109: Lure the enemy across to Australia, and secretly interrogate the stubborn enemy to extract secrets.

Chapter 112: Luring the Enemy to Australia, Secretly Interrogating for Secrets

On the holographic sandbox in the command center, five red dots representing the God Devourers were rapidly approaching the East Asia coastline in the blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean, their energy readings still skyrocketing. Lin Zhou stared at the outline of Australia on the sandbox, his finger pressing down heavily: “We’ll use Australia as bait to lure them there!”

“Lure them to Australia?” Chen Hao frowned. “The Australian continent has long become a nest for mutated creatures. Although there are no human strongholds, the God Devourers’ migration requires sufficient incentive. Why would they abandon the East Asia defense line, which is so close?”

“With this.” Lin Zhou brought up the red alert system’s energy simulation interface. “The Research Team will immediately adjust the skynet satellite parameters to simulate the energy fluctuations of a broodmother seed in the Uluru Monolith Region of central Australia. The God Devourers, having devoured the core of the undersea broodmother, have an extremely strong tropism towards similar energy sources. This simulated energy will make them mistakenly believe there’s a larger energy supply there.”

He paused, then continued to deploy: “Additionally, order three main battleships from the East Sea Fleet to carry a sufficient amount of ‘pseudo-broodmother energy blocks’ – made from residual fragments of the Doomsday Seed mixed with magnetic storm energy cores – and deploy them off the eastern coast of Australia. The battleships are to maintain silence throughout, guiding the energy blocks to release signals only through the skynet satellite, ensuring the bait is convincing enough.”

“What about the Far East Defense Line?” Zhao Shanhe’s voice came through the communicator, filled with worry. “What if the God Devourers don’t take the bait, and our defense line isn’t ready?”

“The defense line will be reinforced as planned,” Lin Zhou said firmly. “All personnel at the orbital Railgun positions are to be on standby. The Apocalypse Tank Division and the Bear Country mecha fleet are to remain vigilant. If the God Devourers deviate from their course, immediately intercept them with firepower, forcing them to turn towards Australia. We only have one chance; we must succeed!”

The orders were issued, and all units moved swiftly. The skynet satellite adjusted its orbit, focusing on central Australia, and a pale blue simulated energy wave penetrated the atmosphere, forming a faint but continuous energy field in the Uluru Monolith Region; three battleships from the East Sea Fleet quietly left their formation, speeding towards the eastern coast of Australia, their pseudo-broodmother energy blocks slowly charging in the holds; the orbital Railgun barrels of the Far East Defense Line once again raised, their muzzles aimed in the direction the God Devourers might attack, the atmosphere tense to the extreme.

Meanwhile, the game of wits continued in the underground interrogation room.

The Research Team had initially identified three key components of the core inhibitory agent through psychic detection fragments and reverse genetic derivation, but the most crucial “energy neutralizing enzyme” formula was still missing. Zhulong leaned back in the interrogation chair, a mocking smile on his lips, watching the busy researchers without a word.

“Zhulong, do you really think we can’t find the formula?” Lin Zhou picked up an analysis report and slowly walked towards him. “We’ve already reverse-engineered most of the agent’s components through the God Devourer’s gene sequence. Only the final step is missing, and you, you’re just stalling for time.”

Zhulong didn’t even lift an eyelid: “Stalling for time? I’m waiting for my God Devourers to breach your defenses and tear you and everyone here to shreds. Lin Zhou, do you think luring them to Australia will keep you safe? How naive. Their energy perception range far exceeds your imagination. It won’t be long before they discover it’s a decoy. By then, only a more furious retaliation awaits you.”

“Is that so?” Lin Zhou suddenly smiled. “What if I told you that what we deployed in Australia isn’t just pseudo-broodmother energy blocks, but also God Devourer infant specimens recovered from the wreckage of your undersea base? The scent of the infants, combined with the broodmother energy signal, is enough to drive those out-of-control monsters wild.”

Zhulong’s body stiffened abruptly, and a flicker of subtle panic crossed his eyes. He knew best that while God Devourers lacked reason, they possessed an extremely strong desire to devour their own young, especially energy-rich infant specimens, which would be enough to make them abandon their current target and travel far to Australia.

“You... you couldn’t have found infant specimens!” Zhulong’s voice trembled slightly. “The undersea base was completely destroyed, and all infants were devoured!”

“Is that so?” Lin Zhou raised his hand, and a holographic projection appeared—a deep-sea probe had discovered an infant specimen sealed in an alloy container within the wreckage of the undersea base, with the Skeleton Serpent logo imprinted on the container. “Your subordinate was loyal, hiding this in a crevice of the power room before dying, just managing to evade the God Devourers’ consumption.”

Zhulong’s face completely changed, and his heart rate and brainwaves showed violent fluctuations again. Lin Zhou caught his reaction and struck while the iron was hot: “Zhulong, your current situation requires time more than ours. Once the God Devourers reach Australia, we’ll have at least ten days of buffer time. In these ten days, we will either crack the agent formula and completely eliminate them, or they will spread out from Australia, devouring you first, then us.”

He leaned in, staring into Zhulong’s eyes: “Tell me the formula for the energy neutralizing enzyme, and the precise location of the God Devourer’s core. In exchange, we can offer you safe refuge, allowing you to temporarily escape the threat of the God Devourers. Don’t you want revenge? Only by being alive do you have a chance for revenge.”

Zhulong’s eyes struggled, torn between his resentment towards Lin Zhou and his fear of the God Devourers. He remained silent for a long time, then finally spoke slowly, his voice hoarse: “I can tell you the formula, but I have one condition.”

“Speak,” Lin Zhou’s gaze sharpened.

“I want to personally participate in the research and testing of the agent.” A hint of calculation flashed in Zhulong’s eyes. “The God Devourers were created by me; no one understands them better than I do. Only I can ensure the agent’s effectiveness. Moreover, I want to see them destroyed with my own eyes.”

Lin Zhou exchanged a glance with the Research Team Leader behind him, seeing the vigilance in each other’s eyes. But at this moment, time was pressing, and this seemed to be the only option to quickly obtain the complete formula.

“Agreed,” Lin Zhou nodded. “But you must accept full surveillance. Any abnormal behavior will immediately terminate the cooperation, and you will lose your last refuge.”

Zhulong sneered: “Deal. The formula for the energy neutralizing enzyme requires three key substances…”

He slowly began to list the formula components, and the researchers immediately recorded and input them into the supercomputer for verification. Meanwhile, news from the command center brought a sigh of relief to everyone—the skynet satellite had monitored that the five red dots of the God Devourers had completely changed course and were speeding towards the Australian continent.

The bait had worked.

But Lin Zhou looked at Zhulong’s calculating face, knowing that this was just the beginning. Cooperating with Zhulong was like playing with fire; a slight misstep could lead to self-destruction, so extensive preparations were necessary. And the God Devourers, far away in Australia, were only temporarily contained; a larger storm was still brewing.