Chapter Fifty-Four: Brotherhood and Loyalty

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He stared at the pitch-black screen, his unsettled heart seeming to sink into the sea. He remained silent.

The sound of data fluctuating was gone. So were the anxious voices—and the cold, synthetic electronic tone.

All that remained in the air was the intermittent sound of labored breathing, as though someone could barely catch his breath, or perhaps simply could not grow accustomed to the oppressive atmosphere.

“What do we do now?”

One of the scientists beside the Commander seemed unable to bear the silence any longer—or perhaps he was frightened by the darkness. His voice trembled as he spoke.

“Heh heh.”

The Commander gave a smile that was neither quite a smile nor a frown, his tone strangely unsettling.

At his laugh, the air around them seemed to solidify. Time slipped away slowly, yet the scientist felt none of it. To him, time had stopped at that very instant, and he scarcely dared breathe.

“Heh heh… What does that mean?” the scientist wondered.

“Could it be that he won’t let us leave?”

His face changed dramatically. He nervously interlaced his fingers, his heart filled with unease.

“Could he be planning to keep us here and silence us? After all, we’ve been exposed to classified information!”

If the command room had not been completely dark, he would have liked to observe the others’ reactions. Human beings were social creatures, after all; when confronted with the unknown, they still relied on communication to gather information.

“Go home! What time do you think it is? Get back and go to sleep! Are you waiting for me to escort you out?”

The Commander shouted, apparently furious.

“Are we going to die?” the scientist asked boldly once more, summoning his courage.

“It isn’t as though we haven’t lived through the end of the world once or twice before… Now get out of here! Are you waiting to die?”

The Commander roared angrily.

He reached over and flipped several switches. Unlike the iris-recognition door, this one opened slowly. At once, all the scientists fixed their eyes on the exit, their eyes shining with hope.

“Mm-hmm…”

The scientists nodded like chicks pecking grain. As soon as the Commander opened the door, they scrambled out one after another, afraid that if they were too slow, they would be summoned back inside.

At the same time, the chaotic sound of footsteps and clamorous voices drifted in from outside.

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The Commander watched their departing backs and smiled faintly. He could not drift through this crisis in a daze as they did. He was the Commander—their leader.

He had to bear the responsibility this incident brought, along with all the problems that would follow.

He took a box from his pocket and opened it. Inside lay a small sphere radiating a faint blue glow, illuminating the entire command room.

He strode out. His next destination was the President’s office, where he would discuss the troublesome issues that lay ahead.

…

Their laboratory was located three hundred meters beneath the earth, in a place untouched by daylight.

Because their various experiments could potentially explode or pose deadly threats to humanity, they had excavated three to four hundred meters underground and constructed the facility from the strongest titanium alloy available. The laboratory was nearly indestructible.

Yet now it had begun to collapse. The iron-hard stone slabs overhead had started splitting down the middle.

Crack!

One of them came crashing to the ground.

The scientists immediately broke into cries of anguish. The floor was littered with all manner of debris, and some people had even been knocked down beneath the wreckage. He had no choice but to move carefully, afraid of tripping.

And just as he feared, the worst happened.

As he lifted his leg, someone crawled out from beneath a table. His body writhed like a centipede, and one of his tentacles reached out and clung trembling to the man’s ankle.

“Save me, Haoyang!… For the sake of all the years we’ve been brothers, save me!… Please, save me!”

His voice trembled and came in broken gasps, as though his injuries were severe.

Haoyang’s expression changed. He felt a pang of reluctance, but after turning his head to look at Zhenhua, he hardened his heart, raised his leg, and shook it several times.

The movement dragged the wounded man’s body across the floor, but in the end, Haoyang managed to tear his grip away.

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He let out a quiet breath of relief.

Suddenly, something heavy landed on his back, and his ankle twisted.

The ceiling had broken apart, sending a chunk of stone tumbling down. It struck him squarely on the back.

His face contorted. The weight was more than he could bear. After holding out for only a moment, he collapsed onto the floor, which was strewn with shards of glass.

“Ah!”

Several cuts split open across his face, and he cried out in pain.

His body writhed. The veins stood out on his hands as he shoved the massive stone away.

Crack! Crack!

Rocks continued to fall from the ceiling. Several small stones struck his back, and he groaned in agony.

Even so, he hurriedly seized Zhenhua by the arm. Grimacing, he clenched his teeth and thrust out his leg, kicking aside the equipment blocking their path before dragging Zhenhua out of the laboratory.

With the apocalypse upon them and resources running scarce, the Federation had prepared mechanical equipment that required no power source.

The elevator was obviously without electricity, and it was impossible to build a staircase extending three hundred meters underground. Their only option was an “elevator” powered by compressed air.

The passage outside the laboratory was somewhat spacious compared with the chaotic interior, and the ceiling there showed no sign of the dangerous cracking stone slabs.

He laid Zhenhua on the ground, then seized his arm with his right hand and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

Sweat fell drop by drop as he trudged forward with heavy steps.

Zhenhua was his brother. How could he abandon him and flee alone?

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