During a battle, they fell into a deep cave that connected to a crater known as the ' Land of Origin,' the original impact site of the asteroid.
They were trapped there for over a thousand days and nights. To this day, neither of them can recall how they survived. All they know is that in their final moments, they saw a ray of sunlight, sunlight shining through the darkness, piercing through all the gloom and damp cold, and enveloping them.
They heard the "prophecy".
"Finally, a ' Child of Hope ' will emerge to save all living beings."
This is the foundation of the Day After Tomorrow Society, the belief they have fought for after leaving that deep pit.
But later, as time went by, everything changed.
The Day After Tomorrow Society dedicated to rescuing survivors in distress. However, as the organization grew and absorbed more and more believers, it developed a complex organizational structure, different factions, and even disputes over the selection of a leader.
Some people support Hou Chen's re-election, while others recommend Bai Jing for the position.
Having shared life and death, and supported each other along the way, the two were gradually pushed apart by those behind them.
Hou Chen believed in Bai Jing.
Bai Jing also trusted Hou Chen.
However, those behind them viewed each other as mortal enemies.
Thirty years of struggle have driven the two apart, and their initial beliefs have begun to waver.
Where are the " Child of Hope "?
Is there really hope in this chaotic and confused world?
Hou Chen went mad.
He killed many people who resisted, questioned him, or opposed him, and finally committed suicide.
Despite exhausting all her knowledge, Bai Jing was unable to save a single person.
His friends, his comrades-in-arms, and the beliefs he fought for his entire life collapsed that night.
Bai Jing left the Day After Tomorrow Society and no longer believed in hope.
He wandered aimlessly, eventually settling at the Garbage Mountain at Test Site No. 49. He no longer cared about the outside world, no longer fantasized about saving the world on his own, and no longer believed that any organization, force, or group could shake his destiny.
He's a " Physician," but that's Physician.
At the Garbage Mountain, they picked up dying people one by one and did their best to save them.
Song Xiaozhu listened as the old man recounted everything from the past, and then he asked her, " Xiaozhu, are you 'Hope'?"
Song Xiaozhu shook her head and said to him, "Sir, you have already sown countless seeds of 'hope'."
Bai Jing was startled, then suddenly realized.
His cloudy eyes were now clear, and the signs of aging, old age, and despondency seemed to have vanished like dust blown away by the wind, revealing the cool, sharp, proud, and dream-filled young " Physician " within him.
The young, Bai Jing said to Song Xiaozhu, "Go."
Song Xiaozhu said solemnly, "Wait for us to come back."
Bai Jing smiled, but didn't agree. He simply waved his hand and repeated to her, "Go ahead."
Chapter 120
Song Xiaozhu arrived in the Holy City alone. This was her first time standing beneath this majestic city, yet everything before her was not unfamiliar.
The towering city walls separated the city from the outside world. Through the open city gates, rumbling transport vehicles drove out. They were huge, extremely huge; even a single tire was as big as an ordinary truck.
This giant transport vehicle has 12 of these tires.
Even from a distance, one could feel a strong sense of oppression. Getting closer was like entering a land of giants; even with a strained head, one could not see the lofty cockpit.
The truck was full of garbage.
They drove out of the Holy City and dumped the waste outside the city, just like in the Ink City, where tall Garbage Mountain were piled up outside the city.
Exactly the same...
They are exactly the same...
Li Shihai replicated Ink City exactly like the Holy City, even down to how the entire city operated.
A few fragments suddenly flashed through Song Xiaozhu's mind.
-
It was a spying perspective. She hid in the corner, so nervous she could hardly breathe, but her eyes were wide open, fixed on the man in the distance.
He stood before a massive circular screen, on which were 99 points of light, each representing a city. He lightly tapped the screen with his fingers, zooming in and out, placing and discarding objects...
Life and death are decided in the palm of one's hand.
He is like God.
That's Li Shihai.
Li Shihai turned around abruptly. "Who's there?"
Song Xiaozhu felt a chill run down her spine. Someone pulled her over, covered her mouth with a cold, pale hand, and stared at her with dark eyes, silently shaking their head.
The sound of Li Shihai's black leather shoes hitting the polished floor was like a thunderclap, striking Song Xiaozhu's heart heavily.
Her heart was pounding; fear clung to her like a leech.
Fortunately, she was not discovered.
Li Shihai's personal terminal rang; someone wanted to report something to him, and he strode out of the room.
Song Xiaozhu gasped for breath, and through the cold light of the panoramic screen, she saw the people beside her.
"Who are you..."
My Li Shijian.
I've never seen you before.
"Logically, you should call me 'Uncle'."
He said this with self-deprecation, which Song Xiaozhu could understand, since everyone in the Hatching Nest was theoretically her brother or sister.
However, "Uncle"
This is the first time I've heard the word "uncle".
-
Her memory abruptly ended. Standing in the Holy City, Song Xiaozhu's fingers were icy cold, as if she had crawled out of an ice cave, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
What is that?
Does Li Siyuan remember?
Why did she know so clearly that she was Song Xiaozhu?
Moreover, aren't Li Siyuan's memories all of enjoying the life of a pampered young lady " in the Clouds "?
How can there be "brothers and sisters"?
And what is Hatching Nest?
Cold sweat beaded on Song Xiaozhu's forehead. She gripped the mechanical sword at her waist, trying to regain her composure.
This is the Holy City.