The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 278 - 194: Despairing

Chapter 278: Chapter 194: Despairing

"From the look on your face, you’ve already discovered my secret?"

The station master calmly took a sip of coffee, gesturing with his hand, "Please, sit."

Zhou Yuan closed the door and sat down in the chair in front of the desk, with a steaming cup of coffee in front of him.

"You knew I would come?"

"More than twenty minutes ago, I saw the attack on Zuanshi Town through the surveillance footage. I then had an emergency telegram exchange with the mayor of Fire Seed Town and understood the situation. I just didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly."

The station master glanced at the surveillance footage on the nearby screen, sighing, "And I certainly didn’t expect you could command these... legendary powerful creatures."

Even in the Wasteland World, there were still stories and drawings of "dragons." One legend bore a striking resemblance to the Torch Dragon myth: a giant divine dragon existed outside the world, and when it opened its eyes, it was day; when it closed its eyes, it was night. The world was plunged into endless darkness because it was asleep, and only by awakening it could the perpetual night end.

Later, the people of the Wasteland World founded a religion based on this myth, but within a few years, the Goddess Night Cult eradicated it, turning it into a speck of dust in the two hundred-year dark era.

"Are these creatures... a specialty of your homeland?" the station master couldn’t help but ask.

"Yes, I was able to come here from the distant Great Tang of the Eastern Land all thanks to their speed," Zhou Yuan lied with ease.

"What a marvelous creation..." The station master murmured while looking at the surveillance.

"I’m short on time, so let’s get to the point."

Zhou Yuan coughed and asked solemnly, "Do you know the truth about the catastrophe?"

"I don’t know," the station master honestly shook his head, "don’t think that because I’m an intelligent robot, I have knowledge of everything between heaven and earth.

I was created to maintain power plant operations in emergencies. There are more than thirty robots like me, but they are currently in hibernation.

Our programming is primarily focused on power plant operations and maintenance, and we know little about anything else. I don’t even know much about the old world, let alone the catastrophe."

"Do you know about Haibolong Technology Company?" Zhou Yuan asked.

"No," the station master shrugged, "I’m just a power plant maintenance robot."

"What about the ancestors of the superhumans?"

Zhou Yuan took out the [1077th Astronaut Group Photo] and placed it on the table, "These people were from the old world. After the catastrophe, they were sent to the Wasteland World to ensure humanity’s survival. Each of their descendants is a superhuman."

"They have been to the power plant before."

The station master didn’t even glance at the photo, "One hundred and eighty years ago, some of them first came to inspect the power plant. Since then, every thirty years, a group secretly comes to inspect the plant.

They never disclosed anything about the catastrophe or themselves. They always avoided others during inspections, swiftly leaving afterward. Besides me, no one knew they had ever been here.

It’s evident that they were deliberately keeping secrets."

Never revealed the truth to anyone...

Zhou Yuan fell silent for a long time, then asked, "Why do you think they kept it secret?"

"What do you think?" the station master countered.

"Because... the truth is too hopeless."

Zhou Yuan said solemnly, "Each astronaut was an elite among humans, possessing exceptional talents, wisdom, and courage. In theory, such a group could have driven the Wasteland World’s technology back to pre-catastrophe levels, but they didn’t.

They hid the past and fully integrated into this world. Some became Hunters, some became farmers, some became repairmen, but none became scientists or scholars.

Their mission was to ensure the survival of the species, but maintaining the Wasteland World’s status quo wasn’t the best method. The only explanation I can think of is...

They encountered something desperately hopeless, something unavoidable and unstoppable, so even the elite humans had no choice but to abandon resistance, as any effort would be futile."

The station master sighed, saying nothing more, which was a form of agreement.

"Seems there’s nothing more to say." Zhou Yuan prepared to leave.

"Wait, young man, I have an important piece of information."

The station master said unhurriedly, "Based on the layout of the underground cables, I can confirm that a large-scale power plant is hidden in the danger zone, likely a nuclear plant using fusion technology.

That place may already be destroyed, but you might find useful data there. Please go check it out.

Even if the future seems hopeless, life must go on."

"Alright, if it’s on the way, I’ll take a look." Zhou Yuan nodded.

·

Outside the power plant, the battle was over. The mountain and forest were heavily damaged, and the ground was littered with broken corpses and rivers of blood.

Fang Qing had left a few survivors for interrogation, but nothing useful came out, so she casually tossed them to Alice, letting her absorb their essence.

Seeing Zhou Yuan come out, she was a bit surprised, "So fast?"

"The station master didn’t know much, just talked a bit,"

Zhou Yuan instructed his subordinates to return to the training room. After storing the female fire dragon, he leaped onto the male fire dragon, "Let’s move on."

Quickly, they arrived at war-torn Zuanshi Town, where the battle was still raging.

Boom!

There was a loud explosion, and countless crimson blood spikes erupted from the ground, piercing the followers of the Goddess Night Cult. They screamed as their bodies dissolved into the blood, melting into pools of red.

Fang Qing had taken action, easily wiping out all the cult followers with one blow. Their main force was at the power plant, and these people were just a distraction to prevent reinforcements from reaching the power plant.

The sudden development left everyone in bewilderment, and when they looked up, they saw a figure standing majestically on the dragon.

That man stood with his hands behind his back, looking down on everyone. His handsome face was almost perfect, and his entire being emitted a unique, mysterious aura, making people instinctively feel a sense of affinity.

Behind him stood a beautiful, cool-faced woman emanating a crimson glow.

"The evil here has been purged. I will... bring salvation."

Zhou Yuan’s voice echoed throughout Zuanshi Town as he silently cast the Divine Art [Massive Restoration] - a healing spell not of the Night Divine Power but one bestowed by Raven’s divine power.

In the next moment, a bright healing light enveloped the whole town, gently spreading, erasing all pain.

The injured people were astonished to find their wounds healing rapidly, and even severed limbs grew new flesh and regenerated entirely.

"A miracle of the gods!" someone exclaimed.