Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 53: From Where We Begin

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: From Where We Begin

A few minutes later, the stumps that were moved into the fortifications were moved out again.

Chen Jian wiped his muddy hands clean on Shen Yue’s clothes, took a deep breath, and said:

"I really didn’t expect it to have been so many years... Based on the corrosion of the equipment I originally saw, I estimated it to be only about 200 years."

"But clearly, I was wrong in my estimation."

"But thinking about it, no matter how fast proliferation is, 20 years per generation is almost the limit."

"With only ten generations, civilization wouldn’t have declined to this extent."

"Another hundred years makes it much more reasonable."

"After surpassing the tenth generation threshold, many things have fundamentally changed."

"Indeed."

Shen Yue nodded in agreement and then said:

"However, this means that our earlier judgments about this world might need to be reconsidered."

"Those newer bullets and equipment might not be acquired from the surface or ordinary shelters and fortifications. Some of them should have been obtained randomly from similar disaster-preparation fortifications."

"Looking at the equipment setup in our fortification, they at least should have absorbed a small portion of knowledge."

"But this small portion of knowledge did not transform into an effective societal civilization."

"Is it really because it couldn’t be transformed, or was it strictly controlled within a small range? That’s also a question."

"A bigger problem is that such a large fortification has no adequate paper books and materials. If the one who opened the fortification wasn’t Lei Jie and couldn’t use smart terminals, then how would knowledge be passed on?"

As Shen Yue finished speaking, He Shuo chimed in from the side:

"It must have been too late—the process of archiving and extracting paper materials is too cumbersome, bringing them here would not have been worthwhile."

"I believe the libraries and archives everywhere probably switched to disaster-preparedness mode on the spot, but even if disaster-preparedness archives were found, the locals here wouldn’t know how to utilize them."

"The knowledge still exists, only the people who can understand the knowledge are gone."

"Reasonable."

Chen Jian nodded and looked at a pile of supplies on one floor, thinking about organizing some people to unseal and inspect them, when Lei Jie already carried up a large screen from the second floor.

"Give me a hand, help me set this thing up."

"The server and mainframe have been debugged, and this monitor should still work."

"Connect the cables, and let’s see what’s on this terminal!"

"On it."

Chen Jian agreed and the group immediately walked to Lei Jie.

After finding a slightly wider space to set the monitor, Lei Jie turned around to go downstairs to pull up cables, while the remaining group connected the keyboard and console according to the labels, and moments later, the operational terminal of the underground fortification was finally assembled.

The power started, and the screen lit up.

Once the system loaded, a familiar yet unfamiliar interface appeared in front of everyone.

Chen Jian had used a similar intelligent system built into underground fortifications before, whose functions were merely for controlling various facilities within the fortifications.

Such as water circulation, air purification, disinfection and fire control, electricity, activation, and shutdown.

But this system had clearly evolved and was more user-friendly than the one he was familiar with.

The system’s desktop was already quite close to civilian systems, and on the desktop, a document was prominently marked with an icon.

Chen Jian initially thought it was an operation guide, but upon opening it, he found it was actually a "work log."

A work log aggregated from various information, chaotic and without any organization.

The first line of the log marked the exact time the disaster started.

Further down was a series of emergency response measures records.

[October 19, 2045, 16:32: Order received, 7025 fortification entering wartime disaster-preparedness status.]

[October 19, 2045, 16:35: 7025, start of material transportation.]

[October 19, 2045, 16:39: Three Gorges, gate opening order issued.]

[October 19, 2045, 16:40: Daya Bay, AOP332, shutdown with reactor still working.]

[October 19, 2045, 16:40: Qinshan, AP1000, shutdown reactor.]

[October 19, 2045, 16:41: Daya Bay, switch to AP1000, shutdown reactor.]

[October 19, 2045, 16:42: ****, Level 1 combat readiness, erection in waiting.]

[October 19, 2045, 16:43: Zhenhai, we’ve shut down power and furnace.]

....

[October 19, 2045, 17:32: This is the last furnace of steel at Dongte!]

[October 19, 2045, 17:33: Nan Fan still exists, seeds have been sealed.]

[October 19, 2045, 17:34: National Grid is on, everyone, countdown 1 hour, prepare to shut down power to protect the grid.]

[October 19, 2045, 17:35: National Library is on, permissions distributed, all terminals clear load, disaster-preparedness databases prioritized for download.]

[October 19, 2045, 17:36: I’m Hua Xi, data has been updated and is uploading. It’s just me left, please Xiehe receive the permissions.]

....

[October 19, 2045, 18:41: 7025, isolation gate successfully locked.]

[October 19, 2045, 18:42: This is 401, we are surfacing, are you still there?]

...

The log ended there, but all those who read it had acquired a clear enough understanding of the Great Catastrophe’s situation.

They had truly done everything that could be done.

No one knows how many departments, how many teams coordinated to minimize potential secondary disasters in their final moments of life.

Nuclear reactors were shut down, dams released water, chemical enterprises powered down and shut furnaces, emergency disaster preparation fortifications were fully activated, and countless supplies were brought into the fortifications by those who were already suffering from organ failure, who might even have had difficulty walking.

Yet ordinary people also did not give up.

Who didn’t realize the inevitable death that lay ahead?

But, the last person still thought of uploading the information at hand.

No one can blame them, and no one could have done better than them.

Chen Jian silently looked at the screen, while the Holy Bloods who had returned stood silently looking at him.

Perhaps to the Holy Bloods, they could not comprehend what immense and turbulent struggles those people went through before this Great Catastrophe.

Yet Chen Jian felt they had the duty to know how they managed to survive.

They should know.

Thus, Chen Jian called the three of them to the front of the screen and slowly started speaking:

"We still don’t know how the Great Catastrophe came about, but now I want to tell you what those ’ghosts of the pre-catastrophe’ did to ensure your survival."

"I must tell you, it was never some deities, and certainly not some Saint of the Holy Blood Temple that saved you."

"Certainly not us so-called ’Divine Chosen’ either."

"Because the things they accomplished, not even gods could do."

.....

Half an hour later, the three Holy Bloods, having absorbed an enormous shock to their worldview, stood quietly in place, their eyes shining with a light Chen Jian had never seen before.

Li Shi remained silent, moving his lips several times, but ultimately said nothing.

Zeng Yi glanced first at Chen Jian, then turned to Xie Liu.

Next, he asked:

"Are we... going back?"

Xie Liu shook his head and replied:

"We’re not going back."

"Don’t you understand? The Holy Blood Temple and Mechanical God Sect are a fraud."

"I’ve doubted this since I was old enough to understand things."

"Now it seems... they’re just a shattered mirror."

"They only reflect a little light that hasn’t yet faded from the old days."

"Why would we go there to follow their requirements, and after turning 19, give birth to who knows whether it’s a monster or Holy Blood offspring with you?"

"That kind of fate doesn’t belong to real humans."

"You can leave, but I’m staying behind."

"Maybe it’s difficult here too, but at least, the light here is real."

"Understood..."

Zeng Yi looked at Chen Jian, speaking with firm determination:

"I am Xu Lie’s mole."

"But now, my life is yours."

"Alright."

Chen Jian nodded and continued:

"There’s only one chance for honesty. Is there anything else you need to say?"

"Nothing else."

Zeng Yi resolutely said:

"If you don’t believe me, I can die here."

"But Li Shi and Xie Liu are both innocent."

"I can see that."

Chen Jian waved his hand, with a somewhat relaxed expression on his face.

He then stood up, glanced around, and spoke:

"Alright, remember what you’ve seen, and then focus on doing what we need to do."

"The equipment on the first floor is what we need the most and will be the most useful."

"Let’s get to work, unseal the boxes, and sort the stuff out."

"If this flame is to ignite... it will start from us here!"