Chapter 614.1: Surprising Gains

In a pure white space, 12 silhouettes sat at a circular conference table.

They were draped in immaculate white robes, glowing with a milky radiance that exuded holiness.

If one looked closely, there were actually 13 chairs around the table. Only one sat empty.

That was the Torch Church’s Sanctuary.

Simply put, it was the place where the Pathfinders inside the Sanctuary convened.

At the center of the circular table stood an old man in a gray robe.

His face was lined with wrinkles, his eyes clouded, his skin and robe devoid of luster, completely out of place in this sacred chamber.

His name was Arzu, and he had just returned from Brocade Lake Municipality.

Facing the Pathfinders seated before him, he spoke with reverence and gravity, like a prayer recited during worship, recounting all that had transpired.

“Brocade Lake Municipality has fallen. We have lost all contact with the remnants in Singularity City.”

“In their resistance, they fought valiantly until the very end, but our enemies showed no mercy, beheading them, burning them into cinders, their corpses filling Brocade Lake Municipality’s underground transit network...”

His voice grew heavy with grief.

At his words, even the expressionless Pathfinders stirred.

They exchanged glances, whispered with their lips, their eyes flashing with shock and unease.

“Such barbarity!”

“... Not a single one left alive.”

That settlement, once a refuge for tens of thousands, had ended in such a way, it was tragic.

Those residents had been pioneers embracing evolution. Though they had chosen a different path from the Pathfinders in the Sanctuary, they had bravely taken the first step.

Yet the ignorant savages had reduced it all to ashes!

A stern-faced Pathfinder clenched his fist and said gravely, “We will carry their memory forward. Those who oppose us will pay the price!”

The others nodded slowly.

“The Academy and the Enterprise... traitorous degenerates.”

“And the New Alliance.”

“Not just them.” Arzu then spoke again, directing the blame at Luo Qian. “Our threats are not only external, but internal as well. That man Luo Qian, his hesitation cost us the best chance of victory. Because of him, we lost countless members and Executioners. We paid a grievous price.”

“This was our most disastrous defeat in 20 years, an unprecedented betrayal! Were it not for that traitor, things would never have been this bad!”

The Pathfinders gazed at him without expression, including the one seated at the head.

Arzu pressed on, voicing what he had long prepared to say. “The current model is flawed. Pathfinders can ensure the Apostles’ faith remains unshaken, but who ensures the Pathfinders’ faith does not falter first?”

He was cut off by one Pathfinder. “Nonsense! Our faith cannot be shaken!”

Another spoke solemnly, “Our minds are fused with the Sanctuary. Our thoughts surpass all. You know well how the Sanctuary operates.”

Arzu looked at him expressionlessly. “Then how do you explain Luo Qian?”

The Pathfinder froze.

Another at his side spoke after a pause, “Luo Qian’s case is perplexing... but not incomprehensible. He was old before entering the Sanctuary, and the old resist new things. We urged him to retire peacefully, but he refused to accept his aging, insisting on uploading his mind.”

“I can understand his aging. But not his betrayal.” Arzu smiled faintly and continued. “I don’t think age is the problem. The system itself is unreliable. We fragmented our thoughts into countless vessels so our enemies can’t destroy us. But by shattering the foundation, we weakened it. If they can shake our base, they can shake us.”

He had seen the Kingdom of Heaven collapse with his own eyes.

That man had split himself into countless fragments, making every vessel his eye and his cell.

The New Alliance couldn’t kill someone who wasn’t even rooted on earth, but they could sway each fragment.

When every cell faltered, the magnificent structure collapsed systemically.

In the end, he couldn’t even convince himself of the righteousness of the Torch Church.

That was fatal.

The Sanctuary influenced believers, but believers also influenced the Sanctuary since it was built from them.

That was why Arzu was convinced that the Sanctuary was unreliable.

Heaven had to be built by men on earth, not entrusted to a phantom Sanctuary or figures in god knows where.

The Pathfinder model had serious flaws. Without closing them, more defeats awaited.

“How can barbarians shake our foundation?” one scoffed.

Arzu answered coldly, “They exploited the ignorance and shortsightedness of the masses, and their blindness to distant gains and the true roots of their suffering.”

The Pathfinder glared at him, but could not refute it.

Pathfinder doctrine itself denied mortal wisdom. They sought to erase human frailty by becoming gods.

Arzu accepted the first half, but rejected the second. “To win the war on earth, Pathfinders must become real, physical people.”

He knew his words were heresy.

As expected, the Sanctuary erupted in outrage. “We will be no different from Apostles!”

“We gave up desires and selfishness, now you want to drag us back?”

“You are building in weakness to our structure! What are your intentions?”

Arzu replied calmly, “I’m not suggesting you return. I propose creating a Second Sanctuary. Promote Pathfinders who need not abandon their flesh, but still wield sufficient authority. They would govern earthly matters. Even if the New Alliance sways our believers, even if they infect our Sanctuary with thought-viruses, the failure of the Brocade River Province won’t repeat.”

A Pathfinder snapped, “Absurd! How would you ensure its purity?”

“It needn’t match the First Sanctuary’s purity. It only needs to lead our believers to defeat our enemies.”

Then the man at the head finally spoke. “Let me speak.”

At once, the hall fell silent.

His name was Wang Yi. He was the Torch Church’s actual chosen one. He was the chosen Apostle, the purest, most steadfast of them all.

“... In Ocean Edge Province, this problem doesn’t exist. The Kingdom of Heaven has entered the irreversible Phase Four. Our psychic devices ensure unity. A Second Sanctuary is unnecessary.”

Arzu stayed silent. He couldn’t refute it.

Unless the enemy destroyed every device at once, and replaced their brainwave signal, it was impossible to sway believers.

With their own consciousness erased, the Sanctuary was their only mind, evolution their only goal. But in untamed lands, or newly converted parishes, it was different.

Their utopia had to compete with earthly mud, and the ignorant prized short-term gain.

That was why disguise was required.

Like the Na Fruit.

Sweetness lured their prey before spores consumed it.

“For the Ocean Edge Province, we must strengthen Pathfinder communication, ensure faith unshaken, and avoid repeats. But...”

The chosen one paused, then continued as Arzu expected.

“... For untamed lands and new parishes, a Second Sanctuary is necessary.”

“Even if we dismiss wastelanders as unworthy, we must face the limits of the black box.”

“The biocybernetic chip production has run over 20 years. It was an emergency device, not a wishing machine.”

At that, unease flickered in their eyes.

Their biotechnology was strong, but the chips were irreplaceable.

Humans aged.

The chips produced by the black box would run out. Their time was not infinite.

Wang Yu finally said it.

“Its limit is near.”

...

Anything understood only superficially was unsustainable.

The black box was the prime example.

The Guard Corps had found defunct ones in the ruins of Singularity City. They produced medicine, high-yield seeds, and vital parts.

Before they failed, the residents of Singularity City had squeezed them dry.

Now they lay forgotten.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Those expired units were sent to Shelter 404, for Yin Fang to study.

...

In the infirmary on the Heart of Steel.

After reviewing Singularity City’s reconstruction with Frost, Chu Guang visited Yinyin again.

Out of guilt for Singularity City, or sympathy, the Highest Council approved her treatment costs, funded by the Enterprise, and promised her a prosthetic body.

She could design her appearance, or look the same.

After telling her, Chu Guang asked about her future.

“Our goals here are achieved. The Torch Church is purged from this land. No more Mutant Humans or Na Fruit will exist. Now we’ll focus on rebuilding Singularity City.”

From the corner of the white room, Yinyin looked up blankly. “Singularity City?”

“It was a settlement once here,” Chu Guang said plainly. “Though its past is dark, forgetting history is betrayal. We’ll reuse the name.”

Yinyin nodded faintly.

Chu Guang assumed she understood, and continued, “The Heart of Steel will soon return to River Valley Province. You can stay, or come with us.”

Yinyin asked softly, “Is my home still here?”

Chu Guang replied, “The Pinecone Ranch folk want you back. Apart from the Guesthouse and basement, the manor is still yours.”

Yinyin frowned in confusion, then asked for help. “Can you give me some advice?”

“Sorry, I can’t. I don’t know you well. Perhaps consult your paren... friends.” He remembered her parents were gone, and corrected himself.