An Old Popsicle?

Aboard the Heart of Steel, floating high above the clouds, a Viper transport gliding in from the distance throttled down the plume of its plasma engines and touched down firmly on the steel-plated deck. Four men in gray robes were escorted out of the Viper's cabin by four players in exoskeletons. One had suffered a gunshot wound to his left leg, crudely wrapped in a bandage, and limped as he walked. The other three hadn't caught any lead, but their bruised, dirt-streaked faces made it clear they hadn't had an easy time either. Here, however, no one had any sympathy for them. They were all Apostles of the Church of the Torch. Or rather, war criminals. In just a few hours, tens of thousands of survivors had died directly or indirectly from the interference of Band 03 of the psychic interference device. Countless more had suffered total mental breakdowns. Around twenty soldiers from the Guards Corps had been waiting beside the landing pad early on. Seeing the heavily armed soldiers, You'er, standing in the middle, paled slightly. He was the head of the Pinecone Farm parish as well as the director of the Band 03 research. If captured, the Tribunal certainly wouldn't leave him to rot. Yet looking at these soldiers and the airship beneath his boots, he deeply doubted whether the Tribunal even possessed the ability to fish him out. "Anti-gravity device... You've actually recovered anti-gravity technology!" he muttered under his breath, though no one paid him any mind. To prevent any concealed tracking or listening devices, a soldier stepped forward and clamped metal collars equipped with signal jammers around the necks of You'er and the other three Apostles. One of them tried to resist, but settled down immediately after taking a rifle butt. Watching Ye Shi approach, Lü Bei tapped his right fist against the left side of his breastplate, snapping off a crisp salute. "Good work." "Don't mention it. Send my regards to the Administrator. We'll leave the rest to you," Ye Shi replied with a grin, returning the salute. Lü Bei nodded and watched him head back to the aircraft before leading the four disheveled captives toward the elevator. They walked the whole way in silence. Finally unable to contain himself, You'er spoke up. "Where... are you taking us?" Lü Bei said nothing. He walked straight up to a door, knocked, and pushed it open. Seeing Zhao Tiangan lying on his back across the floor, You'er's pupils constricted sharply. His face drained of what little color remained, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. The man in blue power armor sized him up, then looked at the soldier beside him. "One by one. Find somewhere to lock up the others for now." "Yes, sir!" The soldier nodded respectfully, waved a hand, and led the squad off to escort You'er's three colleagues elsewhere. Soon, You'er was left standing alone at the doorway. Standing there by himself, feeling the man in blue power armor studying him, he inadvertently caught his gaze—and a sudden, inexplicable tremor seized his heart. Those eyes were as deep as black holes. In just that fraction of a second, he felt as if his soul were being ripped from his flesh, exposed entirely beneath the blazing sun to be scorched by its light. No secret could hide... As a researcher, he didn't believe in ethereal nonsense like souls, much less that someone in this world could read a person's soul through a mere gaze. And yet, he still instinctively averted his eyes. At that moment, the man spoke. "What is your name?" "You'er." Though he hadn't intended to say a single word, it slipped out of his mouth on reflex, which immediately provoked a wave of self-directed annoyance. Chu Guang kept his eyes on him and continued: "Do you understand what you've done?" You'er lifted his chin and stiffened his neck. "I do..." He thought the man would demand his reasons, but the man asked nothing, merely offering a brief nod. "Good." The tone—as though the matter had already concluded—caught You'er off guard. He hadn't said anything at all. How could this guy act like he already knew everything? Did he really read minds? Panic flared in You'er's eyes, only to be instantly replaced by shame at such a foolish notion. The fear gradually curdled into anger. How could such metaphysical absurdity exist! The man had to be bluffing! If they thought he was so easily rattled that he would spill his guts all at once, they severely underestimated him. If this was another necessary sacrifice, then let him be sacrificed. You'er thrust his head high, striking a defiant posture as he bluffed with a stiff neck: "Heh, I won't say a single—" Before the words had even left his mouth, a pair of glasses was slipped onto the bridge of his nose. His vision darkened behind the tinted lenses, leaving him momentarily stunned. This was... In an instant, realization hit him, and his expression twisted into utter horror. A memory extractor?! How do these people even have something like this! "Wait, I—" Unfortunately, before the word "speak" could escape his lips, a sharp electrical hum pierced his eardrums. His consciousness cut out like a computer forcibly powered down. "Heave-ho!" Catching You'er from behind, Frost dragged him across the floor with cheerful vigor and propped him up against the wall in the corner. Gazing down at the unconscious You'er, Chu Guang showed not a shred of pity. The memory extractor had been captured from the Enlightenment Society. It operated by weaving dreams out of the fragments of the user's deepest subconscious fears while sealing off their memories, releasing them only drop by drop, peeling away layer after layer until nothing remained. The more one resisted, the more agonizing it was. Theoretically, the device could not only bleed out memories, but even dredge up things the subject had forgotten themselves. Because of the severe mental strain it imposed, he rarely used it in interrogations. If the man had been deceived, coerced, or possessed some unspeakable hardship, Chu Guang would have given him a chance for leniency through confession. Yet the man had stated plainly with his own mouth that he understood full well what he had done. In that case, being subjected to the same ruthless treatment shouldn't give him any right to complain. Compared to what the survivors of Pinecone Farm had endured, this punishment was practically mercy. Turning to the puppet sitting on his shoulder, Chu Guang asked: "Xiao Qi, how long will the memory retrieval take?" Resting an index finger against her chin, Xiao Qi—already interfaced with the memory extractor—closed her eyes and pondered for a moment. "Mmm, an hour or two should do it?" Speaking in an uncertain tone, she suddenly popped her eyes open and let out a surprised squeak. "...Wait, this guy actually has a bionic chip in his head?" Chu Guang's brows knitted slightly. "Is there a problem?" Xiao Qi glanced at Eclipse standing nearby and whispered: "Eclipse, can you handle the security program on the chip? I'll route it over to you." Eclipse nodded without expression. "Minor issue." As she spoke, streams of pale blue data were already reflecting in the center of her pupils. With the affirmative answer in hand, Xiao Qi swung back toward Chu Guang and flashed a proud thumbs-up. "Minor issue, Master! Just leave it to Xiao Qi!" Chu Guang: "..." Forget it. As long as the outcome was good. ... The memory retrieval finished quickly. Normally, the process would have taken quite a while, but Xiao Qi had offloaded the retrieval program onto the shelter's main server. The processing power of the shelter's server operated in an entirely different dimension compared to the built-in processors of portable electronics. To make an imperfect comparison: one was a rocket, the other a bicycle. It was like bolting a nitrous boost onto a bicycle. An hour in the dream took only half a minute in reality. In fact, if human neural throughput didn't have an upper limit, the retrieval speed could have been even more absurd. Even so, despite Xiao Qi showing restraint, the drained Apostle's brain had still endured immense strain. Although he had woken up, he was practically a vegetable—or something even stranger. Watching You'er babble nonsensically as he continuously walked into the wall, Chu Guang's expression turned rather peculiar. "So... is he awake or not?" Xiao Qi's expression was subtle. "Uh... he's sort of awake, but not entirely." "Meaning?" "Simply put, what he sees is still the dream constructed from his memories, but his brain has actually regained control of his physical body... So while we see him walking into a wall, in his own mind, he might just be strolling from the living room to the kitchen." Basically a high-ping warrior? To other players, he was running face-first into a wall, but on his own screen, he had already rotated from Site B to mid doors. A thought struck Chu Guang. "Like sleepwalking?" "Mm, there are differences, but that's the general idea." At that point, Xiao Qi added in a small voice: "I suggest strapping him down... Otherwise, he might eat something weird for breakfast." "Like a shoe or something." Chu Guang nodded and instructed a nearby soldier to take the man to the confinement room and tie him to a bed for a couple of days. Just to keep him from causing trouble. A few low-level players passing by happened to spot the man walking incessantly into the wall and immediately began whispering with excitement: "Is this NPC clipped into the wall?" "A bug! It's a bug!" "Holy shit, this game actually has bugs!" Even though the dog dev claimed to patch bugs with every version update, no one had ever actually seen what a real bug looked like in-game. Now they finally got to see one! Leaving the prisoners behind, Chu Guang returned alone to the captain's quarters. He took a seat, picked up the virtual reality headset from the desk, and slipped it on. Tapping the side of the device with his index finger, he said: "Xiao Qi, hook me up to the extracted memories." An energetic voice promptly rang in his ears. "Right away, Master!" As soon as the words fell, pale blue motes of light rippled outward from the center of his vision, transforming everything they touched into an entirely different scene. First the floor, then the desks and chairs, and then the walls—the room beneath his feet shifted from the captain's quarters into a stark white room. Chu Guang had never seen this place. Yet from the delivering nurse, the infant nestled in a mother's embrace, and the father figure standing beside the hospital bed, he could reasonably deduce this was a maternity ward. People in the ward bustled about, while the couple happily discussed what to name the baby in their arms. No one paid any attention to the stranger standing in the room. After all, this was You'er's memory; Chu Guang didn't belong here. Chu Guang reached out, his hand passing right through a nurse, before he walked over to the window and looked outside. Outside, lush greenery flourished amidst birdsong and fragrant blossoms... To think even details like this were rendered with such flawless precision. "Why did you send me here?" Chu Guang said, a trace of helplessness in his voice. He had no interest in reviewing the entire life story of a nobody. Even if these memories were precious to You'er, they were utterly meaningless to Chu Guang and this wasteland. If he had to watch twenty to thirty years of memories from start to finish, he wouldn't have time for anything else. Pale blue particles shimmered. Having followed him into the memory, the doll-form Xiao Qi dropped onto his shoulder, swinging her little legs as she said shyly: "Sorry about that, Master... Let me scrub the timeline!" Looking at Xiao Qi's sheepish grin, Chu Guang couldn't shake the feeling she was doing it on purpose. Seeing her master remain silent, Xiao Qi asked timidly: "Then... start from when he joined the Church of the Torch?" "Yeah... wait." Just as Chu Guang was about to nod, an idea struck him, and he caught a specific detail. Looking past the lush greenery outside the window, far in the distance stood skyscrapers piercing the clouds and endless streams of traffic... a vista that put even Ideal City to shame. This was clearly not the wasteland. This guy was born pre-war? "...Start from just before he entered a hibernation pod," Chu Guang paused, then corrected himself. "I want to know which shelter he entered." Yet Xiao Qi's response caught him off guard. "He wasn't a shelter resident, you know." Not a shelter resident? Chu Guang frowned slightly. "Then take me to the moment before he entered hibernation... I want to know why he chose 'time travel,' and by what means he reached the future." As he spoke, Chu Guang stepped away from the window, walked over to the nightstand, and looked at the holographic display floating above the digital clock. The year was 2100. The seventy-fifth year of the Era of Prosperity. The golden age was at its height. Humanity had built a terrestrial utopia, attaining boundless satisfaction both materially and spiritually. And ten years later, in 2110, industry and academia would once again unleash humanity's imagination for a brighter future. Graviton conduits and FTL drives would formally fling open the doors to the interstellar era. A ticket to worlds light-years away would no longer be a one-way trip of no return, but an adventure accessible to anyone. Of course, not everything arriving with the future was wondrous. Taking a step forward revealed new treasures, but it also invited new crises. For instance, just thirteen years later, the psychic interference device—developed to replace "infrasonic fences" and originally intended to drive away dangerous xenomorphs troubling colonies—would erupt into a shocking scandal of suspected brainwashing and human experimentation in the Third Ecological Reserve of Qingquan City on the homeworld. That incident caused a massive uproar, even implicating the authorities, but to the people living in utopia, it was clearly just a minor interlude. Chu Guang felt that even if he could bridge time and speak to these people, none would believe that the infant lying in swaddling clothes would, two centuries later, commit deeds that would leave even Satan dumbfounded. And if he told the people here that even that was merely a minor interlude in the distant future, and that all this beauty would come to an end in just twenty-nine years, they would surely dismiss him as a raving madman. The year was 2100. Only twenty-nine years remained until the dawn of the Wasteland Era in 2129... Faintly hearing the mother name the baby in her arms "You'er," Chu Guang then watched the scenery around him blur and stream past as Xiao Qi scrubbed through the timeline. Like many of that era, You'er spent a joyful childhood, progressed smoothly through school, and entered the workforce... When the scene froze again, the clean, bright maternity ward had transformed into a sleek, spacious office. Outside the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows drifted clouds and a sea of towering skyscrapers. A sharply dressed young man stood before an executive desk, speaking excitedly with the supervisor seated behind it. Chu Guang didn't listen closely to their conversation, instead immediately searching for clues regarding the date. Soon, on a holographic billboard outside the window, he found what he was looking for: July 13, 2121. Three days later would be the launch event for a blockbuster home security robot, with pre-orders priced at just one hundred thousand credits—though none of that was important. In the history Chu Guang knew, Shelter 79 and its "Yong Shi" Project had been initiated the year prior. Omens of the golden age's twilight had already begun to surface. People had begun, consciously or unconsciously, to feel anxious about the future. The consensus that tomorrow would be brighter was gradually supplanted by doomsday theories. And anxiety itself was a business opportunity. Enterprises selling home bunker solutions and protective equipment made fortunes off it, and the company beneath his feet was evidently no exception. Chu Guang glanced around the office, only to realize with astonishment upon reading the documents on the desk: well, well, this was actually the headquarters of Champion Pharmaceuticals! The researchers of Shelter 79 were diehard fans of this company; even their coffee beans were from this brand! Then again— He had always wanted to roast them for this. Is it really normal for a pharmaceutical company to sell coffee? In the office, the conversation between the two grew clearer. "...An anti-radiation drug?" Having finished the report in his hands, the supervisor stroked his chin, his expression unreadable. The employee standing before him spoke with dramatic flair: "Exactly! I'd bet anything this new anti-radiation agent will be the company's next growth point—and an explosive one at that!" Neither of them was You'er. Yet this was You'er's memory; he had to be close by. Chu Guang looked around and didn't spot him, but a thought struck him: the kid was only twenty-one, probably just a fresh hire. He stepped outside the office immediately. Sure enough, he was right outside the door. Holding a briefcase, his gaze darting nervously about, subtle micro-expressions gave away that he hadn't been out of school for long. Though he looked younger, there was no doubt this was the very man Chu Guang had interrogated moments ago. Seeing You'er fixated on the conversation inside, Chu Guang redirected his attention to the two men in the office. If Chu Guang wasn't mistaken, the new project they were discussing was none other than the formula for synthesizing anti-radiation drugs from "Blue Parasol mushrooms." In a sense, this formula had indeed saved countless lives. At the very least, most mercenaries in Boulder City relied on it to stay alive, and Chu Guang's own first pot of gold in the wasteland had come from peddling those mushrooms. "...In more technical terms, DNA self-repair technology! We discovered a unique active substance inside a blue fungus that can repair macromolecules damaged by neutron radiation." "It's a neat concept... but frankly speaking, medical nanorobots can do a far better job." Setting the report on the desk, the supervisor cut off his subordinate's rambling pitch and spread his hands. "We are a tech company. With all due respect, using mushrooms as medicine... sounds like an idea from the Stone Age." Yet You'er's senior didn't give up, pressing his case vigorously: "War, my friend. I'm talking about wartime! Of course I know nanobots can flawlessly repair damaged nucleic acids, proteins, and enzymes, but where are you going to find that sort of tech during total war?" "Compared to medical nanobots that require an entire massive supply chain to sustain, my solution is infinitely more practical! Even in the absolute worst-case scenario—if suppliers collapse completely and raw material prices skyrocket globally—we can still deliver cheap, reliable anti-radiation medication to our consumers... Or charge a bit more, of course. We'd hold an unbeatable cost advantage!" This time, the supervisor behind the desk didn't dismiss it right away. Stroking his chin, an intrigued expression crossed his face. "That actually sounds interesting." Almost everyone believed that a split with the colonies was inevitable, and war seemed to have become the sole means of settling their differences. Even in this era, nuclear weapons remained the most efficient means of wiping living beings from the face of the Earth—differing only in delivery methods, yield, and scale. An affordable, effective anti-radiation drug would unquestionably prove far more practical than fancy nanobots in an age drowning in fallout. In the end, You'er's senior successfully persuaded their boss. Even if the process was arduous and spent plenty of breath. Seeing his senior emerge from the office, You'er immediately hurried over. "How did it go?" A beaming smile broke across the senior's face. "Nailed it! The boss agreed to lend us the research institute in Jinhe City. As long as we can produce tangible results, he'll fight for more budget at the board meeting... Time waits for no one. Pack up your files before clocking out—we leave first thing tomorrow morning!" Hearing that, delight washed over You'er's face. He clenched his fists in excitement, but being awkward with words, he could only choke out three words after all that: "That's fantastic!" His senior smiled warmly and patted his shoulder. "Keep up the good work." Watching the two walk toward the elevator, a look of surprise crossed Chu Guang's face. If he remembered correctly, the Champion Group had only one research institute in Jinhe City—the very one the Academy had given him. And right now, that facility was controlled by mutants...