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The Very First Zero Point Reactor?! Norman Mining Corp has acquired crucial intelligence about Dominik!
Victoria Takes the Helm! Supervisory Board members in favor of Project Herald! Does Dominik still exist?!
Sigh...
He spins the chair out of boredom. The terminal on his desk starts to beep.
Boss... oh, wait, ex-boss. Hello.
I haven't seen you for a few days, and you've been promoted quickly. You even have your own office now.
Of course, the benefits here are much better than your sweat factory, ex-boss.
She lounges back in the chair, tapping the armrest with her fingers absentmindedly.
Hail the great Queen Victoria, without whom I would never receive such privileges.
Nine-to-five, five days a week, triple pay for overtime, a month of paid annual leave... now that's what I call living.
Ah... sounds really nice.
So, what about the promise you made me earlier?
Even if you jumped ship, you should at least finish your last job.
Huh? Did I promise you anything?
Lazily tapping on the armrest, Trojan seems entirely uninterested in his previous "work".
I've already handed over my responsibilities, down to the last detail, to your other security advisors. The transition was completed ages ago, so there's no "final task" left.
How heartless—
Alright, I've applied for a leave. Just one more minute and I'm done for the day.
Good luck, Leonardo—Your Highness.
Trojan hangs up the call.
...Just a few days into the new job, and she's already mocking the old boss.
Did she forget that I hadn't signed off on her previous bonus?
Leonardo chuckles wryly in the chair, his fingers tapping an irregular rhythm on the table.
Which is the exact sequence Trojan had just tapped on her chair's armrest.
After a moment of silence, he stands up and walks over to the file cabinet, pulling out a paper document with a storage device inserted between the pages.
Of all the places...
As he flips through the paper document, Leonardo's face gradually darkens.
Sipping an odd-smelling electrolyte, Trojan leisurely sits at the entrance of the commercial street, browsing through various messages received on her terminal.
The scheduled return time has arrived... Yet the corporation's shuttle has not picked up a single "Herald"?
It'd be odd if they did—considering where the "Heralds" were deployed.
Norman Mining Corp's reputation crisis... Babylonian Army disapproves of Norman Mining Corp's forced entry into the area where Reactor 1 is located...
They even had time to issue a statement. Looks like "His Highness" did lay some groundwork.
But they can't outright stop them, right? After all, the corporation is supposed to be assisting the army's investigation...
Trojan squints as she observes the commercial street. This area is usually quite busy, but now most shops are closed, with only a few hurried pedestrians on the road.
The Hetero Zone is expanding insanely fast. Most of Babylonia's off-duty squads have been summoned back for ground missions. Regular squads are assigned to disaster relief tasks, while elite squads are sent deep into the Hetero Zone to explore the disaster's "source".
What a time of troubles.
Once you get that footage... how will you use it?
After clearing out the second batch of Corrupted, the soldiers barely manage to set up a camp.
It's so... quiet.
Wasn't this place supposed to... have a lot of people?
Zero Point Reactor 1 was once the pinnacle of human civilization.
Standing on the ground, humanity gazed at the stars, longing to evolve and take Earth into a new era of adventure.
A series of research institutes were established surrounding the massive Zero Point Reactor project. Based on the researchers' needs, more buildings sprang up around them.
Libraries, restaurants, schools, parks.
This area has clearly developed into a city centered around the Zero Point Reactor.
Everything seemed to be thriving, and humanity appeared to have nearly secured a ticket to the stars—
—until the rebooted machinery's bright red indicators started to flicker.
Haven't you heard? Ever since that P-whatever virus broke out, nobody could survive in this place.
Even Ballard almost met his end here... Didn't your team captain tell you to write a will?
I did write one, but I never thought... it would really come to this...
I never planned on going back alive. But if I can shut this thing down, my mom will have a chance to live.
Even if I don't make it back, they'll make sure she's settled into Babylonia.
He calmly explains his plans.
On the Horizon, the city's silhouette could be seen in the distance, wrapped in a shroud of deadly silence.
The city's time seems to have been paused. It stands silently under the red mist-filled sky, gazing emptily at this world.
Here I am. Whew, glad I made it in time. Wait, did I forget to clock out for field duty...?
Are you the technicians and soldiers from Norman Mining Corp? Come this way.
Now we are just waiting for the Science Council members...
So we weren't the last ones to arrive? Where are the Science Council folks...
Before she can finish, the sound of shuttle engines grows closer. Still in their white coats, members of the Science Council step out of the shuttle cabin one after another.
Never thought I would come to this place at such a time.
I once thought that when I returned here, it would be to celebrate humanity embarking on a new journey...
A new journey always comes at a cost; there's no free lunch.
It would be naive to think an energy source like zero-point energy could be so easily controlled by mankind.
True. This time we get to observe the Zero Point Reactor's explosion in real-time. It's quite an opportunity...
The white-coated Science Council members quickly form several rows according to their Chief's instructions.
So many people here... Has the entire Section 1 of Science Council come over? Wait... is that Dominik?!
After giving out instructions and settling the Science Council members down, the Chief, also in a white coat, walks toward the gathered soldiers.
Has the situation become so dire? Even the Chief of the Science Council has to...
No one understands the Zero Point Reactor better than its designer. This catastrophe requires everyone's full effort to solve, including mine. I won't be sitting around doing nothing.
...I understand. Let's start preparing then.
No, just us.
All the researchers from Science Council Section 1 will enter the city to shut down Reactor 1.
We have been ordered to ensure your safety at all costs!
Rest assured that we don't plan missions based on sacrifice.
We need vehicles, sufficient energy, and protective suits.
Remember, once we depart, you need to retreat to a position at least 300 kilometers away.
You are the second line of defense. We will leave behind documentation for the reactor, including instructions on how to shut it down.
If we fail, you will become the second pioneer team.
...Understood.
They watch as the researchers in white aboard the white vehicle disappear beyond the misty horizon like a group of white ghosts.
A lone white sail has ventured into the crimson sea.
...Let's head out too.
As per Dominik's request, everyone else immediately boards the vehicles and shuttles, heading away.
In a fairytale, this is where the story would end.
Destined to save the world, the heroes have embarked on their journey. The rest only need to prepare to welcome their triumphant return.
20 minutes later.
The soldiers and Norman Mining Corp staff have gradually evacuated to a location about 280 kilometers from Zero Point Reactor 1.
Huh? Why did you stop?
Captain, should we keep moving back?
Stay put for now. I'm a little worried.
Are you sure? We are not at a safe distance yet. Didn't the Chief just ask us to fall back to at least 300 kilometers away?
...Hold on a bit longer. At this distance, we can still support them once they come out.
Hmm... I still think it's better to follow his instructions.
The other researchers from Norman Mining Corp also seem to have decided to wait here. Trojan reluctantly returns to her vehicle.
Getting emotional at a time like this just doesn't feel right to me...
Hey, are you really not going?
A Norman Mining Corp researcher impatiently waves her off, indicating she can leave first. Others have already begun setting up equipment. They seem to be attempting to remotely observe the situation inside Reactor 1.
I'll get going then...
She starts up her vehicle.
28 minutes later.
280 kilometers from Reactor 1.
A crude instrument on the vehicle suddenly blares, sending a sharp electronic sound through the air.
This is... the Punishing Virus! The concentration level has exceeded—
Come back! Start the vehicles immediately!
The next instant, all Punishing Virus-monitoring instruments begin frantically announcing the arrival of death. Screams and wails can already be heard from the slowest vehicle.
A visible shockwave originating from Zero Point Reactor 1 rapidly spreads in the air, almost instantly reaching their location.
Bzzz—Rescue Team 1—Rescue Team 1! Bzzz—do you copy? Do you copy!
Rescue Team 2! Bzzz—report your situation! Report your situation!
Science Council Section 1—bzzz—What's the status on the researchers?! Bzzz—
The sharp howling of the vehicle's intercom gradually becomes mute.
But no matter how many times they try to call, the command center miles away receives no response.
Science Council Section 1! Bzzz—Rescue Team—
—We need backup! Bzzz—backup required at Reactor 1—
The communication abruptly stops. The device is unable to emit any more sound.
—Dammit!
Even though Trojan has reached a location beyond 300 kilometers from Reactor 1, the monitoring instruments on her vehicle continue to blare.
She slams the accelerator. The vehicle's engine roars, pushing its power to the maximum. She has never been so focused, fixing her gaze on the horizon ahead.
This is a race against death.
The noises behind her gradually dwindle to a deadly silence. Even without looking back, she knows too well the ending of those left behind.
Will the Chief and those from the Science Council... still be alive?
Impossible.
The monitoring instruments finally cease their wailing. Trojan finds a high ground, gazing at the position of Reactor 1 from afar.
In the last moments of the recording, the distant city and skyscrapers are still standing there silently, shrouded in a thin mist.
The land falls into silence once again.
After the outbreak of the Punishing Virus.
The Punishing Virus concentration near Reactor 1 surged to levels unmeasurable by standard instruments. At the same moment, the command center lost contact with Dominik and all other personnel involved in shutting down Reactor 1.
Even though the command center immediately dispatched support, it was already too late. No one could escape from Reactor 1 unscathed when faced with such a high concentration of the Punishing Virus.
At the end of the data is a list of names involved in the operation.
...
Trojan... you've really left me with something incredible.
Is this what you have decided?
Yes.
A great decision, it presents both risks and benefits.
You remind me of Christina's request to be transformed into a Construct... You are both the pride of the Norman family.
She will join the Engineering Force and become the first anchor of the Norman family in the military.
While you... are the true heir of the Norman family, a true businessperson.
...The corporation's laboratory is testing the external interface models they brought back. I've already picked the next batch of "Heralds". Once the tests are done, I will negotiate with Babylonia again.
After these "Heralds" undergo initial Inver-Device modifications, we will continue with the plan.
Leonardo can only stop us using his previous connections through the army and parliament. But all of Norman Mining Corp's actions are self-initiated. They can't do much other than moral condemnation.
The "Heralds" I have picked in this batch are all high-level employees within the corporation... and their descendants.
They deserve all of this, as they will stand with me to witness the glory of Norman Mining Corp.
It's a well-deserved arrangement. They should embrace the honor that belongs to them.
Dominik will once again lead Norman into the halls of glory.
I'll prepare the celebration and await your good news, Victoria.
No... This isn't right.
Frowning, she tries to adjust all the data she could see, aiming for a more comprehensive solution.
Still can't apply it to regular Constructs?
...No, the current approach involves using the Inver-Device to connect to Gestalt, amplifying the Construct's consciousness to resist the Punishing Virus.
Based on the data obtained from the last observation, although this solution can achieve our expected results, it also demands very high M.I.N.D. stability.
Only the Constructs from a few elite squads meet the requirements...
We need to continue expanding compatibility...
Have you finished adjusting the connection design for the second version of the external interface model?
It's being worked on. We just need two more sets of experimental data.
Then what are we waiting for? Prepare for immersion.
But Mika has not made any move.
Continuously immersing in Gestalt for experiments could exert significant stress on your M.I.N.D.
Although the experiment is conducted within the quarantine zone, it still requires the introduction of the Punishing Virus...
Huh? Are you kicking me out of the test group now?
I checked my M.I.N.D. stability. It has already met the connection requirements. I can...
You can, and then what?
Are you planning to put a monkey outside to help you monitor the connection model's data? Or are you going to drag your mentor out of the Star of Life's ICU to help you with this part of the work?
...
I am the sole candidate appointed by the Norman Mining Corp, so let's not engage in this pointless argument again.
She calmly watches the data stream on the screen.
Aside from those two data sets, how's the rest of the process going?
Everything is ready, but we are still missing the Gray Raven Commandant, Asimov, and Karenina...
No need to wait for them. I locked Karenina's Sleeping Pod.
What about the commandant's connection...
If the second version runs smoothly, can't it temporarily operate without the commandant's connection?
Theoretically, yes, but...
Hmph, I've also locked the Gray Raven Commandant and Asimov in the Star of Life's lounge.
After all, they're only human. After working non-stop for days, they need to rest a bit.
...
What, backing out already?
Hmph.
Good, I like your spirit.
Then let's get started. There's nothing left to wait for.
She never fears the unknown. Even when the path ahead is shrouded in darkness, she would carve out a new light.
Once again, she steps onto that path of chaos.
