Chapter 153 – Fire Seed (23)
◎ You’re not an Alliance person if you don’t watch ◎
As everyone immersed themselves in the extraordinary scene before them, Zhuang Qingyan quickly regained composure and was the first to press the “complete mission” button.
Song Ke, who was originally comfortably seated in a wheelchair, observed his actions. Astonished, she slightly raised herself, causing the blanket to puff up.
—Obviously, that wasn’t a posture human legs could contort into.
Beside them, Xu Xing’s small mouth widened into an ‘O’ shape, his eyes staring in disbelief.
Zhuang Qingyan’s brow twitched, calmly pressing her down and placing his slender fingers by his lips, signaling both of them not to make a sound.
The big one and the small one nodded in unison.
Regardless of what had happened in the Elderly People’s Nation, V587’s primary goal was an S-level mission. Completing the task and earning points was the most crucial matter. Although everyone was still unclear about the situation, their thoughts were somewhat chaotic. However, Zhuang Qingyan’s mind worked quickly. He had already connected all the clues and deduced the truth.
Since the original mission was an investigation, they still needed to submit a detailed report explaining the ins and outs to the client. With Zhuang Qingyan around, these issues could be effortlessly resolved. After all, he had once volunteered using Song Ke’s “mouth” to recommend themselves to Ye Zimei.
Utopia finally came to a stop deep in the sky, resembling a massive floating airship. The chaotic magnetic field around calmed slightly, the mutated Kun changing direction. Its boundless wings flapped, leaping thousands of miles in an instant. Before their eyes blurred, they had already left the Sea of Misfortune.
Lin Youyou slowly bent down, pressed against its back, and sang an ethereal song. The mutated Kun seemed to understand her murmurs, raising its head to emit a mournful long cry. In an instant, it plunged into the sea, transforming into an endless giant fish.
Waves of shock and amazement gradually numbed the nerves of the awakeners. Even witnessing Lin Youyou and the Kun’s “brainwave communication,” they only stared blankly, their faces expressing, ‘V587? How many surprises do you still have that we don’t know about?’
Soon, they returned to the Elderly People’s Nation’s original location. However, there was nothing left here except the vast sea.
After T001 malfunctioned, the natural weather became completely chaotic, as if there was a clear boundary line. Half of the sky was clear and sunny, with sunlight shining everywhere, while the other half rumbled with thunder, pitch-black as the deepest night.
Wandering, confused, and exhausted awakeners, unwilling to think about anything, lay down one after another, waiting for rescue in place.
An hour later, three large starships arrived above. Upon discovering the massive creature in the sea, they hesitated to land and could only hover at low altitude, waiting for an opportunity to lower the gangway. The esper evacuated in an orderly manner, and Song Ke was pushed into the cabin by Xu Xing, panting.
As they left, Lin Youyou looked back, and the mutated Kun emitted a faint and sorrowful sound, seemingly bidding her farewell. It then flipped and disappeared from their sight.
The heart-pounding day finally came to an end. The exhausted group had no energy for small talk or socializing; they quietly took their seats to rest.
After V587, Yin Xiao, Gu Ruoyi, and others bid farewell, they deliberately chose the corner room. They entered silently, and Lu Xiaoyu casually installed a signal jammer behind the door to prevent surveillance and eavesdropping.
After staring at each other for two seconds, a cacophony of voices erupted:
Xu Xing: “Sister, the blanket is crooked #@$~ What happened?”
Su Cha: “What’s the deal with that fish?”
Lin Youyou: “Let me tell you, I had a really unlucky day today. That damn life jacket actually tore!”
Song Ke: “How many points did we get? Let me see.”
Lu Xiaoyu: “The starship is lost. How are we going back?”
In the midst of chaos, each spoke their own thoughts, and no one could hear anyone else.
After a silent moment, they all simultaneously exclaimed, “#@$*％&……!!”
Song Ke raised her fist: “Stop! One at a time!”
Lin Youyou elegantly raised her hand, making a “Captain first, please” gesture.
The result was Song Ke starting with a deep-sea torpedo. She slowly lifted the blanket: “You guys, need to stay calm.”
A long black snake tail slid down from the wheelchair, quickly occupying the entire space. The cold aura of a snake, with a venomous split hook, slightly curled, emitted a chilling sensation.
Lin Youyou’s pupils widened in shock, unable to say a word.
Lu Xiaoyu remained indifferent, but his mechanical arm flew out uncontrollably.
Xu Xing, after a moment of bewilderment, had starlight shining in his jet-black eyes: “Wow… so cool!”
“Sister~ sister~ so amazing! Can I touch it?” His small mouth was as sweet as honey: “Just once, twice!”
Song Ke was very generous: “Don’t touch the hook, everything else is fine.”
Carefully, Xu Xing touched it once and quickly withdrew his hand. The texture was a bit rough, and the scales rustled, making his palm itch. He looked like he had found a new and fascinating toy and was about to touch it again—
Zhuang Qingyan stepped over the winding snake tail, lifted Xu Xing disdainfully by the collar, and threw him to where Fang Zhixu was.
“Song Ke’s condition is complicated. Preliminary judgment suggests a genetic issue. I will take her for an examination as soon as we return. On the way back, everyone help provide cover,” Zhuang Qingyan explained.
In the sea, it wasn’t obvious, but now, away from the combat environment, others would easily notice.
Everyone nodded, unanimously expressing their willingness to unconditionally protect the captain.
Su Cha finally found an opportunity: “You and that Kun…”
Lin Youyou casually waved her hand: “That doesn’t matter. I want to know what Utopia is all about.”
Su Cha: “…”
Zhuang Qingyan sat close to Song Ke, lazily propping up one leg, terminal projecting, and began writing a report: “The truth is already clear.”
Song Ke unconsciously moved her tail, wrapping it around him and enclosing him. The last part rested perfectly on his knee. From a distance, Zhuang Qingyan seemed to be sitting on a snake-skin sofa.
“The conclusion of this S-level mission is evident. The residents of the Elderly People’s Nation did not mysteriously disappear; they went to Utopia.”
“Have you heard of the ‘Ark’?” Zhuang Qingyan freed his left hand, skillfully caressing the snake tail on his leg, like the most proficient masseur, always finding the right spots. There, the nerves were densely distributed, and a weak electric current continuously washed over the crown of her head. Song Ke comfortably slumped in the wheelchair, eyes slightly narrowed, and the tip of her tail swayed gently.
“The ancient civilization’s ‘Bible’ once recorded that the mortal Noah, based on God’s instructions, built a huge ship named the ‘Ark’ to protect the world’s creatures from God’s punishment.”
“The Alliance…” Zhuang Qingyan’s trailing tone was light and slow, the speed of his one-handed typing neither hurried nor slow. “Not only the Alliance, but Cario and Luce also participated in this plan. The three nations collaborated to build an ‘Ark,’ which is Utopia. They issued ‘tickets’ to a very small number of people.”
Lin Youyou exclaimed, “So you mean the residents of the Elderly People’s Nation left A5 voluntarily because they got the so-called ‘tickets’?”
Lu Xiaoyu interjected calmly, “Perhaps at this moment, they are in Utopia, celebrating with champagne and saying, ‘Oh my God, look at those silly groundhogs below, they will never experience our happiness.'”
This joke is not funny at all. Everyone stared at Lu Xiaoyu with expressionless faces.
“I still don’t understand,” Lin Youyou said slowly, “Setting aside why they so firmly abandoned the Elderly People’s Nation and chose the elusive Utopia, can this matter be hidden for a long time? Even if we hadn’t coincidentally taken on this mission, wouldn’t the appearance of such a large floating city be exposed?”
“Because Utopia has already risen,” Zhuang Qingyan’s tone was gentle, but the cruel undertone in his eyes was evident. “Twenty-one days ago, the Elderly People’s Nation’s Foreign Trade Department lost contact. I believe that at that time, they had already transferred to the underwater Utopia, waiting quietly for the ‘sailing’ moment to arrive.”
Everyone was stunned.
“Even if it’s exposed, it’s futile. No one can stop them; their purpose has been achieved.”
Zhuang Qingyan opened the star network. Some awakeners had already uploaded videos of the scene, causing a sensation in a short period. Most people still didn’t understand what had happened and simply followed the trend to criticize the leaders of various countries for conspiracies.
“You said Smirel’s theory couldn’t be realized, right?” Fang Zhixu rubbed his chin, showing deep confusion in his eyes. “Then why would the Alliance do this? When did they plan it? And how was the floating city implemented?”
Zhuang Qingyan patted Song Ke, signaling her to turn around: “Let’s push the timeline back to the very beginning.”
“The New Asia Alliance is a nation rebuilt after the war. Due to the nuclear war, the living conditions on the ground became increasingly harsh, and extreme weather occurred frequently. That’s why the Weather Mimicry System was born. Nevertheless, the Alliance may have long determined that this land was not suitable for survival. They needed to find or establish a new home.”
“And after the apocalypse, the situation got worse.” Song Ke made an effort to think and provided constructive opinions.
“Right, the captain is correct.” Zhuang Qingyan slid along her tailbone, checking for any wounds inch by inch.
The post-apocalyptic zombie tide, ferocious beasts, scarce resources, abandoned cities… made the human survival environment even more challenging.
“As for when Utopia was constructed, perhaps it started even before Smirel was sent to the Death Prison, or perhaps, when the proposal to abolish Utopia was first brought up in the council, the Alliance began to act.” Zhuang Qingyan smiled meaningfully, “After all, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day,’ and such a massive project requires extensive and prolonged preparations.”
Lu Xiaoyu opened the map and marked a familiar area:
“The Endless Sea is the perfect factory. It’s located at the intersection of the three nations, in a geographically unique position. Although it’s an unofficial ‘no-man’s land,’ if anything happens, the forces of various countries can infiltrate in time. Additionally, the natural chaos of the magnetic field in the Sea of Misfortune makes it difficult to be detected by instruments. The construction work is underwater, so there’s no need to worry about confidentiality issues.”
Zhuang Qingyan nodded slightly, rare agreement in his tone: “After a period of effort, Utopia was finally built. The only challenge left was how to send it into the sky.”
“Not difficult,” Lu Xiaoyu immediately retorted, “as long as there’s enough Yiyu.”
Yiyu, a new type of energy discovered at the beginning of this century, was initially monopolized by the Erjia’s Lu family for mining and purification methods. Later, the Erjia’s Lu family voluntarily handed it over to the Alliance. Since then, flying terminals have experienced a leap in development. In the glorious thirty years, the algorithm-improved Lu starships (improved by Lu Xiaoyu in the 32nd year of the new calendar) became a symbol of splendid civilization.
Lin Youyou raised a question: “I’ve read reports that the global reserves of Yiyu are limited. The energy needed for Utopia to ascend must be terrifying. How could they collect so much?”
“I know,” Song Ke suddenly spoke, “because all the Yiyu in the lower districts was recycled.”
In the autumn of the 46th year of the new calendar, just a week after the apocalypse had arrived, Song Ke came alone from District F177 to Hua City. She had witnessed a meteor shower of starships falling, a tragic scene that she would never forget. Since that day, all starships in the lower districts had malfunctioned, making cross-district transportation extremely difficult.
She couldn’t understand it before, but now she understood everything. Perhaps at the round table meeting in the Central Court (District A1), apart from Districts A and B, the 155 lower districts (CDEF) were considered expendable. Those people there didn’t even have complete permissions and might never see the truth of the world. They were like a bundle of discarded firewood in the corner, to be burned when needed.
Lu Xiaoyu snorted, “I just checked the news from the other two countries. After the apocalypse, the frequency of flying terminal accidents has also increased significantly.”
Needless to say, the Yiyu that disappeared with Cario and Luce was also used as the power source for Utopia.
Zhuang Qingyan chuckled, “Back to the present timeline. With everything in place, they chose today as the ‘birthday’ of Utopia.”
“And all the anomalies we experienced, including the failure of T001, the disappearance of the Elderly People’s Nation’s barrier, and the sudden appearance of level 4 and level 5 ferocious beasts, are all due to the strong tremors underwater affecting the ecology of the indigenous people.”
Lin Youyou sighed while supporting her forehead, “We’re really unlucky, or rather, those suppliers are the most unlucky, right? Losing both money and goods…”
“I’m not sure about others, but at least V587 is not the most unlucky,” Zhuang Qingyan said as he typed the last character. As expected of a high-achieving student from Liuponi, the newly crafted detailed and well-worded report, with rigorous arguments, was ready. He took Song Ke’s hand, pinched her index finger, and solemnly clicked “Submit.”
If the review is successful, this S-level mission, along with two side missions, will bring them incredible points.
Zhuang Qingyan’s deep peach blossom eyes curved, and the handsome face revealed a detached indifference to worldly affairs.
“The storm is about to come.”
“As for what will happen next, let those big shots argue. After all, we’re just an ordinary team, occasionally earning some points to make a living.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he was harshly slapped on the face.
“Beep beep,” the terminal notification sound continued, and in the “B10 District High-level Awakeners Matching Conference” channel, countless people were looking for them.
“Oh my god! Have any of you watched this video on the star network? Attached link.”
“I did. Who is V587? From our Northern Base?”
“Yeah, the one who recently joined the group. I’ll tag their captain @Song Ke, the best in the world.”
“I don’t believe it. That video must be synthesized.”
“I was on the scene; the video is authentic.”
“@YinXiaoLockedHeart, are you on-site?”
Curious, Song Ke clicked on it, and the first-person perspective of the sea battle recording greeted her. The main title was extremely explosive:
“Shocking! Men will be silent after watching, women will cry – the Alliance’s first-ever video of killing a level 5 ferocious beast, the Armored Sea Turtle!”
The glittering subtitle: “Who is the mysterious V587 ranked 235,706?”
Below that, there was flashing red text: “You’re not an Alliance person if you don’t watch.”
V587: “…”
The uploader has achieved 120% mastery of the art of clickbaiting