I Really Didn't Mean It

This cramped, low-ceilinged room resembled an isolation chamber, equipped with several medical bay-like devices and various instruments Xiao Bai couldn't identify.
Most of these devices were shattered, their fragments broken with eerie precision and symmetry.
Even the scattered human tissues seemed preserved within some kind of 'scroll' before being cut into symmetrical geometric shapes—circles, squares, diamonds—by an impossibly sharp blade.
The edges were smooth and clean, without a trace of debris or blood.
The human tissues within the fragments still appeared fresh, and the equipment remained pristine, as if frozen in time.
Xiao Bai had never witnessed such a bizarre supernatural scene and couldn't even begin to classify this phenomenon.
Too afraid to enter, he scanned the area from outside, recording the contents of each fragment. He then played a game of 'jigsaw puzzle,' piecing together the complete image before scrutinizing it carefully.
"Ther e were military personnel and researchers inside, their faces anxious and panicked. They seemed to be trying to use these medical bays... wait, it says 'Emergency Escape Pod' here. Were they trying to evacuate Paradise through this device in an emergency?"
"The light is completely crimson. It must be from the red warning lights, right?"
"This escape pod is indicating an overload. It's sparking and crackling like it's about to explode..."
Xiao Bai roughly pieced together the situation: The base mu st have suffered some catastrophic disaster, forcing survivors to retreat through the emergency escape pods. This meant the situation was so dire that they couldn't use the Abyss Gate—the normal spatial teleportation gate for entering and exiting Paradise.
But the escape pod was overloaded and exploded, leading to the final scene: the entire space being "shredded."
"How tragic... I'd hear d people say on the forums that while humans did obtain some space-related technology from Paradise, it was only superficial knowledge. That's why we can't create warp gates or teleporters, and even these emergency escape devices are notoriously unstable."
Xiao Bai mustered his courage and released another burst of green light, hoping to uncover something useful.
Emergency Escape Pod component acquired (10)
Parts acquired (200)
"Actually, I got something?"
Xiao Bai glanced at his Storage Space. He now had enough components to assemble an Emergency Escape Pod, needing only to save up more Energy.
The parts he'd obtained here were classified as 'Precision Electronic Components', usable only for constructing various instruments and equipment. In the Graveyard, these were considered low-drop-rate items, unlike the most common 'Mechanical Components'.
Therefore, he didn't rush to assemble the Emergency Escape Pod. The horrific scene before him was still fresh in his mind, and even if he completed it, he wouldn't dare use it. Better not to waste the parts for now.
"I wonder what'll happen if I go inside again?"
After a moment's thought, Xiao Bai picked up a broken brick from the ground and tossed it into the room.
He watched as the fragments flickered, shattered into even smaller pieces, and then dissipated into the air, leaving behind only a bare, empty chamber.
It felt like accidentally knocking over someone's carefully stacked dominoes, causing the entire structure to collapse in an instant.
"Ah, this... I really didn't mean it. I hope no one got hurt..."
Feeling guilty, Xiao Bai withdrew his hand and was about to look elsewhere when he turned around and spotted a fallen tablet on the floor.
"Is it still usable?"
The Maintenance Mechanical Arm behind him extended and retrieved the tablet.
"It won't turn on. Is it broken? Oh right, I can test the automatic repair function I integrated from the Maintenance Robot."
Xiao Bai activated the repair function in the Main Control System. The arm then gripped the tablet, flipping it over for inspection, before extending a data cable and inserting it into the port. The tablet lit up immediately.
"So it was just out of battery?"
Xiao Bai chuckled. Through the data connection, he began operating the tablet with his gaze, replacing the need for fingers.
"This isn't a standard model. I've never seen this UI or system before... And what software is installed here? I don't recognize a single app."
"Wait a minute! Isn't this that popular gacha game from a few years back? They didn't bother disguising the forum or the short video app, but they specifically disguised a gacha game?"
Xiao Bai tapped on each app one by one. Most were professional software with unclear functions. Then he tapped on an icon that looked like a notebook, which brought up a password prompt.
Next, a decryption program emerged from his repair function and began brute-forcing the password.
With 80 points of Processing Power, the password was cracked. As the complex string of characters was entered, Xiao Bai finally saw something he could understand.
June 9th: Finally graduated. I ended up rejecting the job my family arranged for me and resolved to delve deeper into my field.
I'll never forget what my advisor said in our first class: the new century ushered in by the emergence of Paradise will undoubtedly be the century of biology and genes!
November 11th: Damn it, the research institute hasn't paid me for two months. I'm starving...
"January 30th: If I don't get this job, I'll have to go work as a surveyor on construction sites. But I studied gene mapping, not construction surveying!"
"February 3rd: So hungry... I shouldn't have chosen this major..."
These appeared to be personal notes or diary entries written by the tablet's owner. The entries spanned a wide range of dates, lacked a coherent narrative, and only included months without years, making them seem somewhat disorganized.
Xiao Bai continued reading.
"Huh? Yes! I got it! I got it!"
"Mar ch 9th: I've arrived at Paradise Designation 2-114. It's truly a desolate wasteland. The air quality is terrible, and there's radiation everywhere from unknown sources. We can only move within the Anti-Radiation Field. If it weren't for the high salary..."
April 12th : The soldiers outside might be a bit rough, but they're good people. It's been ages since I've had such a thoroughly satisfying game of ball.
April 28th : Overheard colleagues chatting about how "Paradise" origina lly was only the size of a residential area, but due to its rare "Infinite Expansion" rule, it became a mecha graveyard. Later, the Foundation acquired it and established this research base in partnership with the Defense Force and the Academy of Sciences.
Still, the environment here is brutally harsh. I don't even know where to spend my salary!
May 6th : Today, everyone was debating the grand question of human evolution again—genes, machinery, psionics... Which path will truly lead to the future?
For now, machinery seems to be leading the way, but our genetic research isn't far behind. Psionics, however, is definitely a dead end—just frauds and spiritual charlatans there.
August 10th : I haven't eaten all day. The mere thought of what happened earlier makes me want to vomit. Even though it was just a "D-Class Personnel"—a vile drug dealer—even so...
January 9th : "We're already running out of D-Class Personnel. The supervisor said new ones would arrive soon, so we have to use them sparingly..."
July 26th : "I was released from the disciplinary room today, but I still don't believe I was wrong. That was just a five-year-old child, not some D-Class Personnel!"
Don't the others know? No, they all know. But after being in this godforsaken place for so long, seeing so much, everyone's gone numb. Their minds must have been burned out by the radiation, right?
March 9th : "It's been five years since I've been here, hasn't it? Why did I even come in the first place? Heh~ I don't remember, but who cares?"
Damn Funeral Rangers! Damn! Damn! Damn!
The following records were just meaningless curses, filthy ones at that...
After a string of hysterical, almost frenzied curses, the records ended, leaving only an unnamed video file.
Xiao Bai hesitated for a moment, then clicked to open it.

Chapter end