"Hide her in the future," Tang Xunan said. "Humanity isn't yet equipped to save this gift from above. Keep her for a day when hope still exists."
"Alright," he replied.
Fresh from surgery, blood still trickling from his eye sockets, vision blurred with a hint of crimson, Tang Xunan glimpsed Lu Yan among the strangers. Lu Yan stood aloof, serene, almost like an audience member detached from this world.
For some reason, Tang Xunan felt a surge of tears.
Instead of immediately taking the life pod, he stepped forward and embraced Lu Yan suddenly. "Lu Yan," Tang Xunan's nose reddened, "Did my future self send you to me?"
Lu Yan looked puzzled, struggling to grasp the meaning behind those words.
Tang Xunan, eyes reddening, spoke almost pleadingly, "Can you wait for me to come back? Don't leave."
Unaccustomed to embraces, Lu Yan stiffened slightly, patting Tang Xunan's back. "I won't leave."
This was still Tang Xunan's dream. As long as the dreamer slept, the dreamwalker likely couldn't leave.
They didn't have much time for goodbyes.
Taking the life pod, Tang Xunan glanced back at Lu Yan. In the next moment, a halo formed under his feet, resembling a teleportation array from a game. Along with his talent, his distorted features resurfaced.
He vanished from the spot.
No one except Tang Xunan knew where he'd reappear. But Lu Yan was keenly aware he had to endure Tang Xunan's absence. Dying in the dream meant dying in reality.
The enraged and irrational pollutants wouldn't cease their attack on the institute just because Subject 0 disappeared.
It was 11:57 PM. The floor trembled slightly. Most people, unaware of the situation, hurried out, anxious. "Is it an earthquake?"
While there was still signal reception, Qiao Yu relayed a message to the work group without explicitly mentioning that Yu Zhizhi's awakening had attracted the pollutants, only stating that the institute was surrounded.
"Awaken volunteers from Building 9," he instructed the staff on the phone.
...
Gigantic worms and beetles relentlessly pounded the walls. The institute, an entire structure forged from metal and deeply buried underground, was sturdier than typical buildings.
Wolves howled at the moon from the ground. The largest among them stood ten meters tall, resembling small mountains from a distance.
Apart from them, pollutants of all kinds—humanoid, non-humanoid—gathered, creating a chaotic feast.
Pollutants evolved by consuming their kind or, indeed, by consuming the Harbingers.
After detecting anomalies through satellite surveillance, the Disease Prevention and Control Center escalated intelligence reports. Reinforcements were dispatched swiftly, but it seemed like a drop in the ocean.
Now, the world's strongest Harbingers were within the institute. It seemed the institute was on its own.
Thankfully, the pollution had only erupted a few years ago. In Lu Yan's time, the institute's strength wouldn't have sufficed; they'd have been sitting ducks.
A broadcast announced, "Everyone, gather on the first level. Due to unstable power supply, evacuate through safe passages."
The first level was the institute's shelter, a vast space. When constructed, it was designed considering a complete collapse on the surface, resembling a small town more than a shelter, with capsule rooms capable of housing tens of thousands.
Several officers hurried over. "Director, let's evacuate via the safe elevator. Your safety is paramount."
In their eyes, Qiao Yu's importance surpassed that of the entire institute.
Qiao Yu glanced at the others and nodded slightly. "Alright."
Then, naturally, he turned to Lu Yan. "Come with me, Lu Yan."
The officers hesitated. "Director, the safe elevator is meant for single use only."
"It's fine to have two people," Qiao Yu's tone was resolute. "He's Tang Xunan's therapist. Tang Xunan needs him to control the progression of his condition."
After hearing this, the officers relented.
Sandworms had chewed holes in the metal walls, allowing magma to seep in. Distant screams and cries echoed.
Despite a momentary hesitation, Qiao Yu, urged by the others, continued forward.
Under the protection of these special forces, Qiao Yu and Lu Yan reached a concealed operating room, revealing an elevator behind it.
Upon seeing it, Lu Yan understood why the officers had mentioned the elevator's single-user capacity.
Compared to a traditional elevator, this resembled a circular vertical shaft, incredibly cramped. It relied not on electricity but on magnetic force.
It was more like a metal can than an elevator.
Qiao Yu stepped in, then gestured for Lu Yan to follow.
Two men, each 180 centimeters tall, squeezed into an area less than 2 square meters, feeling rather constricted and uncomfortable.
Qiao Yu pressed the button for Level 1. The elevator started, inducing a slight sense of weightlessness in Lu Yan.
"I've heard," Qiao Yu suddenly spoke, turning to Lu Yan.
Facing him, Lu Yan realized that Qiao Yu, despite the somewhat aged appearance in textbooks, looked surprisingly young for someone over forty, his greying hair not diminishing his attractiveness.
"Are you from the future?" Qiao Yu asked.
Lu Yan pondered. "In a way, yes, and yet not entirely."
Everything here felt real, but it was still Tang Xunan's dream. Yet, the time in the dream indeed belonged to a century past.
Qiao Yu didn't dwell on his response, asking instead, "Is the future better?"
"In a hundred years, society maintains order and civilization. Despite severe pollution, people haven't given up," Lu Yan explained.
Hearing this, Qiao Yu smiled. "That's wonderful, even better than I imagined."
Abruptly, he pressed the elevator's stop button.
"I've conducted numerous fusion transplant surgeries, failed only once in my life. I lost... my beloved."
Lu Yan felt that Director Qiao and his lover must be deeply in love because as he spoke, Qiao Yu's lips curled into a smile.
"He was contaminated, underwent a mutation. To save him, I performed a fusion surgery. But he couldn't awaken as a Harbinger... According to the experimental rules, I should have euthanized him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"I lied. I said his condition was just too severe, causing him to lose his sanity. Then, I confined him to the ninth level."
Qiao Yu stepped out of the elevator. "Although the volunteers on the ninth level have a high spiritual power threshold, most are still in an unstable fused state. I can't leave. And, it's time for me to end this lie with my own hands."
Lu Yan grabbed his wrist. "Professor Qiao, I'm coming with you."
Qiao Yu's current spiritual power threshold was 6000. Although he wasn't a combat-oriented Harbinger, his physical abilities weren't as weak as one might imagine.
He pried open Lu Yan's fingers. "You don't have to come with me... Go to the first level, stay alive until he returns."
After speaking, Qiao Yu used his fingerprint to activate the elevator's emergency protocol.
Within the research institute, he was the sole person with such privileges. Once activated, the elevator would swiftly reach the first level.
Lu Yan's head throbbed, and there was an indescribable sense of unease. Thankfully, according to textbooks, Qiao Yu's death would occur around 2070, offering him some comfort.
A few minutes later, the elevator arrived at the first level.
The staff guarding outside the door were astonished. "Where's Director Qiao?!"
Lu Yan took a deep breath. "He went to the ninth level. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. I don't have elevator access."
The two staff members exchanged glances. One went to report to headquarters, while the other led Lu Yan to the shelter area.
Present within the institute were some researchers, but more were clerks, nurses, janitors, ordinary people like cafeteria staff. Since the evacuation had just begun, these groups together numbered barely a hundred.
Outside, there were soldiers and Harbingers from the Special Action Unit. If the situation worsened, this protected group would seek refuge in secure compartments.
Lu Yan noticed some people leisurely playing cards, seemingly relaxed, unaware that the Pollutants had arrived, mistaking it for an ordinary earthquake.
Half a day later, Professor Wu and other researchers were escorted up from the lower laboratories.
Many looked terrified, disheveled, some soldiers even missing limbs.
They were still arguing.
One group cried out, "Data! The data hasn't been rescued! That computer motherboard! It's more important than my life! Why won't they let me retrieve it?"
Another group yelled, "What nonsense! Even if you fetch it, you can't transport it out. If you're a combat-oriented individual, that's one thing, but why trample on others' lives? Only if people live, there's hope! Those data, we still remember in our minds! Give me another five years, no, two—"
Professor Wu, spotting Lu Yan, heaved a sigh of relief. "Damn it, the lower levels are too horrifying. We almost couldn't make it back. Do you know? There were these sandworms that crawled in, filling the corridors... like magnified maggots."
"And these beetles, looked like flying scythes, spewing lava from their mouths. A touch, and walls melted. Billions spent constructing the labs! Damn it, all gone."
Listening, Lu Yan lost his appetite, setting down the lunch box in his hand.
"I envy you for evacuating with Director Qiao," Professor Wu glanced around, "Where's Director Qiao?"
Lu Yan had to repeat what he'd already told the staff.
Professor Wu was stunned for a while, then suddenly burst into tears. "He must've gone back to find Mr. Song. Mr. Song's surgery failed, and when he was brought in, he was already done for. We've been altering the mutation reports, lying to him that Mr. Song hasn't turned into a Pollutant, that he's just confined to the ninth level and can't be seen... Director Qiao, he always wanted to see him."
His face still devoid of features, tears streamed down the blank canvas of his face.
Qiao Yu said he lied to these researchers.
And Professor Wu said they lied to Qiao Yu.
Both sides knew, yet believed the other side was ignorant.
Lu Yan seldom had emotional fluctuations, but at this moment, he couldn't contain a heavy sigh.
The dust of history fell upon everyone's heads, weighing as heavily as a mountain.
Unlock exclusive early access to 100s of Chapters before anyone else by becoming a valued member of my Patreon community.
As a cherished member of our Patreon community, here is what you'll get:
For just $5, you'll receive:
- Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public. (You can find all the novels I'm translating HERE.)
- Your name will be prominently featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".
- The power to vote on which novel I translate next.
- You Get Ad-free Chapters.
If you decide to pledge $10, you'll get all the perks from the $5 tier, plus:
- You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in gold).
And if you're feeling generous with a $20 pledge, you'll unlock all the perks above:
- You get to recommend an abandoned Novel and I will immediately start translating it.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in blue).
Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.
Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!
