Chapter 510.1: It's Almost Over

The administrator’s office was dimly lit.

Faint blue phosphorescence flickered, illuminating three silent faces. The image shook for a moment before focusing on a suit of exoframe seated against a wall.

The man looked disheveled.

His armor bore bullet marks and traces of red matter left by those Slime Mold.

He placed the camera on the ground, waved at the lens, then tapped the helmet with his index finger to release his visor.

A few minutes earlier, an employee of the Enterprise had nearly come to blows with the member of the Army. Fortunately, Meng Liang spoke up just in time, pointing out a troubling detail about how someone else might be attempting to recover the deleted data.

This discovery was enough to temporarily halt the dispute between the both of them. They agreed to catch the rat hiding in the shadows first.

To uncover more clues, Su Ming thought of the hard drive they had salvaged from the exoframe. Though he was hesitant about sharing Captain Lu’s final message with the Army and New Alliance, he ultimately handed it to Meng Liang.

Making the information public could reduce mistrust.

He wasn’t sure if there was confidential data on the drive, but it wasn’t the time to end up in a mutually destructive fight with the Army.

He trusted that Captain Yun would understand his decision.

Battlefield Cheerleader said nothing, but passed his weapon to Meng Liang and gestured for Su Ming to do the same.

The New Alliance was the Enterprise’s ally.

Handing their weapons over to non-combat New Alliance personnel was a gesture of good faith.

Su Ming was surprised to see the member of the Army do so, but followed suit, handing over his firearm decisively. With that, both sides silently shelved their conflict and stood quietly before the holographic feed, unveiling secrets from months ago that had been buried within the walls of the shelter...

“Hey, by the time you’re watching this recording, I’m probably no longer in this world... But I believe you’ll come. You said you wouldn’t abandon anyone. I believe you’ll find me. So I’ve decided to leave something behind.”

Meng Liang didn’t recognize the man in the video, but from the heavy expressions on Su Ming and ‘Pangolin’ faces, it was clear they did.

Strange.

He didn’t know the guy, so why did the member of the Army recognize him?

Whatever it was, he didn’t interrupt.

The video might contain clues about Project Torch.

Right now, he only wanted to know one thing, who was restoring the deleted tech in Zone X-13?

Lu Yang took a light breath, collected his thoughts, and began to speak.

“Listen up. Project Torch is not a good thing, and so-called Shelter 0 is even worse. It’s a weapon of mass destruction, its destructive power exceeds the sum of all weapons our civilization has ever known. Its range spans the entire planet.”

“This isn’t something a few nuclear bombs can compare to. The highly penetrative neutron plume will annihilate all living things above and below the surface. Not even deep underground shelters will be spared. Don’t think you’ll be the lucky exception. Those killed by it won’t even rot. They’ll slowly oxidize. It’ll even wipe out bacteria on dust particles. The entire ecosystem will be forced to start over... Sounds terrifying, doesn’t it?”

“Only those protected by the ‘Hilt’ will have a chance to survive. I suspect that the ‘Hilt’ is actually the core of the neutron plume.”

“I don’t know whether the data was fully compiled, but I deleted it all... A strategic weapon capable of wiping out an entire planet might sound cool, but when I think about my family, my friends, and those who are fighting to live, I just can’t feel any joy.”

“Maybe in the far future, we’ll need it to punish some great evil. But definitely not now... If it’s completed now, the only people it’ll be used on is us.”

“By the way, those Enlightenment Society bastards tried to bribe me. They said they’d give me ten thousand slots, for all of us, our families, friends, even our descendants, to become gods of the new world. They said they’d use technology of the Prosperity Era to rebuild a strong and glorious civilization.”

“I told them they were dreaming. Our forefathers decided two centuries ago to stand with the survivors. Maybe the children of heroes aren’t so great, but we sure as hell aren’t cowards... They can go dream their pathetic dreams elsewhere.”

“I cornered them by deleting Project Torch’s data. Unfortunately, I didn’t get all the rats... They turned on us too suddenly, and at the worst time, when many of our non-combat personnel were in Zone X-13 gathering supplies. They locked the gates from inside. Li De and the others probably didn’t make it.”

“Later I realized the conflict with the Wislanders had been orchestrated. But what could we do? Those Wislanders picked a fight with us even before we entered the desert. I thought those war maniacs were just targeting us.”

“Leaving is still possible... but there are Enlightenment Society disciples in Zone X-13. One of my technicians told me, just before dying, that the data I deleted could be restored, especially because Zone X-13’s archive connects to the shelter’s main server. Unless I destroy the entire shelter, it can all be recovered.”

“I found the remains of the Pioneer and brought the sample of the Hive we recovered during our journey and threw it onto its favorite reactor. I’ll leave my equipment and experience to the kid, just to make sure the destruction plan works flawlessly... Just a shame we don’t have a nuke. Then I could’ve made it really permanent.”

Lu Yang paused, leaned his head against the wall, and continued muttering to himself.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“I really couldn’t delete Project Torch’s original blueprint. I tried my best. But later I realized, it might not be necessary to erase all traces of its existence.”

“That plan didn’t just record an evil idea, it also recorded the people who stood against it. They had been deceived but eventually woke up. They stood firm against the elites and the powerful of their time, refused money and power, and made a choice out of loyalty to their friends, family, and the people around them.”

“I think their story shouldn’t be forgotten. The brilliance of that moment should be remembered. I believe anyone who reads it won’t only see the evil... They’ll see how our world was nearly destroyed by a few eloquent selfish manipulators, and they’ll also see the ordinary folk who bravely stood up and said no.”

“At the very least, I saw more than just a conspiracy. I saw courage. That courage shouldn’t be buried.”

“As for mistakes... There’s nothing to be afraid of. People make mistakes their whole lives. Write them in your journal. Regret them once in a while. That’s how you build a better future.”

“

Ahem

! Haha... I rambled a bit. I probably won’t have the chance to write a journal anyway... One way or another, our adventure ends here.”

As he said this, Lu Yang coughed twice, but a faint smile appeared on his face, he looked relieved.

“I don’t regret chasing a pile of crap for so long. Someone had to figure out what it was. Landmines buried underground are more dangerous than bombs left in the open. To my companions, it was an honor walking this path with you all. And in the end, I’m proud to stand with a group of brave people and make the same choice as those who came before us.”

“Lastly, give this message to the residents of Ideal City...” He curled his lips into a tired but relaxed smile, facing the lens of the mission recorder for a final farewell.

“That Shelter 0 you’ve been searching for? My brothers and I found it. But it’s not the paradise from the rumors. Those stories on Endpoint Cloud are bullshit. This place is just a pile of crap.”

“Don’t cling to naive fantasies. There’s no shortcut on this path. We’ll have to save our world ourselves. Anyone still watching from the sidelines or waiting for a savior, wake up.”

...