Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

Chapter 1111 Preparing to Open the Transmission Passage!

“But not now.” His eyes gleamed with an extreme calmness. “We cannot fight an unprepared battle, nor can we entrust the fate of the nation to luck. I need time, I need… thorough preparation.”

Once the decision was made, Gao Yao instantly transformed from a hesitant and thoughtful individual back into the decisive and ruthless emperor with impeccable strategy. Under his personal direction, a massive preparatory project, operating at the highest level of imperial secrecy, quietly began.

Gao Yao personally searched for a suitable location, ultimately choosing the Qin Chuan Plain, a region of eight hundred li. The terrain there was ideal for concealment and for carrying out clandestine operations. The Qingyi Society was put in charge of the entire operation, with the soldiers only responsible for perimeter security.

Under the guise of expanding the royal hunting grounds and closing the mountains to hunt ferocious beasts, Gao Yao dispatched two elite units of the most loyal Imperial Guards, totaling 50,000 men, to the Qin Plain. On the surface, it was a grand hunt and road construction, but in reality, the true core force—three thousand Qingyi Society members personally trained by Gao Yao, absolutely loyal, and all trained in the Dragon Elephant Prajna Kung Fu—was in charge there.

The entire process lasted three months, ensuring that there were no survivors within a 50-mile radius of the sinkhole who could have leaked the secrets, and also clearing away environmental obstacles.

With the cleanup complete, the real transformation project began. Gao Yao transformed the bottom of the sinkhole and the surrounding rock walls into an unprecedented super trap and defensive position against "alien invasion".

He gathered the most outstanding craftsmen from the Imperial Ministry of Works, the successors of the Mohist and Gongshu families, and extraordinary individuals skilled in feng shui and divination, combining them with his own vision that transcended his time to create a design.

First, a network of hidden tunnels and firing ports were carved into the edge of the sinkhole and inside the rock walls, capable of accommodating thousands of archers and soldiers operating heavy machinery. These fortifications blended seamlessly with the mountainside, making them extremely difficult to detect.

Secondly, there's the arrangement of traps and mechanisms. This isn't just about simple pitfalls and crossbow bolts. The high-level requirements demand a massive, comprehensive, and destructive killing array combining triggering and remote control mechanisms. Rolling stones and logs are merely appetizers; what's truly terrifying is:

Below the key area at the bottom of the sinkhole, tens of thousands of containers of flammable oil, sealed in special ceramic jars, are buried. Once triggered by a specific mechanism or signal, the jars rupture, the flammable oil seeps out, and is then ignited by rockets or a spark, instantly turning the bottom into a sea of ​​fire with temperatures high enough to melt gold and fossils.

Simultaneously, poisonous powders and fumes extracted from some highly toxic minerals and plants in this world are sealed within the crevices of the rock walls. Once triggered, the poisonous fog spreads, not only deadly but also severely impairing vision and perception.

There were also specially made super-heavy crossbows, with crossbow bolts as sharp as spears, made with exotic animal sinews mixed with gold thread as the string, requiring ten strongmen to operate, and capable of piercing through a three-foot-thick iron plate; the mountain-breaking cannon made with an improved gunpowder formula, although rudimentary, was far more powerful than any catapult in this world, capable of blasting a hundred-pound exploding shell hundreds of paces away, causing widespread damage.

The ultimate guarantee for all these preparations was the enormous quantity of gunpowder.

Gao Yao mobilized nearly a third of the empire's strategic reserves and ordered the military factories to operate at full capacity, secretly producing for a full six months. Ultimately, over 500,000 jin of refined black powder was divided into hundreds of individually packaged units and cleverly buried at various locations at the bottom of the sinkhole, especially beneath the central area where the passage might open. The fuse system was complex and redundant, incorporating both delayed-action devices and instant remote detonation circuitry.

Gao Yao had personally tested the power of some of them. A small-scale test explosion leveled half a small hill, and the shockwaves traveled ten miles away.

While making intensive physical preparations, Gaoyao is also improving its systems and emergency response plans.

He personally drafted eighteen ironclad rules regarding the "top secret" of the sinkhole, minimizing the scope of knowledge: apart from Gao Yao himself, only the four highest-ranking commanders of the Qingyi Society and the two Imperial Guard commanders responsible for the outer perimeter blockade knew part of the truth. All the craftsmen and soldiers involved in the construction were given strict gag orders and were transferred in batches in the later stages of the project, with members of the Qingyi Society taking over the final and most crucial arrangements.

Gao made these preparations just in case something unexpected happened the moment the space opened. Gao could also close the space portal, but the system only gives him this one chance; once closed, there will be no second opportunity to open it.

Gao Yao skillfully allocated resources and balanced the power dynamics in the court under various pretexts, such as "investigating the people's conditions, training the new army, and preparing for the eastern tour." He promoted several pragmatic officials to stabilize the administration; strengthened his control over the army; and even deliberately created several minor border troubles and corruption cases to divert attention from the court and the public. At the same time, the empire's vast resources began to be subtly shifted towards the southwest, with various supplies being transported to the Hengduan Mountains through complex channels.

All of this preparation work was meticulous, thorough, and costly, and lasted for a whole year.

Throughout the year, Gao Yao remained outwardly the diligent and dignified emperor, with only his closest confidants noticing his occasional absent-mindedness and the increasingly profound light in his eyes, as if burning with some kind of flame.

In early winter, the upper peaks of Qin Chuan are covered with snow, and the cold wind is like a knife.

On the edge of the designed sinkhole, in a meticulously disguised command room indistinguishable from the surrounding rock, the atmosphere was extremely tense. Gao Yao, dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit with a light armor overlay, stood with his hands behind his back before a huge crystal window. Outside the window lay the bottomless sinkhole, shrouded in swirling mist.

Inside, four commanders of the Green Robe Society stood with their hands at their sides, their breathing clearly audible.

"Is everything ready?" Gao Yao's voice was calm and even.

“Your Majesty,” Qinglong stepped forward, his voice steady, “all 365 traps and mechanisms inside and outside the sinkhole have been inspected and are in good working order. All ambush troops are in position and their passwords are correct. The main control unit for explosives has been tested three times and is ready to be deployed at any time. The outer 300-mile blockade has been raised to the highest alert level, at the difficulty level of a flying bird.”

Gao Yao nodded, his gaze sweeping over the massive sand table on the wall, densely covered with various symbols. "Remember my orders: Once the passage is opened, no one may set foot at the bottom of the sinkhole without my personal decree or dragon talisman signal. Observation, recording, and vigilance are your sole tasks. In case of emergencies, proceed according to Level A, B, and C contingency plans. Level C contingency plan… you know the consequences."

"We understand!" The three knelt on one knee, their voices resolute. The Level C contingency plan was the ultimate, mutually destructive act.

After saying this, Gao Yao waved his hand, and the commanders immediately disappeared. At the same time, everyone at the location in the sinkhole where they were preparing to start the crossing was cleared, leaving only Gao Yao.