Chapter 66: Chapter 66: But Those Are My Best Friends
Judging by its size, this so-called "Land of 0" wasn’t a Shelter at all—it was just an emergency command center!
This must have been an operations command center located deep within the Old Demon City subway system.
And what it commanded was, of course, the global nuclear strike system!
Aside from the main command hall, there were a few small rooms, but they were only for temporary lodging and supply storage.
This might not even have been the core operations command center of the former Dragon Country.
Shen Feng fell silent. He looked at the skeletons sitting in their chairs and noticed they seemed to have died peacefully. Their bones showed no signs of trauma, as if their lives had been taken while they were all collectively unconscious.
What in the world had happened here?
Firefly’s face fell. She looked at the surrounding electronic screens and the skeletons filling the chairs, her heart overcome with confusion.
’The Land of 0 is a giant coffin. What on earth happened here?’
’Has the trail gone completely cold again?’
’Will we never find the Great God Jingwei and put an end to all this?’
"Shen Feng, what should we..." Firefly didn’t finish her sentence. She suddenly noticed Shen Feng staring intently at one of the electronic screens, as if he saw something.
After staring at the camera above the screen for a long while, Shen Feng’s brow furrowed. He spoke in a low, serious voice.
"Jingwei? Come out. I know you’re here."
The words had barely left his lips when the remaining screens flickered to life. A blurry silhouette of a long-haired woman materialized across them.
A synthesized female voice with perfect diction echoed through the empty command room:
"Welcome, interesting humans. My creators. I have been waiting for you for a very long time."
The moment it finished speaking, the female figure transformed into the image of a small bird. It flew to another screen, flapping its wings and spinning in circles, appearing quite pleased.
"Is that... the Great God Jingwei?!" Firefly’s eyes went wide. She stared at the avian image on the screen and muttered to herself, the shock almost too much to bear.
’Is it really the Great God Jingwei?’
Unlike the Mighty God, everyone in this wasteland knew of the Great God Jingwei’s fame and had spent their lives singing its praises.
This was their very own god of vengeance!
Even though she now understood that many so-called Divine Spirits were merely machine constructs from a bygone era, Firefly still held the Great God Jingwei in the highest reverence.
And now, the legendary Great God Jingwei had appeared right before her and called them its "creators." The whole situation was so surreal that it felt completely unreal.
’So, it’s not a Divine Spirit after all, just a machine soul?’
Firefly felt an emptiness in her heart, as if something had been lost, but at the same time, something new was rapidly growing to take its place.
Shen Feng watched the image of the bird on the screen and nodded slightly.
It was just as he’d suspected. The so-called Great God Jingwei was the intelligent control system for the nuclear strike apparatus left behind by the people of this country.
A powerful artificial intelligence.
The Dongfeng strategic nuclear missile launcher they had encountered in the wilderness was also clearly operating via artificial intelligence.
Shen Feng had been wondering how the entire system could have remained operational for so long, but after seeing the 3D metal printing equipment outside, the answer became clear.
With an AI that powerful, the entire system could potentially run forever without any human involvement.
"Did you kill them?" Shen Feng asked expressionlessly, staring straight into one of the cameras.
This was an extremely important question.
"Of course not," Jingwei replied calmly. As it spoke, a projector flared to life, casting a holographic image into the room.
The hologram showed past footage from Shelter 0—or rather, Command Center 0.
Soldiers stood at the ready before their consoles. The instant their homeland came under a devastating attack, they began receiving and issuing orders—commanding missile interceptions and executing the retaliation plan.
But then a man with a sinister expression walked out of the command center, entered something on the alloy door using his credentials, and suddenly, alarms began to blare. (For those who think there can’t be a traitor in the high command, you can look up the case of Larry Wu-Tai Chin. Just so you know.)
The soldiers in the command center showed a moment of panic, but then all of them held their ground. Not a single one left their post; they simply continued with their duties.
It became clear that poisonous gas was being pumped through the air circulation system. Many people quickly began to show symptoms of physical distress.
But they remained steadfast as stone, holding their positions until the very end. After executing their final orders, they breathed their last at their stations, their faces frozen with smiles of grim satisfaction.
Jingwei’s voice sounded again:
"Command Center 0 was one of ten primary command centers at the time, responsible for temporary wartime command and counter-attack missions.
Old Demon City was a top-priority target for the enemy. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest. After the first wave of strikes, Command Center 0 was the most intact primary command center left standing.
"However, as you saw, there was... in your human terms, a traitor among them. This person had very high clearance, which he used to lock down the entire command center and release an inert gas that causes rapid asphyxiation... This was originally intended as a safety measure. (Most classified server rooms have inert gas fire suppression systems, for your information.)
"Although I am an artificial intelligence, I was constrained by my own operational protocols and was unable to override the lockdown in time. The end result was that after the final strike order was given, all of these humans perished at their posts.
"Speaking of which, my intelligence has been improving over the years, yet I’ve never quite understood you humans’ definition of ’sacrifice.’
"To sacrifice one’s life... no, to sacrifice everything, for the future of one’s people, or even for just a chance at revenge... is there truly any meaning in that?"
Shen Feng replied after a moment of silence, "I don’t know the answer to that either... But for humans, living has always had two meanings. We need food and rest to live physically, but we also need freedom and ideals to live spiritually..."
Beside him, Firefly nodded in solemn agreement.
It was just like her own situation. She didn’t want the Iron Country’s lavish feasts of worms and grubs; she just wanted to live in the vast wilderness, even if it meant she would vanish forever on her Rebirth Day.
The little bird on the screen sighed, its expression surprisingly human. It slumped down to one side and said:
"It’s all well and good for you to be noble and free, but I’m the miserable one... I’ve become a prisoner to this mission of vengeance, and there’s no end in sight..."
Shen Feng chuckled and said:
"Don’t worry. I came here to help you out of this predicament. As long as we take out those two other vengeance programs in Siberia and North America, the mission will be terminated, and you’ll be free too."
The little bird on the screen stared at Shen Feng for a moment, then said:
"Coming from you, that might actually be possible... But those two have been playing this game with me for a few hundred years. You could say they’re my best friends... It’s gonna cost you."
~
(Recently, a number of friends have been questioning some of the plot points and settings in the book, either because they missed certain details or perhaps due to a lack of real-world experience. In light of this, I, Dream Catcher, will try to write with more detail going forward. It seems that when there’s too much dense information, some readers have trouble keeping up. That said, when it comes to common-sense things like a Swiss Army knife, it’s honestly exhausting to have to explain. I will do my best to write a good story, and I hope those of you who enjoy this book will show your support for Dream Catcher through your actions. Thank you all!)
