Chapter 86: Tunnel Warfare

Zhang Mingyang shook his head. “He went to help Xia Jiming.”

“Then hurry and find them—they can’t have gotten far.”

Arriving at the camp, Zhang Mingyang glanced at the flashing red lights and asked, “Senior Brother, what’s going on here?”

Peng Dongli explained, “Director Wang must have informed the base leadership.”

At that moment, a group of people in red spacesuits approached, led by a man marked with the number one.

“You must be Mr. Peng!” the man addressed him.

Peng Dongli quickly shook his hand. “And you are?”

“I’m Liang Youjun, the political commissar of Moon Palace Base. Minister Wang ordered me to assist you.”

Realizing that this was the head of the entire base, Peng Dongli hurriedly replied, “Commissar Liang, there’s a foreign spy in your base. We’ve identified the target—it’s Wan Zhiqiang, captain of the Heavy Transport Team Two in the mining district. Please dispatch your people immediately to apprehend him.”

“Understood, no problem.” Liang Youjun called over one of his subordinates, gave instructions, and sent the team off at once.

After issuing his orders, Liang Youjun turned to Peng Dongli again. “Mr. Peng, may I ask specifically—did Wan Zhiqiang destroy or steal anything?”

Peng Dongli hesitated. “Commissar Liang, this is a state secret, so I can’t provide details. But I can tell you that Wan Zhiqiang sabotaged important national communications equipment and must be arrested.” As he spoke, Peng Dongli pointed toward the launch tower to the east.

Liang Youjun looked in the direction indicated—he understood immediately. It was the eastern launch tower, the one even he wasn’t authorized to enter. That alone spoke volumes about its importance.

“Mr. Peng, don’t worry. This isn’t Earth—he can’t get far.”

Liang Youjun turned and instructed his men in a stern tone, emphasizing the gravity of the matter. Every rocket destined for Earth was to be searched; under no circumstances could this spy be allowed to escape the Moon.

With orders given, Liang Youjun led Peng Dongli and Zhang Mingyang to the command center to monitor every area through surveillance.

Scanning the images from all over the camp, Zhang Mingyang searched carefully for any sign of Wan Zhiqiang. With each shift of the camera feeds, Wan Zhiqiang remained unseen.

“This doesn’t make sense—where could he have gone?”

After reviewing all the footage, Zhang Mingyang had found nothing.

“Senior Brother, Wan Zhiqiang is pretty good at hiding—not even the cameras caught him.”

At that moment, a staff member suggested, “We can check the locator on his spacesuit.”

“Exactly!” Liang Youjun immediately ordered the tracking team to locate spacesuit number seventeen.

“Found it! It’s in his room.”

Peng Dongli stared at the screen. Spacesuit seventeen was indeed showing up in Wan Zhiqiang’s dormitory.

“Commissar Liang, let’s hurry—we can’t let him get away.”

“Right.”

A team of dozens quickly surrounded Wan Zhiqiang’s quarters. The red light above the door indicated someone was inside.

“Commissar Liang, how many people are in his room?” someone asked.

A command officer replied, “Just him. The mining district’s rooms are either singles or doubles. Wan Zhiqiang is a team leader, so he has a single room.”

“That’s good. If it were a double and he took a hostage, this would be much harder to handle.”

“Is there a way to force entry, Commissar Liang?”

Liang Youjun signaled four stationed soldiers to forcibly enter using their access cards.

“Everyone stand back.”

Four soldiers, armed with special tranquilizer guns, cautiously swiped their cards.

Beep.

The outer door opened. The four soldiers entered, and Liang Youjun told the others to wait outside.

Once inside the airlock, they closed the outer hatch. One soldier swiped the card for the inner door.

Beep.

The inner hatch opened, and the soldiers rushed in.

Outside, everyone waited anxiously.

Soon, a voice came over the comm: “Commissar, Wan Zhiqiang isn’t here! His spacesuit is laid out on the bed!”

“What?” Peng Dongli was stunned. How could that be? According to his information, each person only had one spacesuit. If he wasn’t in the room and wasn’t wearing his suit, where could he go?

“Commissar Liang, please search all rooms in the base, and also check if anyone is missing a spacesuit.”

“Understood.”

Liang Youjun used the comms to order a full search of all quarters, and instructed the command center to check everyone’s spacesuit status.

Zhang Mingyang approached his senior brother and asked, “Could Wan Zhiqiang have escaped the base?”

Peng Dongli shook his head. “Impossible. Without a spacesuit, he couldn’t survive outside without oxygen.”

“That’s true.”

All they could do now was wait for further news.

Half an hour later, after waiting outside the door, the military team reported first: “Commissar Liang, we’ve searched all rooms in the base—Wan Zhiqiang isn’t here.”

Liang Youjun shook his head at Peng Dongli. “The team found nothing.”

A few minutes later, the command center reported in: “Commissar Liang, we’ve assembled everyone at the west side of the camp—there are 1,150 people and 1,150 spacesuits. Aside from Wan Zhiqiang’s suit, which is in his room, all 1,149 other suits are accounted for and match their registered users. None are missing.”

Hearing this, Liang Youjun shook his head again at Peng Dongli. “Mr. Peng, none of the spacesuits are missing.”

Now Peng Dongli was truly puzzled. No one in the room, no missing spacesuit—where could Wan Zhiqiang have gone? Did he not need to breathe?

Zhang Mingyang was also baffled. Staring at the ground, a sudden thought struck him.

“Of course!”

Peng Dongli was startled by Zhang Mingyang’s excitement. “What is it, junior brother? Did you think of something?”

Zhang Mingyang pointed at Wan Zhiqiang’s room, motioning for everyone to follow him inside.

They entered, removed their spacesuits, and all looked expectantly at Zhang Mingyang. “Junior brother, why did you bring us in here…?”

He replied, “Senior brother, have you ever seen those old war films from the last century?”

“War films?” Peng Dongli shook his head. “What do they have to do with Wan Zhiqiang?”

Zhang Mingyang pointed to the floor. “I once watched a film called ‘Tunnel Warfare.’ It depicted how, during the war, our people used basic tools to dig tunnels as a means of resistance against foreign invaders.”

“Digging tunnels?” Peng Dongli stared at the floor, and suddenly it all clicked. “You mean Wan Zhiqiang dug a tunnel beneath this room?”

Zhang Mingyang nodded with a smile.

“Quick, everyone spread out—see if there’s a hole in the floor!”

Following Peng Dongli’s command, everyone began searching the cramped quarters.

“Here! There’s a hole here!”

Everyone gathered around. Sure enough, beneath Wan Zhiqiang’s bed, the floor was indented.

Peng Dongli pulled back the covering, revealing a tunnel entrance beneath.

Just as they suspected—a hidden tunnel!