Vault-Tech

"Name?" The Vault-Tech employee asked Lia and the others, holding a form, the tip of his pen rustling across the paper.

"Lia Simmons," "Anna Simmons," "Karina Wood," "Alice Ian," "Leisha Howard," "Evelyn Whitely."

"First, congratulations on qualifying for shelter residency, for your meritorious contributions in fighting the Honkai."

"Hmm… meritorious contributions?" Evelyn placed a finger on her lips, pondering for a moment before asking.

Vault-Tech said humorously, "Being alive is a contribution." He pulled another form from a desk drawer and placed it on the table.

"Once this form is filled out, you can move in early. I imagine you don't have anywhere else to go."

The first rays of dawn filtered through the leaves, illuminating the street. A neatly dressed man in a pale yellow suit stood before a door. He pressed the electronic doorbell beside it, and the heavy wooden door slowly opened. Standing before the man in the suit was a young lady. He took off his hat, gave her a salute, then placed his hand over his chest and introduced himself, "Good morning, Mrs. Sanders. I am the resident representative for the Vault-Tech company."

"Vault-Tech?" The young Mrs. Sanders tilted her head, clearly confused.

"Just as our name suggests, Madam. Vault-Tech is a company specializing in building underground shelters. Every shelter we construct meets the United Nations' standards for anti-nuclear blast and air-raid shelters," the Vault-Tech representative said with a sales pitch tone.

Mrs. Sanders was not swayed. "I recall many strange salespeople before, but without exception, they were all imprisoned by Fire Moth for endangering public safety and fraud."

He gave a silent, awkward chuckle, but his voice held no trace of embarrassment. He said loudly, "Madam, our Vault-Tech company is a legitimate business. We are an approved public shelter contractor recognized by Fire Moth." His tone paused, then he continued, "But enough about that, Mrs. Sanders. That is not why I am here. I have something very important to discuss."

"Oh? What could be so important?"

"What is more important than the lives of your family, Madam? While you may not dare to say in public that humanity is on the brink of extinction, I'm sure you've thought about it countless times," the Vault-Tech representative said.

"Mmm..." The lady of the house fell silent for a moment. She pursed her lips and said, "And then?"

"You are fortunate enough to be selected as a resident of Shelter 111. As long as you fill out this form, our staff will personally escort you to the shelter in a few days." The Vault-Tech representative pulled a form from his inner suit pocket.

Mrs. Sanders asked in surprise, "Fortunate? I don't recall entering any lottery!"

The Vault-Tech representative ignored her question. He spread his arms wide and, with a sales pitch tone, continued, "Our shelters are equipped with all the amenities of modern life: televisions, personal computers, large public entertainment areas – everything you could want!"

"Furthermore, we have established cooperation agreements with reputable security and biological companies. You need not worry about threats from Honkai Beasts and Mortals; you can fully enjoy regulated public order and advanced medical care."

"But—" Mrs. Sanders tried to ask further questions.

The Vault-Tech representative waved his hand, interrupting her query. He then looked around, lowered his voice, and said, "This is a random selection. Not everyone qualified is as fortunate as you, Madam, so please do not spread the word, or you will be disqualified from residency!"

The Vault-Tech representative placed the form in her hand, took out the neutral pen clipped to his chest, handed it to her, and nodded.

"Now, I just need a little information about you and your family. So, please, no more questions, alright?" The Vault-Tech representative put on a polite, professional smile.

"Okay… okay."

The pen tip glided across the paper, and the black ink quickly filled the entire form. The Vault-Tech representative folded the form into a small square and placed it in his inner pocket.

"Then, I shall not disturb your precious time any further. After all, time… peaceful time is running out." The Vault-Tech representative took two steps back, put on his hat, and loudly shouted a slogan: "Vault-Tech, preparing for the future!"

Mrs. Sanders closed the door. Once she was out of his sight, the Vault-Tech representative turned and stood by the roadside. He took a cigarette from his pocket, placed it in his mouth, and took a deep drag, slowly exhaling a smoke ring. He then made a phone call, and shortly after, a taxi arrived, picked him up, and drove him away, disappearing at the intersection.

After the Honkai disaster fully revealed itself to the world, all companies were, to some extent, under the supervision of Fire Moth. Even though Vault-Tech's actions were humanitarian, Fire Moth was not so benevolent as to let ordinary people reside in shelters without any cost. It had a more crucial objective: to preserve human genetic diversity, screen individuals with superior Honkai resistance, and retain them as seeds for the future.

A few days later.

A middle-aged scientist with white stubble and a bright demeanor entered the 33rd underground level of the [Base]. He walked to the reception desk and tapped his index knuckle against the bulletproof glass.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sonia. I am Sean, Chairman of Vault-Tech. May I confirm if this afternoon's meeting is still on schedule?"

The adjutant glanced at the visitor and said, "Please wait." She then pulled up the visitor list on her tablet, verified the identity of the person before her, and confirmed a meeting was scheduled for the afternoon.

"Please come in, Dr. Sean. Dr. Mei is waiting for you. However, to ensure Dr. Mei's safety, Lord Kevin will also be present during your meeting. Please excuse us." The adjutant smiled apologetically at Sean.

Sean smiled politely, walked to the meeting room door, knocked, and then opened it to enter. He closed the door behind him and sat on the soft black sofa in front of Dr. Mei. Kevin stood behind Mei, observing Sean's every move.

"Hello, Dr. Mei."

"Hello, Dr. Sean."

Sean interlaced his fingers, resting his elbows on the table. "Dr. Mei, I won't waste your precious time. Every second now is more valuable than gold."

"We require Fire Moth's approval for the production license of special Soul Steel." The visitor stared into Dr. Mei's violet eyes, trying to catch any flicker of change.

Soul Steel is a cluster of nanobots with excellent Honkai energy isolation properties. When metal is eroded by Honkai energy, Soul Steel can even reconstruct and self-repair. It is used to create quantum computers or record information, and its most useful application is in crafting Divine Keys.

"Why?" She straightened her posture, hands clasped at her waist, her emotionless violet eyes like sharp knives piercing the soul.

Sean took out a stack of blueprints and research data from his briefcase and placed them on the table, slowly pushing the folded blueprints towards Dr. Mei with his finger.

"Vault-Tech has been building public shelters under the supervision of Fire Moth, and we are also striving to improve the quality of these shelters," Sean said in a scientific tone.

"Recently, our company's research department discovered that using early-model special Soul Steel, which is available on the market, as the core for refrigeration systems and computer systems can reduce wear and tear by nearly half during long-term operation.

"This leads us to hypothesize that the current mature special Soul Steel could increase the capacity of public shelters by several levels, but the authorities have not approved our company's production license. This is why I am here today."

Dr. Mei listened quietly, offering no response.

Dr. Sean pressed on, "Please allow me to say something rather… uh—unpleasant. Pessimistically, I believe current human civilization is doomed."

Kevin's brow furrowed slightly, but he continued to listen to their conversation. Dr. Mei took a sip of her tea.

"It seems both of you understand that we are accelerating towards destruction. Anyone with a basic understanding of ecology knows that even after a mudslide, some seeds will remain buried beneath the soil," Sean said, forming a circle with his thumb and index finger, the size of a seed.

"When the spring rains nourish the earth, these seeds will sprout and once again tread the paths their ancestors once walked."

"And you," Sean pointed at Mei, then at himself, "and I."

"Are the ones who planted the seeds."

In reality, ordinary people wouldn't be able to sleep for 50,000 years without a body as robust as a Fusion Warrior's. The public shelters could only serve the general populace. To conserve space and energy, they contained no industrial facilities or knowledge reserves. Once the cryosleep ended, these unarmed individuals would be left to survive in a desolate wilderness. But they had no choice; people either chose to barely survive in a destroyed ecosystem or enter the cryosleep shelters.

Sean, clutching a blueprint, pointed at it with his index finger. "These precious things can allow us to sow more seeds of hope, and their critical components require manufacturing with valuable materials like special Soul Steel."

"Dr. Mei, you are a genius, a one-in-a-million genius. You must have already guessed who I am. Cooperating with us brings no harm, only benefits... perhaps there will be some minor drawbacks, but compared to the benefits, these small disadvantages are nothing."

"And to prevent the bureaucratic system of Fire Moth from causing you 'trouble,' this is the reason I've come in person."

After a few seconds of silence.

"Agreed."