Chapter 7: The Only Remaining Human Civilization In The Wasteland

Thousands of kilometers away, the Data and Information Team was hard at work.

The busy, noisy hum here was an unending symphony.

Countless streams of data converged, then relayed to other departments, coordinating the subordinate agencies of the Special Event Response Scheme.

“Unknown signal detected? Have we confirmed the source? Report sent to the analysis team, copies forwarded to the Action Group and Command…”

“Unidentified frequency amplification near the outskirts of A City? Hold on, contacting the information team now…”

Amid the orderly bustle, a sharp tone suddenly rose, bringing the entire scene to a hush.

“The Action Group has been out of contact approaching the alert threshold? Yes, understood. I’ll notify all departments immediately.”

After the call ended, the person clapped his hands and urged his colleagues, “Get ready. Execute Emergency Plan 152 at once. Contact all departments.”

The Data and Information Team, silent for a moment, now received clear orders.

The noise level surged, the coordination of the massive national apparatus proceeding smoothly.

While urgently deploying rescue efforts and cooperative combat plans, the team finally received a signal from the Action Group, which had been out of contact for nearly four hours.

“The Tianshu squad has returned to base. The juvenile dragon is lost, status unknown.”

Because of this signal, Emergency Plan 152 was temporarily delayed.

After the Tianshu squad returned to the temporary command post outside the anomaly zone and reported the mission’s details, fresh information continuously streamed to other departments.

Around the same time, the IT team’s emergency report was also released.

“The source of the unknown signal originates within the anomaly zone. Considering this signal has appeared on the intranet before, we preliminarily suspect there are information technicians skilled in network intrusion inside the anomaly zone who have infiltrated the internal network…”

“Network connection lost!”

Suan Zi glanced at the pop-up warning on the screen and raised his brow.

“We’ve been discovered?”

The person in front of the screen didn’t face Suan Zi but slowly moved his fingers, pressing imaginary keys, leaving afterimages in the air.

“Their response is faster than I expected. I’ll play with them a little longer.”

“Don’t get yourself into trouble,” Suan Zi warned him.

Once the data transfer bar was full, the connection cut off, and he headed out.

“I’ll deliver this data to the boss…”

As he approached, the seamless wall operated automatically, opening the path to his destination.

Just as Ji Ting had suspected earlier, this was an exquisitely crafted mechanical construct, constantly changing its entry and exit points and internal structure almost every moment.

Suan Zi passed through the corridor straight to the destination and handed over the data to the boss.

“This is the relevant information Ah Guang found in their intranet. It contains all his data.”

Ji Ting glanced at the second person who suddenly appeared.

Broad-shouldered and burly, with a fierce face marked by a scar running across his entire face, tattoos covering the small patch of exposed skin on his arm—just looking at him twice on the street would make passersby call the police the next second.

Liu Daming received the data while introducing him to Ji Ting: “This is Suan Zi, my brother who I’d die for. If not for him, I’d be dead in the wasteland by now.”

Suan Zi tugged the corner of his mouth and gave Ji Ting a fierce smile out of obligation, then pointed at the screen, pulling up key information from the huge pile of data:

“Ji Ting’s profile shows he’s an only child, no siblings. Based on his movement patterns, he officially contacted the state ten days ago and became a member of the Special Event Response Scheme’s Action Group. Here’s a special recruitment contract showing he was exceptionally recruited due to ‘special talents’…”

“Combining all this, I suspect he’s not really your brother, boss. He’s probably someone the government sent to impersonate your relative and gain your trust.”

Unexpectedly, Suan Zi, despite his rough appearance, was a sharp-minded player.

Ji Ting looked at Suan Zi and got another fierce smile in return, then turned back to Liu Daming, who was engrossed in the data and hadn’t been struck by Suan Zi’s well-reasoned analysis.

Come to think of it, Liu Daming wasn’t exactly a genius…

Although Ji Ting didn’t understand why Liu Daming “mistook” him for his brother, he was clear that as a typical protagonist of a straightforward story, Liu Daming had lost his parents early on and had no siblings at all.

Ji Ting earnestly opened up: “I was indeed sent by the government and was indeed here to earn your trust, but I…”

Before he could finish, Liu Daming grabbed his hand: “Xiao Ting, you even went so far as to cooperate with the government to find me?!”

Ji Ting’s second half of the sentence was forcibly swallowed back: “I…”

Liu Daming cut him off decisively: “No need to explain. You’ve never been good with words. If Suan Zi doesn’t understand you, I certainly do. You’re smart. You must have realized early on that something was wrong when I went missing.”

Ji Ting: “I…”

Liu Daming waved him off: “But I didn’t expect the government to have figured out how to deal with time travel. Could it be that my ability to travel back was caused by them?”

Ji Ting: “I…”

Liu Daming grew increasingly convinced of his own logic, releasing Ji Ting’s hand and excitedly punching the air: “Then what are we waiting for? Suan Zi, have Ah Guang contact the government. Let’s take care of those mutated creatures who traveled through time with us.”

After several failed attempts to speak, Ji Ting gave up, silently closing his mouth.

Watching Suan Zi’s expression shift from certainty to confusion, then to complete bewilderment, Ji Ting could almost guess what he was thinking—“My boss’s brain seems a little broken.jpg.”

Suan Zi tapped the screen and politely said, “Boss, according to the data Ah Guang compiled, the tech here is less advanced than ours. It’s unlikely they understand the principles of time travel.”

Liu Daming gasped, “Then what’s going on?”

Suan Zi twitched the corner of his mouth and pointed at Ji Ting: “Boss, he’s been trying to say something since earlier. Why don’t we hear him out first?”

Liu Daming turned to look at Ji Ting.

Ji Ting sped up his speech, afraid he’d be interrupted again.

“As for how you actually traveled back, I can’t explain that clearly right now. But it’s not really related to us. If possible, no one would want mutated creatures appearing in their own home.”

“This is a complete disaster. Everyone is trying to control it, including controlling the entry and exit points of this area, using massive firepower to suppress mutated creatures, and sending us to talk to you…”

Ji Ting stood up.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Ji Ting, part of the Special Event Response Scheme’s Action Group. The purpose of this mission is to discuss the current special situation with you and hopefully reach a consensus.”

Seeing the warm, affectionate look Liu Daming gave him, as if saying “My brother really is someone special,” Ji Ting emphasized, “I am an only child. No siblings.”

Liu Daming’s expression flickered with doubt for a moment: “Impossible. I clearly remember…”

He paused, muttering, “Strange. I don’t have siblings either, so how did I mistake you for my brother?”

“That might be related to the Special Event Response Scheme,” Suan Zi added after Ji Ting candidly explained the situation, revealing the next piece of the puzzle: “From this part of the data, boss, your relationship with him is even closer than that of real brothers.”

Ji Ting was somewhat surprised.

The other party had said nothing about this at first.

Ji Ting had assumed the intranet data didn’t include this part.

But now it seemed Suan Zi had held back initially to keep a trump card—something to break Ji Ting’s “false mask” at a critical moment.

However, since Ji Ting had now openly confessed, Suan Zi saw no reason to hold back and explained the “novel and reality fusion” situation to Liu Daming in detail.

Liu Daming’s expression changed repeatedly with the explanation: “You’re saying we’re characters in a novel? That all of this was a pre-designed plot?”

Suan Zi glanced at Ji Ting: “No, he only wrote half of it. So strictly speaking, what happened afterward can’t be considered part of a scripted plot.”

Ji Ting had to stress once more: “I’m writing a straightforward, wish-fulfillment story.”

Liu Daming had been furious at first but noticeably softened when he saw Ji Ting, complaining bitterly, “Wish-fulfillment my ass! I almost got killed by those mutated creatures.”

Since the mask was off, Ji Ting boldly asked the question he’d been dying to know: “I’m curious about what really happened. You had a base, a group of followers, complete weapons and supplies, food and drink. How did things end up like this?”

Liu Daming scratched his nose and said nothing.

Suan Zi answered, “Because humanity is a community of shared destiny, and the boss had the will to fight to the death. He chose to fight alongside us, not to stand by and watch.”

With Suan Zi’s explanation, Ji Ting pieced together the novel’s self-interpreted plotline.

Liu Daming had gained fame on the wasteland using the “base” as his trump card.

Survivors from all over gathered under his banner, bringing news from afar.

There was a nest of mutated creatures at the mutation source, continuously producing stronger mutated creatures.

The number of mutated creatures in the wasteland was increasing.

If this continued, they would eventually destroy all survivors, turning the wasteland into a true wasteland.

At first, Liu Daming didn’t care.

But as the numbers kept growing and no matter how many he killed, none seemed to decrease, news arrived of survivor settlements being destroyed one after another by mutated creatures.

After lengthy struggles and negotiations that could fill pages, Liu Daming made his choice: he led his followers on a journey, rescuing survivors and killing mutated creatures along the way…

If this were a novel, even for the sake of reader experience, Liu Daming would have leveled up continuously, growing stronger with each challenge, slaughtering mutated creatures in droves, leading to a happy ending.

But the novel’s self-interpreted world didn’t care about reader enjoyment—it only followed the established setting and objective laws.

So Liu Daming found that the closer they got to the mutated creature nest, the more and stronger the mutated creatures became.

Even a fully equipped team couldn’t defeat so many powerful mutated creatures, let alone destroy the nest.

Ji Ting guessed the rest: “So, what did he do?”

Liu Daming, embarrassed after Suan Zi’s relentless praise, said, “Don’t say it again. It’s just this simple. Don’t keep repeating it…”

Suan Zi calmly explained, “Some people think a leader needs extraordinary wisdom, excellent leadership, and strong force, but often what we need is simply a good person willing to sacrifice and show compassion.”

In other words, Liu Daming had neither extraordinary wisdom nor excellent leadership…

Ji Ting’s mind briefly wandered before bringing the topic back: “I agree. Kindness is the most precious quality, and sacrifice for others should be the shining light of civilization… So, what exactly happened?”

“He gave up his trump card—or more accurately, his trump card became this city you see here. He gave up the production lines that continuously supplied food and weapons, gave up upgrading the base further, in exchange for a safe fortress that protected everyone—I mean all the people still alive.”

Ji Ting’s Adam’s apple moved slightly.

He wasn’t sure if the implication behind those words was what he thought it was.

“You heard right. The city you see is the last remnant of human civilization in the wasteland.”