Rescue

Chapter 2.02: Rescue

The Desperate Plane, the Shenzhou Plane, and the Central Revolutionary Alliance Plane all belonged to the same Space-Time Region. That meant Wei Keng, who was currently on the Pandora Plane, could safely return to the Shenzhou Plane as soon as he connected to it.

Of course, the Desperate Plane had enormous international problems. Those problems had turned the downstream area of this plane into a battleground where the Main World's two major Transmigrator Groups were fighting to a fever pitch. And it was precisely because the Desperate Plane had so many Space-Time Nodes that it could connect to Wei Keng's plane so reliably.

Luo Hongxing studied the navigation coordinates.

There were 543 people aboard the ship, tasked with helping their comrades in the Sand Peninsula region set up industrial production lines. Recently, border harassment had flared up in the Tianshan Region, so this mission held a certain strategic significance for the great eastern power. But Luo Hongxing knew the ship's true destination wasn't the Middle East. Before entering the Strait of Malacca, it would pass through a Space-Time Node into a parallel plane.

The goods aboard were intended for local forces on the Sand Peninsula, and this trade was tied to the current state of the world. The headline on the Global Outlook News in Luo Hongxing's left hand read: "Auschwitz Revisited: What Now for the Jews?"

Though the Cold War had changed in character, the Middle East still saw plenty of interference from great powers. The difference was that now it was the United States that was getting bogged down in the region. To contain the northern Soviets and ensure a smooth transition from the dollar's Gold Standard to the oil standard, the Americans had no choice but to pour more resources into the region. They backed local regimes and built military bases, trying to pressure Soviet Russia from the middle of World Island and curb its aggressive momentum in Europe and Northeast Asia.

But the truth was that while the United States might be good at doing business with the countries on World Island that had completed social reforms and established systems of legitimacy, it struggled to correct and rebuild a country burdened with so many outdated practices.

Perhaps the roots of this problem went back to America's very founding. America wasn't a country built by correcting its mistakes. Unable to fix the problems of the Old Continent, its founders had crossed the ocean to North America instead. So the idea of starting history anew had never given rise to a way of thinking that sought to correct the past. That was why, in the Middle East—a crossroads of East and West, and a region rife with historical baggage—the United States was trying to impose its own order in precisely the place least suited to it.

In the Main World, the Soviet Union had been inspired by the fighting power unleashed by its eastern friends during the Korean War. It figured that if China could do it, so could other places, and poured in aid to support pro-Soviet factions. After the Soviet Union collapsed, it discovered that every one of its picks had been a complete pushover.

In this world, the Freedom Eagle had picked the most useless of the useless among the old guard in the Middle East. Even the baldheads had been more capable of governing than those Middle Eastern nobles. Once they received foreign aid, these princes not only failed to consolidate their rule, but also drove out the intellectuals from the lower and middle classes.

That was how the Global Salvation Army came into being. United by the Prophet Doctrine, the organization began to grow in Central Asia.

Of course, America wasn't the only player in this world fond of making disastrous moves. When European politicians found themselves nearly driven to despair by Soviet Russia, they clearly weren't content to sit on the sidelines. Whenever America made a move on the global stage, one of its European allies would inevitably stick out a leg to trip it up. They stubbornly backed Israel, hoping to interfere in the Suez Canal again. The result was that they added an extremist ingredient to the mix. Local conflicts gradually escalated into a global problem that drew the world's hatred.

In the Middle East, people who in the Main World might have become the ruling class of strongman governments were now genuinely turning to extremism. They launched a surprise chemical attack on Europe, cutting off the possibility of European aid to Israel. Then, through arms dealers, they acquired large numbers of obsolete Russian rockets and rained them down on Jewish neighborhoods.

Bear in mind, this world hadn't seen the repeated Industrial Transfers and financial expansions that had taken place in the Main World. Its electronics technology had advanced more slowly, so it had no Iron Dome capable of intercepting rockets at will. Israel had been ground down by endless Harassment Battles, and the Salvation Army had captured and imprisoned large numbers of fleeing Jews.

That was what the front-page headline in Luo Hongxing's newspaper was about.

Of course, behind this crisis, Saudi Arabia and Iraq were on the verge of collapse. And that was why Luo Hongxing's ship was now carrying so many strategic supplies on a long voyage.

Luo Hongxing said, "Those supplies will only be seized by the Salvation Army if they reach the chaotic region of Iraq and Iran. We might as well not send them."

In the information Wei Keng could currently see about Shuttlers, Luo Hongxing was a sergeant sent to replace Wei Keng and continue opening up this plane.

In the Desperate Plane, a page was torn from the calendar in the captain's cabin. It came off unevenly, obscuring the Gregorian Calendar date; the year was hard to make out, and the lunar date read Wuchen Year, April 15.

The instrument panel nearby showed Beidou time: 8:34 a.m.

As the Yuanhua 834 passed through a bank of sea fog, every needle in the bridge spun wildly, like dancers in a disco. The little metal pointers whirled so fast they sounded like fingernails tapping against glass.

Captain Sun Xiangyang sounded the horn. With a Walkie-Talkie in hand, he began assigning tasks to the crew in each section. The sailors chosen for overseas trade in this era were all firmly rooted in the right political convictions, so at first they weren't superstitious. They assumed they had crossed a Chaotic Magnetic Field Region.

Luo Hongxing also took a firearm and patrolled the ship's rail. He was now the only person aboard who knew what was happening. After confirming that they had reached this plane, he contacted the system to check on the situation.

With a slap, something heavy landed on the ship's rail. A tentacle as thick as a person's waist rolled up over the side. It wasn't just an oversized version of the squid tentacles often sold at barbecue stands. This thing was hideous, its skin hanging in folds like slabs of fat and dripping with water. Its body was patterned in rings like a snake's, giving it a sinister appearance. If it had appeared in the Age of Great Voyages, it would have scared people to death. But now, on a 50,000-ton ship, it was just a gecko clinging to a flowerpot.

Quick as a flash, Luo Hongxing grabbed the Electric Fishing Fork and jabbed the creature, then switched on the current. The tentacle recoiled. The other crew members grabbed dry-powder fire extinguishers and sprayed the tentacles still trying to climb aboard. Perhaps the Ammonium Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Chloride, and Potassium Chloride in the powder were highly irritating. The tentacles rolled back into the sea, twisting and writhing in waves as they tried to rid themselves of the powder. The sight reminded the crew of the Snake Demon dancing in the recent domestic cartoon Calabash Brothers.

Captain Sun Xiangyang looked at the Satellite Communication Equipment. The radio had also been turned up to full volume, but nothing answered. He called together the crew leaders from each section and announced what had happened. The sextant showed that they were still in the South China Sea. Everyone suggested turning back for now, while Luo Hongxing knew how dangerous the Pandora Field was and advised them to head north for port immediately. In the end, the captain and several others aboard put the decision to a vote, and it passed.

The broadcast blared: "All crew members, attention! All crew members, attention! Our voyage has been disrupted by unknown factors. All passengers, return to your cabins. Crew members, assemble on deck."

At the Pearl River Estuary, a 200-ton steamship was rising from a flooded dry dock. It had an iron skeleton and a Steel Wire Network, with a Cement Material hull. It was powered by a Steam engine and used a Paddle Wheel Structure! A propeller would have required a Watertight Process. The little ship was one of Wei Keng's experiments near the harbor.

The ship sailed out to the brackish waters where the river met the sea.

Watching the waves rock the hull, Wei Keng took a deep breath and counted off on his fingers. "This time, I'm coming back with a catch." His Life Radiation was too strong, and all sorts of creatures now avoided him, especially fish. Whenever Wei Keng came near, they scattered like sparrows in a flower bed when someone approached.

So, to catch fish more effectively, Wei Keng decided to speed up his watercraft and develop a newer, more effective way of fishing.

Ten minutes later, Wei Keng sensed the Life Radiation of a school of fish beneath the water. He immediately ordered the ship to speed toward them. The fish had clearly sensed him approaching too and were getting ready to flee.

Wei Keng pushed out something like a Fireworks Launcher onto the deck. As the ship neared the school and the fish were about to scatter, the launcher fired, scattering rows of Spheres across a 200-meter area. Once they entered the water, they began bubbling and smoking. A few seconds later, flashes of light appeared beneath the surface. Then they cast the net.

Knowing that guests would soon arrive, Wei Keng eagerly prepared some ingredients to welcome them. When the net came up, he dumped the catch into the ship's Ice Chamber, then got ready to head home.

Fifty nautical miles away, the people aboard the Yuanhua 834 weren't in the mood to eat fish.

On their return voyage, they hadn't seen a single ship anywhere along the route. Lingao Port, where they had set out, had disappeared. When they brought the ship closer to shore, they found that the land had been completely swallowed by jungle. The birds flying in from the shore had sharp teeth, and some little fish swam like snakes, using their suckers to crawl up the ship's side.

More importantly, sixty people aboard had already fallen ill. They were sweating and losing their hair, and the ship's doctor had tried every kind of antibiotic without success. Their only hope now was to check Guangzhou Port, which ought to be the busiest place around. But if they still found no sign of people, the crew—already stricken with a mysterious illness—would lose heart and fall apart.

Standing on the Crow's Nest, Luo Hongxing watched the northern coastline draw closer. When he spotted the lighthouse smoking along the shore, he pulled out a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled. Then he said to the system, "Connect me to Wei Keng."

The Wei Keng Collective was made up of individuals working everywhere, from the sweating workers beside the furnaces in the munitions factory to those picking vegetable leaves by the Plant Node Creature's pool. When they heard that the long-awaited rescue team had finally arrived on the coast, their first reaction was to look around at their workplace: the farmland, factory buildings, dormitories, and the fat orange cat sunning itself along the edge of the gravel road.

They had spent time among every plant and tree here. Every hundred meters or so, there was a rough stone brick they had touched and felt. And there were those few nooks and crannies where they often relieved themselves at night, the sandy soil above them scored with tiny runoff channels.

After living somewhere for a while and leaving behind so many traces, leaving made them feel the ties that bound them to the place. Even after they were gone, the place seemed to remain intact in their memories.

Once their telepathy had been quantified into Telepathic Language, Wei Keng's mind held sixty thousand ways to describe this place.

"Quack, quack, quack." Near Wei Keng's cafeteria, a flock of well-fed seabirds squawked in their cage. A few meters away, the chef calmly sharpened a knife.

Forty-six kilometers away, Luo Hongxing wore a blue-and-white Sailor Shirt. His arm muscles bulged as he gripped the mast, and he bellowed in a hoarse voice, "Hello, hello, Wei Keng! Wei Keng! Keng! Pit!"

The new replacement's call broke Old Master Wei Keng's self-absorption. "Mm, I'm here. Thanks for coming. I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Squinting into the sea breeze atop the mast, Luo Hongxing said, "Get out of the harbor as soon as you can. I've got injured people aboard. Mm, get your serum ready. Remember, don't all come aboard at once. Inject everyone with the serum first, then explain what happened to the people on this ship."

Wei Keng looked over the ship information Luo Hongxing sent him and was a little stunned. It seemed the ship that had come to take him home needed him to lend a hand first.

Luo Hongxing continued, "There's a Space-Time Node in the hold, but don't think about going back anytime soon. First, hand over the work here."

Wei Keng asked, "Brother Luo, how long will the handover take?"

"Kid, stop thinking about going home all the time. You've gotten thoroughly familiar with this plane. Staying a few more years won't hurt. You've been doing pretty well opening it up, haven't you?"

"I miss home."

"You just miss that Holographic Projection Pod in the dorm, don't you? Enough talk. Get ready."

After ending the call, Wei Keng contacted his Observer. "Hey, weren't you supposed to send me a Traversal Channel? Why won't this ship let me aboard?"

Inside the Space Bubble, Bai Linglu had just heard Luo Hongxing's preemptive statement. As she made notes, she adjusted her smile and replied to Wei Keng, "I understand how much you want to return, but the objective circumstances still require preparation. Like you, I hope we can complete the final mission as well as possible."

Wei Keng stopped banging the pot in celebration. "Hold on, hold on. I want to ask: can I go back or not?"

"You can, but the objective circumstances don't allow it right now."

"Then can I redeem more supplies?"

"Yes, but that would mean extending the time before you can leave again."

Wei Keng thought he understood, and grew anxious. "The Space Gate is already here. Why would redeeming supplies mean I have to extend my return date? Is this some kind of Pay-to-Win scam?"

In the kitchen, a local vegetable washer asked Wei Keng, who was cooking, "Are we having roast fish or stewed turtle today?"

Wei Keng had just finished talking to the system. Though he was only the individual in charge of the kitchen, he was still in a foul mood. He snapped, "Steam it. Steamed, nothing else! Lobster—and tie a son of a bitch to each tail!"