Chapter 54: Starting from Us

Chapter 54: From Us

A few minutes later, the tree stumps that had been moved into the fortification were hauled out again.

Chen Jian casually wiped the mud from his hands on Shen Yue's shirt, let out a long breath, and said:

“I never imagined that so many years had passed. Judging by the corrosion I saw on the equipment, I had estimated only a couple of centuries.”

“But obviously, I was wrong.”

“Still, even if reproduction were lightning‑fast, a generation every twenty years is practically the limit.”

“With only ten generations, civilization wouldn’t have deteriorated to this extent.”

“Add another hundred years and it makes far more sense.”

“Past the ten‑generation mark, many things have undergone fundamental change.”

“Indeed.”

Shen Yue nodded in agreement and then said:

“If that’s the case, many of our earlier assumptions about this world may need to be reconsidered.”

“Those newer rounds and gear likely weren’t scavenged from the surface or ordinary shelters; some must have been snatched from similar emergency bunkers.”

“Looking at the equipment stored in this bunker, they must have absorbed at least a fragment of knowledge.”

“But that little bit of knowledge never translated into an effective social civilization.”

“Whether it’s because they couldn’t scale it up, or because it was tightly confined to a narrow elite, that’s another question.”

“The bigger problem is that this huge bunker lacks sufficient paper books and materials; if the people who opened it weren’t like Lei Jie and couldn’t use smart terminals, how would knowledge be passed on?”

When Shen Yue finished, He Shuo chimed in from the side:

“It was probably a matter of time—archiving and retrieving paper materials is too cumbersome; bringing them here wouldn’t have been worth the effort.”

“I think libraries and archives elsewhere were likely converted in place to emergency status, but even if the locals stumbled upon such a depot, they wouldn’t know how to use it.”

“The knowledge still exists; only those capable of understanding it are gone.”

“Reasonable.”

Chen Jian nodded, gazing at the piled supplies on the first level, about to organize a few people to open and inspect them, when Lei Jie already hauled a massive screen up from the second floor.

“Give me a hand, help me set this thing up.”

“The server and main unit are already calibrated; this monitor should still work.”

“Plug in the cables, let’s see what’s inside this terminal!”

“Here it comes.”

Chen Jian answered with a grunt, and the group hurried over to Lei Jie.

After finding a slightly more spacious spot to place the monitor, Lei Jie turned and went back downstairs to pull out the cables, while the rest fumbled with the labels to hook up the keyboard and console; moments later, the underground bunker’s operation terminal was finally fully assembled.

Power kicked on, the screen lit up.

Once the system finished loading, a familiar yet alien interface appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Chen Jian had actually used similar built‑in smart systems in underground bunkers before; their function was nothing more than controlling the bunker’s various facilities.

Such as water recycling, air purification, disinfection and fire suppression, power, start‑stop, and so on.

But this suite had clearly evolved, being considerably more user‑friendly than the one he knew.

The desktop now closely resembled a civilian OS, and on it a bright icon marked a document.

Chen Jian thought it was an operating manual, but upon opening it he discovered it was actually a “work log.”

It was a jumble of information from various sources, a chaotic, unedited work log.

The first line of the log marked the exact moment the disaster began.

Continuing down, it recorded a series of emergency response measures.

【October 19, 2045, 16:32: Order received—Bunker 7025 shifts to wartime emergency status.】

【October 19, 2045, 16:35: Bunker 7025, supply transfer initiated.】

【October 19, 2045, 16:39: Three Gorges, floodgate opening order issued.】

【October 19, 2045, 16:40: Daya Bay, AOP332, turbine shut down but reactor remains active.】

【October 19, 2045, 16:40: Qinshan, AP1000, reactor scram.】

【October 19, 2045, 16:41: Daya Bay, switch to AP1000, reactor scram.】

【October 19, 2045, 16:42: ****, first‑readiness alert, missiles erected and ready to launch.】

【October 19, 2045, 16:43: Zhenhai, we’ve lost power and shut down the furnaces.】

【October 19, 2045, 17:32: Dongte is still here—this is the final heat of steel!】

【October 19, 2045, 17:33: Nanfan remains—seedlings have been sealed away.】

【October 19, 2045, 17:34: The national grid is still up—everyone, one‑hour countdown, prepare to shed load to preserve the network.】

【October 19, 2045, 17:35: The National Library—permissions distributed, all terminals cleared, emergency archive prioritized for download.】

【October 19, 2045, 17:36: This is Huaxi—data updated and uploading. I’m the last one; please, Union Medical, take over the access rights.】

【October 19, 2045, 18:41: Bunker 7025, isolation doors sealed successfully.】

【October 19, 2045, 18:42: This is 401—we’re surfacing; are you still there?】

The log ends abruptly here, but everyone who read it now has a fairly clear picture of the catastrophe.

They truly did everything they could.

No one knows how many departments and teams coordinated, in their final moments, to reduce any secondary disasters to a minimum.

Nuclear plants scrammed, dams opened their sluices, chemical factories lost power and shut down, all emergency bunkers were activated, and vast supplies were ferried inside by people already suffering organ failure—some so weak they could barely walk.

And ordinary folks hadn’t given up either.

Who didn’t know that death was staring them in the face?

Yet the last person left was still thinking about how to get his data uploaded.

No one could blame them, and no one could have done better.

Chen Jian stared silently at the screen, while the returning Sanctified Blooded behind him watched him in silence.

Perhaps to those Sanctified Blooded, they cannot comprehend the tumultuous struggle those people endured before the cataclysm.

But Chen Jian felt they owed it to themselves to know exactly how he had survived.

They should know.

So Chen Jian called the three to the screen and spoke slowly:

“We still don’t know exactly how the cataclysm came about, but now I want to tell you what those ‘pre‑cataclysm ghosts’ did to keep you alive.”

“I must tell you that those who saved you were never any deity, nor any saint of the Sanctified Blood Hall.”

“Of course, nor are we these so‑called ‘chosen ones.’”

“Because what they accomplished is something even a god could not do.”

Half an hour later, the three Holy Blood bearers, shaken by a massive upheaval of worldview, stood silently where they were, their eyes now holding a gleam that Chen Jian had never seen before.

Li Shi remained taciturn, his mouth twitching a few times before he finally uttered not a single word.

Zeng Yi first glanced at Chen Jian, then turned his head toward Xie Liu.

Then he spoke, asking:

"Are we... going back?"

Xie Liu shook her head and replied:

"We're not going back."

"Don't you understand yet? The Holy Blood Hall and the Machine God Sect are both frauds."

"I've been doubting this since I was old enough to reason."

"Now it seems they are nothing more than a shattered mirror."

"What they reflect is merely a faint glimmer of light that has not yet faded from the old days."

"Why would we still go there? Following their demand, after we turn nineteen, to unite with you and bear a child who might be either a monster or a Holy Blood bearer?"

"Such a fate belongs to no true human."

"You may leave, but I will stay."

"It may be hard here too, but at least the light here is genuine."

"Understood"

Zeng Yi looked at Chen Jian, his eyes firm, and said:

"I am an insider of Xu Lie."

"But now, my life belongs to you."

"Very well."

Chen Jian nodded and continued:

"You have only one chance to come clean; is there anything else you wish to say?"

"Nothing more."

Zeng Yi declared resolutely:

"If you don't believe me, I can die here."

"But Li Shi and Xie Liu are innocent."

"I can tell."

Chen Jian waved his hand, the tension on his face easing somewhat.

Then he rose, glanced around, and said:

"All right, remember what you have seen, then focus on doing what we must do."

"The gear on the first level is what we need most and will actually use."

"Come on, get to work—open the crates and sort out the contents."

"If this fire is to catch, it will start right here with us!"

(End of chapter)