The airplane took off again in the darkness of the night.
The crowd below the stone steps watched him disappear into the distance.
“Should we help and relay the message to other areas in Scorched City?“
The three people who walked out heard roughly what Zhao Xinru meant, and all found it somewhat hard to believe. The dust and mist that had fallen from the sky earlier was apparently suspected to be related to the man who had gone to investigate the doomsday demon.
“Regardless, having the pilots of Geland fly from city to city to deliver messages is very dangerous and could easily cause misunderstandings. “
Zhao Xinru glanced at the red-haired girl speaking while wrapped in a wind-and-sand-proof headscarf.
“Yan Delong should be confirming the news. Let’s wait until the investigation is clear before discussing it. Right now, we have more time-sensitive things to do. “
……
Hiplee, rubbing her temples, sat down tiredly and rested for two minutes.
“Captain, the sudden unrest among those people today is really concerning. I’m worried about large-scale bloodshed. “
As Pulate looked up, he noticed a blond-haired, blue-eyed young man in his thirties approaching. Due to long-term exposure to the radiation zone, we all appear pallid and fatigued from lack of rest over the past two days, despite being augmented by the ongoing Timeline.
“Yeah, even I feel completely overwhelmed with exhaustion and despair, like I’ve been crushed by a severe hit. ” Pulate took a deep breath before speaking. “Fortunately, we’re just outsiders responsible for one city’s populace. “
“Aren’t you being a bit too blunt about it? ” the blond young man handed over a glass of water; in the other cup, he was stirring the crushed sugar lumps inside with a small spoon.
Pulate took the cup and said, “Being straightforward has its advantages. If I weren’t, maybe you’d be the handing off watering duties to someone else. “
The young man shook his head, when suddenly the door was knocked on. Then in walked an indigenous Grainwood People, his face sallow, his lips bloodless and swollen from a long-term lack of salt in his diet.
“We’ve received word from a branch: some leads have been found regarding the strange matter of the eyes tonight. No need to panic or overthink. “
“Understood. Thank you. “
The man glanced at the cups of water in their hands, turned around, and went out, closing the door behind him.
The golden-haired, blue-eyed young man looked at the water cup steaming in his hand, then glanced at the silent Shipley who was staring at him. He gave a light, innocent sigh, shook his head, and set the cup down on the table.
But that person ran in again, and this time rather quickly.
“Report. We’ve received a message from what’s said to be a breakout of Blackven Kess known news. “
“What? “
The two discussing how to begin investigating the anomaly in the locals’ eyes turned their heads.
That pale-lipped fellow said:
“A dangerous operative named Yangliner, who attacked Tarkov, has been completely neutralized by the Tarkov people. The Fogfolk reporting the message said that there will be an official report with more in-depth details later. “
“Tarkov was attacked? “
“Yangliner? “
“Yes, ” that man replied before leaving. “It seems related to the abnormal crackling sound in the sky. Oh, they also said that Association Chairman Yang Buchen from the World Ark has already joined the investigation into the immediate device and circumstances of that attack. “
The sound of footsteps faded away.
Upon hearing that, Shipley exhaled a deep sigh. Weary and unsettled, he plopped down onto a chair.
“You know, sometimes I envy that new kid who likes stepping up to the spotlight. Sure, it’s risky, but he has a lot more opportunities than we do. “
“Ha. Well, would you actually want to go? “
“No. Obviously not. “
……
The entire Tarcu was mired in utter anxiousness.
“All electronic equipment has been damaged. “
“The wiring also got burnt out. Basically, our city has fallen into the most primitive, powerless state — no electrics at all. “
Those reporting stood in a line before the Army Lieutenant General.
The Crown Prince listened quietly as the Lieutenant General gave crisp instructions to urgently bring out and repair some backup bullhorns that’d been stowed away in the warehouse, then set them up at both the key spots around the town and its outskirts.
Hazel turned his head in irritation to look at the palace guards who were engaged in a discussion with two scholars in the field of physics. Both of these people came from beside the King.
Fortunately, Sarizine thought to himself, luckily the detailed dossier on President Yangliner that had been sent was not made public.
Otherwise, this area would be full of Fogfolk who could suppress the contamination of demon blood and had mastered the power of the advanced Demon Blood Ring. If details about President Yangliner like that had actually been instantly spread here, letting people who knew nothing about him know his identity.
Then Yangliner, who had anomalously appeared from the sky in the first place, might have shown up even faster, and the effect on the city could have been more dangerous.
A guardsman from beside the King came over.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, our experts say it is still impossible to determine whether the anomaly is related to the report submitted by the Air Force Major concerning ancient academic issues.“
The man said in a low voice, “But according to what the two experts have told us, the related intelligence before did not cause much of an anomaly within the school. However, this could also be because there were relatively few in contact, and mostly those who use their brains a lot who were listening.“
Crown Prince Sarizine frowned slightly. “Not even the slightest anomaly?“
The guardsman looked back at the two university lecturers who had been found nearby.
“Yes, Your Highness Sarizine. They say that the students they had contact with regarding the relevant theory did not have any problem with going mad.“
“Then what about the situation with the few people who went mad earlier?“
“It seems they still have their wits, but they only see things that don’t exist, temporarily deranged, ” the man reported. “The psychological intervention specialists in the military are already providing them with counseling and treatment. Your Highness, the important matter now is how to handle that previous enemy’s intelligence file. “
At the thought of this problem, the crown prince’s mind conjured up that study room filled with many ancient documents.
He was the only one who had read the materials there; even with the most lenient disposal method, burning them all with a single torch would suffice.
But now, the yellowed files cramming the bookshelves, those originally ordinary and mundane words and sentences, seemed to have transformed into hidden and dangerous things that could bring abnormal threats. He was unclear what other ordinary yet extremely perilous content might be lurking within the documents.
“Keep this matter confidential. Those historical records must not be disclosed to anyone. “
The crown prince looked at the man, paused for a moment, and said, “Anyone who participated in the document search should not go outside for now. When this is all over, let them change their identities and find some other line of work. Don’t worry about the rest. “
“Yes, Your Highness. ” The man then withdrew.
Back in his chair, the crown prince felt the wind beginning to turn cold.
He propped his elbow on the armrest and rubbed his forehead.
Compared to the rising temperature when the strong wind had stopped earlier in the night, it might have dropped another five or six degrees, even a bit lower than during the day.
A black telephone, after being reconnected and moved over, was placed nearby. The hand-cranked generator’s roller spun under the soldier’s rotation, roaring like a tractor, and then the light bulb secured upside down on the machine began to buzz and flicker into life.
This darkness, illuminated only by candlelight, was finally pierced by a stronger glow amidst the ebb and flow of many voices.
The prince, too, felt his pent-up frustrations loosen slightly in this atmosphere.
But…
He thought that, for now, they had already managed to temporarily disseminate the information of Yang Buchen’s involvement in the operation among the Fogfolk themselves, under the pretext of maintaining secrecy.
However, could Chairman Yang Buchen, like Yangliner, hope to return in the same manner?
And if the public were involved, would everyone, who had just endured the calamity of the attack on Tarkor, once again face unexpected dangers during observation? We can see from the mentally disturbed crying out, “The demon has appeared! ” that this is likely due to some cognitive bias towards the information— a kind of unknown anomaly.
A man in a dark plaid suit approached and said,
“Your Highness, the visible dangers within the city have been temporarily cleared. The remaining citizens of our country and refugees from various nations are expected to be fully evacuated within two to four hours. It’s just that… we should probably leave as well. “
Saureqiyin sat up straighter, silently watching the various figures bustling in the distance.
He couldn’t be fully certain the plan would work yet. But if he didn’t act now, and news of Yang Buchen’s death were to spread, then that sliver of a chance would surely be lost as well.
“How long will it take to fully restore our power? ” Saureqiyin Hazel asked, turning to this man.
“I’ll go find out right away. ” The man immediately ran to the side and pulled over a busy gentleman in his fifties. “You answer—how long will your people need to restore the power? “
“We will spare no effort to… “
“Forget the power plant, just prepare more generators. Dispatch the air force to pull power lines from other neighboring cities that still have working power plants—the faster the better. Also— “
Hazel turned to the two men who had rushed over upon hearing an order being given, and said:
“Our Science Heritage Committee has been making those Radiance-Tiwi units machines, hasn’t it? “
One of them answered, “Yes, sire, but right now, the city’s entire power supply… “
“Keep a small batch and immediately find a way to send the rest to the surrounding cities. It would be best to notify the Fogfolk to do it together. Any surplus can be distributed to the neighboring states. “
“Your Highness, what is this for? And how should we explain it to our neighbors? “
“Just prepare for now. ” As soon as he finished, the Crown Prince quickly corrected himself and added, “Tell them to wait together for President Buchen’s investigation findings. “
“Yes, Your Highness. ” The man left.
It was only after the man had walked away that the prince realized his words had been dubious, but at this moment, he wasn’t in the mood to correct them. He then turned to another person and said:
“Take me to visit Mr. Lin and Ms. Zhao of the World Ark—say we have matters to discuss. “
……
A new order was urgently dispatched to the busy Ross.
He immediately grabbed the documents and rushed into the already chaotic and poignant atmosphere of the Air Force Command Office.
A few minutes later, some of the pointed-eared individuals preselected earlier received the reports and gathered in a small conference room.
Their positions were dissolved on the spot. At the same time, the general granted these individuals another special appointment, but their work content was changed to cargo transportation.
The few people who received this order looked at each other and sighed. One person lamented, flicking the material allocation list in his hand: “We’ve been relegated to the frontier now. “
…
On a mountaintop where the wildfire had been extinguished, Zorro, having received the intelligence, looked at his watch in shock. “Chase down the spreading news of death? Damn it! “
He immediately turned and ran into the darkness. At the edge of the woods, he mounted the Nightmare Motorcycle and charged into the air. The rippling aura in the wind swept straight northward.
Among the queue of people leaving Talco, the sound of propeller hums from two or three kilometers away made some spot the figures of aircraft reappearing, flying off into the distant darkness.
Among the crowd, merchants, farmers, and housewives all paused in their steps, gazing up at those vanishing steel silhouettes.
“My god, ” murmured one person.
“Don’t just stare! ” the patrol officers maintaining order shouted at the people looking up as they ran by.
These people quickly came to their senses, turned their heads forward, buzzing with chatter as they continued to queue and move ahead.
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