Chapter 723.1: The Promise From 200 Years Ago

The furious voice echoed through the vast cavern, disturbing even the seawater lapping at the edge of the Dolphin and sending ripples spreading everywhere. The sailors of the Glory standing on the concrete platform instinctively stopped walking.

For a moment, no one knew what to do and the atmosphere became stiff. Or rather, it became very awkward.

It was especially so for the players from Shelter 404!

With nowhere to put her hands, Tail had already begun secretly playing with Roshan’s chest fur.

Sesame Paste looked helplessly toward Sisi. Sisi examined the entrance of the shelter and exchanged a glance with Sesame Paste before shaking her head. "No terminal."

"Uh..." A troubled expression appeared on Sesame Paste's face as well.

Though it made sense.

According to Captain Chen, this place had originally been Shelter 70's construction entrance before later being retained as an emergency access point. For all they knew, that giant gear-shaped door might have been one of the last things installed.

Since it functioned essentially as an escape route, rarely used and never intended to be opened from the outside, it was understandable that no terminal connected to the shelter's security system had been installed.

"... It's probably best if they resolve this themselves." Tail, who had braided two tiny pigtails into Roshan's belly fur, spoke quietly.

She was an agility type player. The moment she stepped out of the submarine into the cavern, she had already noticed that there wasn't even a place to enter a password on the door.

"I think so too." Sisi nodded.

Looking into the distance, she spoke meaningfully. "If shelter authority could solve every problem, the problem wouldn't have existed in the first place."

She had once gained access to the administrator’s permissions during the events at Shelter 79. Because of that, unlike most players who had never touched that key, she knew very well that it wasn't some all-powerful wish-granting device. Used in the wrong situation, it could easily make things worse.

Perhaps that was precisely why the administrator had entrusted the key to someone like her, who had previously experienced what it was like to gain temporary administrator authority.

Facing the tightly sealed giant door, Dongwen remained silent for a while before sighing softly. "... You're right. We truly don't deserve your help."

The moment he finished speaking, a flood of shouting erupted from the loudspeakers.

"Stop pretending to repent! Do you think we will actually believe you?!"

"Ungrateful bastards!"

"Go back where you came from!"

"Go ahead and keep fighting! Better yet, tear Coral City apart while you're at it! Once you've all died, we'll come out!"

"And don't you dare miss us later! We're not worthy, remember?!"

The sailors lowered their heads. Silently, they looked toward the Dolphin. All they wanted to do was to return on board and hide from the screaming. Then they remembered that technically, the submarine also belonged to Shelter 70.

Listening to the continuing uproar from the speakers, Chen Jianhong walked toward one side of the cavern.

Using a flashlight, he searched along the wall. A moment later, he seemed to find what he was looking for.

Stopping, he suddenly yelled at the loudspeakers. "Enough!"

The cavern instantly fell silent as the people in the broadcast room were clearly stunned. They had obviously not expected Captain Chen to turn his anger on them.

"... If you want to let the friends from Shelter 404 laugh at us, I won't stop you. But first, look down at the coat you're wearing and ask yourself what our ancestors said when they entered the shelter."

Silence was all that replied him. No answer came. Also, Chen Jianhong hadn't expected them to. Clearing his throat, he began reading the dust-covered words engraved on the wall

"... Thank you for your trust and sacrifice. You are the greatest heroes of our civilization!"

"I will carry my gratitude, today's shame, and your memories as I continue moving forward."

"We will forever remember the suffering you endure at this moment! I swear that your children will one day live in a beautiful new world! It will be a new era more united than the Prosperity Era itself, greater than any moment in our civilization's history!"

"...We are sorry we cannot take everyone with us, but this is the only choice. It is the only path toward a bright future for all of us."

"Do you have ancestors here? Don't worry, I'm not finished. There's still a long list." As he spoke, he continued walking along the wall. Brushing away more dust, his gaze suddenly froze.

A complex expression appeared in his eyes.

Looking at the entrance, he read aloud another line. "From this day forward, your children shall be our children..."

The plaza fell completely silent. Each sentence was like a knife stabbing into the hearts of every resident inside Shelter 70.

Chen Jianhong was certain that more than just a dozen people were gathered in the broadcast room. They had been trapped inside for four months with no bars or news for entertainment.

There were barely a handful of basic entertainment facilities like the gym and unappetizing emergency rations.

Like him, they had long since become accustomed to life outside. No one could stay inside forever.

In fact, he suspected that over a thousand people were gathered around holographic screens, waiting to laugh at those poor fools outside.

After a long silence, an uncertain cough came from the speakers. "... Even so, this is still our shelter. We have the right to decide how it is used."

"Our Shelter?" Chen Jianhong repeated the phrase while staring at the giant gear-shaped door. "Put your hand on your chest and tell me loudly whose shelter this is. Who built it?"

Only his voice continued echoing through the cavern as no one dared to respond.

Looking at the silent speakers, Chen Jianhong slowly continued. "... All of you already know the answer. You just don't want to think about it. That's fine. I'm a resident of Shelter 70 too, so I'll answer."

He pointed toward the giant door as though acting as a tour guide for the people standing behind him. "That alloy door was undoubtedly manufactured in a factory during the Prosperity Era. I don't know which factory forged it, but I know someone cast it. Someone polished it. Someone mounted it onto rails. Someone designed its locks and security systems. It was the product of a vast and sophisticated industrial chain."

"Countless creations like it formed the foundation of the Prosperity Era. Strictly speaking, it belongs collectively to everyone who participated in that chain.

"Not just this door! The excavator operators who dug out this cavern, the designers who planned every section of the shelter. The engineers who installed your reactors and light bulbs, along with the miners operating mining ships in outer space!"

"And of course, the teachers who educated them, the doctors who treated them, the parents who raised them, and the countless citizens of the old Federation who contributed their labor, creativity, and taxes!"

He pointed toward the door and asked again. "Tell me, where are they now?"

The massive door remained unmoved and the speakers remained silent.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Jianhong finally released the frustration he had held inside for so long.

"If you won't say it, then I will. They're dead. Most of them are dead."

"That's obvious, though. The shelters were designed for the Wasteland Era but our planet never was. It was once a beautiful and spacious house. When everything was fine, it could accommodate countless people. When the house collapsed, 99% of them were doomed."

"A few survived, but their nightmare was only beginning. Endless winter, mutants born from infection and radiation, the despair of watching paradise collapse. A few survived as humans but many more were twisted into beasts."

"Perhaps 1% of them survived, perhaps even fewer. No one knows."

"In that situation, nobody was counting. They endured hell until 50th year of the Wasteland Era, 50 years! They endured until they and their children were buried. They endured until their grandchildren reached adulthood. Only then did the nightmare begin to show signs of ending."

"And soon after, new troubles appeared."

He tapped the wall as a trace of mockery entered his voice.

“This is what happened out there. And when did we open our doors? The 100th year of the Wasteland Era, the 50th anniversary of Ring Island's completion! Our ancestors promised that the children of those left outside would live in paradise. In the end, it was us who moved into their paradise first.”

“You think you're aliens from another planet here to enlighten us? Are you colonizers?”

“We grew up listening to our parents tell stories of the Prosperity Era. We dreamed sweet dreams every night. We shouted slogans about rebuilding the Prosperity Era. But you all know exactly what you're really thinking! Rebuild the Prosperity Era? Hah! Don't try to fool me! I'm one of you people too!”

“Those natives will surely worship us like gods, right? They'll be dumbfounded when they see our all-powerful black boxes, right? When the shelter doors open, they'll kneel in gratitude, right? Just like their great-great-great-great-grandparents knelt before the shelter gates, begging our ancestors to open them a crack, now they'll surely kneel again and thank us for finally opening them! Isn't that right?”

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