Chapter 71: Inheritance

Chapter 71: Inheritance

The Mechanicus left little equipment in Huangshi City; the vast majority consisted of single-shot rifles and small-caliber smoothbore cannons.

Chen Jian found a few usable Type-81 rifles among the weapons; testing one, he discovered it could still fire in full-auto, though the jam problem was severe—almost every two rounds required pulling the bolt.

He couldn't help marveling at its rugged durability; he had no idea where it came from, but after over three hundred years, aside from a faulty recoil spring and gas system, it remained in surprisingly decent condition.

Truly a knock‑off of Mao‑era excellence; perhaps this thing was genuinely prepared for a nuclear war.

But he had no time to dwell; the pressing issue was how to distribute these weapons.

According to his reasoning, since the beast dubbed “Mongolia” was linked to the Mechanicus, Huangshi City’s strategic importance was clear.

It was no longer an ordinary settlement; it could be a secret Mechanicus base and manpower source.

This is evidenced by the rapid decline of Huangshi City’s population over just two years.

Thus, as he said, the enemy’s retaliation would surely come swiftly.

Indeed, they might face not just reprisal from Han Shui City, but the wrath of the entire Mechanicus.

The situation was dire; everyone needed to be armed quickly.

Consequently, Chen Jian ordered that the over one hundred people returning to Huangshi City receive weapons, prioritizing any shortfall for combat‑capable adults.

What surprised him slightly was that women made up a large portion of the adults collecting arms.

They showed no intention of stepping back; in this apocalypse, women truly could hold up half the sky.

After the weapons were distributed, Chen Jian continued discussing the city defense plan with Huang Yu.

Once the basics were arranged, Chen Jian realized Huang Yu was actually no novice in this matter.

At least he could devise a sensible duty roster and knew where to place sentries most effectively.

This proved he possessed basic military aptitude—though not much.

“Have you ever served in the city militia?”

In the makeshift command post set up in the Mechanicus temple, Chen Jian asked.

Huang Yu nodded immediately and replied:

“I was originally Huangshi City’s militia, and I’ve also cooperated with the Mechanicus’ guardian forces.”

“But I quit three years ago.”

“Back then the Mechanicus began trying to turn that ‘Mongolia’ monster into a weapon, deceiving many into marching to their deaths.”

“Deceived?”

Chen Jian interrupted Huang Yu, astonished:

“Wasn’t it forced?”

“At first it was deception; many thought it genuinely solved their predicament.”

Huang Yu sighed and continued:

“But later, things slowly changed.”

“We discovered the Mechanicus was merely using us as free tools; sometimes, to test their so‑called ‘new method of controlling the monster,’ several people would die in a single day.”

“We began to resist, but against the Mechanicus our resistance was feeble.”

“In the end, a group reached a compromise with the Mechanicus: they would guard the ancestors’ graves in exchange for continued cooperation.”

“This was a stopgap; everyone knew that without cooperation, all of us here would become slaves.”

“Understood.”

Huang Yu’s account matched Chen Jian’s expectations closely; the only surprise was how deeply rooted Huangshi City’s ancestor worship was—far more intense than he had anticipated.

Chen Jian pondered a moment, then asked:

“Are the ancestors’ graves really that important?”

“.Actually, we don’t know either.”

Huang Yu shook his head and answered honestly:

“But from birth, our people are told by elders to guard the ancestors’ graves.”

“We do just that.”

“At least for the over two hundred years on record, we have done so.”

“Over two hundred years?!”

Chen Jian sprang to his feet.

“You mean Huangshi City has existed on this island for over two hundred years??”

“Yes.”

Huang Yu looked slightly frightened; he didn’t know what surprised Chen Jian.

But seeing Chen Jian’s expression, he sensed the matter might be of great importance.

So he quickly asked:

“Is there a problem?”

Chen Jian waved a hand, furrowed his brow, and did not answer immediately.

He merely kept thinking it over in his mind.

“Over two hundred years—just the recorded two hundred years.”

“Could it be that, from the Great Cataclysm to now, the people of Huangshi City have lived here continuously?”

“Could it be that they were originally the inhabitants here, having survived that Great Cataclysm?”

“Why must they protect the ancestors’ graves?”

“Perhaps they hid all information about the Great Cataclysm within the graves.”

“Take me to see your graves!”

Chen Jian spoke at once; Huang Yu dared not delay, leading Chen Jian and his companions, including He Shuo, toward a grove on the island’s outskirts.

Upon entering the woods, Chen Jian sensed something odd.

The forest was clearly maintained by human hands; though the vegetation was lush, it showed signs of pruning.

As they walked, Huang Yu explained:

“Actually, since I’ve had memory, no one buries the dead here anymore.”

“There are too many graves and too little land; we can’t fit any more.”

“Some graves have collapsed for various reasons and can’t be found.”

“Plus, given the Mechanicus’ restrictions, all we can do is maintain a portion of the most important graves each year.”

“How do you tell which graves are important?”

“By looking at the tombstones.”

Huang Yu answered without hesitation:

"The larger the tombstone, the more it proves the importance of the grave." "I understand."

As they spoke, they had already walked into a cemetery filled with tombstones, and Huang Yu pointed to the obviously largest one in the center and said:

"That is the ancestral tomb."

Chen Jian hurried forward, wanting to examine the inscription on the tombstone.

But sadly, due to the erosion of time, even the stone-carved inscription had weathered and decayed considerably; only a few small areas could still barely be made out.

".Died on October XX, 2067."

".Aged sixty-seven."

".Huangshi Village had a population of XX79."

"Huang surname, descendants of Yan and Huang, remember."

This section appears to describe the tomb owner's life, but most of it is no longer visible.

Chen Jian shifted his gaze leftward and soon made out new characters.

".If there is again, open the tomb door, hide underground."

".Unless absolutely necessary, do not"

Open the tomb door?

Chen Jian instinctively pushed the tombstone, only to see it split in half, as if it had already been opened long ago.

Inside there was indeed a not-small space; shining a tactical flashlight revealed it, barely visible, empty as can be.

What was originally placed inside?

Chen Jian continued looking left; on the far left of the stone tablet, a few lines of small characters could still be discerned.

".Physics, mathematics, chemistry."

".Textbooks placed, please Huang Qin preside over educational work."

"Study math and science well, and you can travel everywhere."

".The three great theories"

".Newtonian mechanics, relativity, quantum."

Chen Jian took a deep breath.

He could tell that the tomb's owner was trying to leave as much information about 'science' as possible on his tombstone.

One can infer that what was originally placed in the tomb was likely related to science education.

And he even mentioned quantum mechanics, indicating that the knowledge and technological level here at that time was not low.

Thus, in 2067, the inheritance here was still quite complete, even forming a systematic education system?

Then how did Huangshi City end up like this?

The largest tombstone no longer held more information, so Chen Jian could only rise and continue following Huang Yu's guidance, examining the tombstones one by one in chronological order from old to new.

Nearly every tombstone's inscription ends with a few sentences akin to 'condensed wisdom,' and these, without exception, represent the highest technological level of that time and place.

It was as if they feared their descendants would forget, so even though various materials were available for transmission, they still chose to carve what they deemed most important onto the tombstone.

This seems to be their tradition.

"The most crucial step in rice hybridization technology is the selection of parent strains."

"Do not fear my corpse; I am still your teacher."

"If we truly cannot build an internal combustion engine, then start with the steam engine."

"I have inscribed the smelting process of manganese steel here."

"A transformer consists of an iron core and windings; let Huang Xu Chu continue researching silicon steel sheets."

Line by line of inscriptions shows that the technology here is rapidly reviving, and the number of stone tablets also proves that the population is slowly growing.

——

Until the final marble-carved stone tablet was examined, the situation suddenly took a turn.

The peripheral stone tablets all turned into roughly hewn rocks, their refinement and durability dropping by more than one grade!

But their number suddenly increased.

Chen Jian realized something had happened; he found a conspicuous rough stone tablet bearing only a single line deeply etched, resistant to weathering.

"If you see colored stones, put them in the furnace to burn."

Beside this tablet, all the other stone tablets also bear similar inscriptions.

"After touching a patient or dirty things, remember to wash your hands."

"Round things are wheels."

"Boiling willow bark in water can cure a headache."

"Divide the food into required portions; the person dividing gets the last pick."

"Trust the ancestors, not religion."

Chen Jian took a deep breath.

He realized that during this period, Huangshi City must have faced a major crisis.

——

No, it might not have been just them; perhaps all of human civilization faced another crisis, such that nascent civilization was nearly annihilated, and the technology that had developed instantly regressed to its most primitive state!

And this crisis was likely caused by the secondary disasters of that great cataclysm.

Yes, such a great 'cataclysm' could hardly lack secondary disasters.

Perhaps this is related to the origin of the monsters?

Chen Jian's mind was a jumble; feeling unable to ponder further, he continued looking.

"Iron ore can be used to make iron tools; after heating it red, shape it into a blade."

"Weaving fishing nets can catch fish; I have left the blueprints for boat building."

"After the annual rise in water, a second crop of rice can be planted."

"Red clay, once fired, can be made into jars to hold water."

"Outside there are many useful things; if you have spare energy, remember to explore."

All the valuable tombstones have been examined; what remains are merely a few dozen relatively new ones, spaced far apart in time.

And upon them there is no longer any updated, more useful information.

But Chen Jian could already ascertain that the civilization here was still recovering.

Even after enduring two catastrophic calamities.

Chen Jian marveled at their resilience, and grew ever more indignant at the perverse conduct of the Mechanical God Sect.

It is evident that the present generation of Huangshi folk can no longer grasp the significance of the inscriptions on the gravestones, and that surely lies with them.

Fortunately, my arrival was timely enough.

Chen Jian exhaled slowly, a sentence suddenly sparking in his thoughts.

The flame is handed down, and myriad ages shall take flight.

(End of Chapter)