Chapter 611.2: We Will Scatter All Impurities On This Land

At the fire passage entrance, dozens of bodies lay sprawled.

Most were Mutant Humans, their green skin obvious, but some were players, left with shattered exoskeletons.

Alloy walls still bore old war propaganda posters, some cut from magazines, boasting of victories.

Ironically, the Three Year War that spanned light-years into the stars had never touched that bunker.

Yet two centuries later, the walls were pocked with bullet holes, blood flooding the hallways.

“... The power room is just ahead!” Piltover Paratrooper checked the VM map, leading the charge in his heavy exoskeleton. “Detected vital signs, it’s the last room!”

Irene checked her mission log. “The remaining Mutant Humans must be in there. The fake Hive should be inside the power room... The nuclear fuel’s probably in the backup store.”

“Let’s end this quickly!” Piltover Paratrooper sneered, revving his chainsaw until the air grew hot.

Just as he moved forward, Elf Wang called out. “Wait.”

Piltover Paratrooper stopped and turned around. “What?”

Grinning, Elf Wang hefted a heavy prize onto his shoulder. “Try this instead!”

Piltover Paratrooper’s brow rose.

An RPG?

“You brought that down here?”

“Heh, and with new warheads!” Sliding a rocket into the tube nearly as thick as a thigh, Elf Wang beamed.

Piltover Paratrooper leaned close, curious. “... What’s that?”

“Thermobaric warhead!”

“What the fu...?!”

Everyone around him froze at his revelation. Ignoring if it was true or not, they all scrambled back. The only person who stayed calm was Irene.

“It’s a replica TBG-7V thermobaric warhead... Chill out. Mosquito’s a genius. He even replicated this technology in game!”

Elf Wang himself felt awe. Goblin Technology was getting scarier by the day.

Unlike frag grenades, thermobaric bombs had no shrapnel, killing purely with blast and heat.

It was mediocre in open ground combat, but in enclosed buildings? It was lethal beyond reason.

The fewer the windows, the deadlier it got.

10 to 15 atm of instant overpressure... It was enough to shred any carbon lifeform.

“Cut the chatter.” Irene was already at the door as he placed his hand on the handle.

Elf Wang grinned, pulling the launcher over his shoulder. “I’ll count to three, then open.”

Irene wasn’t about to play timing games. He yanked the door open the second he count to three.

Bullets whizzed out, startling Elf Wang. Reflexively, he pulled the trigger.

A trail of white smoke whooshed from the tube, wobbling flames at its tail, and shot straight into the open door.

Luckily, the rocket went inside. Otherwise, everyone in the hallway would’ve been roasted alive.

At the same time, in the power room, Hogg, ready for a last stand, was startled when the rocket slipped through the doorway.

He had braced himself for a desperate fight with the New Alliance, but hadn’t expected them to abandon all sense of honor and blast them with a rocket launcher.

“Down!”

He roared and dove to the ground, only to realize instantly how useless the action was.

The explosion thundered, the overpressure magnified tenfold smashing into his eardrums. He lost his hearing before he could even scream.

It wasn’t just his hearing either. The searing heat evaporated the fluids in his body in an instant, charring his skin, then the vessels and flesh beneath.

“AAAHHH!”

Blinded, Hogg let out a heart-wrenching cry, wishing only for a swift death.

That wish was granted.

The agony didn’t last long. Like the rest of the Mutant Humans, he was soon roasted into a bloody charred husk in this inferno.

The screams finally subsided. Players with their helmets caked with dust, cautiously poked their heads in.

Nothing living remained in the power room, only scorched or blasted corpses.

The air was blisteringly hot, like an oven at maximum heat. Even standing at the doorway risked burns. They waited until the heat dispersed, then carefully stepped inside.

Looking at the wreckage, Elf Wang clicked his tongue. “Damn... This weapon is inhumane.”

He swore he would write a rant about it on the forum later!

Piltover Paratrooper grinned. “What’s the point of talking humanity with beasts?”

Though he didn’t get the satisfaction of killing them directly, that way of dying wasn’t merciful either.

“Fair point.” Elf Wang stepped forward, kicking open a half-hanging door at the far end of the power room.

A foul stench wafted out.

Switching on his flashlight, he revealed a ring-shaped device, similar to a reactor of a Shelter.

What shocked them wasn’t the reactor. It was the pulsing slabs of flesh growing on it.

Oozing a sinister dark green, they covered every corner of the machine.

Na Fruit Core!

It was the source of the spore clouds blanketing the province!

A biotech-synthesized pseudo Hive!

“So that’s the Hive?” Irene peeked in, finding it resembled both a giant throbbing heart and an oversized Na Fruit. He couldn’t help but wonder what it might taste like.

“Its scientific name is the Na Fruit Core. We can’t even be sure if the one in Clearspring City looks the same.” Elf Wang shot Irene a sly glance and a smirk formed on his face. “Don’t tell me you wanna try it?”

Irene rolled his eyes. “Do I look like that type?”

That slimy green lump clearly isn’t edible, and besides, where will you even take the first bite?

But the other players didn’t believe him, shooting him suspicious looks.

Isn’t that exactly what you do all the time?!

Ignoring the jerks, Irene planted explosives around the pseudo Hive and urged everyone to clear out of the power room.

Just then, their wide area communication channel came alive. After listening for a moment, Piltover Paratrooper turned to the group and spoke. “The freight elevator has power again. Nuclear fuel and loot are being sent topside... Time for us to pull out.”

Stepping into the elevator, Irene hit the detonator, starting the countdown to the explosives they had left in the power room.

Elf Wang took one last look at the gore-strewn corridor as the doors shut. A look of reluctance could be seen on his face as he mumbled, “That’s it? The mission is over?”

He heard that the brothers of the Burning Corps had fought a hell of a battle on the deck of the Heart of Steel the night before while his squad barely met resistance.

It felt like it ended before he got his fill of violence.

Irene shot him a wry look. “Pretty much... The outcome was decided last night. What’s left is just cleanup.”

The elevator soon arrived. Almost as soon as they stepped off, tremors rippled beneath their feet, shaking the building.

Elf Wang staggered, barely catching himself on a wall. “Oi! How long was your timer set for?!”

The sheer power shocked even Irene. He stared at the tilting ceiling, dumbfounded. “Half a minute... I figured that would be enough.”

Did they actually set off some nukes in there?

He remembered the Burning Corps had captured a stash of tactical nukes in Boulder Town.

Some were fist-sized, yet strong enough to flatten an entire block.

Did they... Did they put one of those in there?

Piltover Paratrooper’s scalp tingled. “Half a minute’s fine, but why do I get a bad feeling...”

The chain reaction showed no sign of stopping. From the turret hatch of his Chimera, Escaping Mole’s face darkened.

He kicked the driver hard and shouted. “Reverse! Now!”

Thankfully, the battle upstairs was over.

As the players scrambled out, the towering building, standing for over two centuries, finally crumbled, collapsing into ruin.

...

On the bridge of the Heart of Steel.

Chu Guang stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching Singularity City’s skyline as the building toppled into rubble.

Though mist still veiled the view, Little Seven projected the drone feed onto the glass.

That was the best seat in the house. In the wheelchair beside him, Yore stared at the rising dust clouds in a gaze.

That was the beginning of everything.

Now... Everything was over.

After a long silence, his throat bobbed. “... Is it over?”

Chu Guang glanced at him, then said slowly, “Not even close. The sins born of your arrogance will take decades to atone for. The suffering here won’t end anytime soon.”

Yore let out a bitter smile, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

Watching the man beside him, Chu Guang continued, “But to be fair, your research on anti-radiation saved many lives.”

Yore shook his head. “That wasn’t just me.”

“I know. I never said it was,” Chu Guang replied simply. “Like that tower collapsing, it wasn’t pushed down by one person. It was the will of many together. That’s how history moves forward.”

Yore fell silent, his face torn between remorse and pure pain.

He drew a deep breath, calming himself, then looked at Chu Guang. “What do you plan to do with me?”

“That depends on how you intend to atone,” Chu Guang answered casually.

Yore’s eyes widened slightly. “... I still have a choice?”

“Of course. You could go to Shelter 79. It’s now the New Alliance’s research base, with experts and a lizard older than anyone alive. We still have mountains of problems to solve. You can spend your remaining life helping survivors there.” Chu Guang paused, then added, “Or you could take a 9mm bullet to the mouth and say goodbye to this world. It will be quick and painless. Your call.”

Yore gave a bitter laugh. “The latter sounds easier.”

Chu Guang looked at Lu Bei and the loyal man instantly stepped forward, freeing Yore’s right hand and handing him a pistol. There was no magazine, but the gun was chambered.

Yore stared at it silently for a long while, then sighed and flicked the safety back on. “... I choose to continue working.”

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Death was easy. But he suddenly thought of Yinyin, the little girl he had wanted to save but failed.

Chu Guang studied his eyes, then suddenly asked with a flicker of curiosity. “Are you Yore now, or Luo Qian?”

He had noticed it before. Yore and Luo Qian were both present. One was the owner of the brain, one the owner of the chip in his brain.

In truth, anyone implanted with chips was the same as him. There was Yore, Yinyin...

They were all Luo Qian.

The ghost had split himself into countless fragments, hiding in every vessel he deemed fit. Those vessels were the Sanctuary.

Perhaps knowing himself better, Yore replied firmly this time. “Both.”

He met Chu Guang’s gaze before he spoke again. “May I... ask you a question?”

“Sure,” Chu Guang said simply.

Yore stared into his eyes. “How can you be sure your path ahead won’t end like mine did, just another hell?”

He only wanted to know what gave the administrator such confidence.

Chu Guang’s answer shocked him.

“I can’t.”

Yore’s face froze as Chu Guang went on calmly. “I’m just a man. I am no savior and no prophet. The only thing I can promise is to honor the trust people put in me, to do what I can. Whether we stumble tomorrow, I can’t say.”

“But I’ll discuss with them, face problems, or bugs, together, and decide our path together. Even if their ideas are immature, that’s fine. Our New Alliance wasn’t built in a day.”

“If hell awaits us ahead, then it’ll be by our collective choice. And I believe even if we do stand in hell one day, our unity will let us walk out of it, shoulder to shoulder.”

Yore sighed, lowering his head. “If only I met you 20 years earlier...”

If fate hadn’t turned, if he hadn’t met Luo Qian back then...

Maybe his destiny, and that of all survivors, would have been different.