Chapter 21
After Dr. Adrian left, the cold air in the isolation room seemed to vibrate slightly with his lingering excitement. Chen Mengzhou slowly sat back on the edge of the bed, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the cold monitoring ring on his wrist.
Top secret... auxiliary work... contribution points...
The words echoed in her mind, but they didn't stir much. Her goal was far more profound.
However, just as she was calmly planning how to use this "trust" to get deeper into the core of Area A, an extremely abrupt fragment of memory that did not belong to her current thoughts at all suddenly pierced her mind without warning!
That feeling wasn't a memory, but more like... a forcibly implanted echo of information from the distant future?
[…Warning… Temporal stability has fallen below the threshold… Final phase of the “Anchor Point” project has commenced… Executor: Chen Mengzhou… Coordinates: Late Old Era, point of catastrophe… Mission: Correct the root cause of the error… Repeat… Correct the root cause of the error…]
[…Insufficient energy…Forced jump…Partial damage to the memory protection module…]
The fragmented sound was cold and mechanical, with an inhuman sense of urgency and discontinuity, like a broken tape, which sounded in an instant and disappeared without a trace in the next instant.
Chen Mengzhou suddenly pressed his temples, and a sharp pain, as if his soul was being torn apart, flashed by! He even saw a brief flash of stars in his eyes!
What's going on?
Temporal stability? Anchor Point? The end of the Old Era? The point of catastrophe? Bug fixes?
Each of these words contained an explosive amount of information, but like flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water, she was unable to grasp their true meaning at all. All that was left was an intense, suffocating sense of absurdity and a throbbing that went deep into her bones.
That wasn't a dream! It felt too real, like some kind of... instruction? Or... a last word?
Traveling to the end of the world...isn't it a coincidence?
This thought was like a cold poisonous snake, suddenly tightening around her heart.
She always thought that she was just a lucky (or unlucky) awakener in this global evolution, and at most she had a little more ability to predict the future than others.
But what if... her arrival itself was part of a planned "plan"?
Who orchestrated this? What was their purpose? What did they mean by "correcting the fundamental error"? Was the error... referring to this apocalyptic catastrophe that swept across the globe and completely destroyed civilization?
Countless questions, like boiling bubbles, exploded in her mind, but she could not find any answers. The fragment of memory was too badly damaged, leaving only a few words and a huge mystery.
The severe headache slowly subsided, but the palpitations and sense of absurdity lingered. She looked down at her hands, which had just begun to become familiar with her superpowers and were stained with blood. Suddenly, they seemed to have become unfamiliar.
Who is she? Is she simply Shen Mengzhou, a survivor with awakened powers? Or is she an executor sent by some unknown plan to "correct errors"?
Had her future self, or some future power, sent her back to the "point of the catastrophe"? Was this the truth behind her "waking up" to find herself in the apocalypse?
So, what she is doing now, is she struggling to survive, or is she inadvertently carrying out that vague "plan"?
Awakening of superpowers, dreams of the future, encountering Zhao Jun, obtaining potions, entering the fortress...are all these coincidences, or are they guided by some higher-level will?
It’s terrifying when you think about it.
Chen Mengzhou took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Whatever the truth, the predicament before him was real. The secret of Area A was right before his eyes, Niuniu's identity was a mystery, and his own abilities needed to be improved. Survival was his top priority.
That sudden fragment of memory was like a stone thrown into a deep pool. Although it caused huge ripples, it soon sank into the dark bottom of the water, leaving behind only layers of spreading and unignorable doubts.
It didn't provide any substantial help, but instead brought more confusion and stress.
But it also acted like a key, slightly opening a door to a deeper truth, making her realize that this apocalypse was far more complex than she had imagined.
She suppressed her shock and confusion deep in her heart, her expression returning to its usual cold composure. Now was not the time to delve into the matter, and she certainly couldn't let anyone see that she was acting strangely.
The next day, the airtight door opened on time. Instead of the food delivery person, a young woman with a cold expression, dressed in the uniform of a researcher assistant, came.
"Chen Meng? Come with me. Dr. Adrian has assigned you to work in Data Processing Room 7." The assistant's tone was businesslike as he handed over a new permission card. "This is your temporary pass. Movement is limited to the designated area. The monitoring ring must not be removed."
"Thank you." Chen Mengzhou took the card, thanked him in a low voice, and followed the assistant out of the isolation room.
This was her first time actually walking down the core corridor of Area A. The alloy walls were cold and smooth, reflecting figures. Inside the transparent laboratory, various instruments she had never seen before hummed softly. The energy fluctuations in the air felt even clearer and more complex.
The assistant led her around a few corners until they arrived at a door labeled "Data Processing Room 7." She swiped her card to enter.
The room was large, filled with rows of filing cabinets and ancient terminal screens (apparently, the fortress's digital capabilities were limited). Several people, also dressed in sterile suits and seemingly "civilian staff," were buried in a mountain of paper files and data tablets. The atmosphere was dull and oppressive.
"Your job is to assist in archiving and preliminary screening of these data fragments recovered from the ruins of the past. Classify them according to numbers and keywords. If you encounter any that cannot be identified or have special marks, place them separately in the red box over there." The assistant quickly gave her instructions, pointed to the data boards that were piled almost to the ceiling in the corner and a row of empty terminals, then turned and left without paying any attention to her.
It was a dull, tedious, and extremely time-consuming job. But it was exactly what Chen Mengzhou needed—a position where he could legally access a large amount of information while remaining unobtrusive.
She walked over to the terminal assigned to her, sat down, and picked up the first datapad. It was stained with dried mud, and the screen was cracked, displaying incomplete text and charts - seemingly the daily data records of some ancient biological laboratory.
She began to work patiently, her movements slightly clumsy, befitting a "novice." But her eyes and brain were working swiftly, like the most efficient scanner, capturing valuable information from every scrap of data that passed through her hands.
[…Gene sequence SG-07 is showing unstable behavior…Activity exceeds expectations…] […Energy reaction deviates more from theoretical model…Termination recommended…] […Application for the “Lighthouse” project has been rejected again…Resources are shifting toward the “Ark”…] […Warning: Abnormal energy leak in the 3rd quarantine zone…]
Most of the data was severely incomplete and vague, but she keenly noticed that many of the fragments contained recurring numbers (such as SG-07, ARK-01), project code names (such as "Lighthouse," "Ark," and "Prometheus"), and... the Thunderbolt logo!
These fragments seemed to be piecing together a vast and hidden scientific landscape, a landscape that seemed to have already begun to unfold long before the Great Disaster!
Could it be that the apocalypse wasn't just a random natural disaster, but was instead connected to these secret studies from the past?
The fragment of memory of "correcting the root error" surfaced in her mind again, making her back feel slightly cold.
She suppressed the throbbing in her heart and continued working, while silently extending her spatial perception outward, capturing the whispered conversations of others in the room and the occasional messages flashing on the terminal screen.
“…Team Three has failed again… The energy fusion rate just won’t increase…” “…I heard the activity of the core sample of the ‘Ark’ is still decreasing… The higher-ups are almost losing patience…” “…The old data of the ‘Lighthouse’ is almost torn apart. Can they really find a solution?” “…Shh… Don’t mention that forbidden project…”
The fragmented information was like a puzzle, piece by piece coming together in her mind.
At this moment, she encountered a special data tablet. This tablet was relatively well-preserved and contained a list of material transfers, the destination of which was the seventh outpost of the "Lighthouse" project.
The approval signature column of the list is a thumbnail of an electronic signature.
The signature style...
Chen Mengzhou's breathing paused almost imperceptibly.
She recognized that signature style!
Before she woke up after traveling through time, when she was still an ordinary urban office worker named Chen Mengzhou, her company had a relatively unremarkable business relationship with a highly confidential biotechnology research institute. As a project assistant, she had handled a document from the institute, and the signature of the director on it was a unique, sharp-edged electronic signature!
At that time, she just thought the signature was very special, so she looked at it twice and didn't pay much attention to it.
The name of that research institute... she tried hard to recall... seemed to be... "Kronos Life Science"?
Chronos...the god of time?
A secret research institute from the old days... a signature similar to Area A's research... and her own strange, time-related abilities...
And that "Anchor Project"...
At this moment, countless clues seemed to be struck by lightning and suddenly connected together!
A vague but startling possibility came to her mind.
Her time travel may not really be accidental.
The source of this apocalyptic catastrophe, the secrets hidden in Area A of the fortress, and even the awakening of her own supernatural powers... are most likely related to the mysterious "Kronos Life Science" and the so-called "Anchor Project"!
She felt like she was touching the tip of a huge iceberg that was exposed above the water, and the part hidden underwater was terrifyingly huge.
Chen Mengzhou lowered his head to hide the turbulent waves in his eyes, but his fingers trembled slightly as he gently placed the data pad with the special signature recorded on it into the red box next to it marked "Special Mark".
She knew that this information would soon be delivered to Dr. Adrian or a higher-level researcher.
And this might help her get to the core secret faster.
And faster, uncover the truth about her own fate.
The deeply buried secret about the reason for the time travel finally began to reveal its hideous corner.
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