Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 663: Chapter 548: Remnants of the Past (Thanks to Alliance Leader aNiou_1)

The laboratory lay beneath the massive and stern Control Center, its iron tendrils spread out like branches and leaves, enveloping the Sky Dome within and slicing the pale light into irregular shapes.

Only the sharpest beams of light pierced through those outstretched mechanisms, falling into the air as if wanting to shred the entire world like a Sword Blade.

Below the burgeoning metal seed, the Great Grandmaster bathed in the faint light and, without turning his head, asked, ”They’ve gone.”

”Yes.”

The Director of Affairs inside the protective suit nodded in agreement. ”Their capacity to act is exceptional as always, which truly makes us old folks feel somewhat ashamed... but, is it really okay not to tell him anything at all?”

The Great Grandmaster remained silent.

After a long while, for some unknown reason, he suddenly chuckled.

”It wouldn’t make any difference,” the Great Grandmaster said. ”He... is too young.”

So young it was frightening, and at the same time, so young it was worrisome.

Eighteen, an age full of potential, where one could be treated with honor and respect anywhere.

But it was the one age that should never venture into Hell.

In Hell, youth is the deadliest of weaknesses; the Great Grandmaster alone had seen too many crushed by Hell, no matter how brilliant the talent or how firm the resolve, all ultimately overwhelmed by the brutal reality and truth.

Too many, far too many.

Rather than tell him and make him empathetically understand the sorrow left behind after annihilation, it might be better for him to remain ignorant from the start.

The Director of Affairs couldn’t help but shake his head. ”It’s rare to see you show such gentleness towards others.”

”Really?”

The smile on the Great Grandmaster’s face turned mocking. It wasn’t clear whether he was mocking others or himself. ”Not telling someone like him anything, perhaps that’s even crueler.”

The Director of Affairs did not reply.

”You should leave this place now,” the Great Grandmaster said. ”Evacuate all personnel to the outer laboratories, elevate the alert status to the highest level, and get the guard dogs in position—”

”Is that necessary?”

”Perhaps.”

The Great Grandmaster shrugged slightly, stepping forward, looking up at the gigantic metal seed before him, his eyes behind the shield becoming blurry.

”Who knows,” he murmured softly, then reached out and pulled down the final valve.

In the roar, searing electricity descended from the heavens, coursing through countless intricate machines, initiating the ultimate activation.

This was one of the truths the Director of Affairs had not told Huai Shi.

With the Great Grandmaster leading the way, mere decryption was not confined to the outermost layer; it had already penetrated deep inside. Not only the structure of the outer layers, but now even the core of the black box was about to be completely exposed to them all.

The Control Center from the Town of Dusk, the super-gigantic energy conversion device, suddenly shook violently, and the numerous expanded foliations and mechanisms on top of the cube began to tremble uncontrollably.

The Great Grandmaster raised his hand, removing the hand part of his protective suit to reveal a gray-black arm of iron, like his left hand cast from metal, fingers spread, reaching forward.

He pressed it against the gigantic cube.

Telling it, no, commanding it.

”—Awaken for me!”

The roar exploded in an instant, with countless intricate hubs and parts proliferating from the suddenly expanding metal core. Like a waterfall bursting forth, it shot towards the sky.

Dozens of colossal mechanical constructs rapidly expanded and took shape, densely overlapping on the metallic seed. They chaotically extended, ripping through the innermost laboratory and bursting forth unstoppably. They penetrated every section until they shattered the thickest Armor, completely piercing through to the outside.

In the vast shadow cast down by the Iron Crystal Throne, they convulsed wildly like living beings, then suddenly paused.

The core laboratory had been engulfed by countless spurting mechanical parts.

The Control Center was splitting, disassembling, expanding.

It was like when a box is opened in a cartoon and a chaotic mix of clothes, a passport, underpants, a tie, a camera, and an accidentally stuffed cat all burst out.

Nearly every inch of space was covered.

Inch by inch, steel blossomed like flowers, unveiling to visitors from millennia in the future the brilliant concept and indescribable pinnacle of skill from that bygone era.

And... blood.

The frenzied metallic screeching came to an abrupt halt, for a sharper, more disconcerting, and chilling wail burst from the core’s interior.

Accompanied by blood, it gushed forth.

The crimson tide howled, the piercing lamentations and roars almost taking solid form, scratching at everyone’s eardrums, turning into void-sharp edges, madly piercing the surroundings.

Amidst the wailing, countless twisted limbs struggled out of the spurting blood. Those mangled, twisted silhouettes crawled out, writhing, but quickly disintegrated back into the foul-smelling Plasma.

Until the color of blood covered everything.

Waist-deep in the crimson red, the Great Grandmaster, clutching at the metal beside him, fended off the pull of countless limbs and stepped forward, moving on.

”Ah, ah ah ah ah!!!!”

”It’s so dark here, so dark, something is devouring me...”

”It’s not my fault, not my fault, NOT MY FAULT!!!!!!”

”TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK...”

”Stop it, please stop...”

Though the language was unheard of before, at this moment it echoed in their ears, turning into very real whispers, penetrating the skulls of everyone with the despair of countless millennia, soaking into every terrified Soul.

”So annoying! Shut up!”

The Great Grandmaster roared, his voice like thunder. His iron-colored arm swept across, instantly tearing apart the last barrier and stabbing deep into the very heart of the Control Center.

Five fingers clenched tight.

At that moment, all the wailing completely dissipated.

Along with the boiling blood, it rapidly evaporated, turning into mist, swiftly thinning until it seemed to vanish like an illusion in the air.

Only blood-red palm prints, twisted faces, and the crimson marks of severed limbs remained on the earth, the glass, and the Sky Dome above.

When the last layer of steel was peeled away, a faint sound of crying spread.

”What is... that?”

Behind the transparent steel, the Chief Technician instinctively moved closer to the glass, in disbelief.

In the hands of the Great Grandmaster was a small swaddle.

Within the fragile cloth, a metallic fetus curled up, convulsing uneasily, as if crying loudly for the first time upon encountering air.

It was a creation made of countless pieces of steel, gears, and springs, yet it let out a cry indistinguishable from that of an infant.

The Great Grandmaster lowered his head, staring expressionlessly at the metallic fetus in his hands, its belly still attached to a cable.

There was neither Mercy nor fear in his gaze.

Just a quiet contemplation.

He watched as its movements grew stiff, its body spasming, struggling to move until, at last, a gemstone carved to resemble its right eye fell from its socket.

From the darkness of the now-empty cavity, a twisted crystal began to grow.

”Why...”

With great difficulty, the infant’s mouth opened, and it sobbed, voicing a question from countless millennia past, ”Sun Caster... why, why didn’t you save me...”

The voice faded away, growing faint along with its cries.

Sharp crystals swiftly pierced out from within its body, and droplets of black blood began to flow from the wounds, dropping to the ground.

”Just wait a little longer.”

The Great Grandmaster whispered softly, ”Soon you won’t have to suffer anymore.”

For the first time, a touch of gentleness surfaced on that cold, stern face.

He lifted his finger and snapped the infant’s neck.

CRACK.

The final sob dissipated into the air.

It was dead.

At the moment the infant died, the vast Control Center swiftly took on the color of stone, then weathering and breaking followed, turning to dust.

As the Control Center collapsed, the ground where the oil refinery once stood trembled violently, the shockwaves spreading in all directions.

The ferocious eyes at the top of the Central Tower seemed to dim a fraction.

Under the Great Grandmaster’s hand, this Control Center met its complete shutdown.

Not activation, but shutdown.

—The energy replenishment for the Town of Dusk had ceased from this day forward.

The Great Grandmaster watched impassively as everything before him crumbled. When the final collapse ended, the swiftly dispersing sands revealed the last remaining outlines.

Rarely, the Great Grandmaster looked astonished for a moment.

It seemed he couldn’t comprehend what remained before his eyes.

After a long time, his expression grew complex.

”So, this is how it is...”

When Wood Cottage woke up from a nightmare once again, he had no idea how long it had been.

He struggled out of bed, his head throbbing, unable to recall what had happened.

He only remembered crying upon waking up, just like when he was five years old, curled up in bed, unable to speak. Someone had beaten him up harshly and dragged him into the infirmary; the doctor had prescribed him medication, and there might have been hypnosis or some psychological treatment in between. After taking the medication and drinking some water, he staggered back to his room in a daze.

When he finally opened his eyes again, he regained consciousness.

”You look a bit better.”

Yuan Yuan, sitting on the sofa by the door and reading a book, looked up with a solemn expression, ”You were in bad shape just now; I almost thought you were going to die.”

”Thankfully, I’m still alive...”

Lin Nineteen lifted his head with a bitter smile, rubbing his chin, ”Just a bit of neck pain... Is it a side effect of the medication?”

”When you saw anyone, you’d bite, like you had lost your mind. When you lunged at me, I didn’t hold back,” Yuan Yuan answered truthfully. ”Actually, I accidentally broke your neck back then. It’s been reconnected since, so you need to be careful with your movements.”

”What the hell?” Lin Nineteen exclaimed, instinctively touching his neck.

”Just kidding, that didn’t happen.”

Yuan Yuan shrugged, ”I just wanted to lighten the mood a little.”

”...”

Lin Nineteen was lost for words.

He could hardly take Yuan Yuan’s kind of jokes because he couldn’t tell if they were true or not.

In the prolonged silence, Lin Nineteen suddenly remembered, ”The teacher, where did the teacher go?”

”He left, about six hours ago. He came to see you before he left; you were sleeping so deeply he didn’t wake you...”

”He can’t leave!!!”

The sharp voice of Wood Cottage cut off Yuan Yuan’s words, leaving her frozen in place.

”No, we have to bring him back, right away...”

Lin Nineteen was overwhelmed by a sudden fear, ”Don’t go... Don’t go there... He cannot go there...”

”There, there...”

He recalled the scene from his nightmare, freezing in place, ”There... it’s all death...”

It was as if darkness was descending again.

In the suffocating gloom, he trudged alone among skeletons and blood.

As if they heard his breathing, amidst the death, pairs of dull eyes turned back to look at him.

”Please save me...”

The hoarse whispers rose again beside his ear.

In the blood that was about to overwhelm him, countless hands grabbed his legs, dragging him down amidst wails and screams, pleading with him, ”Please, stay...”

In that instant, Lin Nineteen finally became acutely aware of the nature of Hell.

He understood the vision of Hell that had only appeared in the nightmares of his great-grandfather.

He stumbled backward and fell onto the bed, murmuring hoarsely.

”This place is already... beyond saving.”