Reincarnation Paradise: The Crucible.

Chapter 425 Trask Industries
Trask Industries is a large industrial group founded by Bolivar Trask in 1967. It was born almost at the same time as the X-Institute and the Brotherhood of Mutants.

In its nearly half-century history of development, this industrial group has had only one goal, which is to eliminate all existing mutants. Thus, the Sentinels, which are pure war machines, came into being.

Over the past fifty years, countless mutants have died because of the Sentinels, and correspondingly, the number of Sentinels destroyed by mutants is also astronomical. The Brotherhood is the main force in destroying the Sentinels.

But the biggest difference between the two is that each mutant is unique, while the Sentinel is a standard weapon that can be mass-produced.

If a mutant wants to have qualified combat power, it will take at least ten years, or even longer, for him to grow and train.

The time required for a Sentinel robot to go from production to shipment is no more than a week, or even less.

Comparing the two, even though the mutants have always been far superior to the Sentinels in terms of high-end combat power, they are still in a passive position in the overall situation.

After all, when the Sentinel was destroyed, Trask Industries only suffered a tiny amount of damage to its resources. With the secret support of the country's military forces, these losses were nothing to them.

But mutants are different. The casualties they suffer are real and irreversible. In the long run, even if they are far from facing the risk of extinction, the decline of mutants is visible to the naked eye.

The only way to reverse this trend is to completely destroy Trask Industries' Sentinel production line. Only by completely cutting off the source of the endless stream of Sentinels can mutants truly be eradicated forever.

So since a large number of Sentinels began to become active, the Brotherhood members led by Magneto have never given up searching for the Sentinels' main production base.

But it is obvious that Trask Industries is also very clear about its lifeline, so to this day, the extremely secretive base headquarters has never been exposed.

Even when Professor X used the brain wave amplifier to search the world, all he could find were those insignificant parts processing factories. This part of the industry was spread all over the world and it was impossible to destroy it all. However, he found nothing about the controller production line base, which was the core of the Sentinel.

If nothing unexpected happens, the base headquarters will remain hidden until 2023, until the Sentinels completely evolve to their ultimate form, thus setting off a Sentinel frenzy that almost destroys the entire world.

But today in 2006, due to the intrusion of the contractors, relying on their high-end technology from other worlds, the research and development progress of the Sentinels has been greatly improved, but at the same time, the location of its base headquarters has inevitably been known to many contractors in the camp.

.....................

Mexico, a presidential republic with a territory of 196.44 million square kilometers, ranks only th in the world in terms of area, but its crime rate is undoubtedly at the top of the global list.

Due to its proximity to a superpower, this country in southern North America is almost never at peace and the crime rate is at record highs.

Here, drug lords and gangs are everywhere, and incidents such as drug proliferation, gang fights, arms trade, and human trafficking are common.

Trask's base headquarters is located in a remote mountain range somewhere in this chaotic country.

In order to build this large-scale base that encompasses multiple core technologies such as Sentinel R&D, main controller manufacturing, and X-gene analysis, Trask Industries hollowed out more than half of the mountain and continued to dig at least a hundred meters of underground space downwards to finally take shape.

The base has a permanent population of tens of thousands alone, and it has all the facilities needed for living areas, R&D areas, production areas, entertainment areas, etc. It is almost equivalent to a small city with all the necessary facilities.

Coupled with the patrolling guards and X-gene detectors that can be found everywhere, as well as the mental confusion magnetic field covering the entire base, this base can be said to have achieved the ultimate in confidentiality.

Strictly speaking, this is the real core of Trask Industries, and the so-called group buildings and confidential laboratories revealed to the outside world are just a cover-up.

Once this place is destroyed, the huge Trask Industries will be paralyzed. The Sentinels that have lost their main controller and X-gene database will be like humans who have lost their brains. All that will be left is a hard shell that cannot move at all.

Therefore, the level of external protection here is of utmost importance. However, no matter how tight the fortress is, it often cannot withstand the collapse from the inside.

When Chisuo and others quietly sent the inconspicuous magic mirror into the base, the countdown to destruction began.

………………

"secret?"

"As long as it exists, there is no absolute secret in this world."

Above the mountain range where the base is located, behind the misty clouds, a majestic warship with brilliant golden patterns on its surface is floating in the air.

On the battleship deck, Xu Yue was quietly staring at the giant magic mirror in front of him that was several meters in size. Through the gradually clearer mirror surface, he could see a spacious room opposite that was luxuriously decorated.

No matter how tight the protection of Trask Industries' base headquarters is, it is useless against the magic mirror that can even penetrate the barriers of the world.

In fact, secrecy is the opponent's most effective means of defense, and once its specific location is exposed, it is only a matter of time before it is destroyed.

Without any further delay, after making sure that the size of the room opposite met the requirements, Xu Yue turned decisively and walked towards a large nuclear warhead that had been prepared on the rear deck.

He had a lot of experience in dealing with secret bases hidden in the mountains. He didn't need to use too many tricks. He just had to throw the high-yield nuclear bomb into the base and detonate it. Then the tens of thousands of tons of rocks that would collapse would bury everything in the base.

...............

"No matter how many times I watch it, I am still fascinated by this technology. It is a near-perfect fusion of biological genes and mechanical engineering. Hongye, do you know what this means..."

In a core laboratory at the Trask Base headquarters, a young man in a white research suit was looking at the large amount of data in front of him with a fanatical look on his face. He muttered to himself and did not wait for the female contractor dressed as a secretary beside him to reply before he continued speaking.

"This means that as long as you give me Magneto's complete genetic map, I can even mass-produce countless biological sentinels with the same magnetic field control ability. This is a force that is enough to subvert the world. Even in the rating of Paradise, this is at least a high-end mechanical blueprint with a full dark purple score, and..."

The young researcher in the room continued his excited narration, but Hongye next to him was far less excited.

Her slender eyebrows knitted slightly. Compared with the incomprehensible data drawings in front of her, she was obviously more worried about the upcoming crisis.
"Turing, I know the Sentinels are very valuable, but that's not the point right now. We only have the last six hours, and the military has urged us more than once. Are you still planning to send only those old models of Sentinels to the Cairo battlefield? They can't deal with Apocalypse."

His narration was interrupted directly. After he finished speaking, the excitement on Turing's face quickly subsided. He glanced at Hongye who was standing beside him with a worried look on his face, and replied with a nonchalant smile.

"Richard will naturally handle the military. From the time we have enough resources, the government military will no longer be of much use to us, especially after the birth of Apocalypse, so we don't need to care too much about their attitude."

"As for the apocalypse..."

When talking about Apocalypse, Turing paused and his expression became more serious.

"For Apocalypse, there is actually not much difference between the simulated Sentinels with special abilities and the old models. The opponent's ability to disintegrate matter at the molecular level is enough to crush everything. The losses on Kiyu Island are enough to show the gap between us."

"That guy is a creature on a completely different level from us. The human wave tactic will not work. The human camp is now just going through its last frenzy before dying. There is no need for us to waste our precious combat power on such meaningless consumption. Do you understand?"

Turing's explanation was very straightforward, but it obviously failed to convince Hongye, who was still frowning.

"Then we won't participate? The mission penalty..."

"It is impossible not to participate, but we just need to wait for the right time."

"opportunity?"

Glancing at Hongye who asked again with a hint of disdain, Turing sighed helplessly before continuing:
"Do you remember how Apocalypse went offline in the original world line?"

"Of course I remember...you mean?!"

"Well, even if the overall power of the human camp is temporarily dominant, the protagonists of this world are always mutants. The conflict between Apocalypse and Professor X is irreconcilable, so those mutants will not let the other side devour Professor X so easily. At least his students will never agree. But to this day, have you ever seen any X-Men appear on the Cairo battlefield?" After speaking, Hongye shook her head slowly, but her tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed. Obviously, she also realized that this situation was not normal.

"It's impossible for the X-Men to give up the professor. Plus, if I remember correctly, the Phoenix didn't seem to have been sacrificed in the previous battle on Alcatraz. So the result is obvious. Someone is using the mutant camp to make a move, and now this arrogant Apocalypse is the turtle in the jar that has been carefully planned."

“So no matter how bloody and cruel the battle of Cairo is now, it is only a warm-up foreplay, and there is still some distance to the final climax.”

"As the saying goes, while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole is waiting behind. If we don't want to be swallowed up by the other side before they reveal their cards, we can't give up our most crucial trump card so easily."

As his fingers tapped, the large amount of data about the Sentinel on the screen quickly disappeared, and what appeared instead was a shocking image of a gorgeous fire phoenix spreading its wings and looking down above the smoke of a nuclear explosion.

Looking at the vivid flaming phoenix in the center of the image, Turing's eyes were deep and greed flashed across them.

"If you want to be the ultimate killer, patience is essential. There will definitely be a war between mutants and Apocalypse. No one will be happy to have a high and mighty 'God' suddenly appear above their heads, especially when this 'God' intends to completely control even the mind. This is even more intolerable."

"Apocalypse is doomed to be deserted by his friends in this era. This is the indelible nature of human beings. Even the Four Horsemen chosen by him are the same. By then, a large number of simulated Sentinels will be our biggest reliance on whether we can get a share of the pie. So we don't need to pay too much attention to the human government. Do you understand?"

"And aren't there a few batches of old-model Sentinels in the warehouse? You can hand them over to Richard later, and he will take care of everything."

"I understand. I..."

"drop!!"

Inside the room, Hongye nodded to show that she understood after hearing the explanation, but then a sudden and harsh warning sound interrupted her next words.

"Ding!! Abnormal spatial fluctuations detected!"

The warning sounded loud and long. Turing reacted and his expression suddenly changed. He turned around and looked at a metal ball in the corner of the room that was flashing a dazzling red light.

"Immediately lock onto the abnormal location and project a real-time image!"

The sphere that received the command quickly stopped flashing, and then the sound of subtle parts turning continued to be heard. After a few breaths, a virtual image was projected out.

The image shows a mysterious round mirror floating in the room and slowly shrinking, and below it is a huge silver warhead. The fan-shaped nuclear warning sign on the surface of the warhead looks particularly dazzling.

The next second, the round mirror in the center of the image disappeared in an instant, and the huge warhead exploded under the gaze of two pairs of terrified eyes. Endless flames instantly occupied the image in front of the two people.

"Fake!"

"boom!!!"

...............

Outside, there was a violent roar that shook a hundred miles away, followed by thick smoke rising into the sky. In a trance, it seemed that the towering mountains that accommodated the entire underground base jumped upwards imperceptibly under the violent impact of this high-yield nuclear bomb.

So when it fell to the ground again, the ground below was crushed directly under the heavy pressure, and the sound of cracking of the earth's crust was heard one after another for a while.

Through the billowing thick black smoke, one can vaguely see that, with the continuously collapsing mountain as the center, the surrounding land is a tragic scene of dragons and snakes rising from the ground and in pieces.

In the sky, the Sun Chaser battleship in the clouds still remained in the same place without moving. At the front of the deck, Xu Yue was playing with the magic mirror that he had just recalled not long ago, but his eyes were always fixed on the grand scene created by him below.

The towering and majestic mountains on the surface had long disappeared, replaced by giant clouds of smoke that seemed to reach the sky and the earth. Looking around, the mountains that had sunk into the clouds could no longer be seen clearly, but the collapse of the earth outside the clouds was still spreading madly outward.

In fact, a single nuclear bomb is far from enough to cause such a horrific scene of earth-shattering and mountain-destroying, but the unique geographical structure of the Trask base greatly heightened the chain reaction caused by the nuclear bomb explosion.

Sometimes, no matter how majestic and magnificent a building or palace is, if a single load-bearing wooden stake is removed, the entire palace will collapse in an instant.

There was no need to confirm too much. Just by looking at the billowing smoke that was almost rising to the vicinity of the battleship, no one would doubt whether there were any members in the base who could survive.

"It should be over now!"

At the edge of the deck, Hank looked down at the violent vibrations below that had not subsided for a long time. His big furry blue face showed a trace of pity, but more of it was relief.

In fact, both Professor X and he prefer to reconcile the sharp conflicts between humans and mutants through peaceful evolution, so one side chose to establish an academy, while the other side entered politics.

But the doomsday news from Xu Yue's mind directly negated all their hopes. Facing the Sentinel apocalypse that destroyed everything more than ten years later, neither education nor politics seemed to be able to change the tragic end of the alien race who were destined to be slaughtered. Now all they have the choice is to rise up in resistance.

And now with the destruction of Trask Base, the future of mutants being exterminated by the Sentinels has been rewritten by them.

On the other hand, unlike Hank's optimism, Xu Yue's brows were unconsciously slightly furrowed. Until now, the completion rate of his main task remained at 33% and had not changed. This was very unreasonable.

"It's not over yet. It seems their main base is more difficult to deal with than expected."

"Magic main cannon ready!"

...........................

On the surface, the rising smoke and dust began to become gradually lighter over time until it was barely noticeable.

When the smoke cleared, all that was left was an ugly, fragmented land in the misty dust. In the center, broken peaks and rubble rose up, and from a distance, it looked like a giant tomb standing in the ruins.

After a few breaths, the still grave mound suddenly began to tremble slightly, and then exploded from the inside out.

In an instant, the sound of breaking air came one after another, and large pieces of earth and rocks flew everywhere. In the middle of the scattered rubble, a giant sentinel with a broken body fiercely leaped out from the deep cave under the tomb mound.

"Bang!!"

The exaggerated weight of nearly a hundred tons slammed heavily to the ground, instantly causing waves again on the broken surface that had just calmed down. The violent vibration caused the surrounding ground to instantly churn and crack.

The flying debris continuously hit the silver metal surface of the sentry, making bursts of crisp echoes, mixed with the harsh 'sizzling' sound caused by the leakage of a large amount of electric current.

With a size several times larger than a normal Sentinel, this mainframe Sentinel that housed Trask Industries' core server and the X-Gene database managed to escape the nuclear explosion. Although the price was that almost no inch of its nearly 30-meter-long body was intact and most of its defensive armor plates were destroyed, at least it survived.

Inside the control cabin, through the sentinel's blood-red electronic eyes, Turing, whose body was filled with a strong smell of meat, was also looking around with a pair of bloodshot scarlet eyes.

Looking around, I saw that the surrounding land was devastated, with dense and deep cracks crisscrossing, like a huge porcelain plate that had been smashed violently, looking extremely hideous.

Seeing this, Turing's eyebrows twitched slightly in the control cabin. The damage caused by the nuclear explosion was far more serious than he had imagined. Judging from the current situation, let alone the survivors other than him, even the tens of thousands of sentinels of various types stored in the base warehouse would most likely end up being buried underground forever.

In other words, from the time he entered the world until now, all the investment and efforts he had made in the Trask Industries camp could basically be declared wasted.

Even with the mainframe-type Sentinel in his hands, he could easily form a new army of Sentinels if given enough time and resources, but the mission deadline of less than 6 hours would obviously not give him the opportunity to develop slowly.

"Damn traitor!"

(End of this chapter)