RotA – Chapter 25

As things stood, the Underground City Base had no way to handle the current mess other than to cut its losses and sacrifice a limb to survive.

From the day the black vines began their frenzied growth with the spring rain, silently climbing and covering the six surface signal towers and allowing the fog to spread over the Base, the military had made countless attempts to fight back.

The facts proved that the growth rate of the black vines during their growth season was simply too astonishing.

As long as they couldn’t be cleared out completely, the signal towers would be covered in black vines once more after a single night.

And after the area above the Base became a Fog Zone, hordes of beasts and even giant mutated beasts of unknown levels appeared on multiple occasions, making the reclamation of the signal towers all the more difficult.

Before this growth season was over, wanting to retake the signal towers was little more than a pipe dream.

This was something even the military, with its ample combat reserves, could not accomplish. How could a mercenary team of only a few people possibly succeed?

Chai Yuening was silent for a long time, her mind filled with the phrase “prepare for the worst.”

Over the past few days, she had heard similar words more than once, and each time, they were accompanied by the sacrifice of countless people.

She was always the powerless one.

She couldn’t help but ask herself in her heart.

This time, was she still going to be the powerless one, fleeing to the next safe haven to hide from the danger?

In this small room, it wasn’t just her; the others were also silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

A few words of persuasion came from the other end of the communicator.

But Chai Yuening didn’t know how to respond.

After what felt like an eternity, the deathly silence was gently broken by a calm voice.

Chu Ci: “When are we going to the main city?”

In that instant, everyone’s thoughts were pulled back to the present.

They suddenly realized that they had no choice at all. Even if they chose to stay, faced with the Base’s decision to abandon the outer districts and perish along with the beast hordes, they couldn’t save anyone.

Chai Yuening came back to her senses, gripped the communicator in her hand tightly, and responded in a heavy voice, “The Thirteenth Mercenary Team, entire team… six members on record, now applying for passage to the main city.”

Xue Zhou: “Information verified. Application approved. Six people or fewer, uninfected, are permitted entry. Please transfer as soon as possible.”

…

The moment someone knocked on the small door of her temporary housing, You Lan was completely bewildered.

Pushing the door open, she saw four familiar faces gathered outside.

The kid with the least tact opened his mouth with, “Boss You, pack your things. Time to hit the road.”

“…What’s going on?” You Lan asked, astonished. “I haven’t even had time to warm my seat, and this place is already done for?”

Just as You Lan’s words fell, the people who had helped her move her things into the room only a few hours ago brushed right past her. Like four thieves robbing the place, they carried everything that could be taken, including bedsheets and quilts, out the door.

No one explained anything to her. She could only follow them downstairs in a daze, where she was dazedly hurried into the vehicle by Ren Dong, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

She didn’t see Du Xia in the vehicle, so she pretended not to have noticed, not mentioning her at all.

The things brought down from upstairs were unceremoniously tossed into the rear cargo bay by the four of them, and then the vehicle, with its six occupants, set off on the road to the main city.

Most people would never know that the military forces stationed in the Ninth District were currently evacuating to the main city in batches.

On this seemingly ordinary day, one military armored vehicle after another, in places unnoticed by the district’s residents, carried people and heavy supplies as they slowly drove away from this abandoned outer district.

The Thirteenth Mercenary Team’s armored vehicle followed quietly behind them.

The tunnel ahead was dark and long.

As if to lighten the atmosphere, Lao Xiang, sitting in the driver’s seat, would force a smile from time to time and praise the fine vehicle in his hands, and by extension, praise You Lan for letting him get his hands on it.

Lu Qi asked curiously, “If our team wanted to buy this vehicle, how much would we have to save up, Boss You?”

You Lan sighed. “A few days ago, it was quite expensive. But now, it’s probably free.”

Lao Xiang was puzzled. “Huh?”

You Lan: “The outer districts are like this now. The owner is probably either dead or about to mutate.”

Ren Dong: “…”

Lao Xiang: “…”

Lu Qi: “…”

Chai Yuening stood up and walked toward the rear cabin.

The cabin door closed, and the conversation in the cockpit and rest area no longer had anything to do with her.

She lay back on the rolled-up bedding, letting the chaotic thoughts completely occupy her mind.

Suddenly, the cabin door opened and closed again. Chu Ci walked in lightly and sat down beside Chai Yuening, hugging her knees.

Chai Yuening glanced at her, unconsciously biting her lower lip. After a few seconds of silence, she managed to force a weary smile. “You’re not here to comfort me, are you?”

Chu Ci asked in return, “Do you need it?”

Chai Yuening smiled. “Say a few words and let’s hear them?”

Chu Ci: “You said it yourself, when it’s truly a matter of life and death, people can only look out for themselves.”

Chai Yuening: “Mhm.”

Chu Ci: “You couldn’t save those people, but that doesn’t mean they died because of you.”

Chai Yuening: “Mhm.”

“If you hadn’t shut down the ventilation system that day, perhaps even the main city would have fallen by now,” Chu Ci said seriously. “You’ve already done everything you could.”

Her tone was faint, and her method of comforting was exceedingly ordinary—so ordinary that Chai Yuening couldn’t help but think that if she grabbed a random person off the street, they could probably say something more moving.

But it was precisely these ordinary words that made her feel a little better.

“Actually, I was just thinking that in those districts we’ve lost contact with, there might still be people alive. They must be waiting for rescue, but the Base has already decided to abandon them.” As Chai Yuening spoke, she seemed to choke up for a moment. “If Du Xia is still alive, she must be waiting for us too, but I… all I can do is keep running.”

She didn’t want to choose to retreat at a time like this, but she had no choice but to do so.

Because she knew that even if she turned back now and managed to navigate the countless dangers to reach the Fifth District, the impending self-destruct sequence for the outer districts wouldn’t be delayed by a single second for her.

As the captain, if she made such a decision at a time like this, she would just be leading everyone to their deaths for the sake of loyalty.

“I have no other choice,” Chai Yuening sighed with a bitter smile, closing her eyes as if to escape.

Being awake was so tiring. She wanted to get some proper sleep.

The Base’s roads were smoothly paved, the vehicle drove steadily, and there wasn’t much noise.

But just like last night, Chai Yuening did not sleep soundly.

Every time she groggily opened her eyes a crack, she could see someone sitting right beside her.

In a daze, she thought she heard that person call her name and say something softly.

The voice was too quiet, so quiet it was inaudible.

When her consciousness cleared again, she saw Chu Ci leaning gently against her shoulder, eyes closed, sleeping very peacefully.

In the evening, the vehicle entered the main city.

After successfully passing the infection screening, a strange military officer, who had been specially sent by Xue Zhou to welcome them, drove ahead and led everyone to their new residence.

On the way to their temporary quarters, Lu Qi pointed a finger out the window at a giant, blue, pot-lid-shaped building and said to Ren Dong, “That’s the Simulated Ecological Zone, the source of all the Base’s food.”

Ren Dong responded softly, “We were so close to getting a look inside.”

Lao Xiang comforted her, “There’ll be other chances.”

Ren Dong lowered her gaze, a glint of tears in her eyes. “But some people will never have the chance again…”

Everyone had seen matters of life and death too many times; no one would wail and cry over losing someone. But the things suppressed in their hearts couldn’t be brushed aside just by not speaking of them.

Chai Yuening wanted to say something to change the subject, but she found that everyone seemed to have no intention of avoiding it. Instead, they began to chat about this topic that should have been incredibly heavy.

“Hah, who knows how many days we have left to live? What’s the point of being sad about this?” Lao Xiang said, letting out a yawn. “We mercenaries live with our lives on the line. Death is just an instant away. When our time is up, if the place where our corpse lies can switch from the surface to underground, it’s not such a bad thing.”

“Is this the unique open-mindedness of a nearly fifty-year-old man?” Lu Qi asked.

“Are you being polite?” Lao Xiang retorted.

Before the old and the young could start bickering, You Lan let out a sigh. “You mercenaries are used to life and death, but I’m afraid of dying. So afraid that I’ve never even glanced at the surface in my entire life… I thought that as long as I stayed obediently in the Base, I could live out my life in comfort. Now look, everything’s gone…”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but ask, “Do you think the Base will really just give up on all those people in the outer districts? If they really activate the self-destruct system for the outer districts, won’t all the people still alive be… by the Base’s own people…”

You Lan’s words suddenly stopped there, but though she didn’t finish, everyone understood.

Ren Dong suddenly looked up and asked, “Do you believe in miracles?”

“You mean start praying to God now?” You Lan asked. “Which deity do you all believe in? Old World ancient Eastern or ancient Western? If our faiths are different, maybe we can each pray to our own. Who knows, maybe one of them will actually open their eyes?”

Ren Dong was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head. “No, not praying.”

“I’ve studied the Base’s history. The Floating City and the Underground City both agreed that if only one human base remained in the world, then humanity’s fate would be reduced to a lone boat in the cosmic torrent, with nothing left to rely on.”

“So, the two major bases once had an agreement. As a community with a shared future, the more difficult and dangerous things get, the more humanity must unite. No matter which side falls into a desperate situation, the other must provide its full support.”

As Ren Dong spoke, a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes. “Although the two bases rarely communicate, our signal towers have been down for so long. Is it possible that the Floating City has already noticed?”

She asked cautiously, as if deceiving herself, “Is there a possibility… that before the outer districts are destroyed, we might receive a proactive rescue from the Floating City?”

Chai Yuening’s heart ached.

She knew that if the outer districts were destroyed, Du Xia could truly never come back. Ren Dong refused to believe it, which was why she was still hoping for a miracle.

But could miracles really happen in this world?

She seemed to hope for one, yet her rational mind told her to give up on such useless expectations, or she would only face greater disappointment.

But just then, a soft voice sounded.

It was Chu Ci, who had been silent for a long time.

“It’s possible,” she said, looking up at Chai Yuening. “So we need to buy them more time.”

“What do you mean…”

“I’m saying, we can stop the self-destruct sequence from activating.”

Chai Yuening couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

If the military officer in the vehicle ahead heard that, everyone in this vehicle would end up in a cell.

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Author’s Notes:

Chai Yuening: I have no other choice.

Chu Ci: No, you do.

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