Chapter 22 The Gray Dome 22 What... is he now? ...
Radiation surge?
Nanmen Jue's expression changed.
This concept was also deliberately included in the background description. It is something even more terrifying than radioactive snowstorms. Every once in a while, a global earthquake will occur in this world, just like the uncontrollable riots of radiation deep underground. A large amount of radiation will sweep across the entire world, and no living thing can escape.
During his recovery in the Gray Tower, Nanmenjue read many historical records. According to the records, the last radiation wave occurred thirty-five years ago, during which about 10,000 people died in the Gray Tower. Considering the population of this world, that was quite tragic.
The cause of death was that the sudden increase in radiation concentration in the air could not be purified, causing the radiation content in everyone's body to soar. Those who exceeded the standard mutated, and the mutated radiation monsters roamed the tower, attacking others. As more and more people mutated, it eventually caused a tragedy that killed tens of thousands of people.
In fact, according to the timeline, Lin Suwen embarked on her political career after that radiation wave.
“Radiation wave…” He Ting murmured, looking down at himself, his tone calm with a hint of self-mockery, “Someone like me will be the first to mutate when the next radiation wave comes. Remember to throw me out first, so I don’t hurt others.”
Nanmen Jue asked, "Can you calculate when the next one will be?"
"The exact time cannot be calculated, or rather, only President Lin knows the exact time, but she refuses to tell anyone," Qin Yehan said. "We can only be certain that this time is not far off."
"Lin Suwen, that riddle-maker, she must have sworn to take everything to her grave," Nanmen Jue said ambiguously. "So what else do you know? What agreement do you have with her? Or are you simply one of her people?"
Her tone was very impolite, but Qin Yehan didn't care, and the others seemed to think it was only natural.
Qin Yehan shook his head slightly. "I have no ill will toward President Lin. She is truly working tirelessly for the Gray Tower and for the remaining humans. It's just that we had different ideas before. After President Lin came to power, she advocated several purges to eliminate her political enemies in the tower who disagreed with her, namely us, the resistance fighters. My father took me when I was still young and we escaped together, hiding outside."
"Your philosophy?"
"President Lin believed that in order to maintain stability in Taliban and ensure that more people could survive, drastic measures should be taken to suppress dissenting voices and vigorously promote research on retinoblastoma to fundamentally eliminate radiation," Qin Yehan said. "But my father believed that only one voice would create authoritarianism and tyranny, and initially, he opposed the research on retinoblastoma."
"What?!" Even the young man driving the car didn't know about this. "Captain Qin actually opposes research on reuptake?"
He Ting suddenly looked up, "Captain Qin? Your father is Qin Feiying, the former captain of the Order Maintenance Guard?"
Qin Yehan nodded calmly, "Yes, my father is Qin Feiying."
“The tower has always said that Captain Qin died tragically while on a mission…” He Ting said, “So he defected?”
"President Lin indeed did not release this information," Qin Yehan said.
He Ting seemed unable to accept it, "I've idolized him since I was a child! And he actually betrayed Gray Tower?"
“He did not betray Gray Tower! None of us betrayed Gray Tower. We just disagreed with President Lin’s ideology and could not live under her rule. That’s all.” Qin Yehan said sternly. He looked at Nanmen Jue and his tone softened. “He died two years ago, just before the radiation mutation. I shot him with my own hands and let him die as a human being.”
He Ting's anger came to an abrupt halt. He shut his mouth silently and turned to look out the window.
People of this era share a common understanding: human life and dignity are the most respectable bottom line. Even if He Ting has many grievances against Qin Yehan, she will not speak rudely about this.
Nanmen Jue asked, "When did you reconnect?"
Qin Yehan looked at her, "After you stole the chip."
Nanmen Jue's eyes lit up with sudden realization.
"When you contacted me privately, saying that the resveratrol had discovered serious side effects, but you didn't trust your teacher and President Lin and wanted to seek our help, I was shocked." Qin Yehan's voice softened. "These past few situations have been too dangerous, and I haven't had a chance to ask you why you chose to hand over the chip to me?"
In fact, Nanmen Jue didn't know that this was probably a plot designed to increase the difficulty for her, but Nanmen Jue remained calm and said, "Because I know that you oppose the reversal factor. Only when the chip is in your hands will it not be used."
"Then why not just destroy it?" He Ting asked.
Nanmen Jue ignored the question. "I know why Qin Feiying left back then. At first, I wanted to contact him, but I didn't expect he was already dead."
It was fake. Like everyone else, she had only learned about Qin Feiying's situation a few minutes earlier.
"I see." Qin Yehan believed it without a doubt and sighed.
Nanmen Jue sat up straight in her seat, leaning slightly forward. It was a very aggressive posture. Even though she was covered in blood and wearing an oxygen mask, the dangerous aura she exuded made the two men in the front seat feel a little apprehensive.
Aura is a mysterious thing. Even though they were all battle-hardened warriors, they shouldn't be afraid of a researcher. But their instincts forced them to be wary of Nanmen Jue, as if she could really threaten them at any time.
“I’ve answered enough of your questions. Now it’s my turn to ask you.” Nanmen Jue stared directly into Qin Yehan’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “What exactly is Lin Suwen hiding? And what do you, or rather your father, know?”
Qin Yehan remained silent for a moment, his eyes revealing a subtle emotion. "Dr. Nanmen, are you really as President Lin described?"
"You're saying I'm rebellious and arrogant?"
"She said you are perceptive and intelligent," Qin Yehan said. "The sentence she emphasized to me the most was to make me believe in you."
Nanmen Jue fell silent. After a long while, she gave a mixed laugh, "Was this what she told you before?"
"No, that's what she emphasized to me in our recent contact."
"..."
Nanmen Jue pulled back her forward-leaning body, turned her head to look out the window, not wanting others to see the turmoil in her eyes.
Lin Suwen said these words to Qin Yehan after she arrived. She was not acknowledging the Nanmen Jue who had been inexplicably implanted in her mind by the God, but rather herself.
Their several meetings were all confrontational, yet Lin Suwen still trusted her so much.
This wasn't just a belief in that fabricated research ability; she could sense that she believed in her as a person.
Qin Yehan observed her expression. "She said that she no longer trusts her after you learned about the side effects of antiretroviral therapy, but President Lin is not a bad person."
“How strange, the leader of the resistance is admonishing me that my president is not a bad person.” Nanmen Jue turned back, his phoenix eyes deep and unfathomable. “Continue answering questions.”
“I don’t know much. As for what President Lin is hiding, you should ask her herself,” Qin Yehan said. “My father told me that President Lin was the most famous singer in the Gray Tower back then. She would appear at all the major performances or outreach events until the radiation wave occurred.”
"Many people died in that disaster. At that time, the Chief of the Life Association was needed to stabilize public sentiment and deal with the subsequent radiation and disease. But strangely, the Chief of the Life Association suddenly went mad at that time."
"Have they gone mad?" Nanmen Jue keenly realized something.
“Yes, he was shouting some very strange things.” Qin Yehan recalled, “It was something like ‘Let me go home,’ ‘I don’t belong here,’ and ‘some god.’ I wasn’t born then, and after so many years, my father has almost forgotten about it.”
Nanmen Jue and Zhang Chuxi exchanged a glance, and saw shock in each other's eyes.
This means... that the chief of the Life Society back then was a reincarnator like them, sent in by the main god?
In other words, this world has been developing according to its own logic, until batches of reincarnators come in to do tasks?
"And then?" Nanmen Jue asked. "What happened to that Chief of the Life Society?"
“He’s dead,” Qin Yehan said. “His death was very suspicious. He suddenly collapsed to the ground with blood flowing from his seven orifices when no one was around. According to the examination, his heart suddenly burst.”
Zhang Chuxi suddenly grabbed Nanmen Jue's sleeve, her fingers trembling slightly.
Nanmen Jue also shuddered. If she wasn't mistaken, the reincarnator must have revealed the existence of the main god to the natives, which led to the main god's direct annihilation. Perhaps the word "main god" was the key.
She had tested Lin Suwen to such an extent before and was not eliminated. Fortunately, she was careful not to mention the name of the main god directly.
She sensed Zhang Chuxi's impending fear and silently squeezed her fingers.
“A month later, President Lin approached my father. At that time, she was not yet president, but she was just an acquaintance of my father,” Qin Yehan continued. “She said something that seemed unbelievable to us at the time: Gray Tower is not the only one.”
Grey Tower is not the only one.
It's no exaggeration to say that upon hearing those words, the hairs on Nanmen Jue's body stood on end.
"So, this is the real reason you left the Gray Tower? To find other 'Gray Towers'?" Nanmen Jue said. "'Inconceivable to you at the time,' meaning you actually found them, right?"
Qin Yehan turned around and stared at her intently.
“You’re really perceptive. In hindsight, that’s true, but my father didn’t believe it at the time. He only saw that President Lin was becoming increasingly ruthless. She would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free from any factors that might affect the stability of the tower. A few years later, she became president, and her methods were as swift as thunder. That’s when my father joined the resistance.” Qin Yehan said, “I was born after he joined the resistance, so I don’t know the details of what happened before. Anyway, that’s roughly how it was. A few years later, my father took me and escaped from the Gray Tower. After we got out, he remembered what President Lin had said.”
“We’ve spent many years finding some evidence that there is more than one Grey Tower.”
“Evidence,” Nanmen Jue murmured, “meaning you haven’t found another real Gray Tower.”
Qin Yehan looked at her and shook his head slightly, "The living environment outside is too difficult. We are doing our best just to survive, and we really don't have the extra energy to search for other gray towers."
The young man driving beside him couldn't help but interject, "We have no equipment, no facilities, and there aren't many of us. We're powerless to search! I dream of finding another Gray Tower. You know what that means... It means that there are more than just the hundreds of thousands of people in the Gray Tower; there are many more of our kind living in places we don't know about! We, the exiled, will also have another home..."
Nanmen Jue remained silent, his eyes lowered as he fell into thought.
This was her first time entering the world of reincarnation, and she had no concept of many things. Was the world of reincarnation cyclical? In other words, could the same reincarnator return to the same world? Or could different batches of reincarnators come to the same world? The latter was now almost certain; Lin Suwen must have spoken with other reincarnators back then!
It's just unknown to what extent she knows about these things. Reincarnators cannot reveal the existence of the Supreme God and the Space, but she is indeed terrified of these things and keeps them a closely guarded secret. What does she know? Did her later extremes and obsession with "□□" stem from this?
Most importantly... is such a complex and real world really "virtual"? Then what about an NPC like Lin Suwen?
There's more than one gray tower... what does that represent?
No one disturbed her thinking. After a long silence, Nanmen Jue asked, "What evidence do you have that there is more than one Gray Tower?"
Qin Yehan said, "After we get back and your injuries treated, I'll take you to see it for yourself."
Nanmen Jue acquiesced to this decision.
"The most important issue now is that the next radiation wave may be coming soon," Qin Yehan said seriously. "Dr. Nanmen, with the current overall radiation levels of humanity, we cannot withstand another radiation wave. That's why President Lin is so determined to study retrograde. Now, only you can solve the retrograde problem. Please consider it carefully."
Nanmen Jue remained silent, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes wearily.
"Rest first, all three of you." Qin Yehan's voice seemed to come from a great distance.
Chaotic thoughts surged like waves. Nanmen Jue closed her eyes, but what she saw was a bizarre scene. One moment it was Lin Suwen calling her arrogant, the next it was her sister's indifferent face, and finally it settled on a worried face with gray hair and black eyebrows. He said to her, "Let's go, Xiao Jue."
Zhao Huai Ren.
The old man, with whom she had spent less than a month in total, died right before her eyes.
As her thoughts raced, her mind was filled with the look on his face before he died, the words he wanted to say to her. If she had listened to him then and stopped to listen to him, would she not have this regret now?
Her sister's voice seemed to echo in her ears again: "You've always been like this, only caring about what you want to do and never listening to anyone's advice. But Xiao Jue, you can't possibly know everything, nor can you possibly predict everything."
She truly refused to listen to anyone, so Zhao Huai-ren died in her arms, and she never knew whether he was expressing concern or blame in the end.
Everyone in the world hoped that she would study retroviral therapy and solve this huge problem that no one else could solve. Perhaps Zhao Huai-ren, her teacher, was the one who hoped for it the most, but he never asked her for anything. While he was still alive, he devoted himself to the research.
Nanmen Jue pressed his forehead against the cold car window, the shadows obscuring a bitter smile from the corner of his mouth.
Is it that she doesn't want to? No, it's that she can't. If only she were as amazing as her character is, if only she could actually research retroviral hormones…
After an unknown amount of time, suddenly, a strange noise was heard from the side. Nanmen Jue opened his eyes abruptly, and the two people in front of him immediately became alert as well.
It is Heting.
His eyes were closed, his expression one of extreme pain. The veins on his pale skin were taut, and the muscles beneath his skin were twitching. He was convulsing involuntarily, and he was emitting meaningless growls.
"This guy is about to mutate!" The young man driving the car, having learned from the conversation that his name was Tong Gu, suddenly stopped the car, drew his gun, and pointed it at He Ting.
"Stop!" Nanmen Jue grabbed his wrist.
"No matter who this person is, even if it's the Heavenly King himself, if he mutates, we have to kill him!" Tong Gu said.
"Nanmen?" Qin Yehan also drew his gun and looked at Nanmen Jue, who remained resolutely still.
Zhang Chuxi silently drew a dagger with her uninjured hand. All three of them looked at Nanmen Jue, but she still did not withdraw her hand that was blocking them.
Nanmen Jue stared at He Ting. He had suffered a heart injury before and almost didn't survive. During his physical examination, she warned him that it was best not to come outside the tower again, as his radiation levels were already very dangerous at that time. It was only natural that he would mutate again now.
Just kill him like that? Kill this boy who she saved and who had saved her life, who followed her through thick and thin without hesitation amidst great sorrow and grief?
Nanmen Jue's answer is no.
"Come here." Nanmen Jue and Zhang Chuxi switched places, and Nanmen Jue approached the mutating boy without any hesitation.
His once upright figure had become hunched over, and the texture of his muscles began to emerge from the surface of his skin. The handsome young man was gradually resembling the indistinguishable head and tail of a radiation monster.
Nanmen Jue approached him and took a syringe from his ankle pocket.
Upon seeing this, Qin Yehan's pupils contracted instantly. "What is this?"
Nanmen Jue held the anti-retroviral drug that she had originally prepared for herself and gently pulled the curled-up He Ting closer to her.
The mutated monster unleashed an extremely aggressive attack, roaring as it lunged at Nanmen Jue. Nanmen Jue grabbed its throat, keeping it at a safe distance, his expression surprisingly gentle.
"It's alright, good boy, be a good boy."
As she spoke, she inserted the needle into his carotid artery.
He Ting suddenly opened his eyes wide, and immense pain appeared in his cloudy pupils. He struggled with his hands and feet, desperately attacking everything around him, but Nanmen Jue stretched out his long legs and used both hands and feet to lock all four of his limbs.
He Ting's muscles rippled beneath her like mountains in an earthquake, erupting in painful roars. Nanmen Jue used all his strength to suppress him, but suddenly the pressure eased as Qin Yehan embraced him from behind.
The two exchanged a brief glance, neither speaking. As dawn broke, only the crane's roar carried far through the quiet snow.
It was faintly clear that the roaring wasn't just from He Ting.
“We can’t stay here any longer.” Tong Gu hadn’t lowered his gun, and he looked around warily. “Those things are coming, and they’re very fast!”
Nanmen Jue remained silent, then suddenly turned to look at Zhang Chuxi, "Do you still have a vial of reuptake on you?"
Zhang Chuxi exclaimed in surprise, "But if you inject three times, the person will turn into a different kind of mindless monster!"
They had just been chased by these monsters and barely escaped with their lives, yet Nanmen Jue actually wanted to give He Ting an injection on his own initiative!
"He's going to die anyway, so why not die a more noble death as a radiation monster?" Nanmen Jue reached out his hand to her. "Quick!"
At this moment, Qin Yehan and Tong Gu also understood what she meant. They hesitated, feeling that at this moment, any words would lose their power.
Radiation, mutation, death... This is the unsolvable cycle of this world. Everyone present has witnessed many people mutate and die. Nanmen Jue's question was too sharp: If death is inevitable, would it be better to die as a monster?
The radiation monsters began to approach. Tong Gu fired a few shots and killed the approaching ones. No one urged them on anymore. They watched with an almost funeral-like solemnity as Nanmen Jue injected the third dose of antiretroviral agent into He Ting's neck.
Nanmen Jue's hand moved steadily, but where no one could see, her pupils trembled. She stared intently at He Ting, unsure if she was praying for a hopeless miracle.
She knew, of course, that it was almost impossible. The moment the mutation began, He Ting was already dead; she was just unwilling to admit defeat.
She's been willful and stubborn ever since she can remember. Even if everyone says she's wrong, as long as she believes she's right, she'll stick her neck out and give the whole world a contemptuous middle finger.
Just like now, everyone thinks He Ting is beyond saving, but she insists on forcing herself, doing everything she can before admitting that she is powerless to change the situation.
One second passed, two seconds passed, and the crane stopped its roar.
The mutated features on his body gradually faded, but he still did not wake up, as if he had entered a sweet dream. He curled up in Nanmen Jue's arms and remained motionless.
"This, this is?" Tong Gu said in surprise.
Nanmen Jue checked his breath and said decisively, "Let's go!"
Without wasting words, Qin Yehan darted back to the passenger seat, and the car shot off like an arrow, crashing into several radiation monsters that pounced on it.
Nanmen Jue suddenly remembered something, opened her task panel, and what she saw made her pause in surprise.
Her score suddenly became [9700], and the system was treating the monsters created by the anti-retroviral agents as radiation monsters as well!
This was actually great news for the reincarnators, but Nanmen Jue just curled the corners of his mouth into a sarcastic smile.
If Xu Yang finds out about this, probably no one in the entire Gray Tower will survive.
Although things aren't much better now, no matter how much he wants to do it, he can't. The amount of anti-retroviral agents in the tower is limited, and he doesn't know where the chip is.
Nanmen Jue's lips curled into a smile, and his eyes sharpened.
"So, what's his condition now?" Qin Yehan turned around, staring intently at He Ting, who appeared to be merely asleep, his eyes filled with disbelief and hope. "What... is he now?"
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