The Skeleton Corps Arrives!

Before entering Jinchuan Province, Chu Guang had considered that the situation might be worse than he imagined, but he never expected it to have deteriorated to such an extent. The entire Haiya Province had slipped into the fourth stage of Na fruit corruption, degenerating into a realm shrouded in plague. The tragedy at Pinecone Wood Farm was merely labeled code 03 over there. As long as the Pioneers and the Holy Son in the Sanctuary willed it, they could turn any settlement within the parish into whatever shape they desired at any time. In truth, the people there had already become puppets devoid of autonomous consciousness. "If it really is as they claim, I'm afraid this problem will be exceedingly troublesome... both scientifically and politically." In the holographic projection, after listening to Chu Guang recount the Academy's research findings, Heya rubbed her chin with a grave expression, sinking into deep thought, remaining silent for a long time. Chu Guang felt the same. After a long while, he let out a troubled sigh and said, "Quarantining Haiya Province is a compromise, but stalling might only make things worse... and unfortunately, we don't have enough manpower. Mobilizing the entire Alliance wouldn't be enough." Heya asked in a low voice, "What about Enterprise? Aren't they going to do anything?" "When there's no profit to be made, their efficiency is directly proportional to the cost required. Only when a crisis grows so severe that they have no choice will they truly make up their minds." The successors of the Human Alliance Chu Guang dealt with most frequently were precisely those folks on the east coast. Frankly, doing business with Enterprise was quite pleasant. As long as the returns were generous enough and core interests weren't touched, they didn't mind letting their partners take a small cut. After all, personal favors were an investment in their eyes. However, counting on them during a major crisis was sheer naivety. When the Legion tore up the treaty from a century and a half ago and nearly punched straight through Sunset Province, the Supreme Council had merely issued a harsh statement. In fact, that harsh statement didn't even reach the Heart of Steel until the Alliance had captured the airship. Through Yi Chuan, Chu Guang had already secured the Council's support, and a shipment of valuable aid was on its way. Yet expecting Enterprise to help blockade a province thousands of kilometers away from Ideal City was, even to Chu Guang himself, nothing short of a pipe dream. "...Is nuclear bombardment our only option?" Heya asked with mixed emotions. "I haven't thought of a better way for now, but... at the very least, we must first resolve the problem before us. Jinhe City and Jinchuan Province can still be saved." Saying so, Chu Guang looked toward the porthole on the side of the captain's quarters. Behind drifting clouds, the grey-fog-shrouded land faintly peeked through. Currently, this was the only patch of land in all of Jinchuan Province corrupted by the Na fruit. After all, the ruins of Singularity City had once stood here, so the number of survivors and settlements was quite high. The wasteland was full of no-man's-lands where not a single settlement could be found for dozens of li, with only occasional scattered households living like savages. In such deserted regions, relying purely on natural transmission through animals made it very difficult for the Na fruit's corruption to jump straight to the second stage. It could be said that this plague designed by the Church of the Torch, dubbed "Na fruit," was practically tailor-made for the vast majority of survivor settlements across the wasteland. Noticing the conflicted look in Heya's eyes, Chu Guang suddenly thought of something and adopted a comforting tone. "Don't burden yourself with too much guilt either. Perhaps your mentor, Kalian, was merely bewitched or coerced by those people... this might not have been created by her." Though having met that Luo Qian, he felt the possibility was slim. Those people believed unswervingly in what they were doing. Even if hesitation lingered in their hearts, it was born solely of moral conscience over their methods, not doubt in the ultimate outcome. They truly believed that that world was a utopia greater than the Era of Prosperity. "No need to comfort me. I'll ask her in person about this..." Heya took a deep breath, steadying her emotions. Then she seemed to think of something, raised an eyebrow at Chu Guang, and tossed the subject back in a teasing tone. "Speaking of which, you haven't even sorted out your own headache, yet you're here comforting me?" Not minding her banter in the slightest, Chu Guang smiled. "You're our chief biologist. If something happens to you, much of our work will grind to a halt." "Stop flattering me. There are plenty of people far more experienced than I am." Heya rolled her eyes, but her heart was as sweet as honey. Having one's hard work recognized was a pleasant thing for anyone, and she naturally was no exception. Sensing that her mood had improved, Chu Guang nodded with a smile. "Knowledge and experience can be accumulated over time, but to the Alliance, what's irreplaceable is you... That covers the basic situation. Let's leave the call here. It's getting late—get some rest." The corners of Heya's mouth curved upward. "Same to you. You just handled the mess in Boulder City and turned right around to dash off to Jinchuan Province. Don't run yourself ragged." Chu Guang let out a hearty chuckle. "Don't worry, my body is plenty sturdy. As if you didn't know." For some reason, this woman, who always loved to joke that he wasn't human, inexplicably flushed crimson. Spitting out a flustered "Bah!", she vanished from the holographic projection... *** Inside a pure-white virtual space, the ceiling radiated a warm white glow. A few patches of flowers and grass had sprouted on the pristine floor, though all the leaves and stems were pure white, swaying ethereally in a room untouched by wind. Their crystal-clear silhouettes resembled corpse blossoms blooming over the dead... Standing in the center of the room, Jiang Xuezhou swept her gaze around and quickly spotted the girl sitting in the corner with her knees pulled to her chest. Her face was expressionless. She merely sat there quietly, gazing at the patch of floor right before the tips of her shoes, looking as though she were pondering something. Jiang Xuezhou hesitated for a moment before deciding on an ordinary opening line to greet her. "Are you... all right?" Yinyin lifted her head to look at her and slowly nodded. "Mm, I'm fine... just a little confused." "Confused?" Jiang Xuezhou rested her hands on her knees, leaning down to speak in a gentle tone. "My name is Jiang Xuezhou. I'm a researcher from the Academy... Would you like to tell me what's confusing you? Maybe I can help you answer it." "I don't mind," Yinyin replied, resting the back of her head against the invisible wall behind her as she watched this unfamiliar older girl. "That big brother called the Administrator told me that Grandpa Luo Qian gave this strange room to me so that I could live when I should have died. But..." A trace of bewilderment touched those bright eyes. Yinyin tilted her head slightly, uttering words completely unbefitting her age. "What am I, really?" *What am I?* Jiang Xuezhou froze for an instant and blurted out subconsciously, "You're of course..." "Zhao Yinyin. I know my name," Yinyin cut her off, letting out a soft sigh, looking somewhat troubled. "But I don't know whether the me right now is really me, or just the me from that old grandpa's memories." Jiang Xuezhou stared blankly at Yinyin sitting in the corner, her mouth hanging slightly open, finding it hard to believe these words had come from an eight-year-old girl. Seeming to notice her shock, Yinyin smiled sheepishly, banishing the troubled look from her face. "Sorry for saying weird things. That's just my own silly worry. Please don't mind it." Jiang Xuezhou did not know how to respond, managing only a gentle nod. "We... will do our best to get you out of here as soon as possible. Please give us some time." "Mm, I believe you all. It would be nice to go out and play. Xiao Yang and I promised to play hide-and-seek together," Yinyin said, her face blooming into a smile as if her earlier distress had never existed, shifting the topic. "You came looking for me because you need something, right? Can you tell Yinyin what it is?" Feeling a bit ashamed, Jiang Xuezhou nodded. "Yes, there are indeed a few things I'd like to ask you. It could save many lives... Of course, you can refuse if you don't want to. Just tell me truthfully what you know." She had assumed it would take some time to get this little girl to open up. To her surprise, Yinyin nodded generously and looked at her with a smile. "No problem! I'll tell you whatever I know. Ask away!" She didn't want to repeat the mistake of keeping secrets again. Having died once, she had come to understand that. Staring at the little girl in a daze, Jiang Xuezhou collected herself, hurriedly thanked her with a blush, and began her questioning. In truth, before coming here, she had already learned about the Na fruit and its research from her mentor. This inquiry was mainly focused on the basic conditions at Pinecone Wood Farm, including certain patient behaviors in the early stages of infection, shifts in the overall atmosphere of the settlement, and so forth. She took care to phrase her questions in ways a child could understand, and Yinyin answered each of them truthfully after listening. After asking the final question, Jiang Xuezhou rested her chin in her hand and sank into thought. Yinyin, who had been watching her intently, suddenly spoke up in a melodious voice. "You're a lot like that big sister." Jiang Xuezhou blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. "That... big sister?" "Mm." Yinyin nodded gently, looking at her with wide, bright eyes. "Another big sister asked these questions before... She seemed to be a doctor from the Alliance, the one who often checks on Xiao Yang." *A doctor?* Though she found it a bit odd, Jiang Xuezhou didn't dwell on it. She nodded, said her thanks, and waved goodbye to Yinyin. *** In the medical bay of the Heart of Steel. Standing beside the fully sealed cryogenic pod, Xiao Yang looked with worry at Jiang Xuezhou, who had just removed her neural interface gear, and asked in a whisper, "Yinyin... is she all right?" Placing the neural interface equipment on the nearby table, Jiang Xuezhou gave Xiao Yang a gentle look and said, "She's feeling a bit lonely. Could I trouble you to keep her company more often?" Xiao Yang nodded sensibly. "Mm... I'll stay with Yinyin all the time and tell her about what's happening outside, right until she wakes up." Seeing that well-behaved little figure, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but curve her lips, reaching out with her right hand to dotingly pat her small head. "Good girl." Watching those crescent-curved eyelashes and that radiant smile, she felt the day's exhaustion and unpleasantness melt away. *Damn it!* *I want to keep one so badly!* Still, it was only a passing thought; she didn't genuinely plan on taking the little girl back to the Wandering Marsh. Although the Academy possessed lavish material conditions, that was strictly reserved for its researchers. For ordinary people incapable of producing "value beyond production," it was an entirely different story. In settlements governed by the Science Committee, regular survivors wouldn't starve to death, but they were only guaranteed the bare minimum nutritional intake for subsistence. Aside from clawing their way through the solitary examination, there was practically no hope of changing their lot. She had heard that a handful of settlements operated outside the Science Committee's standard rules, mainly housing the families of senior researchers to ensure superior genes and cognitive patterns could be passed to the next generation. Yet she was merely a D-grade researcher. She couldn't even send her own family there, let alone someone with no blood relation whatsoever. With her visit to Yinyin concluded, Jiang Xuezhou backed out of the ward and gently pulled the door shut. Yet the moment she stepped outside, she spotted a certain obnoxious fellow. Her face instantly dropped, and she crossed her arms, glaring at him with icy eyes. "I came here with the Administrator's permission." Forced back two steps by the palpable killing intent radiating from her, Ye Shi scratched the back of his head sheepishly and mumbled, "I know." "Then what are you doing here?" Jiang Xuezhou tilted her chin up slightly, her gaze cold. "Must I spell it out? I have zero interest in your junk. I'd rather stare at a paramecium than steal your tech—" "I'm sorry." "..." Never expecting this guy to apologize, Jiang Xuezhou caught herself midway through her harsh words, staring at him in mild bewilderment. Ye Shi's eyes drifted to the side, too embarrassed to look her in the face. It was indeed awkward as hell. He had only just learned from the quest system that she had accompanied her mentor here to assist with the crisis. Back in Dawn City, he had not only suspected her of being a spy, but even demanded to know why she had taken so long to show up... Looking back, that truly wasn't appropriate to say, at least not coming from him. Before logging off, he had received a harsh glare from his little sister. After some hesitation, he finally climbed out of his hibernation pod, resolving to clear the air before calling it a day. "I said some pretty out-of-line things before. I won't lie and say I didn't mean it, because at the time I really did think that way—I thought I'd triggered some hidden quest or something... But please let me take those words back. It was my fault for jumping to conclusions without investigating, which caused such a huge misunderstanding." Reaching this point, he felt a bit disgruntled, feeling as though he were admitting defeat, so he couldn't resist muttering an addition under his breath. "Of course, it's not entirely on me either. Why couldn't you just say what you came for in the first place?... Acting all sneaky, asking me to give you a tour, whispering about secrets and missions—how could I not think the wrong thing?" Jiang Xuezhou stared at him for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. Ye Shi looked up in dissatisfaction. "What are you laughing at? I'm trying to be reasonable here!" He had expected her to restrain herself, but she only laughed louder. "Ahahaha! Nothing. Seeing how rare it is for you to be so straightforward, this lady will act as if those unpleasantries never happened." Lifting her right hand to flip the ponytail draped over her shoulder behind her back, Jiang Xuezhou lowered her upturned nose and curled her lips into a faint smile. "Actually, it was pretty funny. It's the first time I've ever been hauled into a precinct as a spy... though my mentor chewed me out after I got back." Being chewed out didn't matter much. It was inconveniencing so many uninvolved people that made her feel a bit guilty, which had even drawn out the mayor of Dawn City in the end. When she returned, she would send a letter of thanks to the Dawn City guard station... Seeing Jiang Xuezhou bounce back, Ye Shi breathed a sigh of relief, his face settling into his usual silly grin. "Well... now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, if you have any quests—I mean, troubles or worries—you can come find me. I'll head back for now." Seeing Ye Shi turn to leave, Jiang Xuezhou instinctively called out, "Wait!" Ye Shi halted his steps and glanced back at her with a puzzled look. "Something else?" "Um..." Jiang Xuezhou looked aside with mild embarrassment, twirling the tip of her ponytail with her fingers, feeling rather awkward. "You know... my mentor and I are here to resolve that Na fruit issue, right? Since outdoor field investigations are mostly handled by us D-grades, there'll probably be lots of outings. Al-although I'm very strong—I could easily take on one or two hundred Awakened if I got serious—it would still be nice to have someone help fetch tea, carry water, and handle miscellaneous chores..." Seeing that the guy hadn't offered the slightest reaction after listening for so long, Jiang Xuezhou gnashed her teeth in exasperation, throwing caution to the wind to spell it out completely. "In-in short... if you're not busy, could you please give me a hand?" *Sheesh.* *Just this little thing?!* Having finally understood her rambling explanation, Ye Shi let out a bright laugh. "Leave it to me! While I might not be of much use fetching tea or running errands, protecting you is a piece of cake! Rest assured, as long as yours truly is breathing, I won't let you get a scratch." Caught completely off guard by such a direct pitch, Xiao Jiang froze, and the next instant her face turned as red as an apple. "Y-y-you better brace yourself! I-I don't hold back when bossing people around... R-remember to write your will!" Stammering out a string of incoherent threats, Jiang Xuezhou fled like a startled rabbit, vanishing like a gust of wind. By the time she finally came to her senses, she found herself standing in her room's bathroom, water from the showerhead rushing against her face. Jiang Xuezhou wanted to punch herself in regret, but couldn't bring herself to do it, ultimately slamming her fist into the bathroom wall. *Ahhh!* *What kind of stupid nonsense did I just say?!* She wished she could find a crack in the wall and crawl inside... Unlike the mortified Xiao Jiang, a certain fellow hadn't paid the slightest heed to her inauspicious "threat," not taking it seriously at all. What a joke. Who could out-trash-talk him? He could rattle off a basketful of nastier banter and even weave it into a poem. Even Fang Chang, the most articulate of the group, was no match for him and could only roll his eyes and shut up to play his game. He wasn't bragging. As a veteran of the Zu'an server, he had never lost a flame war with his mouth. What truly puzzled Ye Shi was something else entirely... Watching the NPC's retreating back, he pulled out his VM, opened the quest log, and scratched the back of his head. "Weird." Why hadn't a quest popped up? Logically speaking, acting as a bodyguard for a "special researcher" from the Academy should count as a hidden quest at the very least. Ye Shi couldn't help but mutter inwardly. *Don't tell me the damned devs forgot about yours truly...* Peeking through the crack of the door, Xiao Yang quietly pulled her head back, mimicking the big brother by scratching the back of her head. Earlier, hearing people arguing in the hallway, she had wanted to see what was going on, only to witness a scene that left her completely bewildered. Though she hadn't understood a single thing they said, it somehow seemed very impressive... *** The long night finally passed. As dawn crept over the horizon, a patch of pale white lit up the murky sky. No matter how thick the ground fog was, it could not stop the sun from rising as usual. Even if warm sunlight was momentarily blocked by bad weather, it could not stifle the yearning and longing of all living things for its light. On the distant horizon, silhouettes of armored fighting vehicles emerged from rolling clouds of dust. A murderous steel torrent, carrying grenadiers whose chestplates bore skull insignias, charged in a straight line toward Jinhe City with roaring morale. Since the war in Sunset Province ended, the various corps had enjoyed plenty of downtime to rest and slack off. Egged on by a bunch of troublemakers, each corps had designed its own insignia to paint onto their exoskeleton chestplates or shoulder armor. For the Skeleton Corps, the emblem was naturally a skull. Of course, during this rest period, the brothers of the Skeleton Corps hadn't spent their time merely painting. The "Chimera" wheeled infantry fighting vehicles deployed for this operation were the joint creation of Skeleton Corps players and Goblin Tech engineers. This was an experience drawn from the prior war against the Legion—the Alliance's armored forces needed a swift, light vehicle capable of transporting light infantry to keep pace with advancing tanks. In the earlier conflict with the Legion, the Skeleton Corps' infantry typically rode in technicals and armed trucks, but those had terrible mobility and were essentially dumplings with their fillings exposed. When the fighting really started, veteran players preferred running behind the tanks rather than sitting on those deathtraps and getting pulverized. Thus, the Chimera was born. Its design drew inspiration from the Legion's "Hyena" reconnaissance vehicle, while its six road wheels and front-mounted engine layout imitated the real-world WZ551. Beyond a driver and a gunner, the rear compartment could seat six light infantrymen in full protective exoskeletons. The roof turret was equipped with a 37mm rapid-fire cannon that shared the same ammunition type as aircraft autocannons, alongside a "Dove" missile launcher capable of posing a serious threat to heavy vehicles and large targets. However, although these armored vehicles possessed interior seating, most of these veteran players had grown accustomed to riding on flatbed trucks and couldn't stand the cramped space. Instead of taking their seats, practically every single one of them had climbed onto the roof to ride on top. Not only that. Even with the battlefield only several kilometers away, not a shred of fear could be seen on their faces. The only thing visible was an unbearable thirst for battle— "I'm ready to bag twenty-two of 'em! Anyone starting a pool?" "Haha, kills from the Chimera don't count!" "Tch, you think I need that thing?" "If the mutants catch you alive, don't go crying for Daddy to save you!" "I sure as hell will!" "Damn it, have some backbone!" "Hahahaha!" The Heart of Steel's bombardment would begin promptly at eight in the morning. Both the 37mm rapid-fire cannons on the armored vehicles and the rifles slung across their shoulders were already loaded. Leaning halfway out of the vehicle's turret, Mole gripped a pair of binoculars, gazing into the abandoned city looming indistinctly through the mist. Jinhe City was right ahead! Tossing down his binoculars and grabbing a megaphone, he bellowed at the top of his lungs in excitement. "Brothers—!" "Right ahead is the Qi Tribe's nest!" "A bunch of beasts who eat people whole without spitting out the bones are feasting and singing, completely oblivious to what they've provoked!" "Let those green-skinned bastards see for themselves whether their buckteeth and bone scraps are tougher, or our treads and gun barrels are tougher!" Someone called out at an inopportune moment. "Boss! We came in wheeled armored vehicles! We don't have treads!" Ignoring the dog who had just rained on his parade, the impassioned Mole continued shouting at the top of his lungs. "Skeleton Corps! Forward—!" "Throw death in their faces—!" The watch hands struck exactly eight o'clock. Above their heads, the artillery roared on schedule! Beneath that deafening bombardment, the response that met him was a chorus of mighty roars. "KILL—!"