Chapter 604: The Old Site of Singularity City

Chapter 604: The Ruins of Singularity City

Due to the frontline collapse of the mutant forces, the crew led by Mole arrived at the rendezvous point faster than expected.

Pausing briefly at the crossroads, two Chimera armored vehicles approached from a nearby block, one after the other.

A player popped out of a turret and shouted toward Mole.

“This is Chimera-2. We ran into a retreating mutant squad on the way and got held up a bit.”

The vehicle behind needed no introduction—it was Chimera-4.

Mole nodded and called out to the two armored cars.

“Hurry up and follow. Don’t keep our allies waiting too long!”

With that, he tapped the turret and spoke to the driver inside.

“Move out.”

The engine roared to life.

Chimera-1, stopped in the middle of the road, began advancing, leading the two trailing armored vehicles into the area that had been plowed by the bomber formation.

This zone was already a communication dead zone. Even at close range, the comm channels were filled with intense static.

So far, the brothers of the Burning Corps hadn’t managed to dismantle the jamming base, which suggested they were facing no small trouble.

From the dense fog came distant explosions and gunfire, muffled and far off. Mole, poking his head out of the turret, couldn’t help but frown.

Visibility here was terrible.

“Big Eyes! Get out and work!”

“Oke!”

Several brothers from the Death Corps jumped out from the rear of the armored vehicle.

The same went for the two vehicles behind. Apart from the human radios left inside, armored grenadiers in exoskeletons filed out, grabbing their weapons and spreading out around the vehicles for security.

Leading the Death Corps brothers at the front of the convoy, Debtor Big Eyes scanned the streets on both sides, his gaze eventually settling on an abandoned truck.

Its angular shape and urban camouflage paint made it clear that this transport vehicle had once belonged to the People’s Union regular army.

But the insignia on the door wasn’t the People’s Union—it was the emblem of Singularity City.

Perhaps before it bore Singularity City’s mark, it had also displayed the symbol of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee… but none of that mattered now.

Such historical relics littered the streets. No matter who once owned it, it had been left to rot here for years.

Not far behind the truck stood a row of sandbag walls forming a checkpoint. Beyond the checkpoint, the area looked much like the rest of the urban district at first glance, but closer inspection revealed unusual details.

For instance, some buildings that appeared to be office towers had metal brackets protruding from their windows, draped with tattered clothes and sheets.

Litter scattered on the ground, half-burned coal in paint buckets, and signs hung on street-facing storefronts bearing slogans rich with the spirit of the era—

Phrases like “Winter Will Eventually Pass,” “The World Belongs to Us,” “No War, Only Peace,” “Rely on Ourselves, Not the War-Building Committee,” and other inspiring words.

Debtor Big Eyes quickly recalled data from the official setting collection.

The “war” here likely referred not to the Three-Year War two centuries ago, but to a series of military campaigns launched by the Production Department against the Technology Department in the Cloud Province a century and a half ago.

That man-made disaster was the spark that shattered the War-Building Committee.

For survivors of that era, that event was far closer to daily life than the ancient war…

“Feels like someone lived here,” Debtor Big Eyes muttered, scanning the corners. “And quite a few people, too.”

Mole, leaning out of the armored vehicle’s turret, replied casually.

“No doubt about it. This is Singularity City.”

Several Death Corps brothers heard this and exchanged surprised glances.

“Singularity City? Here?”

“I thought that settlement was in the old residential district!”

Mole chuckled, eager to show off the bits of gossip he knew.

“You don’t get it. The old residential district was a relocation camp from the Three-Year War—the place where the mutants live now.”

“The space there is open, and the subways and parking lots are natural nuclear shelters. The only downside is the poor living conditions—ventilation and sanitation are both problems… This city was never hit by nuclear weapons. I figure the locals survived the first few years, then moved back to the surface to build a new settlement—right here, in this district we’re in now.”

Singularity City had no hive mother, so it lacked the towering walls that cities like Boulder City had built. The local survivors simply used nearby tall buildings as shelters, then placed sandbag walls and barbed wire in the streets to separate orderly zones from lawless ones.

Until the 50th year of the Wasteland Era, mutants weren’t the main threat for survivors on the wasteland—cold and scarcity were.

From the latter came not only poverty, famine, and plague, but also raiders roaming the wasteland…

Not everyone was a follower of order. Some embraced chaos.

Once humans awakened their animal instincts in a savage environment, anything could happen. Especially in the years after the Wasteland Era began, many were born on the wasteland—born as beasts of the jungle.

The bullet holes in the sandbag walls weren’t made today.

They were relics of many years past.

The group passed the abandoned checkpoint and soon spotted graffiti blurred by rust on a collapsed sheet-metal wall.

The infantrymen in front instinctively stopped.

Construction Youth and Brick looked up, feeling that the colorful painting clashed with the cold gray concrete around it, and couldn’t help blurting out in curiosity.

“What does it say?”

With a hint of curiosity, Debtor Big Eyes stepped forward, wiped away the dust and rust, and tried to read the few recognizable words.

“Lies… Betrayal… Monster… That’s all I can make out. Anyone here know more People’s Union language?”

“I don’t need to see it to guess what it says,” Mole said, staring at the graffiti, recalling the public data from the official setting collection. “Just think about how Singularity City went down.”

Construction Youth and Brick: “What do you mean?”

Mole: “Monster—obviously refers to the mutants. Betrayal and lies—probably aimed at the Singularity City authorities… Remember the intel Fang Chang and the others gathered in Hope Town? Mutants originally couldn’t reproduce.”

Construction Youth and Brick exchanged a look.

Seeing they clearly didn’t remember, Mole continued.

“A long time ago, the mutants who fled here from the East Coast couldn’t have children. Singularity City took them in and supported their research. A small number of residents even voluntarily became mutants… Whether for stronger bodies, to support the researchers, or simply to reject the old order and the War-Building Committee.”

“Then, after some time, mutants gained citizenship and the ability to reproduce. Though the setting collection doesn’t go into detail, considering that mutant offspring are all mutants, and mutants have stronger physiques… What do you think happened?”

Construction Youth and Brick swallowed.

“What happened…”

“More and more mutants, and power continuously ceded to them, until old humans became the minority,” Mole narrowed his eyes slightly and continued. “The authorities probably promised the residents something—like mutants being harmless, or that violence could be restrained by civilization. But what couldn’t change was that mutants had only one gender and needed to mate with humans to produce offspring… Yet the number of old humans was already declining, both male and female.”

Construction Youth and Brick scratched the back of his head.

“Why not create a female mutant and let them sort themselves out?”

“Because the original reason for neutering mutants was to prevent the spread of incomplete experimental DNA. Giving mutants genitals was itself a compromise by Singularity City’s authorities to the mutant population. Designing a female would have defeated the purpose. And personally, I suspect the mutants’ aesthetic preferences were actually inherited from old humans, since they were originally human.”

“Also, the Singularity City authorities probably didn’t want to create a new race that would split their society. Their original intention might have been to make mutants dependent on humans—they had no need for medicine, could enter radioactive zones without protection to salvage supplies… But in the end, it backfired.”

“Mutants indeed couldn’t do without old humans, but just as humans can’t do without the protein from chickens, cows, and sheep, that doesn’t mean humans become livestock for them… The balance of power shifted the moment it was lost. The mutants of Singularity City began using force to subjugate old humans, then penned them up like cattle.”

Looking at the words "Lies" and "Betrayal" carved into the wall, Mole continued as if talking to himself.

"Nearly harmless at first, gradually baring its fangs in the middle, and finally opening its maw to devour everyone... This sounds exactly like the plague and Nago that have ravaged this land."

Debt-Eye sighed softly and stepped back from the graffiti.

"The laws of nature..."

They had never changed in tens of thousands of years.

Though it was a lighthearted game, the past buried beneath the models and textures was heavier than they had imagined.

The entire city was a tombstone.

The graffiti left behind was its epitaph.

No one knows exactly which day Singularity City fell; on this wasteland where the average lifespan is less than thirty years, it's hard to find a survivor from that era. Most old-timers came to this land from an earlier time when Singularity City didn't even exist.

Mole was more inclined to believe that when Singularity City fell, humanity wasn't wiped out but fought against the majority of mutants.

In the end, these people lost.

Those who survived either became slaves or were exiled beyond the city limits, to places like Pinecone Farm or Hope Town.

In fact, human dwellings weren't suited for mutant physiques. Soon after occupying Singularity City, the mutants abandoned this human-built settlement and moved to the city's original birthplace—the "Old Resettlement Area" near the Champion Biology Research Institute.

There were subway stations, large underground parking lots... in short, spacious areas where warmth wasn't an issue, and they could avoid the snipers and stray bullets of guerrilla fighters.

After some time, the mutants fully adapted to life on the wasteland and developed their own civilization—

Now known as the Qi Tribe.

It's possible the tribe was originally called the Singularity Tribe, but the longer name was too awkward for mutants, so it was shortened to its current form.

Mole felt an indescribable unease.

If the past of Boulder City gave him more of a sense of unfulfilled ambition, then Singularity City left him with a feeling of being at a loss for words.

From the very beginning, the people here had prepared for the worst, and the ideal of saving everyone had never soured.

But as they walked on, they suddenly realized that their destination had never truly been where they were headed...

The group pressed forward.

The fog ahead grew thicker.

There was an inexplicable eeriness in the gray-green mist, tinged with a hint of decay.

Like the stench of corpses from the dead.

The players here knew it wasn't normal fog but spores released by fungal threads buried in the earth and flesh.

Clearly, something abnormal was ahead.

Everyone heightened their alertness, clicked off the safeties on their rifles, and carefully scanned every corner that might harbor danger.

But to everyone's surprise, the danger didn't come from some hidden corner—it stood boldly in their path.

Three mounds of dark green flesh loomed like hills in the middle of the foggy road, their bloated bodies resembling rockeries.

Big Eye, walking at the front, spotted them first and immediately shouted back at the armored vehicle behind.

"Mutants! Prepare for battle!"

The monsters had clearly noticed them too, letting out a deep, muffled roar as they charged forward with heavy steps.

Construction Boy and Brick immediately dropped to the ground, set up the bipod of their machine gun, and squeezed the trigger, spitting out a torrent of fire.

The street erupted with gunfire.

But the bullets striking the three monsters only splattered trails of blood, failing to slow their advance.

Construction Boy grew anxious and yelled back toward the armored vehicles.

"Don't just stand there, open fire!"

Mole was about to say they couldn't see, but then a flash of inspiration hit, and he shouted to the two vehicles behind.

"Follow the tracers!"

It worked remarkably well.

Though the rear armored vehicles had no direct line of sight and could only vaguely make out the backs of the front players, the bullets from their rifles and light machine guns had already marked the general direction of the targets.

The three Chimera armored vehicles opened fire immediately. Under the rattling barrage, the nearest monster was soon riddled with holes and collapsed to the ground.

But surprisingly, the creature, which should have been dead, didn't stop.

Even with its legs shattered and several dark holes punched through its body, the twisted life form kept crawling forward, letting out a piercing howl from its gaping maw.

The other two monsters had closed to within thirty meters of the infantry. Big Eye grabbed Construction Boy and pulled him back as he hurriedly hoisted his machine gun and retreated.

Finally seeing the ferocious appearance of the two monsters, Mole was stunned.

"Holy shit! How much HP do they have?!"

These were 37mm armor-piercing incendiary rounds!

At this range, even a concrete wall would be shattered!

"Fire missiles!"

Without hesitation, Mole shouted and ducked back into the turret, closing the hatch.

Almost simultaneously, a Dove missile launched from the turret's tube, trailing white smoke as it streaked toward the nearest monster.

The missile struck its chest squarely. Before it could cry out in pain, the explosion's flames engulfed it.

As it turned out, insufficient penetration was just a matter of insufficient yield.

The monster hit by the Dove missile lost half its body, the remaining half smoking with a burnt odor, and collapsed motionless to the ground.

The other players in the convoy quickly caught on, grabbing RPGs from the armored vehicles, loading armor-piercing rounds, and pulling the triggers.

Plumes of white smoke shot through the street like arrows, and soon brilliant sparks burst across the other two monsters.

Though the RPGs weren't as powerful as the Dove missiles, enough of them were still lethal.

The two monsters, already half-dead from the 37mm armor-piercing incendiary rounds, couldn't even let out a scream before they collapsed heavily under the concentrated fire.

Lowering the launcher, Big Eye wiped his sweat and cursed.

"Damn... what the hell are these things?"

Hadn't the bombing zone just swept through this area?

How was something this big still alive?

Bold as ever, Construction Boy stepped forward, poking the motionless meat mountain with his smoking gun barrel, muttering under his breath.

"Goliath..."

Debt-Eye: "Goliath?"

"Fang Chang posted about it on the forum before... the boss they ran into at Pinecone Farm," Construction Boy swallowed hard. "Holy crap, three of them spawned here."

Everyone exchanged glances, a bad feeling creeping into their hearts.

Just then, a missile suddenly whooshed through the air, striking a tall building not far away.

The crowd instinctively lowered their bodies, but the anticipated explosion never came—not even a flicker of fire.

Only the players wearing headphones heard a piercing screech of static.

Covering his ears, Debtor straightened up and peered in the direction where the missile had vanished.

“What the hell was that?”

The construction site kid and Brick looked utterly bewildered.

“Our missile?”

“Doesn’t look like it… it’s a model I’ve never seen.”

Just then, a player walking along the roadside suddenly shouted.

“Wait… holy shit?! My comms seem to be back!”

“???”

Hearing that, Mole immediately looked at the VM strapped to his arm, tapped to open the map, and a surprised expression spread across his face.

Green signal dots marking teammates’ positions reappeared on the map, and the comms channel icons lit up as active again.

At that very moment, a communication request from Fang Chang came through.

“…Mole! Can you see my position? I’m on the street to your left, turn there—come give me a hand!”

His voice came in broken bursts, laced with heavy gasps, punctuated by sporadic gunfire and explosions.

Forgetting to ponder where the missile had come from, Mole’s expression turned serious as he immediately replied.

“I’m on my way!”

With that, he switched to the squad channel and barked out an order.

“Everyone advance! Friendlies are right ahead of us!”

A chorus of eager responses crackled through the comms.

“Oorah!”

…

Under the cover of infantry, three Chimera armored vehicles sped toward the street where the Burning Legion was stationed.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of an office building not far from that street, three figures stood against the biting wind.

Jiang Xuezhou, wearing a gas mask, looked smugly at the stunned Ye Shi beside her, patting the massive machine next to her.

“So? I’m pretty strong, right?”

To her right stood a boxy four-legged robot, a near-perfect replica of the “Little Wang” she had taken down into Vault Zero.

The only difference was that this one was noticeably larger, its mounted weapons bulkier.

It even carried a missile launcher.

According to its owner, Little Wang was now invincible—neither the annoying slime molds nor EMP tricks could do more than tickle it.

The firepower this single combat robot could unleash rivaled that of a reinforced platoon.

But what stunned Ye Shi wasn’t its size or firepower specs—he’d already complained about those before boarding the helicopter.

Staring fixedly at the faint outline of a distant building, he hadn’t even seen what she’d aimed at before a missile shot off.

Swallowing hard, Ye Shi turned to Jiang Xuezhou.

“That was…”

“An electromagnetic pulse round!”

Flicking her ponytail off her shoulder with the back of her hand, Jiang Xuezhou continued in a boastful tone.

“But that’s nothing special. The real trick is locking onto the real jammer among a sea of decoys and hitting it with an EMP before it can react—hey, are you even listening to me?”

Seeing Ye Shi still spacing out, her voice turned irritated.

Snapped back to reality by her question, Ye Shi quickly grinned apologetically.

“Yeah, yeah… The jammer’s taken out, right? Awesome!”

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, a shy expression on his face.

“Oh, by the way, that electromagnetic pulse thing—uh, the missile you just fired—where can I buy one?”

No beating around the bush—that thing was something else.

He wanted a few for himself.

After waiting in vain for a compliment, Jiang Xuezhou rolled her eyes and huffed.

“Not for sale.”

Ye Shi: “…”

Damn it!

…

With the support of three Chimera armored vehicles and over a dozen light infantry, Fang Chang finally took down the writhing mass of flesh that had been the monster.

The stench of rotting corpses filled the entire street.

But to everyone’s disappointment, the Apostle who had been sniping from the shadows managed to escape.

Fang Chang’s face burned with embarrassment.

Mole didn’t let him off easy, gleefully mocking him for letting the bastard slip away right under their noses.

As the battle ended, a Viper transport plane landed nearby, dropping off supplies and taking away tissue samples extracted from the “meat mountain.”

The Alliance’s biological research institute would figure out what these damned things were.

Though the side mission had hit a small snag, news of victories on the main front kept pouring into the Steel Heart.

The main forces of the Alliance’s brigades had assembled near the old settlement, less than a kilometer from the Champion Biopharmaceutical Research Institute and the Qi tribe’s stronghold.

The green-skinned beasts seemed to have finally realized their firepower was no match for their opponents, so they abandoned the surface.

Some mutants retreated into the subway stations; others moved into the Champion Biopharmaceutical building.

After lording over this land for over a century, they were finally starting to feel despair…

At the same time, on the bridge of the Steel Heart.

An officer from the Army Command walked up behind Chu Guang, fist pressed to his chest, and reported crisply.

“The mutants have holed up in the subway. Our ground forces have taken their surface nests… and rescued quite a few survivors.”

Chu Guang turned from the window to look at the officer.

“How many exactly?”

The officer’s voice grew heavy.

“Not yet tallied, but according to frontline reports, at least ten thousand…”

Chu Guang paused, then furrowed his brow.

Ten thousand people...

How could there be so many?