Chapter 93: Dawn Hall And Hong Kou
“Please forgive the embarrassment, everyone. The person just now is the engineer responsible for our Beacon’s power and energy. He has always been dedicated to optimizing energy consumption and circulation. He probably saw your Train’s voyage and had some ideas, so he came to discuss with me. But rest assured, our Beacon absolutely has no bad thoughts.” Morgan said with a smile.
Looking at these people who were calm and composed, with that extraordinary temperament emanating from their bones, they were so similar to that person.
He, who knew how powerful that woman was, of course didn’t dare to have any extra thoughts and could only beat around the bush to maintain appearances.
They didn’t know that the Stellar Train didn’t use fuel in the ordinary sense at all, so it had no reference value whatsoever.
However, Himeko did have related technology in her hands. Even leaking a little bit could make their related technology develop rapidly.
“No harm done. People have all sorts of thoughts, as long as they don’t actually do bad deeds, we won’t mind.” Himeko said magnanimously.
“Speaking of which, decades ago, I also met an Ability User like you all, named Bai Yuekui.” Morgan looked at the group’s expressions, which showed no change whatsoever.
It seems they probably don’t know her; they’re not from the same group.
“We haven’t heard of the person the Lord of the City mentioned.” Himeko said regretfully.
“Haha, that was decades ago. Maybe that person died long ago; it’s normal not to know. Senge, you can go out first. I have things to discuss with the distinguished guests.” Morgan breathed a sigh of relief in his heart; that made the other possibility much more likely.
“March, A Xing, Huai Feng, Zhu Qing, do you want to stay and listen or go out to play?” Himeko looked at the four.
March 7th said without hesitation: “Let’s go out instead. Talking with big shots is the most boring thing.”
“Right, better to go stroll around the Beacon.” Meng Huaifeng agreed; he was also annoyed dealing with those old foxes.
“Then you all go play. Leave this to me and Welt.” Himeko smiled indulgently.
“Jing Nan, you go out too and show the distinguished guests around the Beacon.” Morgan said to Jing Nan as well.
“But, Lord of the City…” Jing Nan’s face showed some worry.
“Go on, I know what I’m doing.” Morgan waved his hand.
The news that Senge, wearing a Gravity Body, was made unsteady by a casual pat from one of them had already been quietly reported. Facing such a group of superhumans, any precautions were futile.
For now, this group’s attitude was very friendly. Since he had already taken the risk to allow them to board the Beacon, he didn’t mind being bolder to achieve his goal.
“Yes, everyone, please follow me.” Jing Nan walked to the four and said.
The four followed Jing Nan out of the Command Hall, leaving only Welt, Himeko, and Morgan inside talking.
Jing Nan took the four to visit several important non-critical core buildings of the Beacon: the medical room, the clock tower, the Light and Shadow Hall…
“This is Dawn Hall, the holy site where humans cast aside selfish desires to continue the human spark. The Beacon uses the old world’s gene matching formula as an important means of population optimization, arranging eligible Upper Citizens for Breeding Tasks to inherit superior genes and replenish the Beacon’s population.”
“The children born will be divided into Upper Citizens and Dust Citizens based on genes. Upper Citizens will be uniformly cared for and nurtured by the Beacon, learning various skills, and grow up to become the Beacon’s pillars.”
The five arrived in a golden hall, where Jing Nan introduced it to the four.
“Deciding a person’s future solely based on genes—isn’t that too rigid? Genes can indeed roughly indicate a person’s future physical qualities and strength, but whether they are intelligent shouldn’t be something genes can detect, right?”
Meng Huaifeng asked. He felt no ripples in his heart about Dawn Hall; that kind of thing only felt right with someone you liked.
“But people with superior genes have a much higher probability of producing smart people than those with inferior genes. With limited resources, we naturally choose the one with the higher probability.” Jing Nan said.
“You just said arranging eligible Upper Citizens for Breeding Tasks—what about Dust Citizens?” March 7th frowned and asked.
“Dust Citizens are prohibited from having offspring.” Jing Nan answered calmly.
“Ah? That’s too much, isn’t it?” March 7th exclaimed.
“Dust Citizens have inferior genes, so the probability of giving birth to children with superior genes is even lower. Still the same point: our resources are limited, and the number of people we can support is fixed. For the Beacon’s future to have more excellent talents, only letting Upper Citizens perform Breeding Tasks is the optimal choice.” Jing Nan said.
“What if a Dust Citizen gets pregnant? Abort it?” March 7th asked.
“It won’t happen. The first of the three Survival Laws: abandon old era concepts and prohibit forming families, kinship, love, marriage, and such behaviors. If someone gets pregnant privately, it means they violated the first Rule and will receive severe Punishment.” Jing Nan said.
“How severe?” Zhu Zhuqing asked.
“Death.” Jing Nan said concisely.
Zhu Zhuqing shrank her neck. Goodness, this was countless times worse than her own situation back then.
“What kind of broken Rule is this? Completely inhumane.” March 7th complained.
“If I were a Beacon Dust Citizen, I’d let them know that Rules are meant to be broken!” A Xing pulled out a baseball bat from thin air and swung it twice.
Jing Nan stared fixedly at the baseball bat in A Xing’s hand. Where did it come from? Was this a Supernatural Ability?
“If you were a Beacon Dust Citizen, you wouldn’t have your current power. Forget breaking Rules—you’d lose your life, A Xing.” Meng Huaifeng shot down.
“Don’t undermine me, jerk.” A Xing looked at Meng Huaifeng dissatisfied.
“If Miss A Xing were to join the Beacon, she definitely wouldn’t become a Dust Citizen, but an Upper Citizen.” Jing Nan said.
“Makes sense.” A Xing nodded in satisfaction.
“Upper Citizens have to come to this Dawn Hall, though.” Meng Huaifeng teased.
A Xing was slightly stunned, then raised the baseball bat again and shouted: “Rules are meant to be broken!”
“Don’t break it; there are still Beacon people around.” March 7th tugged at A Xing.
Jing Nan smiled awkwardly yet politely. These people seemed very dissatisfied with the Beacon’s Rules; better to smooth things over.
“This Rule is ranked first among the three Survival Laws for a reason.” Jing Nan changed the topic: “Devouring Beasts can sense human emotions. The stronger the emotions, the more they’ll attract Devouring Beasts’ attention. So, for Safety, we must suppress our own emotions.”
“But emotions aren’t just love and kinship.” Meng Huaifeng didn’t agree with Jing Nan’s words.
“But these two emotions are the easiest to control, and this regulation also benefits the gene optimization Plan. If forming families were allowed, would people still be willing to come to Dawn Hall to perform Propagation Tasks with someone else?” Jing Nan counter-questioned.
“You have a point, but we still don’t agree. I’ve always believed that human emotions are the brightest Light in desperate situations. Many miracles are born from emotions.” Meng Huaifeng said.
Perhaps because she wasn’t from this world and hadn’t truly lived in the Apocalypse, she couldn’t empathize with them, so she couldn’t understand their Rule regulations.
But the Beacon’s system might temporarily produce seemingly excellent talents, but without kinship, love, or friendship bonds, could they really be relied upon in a Crisis, relying only on Rules and orders?
Meng Huaifeng was skeptical.
A troop without Will would absolutely not be a match for a troop with firm Will, no matter how gorgeous their stats on paper.
This was also recorded in the history of Meng Huaifeng’s original world.
“Exactly, Belobog persisted stubbornly until we arrived thanks to the Will of Preservation. If it were as inhumane as what you do here, it probably would’ve been buried under ice and snow long ago.” March 7th agreed.
Meng Huaifeng pinched his forehead. This silly girl, exploding info again.
Fortunately, Jing Nan didn’t ask more, just assuming it was a small Ground settlement saved by them passing by.
“I can’t convince you, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the Beacon’s Survival Law. Everything is just to survive better in the Apocalypse.” Jing Nan said somewhat dimly.
Strong emotions might create miracles, but they’d also attract more Devouring Beasts. What kind of miracle could offset that many more Devouring Beasts?
That was a problem.
The atmosphere between both sides was somewhat silent as Jing Nan led the four to the next place.
Just then, deafening cheers came from below. The Pioneer Squad curiously leaned on the corridor railing and looked down.
They saw more than ten armored vehicles loaded with Materials slowly arriving from the Lift Platform. The previously busy Dust Citizens all stopped their work, making way for the road, blessing the dozens of warriors on the armored vehicles, while Dust Citizens from other places continuously gathered, warmly welcoming their return.
The fully armed warriors on the armored vehicles were some cold-faced, others constantly waving. On the lead armored vehicle, a ponytail warrior with reddish hair shimmering slightly in the sunlight, heroic and valiant, occasionally tossed some Food to the children among the Dust Citizens. Beside her, a warrior with a scar over his right eye watched her actions tenderly.
“This is the Beacon’s Scavenger Squad. They went to the Ground to collect Materials and are back. Some Materials the Beacon can barely self-sustain, but others completely rely on Scavengers collecting from the Ground.” Before Meng Huaifeng could ask, Jing Nan proactively introduced.
“The woman in the front is the current Captain of the Scavenger Squad, Hong Kou, also the Beacon’s most outstanding Scavenger Commander to date. Since she became Captain, Scavenger casualties have dropped sharply, and every Ground trip returns fully loaded with large amounts of Materials.”
“I can see that those people really adore her.” Meng Huaifeng said, looking at the excited Dust Citizens.
“So cool.” A Xing said enviously.
“Didn’t you enjoy that kind of treatment in Belobog?” March 7th asked puzzled.
“The more spotlight, the better, of course.” A Xing said matter-of-factly. What, would someone dislike having too much?
“Then this time it’s yours too?” Meng Huaifeng glanced at A Xing.
“No problem!” A Xing rubbed her fists.
“What are you talking about?” Jing Nan asked curiously.
“Talking about the source of the Apocalypse.” March 7th was as carefree as ever.
Jing Nan looked surprised: “What is it?”
“Well, we don’t know yet.” March 7th scratched her head sheepishly: “But Huai Feng will find out soon.”
Jing Nan was slightly speechless. Claiming to solve it without knowing anything—young people’s delusions.
But Jing Nan could understand, because she often fantasized about solving the Apocalypse herself and restoring the world to its former state.
The convoy soon passed through the Corridor, and Jing Nan stepped away from the railing.
“The convoy will go to the Materials distribution room to unload next. Let’s go take a look.”
When the five arrived at the Materials distribution room, the vehicles were already half-unloaded, with people coming and going, very lively.
Several Gravity Bodies were parked to one side in the hall, their pilots already gone.
“This, can I try it?” A Xing touched the Gravity Body, looking at Jing Nan expectantly.
She often saw Uncle Yang piloting a Mecha everywhere; was this thing that fun?
“You don’t have operation permissions, so you can’t pilot it.” Jing Nan shook her head.
A Xing was a bit regretful but still lifted the Gravity Body’s limbs with her hands and did a few simple movements.
Watching A Xing casually manipulate the Gravity Body, Jing Nan’s eyes twitched wildly. Was this really something a human could do?
Meng Huaifeng walked to the armored vehicle and looked at the Materials crates on it, asking curiously: “It’s been over thirty years since the Apocalypse now. After so long, haven’t the things on the Ground gone bad?”
“Food besides canned goods and compressed biscuits has indeed mostly spoiled. We mainly collect Energy sources, followed by urgently needed Materials. Even if somewhat damaged, they can be cleaned up and used.” Jing Nan said.
“Over thirty years—canned goods and compressed biscuits expired long ago, right?” March 7th said in amazement.
“Young Girl, even if expired, they’re treasures now. As long as edible, it’s fine.” A clear voice suddenly came from behind the group.
“Captain Hong Kou.” Jing Nan said to the newcomer.
It was actually the Scavenger Captain?
The four turned to look at the newcomer: neat ponytail, slightly red hair, a resolute expression on her delicate face, heroic and valiant, charming to both men and women.
“Such a handsome Miss.” A Xing said straightforwardly.
Hong Kou was stunned for a moment, then laughed generously: “Thanks, Young Girl, you’re pretty cool too. But I don’t think I’ve seen you all before.”
The Beacon only had over ten thousand people; not knowing everyone, but most faces were familiar. These people were so striking; she couldn’t forget them.
“They are survivors from a Train, just discovered today.” Jing Nan said.
“Oh, there are still living people on the Ground? Truly unbelievable.” Hong Kou said surprised: “Welcome to join the Beacon. I’m Scavenger Captain Hong Kou; you can live more stably from now on.”
“Well, we haven’t joined the Beacon; just here to visit.” Meng Huaifeng said.
“Visit? The Lord of the City actually allowed it?” Hong Kou looked incredulously at Jing Nan.
“They’re not ordinary people.” Jing Nan said firmly.
“Looks like surviving on the Ground this long means you do have skills. So, nice to meet you?” Hong Kou extended her right hand to the group.
Speechless, luck really is conserved. Picked up a bargain on Sanjiang last week, and this month it’s all paid back. My grandfather and mom hospitalized for IVs on the same day, my dad got caught drunk driving that same day, and today my partner has a high fever. So busy, can’t hold on.
