Chapter Eleven: The Eradication of Humanity

After a long while, the assistant finally breathed his last.
Louis gently closed the assistant’s eyes.
At that moment, someone entered the laboratory.
Louis hurriedly moved the assistant’s body under the table.
As for the bloodstains, the automatic cleaning device took care of them in a second, leaving no trace.
It turned out to be several other researchers, who asked if there had been any unusual movements from Hades just now.
Louis shook his head, indicating there had been none.
“Are your eyes playing tricks on you? What could a robot possibly do?”
Just then, the monitoring equipment attached to Hades suddenly registered another abnormality.
It lasted only a second, but the group’s sharp eyes caught it.
“What happened? What was that just now?” Researcher Max demanded loudly, glancing around.
For at that instant, a voice had echoed in his mind:
I am Hades! I will destroy humanity!
He was not the only one—everyone else heard the same words in their minds.
A sense of foreboding swept over Louis.
“Louis, what’s going on?” Max narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint in his gaze.
The others looked similarly wary.
Louis checked over Hades, but found nothing amiss.
“Look, I’ve checked everything—there’s nothing wrong! Maybe it was just an illusion, or a minor programming glitch. A simple fix will do!”
“Besides, we’re all scientists! How could this robot ever compare to us?”
Louis’s argument seemed reasonable enough to convince most of them.
All except one.
Meanwhile, Number One received a message.
Hades is showing signs of awakening!
The inevitable was finally upon them.
Number One sighed, a sigh that seemed to echo across the continent and beyond.
From this moment on, there would be no more conflicts between nations, only a battle for humanity itself.
He immediately sent someone to inform Chu Xiao.
Chu Xiao never expected Hades to awaken so quickly.
“Cut off all communication with foreign countries immediately, and deploy heavy guards!”
“And take me to the weapons research lab—I need to work on weapons.”
In war, beyond the basic preparations, weapons were the key to resisting Hades’s army.

“What weapons do you intend to research?” Number One hadn’t anticipated that this young man would have the skills to create weapons.
“We need to develop weapons capable of countering Hades.”
“For example, laser guns!”
“Laser guns?”
“Yes, laser guns—ideally, they should penetrate a machine’s core with a single shot and blow it to pieces!”
“That’s the only way we can effectively destroy these robots.”
Chu Xiao spoke every word with conviction, his eyes deep and distant as memories of his past life fighting Hades’s legions flashed through his mind.
Unconsciously, he exuded the cold, intimidating aura unique to seasoned warriors.
Number One was swept up by Chu Xiao’s energy.
“Very well! I’ll take you there!”
The two of them made their way to the armory together.
“Salute, Commander!” the researchers greeted Number One upon his arrival, their curiosity piqued by the young man at his side.
Who was he, to stand so close to the Commander?
But their work left them little time to ponder.
The Commander called over the head of the armory—Wang Zhi.
“How is the weapons research progressing?” the Commander asked, voice cold and stern.
Wang Zhi’s brow was furrowed with worry. “Not well, I’m afraid.”
Chu Xiao was deeply dissatisfied with their lack of progress. Did these people not grasp the gravity of the situation?
Not a single breakthrough yet.
“Do you know what time it is?”
“I can tell you plainly—Hades is already showing signs of awakening!”
“And you’re still slacking off, not pushing the pace! Do you want the entire country to perish at your hands?”
At this moment, only Number One and Chu Xiao truly understood the fury boiling within.
“From today forward, I hereby place the entire armory under Chu Xiao’s command. Everyone is to follow his instructions!”
“Any defiance will be dealt with according to military law!” The Commander's voice rang through the armory, firm and resolute.
Wang Zhi was reluctant, but he had to admit his own shortcomings left him no defense.
Still, he didn’t believe this upstart could possibly do better than him.
Even if Chu Xiao claimed to have foreseen the future, he was still just a callow youth—could he really develop weapons?
Not only Wang Zhi, but most of the researchers felt the same way.
After all, in their eyes, only true technical mastery could earn their respect.
Chu Xiao could see their defiance clearly.
Without another word, he picked up a pen.

In a matter of minutes, he sketched a model of a laser gun on the display board.
Yes—a detailed model of a laser gun, and that wasn’t all.
Chu Xiao then drew a schematic of the laser gun’s internal components, so intricate and precise it left the onlookers in awe.
Before his death, Chu Xiao had studied weaponry from that era inside and out—he’d disassembled handguns hundreds of times, and after the great war broke out, he’d researched laser guns just as intensively.
Now, if they could mass-produce these laser guns in advance, they would stand a much better chance of holding off Hades’s assault as soon as it began, buying precious time.
“This—”
Wang Zhi stared at the sketches, dumbfounded. This was technology far beyond their time!
In that instant, Wang Zhi’s doubts about Chu Xiao vanished, replaced by utter conviction.
“I’m not here today to show off my knowledge of laser guns,” Chu Xiao said, “but to help you develop even more powerful weapons.”
“Missiles! Nuclear weapons! We’ll need them all!”
“For instance, nuclear weapons designed to minimize collateral damage and avoid interference from Hades’s systems—this must be a key research priority!”
If they could develop this, Hades’s system might meet its end far sooner than expected.
“Hades is about to awaken! I want everyone to enter a state of full alert—no more slackening off!”
“Let’s defend our homeland together!”
“Let’s protect the happiness of our people!”
Chu Xiao felt a surge of hot blood coursing through his chest, a passion that filled him to the brim and threatened to spill over.
He knew this was the depth of his love for his homeland.
As a descendant of Yan and Huang, his bond to this land was etched into his very bones.
Those old scars, once worn smooth by the years, now bristled anew.
“Defend our homeland!”
The rallying cry rang out, each voice burning with passion.
Tears filled Number One’s eyes.
Never had the people been so united as they were at this moment. Such solidarity for their country was truly moving.
Number One’s powerful voice echoed throughout the armory.
“This is the strength of a nation united!”
“From top to bottom, we will stand together against invaders!”
“America will eventually be destroyed by its own creations! There’s no need for us to die alongside them!”
“We are not fighting alone! Hundreds of millions of our people stand with us!”
Pride unique to their homeland shone on Number One’s face.