Chapter 455: Chen Xinjie’s News
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
It was eleven o'clock at night. The members of the Firearms Bureau returned one after another with news from the three neighboring cities around Hope City.
The feedback was not positive there, but it was not terrible either.
The three cities still maintained basic social order and did not suffer from any crippling civil disputes. The governments of the three cities, once briefed on the current situation, conveyed their willingness to comply to the leadership of Hope City.
Luo Yuan had expected such a decision. Firstly, Hope City was the most strategically reinforced city of the reconstruction area. Before the apocalypse, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou were the top tier cities, but now, Hope City was a level above them all and naturally it would be much safer than a normal city.
Secondly, under such brutal circumstances, even if they were clouded by ambition, they were not in a position to carry out any evil schemes against humanity. The worse thing they could do was wait it out, inevitable death at a slower pace.
It was not an easy task to survive the nuclear winter. If it was not for the aid provided by Hope City, the three cities would sink into hell within three months.
"I’m not sure how much longer these three cities can last," Lin Feiyan said.
After Lin Feiyan left his office, Luo Yuan sat back in his armchair to further analyze the situation. His eyebrows were deeply knitted in thought.
He would need more time to execute the plan, he concluded. Regardless of the restoration of the ship, or the rescuing of the remaining three cities, it was impossible to complete each of them in such a short time. He had no idea how many more people would be sacrificed before all of them could safely board the spaceship.
Luo Yuan let out a long sigh. As he was in such a position of authority, he realized that he did not only obtain new power, but also an extremely heavy burden. Every single day delayed, ended countless lives.
The phone rang to break the silence. Luo Yuan picked it up with haste.
"Mr. Mayor, Deputy Mayor Mr. Bi is here with an update on the current situation." said Secretary Cheng over the phone. "Send him in!" Luo Yuan replied and put down the phone.
In a moment, Bi Jianping briskly entered the room.
"Mr. Mayor, the ship is all systems go. Manpower and resources are ready. It can be boarded as soon as we get the order!" he said excitedly while handing over a document to Luo Yuan.
Ever since the disaster, he had not slept for almost two days. He looked exhausted and pale. Even his clothes was dirty, worn and covered in dust.
In fact, this was how all the government officials looked. Time was of the essence in Hope City, with so many tasks at hand, they could not afford a single delay. Every single person was worked around the clock, and never stopped for a moment’s rest.
Fortunately, for people that lived through the apocalypse, even a normal human being was now much stronger. But at this rate, even they could barely hold on much longer. Without rest, the government would soon be paralyzed.
Looking at his fatigued manner, Luo Yuan remained silent. He took the document and glance through it quickly. He then put it on the table, raised his head and asked, "Has the wind outside died down?"
"It was tested half an hour ago. The wind strength is a Level Five, and visibility is at 10 meter. Furthermore, the temperature has dropped to approximately -40 degrees," said Bi Jianping.
The strong winds outside were caused by the explosions of Nuclear Antimatter Smart Orbital Ballistic (NASOB) missiles. The wind would not last long, but the dust thrown up in the atmosphere stayed for prolong periods of time.
"It is too cold!" Luo Yuan’s eyebrows furrowed angrily. Grudgingly he said, "Forget about it. Since everything is ready, let’s initiate the evacuation!"
Luo Yuan stashed the document inside his desk drawer, stood up, and walked out the office with Bi Jianping close at his heels.
There were fifty thousand people to be evacuated this time. Most of them were researchers and robotic engineers. There were a few civilian workers, numbering to about eight thousands of them, along with five hundred military police, six hundred logistics personnel, and enough food for all of them.
Since the communication between the artificial intelligence of the ship and the production zone was severed, the automated production sequence could not be initialized. The personnel on the site had to slowly figure out all production models in every single factory of the production zone, before they reinitialized the factory, and produced the necessary materials to restore the ship.
After all, the ship had to house five to six million people. The materials required were equivalent to that of a few seventy storey skyscrapers. Furthermore, the ship was not just stationary on the ground. Its acceleration and deceleration alone created enormous amounts of stress on the materials. Therefore, the material’s tensile strength had to be impeccable.
The ship's deck was not the same as a building’s foundation, which made concrete and mutated wood unsuitable for the job. To ensure the ship's structure was as stable as a building, it has to be made of casted metal welded to the living quarters. Such a combination formed a supportive pillar similar to that of a building.
Not only did that require a lot of steel, it also needed a lot of metal processing lathe skills and higher level engineering knowledge. With the production capabilities of Hope City, building the ship was a huge project. Even with all the tools and workers allocated to the ship construction, it would still take one or two years to finish the project.
If they have waited for one or two years, everything would be too late. They could not afford to wait that long.
Right now, their only hope rested on the alien’s advance factory technology.
"Do you really want to permanently stay on the ship?" Luo Yuan asked abruptly, without slowing a step. Bi Jianping stopped. His heart raced in his chest, and beads of sweat covered his forehead. He suddenly realized that he was not only the deputy mayor of Hope City, but also the second in charge of the reconstruction area.
He was too impulsive. He had bravely volunteered during the meeting to reside permanently onboard the ship.
After all, it was a spaceship that was an immense technological marvel. Whoever controlled the ship, controlled unsurpassable martial prowess. Regardless of any being, any ruler facing such a strategic machine of destruction would cower in fear.
He abruptly composed a sentence, and politely replied, "Mr. Mayor, I don't think I am the right candidate for the job. Do you have another suggestion?"
Luo Yuan waved his hand, "No, I think it will be great if you are onboard."
He was just attempting small talk with Bi Jianping, but never thought it would induce panic. Bi Jianping was the highest authority on the ship, what could possibly go wrong?
Even if Luo Yuan felt relieved, Bi Jianping was not. After all, a human was unpredictable, one could not be too careful. After some thought, he politely said, "Since there are fifty thousand people to be evacuated, five hundred military police seems a bit short. I suggest we enlist a special operation team member to also reside on the ship permanently."
"Who would you suggest?" Luo Yuan inquired as he understood his concern and did not second guess his decision.
"How about Fang Peibin?"
"Alright."
Bi Jianping exhaled in relief and regained his composure. He felt a comforting warmth spread throughout his body.
...
After midnight, a huge crowd rushed out of Hope City.
The icy wind howled menacingly and everybody in the crowd shivered against the cold. Sweaters were sparse in Hope City and every person had to put on all the clothing they had to keep them warm. There were even people that wrapped themselves in layers of blankets but the wind still chilled them to the bone.
It was much too cold. The freezing winds attacked the huddled masses with a vengence.
Suddenly, the wind speeds dropped. Sand had clumped together under the freezing temperature and became as hard as solid rock. Even icicles were present in some of the dunes.
The ice age was fast approaching.
...
Luo Yuan was the first one in the line. His clothing was thin and frail, but he was numb to the outside chill. He turned to Fang Peibin. "This time, you are temporary deputy commissioner of police. It is a test, and also an opportunity for you. It’s up to you to uphold it. If you are incompetent at your job, I will remove you from it, even if you are my student," he warned, a grave tone in his voice.
"Don’t worry mentor, I’ll do my best." Fang Peibin said earnestly. He completely understood the reason he got this job was due to the fact that he was Luo Yuan's student. With his ability, there was no way he could have to assumed such postion.
The rank of Colonel in Firearms Bureau sounded fancy, but in reality, it was just an honorary title. Even he did not think much of it. On the other hand, as deputy commissioner of the police force, such an opportunity was hard to come by, and when Bi Jianping offered him the post, he agreed without much forethought.
"You have grown so much. Control your temper, learn from others, do things calmly and ask if you don't understand something. There’s nothing embarrassing in that." Luo Yuan said.
"I’ll keep that in mind!" Fang Peibin said diligently.
Luo Yuan still thought highly of Fang Peibin. Nobody was born with abilities. Persistent practice with the correct attitude made a person adapt quickly to any situation or surrounding. Moreover, Fang Peibin was an evolved human, and all of his attributes were already off the charts. With a little more guidance, he could deservingly become an elite member.
"How’s your swordplay?" Luo Yuan asked.
"Mentor, I am somewhat familiar with it. I can make my blade shine, but I still lack the proficiency." Fang Peibin said embarrassingly.
This time Luo Yuan was shocked. It was the first time he had met a person who could make a blade shine other than himself. Even a talented being such as Wang Shishi could not muster enough Will to do that. One could only imagine the insane amount of hard-work Fang Peibin put into his sword practice.
He patted Fang Peibin on the shoulder, "Well done. Stay vigilant. Will is important, you’ll understand it sooner or later."
Fang Peibin was dumbfounded. The fear he had towards his mentor receded a little. Just then, he noticed that Luo Yuan was as tall as a small giant, and asked curiously, "Mentor, how is it you’ve grown so tall?"
"Don’t believe everything you heard!" Luo Yuan snapped back.
Fang Peibin noticed the displeasure in his mentor’s expression and stopped questioning him immediately.
After a moment of silence, he said, "Mentor, I met Director Chen yesterday. I’m afraid she’s not so well."
Luo Yuan stopped, turned his head and asked in a nervous manner. "Director Chen? You mean Chen Xinjie? She’s in Hope City?"
Fang Peibin was stumped. He thought Chen Xinjie was his mentor’s woman, but how was it his mentor was not aware of her whereabouts?
"Yeah, I met her on the street. She did not look too good, and had lost a lot of weight. When I called her ‘madam', her smile was visibly forced. Something must be up."
Luo Yuan thought for a second. If he addressed her as "madam", Chen Xinjie was definitely not going to look good to have been mistaken to be much older.
After Fang Peibin’s confirmation, Luo Yuan felt troubled. He recalled every single moment of their life together. Her charming smile, her apparently weak figure lying in bed beside him, all the paradoxes in the past has disappeared through time, and became deep reminiscence. He thought she was killed during the disaster and did not dare think about it. But never did he expect she had returned to Hope City.
"Do you know where she lives?" Luo Yuan asked hastily.
"In the twelfth lot, off Fuxing road!"
Luo Yuan took note silently and prepared to pay her a visit.
Suddenly an uproar erupted from the crowd in the distance. A huge black body rose up in the desert.