Chapter 121 Underground Laboratory (Part 2)
The little firebird was a little more obedient in Mingyu's pocket, but it was still struggling, as if it really wanted to jump out and explore the new world.
Mingyu held it down with one hand, not paying attention to its noise for the time being, his eyes fixed on the holographic projection in front of him.
Ming Yu recognized the identity of the holographic projection at the end of the passage at a glance because he was very familiar with the mask on the Celtic King's face.
This golden mask is exquisitely crafted, covering the entire face, with simple patterns and lines carved around the eyes. It is exactly the same as the mask on the face of the Celtic king in the literary film called New Star Funeral.
Mingyu: It seems that the art film did a perfect job in terms of textual research.
This thought flashed through his mind, and then his eyes fell on Mu Baixing.
The man was standing in front of the holographic projection, frowning slightly, as if thinking about something.
Mingyu looked stunned, and wanted to compare the two people's figures inch by inch.
But it's hard to compare.
Mingyu was, of course, very familiar with Mu Boxing's physique; he had seen him both clothed and undressed. Even when the man was wearing a loose-fitting, casual shirt and trousers that didn't reveal his figure, Mingyu could see through the surface and highlight his muscular waist and perfect proportions.
It’s just that it’s hard to judge the Celtic King in the holographic projection on the opposite side.
In the holographic projection, the royal family of the Northern Star Region wore a black dress jacket embroidered with gold patterns, its silhouette somewhat too simple. The style of the dress was very understated, with only the expensive fabric and embellishments at the collar and cuffs still highlighting the royal dignity. The fit was slightly loose, reaching straight down to the knees. Ming Yu could only discern that the Celtic king had the same physique as Mu Boxing: broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs. But beyond that, the comparison was difficult.
Shouldn't it?
Mingyu took a deep breath. Maybe it was just because the two of them were of similar height and had a cold aura?
"This is a holographic projection of His Majesty Lando Celt." The Border Soldier's voice pulled Mingyu out of his thoughts. The Border Soldier's tone held a touch of unconscious respect, mixed with a touch of embarrassment. "His Majesty left behind very few images. This is the most widely circulated one in the North Star Region. It was left before the first North Star Region Military Competition."
"After his opening speech, His Majesty participated in the light shooting competition. Without even changing his clothes, he completed the two-way dynamic shooting competition at the fastest speed, giving a powerful blow to several veteran but laxly trained fleets. His aura of power was terrifying."
"The situation in the underground base is becoming increasingly dangerous. I originally saved this holographic projection to encourage myself, but now I'm thinking of placing it at the entrance of the base, just in case it can deter the enemy."
Mingyu: “…”
...Is this even possible?!
"Our current situation is like being trapped on an isolated island in the ocean, vulnerable to invasion at any moment." Ah Fei gave a wry smile. "I know this setup won't have much effect. It's just psychological comfort, I guess."
He took the lead, stepping around the holographic projection in front of him. Mu Baixing then turned his gaze away and moved forward. Mingyu could only suppress the suspicion that still lingered in his heart and followed.
They walked through a series of disinfection rooms, then descended again and passed through the corridor. He clearly had no intention of explaining all the facilities of the underground base to Mingyu and the others, and he led them directly to a conference room.
The door opened, revealing a man and a woman sitting inside. Both were about A Fei's age, dressed simply, their skin the pale color of long periods of inactivity. Their gazes on Mu Boxing and Mingyu were scrutinizing, mixed with anticipation. That anticipation wasn't intense, but rather, a sense of resigned fatigue lurked beneath.
"Rose, captain of the third team of the Border Army, observer."
"Vita, head of Area 10 of the Fifth Star Laboratory." The two introduced themselves as they looked at Mingyu and Mu Baixing. "I am temporarily in charge of the underground shelter."
"When we first took refuge in the base, there were actually over ten thousand survivors." A Fei pulled a chair and sat down next to the two of them. "Some people were already exposed to the Kuroshio energy when they entered the shelter and couldn't be saved. Later, the number of people dwindled. Some died of illness, and some died from the initial food shortage."
"Later, we tried to plant something on the bottom floor of the base and it finally succeeded. Everyone started looking for ways to leave and send out distress signals."
"This was originally the Kuroshio Biological Research Institute. We once implanted chips into Kuroshio organisms and released them outside the base, hoping the military would discover our location while suppressing the Kuroshio energy. However, over the past few decades, there has been no effect. Instead, the Kuroshio organisms have become increasingly active."
"You are the first humans to pass the inspection and enter the base in such a long time."
A Fei leaned back in her chair, looked at Mingyu, and then at Mu Baixing.
"How's the outcome of the war outside?" His tone was filled with an unconscious layer of nervous anticipation. "How's the North Star Region?"
"My wife and daughter live on Planet One. Is it safe there?"
The cold white light shone on A Fei's face. The emotion on his face was not strong, but it was moving enough.
These people were trapped in this isolated underground base. When they saw outsiders, the first thing they asked about was not whether they could be rescued, but their hometown and their families.
Mu Baixing was silent for a moment.
"First Star," he repeated, trying to find relevant words from the chaotic fragments of memory that could not be connected in his mind.
"During the Battle of Dawn, the first complete line of defense in the Northern Star Region was established on the Fourth Star." Mu Baixing and A Fei looked at each other and explained, "Then the Black Tide continued to spread, and the residents from the Third Star to the First Star began to evacuate further into the human star region."
Ah Fei's expression changed as she heard Mu Boxing continue, "According to the plan, all residents of planets and space stations must be evacuated within ten days. A second line of defense will be established on the capital planet near the first planet as a buffer zone to ensure the completion of the plan."
"It means that the entire North Star Region has been submerged by the black tide." After a while, Rose in the conference room spoke first.
She had the same short hair as Vita and Afei, and her face was very calm, but her clasped hands revealed the turmoil in her heart.
"Most of them," Mu Baixing stated calmly, "most of the residents of the Northern Star Region went to the Central Star Region, and a small number settled in the Southeast and Southwest Star Regions. The location of the capital star was marked as a star line, and the several space stations and resource stars within it are now called free star regions."
Rose gave a short laugh.
"It doesn't sound like a good name," she said sharply. "No Man's Land? A 'penal colony' in some other safe star regions? A haven for poverty and hardship, a criminal haven?"
Mingyu: “…”
Rose's words were very straightforward. Seeing Mu Boxing nod, she finally let out a long sigh.
"The Battle of Dawn you're talking about must have been incredibly difficult." Rose gave a wry smile. "What about His Majesty Lando Celt?"
She raised her face, a trace of regret flashed across her dark pupils, and she sighed, "He's gone? Is he?"
"Otherwise, even if the North Star Region is only one-tenth or one-hundredth of its original size, it will not become a free star region."
The atmosphere in the conference room was solemn.
Mingyu turned to look at Mu Baixing.
The man's expression was cold, his brows were furrowed, his eyes were filled with a deep chill, and his expression was gloomy.
Mu Baixing's emotions were never obvious. Mingyu didn't know what he was thinking at the moment, but he could feel that the man was definitely not in a good mood.
The young man then hooked his finger and squeezed it soothingly.
"I told you so a long time ago." Vita, who was sitting next to Rose, suddenly spoke.
"Either His Majesty Lando has passed away and the Northern Star Region has been destroyed, or he's alive but something has happened and he's too busy to take care of himself. Neither of these is good news. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been trapped here for so long without any sign of help from outside."
"Your Majesty is not the type to avoid risk and flee to other star regions during war." He sighed heavily, feeling deeply shocked. "Dying in battle... is not as good as I thought."
"During combat, a space navigation accident occurred, leaving him stranded and amnesiac. He's working on some unknown planet, gazing at the stars. One day, he suddenly remembers his past, regroups, and leads his men to defeat the Black Tide and save us from our dire straits..." Rose said, feeling both amused and helpless. "Even if that's what you're thinking, we can't wait any longer."
"It must have been a thrilling experience for you to fall through the spatial rift and land here." Rose stood up and said to Mingyu and Mu Baixing, "But unfortunately, even if you narrowly escaped death... it seems your survival time wasn't extended for much longer."
"The underground base's oxygen circulation and production system was destroyed in the attack by the Kuroshio creatures three days ago. The oxygen we breathe now is only enough for survival for a maximum of three days."
"Also, the upper Kuroshio energy shield has cracked. It's expected to be completely penetrated by the Kuroshio in five days. But by then, everyone will be finished anyway."
"Would you like some of the nutrient solution we produce at our base? The flavor isn't very good, but it's guaranteed to be green and pollution-free. I can't give you anything else, but I'll still provide you with plenty of food."
Mingyu: “…”
Mingyu immediately felt hungry.
He hadn't eaten since the afternoon. The imprisonment of Feren, the attack at the dinner party, his grandfather's death, his own past, the abduction by a high-level Black Tide creature, his narrow escape into a spatial rift... so much had happened in just a few hours. It was a relief that no one had mentioned eating, but as soon as Rose mentioned the nutrient solution, Mingyu's stomach growled.
Afei still has a guard duty tonight, and Vita has to organize his experimental data.
Although according to Rose, the Grim Reaper was standing outside the door, they still continued their daily lives as usual.
"I'm used to it." Rose led Mingyu and Mu Baixing down to the cafeteria below. "There's not much entertainment here. If I stop what I'm doing, I'll start to overthink and lose my balance."
"Waiting for death is more terrifying than the moment of death itself. We don't want to hold on for decades and then become crazy in the last few days."
As we walked along, we found that the escape base was empty and we didn't see anyone.
"It's rest time at the base, and most people are asleep," Rose explained. "The experimenters, however, are still at their posts. They're busy conducting research, integrating data, and burning the contents into chips, hoping someone will find it later."
"Afei and I are the only two Border Guards left. Not many of us are still alive," she said calmly. "Of the nearly one hundred Border Guards and Fifth Star Guards who originally entered the shelter, only Afei and I are left now. We also trained a few more people among the surviving residents, but the upper levels were infiltrated by the Black Tide creatures a few days ago. Those who could fight are either dead or disabled, and are all recovering now."
Rose spoke briefly, but it did not prevent Mingyu from imagining the difficulty and pain of living here.
In the underground where there is no sunlight, he faces the threat of the black tide at any time and watches his comrades fall one by one.
"You've been trapped here for decades?" he whispered. "You've never tried to get out? There's no escape ship in the base? That should be standard equipment, right?"
"Of course there were at first," Rose said. "When the Kuroshio first flooded, the Kuroshio energy concentration outside wasn't very high, so all the available escape starships in the base were used to transport the surviving residents of Planet Five."
"The escape starships were configured according to the size of the base, but there were far more people hiding there than just these people. Eventually, the escape starships ran out, and we, the border troops, the original Fifth Star guards, the base personnel from the laboratory, and some young and middle-aged people..."
"At the beginning, there were a few designers and maintenance technicians in the base. We repaired a few old starships in the base and tried to leave."
"But the Kuroshio Current outside was too dense, and we had no idea where to go. The pilot and observer on the initial test voyage couldn't even find the route back to base. We did manage to sail out a few times later, but we couldn't get very far."
"Later, the black tide's energy grew stronger and stronger, and began to infiltrate the base. After several accidents, many people died in the base, including several designers and maintenance technicians, as well as many pilots and observers. Now the only thing left in the base is the last refitted old starship. The starship's performance is not good, and A Fei and I are only observers. There are no experienced starship pilots left in the base, so going out would just be suicide."
Mingyu blinked and looked at Mu Baixing.
The man nodded to him and turned to Rose, "You can go."
He said, "I'll drive that starship."
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