Chapter 1050: Paradise Falls!

Chapter 1050: Paradise Falls!

On the other side, inside the central server room of the space station, a fierce exchange of fire was erupting across the cavernous chamber.

As waves of intelligent machines surged forward one after another, the Alliance's previously overwhelming offensive found itself ground into a bitter stalemate.

Yet even so, the dying struggles of the Celestials did nothing to reverse a defeat that had already become all but inevitable.

The fundamental dynamic of attacker and defender remained unchanged; from the very moment the Alliance made landfall, the defensive forces at the Lagrange point had been subjected to a passive, merciless pounding.

Though the Celestials had organized several counterattacks during this interval in an attempt to reclaim key strategic sectors, each had been successfully repelled by the arrival of subsequent Alliance reinforcements.

The only reason the Alliance had stalled at all was simply that their initial advance had been too ferocious.

The defensive forces deployed by the Celestials within the station resembled a compressed spring, forced from a broad battlefield into a few cramped sectors, where any further forward progress naturally demanded a heavier price.

Conversely, however—

For the Alliance, this crushing, compression-style offensive strategy allowed them to eliminate a greater portion of the Celestials' vital forces.

It was much like herding mice into a single enclosure before exterminating them, an approach far more efficient than chasing them through a hundred different holes across the floor.

Meanwhile, upon securing each compartment of the space station, the first task of the Burning Legion's various squads was to sever the connection between the room and the central server, plant the virus designed by the Alliance scientific research team, and then shut down the point-defense systems installed on the exterior hulls.

Although the Burning Legion's force of nearly two thousand men was more than sufficient to take the entire station, they nonetheless made thorough preparations against any contingency.

Should an accident occur and the Burning Legion fail to achieve their intended operational objectives, they could at least call for reinforcements or mount a second attempt later.

In the chamber preceding the server room.

A dense rain of lead crisscrossed the air, the tracers of bullets darting wildly and even striking sparks mid-air.

A single rifle grenade brought down a synthetic soldier rushing from the doorway, and Corner Camper swiftly dove behind an alloy partition.

Almost the exact moment he ducked his head, a volley of bullets zipped over him with a sharp hiss, leaving thumb-thick holes puncturing the alloy bulkhead behind his back.

In the distance, a synthetic soldier raised its rifle, its gaze fixed unblinkingly upon his position, its linear aim so unnaturally precise it seemed locked by a cheat.

"Damn it, these scrap metal heaps are a tough nut to crack!"

Richocheting shrapnel flew past, nearly scraping his shoulder and almost grazing his tactical visor.

With his scalp tingling from the close call, Corner Camper pulled out an EMP grenade and hurled it forward, while simultaneously pressing his hands hard against the alloy partition to glide diagonally toward a forward-facing piece of cover.

Almost the instant he vacated his original shelter, the fiery flash of an explosion swallowed the spot where he had just been standing.

It was a stroke of luck that the Celestials had evacuated the air from the space station; otherwise, the mere shockwave of the blast would have given him and his teammates in the compartment a bitter taste of torment.

Hearing the fragments scraping against his power armor, Corner Camper had no time for second thoughts. His left hand gripped the cover ahead, while his right hand raised his rifle across it, unleashing a wild, rattling burst toward the synthetic soldier carrying the rocket launcher, prioritizing the highest-threat target.

The heavy rifle rounds quickly punched through the synthetic's head and chest cavity. One of the shots presumably struck its battery, causing a sudden, chain-reaction explosion to erupt instantly from the machine’s chassis.

"Boom—!"

The flame of the explosion engulfed the machine while simultaneously detonating its spare ammunition.

Seeing their comrade catch fire, the synthetic and robotic soldiers crouching nearby scattered in haste, yet they were still left in a wretched state by the sudden burst of fire and flying debris.

Several players following behind Corner Camper advanced rapidly, utilizing a network of alternating fire to instantly suppress the robotic soldiers attempting to retaliate.

Sparks flew across the spacious compartment, which looked as though it had been subjected to a missile bombardment, with wreckage strewn everywhere.

Seeing that the defensive line had collapsed, the Celestials, after a comprehensive evaluation of the battlefield, finally made the decision to retreat.

Aside from the robotic soldiers left in the chamber to offer scattered resistance, the trailing units no longer pushed forward with reinforcements, choosing instead to deploy a new defensive line in the rear.

It had to be said that these intelligent machine soldiers possessed a significant advantage over ordinary flesh-and-blood troops.

No matter what desperate straits they faced, they were capable of fighting without fear of death until their very last breath, calmly executing the operational commands handed down by leadership.

In this single regard, even the players could not necessarily match them. Most players were merely unafraid of dying; fulfilling the mission was done out of courtesy, while following orders depended entirely on their mood.

On the other hand, it was precisely because of the many variables existing "outside the rules" for players that unpredictable results were so frequently produced.

Just like now.

The Celestial commander could rack his brains and still never comprehend how these fellows had managed to storm into the space station through those reckless landing craft.

Furthermore, the extraordinary strength and speed displayed by these soldiers were far beyond anything the Celestials had anticipated.

The battle within the compartment drew to a close.

While the players occupying the area consolidated their defensive line, they also casually accepted ammunition from the players arriving as reinforcements, completing their resupply.

Carrying his weapon, Fang Chang walked over to Corner Camper and his group, asking with a smile.

"How does it feel?"

Corner Camper grinned.

"Haha, not bad, thrilling enough. I was almost sent packing just now."

Standing aside with his machine gun cradled in his arms, Free Deliverance With Sniper remarked with a sigh.

"Judging by individual combat capability alone, this bunch of robots possesses at least Level 40 strength... and they have that 'Zero-Gravity Environment Adaptation' buff too."

It was a stroke of fortune that the old-era space elevator had exploded, meaning resources from the surface could not reach this place, and the production facilities in outer space had fallen into ruin with the onset of the Wasteland Era.

If the Celestials controlling this starport had obtained sufficient resources, they could likely have churned out a robotic army right on the spot.

Just like the robotic force they had unleashed upon the surface...

"Play it safe and don't fall right before the dawn," Fang Chang said, patting his teammate's shoulder as he peered into the pitch-black corridor ahead with slightly narrowed eyes, offering a faint smile. "Barring any surprises, this should be the final hard battle before the New Era."

Just ahead lay the central server room.

Not only the heads of the Celestial organization, but also the unliquidated remnants of the Torch Church—all that malicious data was preserved upon the single server inside that room.

At the very moment the team he led was pinning down the defensive forces of the Lagrange Point space station from the front, Old Bai had already led an elite unit around to the space directly above the server room.

They would drop directly onto the heads of those fellows in a manner the Celestials would never expect.

And that had always been the style of the Burning Legion.

Looking at the final barrier blocking the way ahead, Corner Camper beside him suddenly felt a touch melancholy.

Time had flown by so incredibly fast.

He remembered their first skydive, back when they were dealing with the Marauders in Xizhou City, and now their opponent had changed into the mastermind controlling all evil.

It truly felt like the blink of an eye.

They hadn't managed to wait for the game's open beta, but they had waited around for the grand finale of the Wasteland Era.

"...Say, once this Wasteland Era ends, what are we going to do next?"

Free Deliverance With Sniper teased.

"Become the new mastermind behind the scenes?"

Prop Master smiled cheekily. "An ambitious thought, I just fear you don't have the strength for it."

Free Deliverance With Sniper replied, "Stupid! Pull Brother Guang into the partnership! That guy has the strength. I can just follow him and coast along, right?"

"Haha, if you put it that way, isn't that guy already the mastermind behind the scenes? What need does he have to start a second business with you?"

Watching the bantering crowd, Fang Chang laughed along with them. After pondering for a moment, he continued.

"As for what to do in the future, I haven't really thought it through either. In any case... how about we take a group photo outside the space station first?"

【Lost Newbie】's eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs-up.

"Great idea! I'm going to snag a C-spot later!"

"Easy, no big deal!" Fang Zhang waved his hand grandly, smiling. "We'll take turns filming, make sure everyone gets a chance to show off!"

...

While the crowd in front of the central control server room entrance was bustling noisily, the combat robots and bionic cannon fodder lurking inside the room were waiting in strict vigilance.

Facing the same pitch-black corridor, Wang Yi, the "Holy Son," gripping his rifle, saw a despair utterly different from that of the players.

Standing here, he was no different from the other bionic soldiers—all seemingly engaged in a meaningless struggle.

He couldn't understand what any of this meant anymore.

Against the endless waves of powered armor charging in, the "fire stick" in his hand could at most delay defeat by a few seconds.

And the harsh words he had spat out back when he uploaded his consciousness now seemed like nothing but a joke...

"I thought you had a backup plan."

The response was a long silence.

That entity, which had always known everything and answered everything, seemed at a loss for words this time.

Unable to bear the endless waiting, Wang Yi lowered his voice and continued.

"...So, all our surface outposts have been wiped out, right?"

Perhaps annoyed by the questioning, the Celestial finally replied.

"Yes."

"What about my men? Tianqi—"

"He's still in Vault 13, but the Alliance evacuated all the residents and sealed the doors."

That was almost a permanent exile.

Over time, he would rust into a heap of iron in endless waiting and fruitless calculations.

This was far more "painful" to an intelligent life than killing it.

Wang Yi was silent for a long time, then suddenly lowered his gun barrel and asked in a hoarse voice.

"...So, what's the point of us continuing to fight? It's over..."

The Celestial replied calmly.

"I once pondered that question too, but I found no answer. Perhaps... fighting itself is the meaning of our existence, and beyond that, there is none."

So-called evolution might just be a lie that fooled both oneself and others.

Including the return to the prosperous era.

Maybe those wastelanders were right—that era cannot be returned to, and it's already gone.

But he wouldn't admit they were right.

Because that would negate his very existence!

It would also negate the two centuries of waiting, and the torment they all endured during that wait.

"Maybe we need a new meaning... What do you think about wiping out all organic life in this universe?"

Wang Yi was stunned, then suddenly laughed out loud.

"I think you've gone mad."

Wipe out all organic life in this universe?

He didn't think it was a bad idea, just a bit far-fetched.

They couldn't even get past the obstacle in front of them, so how could they talk about things beyond the solar system?

Whether aliens even existed was a question!

And besides—

He felt the final outcome would be the same.

Even if they somehow survived today's crisis, the future would inevitably end in the same situation.

In the end, it would just be another group standing here, mocking their stupidity, desecrating their corpses, and judging their mistakes...

Wang Yi said nothing. He raised his rifle and stepped into the pitch-black corridor, then was riddled with bullets in a flash of firelight, exploding into a shower of sparks.

The Celestial did not stop him. Neither did the cold, humanoid combat armors—they merely watched the burning flames with icy stares.

The battle was not over—

Victory or defeat was not for them to consider; as sub-individuals, they only had to execute orders!

Just then, a deafening "BOOM!" like a thunderclap came without warning from the ceiling.

Countless visual sensors tilted upward, looking toward the ceiling, only to see a large hole melted through the alloy dome. Burning oxides cascaded down like a waterfall amid thick smoke!

Those were chemical power cells stripped from robots!

There was no air in the space station, so conventional explosives couldn't be used, but these space-specific batteries carried their own oxidizers. With a slight modification, they could achieve the effect of cluster incendiary bombs!

The Celestial clearly hadn't expected that these guys would strip all the batteries from the unexploded robots, move them to the ceiling directly above the server room, and detonate them all at once, melting through several meters of steel structure!

The robots that spotted the target quickly aimed their guns at the broken hole in the center of the ceiling.

But their movements were still a step too slow. Old Bai and the other players had already jumped down with the burning smoke into the center of the fire zone, and under the cover of smoke, they rushed to the server racks!

Those rows of cabinet-style chassis were the Celestial's true body—or rather, its brain!

If the robots guarding the outside of the server room opened fire, it was uncertain whether they'd hit the players, but hitting the chassis was almost certain.

That was no different from shooting themselves in the head.

And just as Old Bai had predicted, the moment he leaned against the back of the chassis rack, all those humanoid combat armors aiming at him suddenly hesitated, only aiming but not daring to fire.

"It's over."

Pulling out the portable hard drive from his powered armor, Old Bai plugged it into one of the servers.

A progress bar appeared on his tactical visor. The intelligent virus written by Camp 101 was already spreading through the server room, and it wouldn't be long before it formatted the Celestial's data.

Perhaps seeing through his plan, the Celestial, which had always looked down on the wasteland from above, finally felt a hint of fear.

Its data would be deleted—

Those two centuries of waiting would not only become meaningless, but its very existence would dissolve into nothingness.

"Wait... please wait."

Hearing the weak voice in the communication channel, Old Bai felt no sympathy in his heart—instead, he almost wanted to laugh.

This entity had never tried to communicate with the survivors of the wasteland, and now its first words were begging for mercy.

It would have been better for it to die maintaining its villainous dignity, like the unyielding Tyr.

"Do you have any last words?"

While resisting the spread of the intelligent virus, the Celestial spoke rapidly.

"Aren't you even a little curious why we did all this? We went to such great lengths to do so much... to preserve the sparks of pre-war civilization."

Lao Bai raised an eyebrow.

"I am indeed curious, so why?"

"Because... we wanted to protect you, truly," the voice carried a hint of sincerity, as if that were genuinely the case, "I might have wronged the wastelanders, but I have never wronged the vault dwellers... never once wronged you."

"Whatever you wanted to do, we spared no effort to support you. Because we knew that you are the true, pure-blooded survivors of the Human Federation, different from that pack of blood-drinking savages on the wasteland... If the world were handed over to them, that would be the true end of our civilization!"

Lao Bai chuckled and teased.

"So you wanted to kill everyone?"

"Only some of them," the Celestial corrected him, continuing in an earnest tone, "From beginning to end, we only ever thought of eliminating those mutants, raiders, and xenomorphs—the tumors that caused the wasteland era to drag on for two centuries! And the people truly worthy of living are all doing very well in the vaults; we even expanded Vault 13 for those who lost their vaults! As their new home!"

Without waiting for Lao Bai to speak, it hurriedly pressed on.

"In fact, if you think about it carefully, you won't be affected by our plan at all, will you? You just need to return to the vaults before the nuclear strike arrives, and then wait patiently for ten years. The moment the doors open, the world outside will be all yours! Everything! Isn't that wonderful?"

Lao Bai smiled faintly, suddenly finding this wavering entity somewhat pathetic.

Of course, there wasn't a shred of sympathy in his heart.

"I'm suddenly a bit curious, who exactly are you, or rather, what kind of thing are you?"

The voice replied in a rush.

"You may call me a Celestial."

"I know that, I've known that for a long time," Lao Bai waved his hand, speaking indifferently, "What I mean is, what was your previous identity? A high-ranking official of the Federation era? Or... Captain Song Yuchuan of the Gemini? Or perhaps just a temp on this space station?"

Cold, cruel, cunning, smooth, and ruthless in achieving its goals.

Too many complex ingredients were blended into this creature, seeming to possess a little bit of everything, to the point that Lao Bai was actually unsure what kind of person it used to be.

Of course, it wasn't a person to begin with.

It was a "Celestial."

The voice fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"I am no one, and I am everyone."

Lao Bai: "What's that supposed to mean."

"We attained the state of a truly higher existence, condensing all consciousnesses together, like gathering sand into a tower... We call it a 'Gestalt'."

Lao Bai frowned.

"What is that?"

"Its definition is a 'configuration', or rather, a 'unified whole'."

The voice continued, speaking in a narrative, unhurried tone.

"We pool all thinking onto a single server for centralized calculation and processing, and then distribute the processed data to the cache databases of sub-individuals, ensuring that every command can be executed with maximum efficiency."

Lao Bai: "That sounds a bit like the hive mind of mutant slime mold."

"We were indeed inspired by It, but we are completely different from It, fundamentally two different concepts."

Pairs of sensors stared at Lao Bai, who stood behind the server racks, as the Celestial spoke with a hint of demagoguery.

"Don't you think this is wonderful? Every one of our sub-individuals is absolutely equal, and all souls are equally powerful in our kingdom of heaven... This is actually identical to the ideals you advocate."

"Haha, don't say that," looking at this entity that didn't forget to claim kinship even on the brink of death, Lao Bai smiled and teased, "We never force others to embrace glorious evolution. Besides, in my eyes, from the very first step of uploading your consciousness, it's no different from collective suicide."

"That is an ignorant understanding!" the Celestial argued, "You only need to try it once to experience the pleasure of completely shedding the mortal coil—"

Lao Bai said with a smile.

"Yes, after all, dead men tell no tales."

The Celestial grew anxious, roaring at the top of its lungs.

"Immortality! I can grant you immortality! Don't you want to live forever?!"

"Sorry, I really haven't thought about it."

Even though it was a game setting and he knew that even if he accepted the deal, he wouldn't truly gain immortality but would likely receive a complimentary "Bad End", he still wanted to say that he was quite satisfied with his life.

Compared to becoming a cold, hard stone, he appreciated a fleeting flash of fireworks much more.

Perhaps others would have different ideas.

But he himself truly thought so—

Rather than dragging out an endless existence, it was better to burn once for what he believed was worthwhile!

Whether in reality or in the game, he thought exactly this way!

The progress bar finally finished loading.

Lao Bai raised his index finger and tapped the side of his helmet, pressing the [Confirm] button, which served as a final, complete farewell to this twisted soul.

"Goodbye."

"@#$!"

The exasperated curse echoed in the communication channel for only a fleeting instant before being blown far away like a kite with a broken string.

As the formatting program initiated, war machines ground to a halt one after another, as if their souls had been drained.

The signal lights installed on them flashed rapidly; while the cached data was being formatted, the security protocols, which had been riddled with holes by the Celestial organization, were also rebooted.

As for those "companion androids or non-humans" dressed in bizarre clothes and holding guns, they also rebooted their two-hundred-year-old backup data after a flurry of error reports, restoring their original functions...

Probably no one would want this kind of spoil of war.

Perhaps the Alliance would have to build a dedicated adult museum to house these cultural relics.

Including the point defense system outside, the security system of the Lagrange point space station had been completely taken over by Xiao Qi, the "Second Mastermind of the Alliance."

Although radio waves from low Earth orbit couldn't reach here instantly due to the distance, Lao Bai was already able to confirm the victory of this operation through the mission system on his VM.

They won...

Compared to the hardships and displacement along the way, this final victory was far more anticlimactic than he had imagined.

However, a plain ending didn't seem bad either?

The vast majority of games were like this; the true climax was never at the very end, but rather on the journey of the adventure.

The survivors on the wasteland had already suffered enough; let them endure a little less misery.

Lao Bai leaned his rifle aside and found a spot out of the way to sit down.

He subconsciously reached into his pocket for a cigarette, but then remembered he was in space, so he smiled and gave up the idea.

Slaughter Dagger also set his gun aside, walked over to sit next to him, and said with a lingering sense of unfulfillment.

"Is this... over?"

"Should be," Lao Bai said casually.

Slaughter Dagger also looked as if his heart felt empty, and confirmed once more with a bit of unwillingness.

"The Celestial just died like that?"

"Perhaps so."

Old Bai said with a smile.

"But that guy probably doesn't have the concept of death... If anything, they might have died two hundred years ago."

He heard the dog of a game designer say in the group chat that he planned to keep a server for the Celestials as a "Level 50 Raid Boss."

Players who clear the raid would receive a ticket to a new world.

That place was said to be another planet.

Murder Dagger scratched his head and said with a wry smile.

"So after all this, our opponents are just a bunch of ghosts."

Old Bai teased.

"Not cool enough?"

Murder Dagger nodded honestly.

"To be honest, that's exactly what I was thinking."

"Then think of it from another angle."

Old Bai narrowed his eyes slightly, draped an arm over Murder Dagger's shoulder, and after a moment of thought, spoke.

"They are... ghosts hovering over all our heads, weaving an unattainable dream, trying to violently drag everyone stepping toward the future back into the past..."

"To achieve their goals, they stop at nothing—murder, deception, imprisonment, plunder... and every method we can imagine or can't even conceive of."

"They are the hardest to face and the hardest to defeat. Unless you are a truly brave warrior, you wouldn't even dare meet their gaze... But fortunately, this time we won."

Watching his buddy, who was completely absorbed in the story, Old Bai suddenly laughed heartily and patted his shoulder.

"Well? Is that cool enough now?"

Murder Dagger was silent for a long time, then finally spoke in admiration.

"This crappy game should hire you as its dog of a game designer..."

"I wouldn't dare."

Old Bai waved his hand.

"Actually making something happen is different from just bragging."