Stars, Players and Immortals

Chapter 43: Future Projection

In the southern foothills of Mount Olympus, with the help of Saint Sophia, Skydrive set up a new secret outpost in an abandoned geothermal maintenance station. The outpost was marked with the old sign of the Argo Geothermal Pipeline Seventh Maintenance Station, but inside it was connected to several gray data tributaries near the Mount Olympus hub.

Zhang Qiming sat in the command room of the stronghold, and the Gaia panel in front of him slowly unfolded, with several Martian situation lines jumping again in the light screen.

[Current Situation]

[Mars Mechanical Age Phase 1 Progress: 70% → 85%]

[Current Situation: Mechanized Religion/Structural Collapse—The Skydrive's infiltration has shaken the military and political foundations, with abnormal clustering occurring in the basic organizational structure of the Covenant Army. The Hagia Sophia is using the guise of investigation to legally intervene in military affairs. The College of Cardinals still holds a technological monopoly and supreme papal authority, but their absolute control over the military, security, censorship, and organizational chains has completely spiraled out of control.]

[Branch Situation - Truth Investigation Committee: 25% → 80%]

[Current Contribution: Overall Progress in the Mechanical Age +15%]

[Branch Situation - For the Skywards, Become a Glorious Covenant Force: 80%→95%]

[Current Contribution: Overall Progress in the Mechanical Age +15%]

[Follow-up note: Once this branch completes its final stage, it will contribute an additional 5% to the overall progress of the Mechanical Age]

Zhang Qiming watched as the overall progress increased from 70% to 85%, and lightly tapped the table with his fingers.

The wetware network incident has opened a crack in the situation on Mars.

Saint Sophia has returned to the center of power, and the Truth Investigation Committee has taken advantage of this to expand its power. Clusters of Skyward players have begun to infiltrate the Covenant Army. The mechanical religious order that once dominated Mars, although still maintaining a superficial integrity, has begun to have its internal gears misaligned.

During his busy time in St. Sophia, he was not idle either. He visited several people on the list of people he wanted to win over, and using information and secrets from his previous life, he used various means to bring those who were still observing to his side.

These people certainly wouldn't immediately risk their lives for the Sky Chariots.

After all, transforming Mars is not like hosting a dinner party, writing an essay, painting a picture, or embroidering a piece; it cannot be done in such an elegant, unhurried, refined, gentle, courteous, frugal, and modest manner.

It was an uprising, a violent act by which one class overthrew another.

Those on the list of people to be won over will never risk their lives and rush forward with the Sky Chariots just because of a few pieces of evidence, a few conversations, or a few slogans. That's unrealistic and impossible.

Those who have climbed to a certain position in the Martian military and political system, in particular, understand the risks better and the price to pay for betraying the order.

Zhang Qiming doesn't want them to openly raise their flag right now.

He only asks that they remain silent at crucial moments, step aside when necessary, and stand on the side of the revolution when the Skywards truly shake up the Martian military and political structure, instead of continuing to mend the already rotten ship for the Holy Cardinals.

Ultimately, only the Sky Drive organization and Saint Sophia, who wield the guns, can complete the transformation of Mars. Everyone else can simply stand aside and watch from the sidelines; that would be the greatest support they can give to the transformation of Mars.

Zhang Qiming scanned the situation indicators, his gaze finally settling on the line "[Truth Investigation Committee: 80%]".

Now, only one step remains on this branch—removing the list.

Once the list is cleared, the Truth Investigation Committee's timeline will be complete, at which point Saint Sophia and Skydrive will be able to take control of the orbital fleet protecting the Martian homeland.

Ding--

My personal terminal suddenly rang.

Zhang Qiming glanced down at the incoming signal and discovered it was a secret link from Saint Sophia, so he raised his hand to connect the communication.

The screen lit up, and Saint Sophia sat in front of a cold white audit screen, with the structural projection of the Ares Auditorium vaguely visible behind her. She looked up at Zhang Qiming and got straight to the point:

"Those on the removal list have been collectively placed in the joint review isolation zone at the Ares Auditorium as planned."

"That place is located on the east side of the Olympus Hub. It is nominally used temporarily by the Truth Investigation Committee. The outer layer of security is jointly handled by the Hub Guard and the Tribunal Military Police, while the inner layer is taken over by the Ares Audit Terminal."

They can bring entourages, but not their own private armed forces, nor can they directly invoke their original post authority.

She paused for a moment, then continued:

"The question now is, how do you plan to proceed?"

Zhang Qiming did not answer immediately. He leaned back in his chair, tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, and looked at another fleet situation map.

"How are things going with the Covenant Navy?"

Saint Sophia's eyebrows twitched slightly, understanding what Zhang Qiming was worried about, and he continued the conversation along the lines.

"The Covenant Navy is the true gun barrel of the Mechanicus... No matter how many ground troops there are, they cannot contend with the High Sky Fleet, which controls air superiority, orbital delivery, and ground attack capabilities."

Zhang Qiming raised his hand and pointed to the marker for the orbital ship force, his gaze darkening.

"We've gone through all this trouble, establishing the Truth Investigation Committee and using the Wetware Network incident to freeze the job permissions of these people. Ultimately, it's all about controlling the orbital ship force."

"As long as this Royal Navy protects Mars's near-orbit and the Martian homeland, we cannot truly take action."

"Moreover, even if we control this Royal Navy, we won't be able to rest easy immediately. We still need to consider the counterattacks from the Covenant Navy's First to Fourth Fleets."

"If we want to overthrow the College of Cardinals, we must determine which of the four fleets of the Covenant Navy will choose to stand with us, which will choose to wait and see, and which may become our enemy."

"During this period, Skydrive has infiltrated the Covenant Army very quickly. As for the First Fleet, Skydrive is confident that it can get them to switch sides with us at a critical moment... but the situation for the Second Fleet to the Fourth Fleet is still unclear."

Saint Sophia couldn't help but give Zhang Qiming a meaningful look.

Even now, she still can't quite see through the Skydrive organization and its leader, Zhang Qiming. This organization has Zhi Shilang, a group of elusive, fearless, and even resurrectable abnormal beings, and various intelligence that even she and Ares don't know about.

She was becoming increasingly unsure just how vast a network the Skydrive organization had built beneath Mars over the years, enough to even dismantle the First Fleet...

She felt that even without her cooperation, the Skywards could completely overthrow the Holy Cardinals with their own strength, although it might take a little longer.

The leader of the Skywards was eager to push for change on Mars, as if something was chasing him, forcing him to accelerate the revolution.

Zhang Qiming didn't explain much. Rome wasn't built in a day. From beginning to end, his base, besides the Fourth Disaster, also included the underground network he had painstakingly built over the years.

Don't be fooled by the fact that his leader pool only contains Nan Hai and Doraemon; they are merely the Sky Drive backbone above the surface. Beneath the surface, the Sky Drive has long since laid out another Martian mass line along the cracks of Martian society.

In the beginning, Sky Drive was just a mutual aid group in a few factories in Sailor Valley. After a period of development, these groups became liaison stations.

Subsequently, the liaison station began to develop downstream, forming a vast Skydrive transportation network, which continued to expand until it finally connected with the Martian population.

The Martian people came to know the Skywalkers through their suffering, and the Skywalkers, in turn, grew their own eyes, ears, hands, and feet among the people.

Many of the young and middle-aged officers in the First Fleet came from the Mariner Valley and Tharsis Industrial Zone. Their families, classmates, former subordinates, maintenance contractors, and supply lines had all had some contact with the Skydrive's peripheral network, so they were naturally recruited into the Skydrive's ranks.

At this moment, Zhang Qiming said that the Sky Chariots could make the First Fleet turn against them. Saint Sophia did not ask too many questions. She simply looked down and brought up the situation map of the Naval Headquarters. Several fleet navigation areas lit up one after another on the screen.

"As for the Second Fleet, Ares and I are able to keep it under control."

"After the wetware network incident, the reformists' resentment towards the old guard of the Holy Cardinals could no longer be suppressed. Most of the people in the Second Fleet Command were reformists, and they were already dissatisfied with the Holy Cardinals' long-term practice of treating the navy as the private army of the Church."

Saint Sophia raised her hand and tapped on the organizational chart of the Second Fleet's sea-based SA units, where the markings of several squadrons were enclosed by light gold borders.

"During this period, under the guise of the Truth Investigation Committee, I transferred several reliable secret units into the Second Fleet's sea-based SA strike array, replacing some of the pilots and maintenance teams controlled by old-school officers."

"At that time, the Second Fleet will have reformist suppression on the bridge and sea-based SA troops below. As long as Ares cuts off the Holy Cardinals' orders and takes over command of the fleet, even if some of them still want to waver, they will have no chance."

Zhang Qiming nodded. If the Second Fleet could stabilize, the pressure on the outer layer of Mars' near-orbit would be reduced by half.

Saint Sophia then shifted her gaze to the Third Fleet's markings, her voice softening slightly.

"The Third Fleet will observe the situation. They have always valued the overall stability of Mars, and they will not intervene immediately before the situation becomes completely clear."

"The real problem is the Fourth Fleet."

Saint Sophia raised her hand and pointed to the last fleet marker, which was surrounded by a light red border.

"The Fourth Fleet has the most complex composition, containing people from the four major factions, as well as many old-school Cardinals."

"They are responsible for outer patrols and armed escorts year-round. The captains are more obedient to the orders of the Church. The fleet also retains several independent communication links that bypass the Ares main network."

"Once we overthrow the Holy Cardinals, the Fourth Fleet will likely launch a counter-revolution under the pretext of eliminating the Skydrives, upholding the orthodoxy of the Church, and quelling the Martian rebellion."

Zhang Qiming looked at the area of ​​the red fleet, his eyes slightly darkening.

"If it really comes to that, then we'll have no choice but to fight."

"If the Fourth Fleet chooses to advance into near Mars orbit in an attempt to counter the revolution, then we will use our orbital ship force, the First Fleet, and the Second Fleet to keep them out of the outer seas."

Zhang Qiming's finger stopped on the Fourth Fleet flagship's markings, his tone showing no hesitation.

"If they remain obstinate, then we will have no choice but to painfully destroy the Fourth Fleet and defend the fruits of the revolution."

Every orbital vessel is a vital asset in the high-altitude world, and Zhang Qiming would feel the pain of losing even one at a time like this.

However, when they choose to point their naval guns at the Martian revolution, they will no longer be important celestial assets of Mars, but rather a sword hanging over the heads of the Martian people by the Holy Cardinals.

At that point, Skydrive will have no choice but to painfully destroy the Fourth Fleet directly.

Ships can be rebuilt, but once the fruits of revolution are extinguished by the old church, Mars will be dragged back into that corrupt system.

Hagia Sophia was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"I see."

After completing their basic simulations of the future, the two quickly turned their attention back to the immediate elimination operation.

The Fourth Fleet is a risk to come, but the orbital ship force is the key that must be taken down now.

As long as the few people on the list who are removed still hold command of the Royal Guard, the College of Cardinals will remain in power.

These people are only temporarily transferred from their posts. They will return to the high sky after a while. If they are not killed, Skyward and Saint Sophia will have no chance to control the Royal Guard.

Therefore, they must be killed on the spot before they return to the heavens!

Zhang Qiming looked up at the Saint Sophia on the screen.

"The purge list is currently focused on the Ares Auditorium. How many security personnel are there specifically there?"

Saint Sophia raised her hand to bring up a 3D structural diagram of the Ares Auditorium. The tower-shaped building on the east side of the Olympus Hub was dismantled into several layers, with the outer ring plaza, isolation zone, audit chamber, tower top platform, and rapid response warehouse lighting up in sequence.

"There are approximately 312 ground security personnel."

"The outer layer is the Hub Guard Reinforced Company, 144 people, responsible for the plaza, elevator shafts, corridors and VIP passages; the inner layer is the Court of Justice Military Police, 96 people, responsible for the floor sealing, personnel escort and mandatory isolation of the joint review isolation zone; there are also 72 technical security and armed operators inside the Audit Tower."

She continued swiping down, and a group of small red dots inside the tower lit up.

"There are approximately 120 automated defense units, including patrol aircraft, fixed riot control turrets, and low-altitude reconnaissance drones. Normally, they only conduct low-intensity patrols, but once they enter blockade mode, they will connect to the Ares Auditorium tactical control chain."

Zhang Qiming's gaze swept over the platform outside the tower.

"Where's SA?"

The Hagia Sophia marked two helipads outside the tower in red.

"Twelve Guardian SA units are deployed on the outer helipad of the Auditorium and the rapid response depot east of the Olympus Hub. Normally, only two patrol, four are on standby for three minutes, and the remaining six are on standby in the mobile response depot."

"In addition, there are six high-altitude patrol (SA) units, which are dispatched by the Olympus Hub airspace defense chain, with two units rotating in shifts."

She paused for a moment, then added another sentence.

"These are just the surface-level security forces; a direct assault would be basically impossible."

"After all, that place is close to the political center of Mars, and any large-scale firefight would immediately alert the Covenant Central Army and the SA Guard Mobile Force."

Zhang Qiming looked at the structural diagram without changing his expression.

"What are the weaknesses?"

Saint Sophia raised her hand and pointed to the area between the quarantine zone and the Auditorium control layer, where the access lines were marked in pale gold.

"I am one of the hosts of the joint review and isolation zone, and I have a legitimate access point. Ares can create local access vacuums, transfer some security personnel to other floors, and use reasons such as audit upgrades, isolation review, and communication verification to temporarily close off specific areas."

Looking at the structural diagram of the Ares Auditorium, Zhang Qiming said to Saint Sophia:

Do you think the Auditorium could withstand a Minotaur-class nuclear bomb?