Story Reader / Main Story / 28 Polaris Bond / Story
A big screen shows the full map of Kowloong. Chaofeng places the terminal on a stand and addresses the hundreds below.
I'll keep it brief. Our mission is to reactivate the "Light Wall" in Kowloong.
Fuxi from Kowloong gave us this suggestion since we cannot keep sending soldiers and teams to fight these Hetero-Creatures.
The Light Wall is an energy shield that is indefinitely similar to weak electrical unification levels.
It is induced and generated by the computing power of Tabula Akasha and Huaxu. It uses computing power to differentiate targets and is capable of destroying anything trying to pass the wall with intense heat and cohesion.
The battle in Kowloong... was exemplary of its power.
This...
A device appears on the big screen.
This is an electromagnetic computing power node used to propagate signals.
Some of these nodes were destroyed and some lost the energy they needed to function in the battle in Kowloong.
When the time and place are right, we need to reactivate these computing power nodes to reconstruct the Light Wall.
But there's a problem... We can't set them up only on the outer perimeter of Kowloong.
The Light Wall is only effective near its perimeter. It can't kill Hetero-Creatures that are already inside.
So we need to activate these nodes in stages. We will start at the center and gradually expand the Light Wall outward to clear out the Hetero-Creatures.
Chaofeng gives Bixi's crew on the other side a nod for them to start distributing the tools. Chaofeng picks up a palm-sized terminal for demonstration.
We are now distributing the calibration terminals.
Once you take the nodes to a target area, Huaxu will instruct you to calibrate the position parameters using this terminal.
Once you have the correct position, insert the node. Once a node is inserted and confirmed, the indicator light will turn green. Next, break the glass cover and pull the trigger button.
Chaofeng opens the back cover of the computing power node. He demonstrates how to insert the terminal before smashing the glass cover on the device panel with his fist. He then pulls the trigger.
Calibration must be done before you put the node on standby.
Once that's done, the node will send a confirmation signal to us through the Hexabridge Port Communication Center. That's how we will know that the node is set up and on standby.
Once at least 80% of the nodes are set up, Huaxu will overload the Hexabridge Port Communication Center and send a code to all the nodes to activate the Light Wall.
Out of the 79 Light Wall nodes in the city, we must successfully set up at least 80% of them. Right now we have 347 volunteers.
We will act in teams of three and will deploy these nodes at 140% capacity.
We must finish this mission.
That's... basically it.
Chaofeng checks that everyone has a communication terminal before turning off the terminal in his hand, cutting off contact with Fuxi in Kowloong.
What I am about to say next... is for all of us here only.
Strike Hawk and Gray Raven coming down from Babylonia will focus on drawing enemy fire and clearing a path to the target locations.
The Pulao Crew will also join this operation and will handle an additional 30% enemy attack.
Pulao says firmly offstage.
Yes... and in addition to that...
I've been informed of the costs and risks that will come with reactivating the Light Wall.
Huaxu in Kowloong is also under attack from unknown enemies, so it cannot use its full computing power to help us identify whether the Light Wall is detecting a Hetero-Creature or one of our own.
That's right. Huaxu is still inside Kowloong, but given the situation, that's hardly the point anymore.
What matters is that the further out the nodes are, the harder it will be to identify an entity accurately. In addition, we will have no support on our way back from this mission. We will be on our own.
So... many will never return. But, if we succeed, the Light Wall will decimate the Hetero-Creatures.
I ain't scared!
A young voice bursts out from the crowd.
Screw 'em!
Then came another hoarse voice.
Count me in!
What's the worst that can happen? Death? Ha!
Yeah, me, too!
More voices join in until countless roars echo amidst a sea of hands raised in anger.
Chaofeng seems to have detached himself from this commotion. He quietly steps off the stage and holds Chiwen's hand.
The operation will start in half an hour. Send another message... to the people in the industrial area.
Will do.
You're being usually indecisive today.
...Do you think I care about the infrastructure and money?
The people... People who built our backbone with steel...
Everything we want to achieve... must be reached with sacrifices.
But you don't even know their names!
I don't.
Chaofeng lets go of Chiwen's hand, turns around, and looks at the excited crowd.
But I will remember each of their stories.
It's been 40 minutes since the last transport vehicle left the South Harbor Industrial Area.
It carried the last batch of industrial equipment to be sent to the Nighter and the North Port. When it left the underground transport tunnel of the industrial center, 14 workers watched it leave the platform.
It would have been hard to tell if they were marble statues or living people had it been not for the safety helmets on their heads and the gleam in their eyes under the headlights.
Now, they are all standing in this stuffy control room.
Someone is sitting on the cement floor with legs spread out, fanning the stuffy air with a helmet. Sweat is beading on his forehead and nose.
Another person buries his head in his arms in silence. He is bare-chested, his bronze back showing.
Another is holding the phone by the control console, just to hear the busy signal to pass time.
Another is leaning against the console. He is constantly rubbing his temples, making them red and bringing out their original color.
And there is this other one staring dead at the clock on the wall, eyes bloodshot. A pile of cigarette butts sits at his feet.
This control room is located at the heart of the industrial area. It is where workers control all the key parts of the industrial area.
This room was shut down two hours ago along with the fusion reactor that powers the entire port.
The last transport vehicle that left the industrial area was unable to take the old and massive fusion reactor with it, so it took 77.5kg of ultra-low temperature deuterium-tritium fuel balls instead.
But it left 0.75kg behind in the end.
These people received orders to defend this place at all costs and to never let the Punishing take over the industrial area.
Once Pulao Crew's ground defense retreats to the North Port in less than five minutes, as calculated by the Kowloong headquarters, the entire South Port will be engulfed by the Punishing's red tide, and these people will have long lost their last chance to leave.
In other words, they will and can only provide power to the North Port for five more minutes.
In five minutes, the marble-sized glass balls already loaded into the ignition chamber and the old machine above their heads that has been with them for two years would be their only weapons against the world.
20:47. Pressurize the target chamber.
The worker sitting by the control console nods, opens the key cover, and turns the reactor activation key without hesitation.
Ignition at 20:50. Any objections?
The room remains dead silent. No one makes a sound.
Zhang, light another cigarette.
The worker leaning on the stool nods, slides a cigarette out of the package, and carefully puts the aluminum foil pack away.
He didn't think he'd be able to light the cigarette with his shaky hands, but the cigarette lights up on his first try.
He holds the cigarette, gestures to Xianqi, and takes a light puff before handing it to the next person.
The cigarette shouldn't be enough for fourteen people, but in those three minutes, each puff of nicotine-laden smoke seems to last an eternity.
By the time the cigarette finally gets to Xianqi, the butt is all that's left.
He takes a deep breath and the dark red glow on the cigarette is gone.
How is it?
The worker sitting at the control console is silent. He only points to one of the many indicator lights.
The headquarters told them that in case the situation got better, the Kowloong Crew would send a signal to the main control room to indicate that they should halt their reactor overload operation.
But the green light that is their only hope remains dark.
Xianqi doesn't say anymore. He chucks the cigarette butt and gestures for the worker at the console to leave before taking over the seat.
This isn't your responsibility.
He grins, wipes his dusty hands, and presses the red button.
The funnel-shaped reactor nearby belches out a piercing scream. A blue-white beam shoots into the night sky and an invisible heatwave sweeps over them all.
This fusion reactor was bought from Akdilek. It uses the most primitive configuration from the Golden Age. It's as sturdy and reliable as an old ox.
But if all target chambers are forcefully inserted during full-power plasma circulation, the power of the plasma, which should bombard the fuel balls sequentially, will increase drastically. The silicon-lithium compound assisting the reaction in the chamber will further amplify the growth rate, strengthening the fusion.
By design, this reactor can only withstand maximum critical overload for 60s.
Only God knows what will happen after those first 60s.
Six small deuterium-tritium fuel balls weighing a total of 0.75kg will react completely at ignition to prevent more destruction and collateral damage. This will cause the core to overload and result in a controlled "mild explosion" of two-kilometer radius.
It's like loading six bullets that will generate a two-kilometer-wide sun when fired.
The wind of hatred roars above their heads...
Someone begins to hum a song. Amidst the reactor's intermittent screams and the control room's blaring alarms, his singing can still be heard clearly.
At first, he sings alone. More workers soon join in.
Through the control room's glass windows, they see the Corrupted and the other hideous creatures drawn in by the intense reaction.
There's no need to ask what's ahead...
The singing grows louder—until it is no longer just singing but a roar that drowns out all the alarms and screams. Their voice seems to be shaking the entire factory.
More Corrupted continue to climb up the reactor, wrecking the magnesium-aluminum combustion agents on its outer layer. Some Hetero-Creatures even begin to attack the control room's reinforced glass panes.
Stand tall and march forward...
You must protect the factory at all costs. I now give you permission to destroy all the facilities by overloading the reactor and blowing up the industrial zone if necessary. Never hand it over to the Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures intact...
Do not retreat. I repeat, do... not retreat.
A tall candle burns brightly, piercing the heavy night and illuminating the shoulders of the heroes about to ignite another beam of light.
They will never be gentle. They will never compromise. They will continue to resist.
