her shoulders, his movements so light they were almost silent.
The girl stirred unconsciously in her sleep, her lips curving slightly upward, as if she were having a sweet dream.
Wang Zhengyang glanced at her for two seconds, then returned to his worktable and updated the plan on his laptop:
There are 24 days left until the end of the world, and 19 days left until the train is renovated.
Time is of the essence, but everything is under control. The seeds of conflict have been sown, the frame-up has been accomplished, and now it's time to prepare the equipment.
He closed his eyes, feeling the steady pulse of the Caldova gene engine within his body. 0.46% activation level—new possibilities were opening up.
Outside the window, the moon rose high in the sky, its cool light bathing the nascent steel hull of the "Longyuan." This ark on the tracks was growing steel scales.
Wang Zhengyang was the one who forged the scales for it.