Vault-Tech

"Names?" The Vault-Tech employee questioned Lia's group while holding a form, his pen scratching across the paper.

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

"First of all, congratulations on qualifying for residence in the shelter. You have rendered merit in the fight against Honkai."

"Hmm... merit?" Evelyn placed a finger against her lips and thought for a while before asking.

Vault-Tech replied humorously, "Staying alive is merit." He pulled another form from the desk drawer and placed it on the table.

"Once you fill out this form, you can move in early. I imagine you have nowhere else to go."

The first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell upon 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. Before him stood a young housewife. He removed his hat, tipped it to her, then placed a hand over his chest and introduced himself. "Good morning, Mrs. Sanders. I am Vault-Tech's local resident representative."

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

"Just as the name suggests, ma'am. Vault-Tech is a company focused on constructing underground shelters. Every shelter we build meets the United Nations' standards for nuclear-proof air-raid shelters." The Vault-Tech representative spoke in the tone of a salesman.

Mrs. Sanders was completely unmoved. "I remember there were plenty of strange salesmen before, but without exception, Fire Moth locked them up for endangering public safety and fraud."

He gave a silent, awkward chuckle, though there was no embarrassment in his voice at all. He raised his voice and said, "Ma'am, Vault-Tech is a legitimate company. We are a public shelter contractor recognized by Fire Moth." He paused, then continued, "But enough of that, Mrs. Sanders. That is not why I came today. I came because of something extremely important."

"Oh—what could be so important?"

"What could be more important than your family's lives, ma'am? I imagine that although you would not dare say in public that humanity is nearing extinction, you must have thought it countless times in your heart, haven't you?" the Vault-Tech representative said.

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

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

"Fortunate? I don't remember entering any sort of lottery!" Mrs. Sanders asked in surprise.

The Vault-Tech representative ignored her question. Spreading his arms, he once again adopted a salesman's tone. "Our shelter has every facility needed for modern life: televisions, personal computers, large public entertainment venues—everything you could possibly need!"

"Furthermore, we have reached cooperation agreements with legitimate security and biotechnology companies. You need not worry about threats from Honkai Beasts or zombies. Simply enjoy orderly public services and advanced medical care."

"But—" Mrs. Sanders wanted to press further.

The Vault-Tech representative waved a hand, cutting off her question. He looked around, then lowered his voice. "This was the result of a random selection. Not everyone qualified is as fortunate as you are, ma'am, so please do not spread the word. Otherwise, your residency will be revoked!"

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

"All I need now is a little information about you and your family, so please do not ask any more questions, all right?" The Vault-Tech representative wore a polite, businesslike smile.

"O-Okay."

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

"Then I shall not take up any more of your precious time. After all, time... peaceful time, is running out as well." The Vault-Tech representative took two steps back, put on his hat, and called out his slogan. "Vault-Tech, preparing for the future!"

Mrs. Sanders closed the door. Once she vanished from the Vault-Tech representative's sight, he turned and stood by the roadside. He took a cigarette from his pocket, placed it between his lips, and took several deep drags before slowly exhaling a smoke ring. Then he made a phone call. Before long, a taxi carried him away, disappearing at the intersection.

After the Honkai disaster had fully revealed itself to the world, every company came under Fire Moth's supervision to some extent, even if Vault-Tech's actions appeared humanitarian. But Fire Moth would not be so kind as to let ordinary people enter shelters without cost. It had an even more important purpose—to preserve humanity's genetic diversity, select individuals with exceptional resistance to Honkai energy, and retain them as seeds for the future.

A few days later.

A spirited middle-aged scientist with graying whiskers entered the base's thirty-third underground level. He walked to the reception desk and knocked his knuckles against the bulletproof glass. "Knock, knock, knock."

"Good afternoon, Miss Sonia. I am Sean, chairman of Vault-Tech. May I ask whether this afternoon's meeting can proceed as scheduled?"

The adjutant glanced at the visitor and said, "Please wait a moment." She then pulled up the visitor list on her tablet, verified his identity, and confirmed that there was indeed a meeting scheduled for that 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 for the meeting. Please excuse us." The adjutant looked at Sean with an apologetic smile.

Sean returned a polite smile, walked to the meeting room door, knocked, and entered. He closed the door behind him, then sat on the soft black sofa opposite Dr. Mei. Kevin stood behind Mei, watching Sean's every movement.

"Hello, Dr. Mei."

"Hello, Dr. Sean."

Sean interlaced his fingers and rested his elbows on the edge of the table. "Dr. Mei, I will not waste your precious time. Every second is worth far more than gold now."

"We need Fire Moth to approve a production license for special Soul Steel." The visitor stared into Dr. Mei's violet eyes, trying to catch even the slightest change in her expression.

Soul Steel was a cluster composed of nanobots, possessing exceptionally effective properties for isolating Honkai energy. When metal was corroded by Honkai energy, Soul Steel could even reconstruct itself for self-repair. It was used to make quantum computers and record information, but its most important use was in the creation of Divine Keys.

"Why?" She sat upright, her hands folded at her waist. Her emotionless violet eyes were like sharp blades piercing straight into the heart.

Sean took a stack of blueprints and research materials from his briefcase and placed them on the table. With one finger, he slowly pushed the folded blueprint toward Dr. Mei.

"Vault-Tech has always built public shelters under Fire Moth's supervision, and we have been doing everything we can to improve their quality," Sean said in the tone of a scientist.

"Recently, our company's research department discovered that cryogenic systems and computer systems using early-model special Soul Steel circulating on the market as their core could reduce the losses sustained by shelters during long-term operation by nearly half.

"From this, we deduced that the current mature special Soul Steel could raise public shelters' capacity by several levels. However, the authorities have not approved our company's production license. That is why I came."

Dr. Mei merely listened quietly without offering any response.

Dr. Sean hurriedly said, "Please allow me to say something not particularly... ah—pleasant to hear. I pessimistically believe that human civilization is certain to perish."

Kevin's brow furrowed slightly, but he merely continued listening to the conversation between them. Dr. Mei took a sip of tea.

"It seems you both understand that we are racing down the road to destruction. Anyone with even a little knowledge of ecology knows that beneath land ravaged by mudslides, some seeds will still remain." Sean formed a small circle with his thumb and forefinger, the size of a seed.

"When spring rains soak the earth, those seeds will sprout and once again walk the path their ancestors once traveled."

"And you." Sean pointed at Mei, then at himself. "And me."

"We are all the ones burying seeds."

In truth, ordinary people without bodies as strong as Fusion Warriors could not possibly remain asleep for fifty thousand years. Public shelters could only serve the public. To conserve space and energy, they contained neither industrial facilities nor stores of knowledge. Once the freezing ended, these unarmed people could only survive upon desolate plains. Yet they had no choice. People could either struggle on in an already ruined ecosystem or enter cryogenic shelters.

Sean held up a blueprint, pointing at it with his index finger. "These precious things can allow us to plant more seeds of hope, and their key components need to be made from precious materials like special Soul Steel."

"Dr. Mei, you are a genius, a genius one in ten thousand. You must have already guessed who I am. Cooperating with us brings no disadvantages, only benefits... perhaps there will be some disadvantages, but compared to the benefits, those tiny drawbacks are nothing at all."

"And to keep Fire Moth's bureaucratic system from causing you 'trouble,' that is why I came personally."

After several seconds of silence.

"Fine."