Chapter 2

As he made detailed plans for his future, Su Lin left home on time, bag in hand, and took an automated hovercar to work. It looked as though it might fall apart at any moment, and there was no telling how long it had been since its last maintenance.

Seen from a distance, Research Institute No. 37's enormous pyramid-shaped building looked imposing enough, but one only had to get close to see that, just like the automated transportation

system

on Planet T-112, the enormous building had been neglected for a long time.

Su Lin walked down the long security corridor without a second glance, then scanned his personal information at the rust-covered security system.

"Class D researcher. Assigned unit: data management office. Clearance level: S."

The artificial intelligence, similarly clumsy-looking due to its age, spoke in an icy voice.

"Good morning, Researcher Su Lin."

It said.

"Good morning."

Su Lin knew perfectly well that the institute's artificial intelligence had no humanlike thinking module installed, but he still greeted its pitch-black electronic eye gently.

After all, ever since he had started working at the institute, the one he had "communicated" with most wasn't a human colleague, but it.

"Researcher Su Lin, your task today is to collect data on Project **** on basement level three. Your clearance has been temporarily raised to Class S for four hours."

The artificial intelligence's voice was completely flat.

Su Lin couldn't help frowning when he saw his task for the day. Although the project's exact designation had been hidden due to its classification level, he naturally knew what those asterisks referred to as soon as he saw them.

There was only one thing in the entire institute classified at such a high level: "it."

But this job should have been his departmental colleague's assignment...

Su Lin asked about it and learned that his only living colleague in the department had taken the day off, so he didn't think much more of it. Once he reached the office, Su Lin put down his bag, picked up the data collection equipment, and headed for the institute's lower levels to carry out his task for the day.

Up until that moment, he had still thought today would be an ordinary day, just like any other.

Halfway there, Su Lin suddenly heard a muffled boom.

Then he saw the corridor in front of him begin to shake. The bright lights turned a blinding red in an instant.

As for the institute's artificial intelligence system, it took several seconds to catch up before letting out a piercing shriek.

[Warning, warning, warning. Zerg attack detected.]

[Shield layer damage: 23... 45... 60...]

[All personnel, proceed to the evacuation point immediately.]

[All personnel, evacuate immediately.]

[Please evacuate.]

Zerg?

An attack?

Su Lin had never dreamed he would encounter a Zerg attack.

The war between the Zerg and humanity had lasted for more than a hundred years. With the passage of time, the life-or-death struggle in which both sides had turned into meat grinders had long since become a stalemate and confrontation.

People of Su Lin's generation took courses on the Zerg every semester at school, yet had barely seen any Zerg in person, much less encountered an attack by them.

It had happened so suddenly that Su Lin could hardly believe it was real. Of course, hearing the intelligent system's mechanical warnings, he didn't waste any time and began sprinting toward the evacuation point in a panic.

But Research Institute No. 37's system was really, truly, far too old.

After the attack, the system very "intelligently" cut off the automated passages between floors. If Su Lin hadn't been assigned to collect data on a Class S project today and had his clearance temporarily raised, he might have been completely trapped on the institute's lower floors, with no way out.

But that was as far as his luck went. After finally making it to the evacuation point by scanning his clearance all the way there, he was greeted by nothing but an empty spaceport.

Su Lin stood rooted to the spot, somewhat dumbfounded.

How to put it? Su Lin's situation was a little unusual. For certain reasons, he really, really disliked attracting attention. With his academic record, the reason he had come to work at such a remote, backward institute that couldn't even scrape together its usual research funding was so he could continue being an unremarkable, ordinary salted fish who did nothing but eat and wait to die.

Although Research Institute No. 37 had once qualified as a 5A top-secret military research institute, over all these

years,

the funding and personnel due to be withdrawn had long since left. All that remained were the old, weak, sick, and disabled, who had no ambition and only wanted to live out their days in comfort.

Everyone was listless, and not many people noticed the quiet, drab Class D researcher who was like a shadow. On top of that, Su Lin's only departmental colleague had taken the day off, so when it came time to evacuate, the panicked researchers at the institute naturally didn't think to count heads.

The icy electronic voice continued repeating itself amid the blood-red light.

["Hostile targets have breached the core area. The self-destruct sequence has been activated. Countdown commencing... 300... 299... 298..."]

Su Lin stood there in a daze for a moment, wasting two precious seconds.

He cursed again, wasting another second.

Then he turned around and ran.

With the Zerg army invading the core area, the simplest way to keep human data from being stolen by the enemy was to blow up the institute along with that horde of bugs.

Su Lin had been drowsy during his orientation training, and he hadn't thought there was anything wrong with a method that would take everyone down together.

...But back then, he hadn't expected to be left behind during the evacuation?!

Su Lin didn't have much time left.

Su Lin's mind was blank as he ran. He knew very well that his chances of surviving under these circumstances were slim. Even his attempt to escape was merely a futile struggle born of desperation.