Free Web NovelChapter 138: Chapter 138: Humanity Once Resisted
Bai Wu began to read through the document.
Because it was a complete file, its content was much more detailed than the various fragmented versions he had seen before.
There was a lot of content in the file, but none of the academic discussions. It was just a memoir.
A memoir of the leader of a group of scientists from Denglin Technology.
Even though it didn’t delve into overly specialized knowledge, the file was still invaluable, so priceless that Bai Wu thought... it shouldn’t have only cost five Gold Coins.
It was like Dandelion’s diary, like Hong Yin’s file, or Lou Xiaoping’s notes.
Every time he came into contact with these things, Bai Wu knew he would see the despair and distortion of a human’s past in the apocalypse.
But this time was different, this time it was just pure text, and Bai Wu wouldn’t feel as if he were on the scene.
Yet the various clues he had seen before had already informed Bai Wu of part of the content even before he read the file.
...
...
May 2115, Xuanhui City.
Today, for me, was the day the Pandora’s box was opened.
My competitor, Xie Yingjie, played a boring joke on me.
He said that there were superhumans in this world, haha.
Even though I thought this was absurd, he provocatively invited me, ridiculing my narrow view of science.
He said some illogical things:
"If one stares at a spoon and it suddenly bends, how should we calculate the force analysis? You know there are four fundamental forces in this world—gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear. So back to the question, if the spoon bends, what kind of force is that?"
"Mr. Tao, let me tell you, this world is so fragile, fragile to the extent that the disappearance of just one type of force would cause the whole world to collapse, or the emergence of an unknown force could plunge the world into an apocalypse."
I originally thought he was just picking a fight with me for no reason, but that afternoon, I received an urgent call from Denglin headquarters asking me to rush over.
When I boarded the company plane, Xie Yingjie was there, mocking me as always, but it sounded like he was also mocking himself:
"Mr. Tao, we might... fall into a great chaos because what we are about to face might be a physical system we have never encountered before. Oh, I forgot, your expertise is in biology, not our field."
Yes, Xie Yingjie and I were in different fields. We just didn’t have many friends because of the way we conducted ourselves—people said we were like machines and lacked humanity.
Mocking each other became our only pastime, and after several years of ridicule in that place, we became friends.
...
May 2115, Denglin City.
I don’t know how to explain what happened that day. Admittedly, my field is biology. I know that the operations of cells, the support for life, aging, sickness, and death, all rely on the existing physical laws.
But all that... collapsed.
What bent was not just a spoon, but also my understanding of the world.
Today, I met a boy and a girl. Their names were pretty strange; they seemed to be siblings?
One was called Jing Si, and the other was called Jing Liu.
This clearly told me there were at least four more siblings, but of course, that wasn’t the important part.
What mattered was that Jing Liu, who was clearly just a ten-year-old girl, told me with a hollow tone—
"At this moment, your mother is watching the news about the Xuanhui Guardians, and the news is about strange temperature changes occurring in certain areas. On Black Gold Island, there was a bizarre weather change, with the highest temperature breaking through seventy-four degrees. Rescue operations have already begun on the island."
Of course, I didn’t believe her, but everyone advised me to call my mother to ask; meanwhile, Jing Liu told me, I would first hear my mother’s scream on the phone.
Indeed, the moment the call connected, I heard my mother’s scream because a crow had hit the glass window of our house.
At that moment, I understood that what they said was true, Jing Liu could see into the future. My mother was indeed watching that news.
But why? Was it some kind of disorder in the laws of space-time, or was it some sort of delayed effect from light waves?
But today for me, the shock wasn’t just that. Jing Si, two years older than Jing Liu, displayed another kind of groundbreaking power.
They invited me to observe a white mouse, bigger than a medium-sized dog, which I thought was some kind of mutant beast.
When we got close, it furiously slammed against the tempered glass. Until Jing Si approached, it showed fear.
Then Jing Si performed a magic trick in the laboratory, which I can only describe as magic...
Because a lab mouse bizarrely underwent a mutation at a rate visible to the naked eye.
This made me doubt everything I knew about biology. But it seemed they wanted to see me go crazy on the spot before they would be satisfied—
The mouse’s mutation hadn’t ended; damn it, how should I describe this change? Mechanization?
Yes, mechanization.
I was completely stunned, as if betrayed by the god I worshipped.
...
May 2115, Denglin City.
In the days that followed, I was in a daze. I suspected everything was a huge hoax.
A joke at my expense. After all, I was inhumane in my actions, annoying to others, always droning on about efficiency and science.
But everyone present at that moment was not capable of making such a joke, even Xie Yingjie, that bastard, was someone who took academia very seriously.
I can now imagine when he said those words to me, maybe he had already experienced a deeper shock and confusion.
So, in the end, the one offering comfort was Xie Yingjie... as well as Jing Si and Jing Liu.
I will always remember the words spoken by Xie and the two children that day.
"Study us."
"I have seen that the person who will really bring hope to this world is not you, but you indeed are the successor. I can’t see too far into the future, it’s just that in the future, someone because of your plan, will save this world."
"Save the world?"
Those four words came so unexpectedly, I felt as if I suddenly found myself in a cliché movie scene.
But Xie Yingjie said:
"Initially, our ancestors didn’t understand mathematics, nor physics, and knew nothing at all, just like we don’t understand the power within them. But we can slowly learn, can’t we? As long as we continue to study, we will definitely unravel the secrets of this power."
No one could imagine the encouragement these words gave me. Yes, such a complex scientific system has been researched by giants, and now that we stand on the shoulders of giants, why can’t we continue this legend?
Perhaps a great disaster is approaching. Rather than enjoying the rest of life as they say, I’d prefer to crack this new and difficult problem!
"Study us, we will cooperate with all experiments, as long as we can find the secret within us before a greater disaster arrives, before that tower appears."
What is the tower?
Jing Si and Jing Liu are unwilling to tell me because it is meaningless information.
I later learned that the tower is humanity’s last resort, the ultimate weapon that makes humanity give up resistance.
...
2117, November, Denglin City.
The experiment has made no progress; up to now, the abilities exhibited by Jing Si and Jing Liu are still full of mysteries.
I have even invited Jing Liu alone to observe the future, to see if we ever solve the mystery within them.
Jing Liu nodded and said:
"It’s been solved."
"So, how exactly was it solved?"
I was thinking, if the future me solved the mystery within them, and Jing Liu can foresee the future, why not just get the answers directly from the future me?
Just like her previous prophecies.
But everything is just as I feared, brushed aside by the words "butterfly effect."
This is something that I find very contradictory. If Jing Liu’s purpose is for us to study her and Jing Si, to find the secret within them, and the future us really did solve these puzzles, then as someone who can see the future, doesn’t she already know the answers?
Then why come to inquire with us?
Or is it that... she’s deceiving us?
...
2118.
No results. The funding from above is substantial, even more than last year, and predictably, it will be even higher next year.
They clearly hope to control the power of Jing Liu and Jing Si; if that power is used in war, it would be invincible.
Because of this, I have also discussed it with Jing Si and Jing Liu. Jing Si is pessimistic, stating that there will be no war, as something more terrifying than war will erase all possibilities.
Jing Liu, on the other hand, believes that someone will turn the tide because that is the future she has seen.
2119.
The funding is increasing more and more.
It seems to be related to the emergence of monsters in some areas. Jing Si’s temper has also changed, and this child sometimes looks at us with a gaze that frightens us.
That gaze is precisely like... looking at food.
No, perhaps it’s even more indifferent than that, and also with a touch of confusion.
Up to now, Jing Si and Jing Liu have refused to disclose the news of the other four individuals; we are not even sure that Jing Yi, Jing Er, Jing San, and Jing Wu exist.
About these four who might not exist, they really keep their mouths shut, becoming silent whenever the topic is brought up.
If they do exist, what kind of power do they possess?
...
2120.
The funding is still increasing, the study of Mutated Evil Fallen had once elicited much ridicule.
But now, many of those who ridiculed it have begun to study it.
Because the words Evil Fallen have appeared in the public’s sight and hearing. Just like my understanding was overturned, the existence of Evil Fallen is also starting to overturn the cognition of everyone in this world.
We must accelerate the research, we have to find a way to combat the Evil Fallen. Because Jing Liu told us, there isn’t much time left.
2121.
We have made the first breakthrough.
With the help of Xie Yingjie, we developed a method to induce photophobic properties in the Evil Fallen, although it seems a bit late now, since these monsters have appeared on the outskirts of various cities.
And we have no way to impart this weakness to humans who have already turned into monsters. We can only do this before they become monsters...
This is Xie Yingjie’s theory; he believes that if beings can undergo mechanization, then we have no way to use biological means against mechanized Evil Fallen unless... we implant the weakness before they turn mechanical, while they are still human.
It seems an impossible task, but after experimenting, we found it truly possible...
If people are injected with our developed reagent in advance, even if they undergo mechanization, they will still fear light.
Of course, we couldn’t understand it, but now we didn’t need to. Xie Yingjie and I were like businessmen at the moment, only needing to see tangible profits.
2022.
More and more cities were being damaged, although, due to the scarcity of Evil Fallen, they were suppressed.
We discovered something: the inside and outside of the cities were entirely different. Although mutations occurred within the cities, the scale and number were negligible compared to the outside.
It was as if... there were some kind of regional restriction, the city was the inner circle, a mild mutation zone, while outside the city was the outer circle, a high mutation zone.
This still remained something we couldn’t understand, and neither Jing Si nor Jing Liu had any idea.
And Jing Si was becoming more and more irritable.
Jing Liu’s pacification was still effective. The future she foresaw was the emergence of a savior, a savior who carried a certain antibody!
An antibody that could completely isolate Evil Fallen Transformation!
But as far as I was concerned, Jing Liu might indeed be able to see the future, but certainly not too far into the future, otherwise why wouldn’t she tell us the answer?
She was just deceiving Jing Si.
But it didn’t matter, as long as Jing Si could be calmed down, it was beneficial for us all, after all, every time he got angry, there would be biological mutations in this building.
Sometimes it was something else, sometimes it was people.
2023.
The world became strange, research funding suddenly decreased significantly, and knights wearing masks began to fight against Evil Fallen in the cities, and many bizarre churches appeared.
Xie Yingjie told me that High Tower had appeared, in fact, he had mentioned it to me last year. He even visited inside.
He said to me that High Tower was odd, like a place that could isolate all mutation rules.
Our sacred system of physics, remained sacred inside High Tower.
I scoffed at this.
"Accept the reality, Xie Yingjie! We used to be just frogs living in a well, occasionally seeing the world outside the well, and High Tower is just another well! Do you want to go back into the well?"
Xie Yingjie was persuaded by me, but most people became restless. In fact, they had been anxious since last year, wanting plane tickets, boat tickets.
But at that time, Jing Liu dashed their hopes.
"My kind dwell inside airplanes, that airplane won’t reach its destination, it will just enter a cycle."
"A cruise ship? That’s a scam. There isn’t much time left, what you need to do is to keep researching us, to find out our secrets."
But as quite a few people entered High Tower, and as many happy reports came from inside High Tower...
The number of people willing to study Evil Fallen with us dwindled.
...
2024.
Another group left, some in search of shelters, others in search of High Tower.
I didn’t leave, neither did Xie Yingjie.
Jing Si was getting more irritable, and already six young people in the company had been infected and turned into monsters, only to be killed by Jing Liu in the end.
Of course, their bodies became our material to study Evil Fallen.
Xie Yingjie and I... neither of us were good at dealing with people, nor could we really understand the many complex emotions among humans, but we could feel Jing Si’s distress.
He was troubled by pressure, just like Xie Yingjie and me. We had to find a way to stop being troubled by Evil Fallen.
As for the strange rules of this world, we could only study it after driving away the Evil Fallen.
We created a new laboratory for Jing Si, and three weaknesses emerged on Jing Si himself.
After so many years, we finally found a way to weaken Evil Fallen. This was the result of our collective efforts.
We believed that one day, humankind could rely on their strength, to overcome Evil Fallen, to drive them away.
2025.
This year, everyone felt like they were walking on thin ice, trembling with apprehension. Because Jing Si became more terrifying, and the cities became more so as well.
We needed manpower, security guards, cleaners, cooks, doctors, and even researchers, electricians...
High Tower attracted too many people away. Only Xie Yingjie and I kept on working hard to study the secrets of Evil Fallen.
To accelerate the progress, we needed to hire some people; for this, we had to tell a lie...
"Denglin Technology branch, Denglin Technology headquarters, here the secrets of Evil Fallen have been uncovered, and here, humans won’t be troubled by Evil Fallen."
This lie, in fact, was half true.
Because of Jing Si and Jing Liu’s presence, Evil Fallen didn’t dare come close. As long as Jing Si didn’t go mad, people here indeed had no worries about becoming Evil Fallen.
Thus, after failing to get in touch with the higher-ups, I and the remaining forty-three scientists decided to continue the research.
It’s just... I could also sense that in the end, not many of us forty-four might be left.
2026.
A year of sleepless work, both Xie Yingjie and I knew that there really wasn’t much time left.
The company outside was in chaos, and many of those who had been researching together couldn’t hold on any longer; people began to fall ill frequently.
Some colleagues who were more emotional became depressed and listless.
We had completely lost contact with those above us, and the information we could receive was mostly distress calls from other cities set up through infinite electricity.
Everyone was in lack of supplies, and Xie Yingjie and I had to make changes; we ate only once a day. We even managed to have some fun calculating the minimum nutrition intake needed to keep the brain thinking.
A young colleague asked me, "Is it worth it? Hasn’t High Tower once invited me?"
I could care less about what’s worth it or not, all I know is... High Tower isn’t a haven, it’s a premeditated existence.
And I, along with Xie Yingjie, will definitely think of a way to expel the Evil Fallen!
2127.
In the first half of this year, I put forth a speculation.
Would simulating the brainwaves of humans when they are scared or the brainwaves during anger and sadness satisfy the Evil Fallen?
Could it make them give up attacking humans?
When I brought up this speculation, all my peers looked at me with astonishment...
At that moment, I was certain that we had finally found a direction! Even a supply issue that had been troubling us was solved!
The city became chaotic and dilapidated, people resisted the Evil Fallen, fought over resources.
But to my surprise... every morning, there would be food at the door of the company. These foods were placed in conspicuous places, and the looters all around never came to rob them.
That moment, I realized something, we had not been abandoned. At least the people of this city were still supporting us!
This gave us a tremendous boost and encouragement.
But this encouragement was like the last gleam of light before destruction.
Jing Si’s situation was getting worse.
His relationship with Jing Liu kept deteriorating because Jing Si seemed to believe that Jing Liu was deceiving us.
Are all wonderful futures fake, and what awaits us, perhaps only annihilation?
I shouldn’t be thinking this way... especially since I had already come up with a concept to drive out the Evil Fallen, but this concept...
Maybe it could never be realized.
Because in the second half of the year... Xie Yingjie left; he went to High Tower.
Before he left, he told me that High Tower would close in a year and if I agreed to go to High Tower with him now, I would be directly invited to the fifth floor.
I roughly knew what the fifth floor implied, and I also knew what the closure of High Tower meant.
I didn’t feel the slightest bit joyful. My whole life was unsympathetic, chasing knowledge like a machine.
My mother once said that I only cried when I was born. Over the following decades, I never experienced that emotion again because immersing myself in the world of academia brought me joy, and the human experiences of birth, aging, sickness, and death, as well as emotions, were hard for me to empathize with.
But at this moment, I felt a tightness in my chest.
Why must the person leaving me at this time... be him? Without Xie Yingjie’s help, how can this concept be realized?
I still remember his last words:
"All prophecies are deceiving us! There is no savior! Our efforts will bear no fruit, so let us hide back in our ’Well’ and be frogs! Mr. Tao, come with me! We are just mere humans, we can’t possibly contend with this sudden power! Life is but a hundred years, why must we bear such a heavy responsibility?"
Even in 2115, when I saw Jing Si and Jing Liu, I never felt so upset.
"Let’s go, if you continue to stay here... you won’t live much longer."
Yes, according to the rate of mutation of various physical laws of the world, I might soon turn into a monster.
But... I don’t want to go!
Life is but a hundred years, one should live in the present. Xie Yingjie, I hope you find your peace in High Tower.
What can bring me peace in this world is precisely the words you said to me in 2115—
As long as we keep researching, we can certainly discover the secrets of this force.
...
...
Bai Wu quickly finished reading this memoir, and he was immediately puzzled—
Who is the master of this game area, Jing Liu or Mr. Tao?
He’s not sure of the answer now, so his thoughts return to the content of the memoir.
Life is but a hundred years, but in fact, Mr. Tao does not know, many who have entered the fifth floor of High Tower have obtained lifespans without end.
Suddenly, Bai Wu thinks that maybe Xie Yingjie is still alive.
Maybe there is a Xie Family Manor on the fifth floor of High Tower.
This one friend of Mr. Tao’s entire life, if he knew about Mr. Tao’s fate and determination, if he knew the content of this document, what would he think?
Without negative emotions, Bai Wu once again feels a void inside him.
Without a doubt, Mr. Tao has failed.
Even if Xie Yingjie had stayed, success was slim; in a way, Xie Yingjie did nothing wrong, he merely made a choice that the majority would make.
Facing a power more extravagant than divine strength, the mutation of the world, Xie Yingjie succumbed, Mr. Tao did not.
One lives in the present, one lives in his ideals.
But the phrase "I don’t want to go!" still leaves Bai Wu with some regrets. frёeωebɳovel.com
"Did you find anything?"
Seeing Bai Wu at the entrance of the archives room, Wu Jiu asked.
"I’ve learned some of the past, but it’s not clear yet whether it will be useful. Let’s go, we’re heading to the next place."
