Translator: CinderTL
Feng Qi stopped, gazing at the distant metal wall.
In an instant, the patterns etched on his skin twisted, and crimson mist erupted from them, enveloping his body.
Flesh rapidly regenerated.
After shifting into human form, he used his bone vein ability to reshape his features and then took a detour toward the city's main gate.
The Scarlet Research Institute had already devised a relatively safe approach for interacting with the Future People.
Revealing his true identity as Feng Qi would undoubtedly be too shocking.
More importantly, the shelter likely harbored domain creatures lurking among the humans.
After all, this Future Line had only defeated the Technology Research Institute; other domain forces hidden within Human Civilization remained largely unaffected.
Feng Qi suspected this was the primary reason the shelter's cultivation technique information was restricted.
Exposing his identity directly would dramatically increase the risk. He could be assassinated the moment he entered the shelter.
After taking a detour, Feng Qi arrived at the main gate.
Even before reaching the city gates, he saw the statue standing guard.
It was still the familiar figure.
Sunlight bathed the statue's head, casting a hazy halo around it.
In the statue's left hand, he held a book; in his right, a sword, gazing toward the expanding domain.
Time had proven his past efforts were not in vain, securing the survival of Human Civilization—even if only for a brief time.
Gazing at the statue, he felt a surge of emotion.
He knew this glory belonged not only to him but also to his companions who had defied the odds and shed their blood for this day.
Their faces suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Today, I break my vows for you. Whoever stands in your way, I'll kill them."
"This is the path I, Li Xingchen, have chosen. You have no right to deny it, even if it means living as a humble dog."
"Brother Qi, do you remember the last time we saw the sun?"
Fifteen hundred years had passed.
Their history of tenacious struggle might have been just a speck of dust in the river of time.
Yet in his heart, it weighed as heavy as Mount Tai.
No one could erase the blood, sweat, and tears they had poured out to bring this day to pass.
At that moment, he saw a familiar banner standing proudly atop the metal city wall.
The banner's crimson field bore a sword and a book at its center, surrounded by starlight.
Seeing this banner, he couldn't help but freeze.
Memories flooded back.
He recalled the day they graduated from Star City Academy, when they had made their vows under the starry sky.
"Brother Qi, this is the banner I designed for the Dawn Organization. The book represents your time teaching at Star City Academy, and the sword symbolizes your future efforts in founding the Dawn Organization to combat the Domain Force. As for the starlight surrounding the book and sword, those are us, your fellow travelers who have chosen to follow you."
"Hahaha, I vote for this banner! It's beautiful!"
"May this banner never fall."
"Rest assured, even if we all fall, there will always be successors to carry on the torch. I, Xia Long, am willing to dedicate my life to this cause, and I firmly believe that one day it will rise in the sunlight."
Gazing at the Dawn Banner fluttering in the wind, he suddenly felt sand stinging his eyes.
The Dawn Banner, as they had wished, soared in the air, bathed in sunlight.
But none of them could see this scene.
They saw it. The Dawn Banner had come to this day, 1500 years into the future, standing atop the high walls, overlooking the future they had watered with their blood. Perhaps this altered future would be brief, but it was real.
Hearing these words, Feng Qi nodded vigorously, his gaze hardening with determination.
[Perhaps in the future, you could have Wei Wei research super-technologies to extend human lifespans. Then, on a timeline where victory is assured, you could lead them to triumph and witness the glorious future you envisioned.]
"Narrator, you really know how to comfort a person," Feng Qi said with a wry smile.
After a moment's pause, he strode toward the city gate.
Standing before the statue, he saw the familiar words carved into its surface.
After a quick glance, he turned his gaze to the city walls.
There, a figure stood watching him.
The figure standing on the city wall wore light armor and held a sharp blade. His keen eyes, visible through his helmet, carefully scanned Feng Qi.
As their gazes met, the figure suddenly leaped from the wall.
After landing, he stood before Feng Qi.
Just as he was about to demand an explanation, he noticed the Suction Cup clinging to Feng Qi's chest.
"White Eyes?"
The City Defense Soldier exclaimed, his surprise evident.
White Eyes was the savior of Star City, a living legend.
Seeing the reclusive White Eyes clinging to a stranger's chest left him utterly astonished.
"I'm a refugee from Victory City. May I enter the city?" Feng Qi spoke, seizing the opportunity.
He claimed to be from Victory City because the Scarlet Research Institute had prepared this cover story for him.
Star City had lost contact with Victory City long ago, so there was no way for the city to verify his claim.
"Victory City? Hold on."
After another glance at the Suction Cup on Feng Qi's chest, the City Defense Soldier sheathed his blade and pressed several times on his right arm.
Suddenly, a pulsating light and shadow, resembling a signal, emerged from his right arm.
After a few seconds, the light and shadow transformed into a woman's avatar.
The City Defense Soldier looked at the woman in the avatar and began to explain Feng Qi's situation.
After listening to the soldier's explanation, the woman in the avatar was taken aback. She then turned to Feng Qi, who was standing nearby, and asked, "We've lost contact with Victory City long ago. Do you have any proof of your identity?"
In response, Feng Qi shook his head. "I have no way to prove it."
"Then how can we trust you? After all, you could be a disguised domain creature," the woman said, glancing unconsciously at the Suction Cup clinging to his chest. Realizing her words might be inappropriate, she quickly added, "Though I find you credible, you still need to provide proof of your identity."
[Good heavens, this thing is a universal Suction Cup! It can even get you face-recognition access here. If it weren't for the Suction Cup, their attitude toward you wouldn't be nearly this good.]
"I assume there's a way to test whether I'm human within the city?" Feng Qi asked.
The woman in the light and shadow nodded immediately.
"Yes, I can allow you to enter, but there's a condition."
Turning to the City Defense Soldier, she said, "Hammer, put the restraint cuffs on him and take him to the Third Research Lab to see Director Lu for a physical examination."
"Understood!" the City Defense Soldier replied instantly.
After closing the communication image, he reached behind his waist and pulled out a pair of metal cuffs.
Seeing this, Feng Qi cooperated by holding out his hands.
As the metal cuffs were fastened, he could clearly feel the flow of his mental energy gradually slowing down. His telekinesis was completely blocked from escaping his body.
This type of technological device reminded him of the Spirit Energy Forbidden Zone invented by Mo in his memories. He suspected it might be an improved version of that technology.
"Until we can verify your trustworthiness, don't make any sudden moves. Once we're inside, stay close to me."
"Understood," he replied immediately.
At that moment, the City Defense Soldier shouted to the team members watching from the city wall. Then, he tapped twice on the Virtual Screen on his right forearm.
Suddenly, a crack split open in the middle of the metal city wall. The wall retracted on both sides, revealing an inward-leading passage.
Following the man, Feng Qi stepped into the city.
His gaze swept forward, taking in the rows of war machines arrayed within the walls.
To the left lay the drone zone, arranged from large to small. At the front were hummingbird-shaped reconnaissance drones, followed by medium-sized multi-purpose drones, and finally, heavy-duty drones for fire support.
To the right stood plasma cannons pointed skyward, their black casings gleaming metallic under the sunlight.
Behind the cannons were closed missile silos.
Continuing deeper, the ground ahead was paved with spirit energy crystals, with array flags planted nearby, emitting a soft, hazy glow.
There were countless other types of weapons and equipment scattered throughout the city.
The interior resembled a colossal armory, housing weapons from both cultivation and technological systems.
The entire surface space within the city was dedicated to the deployment of war machines.
Feng Qi understood this.
With so many weapons, storing them in the underground shelter would consume a vast amount of living space.
The most logical approach was to transport the finished weapons to the surface, allowing for rapid deployment in emergencies.
Following the City Defense Soldier for about half an hour, they stopped before the black stele.
This was the first time Feng Qi had seen the words "Star City Shelter" clearly inscribed on the Black Metal Stele.
The soldier then aimed the Virtual Screen on his wrist at the stele. A green light scanned the surface, causing the stele to tremble and slowly slide aside.
Witnessing this, Feng Qi couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are there other ways to open this stele?"
The soldier's expression turned guarded. "Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing, just curious. If you don't want to answer, that's fine," Feng Qi said, waving his hand, realizing his question had indeed raised suspicion.
After a long silence, the soldier glanced at the Suction Cup on Feng Qi's chest and suddenly spoke. "If the outside world is destroyed, the Star City Shelter will enter a closed-loop state. However, it will still leave a lifeline for any potential survivors outside. That's the second method of opening the shelter's passage."
Though he didn't elaborate, Feng Qi already had a rough idea.
The "lifeline" the soldier mentioned clearly referred to the blood-slot detection device beneath the stele.
At that moment, the Narrator's voice echoed in his mind:
[It was this spark of life that allowed you to glimpse the truth of the future world.]
Next, he followed the City Defense Soldier into a metal corridor.
The lights flickered on one by one, illuminating their path forward.
The moment they emerged from the corridor, his vision suddenly widened.
Before him lay an entirely different underground plaza.
Unlike the empty scene he remembered, this plaza was bustling with activity, even slightly crowded.
The control consoles, once covered in dust, were now manned by uniformed personnel wearing communication headsets. They were in real-time contact with City Defense Soldiers outside and resource extraction teams on missions.
The large screen in front of the control consoles was divided into dozens of sections, connected to external surveillance cameras that rapidly switched between live feeds.
Above the shelter, powerful air purification machines hummed at full capacity.
Several iron doors around the plaza stood open, and everyone was busy at their assigned tasks.
"Does Victory City also have an underground shelter?" the City Defense Soldier asked curiously, turning to Feng Qi.
"Yes, it's built much like this one," Feng Qi replied immediately, nodding.
Next, Feng Qi followed the City Defense Soldier to the open iron gate on the right. Passing through the gate, he descended a staircase that led to a spacious laboratory.
Inside, numerous figures in research uniforms bustled around workbenches.
The City Defense Soldier instructed Feng Qi to wait where he was before approaching an elderly man with white hair to converse. After a moment, he returned to Feng Qi's side.
"I've explained your situation to Director Lu. You'll need to cooperate with our tests. If you pass, we might grant you a resident ID for the Star City Shelter. However, you'll also need to contribute labor. We don't support idleness within the shelter."
After explaining the situation, the City Defense Soldier bid farewell to Director Lu and left the room.
Feng Qi then accompanied Director Lu for a series of physical examinations.
The report was generated quickly.
However, seemingly to ensure thoroughness, Director Lu conducted another round of tests, drawing three vials of blood.
During the blood draw, Feng Qi remained vigilant, fearing the Suction Cup might act violently.
Fortunately, it showed no hostility. Throughout the blood-drawing, Suction Cup kept its eyes tightly shut, remaining completely unresponsive, which brought Feng Qi a sense of relief.
Before the test results were ready, Director Lu smiled at him. "You're from Victory City?"
Feng Qi nodded immediately and then asked, "How long until the results are ready?"
"To be absolutely sure, we need to run a few more tests. It'll take about three hours. Then I'll take you to meet the Base Commander."
"Can I go out and explore in the meantime?"
Director Lu glanced at the Suction Cup clinging to his chest and nodded in surprise. "You can look around, but we need to add another safety measure."
"Please, do as you see fit."
Director Lu then attached two more restraint rings to his ankles and assigned a researcher to accompany him, granting him freedom to wander.
He climbed the stairs back to the Shelter Plaza.
Watching the bustling crowd, he was overwhelmed by curiosity. He had so many questions he wanted answered.
Just then, he heard a childish recitation.
Following the sound, Feng Qi turned his gaze to the right. He saw an open iron gate leading into a classroom where hundreds of boys in their early teens were staring at a Virtual Screen on the blackboard, reciting historical texts aloud.
After the recitation, the teacher standing at the podium began introducing the historical figures mentioned in the text.
Standing outside the iron gate, watching the teacher passionately recounting history and the students listening intently with determined gazes, Feng Qi was deeply moved.
Once upon a time, he too had listened to Old Wang's teachings in this way.
While looking up to historical heroes in the stories, he had also dreamed of a bright future.
As for why there was still a history class today, with the apocalypse looming, Feng Qi saw no problem with it.
History was the soul and backbone of a race.
A race without a backbone was nothing but a pile of loose sand.
Moreover, history was the very foundation upon which the human race had built its existence, shaping the shared identity that united all humans.
Just then, the teacher at the podium smiled and turned to the students, asking, "Now that we've finished introducing these two historical giants, let me ask you a question."
"Now you all know that Lin Guyuan is the greatest genius in history and Zhang Daowen is the greatest polymath. But does anyone know of a genius whose life wasn't as dazzling as theirs, yet once surpassed all other geniuses of his time? He laid the foundation and set the direction for the survival of our human race, his brilliance forever shining in the river of history, earning him the title of the Eternal Beacon of History. Do you know who he is?"
As Feng Qi wondered who this person could be, the entire class erupted in a unified shout:
"Great Ancestor Feng Qi!"
Hearing his own name from the children's mouths, Feng Qi was startled.
[Holy shit, that gave me a jolt... First the great man statue, then the Dawn Banner, and now Great Ancestor? Ah Qi, you're about to take off!]
[Wait... Damn it, why isn't there a narrator for Great Ancestor's dad? So annoying! History always overlooks the most handsome me. I'm unhappy, depressed, and gradually retreating into myself.]
(End of the Chapter)
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