What Year Is It?

The passageway hidden behind the wall was pitch-black. It could practically be described as too dark to see one's own hand in front of one's face. The circuits here didn't seem connected to the outside. Although strips resembling luminescent tape were attached to the base of the walls, approaching them drew no reaction at all. Using the light emitted by their VMs, the two little players ventured into the passage with hearts full of excitement and trepidation. Her nose red from the cold, Tengteng rubbed her shoulders with both hands and glanced around. "It's so cold... Why does it feel even colder in here than outside?" "It really is... and it feels so creepy, too." Yaya shrank her neck in and nervously peered ahead. "Do you think some weird creature will jump out?" "Like what?" "A-a ghost or something..." What kind of nonsense was that? Hearing this brainless remark, Tengteng sighed. "Impossible. This is a sci-fi game, after all. Even if something really does jump out, it'd probably be a gnawer, a leech, or a giant spider, right?" "Eek! Don't scare me!" Yaya stopped dead in her tracks, too scared to take another step. Tengteng glanced back at her helplessly. "I was just saying! Is that really necessary... Besides, aren't you a Perception-type? And your level isn't low either. Even if something like that were here, your Perception stat should give you an early warning, shouldn't it?" At those words, Yaya blushed. After fidgeting bashfully for a moment, she whispered, "I... I'm not good at combat. All my EXP came from gathering." Her level went up, but her combat experience was virtually zero... Tengteng tried to parse it and figured that must be what she meant. "It's fine, me too... Though I thought since you've died once, you'd at least have some experience with this sort of thing." Yaya made a bitter face. "That might be true, but I don't want to die! Do you know how excruciating nights without the helmet are?" Indeed. Tengteng couldn't imagine how boring a night without the helmet would be. This game was utterly addictive. Ever since getting the helmet, her real-life social needs had dropped to zero. She vanished completely after getting off work; nobody bothered messaging her anymore, and even if they did, she pretended not to see it. A world where she didn't have to deal with complicated interpersonal relationships and could do whatever she wanted without reservations was simply wonderful! Placing both hands against Yaya's back, Tengteng urged her forward with a shove. "Yeah, yeah, yeah... Let's hurry. Wait any longer and the easter egg will get cold." "Aah, stop pushing me!" If there really was something ahead, it would have discovered them long ago upon hearing their voices. Yet Tengteng, a smirk tugging at her lips, wasn't panicked in the slightest. If combat really did break out... Yaya had plenty of meat on her bones; it should take a while to finish eating her, right? Please go in peace, woman of the busty alien race! Tengteng will run outside to call for reinforcements and avenge you! The corridor soon reached its end. Passing through a door, the two stealthily entered a room measuring roughly twenty to thirty square meters. The place resembled a warehouse, lined with twenty hibernation pods. The moment she laid eyes on these pods, Yaya's eyes practically took on the color of silver coins. "Hibernation pods!" A well-preserved hibernation pod could fetch fifty to a hundred silver coins! Whipping her head toward Tengteng, Yaya said with sparkling eyes, "Tengteng! Half and half!" "What kind of foolish nonsense are you spouting? We can't take anything out of here... Still, this must be the easter egg." All twenty hibernation pods were sealed shut. Tengteng walked over and leaned close to peer through a hatch cover. But the moment she did, her small face went pale as a sheet, and her lips trembled. "A-a dead person..." Draped in a blue coat, desiccated skeletal remains lay inside. The organic matter had almost entirely decayed, leaving only a withered layer of skin and mildew stains. Terror surged within her. She took half a step back instinctively, and the back of her head bumped right into a bundle of softness. "So many corpses. Did the hibernation pods lose power?" Standing behind Tengteng, Yaya didn't mind at all. Rubbing her chin with her right hand, she stared at the mummified corpse in the pod, lost in thought. Seeing that she was actually in the mood to inspect it, Tengteng couldn't help swallowing a lump in her throat and nervously whispered, "A-aren't you scared?" Yaya tilted her head. "Mm... If you want to get technical, it's not like I'm completely unafraid. Even with the filter on, the model looks pretty realistic. But this is just a game, right?" "E-even if it's a game..." Yaya continued as if it were obvious, "Besides, what's there to be afraid of something that's already dead? It's not like it's a moving monster. Anyway, compared to slimy mutant leeches, this is way better." Tengteng: "..." Completely incomprehensible! She didn't find this even the slightest bit better. While speaking, Yaya had already walked over to another hibernation pod. Muttering something under her breath, she shone her VM's light onto the floor, following some trace invisible to others. Suddenly, as if finding what she was looking for, she hurried over to a hibernation pod with delight. "Tengteng! Come quick! Over here!" Tengteng grew wary. "No way! Tell me what's there first!" "Don't worry, it's not a corpse! The person inside seems to still be alive!" "?!" Hearing that someone was alive, Tengteng rushed over at once. Right at that moment, Yaya, whose hands were feeling around the pod, seemed to trigger a switch. With a sharp hiss, frigid gas vented from the seam between the pod's hatch and chamber. Then, the frost-encrusted cover slowly swung open. Tengteng noticed that lying inside the ice-coffin-like chamber was a young woman wearing a blue coat. She looked young, around twenty, with slender, delicate contours and a frame somewhere between her own and Yaya's. What stood out most was her long silver-white hair—and her blue eyes. As the hatch opened, the woman awakened from her slumber. However, likely because she had just woken up, her expression was rather dazed. Only after a long while did she glance around blankly. Her gaze settled on Yaya, who was closest to her. Lying in the chamber, the woman spoke in a raspy voice: "What... year is it?" Tengteng and Yaya exchanged a glance. "What did she say?" "I think she said 'now'?" Nomads occasionally bought mushrooms from her stall, so Yaya had picked up a few words and phrases, though she knew nothing of the grammar. Tengteng's heart stirred. She leaned in quickly and gestured three digits with her fingers. "211?" The woman looked bewildered, yet also seemed to understand, a hint of relief surfacing in her eyes. "Year 211 of the Wasteland Era?" She had slept for over twenty years... That really was long enough. After staring at Yaya for a moment, her eyes suddenly lit up. Straining, she raised a feeble arm and took Yaya's right hand. "DNA... could you lend me a bit? I'd like to study it." Yaya was utterly dumbfounded. Uh... Was she saying thank you? "...You're welcome?" Seemingly realizing her tactlessness from Yaya's baffled expression, the woman pulled her hand back in embarrassment and coughed softly. "Sorry... professional habit." Tengteng and Yaya looked at each other and began conferring in low whispers. "What do we do?" "Seems like we triggered a hidden quest." "But there are no subtitles... Can you understand what she's saying?" "Not a single word!" "Then maybe... let's take her to the guards first." The two reached a consensus. "That's all we can do." ... On the road leading to Changjiu Farm. Sitting in the back of the truck, Vannus jolted along with the vehicle's bumps. Glancing out at the road, he struck up a conversation with the young guard sitting beside him. "You've cleared all the obstacles from the road surface?" "Yes." Though he had little desire to entertain this prisoner, Lyu Bei recalled the Administrator's instructions and replied in an impatient tone. Vannus couldn't help praising, "A wise choice... Very few survivor settlements bother putting effort into repairing roads, yet they don't realize this is the greatest wealth pre-war society left behind for them." Whenever the Legion captured a territory, the very first thing they did was repair the roads leading to it, and if conditions permitted, build a railroad. Even though maintaining a stable transportation route on the wasteland was exceedingly difficult, only unobstructed logistics could guarantee the front lines' combat effectiveness. To ensure smooth logistics, they would even assign young junior officers to lead clone light infantry in patrolling the Legion's road network. Just then, Vannus noticed that the people clearing the road were his own subordinates. His expression turned awkward at once, and he fell silent. The only consolation was that his men seemed to look rather healthy. At least they were all dressed in thick clothes, and by the looks of it, had suffered no brutal abuse; their expressions were merely somewhat dazed and numb. Thoroughly enjoying his discomfited look, Lyu Bei chuckled without saying a word. What a joke! Did the respected Administrator's wisdom need your endorsement? Foolish prisoner! A distance of ten kilometers was not far. Moreover, it was a nearly straight road with few places requiring deceleration, so the truck soon arrived at its destination. Nudging his back with the rifle butt, Lyu Bei signaled him to get off the truck. Vannus said nothing. In this damned weather, he hadn't considered running in the first place, and obediently hopped down from the truck. Following him down, Lyu Bei slung his rifle over his back, tramped through the snow to the south gate of Changjiu Farm, and saluted the guard on duty. "By order of the Administrator, I've brought the war criminal." The slightly older guard nodded at him. "Good job. The Administrator is in the central building. Take him over right away." "Yes, sir!" Lyu Bei turned crisply, beckoning Vannus over. "Listen up. I'm taking you to see the Administrator now. You'd better watch your words and behavior." Vannus responded meekly, "Understood, sir. I will." It had been some time since their last encounter, and he quite looked forward to seeing the man who had defeated him on the battlefield. Although the one who had defeated him on the frontal battlefield was that Lu Yang, he didn't hold much respect for those profiteers who could only stand against him by leaning on superior equipment. Instead, it was the survivors who had charged fearlessly toward his position's flanks that had left a deeper impression on him. Earlier in the POW camp, Vannus had heard from his decurions about just how valiant those survivors were on the battlefield. They were as nimble as ordinary humans, flanking and maneuvering, yet far more indifferent to sacrifice than clone infantry, treating death as nothing. Just what kind of charismatic leader could inspire his soldiers with such noble self-sacrifice and fervor? Through his recent labor and conversations with the workers at the brick factory, Vannus had found some answers, but even more questions had arisen. Intuition told Vannus that perhaps only that man could answer the questions in his heart. Passing through the gate, Vannus followed the young guard and soon arrived before a concrete building. Through the half-ajar window, blazing flames in a hearth could be seen. Lyu Bei stepped forward and knocked. Receiving permission to enter, he brought Vannus inside. Quite a few people were seated in the room: Luka, who managed affairs; the captain of the guard corps; and two people he had never seen and didn't recognize. They seemed to be deliberating over something. Vannus noticed that as he walked in, everyone looked his way. In particular, the tall stranger froze slightly upon seeing Vannus's nose, a visible flash of fury surfacing in his eyes. Meanwhile, the other man, who looked rather skinny and was dressed like a nomad, showed a trace of dread. Vannus had a rough idea. Both were likely refugees—one a displaced survivor, the other probably a migrating herder, and in all likelihood hailing from the northern or central regions of River Valley Province. He had encountered plenty of such people during his southward march; practically all of them turned and fled at the sight of his banner. Stepping before the Administrator, Lyu Bei stood at attention, placed his right hand against his chest, and said respectfully—reverently, even: "Administrator, I have brought the man you requested!" Looking at the guard, who looked barely older than a child, Chu Guang nodded in approval. "Very good. Leave him here. You may step down." "Yes, sir!" As he left the room, Lyu Bei pulled the door shut behind him. With the wooden door closed, the air in the room fell silent, save for the crackling of firewood in the hearth. Vannus's Adam's apple bobbed. He hesitated over whether to speak up first. Yet at that moment, the Administrator seated in the head position shifted his gaze away from Vannus and looked toward the nomad whose face was fraught with fear. "Continue." "Yes, my lord..." Glancing at Vannus standing by the door like a punished schoolboy, the nomad swallowed hard and gingerly continued, "We passed through northern River Valley Province. The situation there can't even begin to be described as terrible. The hills were bombed into craters, the hard ground turned into bogs, and corpses littered the land, drawing vultures, hyenas, gnawers, and even deathclaws..." "The people of the Great Rift Valley refused to take us in. We didn't dare linger there, so we could only skirt the battlefield along the west and continue south. But the situation to the south was just as bad, with Legion deserters fleeing everywhere. We were unlucky enough to run into two of them; it cost us five lives just to kill one and capture the other. After interrogating him, we learned that the Great Rift Valley won. The Legion's expeditionary force was routed, and General Klaas was killed in the chaos of battle." The expeditionary force was defeated? A dazed expression settled over Vannus's face. Yet for some reason, hearing this news caused not the slightest ripple in his heart. Although just half a month ago he had firmly believed General Klaas was invincible, at this moment he felt a sense of relief. It was finally over. Standing in the room, Jiu Li glanced at him, the corner of his mouth twitching into a mocking smirk. But seeing that the man wasn't looking at him at all, he pulled his gaze away in disappointment. Chu Guang fixed his gaze on the nomad. "Is the intel reliable?" The nomad replied timidly, "My lord, I cannot be certain, but it should be accurate... After all, it came directly from the Legion soldier's own mouth." Straight from a Legion soldier's mouth. Then its credibility was likely quite high. Chu Guang fell into contemplation. At this moment, the guard captain Wrench stepped forward, his expression grave. "Administrator, if the Legion deserters continue south, we will likely run into those locusts before long. I suggest digging trenches north of Changjiu Farm, constructing fortifications, deploying patrols farther north, and setting up outposts in Yumu District and the northern urban area." Old Luka chimed in with his counsel, "I think so as well." Building defensive lines and expanding the patrol perimeter were fundamental and inevitable. This winter would likely be far livelier than he had anticipated. Chu Guang nodded in agreement, then looked back at the nomad. "Did you see or hear anything else along the way?" The nomad paused slightly, brow furrowed in deep thought for a moment, before suddenly recalling something and hastily speaking up. "When passing through Tianshui City, we heard a rumor from some survivors resting there... though I can't be sure if it's true." Chu Guang looked at him. "Speak." The nomad continued gingerly, "They said a massive marauder tribe is rising rapidly in west-central River Valley Province. Some say they absorbed a portion of the Legion's deserters, while others say they are Legion deserters themselves. They burn, kill, loot, and commit every atrocity imaginable..." Chu Guang asked, "What is their name?" The nomad answered in a low voice, "Bone Chewers, my lord. I believe they're called the Bone Chewers." "It must be those Legion bastards!" Jiu Li cursed. "Those bedbugs are just like a plague. Wherever they go, trouble follows!" Vannus didn't dare make a sound, doing his best to blend into the woodwork. Luka looked at Chu Guang and murmured softly, "Administrator, chaos is spreading. I have a bad premonition." Did that even require a premonition? Tapping his index finger lightly against the armrest of his chair, Chu Guang stared at the uneasy nomad in front of him, lost in thought. This group of nomads was like Wu Tiefu and his people, having migrated from the north, but they were clearly from a different tribe. A headcount of just over fifty wasn't that large, but prime laborers accounted for less than thirty percent; they had evidently fought plenty of battles along the journey. What piqued Chu Guang's interest even more was that besides five yaks, these people had brought a number of poultry with them. This was an absolute pleasant surprise. He hadn't eaten tea eggs in ages. He wondered how eggs boiled with spirit leaves would taste. After a long pause, Chu Guang spoke. "Your tribe is permitted to relocate to Wetland Park, where you will stay alongside the other nomad tribes that have migrated here." The man breathed a sigh of relief. Overcome with gratitude, he knelt on the spot and pressed his forehead against the floor. "Thank you, Administrator! My tribe and I will spare no effort to serve you unto death!" "'Mao' carries too much murderous intent and causes confusion. Since you arrived in winter, from now on, you shall be called Shuang Mao." Looking down at the kneeling man, Chu Guang continued, "I will confirm your loyalty with my own eyes. Now stand up. We do not practice kneeling here. When you see me, there is no need to kowtow; placing your right fist against your left chest is enough." "Yes! Thank you for bestowing a name, my lord!" Granted a name, Shuang Mao withdrew in sheer joy. What the name actually was didn't matter. What mattered was who gave it. In the culture of most tribespeople and refugees on the wasteland, the bestowing of a name signified acceptance and assimilation. They would pass down a portion of that name from generation to generation until their bloodline died out. The door opened and closed, letting a gust of cold air drift into the room. Chu Guang then looked toward Vannus standing by the door and spoke. "Now, let us discuss your situation."