RotA – Chapter 72

The fighter jet flew toward the horizon as the isolated island sank into the dense fog.

Chai Yuening could no longer see anything behind her, but she knew that as humanity sought life in the face of death, there would always be those who carried hope toward a distant unknown.

Chu Ci took the rolled-up map from her hand, her eyes silently sweeping over every area circled in red.

“Which way should we go?” Liu An asked.

His tone was somewhat heavy. It was clear that being suddenly assigned such a mission at a time when the Floating City’s survival was at stake felt, to him, like a form of escape. He didn’t like it, but he had no choice.

Faced with this question, Chai Yuening was momentarily at a loss.

There were six marked points on the map. Disregarding the fuel consumption for a return trip and the need for low-altitude aerial searches, the jet could reach four of them at most.

But even if Liu An was willing to accompany them on this desperate journey of no return, there were still too many factors they had to consider.

This fighter jet might not be able to reach that distant place that perhaps held humanity’s last sliver of hope.

Time was limited. They had to make a choice, and for everything else, perhaps they could only let fate decide.

Chai Yuening asked softly beside Chu Ci, “Can you remember anything?”

Chu Ci frowned and didn’t answer. Her gaze on the map was anything but calm, as if she were trying hard to recall something.

Their exchange put Liu An on alert. “Are you sure you remember the way to the Fog Zone Base?”

Chai Yuening came back to her senses and replied in a low voice, “I remember…”

Liu An: “Please provide the coordinates. I need to set our course immediately.”

Chai Yuening took a deep breath, frowning at the six marked points on the map. As if drawing lots, she randomly picked one and reported the coordinates to Liu An.

“Are you sure?” Liu An’s tone was laced with distrust.

Chai Yuening just grunted in affirmation and said nothing more.

Soon, the aircraft banked slightly, heading in the direction she had indicated.

Chai Yuening couldn’t help but think that she would explain things once they were far away from the Floating City. Some things had been a lie from the very beginning, and she hoped this lie would only be exposed when there was no turning back.

The fighter jet soared through the vast sky like a bird, seemingly far removed from all the world’s clamor.

From afternoon to dusk, another sun set, dyeing the white clouds in layers of twilight glow, yet hope was still nowhere to be found.

There was no positioning system this far from the Base. The plane flew on and on. Looking down, one couldn’t tell if the ruins of old-world cities were hidden beneath the dense fog and among the mountain ranges.

No one knew where the destination was, nor did they know if they had already passed the place they were supposed to go. They should have entered low-altitude flight mode somewhere around here.

Chai Yuening kept thinking, wondering how she could possibly break the news to Liu An.

The place they were going was not the Fog Zone Base. What they had to do was different from the mission the Floating City had given Liu An. Could their private speculations, the miracle they sought, truly convince a soldier who put the military’s orders above all else?

Whether it could or not, she had no other choice.

After a brief internal struggle, Chai Yuening made a hesitant sound, as if about to speak.

Liu An’s gaze flickered back. His brow furrowed, and he asked in a deep voice, “Do we need to fly closer to the ground?”

Chai Yuening quickly replied, “Yes!”

Liu An asked again, “Are we almost there?”

Chai Yuening opened her mouth, took a sharp breath, and said with a hint of guilt, “We’ll only know once we go down and take a look.”

The aircraft began to descend, sinking into the dense fog. When the fog lights came on, Chai Yuening looked down.

Range after range of rolling mountains seemed to be right beneath her feet. The fighter jet weaved nimbly through the dangerous peaks as night gradually fell. Finally, Chai Yuening saw a city nestled by mountains and water within a basin.

But in that instant, a sudden panic seized her heart.

This world was truly too large, and everything before her was too unfamiliar.

She knew nothing about the place she wanted to go. Even flying at a low altitude, she had no way of telling whether the direction she had chosen was right or wrong.

Were the city ruins below the one circled on the map?

And the so-called city edge—was it to the east, west, south, or north?

What did the legendary Ecological Mother Flower look like? Was it so special that one could recognize it at a glance, or was it not much different from other black vine flowers, only larger?

She didn’t know. She realized she knew nothing at all.

Liu An was asking her—Are we there? How much longer? Is the direction correct?

Chai Yuening gripped the compass in her hand tightly. She had always thought she had a strong sense of direction, but at this moment, she couldn’t answer a single question.

“Chai Yuening, are you lost?”

“I…”

Yes, she was lost.

But it wasn’t north, south, east, or west she had lost, but the final destination.

—She had never seen it before.

“This isn’t the way to the Fog Zone Base,” Liu An said with a frown. “If you were able to return to the Floating City from there, it’s impossible for you to have lost your way.”

Chai Yuening: “…”

Liu An: “Where exactly are you trying to lead me?”

His tone was utterly certain, his words even carrying a hint of anger from being deceived. It made one suspect that he might have been aware for some time, but had only chosen this moment to call them out.

He gritted his teeth, trying to remain calm. “Why won’t you go to the Fog Zone Base? Dr. Yi trusted you so much… I need a reason.”

Chu Ci, who had been silent the entire way, suddenly lifted her eyes and replied coolly, “I have somewhere more important to go than the Fog Zone Base.”

Liu An: “What could be more important than completing the research data Dr. Yi needs?”

Chu Ci: “The data has no missing parts.”

Liu An: “What did you say?”

Chu Ci: “We never intended to return to the Fog Zone Base from the start. Dr. Yi knew that, too.”

Chu Ci’s answer undoubtedly left Liu An utterly astonished.

Distracted, he turned his head to look back, as if trying to find evidence in Chu Ci’s eyes that her words were lies. But her gaze was so calm, and within that calmness was an indescribable sincerity, seemingly without a single emotional flaw.

Chai Yuening could feel him wavering amidst his confusion and astonishment.

The night was growing darker, no longer suitable for flying in this rugged terrain.

She sighed softly and said, “Some things are hard to explain in just a few words.”

The fighter jet landed amidst the ruins of an old-world city. Liu An took a worn notebook from Chai Yuening’s hands.

Chai Yuening stood up and jumped down from the plane, using the fog lights to peer into the hazy surroundings.

In these dust-covered, deserted, and dilapidated city ruins, black vines had overwhelmed the ordinary green plants, twining and climbing up one towering building after another.

One of them was not far away, coiled atop the tallest building, blooming defiantly against the night, larger than any giant black vine she had ever seen.

In the darkness, it glowed with its own light, visible even through the fog.

The sound of mutated beasts’ footsteps came from all around, but she had long grown accustomed to them.

The only thing that stirred her guilt was the sound of pages turning behind her, and the heavy breathing of a human.

She hoped to gain Liu An’s trust, yet she couldn’t help but feel that even if she gained his support, it would be nothing more than searching for a needle in a haystack.

The night fog was too thick. She could not see any hope.