Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 744 - 113: Dawn of Enlightenment

This was a destruction foretold.

The entire city vanished in a flash, when the white light dissipated, the glorious City of Truth was reduced to ruins.

Simulation number 52 declared a failure due to an unexpected celestial phenomenon, as the 009 Observation stated, destroy all experimental facilities, there will be no more cycles from first-class citizens to third-class citizens, you may "go home" now.

However, it seems not everyone willingly accepted failure, accepting their fate.

A carefully chosen exceptional citizen convinced the simulation's host, persuaded them that it was not a failure, although the starship lost communication deep within the black hole, they also saw an opportunity to continue the simulation—the meteor falling from the sky, the black lotus blossoming upon the ruins.

Evening 19:41.

Fourteen hours after the destruction of the surface, a fully armed team in protective suits opened the doors of the shelter.

Meanwhile, in the humane laboratory, a batch of young experimental subjects was listed.

These children were the best selected from the initial screening, although they still couldn't embark on the path of Transcendents, the experiments they've been through at least proved their resilience beyond ordinary people.

Leading this experiment was Dr. Chen Zhaoming, the top scholar in the field of biological sciences, and the person responsible for all biological experiments in the shelter.

Lindong opened the laboratory door once again.

Researchers in white lab coats busily moved around, each with a solemn expression, because soon, the surveying team going to the surface with life-threatening risks would return here, bringing back the sample carrying all human hope, the director believed that would be the key to everything.

She suddenly recalled her own experiences, watching through the window as people came and went.

Lindong walked towards one of the isolation rooms.

Inside was a little girl holding a white kitten, wearing a white dress, quietly staying in the isolation room, and the girl in the room completely unaware of her presence, continued to focus on observing the corridor.

As a survivor of several experiments, many changes had occurred to her body,

White hair and red pupils, these were no longer features of ordinary humans.

Thus, she gained some privileges.

For example, keeping a cat that wandered into the laboratory by her side.

She always believed cats were the freest animals, at least freer than those who had been in the laboratory since they could remember. This cat had seen more and been to more places, and with the recent earthquake and news of the city's destruction, it might be the last cat in the city.

And as facts proved, a cat's insight was far sharper than a human's.

The white ragdoll cat became somewhat restless due to her presence, even though theoretically it couldn't perceive her, yet it occasionally glanced toward where Lindong was.

The white cat sensed threat and tension, already on the verge of hissing.

Lindong smiled, she gently placed her index finger on the glass of the isolation room, and drew a smile on the cat's mouth.

Soon, the laboratory door opened.

Director Chen Zhaoming walked in alone.

Although he looked both exhausted and anxious, he still tried his best to restrain his emotions.

That black lotus contained hope, it could help people rebuild their city, someday in the future returning to life under the sun, but is this truly the case?

The answer is obvious.

There is no scientific evidence, nor any precise computational result.

Chen Zhaoming doesn't even know what will happen when they study the black lotus, attempting to inject its unknown energy into human bodies, perhaps it would only be another failure, with the genetic sequence of the subjects rapidly collapsing.

Yet when the Democratic Assembly mentioned this, he still responded affirmatively.

Their world was already destroyed.

Some hope is always needed to keep what remains going forward, isn't it?

Even if that's just an unrealistic fantasy.

Chen Zhaoming walked into the isolation room with the girl, hesitated a few times, unsure how to speak, he had been through such scenes too many times before, he should be numb to it by now, those children sent to surgery mostly couldn't survive, and researchers constantly told themselves, all failures and deaths would bring them closer to the truth.

Chen Zhaoming gradually understood the reason for his confusion.

Because this experiment mixed with his personal emotions, like the people in the shelter, they were all lost in bewilderment.

They needed someone to pull them out of the quagmire.

Although anyone seeing the current scene would find it absurdly comical, as they seemed to hope to get answers from a child, but they had to continue forward.

So Chen Zhaoming bent down, a gentle smile appeared on his face.

He placed his hands on the shoulders of the white-haired girl, which seemed like comforting and encouraging an elder to a junior, but actually felt like grabbing a lifeline.

His dry lips trembled slightly, the voice vastly different from the past.

Having carefully studied the theory of "Path and Faith," Chen Zhaoming saw a world outside of science, perhaps they had long needed to change their mindset.

Perhaps the end of science is the beginning of faith.

And now, only the divine could save them, bringing them hope.

Just like the True Gods depicted in the empire's history, they once led humanity out of the darkest times.

"Would you... be willing to become a divine?"

.........

Meanwhile, Shelter 52, Biological Laboratory.

"Merlin, Song Xian, that's enough!"

A stern shout came from the entrance, but this time, it wasn't the shelter's security team or a committee member that came to stop them.

Chen Qi was alone, the only source of intimidation being the pistol clutched in his hand.

He didn't know what Merlin had said to the security personnel; not only had they let Song Xian go, but they also allowed them to break into this laboratory.

The shelter was in utter chaos.

Several days had passed since the committee lost contact, and the higher-ups had long sensed something amiss. Before long, this oppressive and uneasy atmosphere would affect everyone in the shelter, possibly leading to a riot—the worst-case scenario. During the early days of the shelter's establishment, a leader from the slums had questioned the distribution of supplies and the committee's authority, leading the people in the slums to instigate a riot.

Back then, Chen Qi was young, and he witnessed the trial on television.

The riot ultimately ended in failure, and the rebel Lin Jue was executed by gunfire. He heard the gunshots on TV, the bullet piercing the rebel's skull, causing the unsupported body to collapse to the ground.

That was the first time Chen Qi witnessed the process of a human life being taken.

"I understand how you feel."

Even faced with the gun barrel, there was no fear on Merlin's face.

This once again struck a chord in Chen Qi's heart because the man executed on TV showed the same demeanor, challenging the authority of the Democratic Assembly up until the moment of his execution without showing any remorse.

"Someday, someone will uncover the truth you're hiding... that day will come."

Unconsciously, Merlin's image started to overlap with that of the rebel's.

Different ages, different appearances; from the time dimension, it was impossible for them to be the same person.

Or was it...

Did some rebel foresee Merlin's existence before his death?

"Nobody would want others to know their father was an executioner, one who took hundreds of lives, especially... when they were all children."

Merlin said. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

With the biological laboratory abandoned, the people of the shelter gradually forgot about its existence, and those researchers who once worked there kept this secret in unison. They were later well-settled by the committee, and now everyone, including Director Chen Zhaoming, is dead.

This seems to be an invisible curse.

None of the researchers involved in the experiment lived past 65, with Chen Zhaoming being one of the longest-lived among them.

He took his glorious resume to the grave, posthumously recognized as one of the most outstanding scholars by the committee.

"I said, stop, and proceed to surrender to the guards!"

Chen Qi gritted his teeth but couldn't offer any direct response to Merlin's accusations.

"Minister, you're right on time."

Merlin remained unmoved, "Some crucial experimental records have been destroyed here. After the surface's destruction, your father once led an experiment. I want to know the specifics of that experiment."

"It has nothing to do with you."

"I'm afraid it concerns not just me, but every one of us."

Merlin shook his head, "Rest assured, I'm not here to morally judge Mr. Chen Zhaoming. We have only one goal for coming here—the experiment is related to Lindong."

And the child whom the experiment bestowed divine powers upon in the biological laboratory became a god.

Chen Qi did not answer, nor did he intend to answer any questions. He walked toward Merlin step by step.

The scene of the committee executing the rebel leader flashed through his mind, reminding him of the frailty of the human body. Whoever it was, just one bullet piercing the skull could forever silence them.

At this moment, Merlin was no longer the powerful Elemental Shaper from the "otherworld"; like everyone in the shelter, he was just an ordinary person.

Merlin also showed no signs of retreat.

"They needed a deity to lead them out of the darkest times, and they succeeded, didn't they?"

"They succeeded."

Answering Merlin was an unexpected voice. Hearing the noise from behind, Chen Qi turned sharply, like a startled bird, aiming his gun at Zhuang Xiao, who had appeared at some unknown time.

Zhuang Xiao was pale at this moment, still in a weakened state after exiting the "Dream Experiment."

Just a short while ago, she had witnessed the lost starship and the destruction of the City of Truth.

To make matters worse, she faintly knew their true identity.

Merely items pieced together in a factory, repeatedly reused to fill a simulation.

However, some of them were lucky enough to escape the identity of "dolls."

"They found the 'God Gene.'

Using the broken Observer 009 and the unknown entity lurking in the depths of the black hole.

Fragments of energy from the fusion of the two fell on this ruined city, initiating Simulation No. 53, led spontaneously by the survivors.