The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

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The thought of nuclear bombs fills everyone with deep fear.

Place it before time travel.

Let alone ordinary people, even soldiers in the military who are not missile launch units.

It is also very difficult to see face-to-face such a human creation capable of destroying the world.

A major, the commander in charge of nuclear missile launches, glanced one last time at the data on the tactical tablet, then looked up at Zheng Weiguo and Colonel Pang.

The two nodded almost imperceptibly.

The commander took a deep breath, turned to face the launch control panel, and his voice echoed through the valley through the loudspeaker: "Final confirmation from all units... Launch procedure initiated, countdown begins!"

"Ten, nine, eight..."

The counting sounds, like drumbeats, resonated in everyone's heart.

Launch tube cover open!

"Ignition procedure unlocked!"

"Three, two, one... Launch!"

First came a low, muffled thud, like a giant beast roaring in the abyss.

Immediately, the tails of the three slender projectiles spewed out incandescent flames that were too bright to look at directly. Huge blasts of air shot downwards, pressing spiderweb-like cracks into the ground around the launch vehicle, and smoke and debris exploded and rose in a ring.

The missile broke free from its launch tube and soared into the sky.

The fiery torrents ejected from its tail tore through the dark sky, and the scorching heat could be felt even from a great distance.

They accelerated continuously, breaking the sound barrier, and in the blink of an eye, they transformed into three rapidly shrinking points of light, shooting along predetermined trajectories toward predetermined coordinates in the distance.

All eyes were fixed on the disappearing point of light. The valley fell into an extreme silence, with only the sound of the wind and the intense beating of each other's hearts remaining.

Time is infinitely stretched at this moment.

I don't know how much time passed; it might have been just a moment, or it might have been an extremely long time.

Suddenly, the distant horizon burst into light.

First, there is an extreme white, like a supernova being born underwater, evaporating a massive amount of liquid and making the surging turbid waves and lead-gray clouds shine brightly.

Immediately afterwards, the core of the white light turned into an indescribably hot orange-red and expanded wildly.

Even from a great distance, one could see a fireball, enormous beyond imagination, rising from the center of that vast expanse of water.

Moreover, this wasn't on the surface, but in deep water.

It was like a deity, parting billions of tons of seawater.

A terrifying shockwave, visible to the naked eye, spread out in a ring from the epicenter.

Wherever it passed, the water surface was completely evaporated, forming a giant concave bowl with neat and smooth edges.

Further away, the seawater was compressed into a ring-shaped wall of water thousands of meters high, which rolled and advanced in all directions at an unstoppable speed.

Within the wall of water, countless black dots were thrown up and torn apart, or vaporized.

Those were countless water ghosts and mutated sea beasts, so densely packed that they didn't even have a chance to struggle before being reduced to ashes by the extreme heat and impact of the nuclear explosion.

Finally, at the very end, comes the deafening roar that shakes the very soul.

Rumble!

The sound was like the war drums of an ancient god, crushing the sky and the earth, making everyone stagger, their ears ring, and their hearts feel as if they were about to be shaken out of their chests.

Three enormous mushroom clouds slowly rose, their bases filled with swirling black vapor and dust.

The upper middle section is filled with boiling, churning crimson flames and grayish-white smoke, constantly twisting and expanding, soaring into the sky like a giant pillar connecting hell and the heavens.

Below the epicenter, a vast, temporary abyss has formed in the waters below, where the vitrified seabed rock layers are faintly visible, shimmering with a dark red luster.

The surrounding seawater surged back, triggering secondary massive whirlpools and tsunamis, which continued to tear apart any remaining monsters that tried to approach.

The intense heat created a cloud of white steam that intertwined with the mushroom cloud, making the three nuclear explosion zones resemble a boiling inferno.

The aftershocks transformed into a gale that swept across the mountain valley, carrying a strange smell that was a mixture of ozone, seawater vapor, and some kind of utterly annihilated aura.

The valley remained deathly silent.

Everyone was deeply shocked by the unimaginable destructive power, and they stared speechlessly at the scene in the distance that looked like the end of the world.

"Don't underestimate the power of humans... monsters."

Chapter 296 Heading to the Source

The aftershocks of the nuclear explosion had not yet subsided, and high, powerful tsunamis continued to surge from afar, crashing against the mountains.

The mushroom cloud in the distance looked like three giant swords piercing the leaden-gray sky.

At this moment, orders were issued to various units through encrypted communication channels.

"All units, proceed with equipment checks immediately according to the pre-arranged plan. Repeat: Begin preparations immediately!"

The voice of the commander-in-chief, Colonel Pang, came through the communicator built into his mask.

He himself had changed into a set of dark blue heavy diving armor, with runes that shimmered with light inlaid at the joints, which was the navy's newly developed diving equipment.

Han Ning turned his gaze away from the apocalyptic scene in the distance.

"Gentlemen, begin donning your equipment."

"Yes."

The Biyun members, who were already on standby, immediately sprang into action.

Zhao Kai led the others to open the reinforced supply crate, revealing neatly stacked diving equipment inside.

The navy's advanced equipment cannot be provided to everyone.

These diving devices are specialized diving kits improved by the Azure Cloud Gathering Zone based on the technology of the Origin Race, the harvest of the Murloc Ruins, and the technical support provided by the Sword of Judgment.

Compared to the earliest diving leather armor, it is now completely different in terms of both materials and technology.

It has been modified into a diving suit similar to a shark suit, with large black stone-level energy stones fitted to the limbs and source race runes engraved on the surface.

The maximum diving depth is within 1000 meters underwater.

Before the time travel, an ordinary person with professional training, wearing a professional diving suit, could dive to a depth of about two or three hundred meters.

With the blessing of extraordinary power in another world, ordinary people at the level of the Great Black Stone can dive to such depths with their bare bodies alone. With the addition of special diving suits, reaching a depth of around 1000 meters is no problem.

The water pressure at 1000 meters is terrifying.

This type of diving suit is not available to everyone in the Biyun Gathering Area; it is only provided to Black Iron-level experts who enter the core area of ​​the nuclear explosion.

As for the other members of the Black Stone level, Han Ning arranged for them to only operate in the underwater section, responsible for clearing out the monsters on the perimeter.

They were equipped with substandard diving suits.

"Everyone, check the airtightness, the energy stone's charging status, and whether the rune connections are intact!" Zhao Kai spoke very quickly, personally picking up a set of equipment and handing it to Han Ning.

Han Ning accepted it.

The main body of the diving suit is made of a dark brown mutated marine animal leather, with key parts inlaid with energy-conducting runes carved from ink wood chips, and the inner lining is made of soft and warm mycelium fabric.

Apply a layer of feather fruit gel to the surface.

The breathing system behind it is not a traditional oxygen cylinder, but a transparent container the size of a basketball, inside which are suspended several bright green aquatic plants that constantly exhale tiny bubbles.

This is the latest achievement of Professor Ye's laboratory, the "Hydrangea symbiotic lung," which can efficiently convert substances in water and release breathable gases, with a much longer operating time than compressed air.

A spare high-pressure oxygen cylinder hangs on the side.

The helmet is a semi-covered type, with a luminous stone that emits a faint white light embedded above the transparent visor, and short-range underwater communication devices and environmental detectors integrated on the sides.

It is equipped with a pressure relief and booster device at the waist to provide energy for atomic fission.

"Energy core at full capacity, rune circuits clear, symbiotic lungs active." Lin Qianqian quickly checked and distributed the equipment to Zhao Kai, Xu Ming, and others.

Zhao Kai's equipment was noticeably heavier, with alloy armor added to his arms and key areas of his chest and abdomen. He tried to move around, and the ink-scented wood runes at his joints lit up, providing additional strength support.

Xu Ming slung his massive black iron battle axe over his back and inspected his equipment.

Meanwhile, the members of the Sword of Judgment also began their preparations.

The personnel they sent this time were all former soldiers.

The soldiers checked each other's standard diving armor, examining every clip and seal, and adjusted the weapon systems.

Their equipment was simpler than that of the Biyun settlement, but more technologically advanced, featuring alloy shells, clear digital reading interfaces, and small sonic shockers suspended on the shoulders, a stark contrast to Biyun's more natural-style equipment.

The three source points are located at a depth that is not too deep, approximately 950-1100 meters.

The elites dispatched from each gathering area only need to withstand the water pressure of the target area's depth and be able to engage in combat.

...

Zheng Weiguo strode over, his heavy diving equipment making a low clanging sound as he walked.

"Chief Han, the Third Source Point Extermination Team is jointly led by the main force of the First and Third Squads of the Sword of Judgment, your unit's elite troops, the Navy's 'Jiaolong' team, and Deputy Director Luo and his technical team from the Institute of Atomic Fission."

"The total number of personnel is 207. I am the commander-in-chief, and you will serve as the deputy commander, responsible for coordinating your unit and the left-wing assault group."

"Understood." Han Ning nodded, offering no objections.

In joint operations of this scale, the command hierarchy must be clear.

"Deputy Director Luo," Zheng Weiguo turned to the high-ranking official in charge of atomic fission.

"I'll leave the technical support and environmental exploration to you. We need to determine the exact location and surrounding environment of the 'Radiant Silver Fragment' as quickly as possible."

"Okay," Deputy Director Luo said succinctly.

"Hmm." Zheng Weiguo raised his arm, the tactical panel glowing. "Each unit report status!"

"Squad One of the Swords of Judgment, ready!"

"Sword of Judgment Team Three, ready!"

"Naval Jiaolong Team, ready!"

"Biyun Gathering Area, ready!"

"Atomic fission team, ready!"