Chapter 143: Earth Wasteland Arc (IX)
Chapter 143: Earth Wasteland Arc (IX)
Old Earth – the land ravaged by large-scale nuclear war could never reclaim its former glory. The oceans, too, had been consumed by severe pollution. Following the "Apocalypse" crisis, this planet had undergone irreversible transformations.
Over 50% of the landmass had turned to desert. The oceans had transformed into grotesque hues of purple and black – regions of varying pollution levels bore distinct appearances. Shallow seas had lost nearly all life, and the severed ecological chain had triggered mutations among deep-sea creatures. Survival of the fittest. Species unable to adapt to the environmental shifts had gone extinct.
As many 21st-century scientists had predicted, the polar ice caps had completely melted. The resulting floods submerged the Ohio Valley, dragged the entire Australian continent beneath the waves, and reduced New York to a quagmire of marshland...
War births death. Death halts war.
When the last survivors gazed upon their scarred homeland and watched the second "sun" vanish from the horizon, the heat, thirst, suffering, regret, and despair surged through their hearts – torment that would remain with them until death finally arrived.
Radiation had poisoned the once-fertile equatorial lands. The city ruins glowed faintly in the dark for a full century. Some species vanished, while others mutated and evolved.
Time flowed relentlessly. Dark clouds gathered over barren, desolate landscapes. Torrential rains poured down, cooling the boiling toxic seawaters and dispersing polluted air, slowly healing the cracked wounds of Earth.
When the lukewarm rains finally ceased, a silence blanketed the land.
Some would always survive. Humanity's life was as fragile as an ant's – yet just as resilient.
Survivors crawled out from the ruins of civilization, embarking upon the path of survival. They found temperatures far hotter than before, air moisture denser in non-desert regions, and an ochre-yellow sky above. The sun blazed with blinding intensity.
Within the ruins, strange plants began sprouting. Without cultivation, despite relentless scorching sunlight, these bizarrely colored and shaped wild plants overgrew continuously, covering land after land.
For Earth, such climatic upheavals were nothing new – ice ages, crustal movements, volcanic eruptions had all left their marks. Yet none had ever altered the planet's celestial course. Now, as it had for the past three billion years, it continued its indifferent rotation and orbital journey around the sun.
Technology had become a bygone relic. The calamity's survivors regressed to primitive existence, forming tribal social structures as they wandered Earth's surface, searching for food... and reliable shelter.
In non-desert regions existed poisonous swamps, profound canyons, muddy depressions, and barren mountains. Yet beyond this, the vast Earth still harbored one or two utopian paradise-like pure lands...
Within a canyon of the North American continent lay such a place. It was a giant basement-level depression the size of a city, shaped like a pouch. Dense vegetation "clouds" formed a cooling canopy overhead, shielding most of the scorching sunlight. Here existed comfortable temperatures, fertile soil for normal crop growth, and a clean, abundant underground water source... Most importantly, there was "Half a" starship wreckage.
No one knew why the spacecraft lay here. Perhaps this had once been a secret research base for some nation, or perhaps it was wreckage from a scramble battle gone wrong.
In any case, a tribe eventually discovered this place. The environment provided their survival reliance, while the starship wreckage reignited the spark of civilization. Life flourished once more, giving rise to a new human society.
Nearly three centuries passed. This became Earth's last remaining human settlement, which the residents named – Divine Protection Village.
...
Inside the Shuijing Lake Basement Levels Laboratory.
Doom Strike had reached the end of the path. He had searched every side route, following the corridor to this point. Before him rose a staircase leading upward, resembling typical residential zigzag fire escape stairs. An iron handrail lined the metal step plates, and through the gaps beneath his feet, he could faintly glimpse the area above.
He drew his weapon, cautiously approaching. The lighting here was poor, making it difficult to spot ambushes from below.
"Jianghu's martial artists, don't hide anymore – I see you!" Doom Strike clearly bluffed. He remained unafraid to expose his position, knowing this marked the lab's end. There was no doubt the exit lay directly above. If Kuangzong Jianying and Feng Bu Jue intended an ambush, this was their final opportunity. As for the two lurking opponents, his presence had likely been detected long ago.
"Nuclear grenade tricks are truly impressive, huh?" Doom Strike taunted. "Kuangzong Jianying, is that all your Jianghu martial artists can do? You cowardly turtles certainly know how to play sneaky games!" He hurled verbal abuse with calculated provocation, aiming to draw opponents out from their advantageous hidden positions.
"Still not coming out?" Doom Strike sneered. "You outnumber me two to one – are you actually afraid?"
Only his echoed voice responded.
So... there was only one reason Doom Strike had come here—he was confident he could face two opponents at once and still emerge victorious. This confidence was clearly rooted in some powerful skill or artifact.
He shouted for a while, but from above the stairs, there was still no response. This only deepened Doom Strike's unease. He couldn't help but wonder: Could there be another level above this laboratory? Was the layer above the same size as the one below?
With that thought, he cautiously stepped onto the staircase and began ascending slowly. He had no choice but to proceed. First, if his enemies refused to reveal themselves, he had two options—go up or retreat. Second, if there truly was another level above, shouting here for an hour wouldn't be heard by anyone up there.
Moving cautiously, he climbed stair by stair. To his surprise, he encountered no ambushes at all, nor did he detect any signs of traps. But Doom Strike remained vigilant. The memory of the previous grenade incident was still fresh—his teammate had died instantly from being too close, and he himself had nearly been blown to pieces. Such a lesson would haunt him throughout his entire class career and life.
This staircase, roughly three-story high, took him five minutes to traverse. He ascended it four times back and forth before reaching the top. Yet when he arrived, Doom Strike froze. Before him stretched an empty corridor. Ten meters ahead, the corridor ended at a massive door. Its left and right sections interlocked with serrated edges, the thickness rivaling any bank vault. The switch beside the door had already been destroyed...
"Where are they?" was his immediate reaction.
He and Final Strike had already explored the opposite end of the laboratory. This end was the exit. They'd followed the trail left by Feng Bu Jue and Kuangzong Jianying, triggered their traps, and checked every side path. He was certain they'd taken the right route. Yet... why was there no one here?
"Could they have left?" The thought flashed through his mind, but he dismissed it immediately. "Impossible. Based on the environmental conditions outside, the vitality drain here would be even harsher. They wouldn't risk it. And the switch is broken... how could they have gotten out?" He reconsidered. "Could they have gone outside first to activate the door's closing mechanism, then destroyed the inner switch before it closed, trapping me inside?"
"No, that wouldn't make sense either... Leaving would give them no advantage." Doom Strike paced stiffly, his expression hardening. After long deliberation, he finally reached what he believed was the correct conclusion. "Yes! It has to be this!" His realization struck him suddenly, though his face and tone remained unchanged. "They reached the corridor's end and destroyed the exit switch, creating the false impression they'd escaped the laboratory. Then they retreated. They must have slipped past me on the main corridor while I was searching the side paths. We missed each other! Right now, they're probably hiding at the far end of the laboratory."
...
At the same time, outside the laboratory.
Beneath a hazy yellow sky stretched an undulating sand sea. Howling winds carried raging black sandstorms across the land. Anyone unprotected would struggle to keep their eyes open, their voice vanishing within five meters.
A "Sharkfish Pod" glided silently over the sands. The capsule-like vehicle, twenty meters long, six meters wide, and over four meters tall, resembled a massive armored shark—though it lacked fins. Its top surface was a streamlined smooth design. Painted the same ochre-yellow as the desert, its front bore no windshield or visual equipment, relying entirely on internal detection radar and navigation systems.
Inside, the air was filtered and purified. Though the two players wore no protective suits, their vitality value depletion had stopped.
Feng Bu Jue lounged leisurely in the pilot's seat, hands behind his head. He'd mastered the Sharkfish Pod's controls quickly—the interface wasn't complicated. The navigation coordinates were already input, so he'd simply selected automatic mode.
When Feng Bu Jue had exited the laboratory and seen the harsh environment outside, he'd realized manual piloting was pointless on this planet. There were no roads, no reference points. The Sharkfish Pod had to rely on autonomous navigation to reach its destination.
Which raised a new question—how had this group found Crystal Lake Laboratory?
Hank's squad had mentioned they'd "received orders" to search here. That meant their superiors possessed the laboratory's exact coordinates.
This led to further questions: Had their superiors known this location all along, or discovered it recently? And what method had they used to locate it? Micro probe robots?
Feng Bu Jue's deduction was clear. This squad hadn't arrived randomly. They'd come right after the "Interstellar Immigrants" departed, confirming an obvious truth. And Hank's initial reaction to the "Foreigner" had provided further reasoning. Though they hadn't reached the village yet, Feng Bu Jue was already certain of its condition.
"Why didn't you kill him?" Kuangzong Jianying, seated in the co-pilot's chair, turned to Feng Bu Jue. His voice was low, ensuring the bound Hank in the rear corner couldn't hear. "Leaving him alive... are you afraid of unexpected consequences?"
"He's done us no harm. Why kill him?" Feng Bu Jue replied.
Kuangzong Jianying chuckled dryly. "Come now... pretending to be some lawful justice now is hardly convincing."
"This has nothing to do with being lawful justice", Feng Bu Jue countered. "The Npc still has value. We need his help to infiltrate the village."
"How would he help?" Kuangzong Jianying subtly turned his head, casting a sidelong glance at Hank's pale face across the cabin. "He can't resist now, but once we return to the village, he could escape or shout for help at any moment."
Feng Bu Jue's lips curled into a smile. "Everyone has weaknesses. Once cornered, they'll betray their principles and do exactly as you command." He rose from his seat, whispering, "For Hank... simple physical intimidation and psychological pressure will suffice." With that, he strode toward Hank.
(End of Chapter)
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