Captain Certification, and...

Chapter 32: Captain Certification, and...

Si Ming had Shizuka Ishikawa prepare a vehicle for him: a large transport truck he had found at an aerospace center and that Shizuka had spent several days cleaning out. Driven by multiple sets of tracks, it was dozens of meters long and wide, and in the old era had been used exclusively to transport aircraft. Only highly trained military personnel knew how to operate it.

Colonel Robert was one such professional, so even alone, he could drive this bona fide land cruiser. The vehicle was now ringed with protective steel plating, and its roof—the section originally meant to hold a space shuttle—was loaded with enough fuel to travel a thousand kilometers and reach any habitable area.

This was the farewell gift Si Ming had prepared for Robert. He had outfitted the vehicle with numerous ultraviolet lamps and automatic guns. The people who had been injected with the KV Virus antidote and successfully restored to human form were settled inside. Without exception, they had retained some of the strength they possessed as Night Demons, and they were quite willing to follow Colonel Robert's orders.

"Are you really sure you can't stay, Professor Si?"

Colonel Robert climbed aboard, but he was also the one asking Si Ming to stay. "Restoring human civilization is an enormous undertaking. With your help, we could save more than half the time it would take."

His tone was sincere, his hopes plain. He truly wanted Si Ming to stay and help.

But—

"I can't." Si Ming shook his head and answered earnestly. "I can only appear here for a limited time, and I can only stay here for so long. Besides, I have something more important to do."

He turned his head and looked toward New York behind him. The transport truck, loaded with restored humans and supplies, had reached the city limits. He had no intention of taking even one step past the ruined tollbooth.

Colonel Robert followed his gaze. New York, once so familiar to him, now looked twisted and terrifying after he had left the city. The buildings looked like sharp teeth thrusting toward the sky, one after another. Sunlight spilled over them like filthy blood streaming down.

It was an illusion, and it was the truth.

His heart was filled with the urge to leave at once.

"The Collective Subconscious." Si Ming turned back, mulling over the term he had tossed out offhandedly at the time. "You must have felt it clearly. The urges and desires rising in your hearts... when an intelligent species faces imminent extinction, its will to save itself grows stronger. Now, humanity, which should have been on the brink of extinction, has a chance to rise again. Meanwhile, the Night Demons, who should have been the stars of the new age, are about to face extinction."

There were far more humans still alive on this planet than Robert had thought. He was so alone because he had never left the most dangerous place to begin with.

"The Zero Zone, ground zero..." the colonel murmured. "This is where the KV Virus first originated. The Night Demons' capital, their homeland. As long as this place remains, the Night Demons won't disappear so easily..."

"That's why New York has to be destroyed." Si Ming nodded in agreement. "I killed the Night Demons' king earlier, temporarily silencing their Collective Subconscious. That gave us the time and opportunity to create a cure for the KV Virus. But it was only a temporary victory. A new king will soon emerge among the Night Demons, and they'll hunt down everyone carrying the antidote without mercy. Before that happens, I have to deal with this threat once and for all."

The colonel hesitated.

A fleeting struggle crossed his eyes.

"I know of a secret base. There's a nuclear warhead hidden inside..."

"But I doubt you know the launch codes, or that you can handle the whole process by yourself, right?" Si Ming looked at him and smiled faintly. "That's enough, Colonel. My return is already set. Besides... I have my own way of destroying New York."

He turned and stretched out his hand toward New York in the distance. Fifteen days had given him plenty of time to do many things, and now he also had the help of humanity's Collective Subconscious.

The time had come.

The massive nuclear warheads Burrowing Devil Worm had placed at key points deep underground silently began their countdown. The worms still roaming the surrounding subterranean areas began to unleash their innate power.

A chant rang out.

"Dance, earthworm. Dance for humanity."

The ground trembled faintly, and the leaves around them rustled. Ripples first appeared in the water glass on the table. Then the whole glass began to shake.

"Dance in splendor, dance in glory."

Buildings in the distance began to shudder, and huge waves surged along the shore. At the top of the sky, dazzling auroras appeared.

"Dance out the fury and vengeance of us humans..."

The Night Demons lurking deep underground suddenly shrieked. For a moment, it was as if they had regained their full intelligence. They charged one after another toward the layer of rock where the Burrowing Devil Worm was. But their claws couldn't break through the solid stone, and the entire earth began to shake in rhythm!

It's coming. A massive earthquake is coming.

An unprecedented earthquake. It only needed the right trigger to begin!

"...and the downfall of our enemies!"

The countdown reached zero.

In the eyes of Robert and his companions, all of New York City surged upward at once. It was like a water balloon pumped full of too much air, swelling in an instant past the point it could hold—

Then it collapsed!

Rumble—

The deafening roar went on and on.

All of New York City was breaking apart and collapsing downward. Vast sections of buildings lurched upward as the earth split, then slid back down. The ocean rushed in from afar, and shrill cries filled the air as empty cavities were flooded and filled.

The steel-and-concrete beast that had been dead for three years was finally laid to rest with dignity. Water and fire surged up from underground, tearing apart every building that had not yet completely sunk and dragging the shattered structures beneath the vast sea trench now taking shape.

This was the Doomsday Scourge.

Colonel Robert had witnessed the whole thing, and his mouth stayed agape for a long time. When the last skyscraper in New York sank beneath the immense fissure, a wordless understanding rose in his heart.

The Night Demons wouldn't come after him anymore.

On the contrary, more companions, more survivors, were waiting along the road he was about to take.

He turned around. Professor Si and his assistant had already vanished without a trace. This was probably the last time he would see the mysterious visitor. Even now, he still didn't know his full name.

"Honestly... I never got to ask him whether necromancy can really bring someone back after they've been dead for a long time."

The colonel no longer missed his dead wife and daughter as much. He knew he now bore a more important responsibility. The whole human world was waiting for him to restore it, and until the antidote could be mass-produced, there was no room for too much sentiment.

Beside him, Sam let out a soft whimper. The colonel turned his head and saw the little boy, Ethan, quickly sketching on a drawing board. In his drawing, New York sank beneath the waves. He patted Sam's head, then returned to the cockpit where the vehicle awaited his command.

Years later, Ethan's sketch would be displayed as the centerpiece of the First Revival Memorial Exhibition. Countless survivors and restored humans would regard touching the painting, titled "Great Revenge," as an important goal in life.

In the end, the world belonged to humanity again.

—[Side Quest Complete: Destroy the KV Virus Zero Zone. Reincarnator Si Ming, you have obtained one B-rank side-story and 5,500 reward points.]

Si Ming raised his hand and dispelled the Night Battle Qi curtain covering himself and Shizuka Ishikawa. He watched the super transport truck gradually disappear beyond the horizon, then smiled.

"Farewell, Colonel Robert."

—Farewell, the only person in the entire multiverse who doesn't owe Hao anything.

The time limit was nearly up. Only a few dozen seconds remained in the fifteen-day countdown.

Everything had gone well.

He had accomplished every goal and defeated every enemy. His enormous head start had made him practically invincible in this low-level zone. Looking over his ample list of rewards, he naturally began to consider the many plans forming in his mind.

Plans to grow stronger. Plans to build a team.

Shizuka Ishikawa was a good start. She might not be suited to combat, but she could handle support and logistics. She should be able to share the rewards from both major side quests. If she had the potential to become a psychic, she could probably reach combat readiness in one go.

Even if she didn't, she should still be able to take on some kind of support role as a mage. But he would have to consider her own preferences before deciding on a specific path.

"Shizuka, remember not to rush into making any exchanges—"

Time was up.

Time stopped.

Si Ming wasn't surprised. He knew this was what happened during captain certification. The guide who was certifying him had probably died in the battle to eliminate the useless newcomers...

He froze in place.

He saw Shizuka Ishikawa suddenly rise into the air beside him. The golden radiance of the Main God immediately filled her eyes, which had been brimming with joy, relief, and anticipation only moments ago. Every trace of the "human" had vanished. Only the calm and solemnity of a god remained as she delivered her proclamation.

—[East Sea Team Reincarnator Si Ming, under the guide's observation, you have completed the captain's trial. Will you accept captain certification and potential development? If so, you may choose to remain with the East Sea Team, or, within one day at the latest, give up your East Sea Team reincarnator status and become a reincarnator of the Celestial Team, which can only be joined by those who possess complete captain authority.]

Si Ming didn't answer at once.

He simply reached out and touched the spot where Shizuka Ishikawa had been standing. The girl's warmth still lingered in the frozen air. But everything else had already dissolved into unreality.

So that was it.

The one who seemed the most normal was actually the least normal of all. Ah... right. It seemed that every successful thing Shizuka Ishikawa had done in this entire world could be dismissed as something trivial that would have happened just as well without her.

His head hurt a little.

It hurt so much he could barely stand it.

The corner of Si Ming's mouth twitched violently.

He finally understood one thing.

When someone was speechless to the extreme, they really did laugh.