Chapter 431: The Rule Ends and a Veil of Gloom |
Weilan Ke immediately sent a voice communication to the Dream Boat One.
The message was blunt, telling Robert to first slow the rocket and change its course, then relinquish highest control authority, letting the Beixing Space Agency take over.
After the message was sent, there was no reply for a long time.
Weilan Ke's heart sank at this, realizing that Zhang Minglu and Guan Tong might not be wrong, that Robert was truly harboring ill intentions.
He quickly sent several more messages questioning and demanding an explanation.
After sending these messages, Robert unexpectedly initiated a real-time voice call request not long after.
Weilan Ke accepted the request.
Once the voice call connected, he immediately demanded, "Robert, why are you doing this? Have you forgotten that you're a Suroma astronaut? And beyond work, we've been friends for nearly twenty years. Are you trying to spread the Scarlet Fear to me?!"
There was a moment of silence in the communicator before a slightly hoarse voice sounded.
Even though the tone was vastly different from usual, it was unmistakably Robert's voice.
Weilan Ke was utterly confused. "You call harming me with the rules 'helping'? What the hell does that mean?"
"To help you find release, Weilan Ke," Robert said. "Otherwise, when the Demon truly descends, you'll only suffer more, experience more terrible pain."
The tone and content of Robert's words were laced with a sinister quality that sent chills down Weilan Ke's spine.
"What the hell are you?!" Weilan Ke roared. "The Robert I know would never say something like that!"
Zhang Minglu interjected from the side, pressing for answers. "Demon descending? Is this 'Demon' you speak of referring to this rule? The Scarlet Fear has been broken and scattered by our Ascendants, and this rule is about to end soon. Why do you say we'll suffer more pain?"
The channel fell silent for a moment, only the faint crackling static gnawing at everyone's anxious hearts.
Guan Tong was also on the shared line, and he was equally puzzled by Robert's words.
Could the power behind this rule—what Robert called the "Demon"—have a long-term impact on humanity?
This kind of threat would be troublesome. Just one parasitized form that coexisted with humanity long-term had already caused immense damage. If another "Demon" was added to the mix, things would only get worse.
After several dozen seconds of silence, Robert's pained voice sounded through the comms channel.
"The Demon cannot be destroyed. The low-level existence you struggled so hard to defeat is nothing... They told me they would find us, find our mother planet, and make us pay..."
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.
Weilan Ke's expression was one of stunned disbelief as he pressed urgently, "Robert, speak clearly! Are you saying there's an entire race behind this rule? That the one we defeated was just a single individual? And that this race will come to retaliate against us? Is that what you mean?!"
"...They are too terrifying."
Robert's voice was a dazed murmur, as if speaking to Weilan Ke or perhaps just to himself.
"Don't you understand yet? Humanity is too weak in the universe. The Demon's power alone is enough to destroy us, let alone the Fire Thief who could capture a Demon and stuff it into a rule? The only future awaiting humanity is destruction. Rather than perishing in extreme agony, it's better to choose a comfortable way out... I wish I could go back to the moment the first rule was released. Dying in my sleep would have been such a blessing... That was the greatest generosity the Fire Thief ever gave humanity. But we had to foolishly fight against fate..."
"Crazy! The guy is completely insane!" Weilan Ke took a half-step back, his face pale with shock, as if frightened by Robert's words. He couldn't imagine an astronaut with such strong psychological resilience uttering such desperate ramblings.
"He's probably been too heavily influenced by the Scarlet Fear, leading to utter despair," Zhang Minglu said. "Robert, we can't truly empathize with what you've been through, but we can help you."
Weilan Ke wasn't willing to give up either. He grabbed the microphone. "Robert, snap out of it! We can help you! First, release control of the Dream Boat. We'll remotely pilot the rocket ship and bring you home. We'll use every means available to treat the damage you've suffered. For the sake of all these years of friendship, you have to trust me!"
Even now, he was trying to appeal to Robert's emotions to save him. But Guan Tong felt it was already too late.
Zhang Minglu was right about one thing—they couldn't truly empathize with Robert's experiences. None of them had gone through the terrifying scenarios the Scarlet Fear created firsthand.
Guan Tong himself had only experienced two brief scenarios, and even though he woke up from both in time, those images still replayed in his mind from time to time. Even knowing they were all fake, because everything happened at the deep conscious level, his brain still stored them as genuine memories.
Only the person experiencing it knows how painful that feeling is.
As for Robert, his crew of astronauts had been affected by the Scarlet Fear not long after landing on Terra. Robert himself became a propagation source and survived, but living was probably a form of torture for him. The "Demon" he spoke of might have been creating terrifying images for him to witness over and over again.
The fact that he held on long enough to become a propagation source without going completely mad—even if the "Demon" kept him alive deliberately to spread more fear—still required his own strong will to endure until that point.
In a way, this was a hopeless dead end after being eroded by the Scarlet Fear. If your resistance was too weak, you'd be scared to death or driven insane. If your resistance was strong, you might come into contact with the "Wailing Furnace" and become a propagation source.
Either way, there was no escape from torment. This was probably why Robert had fallen into complete despair and developed the extreme psychology of "spreading fear to help humanity find release."
Since it had come to this, trying to save him was probably impossible.
Robert didn't reply and cut the communication.
"Thump!"
Weilan Ke slammed the table hard, looking both furious and anguished.
"Damn it!"
"Director Weilan Ke, since it's come to this, we can only proceed with the original plan."
"...Mm. All teams, pay attention. Immediately initiate the forced return procedure for the Empire Pioneer!"
After Weilan Ke gave the order, the Space Agency teams immediately coordinated to execute.
Seeing this, Guan Tong didn't use Body Swap to return directly to Tianshui Star. If they could return normally, there was no need to expose that ability.
After all, teleportation-type items couldn't be used in space. If he just popped back, everyone would know he had an ultra-long-range movement ability usable in space. Even if some intelligence departments had gathered combat intel and suspected he had such capabilities, they couldn't be sure if it was an item or some kind of ability.
So, for the time being, he watched the multi-armed robots busying themselves at the control panels, coordinating with the Ground Control Center to complete the return procedure.
Several hours later, the return began.
Zhang Minglu specifically warned Guan Tong to stay alert and protect himself if the return didn't go smoothly.
He even half-joked that if push came to shove, Guan Tong should be prepared to "parachute from outside the atmosphere."
Guan Tong knew Zhang Minglu was trying to lighten the tense mood, but he didn't take it lightly. Regardless of the situation, he first wrapped himself in thick Shadow Armor and stayed ready to use Body Swap at any moment.
However, the scenario the Ground Control Center feared never materialized. Although it was a forced return outside the optimal window, thanks to the precise control of the intelligent space robots, the Empire Pioneer successfully entered the atmosphere after multiple orbital adjustments.
At this point, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Entering the atmosphere was basically as good as being home. Guan Tong could use a teleportation-type item to leave at any time now.
He didn't waste the item and descended with the rocket ship to the designated landing site.
It was just before dawn. Zhang Minglu was already waiting at the landing site and walked over as Guan Tong disembarked from the rocket ship.
"Guan Tong, you've had a rough trip. The plane back to Beixing is ready. Want to go back together?"
"No," Guan Tong said. "Go on without me, Dr. Zhang. I have some things to take care of."
"Things to take care of? In Suroma?"
Guan Tong nodded.
Although Zhang Minglu was surprised, he didn't press further.
After they parted ways, Guan Tong took out his phone, which had an address he'd noted down earlier.
On the way to that address, he thought of something.
From the moment he'd finished the experiment to the time he returned from space, no one had asked him how he'd "defeated the rule" or how the Scarlet Fear had receded.
He'd expected someone to ask and had even prepared some excuses to hide the fact that his title had consumed the entity.
But those excuses ended up being unnecessary.
Guan Tong didn't think they didn't ask because they weren't curious. He figured it was probably because the higher-ups in Beixing and Suroma had discussed it beforehand.
Both sides must have judged that pressing him for answers would provoke his resentment—after all, he clearly didn't want to reveal his secrets. Rather than create conflict with no graceful way out, it was better to just not ask. The problem was solved, and that was all that mattered.
As for how the two nations' governments would handle the Dream Boat One under Robert's control, or whether they'd launch a barrage of missiles to destroy it, that wasn't Guan Tong's concern.
The only thing Guan Tong cared about slightly was the "Demon" Robert had mentioned.
If what he said was true, it meant the Wailing Furnace wasn't a singular intelligent lifeform but a member of some race. If Guan Tong followed Robert's naming and temporarily called this race the "Demon Race," they apparently possessed a sense of "revenge."
"Robert said the 'Demon Race' would find humanity's home planet to retaliate... but wasn't that individual Demon caught by the Fire Thief? Shouldn't revenge be directed at the Fire Thief first? Unless they think the individual taken by the Fire Thief is still 'alive,' but once my title absorbed it, it was completely dead..."
Guan Tong didn't feel he bore any responsibility for this, nor was he going to borrow trouble before anything happened.
He was just a bit curious about what exactly this "Demon Race" was.
Because according to the complete picture of the Kimos Star Chronicle's recorded history, the giant Kimos Star beasts appearing as the "gatekeepers" of their civilization within the [Nightmare Beasts] rule were there for a reason.
At the time, humanity had generally inferred that the alien creatures appearing in the Doomsday Rules were likely in a situation similar to the Kimos Star beasts—their race's home planet had already been destroyed by the Doomsday Rules, and the remaining individuals were taken as "collector's items" of sorts by the Fire Thief to be used in other Doomsday Rules.
So, when the "Nano Swarm Intelligence" appeared earlier, many in the research community believed this intelligent race had already perished, leaving only a few or single individuals for the Fire Thief to use.
But now, the faint emergence of the "Demon Race" cast yet another vague, indistinct shadow of gloom over humanity... of course, that was assuming the voices Robert heard weren't deceiving him.
...
April 1st, 9:00 AM.
Suroma Capital, New Covenant City.
In the suburbs far from the city center, a car slowly pulled up and stopped in front of an old house.
Guan Tong didn't rush to get out. Instead, he sat in the car and listened to the Fire Thief's voice ring out.
[Congratulations on passing the trial of the 17th Doomsday Rule]
[Rewards have been distributed to your Storage Box]
[The 18th Doomsday Rule will be released in 15 days]
The month-long 17th rule had finally ended.
For many people, they could finally stop living in fear every time they went online.
As for those affected by the "Scarlet Fear," the damage already done couldn't be undone, but as long as they were still alive, there was hope for recovery.
Guan Tong opened his Storage Box and then opened the newly acquired Survival Chest.
[Acquired random item: Camouflage Coat]
[Camouflage Coat]: After use, it blends with the environment to conceal the user's form. Using abilities or taking attacks will break this state. While concealed, it automatically consumes 10 Mind Power per second. This item is tradable.
"Blends with the environment... In a way, it's similar to invisibility. But you can't use abilities or take attacks while it's active... Its performance is still somewhat lacking. After all, it came from a Silver-tier chest."
Guan Tong wasn't disappointed with the item he'd received, but he wasn't particularly thrilled either.
Still, a unique functional item like this was better than attack or defense-type items.
He got out of the car and chose to equip it. A black, mid-length single-breasted coat that fit his form perfectly immediately wrapped around him.
He checked his reflection in the car's side mirror. The style was quite minimalist, so he just left it on.
Then, he looked at the old house in front of him.
Calling it an "old house" wasn't because it was old in years, but because of its old-fashioned style.
In a world-class modern metropolis like New Covenant City, this house was built entirely from wood, with no metal building materials in sight, giving it a very vintage feel.
He walked to the wooden door, which was carved with intricate patterns and designs of stars and constellations.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Guan Tong raised his hand and knocked on the door. Not long after, a voice came from inside.
"Please, come in."
He pushed open the door and entered the wooden house. After pushing aside a curtain in the hallway, the first thing that caught his eye was a wall full of mystical tools—fortune sticks, turtle shells, incense, wooden slips, ritual knives, and more.
Below the wall was a long wooden table, and a woman draped in a star-patterned wool blanket sat in a chair behind it. In front of her pale face was a crystal ball, and her eyes were looking through it at Guan Tong.
She was the "Moon Key"—Suroma's, and indeed the global Ascendant community's, famous Diviner. She was also the person Guan Tong had come to see.
She had previously participated as a member of the Action Team in the assassination mission against the Fire Thief Worship Cult. The mission failed when Amanda, Adam's wife, was killed by the traitor Peter, who was then killed by Adam himself... After Adam disappeared without a trace, Moon Key was the only one from the team to return to Suroma for investigation and questioning.
Since she was here now, it meant the investigation was over.
She placed the crystal ball on the table and gestured to Guan Tong with her eyes. "Please, have a seat."