Chapter 28.1 – Rainy Night in Hua City (20)
◎ It was better to say goodbye (End of Hua City Arc) ◎
The next day, Zhuang Qingyan broke through the final security measures of T014 and accessed the control port.
After a total of fourteen days, he finally managed to shut down the malfunctioning weather simulation system.
Witnessed by everyone, the clouds and mist that had been hanging over the city gradually thinned and disappeared. Then, the sun broke through the clouds, pouring down its radiant light, instantly sweeping away the days of gloom.
The high squad members looked at Zhuang Qingyan with visibly different expressions. “You, young man, are quite capable! Did you really fix it?”
“We finally freaking see the sun. It’s either zombies or stink bugs every day. It’s almost driving me emo!”
“Hey Ouyang, want to sunbathe together?”
Amidst the lively atmosphere, a team member rushed in, approaching Wu Juemin and Maeda Jiu, saying hurriedly, “Eyewitness… District 72… Unable to confirm… Suspected appearance of the key.”
Wu Juemin’s expression turned serious, and he immediately issued orders, “Everyone! Speed up, clear the roads out of the city by tomorrow at the latest.”
The team members who were just talking about sunbathing stood at attention in an instant, responding in unison, “Yes, Captain!”
Song Ke leaned on the back of Zhuang Qingyan’s wheelchair, holding a small, skinny pear in her hand. She claimed to be supervising his coding (even though she couldn’t understand a word of it), but she noticed that his typing speed was getting slower and couldn’t help but look down.
Zhuang Qingyan’s gaze stopped in the direction of the people who were talking, his expression oddly hard to describe.
“What’s, wrong with you?” Song Ke took a bite of the pear. Oh, it’s so sour!
Zhuang Qingyan withdrew his gaze, pointing to the gigantic terminal in front of him.
“What’s this?”
“T, T014.”
“No, this isn’t T014. The real T014 is still above us. This is its control center.”
“Huh?” Is there a difference?
“This control center has always been stored near the Qinglan Research Institute near Hua City.”
“Oh, I see.” Wasn’t this something everyone knew from the beginning?
“But you mentioned before that Wu Juemin and the others came from F177 District.”
If we were to compare it to a line segment, the positions of Qinglan and F177 District were like the endpoints of the line segment, while Hua City was roughly the midpoint.
“Wu Juemin left Hua City before the heavy rain, so it’s clear that he just happened to bring T014 back with him.”
“Well, that’s interesting. You’re saying that Azure Phoenix’s people took such a big detour, just to go to the Qinglan Research Institute. What are they trying to do?”
“Or rather, what compelling reason do they have to go there?”
Song Ke was puzzled; how would she know?
Zhuang Qingyan started talking in terms she couldn’t understand again.
Seeing Song Ke looking utterly confused, Zhuang Qingyan patted her head with a meaningful expression, “Go on and eat your pear.”
*
On that evening, Wu Juemin officially announced that once the roads were open tomorrow morning, their group would depart from Hua City. Due to the nature of their upcoming mission, logistics personnel wouldn’t be able to participate, which meant that after reaching the next destination, the twelve members of Azure Phoenix squad would part ways with them.
Dinner was like a farewell feast. Everyone set up makeshift stoves in the courtyard, and those with culinary skills took matters into their own hands, cooking something to eat.
Holding an unlit cigarette, An Qiwen brushed sauce onto eggplants, asking Song Ke, “Little sister, now that T014 has also been repaired, what are your plans for the future?”
Song Ke stared at the sizzling, oil-covered eggplants without blinking, absentmindedly shaking her head. She didn’t have any particular place she wanted to go; she needed to check with Zhuang Qingyan first.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a familiar figure. Xu Xing was wearing a light yellow sweater, his soft little face tilted as he listened to Ouyang Pei speak. He looked exceptionally docile. Song Ke waved at him, wanting to invite him over to eat.
However, when the little guy saw her, he first looked happy, but then his expression changed as if he had seen a ghost, and he scampered away.
Song Ke: ?
A familiar casual voice came from behind, “Hey, everyone’s here?”
Song Ke turned around and saw two figures slowly approaching. It was Zhuang Qingyan and Wu Juemin.
After spending this period of time together, although Wu Juemin hadn’t completely let down his guard against Song Ke, she had kept a low profile these days, playing the role of a “law-abiding citizen.” She hadn’t caused any trouble, so Wu Juemin’s attitude was slightly less hostile. He didn’t threaten to detain her at every turn.
“Commander Wu, do you have any sensible suggestions about our next destination?” Zhuang Qingyan deliberately ignored a certain figure that had fled, chuckling softly.
Wu Juemin glanced at Song Ke and spoke coldly, “The Alliance has regulations for the management of awakeners. Since you’ve awakened, you should register as soon as possible. Registered awakeners are recognized by the Alliance. Otherwise, you’ll forever remain a black household.”
Song Ke, who had eighteen years of experience being a black household, felt like a knife had stabbed her in the back.
However, would registering as an awakener grant her an official identity? Song Ke felt a bit intrigued.
“Where can, can I register?”
“All the C-District cities are fine. C District has had awakener bases before, but they weren’t open to the public,” An Qiwen flipped the eggplants, then continued in a carefree manner, “But with the current situation, starships are out of service, and it’s difficult to travel anywhere. Oh, by the way, we’re headed to District C72. You can ask the captain to give you a lift.”
“C72 District? Ferrara, the city of music and art?” Zhuang Qingyan suddenly spoke.
“Yeah, you know about it?” An Qiwen seemed surprised. To accurately mention a city’s name just by its number, either this person had exceptional memory and was well-versed in the Alliance’s regional information, or they had been there or heard about it before, making it familiar to them.
“Not exactly, I’ve just heard a bit about it,” Zhuang Qingyan nodded with a touch of reserve.
In the first year of the New Calendar, the Alliance officially divided the territory into 180 districts, graded from A to F based on overall development levels.
Among them, District E was developed into various functional areas due to its unique ecological environment (E166-E175). District F only had numbers without names because it was too backward (F176-F180). The remaining districts ABCD formed a pyramid distribution. Apart from the distant and mysterious District A (A1-A5), the opulent District B (B6-B25) where the privileged gathered, and the most numerous but unremarkable District D (D76-D165), the technologically advanced and well-managed District C (C26-C75) became the sought-after “ideal country” for the majority.
District C consisted of 50 cities, each with its own irreplaceable uniqueness.
—Like District C72, Ferrara.
Ferrara not only had nearly a thousand large and small retro opera houses but had also achieved a state of mastery in the application of holographic projection technology. In this land where floating and leaping musical notes and imaginative ideas were everywhere, singers, poets, painters, playwrights from all over the world gathered together, hoping that one day they could step onto the brilliantly shining stage of the stars and fulfill their lifelong pursuits.
In addition, Ferrara had a governing official who was the most “free” in the entire Alliance.
“Do you want to go to Ferrara?” Zhuang Qingyan asked Song Ke.
Song Ke nodded. Becoming an officially registered awakener with a formal identity was too attractive a proposition. This way, she wouldn’t have to hide for her entire life, and she could proudly say to others: “Look! This is my ID.”
Zhuang Qingyan easily understood Song Ke’s thoughts, smiled, and turned to Wu Juemin. “I don’t have any objections. It depends on Captain Wu’s agreement.”
Though Wu Juemin’s demeanor was cold and tough, as an excellent military personnel, he inherently possessed a sense of duty and compassion. Otherwise, when they were in District F177, he wouldn’t have allocated half of the starships to transport civilians.
“Okay,” Wu Juemin nodded coldly, “but I’m only responsible for taking you to District C72.”
It meant that after reaching District C72, they would have to find their own way, just like the logistics team members.
Zhuang Qingyan expressed his understanding, “Of course, thank you, Captain Wu.”
“Little sister, are you willing to come with us this time? Here, have a skewer!” An Qiwen’s roasted eggplant was finally ready. After being politely declined by both Wu Juemin and Zhuang Qingyan, it was Song Ke who took one skewer.
She stared at the reddish surface for a while and then took a bite.
Oh! It’s so spicy!
*
The day of departure arrived quickly.
As the light of dawn was just breaking, Song Ke was awakened by a faint rustling sound – footsteps! Though the footsteps were numerous, they weren’t chaotic. They were well-trained, landing softly. If it weren’t for her keen supernatural senses, she might have easily overlooked them.
She rubbed her eyes, sat up from the bed, and all traces of drowsiness vanished. However, upon a quick glance, she realized the single bed across from hers was empty – Zhuang Qingyan was nowhere to be seen. It was only at the second look that she noticed he was seated by the window, lifting the curtain to look outside.
Song Ke felt a touch of surprise; she hadn’t expected Zhuang Qingyan to be so alert, waking up earlier than she did.
“Who is it?”
“Azure Phoenix’s people.”
Song Ke immediately became anxious, “Are they trying to, to sneak away?”
Wasn’t it agreed that they would be taken to District C72? Could they really just renege on that after a night’s sleep?
Zhuang Qingyan was speechless and choked up, defeated by her unexpectedly circuitous thought process.
“No, it’s not that,” his expression turned serious, “come over and see, the formation is activated.”
Song Ke jumped up in shock and hurried to the window.
In the faint morning light, that familiar floating mall appeared once again. However, the former grandeur was no longer present. The massive architectural structure lay in ruins, leaning against the ground near the sinkhole. Shadows gathered around it, as if a fair number of people had congregated.
Song Ke put on her coat, “Let’s go and take a look.”
The two of them reached a nearby hilltop. From the elevated position, they saw people emerging from various entrances.
Unlike the day the formation contracted and people fled in panic, those coming out now were dispirited and silent. Their demeanor was so quiet that it bordered on eerie.
Some had looks of confusion, others were mournful and anguished. There were those with bloodshot eyes, their spirits distant and distracted. Homes were gone, the city was in ruins, and even the last refuge had fallen. From this day on, these individuals had become rootless wanderers.
Apart from the people, there was also a significant number of zombies that had fled the area, and even half-human, half-zombie creatures in the midst of mutation. Song Ke didn’t know what had transpired inside, but the scene was undeniably shocking. She had a foreboding feeling that this city might have to coexist with zombies in the future.
Their position was quite conspicuous, and after a while, a hoarse voice called out behind her, “Song Ke.”
Song Ke turned around, her oversized coat fluttering in the night breeze.
Jiang Rui stared at her intently, feeling like eons had passed. It had been less than half a month since they last saw each other, yet seeing Song Ke again felt like a world away.
She was still alive, and that was wonderful.
But what about him? Was he really still considered alive in his current state?
The experiences of this period had been like the cruelest purgatory, shattering Jiang Rui’s innocence completely.
**TN
Black Household – a person with no household registration
