Chapter 98: Plasma, The First Choice

Main Universe Time: November 14, 1996.

Five hours after the evacuation was announced at the shelter.

A gloomy noon without direct sunlight.

At this moment, if one were to look down on Sana'a from high above, they would see that 80% of this former desert city had been completely leveled, leaving only ruins in the remaining areas.

Within this 80% of the area, large sections of the soil had been crystallized or vitrified, a clear indication of the tactical weapons detonated from above that had created this scene.

The nuclear shelter, located 60 meters underground, was not affected by the "vacuum effect" caused by the explosion's fireball. Therefore, the people inside, including the private and the short-haired soldier, were spared.

By this time, those who had been hiding in the shelter had been moved to the desert in the western outskirts of Sana'a.

However, the soldiers maintaining order and distributing water and food belonged to Atlas's ARS and AESC units.

The soldiers who had earlier used 20mm non-lethal rubber shotgun rounds and wore "red-eyed" breathing masks were clones without any self-awareness or logical thinking.

In reality, when the shelter was about to be breached, the Ernio-004, positioned in near-Earth orbit, launched a 300-kiloton TNT equivalent plasma bomb above the condensate forces (Netherworld Army) that had swarmed into Sana'a.

The core material for the tactical plasma bomb was helium, a rare element on Earth but commonly found on the Moon.

The Ernio-002, equipped with six nuclear fusion engines and capable of easily reaching the second cosmic velocity, had traveled to the Moon in Universe 01 (Tomorrow) in early 1995 to extract helium-3.

Since Atlas, having developed controlled nuclear fusion technology, needed large quantities of helium and deuterium for fusion reactions, they were also trying to produce metallic helium through ultra-high pressure and ultra-low temperature methods.

Eventually, they successfully refined stable metallic helium under nearly four million times the atmospheric pressure.

To ionize the metallic helium into plasma, it needed to be instantly heated to over a million degrees. Therefore, the plasma bomb dropped above the condensate required a 2000-ton TNT equivalent metallic hydrogen bomb as a fuse.

The moment the fuse ignited the metallic helium, it released a blue plasma fireball with a temperature of approximately one billion degrees. This fireball would rapidly spread out, following the shockwave until it eventually dissipated.

In terms of destructive power, the plasma bomb was the absolute leader in tactical weapons, although in the strategic field, the hydrogen bomb, capable of reaching hundreds of megatons of TNT equivalent, still held its ground.

The humanoid condensates in *The Netherworld* might not fear plasma discharge guns, but when faced with a plasma fireball with a temperature of at least a billion degrees, their fate was to be vaporized.

To liberate Universe 03 (Doomed), Minerva from Atlas had to rely on precise calculations and accurate intelligence to avoid harming human comrades and needed to deploy ground forces to sweep up the remnants.

However, since the private, the short-haired soldier, and the over thirty thousand other comrades were hiding in the nuclear shelter, there was no need to risk sending ground forces; using tactical weapons to neutralize the condensates was the first choice.

Following the plasma bomb detonation, Ernio-004 also airdropped twelve Tyrants equipped with ceramic armor and small-caliber plasma cannons, along with sixty clone soldiers armed with non-lethal weapons.

Within four minutes of the plasma bomb's detonation;

The airdrop pods landed at the northern and western gates of the shelter, with the Tyrants tasked with handling any surviving condensates. The Tyrant pilots also issued orders to the clone soldiers, directing "them" to breach the shelter.

This explained why the private, who had planned to sacrifice himself to buy time, was the first to encounter the clone soldiers.

Meanwhile, the main force, traveling on atmospheric transport aircraft, had taken off four hours before Ernio-004 began its series of airdrop and airstrike operations. They arrived at the western and northern outskirts of Sana'a seven minutes after the explosion, securing complete control of the situation.

At the same time, the transport fleet within the atmosphere carried sufficient water and food, allowing the over thirty thousand comrades to enjoy a hearty meal and drink as soon as they were rescued.

Eight thousand kilometers away in Iceland.

Inside the command center of the frontline base;

Standing next to the central control console, Samuel Young watched the real-time dynamics and data displayed on the holographic screen, along with aerial views, and understood that Atlas had gained complete control of the situation in Sana'a.

The next step was to transfer the thirty thousand comrades to the isolated environment of Iceland, where they could be provided with a truly safe living environment.

During this period, Atlas staff would conduct interviews and identity registrations with the comrades, gathering more information and history about Earth-04.

After one or two months, the free food and supplies would be discontinued, and the comrades would need to earn vouchers through labor, gradually beginning the work of rebuilding civilization.

With Atlas's experience from exploring and managing the first three universes, these steps were well-practiced.

Within these one to two months, Samuel Young also needed to locate the base of the condensate "pilots," essentially the forcibly extracted nervous systems.

Since the creation of condensates required enormous energy consumption, he could use Ernio-004 to screen for any remaining operational nuclear power plants and then deploy Tyrants and clone squads equipped with plasma weapons for airborne assaults.

Without the nervous systems controlling them, the condensates would collapse on their own, and Atlas could seize the opportunity to acquire ready-made condensate factories.

Only by completely eliminating the threat of the condensates could Atlas free up more time and energy to patiently search for the remaining humans hiding in underground shelters.

In this way, the situation in Universe 04 was becoming clear.

"Father." At this moment, Horus, standing to Samuel Young's left, looked at the various data and said, "This operation was so swift that the ground forces didn't have much to do."

"Participation?" Samuel Young glanced at Horus and the silent Magnus, reminding them, "In the future, you two will eventually be responsible for managing and fighting across one or even multiple universes on your own. Remember, if the conditions allow, long-range strikes should always be the first choice in any solution."

"." Upon hearing this, both Primarchs nodded silently, seemingly replaying the details of the operation in their minds.

Samuel Young also fell silent, not hearing the cold voice in his mind.

This indicated that not every universe would have descendants appear. Moreover, in both Universes 03 and 04, human civilization was in a state of apocalypse. He speculated that the threat level of the dimensional gates might be gradually increasing, though this was not certain.

However, one thing Samuel Young had already confirmed was that each dimensional gate allowed Atlas to absorb new technologies and materials. Therefore, after handling the necessary tasks in Universe 04, it was time to begin "reforming" human life in the main universe.