The battle had ended.
And it had concluded in a total victory for the Alliance.
On the square of Fortress Town, standing beside an armored vehicle, [Hard to Pick a Name] switched off the visual battlefield guidance system on his tactical eyepiece, took off his helmet, looked around, and couldn't help sighing.
"...Incredible."
Cradling a rifle beside him, [Ji Mie] gave him a curious look.
"What's incredible?"
"Over twenty thousand people actually lived here once." [Hard to Pick a Name]'s gaze settled on the playground equipment at the edge of the square, where rust-mottled horizontal bars and a slide stood. It was clear the people here had once enjoyed good times.
Though life in the wasteland was harsh, it wasn't entirely a grueling struggle.
[Nobi Too Poor], who had remained silent all along, curled his lip. "Pfft, my hometown's a tiny place and it still has millions of people."
Hard to Pick a Name: "Tsk, is there any comparison between reality and the wasteland?"
Ji Mie teased with a chuckle, "Haha, you should be asking if there's any comparison between a game and reality."
Suddenly thinking of something, Hard to Pick a Name spoke up again.
"Speaking of which, given how realistic this game has been so far... those twenty thousand people should have actually existed, right?"
Ji Mie: "Maybe. Why?"
"Nothing." Hard to Pick a Name fell silent for a moment. "I was just wondering... where did all those people go?"
...
Fang Chang had expected a tough fight after entering the vault, but to his surprise, the enemy surrendered the moment he reached the door.
"I surrender!"
Gazing at the suit of power armor at the entrance and the rows of exoskeletons standing behind it, Alzu didn't hesitate in the slightest, cleanly raising both hands.
Without question, the people in the surveillance room had opened the door.
Whether they opened it or not hardly mattered anymore, though. No one understood how to pry open vault doors better than the Alliance—after all, quite a few of those fellows were blue gophers.
Ten thousand thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, but in the end, he kept his hands raised.
Being captured wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
He had plenty of backup chips left outside anyway, so there was no need to throw away his physical body in meaningless resistance.
Fang Chang knew the moment he laid eyes on the gray robe that this man held high status and definitely had a chip in his head. Without a word, he pulled out a medical gun and aimed it at him.
The device had an effective range of only twenty meters. It could fire hemostatic capsule rounds loaded with nanomachines or tranquilizer darts filled with narcotic alkaloids. Priced at ten thousand silver coins on the official website, it was one of those flashy, imported novelties the Alliance had brought in from Ideal City during its early days.
Since players who could afford it usually wore armor, and players without armor rarely survived to need healing, its practical applications were extremely limited, seeing only sparing use in specimen recovery missions for the Institute of Biological Research.
Unaware that the weapon was just a medical gun, Alzu looked on in utter bewilderment. He stepped back and instinctively raised his right arm.
"Wait... I already surrendered—"
Before he could finish, a gunshot cracked, and a surge of heat struck his arm.
Before he could react, a wave of drowsiness crept over his brain, dragging his consciousness down into a bottomless quagmire.
"You go ahead and take a nap."
Glancing at the unconscious "suspected VIP target" collapsed on the floor, Fang Chang turned his attention to the staff member slumped beside him who had wet his pants, remarking in an amused tone, "If you don't want to end up like him, you'd better cooperate with us."
The staff member nodded nervously.
"I—I'll definitely cooperate!"
"Very good." Pleased with the man's expression, Fang Chang nodded and continued casually, "Introduce yourself, the fellow next to you, and this underground facility."
Trembling, the man nodded again and stammered, "Tomile... that's my name... T-This man is called Alzu. He's an Apostle of the Church, but his rank is higher than normal Apostles."
Fang Chang raised a hand to cut him off.
"Can you stand up and talk? I want to listen while we walk, not wait around at the door."
Paying no heed to the puddle on the floor or the stains on his pants, the staff member scrambled to his feet.
"O-Okay... I can show you around. Please don't kill me!"
"Do you think we're like you lot? Naturally, whether you ultimately live depends on a judge's verdict, as well as your behavior after surrendering."
Leaving him with those words, Fang Chang tapped his helmet and established a link with the command post at the rear.
"This is Fang Chang. We have successfully secured Vault 182... It appears to have been converted into a research facility by the Torch. At the entrance, we captured an Apostle suspected of being high-ranking Torch personnel, as well as a suspected researcher. No missing Fortress Town residents have been found yet."
After a brief burst of static, a steady voice came through the communication channel.
"Command copies. Personnel from the Scientific Expedition will arrive in two hours to investigate. Preserve the site as much as possible and keep all personnel under control."
"Understood."
After closing the comms, Fang Chang noticed the terrified staff member suddenly lunging down next to Alzu, rummaging through his gray robes.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Fang Chang pointed the medical gun at him, only to see the man produce a thumb-sized electronic component from Alzu's person and offer it over with a fawning smile.
"T-This is for you!"
The object looked somewhat like a USB flash drive.
Fang Chang paused briefly, taking it from his hand with a look of intrigue.
"What is this?"
"Everything from Institute 182," Tomile said rapidly. "The data on the Gestalt Lifeform project, along with this facility's research and experiment logs... Alzu copied everything from the institute onto this hard drive and then wiped the original data from the servers."
At this point, he peered timidly at the soldier before him, his voice laced with sycophancy.
"Does this... count as meritorious service?"
Amused by his obsequious demeanor, Fang Chang quipped, "That depends on what we recover from it. I'm no judge; at most, I can submit the evidence on your behalf."
Pausing, he gestured toward the airlock door with his gun.
"Now, I need you to show me around this vault."
Whether the data stored on the drive was valuable would depend on the assessment of the specialists from the Scientific Expedition.
Still, the Alliance was fairly reasonable. They generally reserved maximum punishment for decision-makers, while evaluating low-level executors on a case-by-case basis to determine which actions were actively anti-human and which had been coerced.
If someone was merely a researcher who had not participated in policy-making, they would not face the death penalty. At most, they would lose their freedom and spend the rest of their days locked in Vault 79.
Tomile, however, misread his tone, assuming the Alliance thought the contribution was too trivial—after all, they could have easily found the drive by searching the body themselves, without needing him to offer it up.
Seeing this as his sole lifeline, Tomile hurriedly walked ahead of Fang Chang, eagerly introducing Vault 182 to him and the soldiers trailing behind.
The group had barely crossed the airlock threshold and reached the vault's square when a large crowd of researchers surged through the corridor's sliding doors.
Before Fang Chang could even ask what was going on, they rushed forward, weeping and wailing, catching Fang Chang and the players completely off guard.
"What are you all doing?"
Looking at the researchers practically begging to hug his legs, Fang Chang was caught between laughter and exasperation. He reached down and hoisted the most emotional fellow up from the floor.
An older researcher gripped his arm excitedly, his voice trembling. "Brothers of the Alliance... you're finally here!"
"You've... had it rough," Fang Chang coughed lightly, quickly glancing at Tomile beside him. "What's the story with these people?"
Not daring to hide anything, Tomile hurried to answer truthfully, "They're researchers sent over by Zhalas, from a corporation called North Island Heavy Industries. The tanks and anti-tank guns outside were designed by them."
Hearing that, the older researcher panicked on the spot.
"Don't talk nonsense! What do you mean 'designed by us'?"
Several young researchers chimed in indignantly.
"Weren't we forced by you bastards?!"
"Exactly! After seeing what happened to the residents of Fortress Town, how could we dare say no to you?!"
"The residents of Fortress Town?" Fang Chang's interest was piqued. He looked at the young researcher and pressed, "Are those people still alive?"
The square outside the airlock fell abruptly silent.
Everyone—including Tomile, the resident researchers, and those abducted by Zhalas—wore a strange expression, visibly reluctant to mention those details.
Under the pressure of Fang Chang's piercing gaze, the young researcher finally stammered, "...On the fifth basement level of the vault, there's a converted biochemical plant. The culture vats there can transform living humans into mutants... I heard it was the earliest mutant cultivation equipment."
Standing beside Fang Chang, Yin Chai Yang Cuo's Adam's apple bobbed. He squeezed out with difficulty, "Which means..."
The researcher looked toward Tomile.
"They drove part of the residents out to cultivate Na fruit, and converted the rest into mutants..."
Sensing the hostile glares from the players, cold sweat broke out across Tomile's forehead. He stammered in a fluster, "I... I had no part in that! That was Alzu's project team conducting the research! I only handle the daily operations of this facility..."
"Absolute beasts," Yin Chai Yang Cuo couldn't help cursing.
Ignoring Tomile's excuses, Fang Chang looked at the researchers from North Island. "I have the gist of the situation. I'll arrange for people to send you home later."
Seeing their overjoyed faces, he paused, then added, "As for whether you were coerced or joined willingly for your own reasons, we will dispatch dedicated personnel to investigate. Rest assured, we will not wrong an innocent person, but we will never let a villain off the hook. I hope you understand that."
Hearing this, the crowd hastened to voice their compliance.
"Please don't worry, we'll cooperate fully with the investigation!"
"Our families can vouch for us!"
"As long as you get us out of this hellhole... we'll do whatever it takes!"
Fang Chang nodded and instructed his men to register their identities. He then ordered Tomile to lead the squad deeper into the vault.
Staff from the Scientific Expedition would take over here soon; there was no need for the players to worry too much.
Before pulling out, though, he wanted to see what kind of hell awaited on the fifth basement level...
...
In the captain's quarters of the Heart of Steel.
After several hours of waiting, Chu Guang, who was overseeing operations from the northern front, finally received the victory report from the south.
Within the faint blue holographic projection, Lao Bai reported in high spirits, "...Respected Manager, our forces have successfully taken control of the Death Coast, clearing the mutant nests and strategic facilities controlled by the Church of the Torch along the shore!
"At present, the enemy's defensive forces have been decimated by our mechanized units and air power. The surviving remnants are retreating inland toward the territory of Heaven, away from the coastline.
"Not only that, but we have established defensive positions and a temporary pier at the landing site on the Death Coast. Soon, this will become our beachhead for transferring military supplies and personnel from Port French Fries to the front line!"
"Excellent!" Chu Guang nodded approvingly. Looking at Lao Bai standing tall in the hologram, he continued, "Keep up this momentum and expand our advantage on the southern front! Give our enemy no chance to counterattack!"
Striking his breastplate with his right fist, Lao Bai replied vigorously, "Yes, sir!"
With the war reaching this stage, everyone could see the dawn of victory.
After the transmission ended, Chu Guang tapped the holographic screen with his index finger to turn it off, leaning back into his chair.
Noticing his good mood, Xiao Qi, perched on the pen holder, chimed in cheerfully, "Congratulations, Master! We've finally made headway on the southern front. If this keeps up, it feels like this war won't take long to wrap up at all."
Hearing Xiao Qi's voice, Chu Guang smiled faintly and picked up the teacup from the desk, taking a sip.
"I said long ago that from the moment the Torch stood against the civilized world, their ultimate defeat was sealed... It was merely a question of when."
Though putting it that way sounded a bit pretentious, there had never been much suspense over the outcome of the war. At most, the aftermath had given him a bit of a headache.
In fact, it wasn't just him; even the Academy had lacked a good solution. Researchers from the Wandering Marsh had once suggested burning everything to the ground.
Even Heya had felt that fire was the simplest and most direct method.
Yet these seemingly insoluble dilemmas had found new solutions as his players grew active in regions such as the Baiyue Strait and the Southern Sea.
Though the Torch had spliced aggressive genes from the Qingquan City Hive into the Na fruit, granting them the ability to devour other life, they ultimately could not resist fusion by the original strain.
At present, the Type B strain had been proven to inhibit the Na fruit strain. Having integrated both the Type B strain and the Ten Peaks Hive, Xiao Yu had even gained the ability to synthesize the Type B strain and its inhibitory pheromones via 'grafting.' Dismantling the Torch's 'Heaven' was now merely a matter of time.
Now that the Torch itself was no longer the primary concern, how to build a postwar order was gradually becoming the more pressing topic of discussion at the Anti-Slime Mold Community conferences.
Chu Guang could sense that beyond the Wilantes, who had profited from the Gestalt Lifeform project long ago, even the Academy and Enterprise were deeply intrigued by the biological technologies held by the Church of the Torch.
If the division of the spoils was handled unfairly, another conflict might well erupt. Yet allowing certain technologies to proliferate could also invite catastrophic trouble.
Regarding this matter, he would likely need to speak with the Academy's upper echelon.
Furthermore, beyond balancing the postwar order, maintaining the unity of the Community and steering these hard-won survivor alliances forward would pose a considerable challenge for the Alliance as well.
Just as Chu Guang was pondering his next move, the Tribunal Disciplinary Squad, having retreated from Fortress Town, finally pulled back within the domain of Heaven.
The thick gray fog served as natural camouflage, and the Na fruit hyphae permeating the soil were sufficient to hinder the advance of the Alliance landing forces.
Hunter, however, knew very well that this defense was far from foolproof.
Since the Alliance could use artificially modified mutant slime mold to erode Heaven's domain on the northern front, there was no reason they couldn't do the same on the southern front.
The Alliance had already built a temporary pier along the southern coast, and exoskeleton-clad soldiers would soon land in their rear in an endless stream.
Time was running out for them.
Leaving his subordinates at the logistics base, Hunter went alone to the vault where the Holy Son resided, reporting Alzu's capture and the fall of Vault 182.
Upon hearing his confidant's report, the Holy Son sat in his chair and fell silent for a while before speaking slowly.
"I understand. You may take your leave."
Hunter froze slightly.
He had expected the Holy Son to assign him a new mission, never anticipating that all he would receive was such a simple dismissal.
He did not rise to leave. Instead, he couldn't help asking, "Do you... have nothing for me to do?"
He still had twenty-two brothers under his command; he could keep fighting!
And not just him.
The rest of the Tribunal, along with the Knight Order loyal to the Torch... they still had fight left in them! The Church had merely lost a single beachhead; they hadn't conceded defeat!
Yet from the Holy Son's tone, he sensed an undertone of surrender—as if the situation were beyond redemption, as if no one could save their Heaven anymore!
He had dedicated his entire life to the ideal of bringing Heaven down to the mortal realm. He could not accept such an ending under any circumstances!
Seeing the fire burning in Hunter's eyes, the Holy Son understood his thoughts and spoke in a gentle tone.
"My child, I know you can still fight. But at this stage of the war, the outcome can no longer be reversed by winning or losing a battle or two.
"The Heaven in Haiya Province possesses a fatal flaw, allowing the remnants of the old era to find a way to crack it... That was indeed our mistake.
"Reasonably speaking, even if they reached into Baiyue Province and retrieved the original strain of the Na fruit, as long as we beat them to fixing the gene defect, we could have rendered their cards useless. Regrettably, we were one step too late in the end."
Conducting experiments in the Jinhe City region, Luo Qian had actually brought them to the very brink of victory.
Yet just moments before Heaven descended fully over Jinhe City, the Alliance had intervened and shattered their plans.
To this day, he still found that intervention baffling.
The most aggressive hive on the wasteland had been right above their heads. Before even resolving the crisis on their own doorstep, those people had spared the manpower to send reinforcements to strangers they had never met.
He had to admit that the Manager of Vault 404 was truly a visionary leader—far more decisive, at least, than the Manager he had once known.
Then again, if Seven Willard had been such a man, Shelter 117 might not have fractured and crumbled as it did.
Watching the Holy Son drift off into thought, Hunter couldn't help blurting out, "Are we... just going to sit here and wait for death?"
Reining in his wandering thoughts, the Holy Son looked at him with intrigue. "Why do you assume we are sitting here waiting for death?"
Hunter lowered his head. "The allied forces of the Community are constantly shrinking our living space... If this trend continues, we won't have a shred of hope."
This was not merely his own view. Many of the warriors under his command shared the same sentiment—they were marching further down a road doomed to failure.
Looking at his bowed confidant, the Holy Son pondered briefly before continuing, "If you speak of the Heaven in Haiya Province, its collapse is indeed difficult to avert, but that does not mean we have lost.
"And if you speak of our ideal, it is far too early to talk of victory or defeat."
The Heaven in Haiya Province was merely a failed attempt; it did not prove that their ideal of ascending to a higher form of life was wrong.
Hunter raised his head abruptly, staring feverishly at the Holy Son seated before him, a glimmer of hope rekindling in his eyes.
"...You still have other trump cards, don't you?"
He knew it!
They wouldn't lose so easily!
Seeing that look—like a drowning man catching sight of a lifeline—a faint, involuntary smile tugged at the corner of the Holy Son's lips.
A trump card...
Could that thing really be called a trump card?
At best, it was a desperate fallback... one he had never imagined he would actually have to use one day.
His eyes drifted to the clock hanging on the conference room wall. In that instant, countless memories surfaced—especially of his old acquaintances from Shelter 117.
The Harbingers had already set out.
It was about time he hit the road as well...
Chapter 788