Chapter Eighty-Six: The Black Warrior

According to the astronomical observations of the ancient Maya, the solar system revolves around the Pleiades. By calculation, they arrived at the period for one full revolution of the solar system around the Pleiades, equivalent to the precessional cycle required for one rotation of the solar system near Earth's orbit: about twenty-five thousand eight hundred years. The Maya believed that within each precessional cycle the solar system also passes through changing seasons, and divided it into five ages, with 2012 marking the beginning of autumn.

The Maya divided the precessional cycle into five ages. The first solar age was the civilization of Gendaya, a civilization centered on supernatural abilities, which was ultimately swallowed by floodwaters. The second solar age was the civilization of Mesopotamia, the continuation of the fugitives of Gendaya; the survivors, having lost their extraordinary powers, created a new civilization of nourishment and were destroyed by the fierce blast of the Wind Serpent. The third age was the civilization of Mu, a civilization of life energy, likewise created by the survivors of the previous age. They invented and improved machines that could harness the energy of plants, and were destroyed by fire sent down from the heavens. The fourth age was the civilization of Atlantis, also known as the civilization of light. It inherited the previous civilization; “inherited” is used here rather than “continued,” because Atlantis was a colony from Orion. They possessed the power of light, and under the ravages of a rain of fire the earth was brought to ruin. Atlantis had been established as early as the time of Mu. Later, these two civilizations even fought a nuclear war.

The Maya foretold that in this cycle of humanity, history would gradually lead people to forget this connection; they foretold that modern mankind, driven onward by mutated science, would develop modern technology, recklessly plundering the earth’s resources and imagining itself to be the owner of the planet, the master of all things here. When the world is awash in greed and desire, it signifies the end of the fifth solar age.

Zhao Qiang did not know whether a new solar age had already arrived. The prison library had only this much material on the Maya prophecies; the truth of the earlier solar ages could no longer be verified, but the fifth solar age had indeed ended according to the date predicted by the Maya.

By now Zhao Qiang had no choice but to believe these prophecies, and that was precisely why he was sparing no effort to rescue the survivors.

Through the telescope, Zhao Qiang carefully observed every movement in the terminal building. His earlier concern that there might be confusion between intruders and civilians no longer existed. He did not know whose foolish idea it had been, but every intruder was dressed in a spectacular black uniform. At first Zhao Qiang had wondered which army these uniforms belonged to, until the bizarre, fully sealed black helmet visor reminded him: were they not the outfits of Darth Vader from Star Wars?

Zhao Qiang could not help but want to laugh. What sort of force was this, to use costumes as uniforms? What a joke. Darth Vader fought at range with a laser blaster and up close with a laser sword, so there was no need to worry about ammunition. But those idiots had made themselves look flashy while greatly reducing practical effectiveness.

The black skintight uniforms left no room for carrying additional gear or ammunition. Ridiculously, one fool had even stuck a watermelon knife diagonally into his belt, as if it were a Jedi’s laser sword. The helmet and visor covered the head completely, but they were props, not high-tech equipment, and they severely impaired vision. What could normally be seen with a flick of the eyes now required desperately twisting one’s head just to catch sight of.

Since there would be no misunderstanding, Zhao Qiang held nothing back and directly issued the combat orders.

Chen Ergou, as the leader of the sniper team, took one assistant to occupy favorable ground and provide long-range cover. The others once again formed a tight double-arrow formation, with the protected person in the middle, while Zhao Qiang led the way in front. Using obstacles on the ground as cover, they moved stealthily toward the terminal building.

Inside the terminal, a thug wearing a black warrior uniform was cursing under his breath. While pulling up his pants, he walked toward the window. “Damn it, only after everyone else has had their fun do I get a turn. They’re obviously looking down on me!” Though he complained, he still savored the pistonlike feeling from just now with that woman. “When will it ever be my turn to take the first shot?”

As he reached the window, the thug’s cursing abruptly stopped. A fully armed squad was quietly approaching. The thug’s mouth fell open. The group was already almost at the entrance. What the hell were the guards on the roof doing? Very quickly, the unlucky thug learned why.

A bullet, impossible to tell from where it had come, pierced the glass in front of him. After deviating slightly, it bored into the thug’s head. With a sharp crack, the back of his skull now had a hole the size of a bowl, and white brains sprayed several meters away.

Chen Ergou was the sniper, responsible for clearing away all possible threats before the squad entered the terminal. The few men pacing along the roof were eliminated at the first moment. Aside from the unlucky fellow who suddenly appeared at the window, the squad was able to infiltrate the terminal almost unnoticed.

Once the thug hit the ground, everyone knew they had been ambushed. After a few seconds of silence inside the terminal, chaos erupted at once. The ordinary civilians had long since been tormented to the point of exhaustion by the intruders; they had no strength left for panic. One by one they sat there with blank, numb expressions, not even looking at the black warriors running amok all around them.

Li Zixin was extremely irritated. He had barely settled into this damned airport before he had gone from being an intruder to a defender. For someone who had always been the intruder, this change left a bad taste in his mouth.

Looking at the utter disorder among his men, Li Zixin was filled with rage. Many were still tugging up their pants after just climbing off some woman; some could not even find their guns, while others had finally found their guns but could not find the ammunition. The whole terminal was in chaos.

“Stop panicking!” Li Zixin shouted furiously, unable to bear it any longer. The enemy had not even entered yet, and this place was already a boiling mess. At this rate, would they not be wiped out in one sweep?

With a leader to rally around, the black warriors finally quieted down. They grabbed their weapons and gathered around Li Zixin, grumbling incessantly. They were used to killing people themselves, used to robbing others themselves; to think they had been ambushed today. This was a matter of dignity.

With a thunderous blast, the fire shutter at the entrance was blown instantly into a burst of sparks. A tremendous explosion and a wave of heat surged straight in, and the two black warriors lurking behind the door vanished at once in the flames. The decision to blow the entrance open directly had also been made after observation by the squad. Apart from the several dozen black warriors in the hall, there were no civilians at all. As for the opening left behind by the blast, only a small unit would remain to cover the rear.