Chapter 51
The soft glow of the Silent Pool seemed frozen. The stars in the dome still moved, yet they couldn't dispel the chill and heaviness that etched itself deep into the bones, brought by the aging thought. Kronos' epic escape, the truth behind the fire of the "Anchor Point," the mission of the "Key of Time," and the unfinished choice between "Foundation" and "Annihilation"... everything weighed heavily on the shoulders of the two girls who had just escaped a life-or-death crisis.
Chen Mengzhou withdrew his gaze from the dome that had returned to its dead silence and fell on the black compass in his hand, which had also become cold.
The Key of Time... The Calibrator... Father...
Her fingertips unconsciously brushed against the cold, now unresponsive markings on the compass's surface. A fragment of memory, long and deliberately sealed away, from the pre-apocalyptic era, surged uncontrollably back.
Back then, she was just Shen Mengzhou, a carefree young girl. Her father, Shen Hua, was a renowned bioengineer. Elegant and gentle, he always possessed a scholarly focus and... a subtle hint of worry. His study was always closed, piled high with all sorts of technical books and blueprints she couldn't understand. Sometimes, late at night, she could hear him arguing heatedly with others in video conferences. The topics always centered around phrases like "ethical boundaries," "uncontrollable risks," and "running out of time," which she found baffling at the time.
She remembered one time, she'd opened the study door with a cup of coffee, hoping he'd rest. Her father seemed startled, frantically closing a thick notebook with an abstract spiral logo on the cover (now that she thought about it, it was a simplified version of the Kronos logo!). The video conference on the screen instantly cut off. A flash of panic crossed his face, but then he regained his usual gentle demeanor, took the coffee, and ruffled her hair.
"Xiao Zhou, if...if one day, Dad did something that seemed strange, or even hurt some people..." His voice was a little hesitant at the time, and he looked at her with complicated eyes, "...but that might be to prevent a more terrible disaster...will you...try to understand Dad?"
At that time, she just thought her father was under too much work pressure and said some inexplicable things. She also smiled and comforted him: "Dad, have you stayed up late watching those doomsday science fiction movies again? Don't worry, if the sky falls, there will be someone taller to hold it up!"
Her father smiled at the time and said nothing more, but the fatigue and heaviness in that smile, when she recalled it now, felt like needles piercing her heart.
Later, when Chen Mengzhou was fifteen, her parents died, reportedly in a laboratory fire. But she knew they had committed suicide. They left a suicide note, enough money for her to live comfortably, but they also burned all their experimental data. She remembers that time, she fell into a delusion, believing her parents hadn't left.
And Dr. Adrian...
Chen Mengzhou's mind flashed back to the man in Area A of the Fortress, before the Dream Weaver, who had finally gone mad and desperate. He had been trying to capture her, study her, and use her. His eyes were filled with paranoia and the hysteria of someone who had been driven to despair.
She always thought it was just the madness and ambition of scientists.
But now, linking his father's words, the truth about Kronos, and Adrian's occasional struggles that weren't purely cruel...
Maybe... he also has his reasons?
Perhaps the Foundation wasn't a monolithic entity? Perhaps... there was a disagreement, even a conflict, between the Chronos orthodoxy represented by my father's research institute and the radical faction currently in power at the Foundation? And Adrian, perhaps caught in the middle, forced to carry out orders, perhaps even attempting to "save" them in his own way?
This thought made Shen Mengzhou's mood even more complicated.
If my father was a decent person, if Kronos's original intention was to prevent disaster rather than cause it, then why did it end up like this? Why did the Foundation go so mad? What... was my father's intention?
Countless questions linger, but there are no answers.
"You..." Chu Li's voice broke the silence. She looked at Chen Mengzhou's changing expression and asked cautiously, "You seem to have thought of something?"
Chen Mengzhou slowly exhaled, temporarily suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind. Now was not the time to dwell on the past.
"Some... trivial matters from the past." She said vaguely, her eyes sharpening again as she scanned the mysterious and overly quiet room. "The most urgent thing is to find out whether this place is safe, and... what should we do next."
Chu Li nodded, forcing herself to calm down from the overwhelming onslaught of information. She looked around, her gaze finally settling on the milky white pool.
"This water... the energy is very pure, it doesn't seem to harbor any traps." She reached out her hand, once again feeling the healing effect of the water. "That... reverberation, it doesn't seem to have any malicious intent. It simply... left a message."
"No malice doesn't mean there's no danger," Chen Mengzhou said calmly. "Information itself is the most deadly weapon. It gives us direction, but also gives us unshirkable responsibilities, and even pushes us into a more prominent position."
She held up the silent compass. "'Key of Time'... the moment it activates, I'm afraid it will attract more than just us."
Chu Li's expression changed slightly: "You mean... the Foundation? Or... something else?"
"It's possible." Chen Mengzhou walked to the edge of the cave and carefully examined the rock wall. The rock wall was smooth and hard, and there seemed to be no other exit. "We must leave here as soon as possible. The peace here is only temporary."
Her fingers traced over an inconspicuous pattern on the rock wall, slightly different from the surrounding lines. Although her spatial perception was suppressed, she could still sense that there seemed to be... nothing behind it?
She tried pushing harder, but it didn't move at all.
Chu Li also walked over and observed the pattern carefully. Suddenly, she stretched out her fingertips, and the faint blue light lit up again, gently tapping the center of the pattern.
Buzz...
The rock wall trembled slightly, and the pattern slowly sank inward, revealing a narrow staircase leading down, wide enough for only one person to pass! Deep within the staircase was pitch black, exuding an even more ancient aura.
"It seems that the 'key' has more than one authority." Chu Li retracted her fingers and her face turned paler. It was obvious that this simple operation took a lot of effort on her.
Chen Mengzhou glanced at her, said nothing more, and stepped onto the stairs first.
The stairs descended steeply into the mountain. After walking for about ten minutes, light appeared again ahead.
At the far end was a chamber much smaller than the upper grotto, yet even more exquisite. There was no pool of water inside, only a simple stone platform in the center. On the platform sat a sealed silver metal box, emblazoned with the Kronos symbol.
The box was not locked.
Chen Mengzhou and Chu Li looked at each other, walked forward, and carefully opened the box.
There were no weapons or high-tech equipment inside, just a few items:
A thick research notebook with yellowed and brittle paper, with a familiar name signed on the title page - Chen Hua.
"Chen Hua... He is the founder of the Kronos Life Science and Technology Research Institute." Chu Li said softly.
A small data storage device similar to a USB flash drive but with a unique interface.
And, an ancient, hand-drawn star map with several points marked on it. One of them was circled with two small words written next to it - [Ark].
Chen Mengzhou's fingers trembled slightly as he picked up the notebook and gently opened it.
The familiar handwriting of his father came into view. Recorded above were not cold data, but a wealth of research ideas, ethical considerations, concerns about the stability of the "Lighthouse" energy core, controversies over the "Spark" project, and... the increasingly intense conflict with a faction within the Foundation known as the "Hawks."
Between the lines, there is anxiety, helplessness, and a kind of despair of trying to turn the tide but being isolated and helpless.
The last few pages of the notebook were written in a very sloppy manner, as if written in a state of extreme urgency:
[…They’re crazy! They actually want to activate the ‘End Beacon’ directly! They want to attract the ‘Patrollers’! They think they can use this to clear the obstacles? This is courting their own destruction!]
[…I must take the ‘key’ and the core data… to the ‘Ark’… that’s the last hope…]
[…Xiaozhou…I’m sorry…If you ever see this…remember…Dad loves you…Everything we do…is for…the future…]
The handwriting stops here.
Chen Mengzhou gripped his notebook tightly, his knuckles turning white from the strain. His chest felt as if something was blocking it, aching and heavy.
The truth is like a puzzle, and when it finally comes together piece by piece, the picture it presents is breathtaking.
The father is a decent man who has been trying to prevent the disaster, even at the cost of breaking with the radicals within the foundation. He took away the crucial "Time Key" and data, intending to go to the so-called "Ark" to preserve the last flame.
And Adrian... maybe he wasn't a completely evil person. He might have compromised under pressure and fear, or even... secretly carried out some of his father's instructions? "Preserve the flame"?
What then were his actions in the fortress, those crazy experiments, really? A helpless disguise? Or a distortion after compromise?
Chu Li silently picked up the star map and looked at the "Ark" marked on it, his eyes flickering. "'Ark'... another place I've never heard of... where is it? Is it the shelter built by Kronos?"
Chen Mengzhou suppressed his surging emotions and picked up the data storage device: "The answer... may be in here."
But she didn't try to read it right away. The equipment here was clearly incompatible.
She carefully put the notes, memory stick, and star chart back into the metal box, then lifted the entire box.
"Let's go." Her voice regained its composure, but with a heaviness and resolve that hadn't been there before. "No matter where the Ark is, no matter what roles Father and Adrian played, our goal is clear."
She looked at Chu Li with a sharp gaze: "Find the fragments of the 'Lighthouse' and stop the Foundation from opening the 'Wall of End'. Before that..."
She paused, her voice lowered: "...We must first survive and become strong enough."
Strong enough to face any truth and make any choice.
Including the possible fate of eventually becoming the "cornerstone".
The two took a last look at the secret room that kept the information about the last fire, then turned and walked up the stairs.
The starry sky behind me remains silent, and the milky white water ripples with light, as if silently bidding farewell.
The road ahead is still foggy and full of dangers.
But this time, they finally held in their hands the compass pointing to the truth, and a ray of... a faint, but real light of hope.
But behind this hope lies even heavier responsibilities and sacrifices.
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