Story Reader / Main Story / 19 A New Divide / Story
Over there... The core of the zero-point reactor is right ahead!
The Punishing Virus concentration keeps rising as Karenina moves forward. The M.I.N.D. boilover alert from her frame constantly reminds her that the specially designed Inver-Device has reached its limit without connecting to a commandant.
But the increasing concentration only proves that she has come to the right place.
Get the **** off!
Karenina catches the last Corrupted with her Blast Hammer and hurls it on the path toward the reactor core, knocking down another batch of swarming Corrupted.
She then leaps forward under the Moon's low gravity, throwing herself along with her hammer like a bomb toward the opening she just created.
Activating gravity control system—
The built-in gravity control system exerts enormous pressure on Karenina's body, her feet almost drilling into the ground to neutralize the impact. All the Corrupted around her are slammed onto the floor, their limbs twisting in strange directions.
Blast Hammer, transform—
Karenina's weapon transforms and eventually turns into a gravity cannon. It begins to make a high-pitch hum—a sign that gravitons are gathering near the muzzle.
Now die!!!
When launched, the compressed gravitons cause the nearby space to collapse. The gravity storm reduces everything around to pieces.
The explosion has caused the entire tunnel to collapse, blocking away the relentless Punishing Virus and the Corrupted.
Cough...
Using the dust from the explosion as cover, Karenina rushes into the place where the reactor core is located. The array of reactors emits a blue glow, paying tribute to humanity's most glorious history like a giant gravestone.
But traces of ominous red can be seen among the ghostly blue hue.
The Punishing Virus...! I knew it. The reactor core has the highest concentration.
Karenina sees a figure wearing the outfit of a researcher behind an array. She quickly runs over.
Hey, are you alright...
She taps on "his" shoulder, only to find his body collapsing into dust. It was but a corpse that was dead long ago.
There is no bacteria or insects on the Moon. The decay of the body can only be attributed to the Punishing Virus.
A large pile of paper full of formulae and data drops from the body's arms. Karenina carefully picks up a page, not expecting to see a familiar signature on it—Dr. Kalon.
Why is Grandpa's name here...?
A thin device that was stuck between the paper falls out and flies quite far away.
Karenina goes after it almost instinctively and grabs it. It is an old-fashioned cassette recorder that few have ever heard of—even in the Golden Age, it would be considered a rare antique.
A few Corrupted that were hiding behind the array suddenly crawl up toward Karenina.
With the array of reactors around, Karenina cannot fully deploy her weapon. She can only kick the nearest Corrupted away.
Tch... Why are Corrupted here as well?!
Karenina suddenly notices that, even with how deformed these Corrupted look, they were all clearly Constructs.
While these Constructs models are not too different visually, there is one thing that distinguishes them from others—
None of these Constructs were manufactured recently. In fact, almost all of them are prototypes that never went through mass production…
The zero-point reactor is like a time capsule that wraps the dead researchers and outdated prototypes in the past, along with the name of a genius. But as the reactor is activated again, time begins to flow, unveiling the secret within.
What's the success rate of the Construct experiment now...? Count the simulated data as well...
Dr. Kalon's rubbing between his eyebrows. He hasn't had a proper rest for a long time.
Don't try to make me feel better. Not even 20%... That means barely one out of five can survive the operation...
Dr. Kalon bit his lips hard. We could hardly imagine the pain he was suffering from those numbers.
The failed cases could mostly be attributed to the part called "Inver-Device", which was supposed to help Constructs withstand a certain level of the Punishing Virus without turning into Corrupted.
Dr. Kalon seemed to have made up his mind. Trembling, he got up on his feet and walked to the center of the lab.
Everybody, stop doing what you're doing. I have something very important to announce.
Until now, we still don't understand how the Inver-Device works, let alone get it ready for production... This will only get more people killed on the operating table and the battlefield. The science we're so proud of is killing people now.
Still, I firmly believe in the necessity of Constructs in the war against the Punishing Virus. We have to get it done no matter what.
Dr. Kalon sounded like a lecturer announcing the homework to his students. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the room was listening carefully.
Our understanding of the Inver-Device is limited to the very few words left by that genius mind... The virus has infected numerous research facilities. Most information was lost in the pandemic.
We were hoping that we could also learn the theory and structure of the Inver-Device from scratch, but reality proved us wrong. The most we could do was to replicate its structure; the technology within is still a black box to us.
Dr. Kalon circled the receptor-shaped Inver-Device on his whiteboard, then drew another arrow pointing to a name—"Punishing Virus".
Most importantly, this device would only work after we inject it with a certain dosage of Punishing Virus... Our hypothesis is the virus acts like some sort of antigen, but we have no clue how it works or how much dosage we should use.
Many Inver-Devices caused serious Punishing Virus infection after they were installed, turning their hosts into Corrupted, forcing us to terminate them.
We could easily get the virus on the ground, but it is extremely risky and there are no facilities to use down there. Up here in Babylonia, there is no way we would be allowed to conduct any Punishing Virus-related experiment, so no access to the virus here either...
Dr. Kalon shook his head. He drew an upward dotted line on the whiteboard, which linked to a small circle above.
There's one last place we can use... The zero-point energy base on the Moon.
Many of my colleagues immediately began to question his decision... Looking back now, it was indeed an extremely difficult choice.
I know... But we can make it.
His words shocked almost everybody. Was he trying to activate the zero-point reactor and recreate that tragedy?!
Of course... We will use extreme caution and closely monitor the usage rate of the reactor core. If all goes well, we should be able to produce an infinitesimal amount of virus to study.
But this theory was obviously too risky. Even the Doctor himself had never tried it.
Right. That's why this time we're working with an external organization unaffiliated with the Babylonia Parliament. Only they can support our research...
We'll be in close contact with the Punishing Virus, so there will be no machine to aid us. We can only rely on paper, pen, and brain.
We are mere mortals... But if there isn't a smart way to do it, we will use the stupidest one, calculating and testing again and again through trial and error until we find the answer!
In this experiment, we need to run an infinite number of calculations, but we can't afford to make even the tiniest mistake... Any mistake will get us killed.
And even if we have prepared vigorously, there is still too much we don't know about the Punishing Virus. In other words, our lives could end at any time...
There's nothing more valuable than your life... I want you to take your time to consider.
As Dr. Kalon finished his speech, he wrote his name inside the circle that represented the Moon. He then stepped back, awaiting us to make our decisions.
Moments later, another researcher that often held different opinions from Dr. Kalon walked up the stage. Instead of writing down his name, he picked up the eraser and wiped off the circle outside Dr. Kalon's name.
The old man's circle is way too small. There's no way it can fit that many names, am I right?
He picked up a pen and drew another enormous circle around the name—so large that it seemed like it could fit the entire world.
The lab burst into laughter when he wrote down his name. More researchers took the pen from him and left their names inside the circle.
When the pen was finally passed to me, I also put my name on the board. I saw relief and guilt on Dr. Kalon's face.
His students had not only inherited his knowledge but also his faith.
Still, he felt guilty... because most of us might not ever leave the distant Moon again.
