Chapter 512.1: Scheming Bastard

In the camp, beside the ruins...

Staring at the signal tower draped in concrete-colored camouflage netting, Chu Guang, seated on Neeko’s back, was briefly at a loss for words.

In the end, he let out a dry laugh. "Looks like they really spent a long time preparing for this."

They had even laid a wired signal line all the way in from outside the storm zone.

Because the thunderstorm had interfered with external radio signals, the Heart of Steel had completely failed to detect long-range communications from outside the battlefield. The radios used by the Enlightenment Society during the battle all drew their signal from the very signal tower acting as a relay.

Standing nearby, Lu Bei asked in a low voice, "Lord, shall we follow this line and trace it back?"

"There’s no point. They were careful enough not to route this line straight to their base. Even if we follow it, we’ll likely just find a pile of junk, or worse, a trap." After taking one last glance at the signal tower, Chu Guang patted Neeko’s neck. She let out a soft grunt, swished her tail, and turned around obediently.

"Get a few people to dismantle this. I’m heading over to the industrial building to have a look."

Lu Bei gave him a crisp salute as he replied with all the loyalty he could muster. "Yes, sir!"

...

Though it was a pity they hadn’t caught the mastermind, a large amount of high-tech equipment abandoned by the Enlightenment Society had been left behind.

There was no denying that the shelter had housed a treasure trove of advanced technology, and the Enlightenment Society had conveniently gathered it all in one place. Now, all of it belonged to the New Alliance.

According to the logistics department, the biggest prize from the battle was, without question, a phase cannon.

The weapon wasn’t small. It was shaped like a five meter long oil pipeline mounted to the back of an all-terrain tracked vehicle. It was powered by a one kilogram cold fusion battery and, from a distance, could be mistaken for a missile launcher from the pre-Prosperity Era.

Able to bring down two airships containing frigate cores, the phase cannon was either built with parts stripped from a starship or intended for one but never mounted.

Chu Guang planned to hand it over to the New Alliance’s Research and Development department to see if they could extract any useful technology from it.

He didn’t expect Yin Fang’s team to reverse-engineer the anti-gravity technology, that was far too difficult to manufacture, let alone understand.

But even just salvaging its capacitor would be immensely valuable. That could be used in everything from railguns to electric vehicles.

In addition to the phase cannon, which was a strategic-level weapon, there were over 200 sets of Type 5 Light Cavalry exoskeletons designed for law enforcement, two hundred sets of Type-10 "Oathkeeper" exoskeletons originally from the Federation’s Army, 60 different rail-accelerated rifles, over 200 caseless assault rifles, and a wide range of basic light weapons.

Adding in the anti-armor rocket launchers, grenades, and other military equipment seized during the battle, this haul could outfit half a special operations division.

Near the Industrial Building...

Crossing her arms, Frost glanced at the broken-down mechanical dog not far away and scoffed, "I told you those things aren’t reliable."

Eclipse’s pupils flickered slightly before replying, "It was damaged by an EMP..."

“An EMP, huh? Well, I’m not scared of that thing.”

“Your firepower isn’t stronger than it, right?”

“Heh, that’s not necessarily true.”

Jiang Xuezhou, standing by Wangy’s remains, didn’t hear the bickering between the two androids. If she had, she definitely would’ve gone over to argue with them.

She glanced down at the tablet in her hand, then at the nearby tent. After a brief hesitation, she walked toward it.

The administrator logs from Shelter 0 and the original copy of Project Torch had already been recovered. Her mentor had instructed her to report back and give a full account of what had just happened.

Soon, her mentor would likely take her back to Wandering Swamp, where they would archive the recovered data and participate in the Research Division’s symposium.

Her busy days were just beginning.

The thought of all that upcoming work made her scalp tingle. Who knew when she would get to leave Wandering Swamp again, maybe next time, she would be back on a battlefield. As a final farewell, she wanted to at least say goodbye to the companions she shared the mission with.

Though their time together had been short, it was still a precious experience for her.

What she gained wasn’t just KP and commendations, it was the rediscovery of herself.

...

Back in the command tent.

Night Ten recounted the events that had unfolded inside the shelter to Chu Guang animatedly, handing over both Captain Lu’s video and the confiscated memory extractor.

"That’s what happened, esteemed administrator. I recommend using this memory extractor to interrogate this fellow properly." As he spoke, Night Ten shot a glare at Zhuang Lan, who sat nearby with her hands and feet bound. She had certainly made things tough for him.

Zhuang Lan’s face paled slightly when she saw the device. She knew better than anyone just how terrifying it was.

Even with special training, she wasn’t confident she could withstand the extractor’s slow and thorough probing. She would rather confess everything than face what that device would do to her.

The most terrifying thing about it wasn’t just its ability to retrieve memories, it was how, as it progressed, it would awaken the subject inside their dreams and torment them with fears pulled from the deepest corners of their mind, again and again, until their spirit was utterly broken and every last scrap of memory was wrung out of them.

Even she didn’t know what her buried memories might surface.

Seeing Night Ten still fuming, Chu Guang nodded and replied in a gentle tone, "I’ll consider your suggestion. If necessary, I’ll use it."

He set the memory extractor aside on a nearby table.

Just as he was about to assign Night Ten a new quest, he noticed someone peeking through the entrance of the tent.

One of the guards had already stopped her and was asking questions.

Chu Guang recognized her vaguely. He didn’t know her name, but he recalled she was a D-class Researcher from the Academy. Her hesitant and uneasy expression suggested she wanted to speak, but didn’t quite dare to approach.

His eyes fell on the memory extractor again, and a faint smile touched his lips.

Turning back to Night Ten, he said, "You’ve done well. Get some rest, I’ll handle things from here."

"Well, I’m not that tired, but sure." Though a little disappointed not to have a follow-up mission, Night Ten remembered what Old White had told him about a hidden quest. Scratching his head, he quickly headed outside with his heart full of anticipation.

With Night Ten gone, only Chu Guang, Lu Bei, a few personal guards, and the bound Enlightenment Society agent remained in the large tent.

His warm smile disappeared from his face instantly. Chu Guang looked at her and asked, "State your name."

All the eyes in the tent made Zhuang Lan feel a chill crawl up her spine.

Even more terrifying was the glance the Deathclaw at the entrance had given her earlier, its amber pupils boring into her soul.

She stole a glance at the memory extractor on the table, swallowed hard, and answered in a trembling voice and her head bowed. "Zhuang Lan."

Chu Guang stared at her for a moment. "I don’t want to waste time, so you had better not waste mine. Whatever I ask, you answer. If I think you’re lying, I’ll use that."

He raised a finger and pointed at the glasses-shaped extractor on the table.

Those dark eyes filled her with a deep fear that caused her heart to tremble. Zhuang Lan’s shoulders trembled involuntarily as she nodded rapidly.

"Speak."

"Y-Yes!"

She couldn’t understand it, she wasn’t even afraid of death, so why was she so scared?

Was it some kind of awakened ability? But how could such a strange ability exist?

Staring at the extractor, she didn’t dare think too deeply. She just kept her head down, not even daring to meet his gaze.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"What shelter are you from?"

"Shelter 68..."

"How many of you?"

"2,000..."

That was a fairly large shelter.

Thinking of the underground city beneath Shelter 79, Chu Guang wasn’t surprised. He continued his questioning.

"What about your administrator?"

"... He’s dead."

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow. "Was it before joining the Enlightenment Society?"

Zhuang Lan nodded. "Yes."

Chu Guang asked again, "How did you end up joining the Enlightenment Society?"

"The wastelanders took our outpost on the surface. They used our kindness to seize our shelter, killed our administrator, and locked us in cages. Then the Enlightenment Society found us. They saved everyone who was still alive and executed the wastelanders. They were our kin, so we followed them."

Knowing there was no point in hiding it, she confessed everything.

And her account confirmed what Chu Guang had already suspected.

The Enlightenment Society had grown by recruiting shelters like 401, those taken over or persecuted by marauders.

But instead of using the survivors to rebuild settlements, they stoked hatred and redirected all resentment toward the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, and even the entire wasteland.

It was a compelling narrative.

The Post-War Reconstruction Committee had indeed made mistakes. They hadn’t done everything right and had failed the hopes of many survivors.

But blaming everything on them was no different from blaming all the wasteland’s problems on mutants.

It sounded plausible and convinced many, but fell apart with a little scrutiny.