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Age of Collapse - Chapter 2

Published at 21st of December 2018 08:37:41 PM


Chapter 2

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2 – Wilderness, Squad

“What was once a beautiful scenery, has become a testament to the calamity.” – {History of the Wilderness: Preface}

The 1st Year of Collapse, this was the name scientists gave the year when the disaster of the mysterious Cube invading Earth occurred. It symbolized the end of humanity’s old era, and also heralded the collapse of the civilized society. Simultaneously, the human rule on this blue celestial body had come to an end, and the once dominant humans had to struggle for their survival in the wasteland.

Since the beginning of history, the Age of Collapse was the darkest era. It was an era to which later generations of humans couldn’t dare to look back. Just during the 1st Year of Collapse, the human population had dropped by 70%. Some had met tragic deaths in the maws of monsters, becoming their food. Others died in agony from radiation sickness, ensued by the unbearable pain from the contaminated blood coursing through their veins. Still others were infected by a mysterious virus released by the Cube; they could not rest in peace after their deaths and became blood-thirsty monsters.

In the history of this blue planet, starting with the Australopithecus, humans had been in existence for 2 million years.

Humanity overcame the big environmental change 70,000 years ago!

Humanity overcame the Black Death in 14th century Europe!

Humanity overcame the worldwide war which was World War II!

Humanity overcame the Cold War at the end of 20th century, where nuclear warfare was at stake!

After experiencing countless tribulations, humanity still had its place in nature. But this time, while under the all out invasion from the Cubes, humanity could no longer get through.

The mysterious Cubes, which invaded Earth, were like spears inserted into the blue planet, unleashing waves of terror onto the world without end. The major cities in the world had fallen, the social order of the human society had thoroughly crumbled, the water in the oceans had become black, and the forests had turned into deserts. The world had nearly become a wasteland.

The mountain-like fierce beasts rushed over in waves, the terrifying epidemic nibbled away at the humans’ health, the radiation destroyed the bodies’ cells, the dead soldiers turned into zombies and roared as they once more got up, the countries’ armies collapsed.

In order for humanity to preserve its final embers, the heads of states issued orders of retreat, no longer attacking the Cubes but rather clinging to remote places.

In the cities transformed into survivor bases, human scientists used the most advanced materials to build 100-meter-tall Walls of Life, obstructing the invasion of the monsters! Simultaneously, a small-sized controlled biosphere was developed, establishing a sustainable and self-sufficient living environment inside the cities for the humans to cling to and to never leave!

Alike pigs and dogs, alike animals kept by god, humans were kept in cities. As they relied on the firm Walls of Life, they weren’t even willing to take a look at the wasteland outside the cities. They deceived themselves, believing that the best way of existence was to eat their fill every day, wear warm clothing, and stay alive, that that would be enough.

Since then, humanity welcomed the most decadent era.

However, many years later, things turned around. Volunteers formed an expeditionary force, resolutely left the confines of the wall, and set foot on the wasteland long since abandoned by humans.

No one believed that they would come back alive. Even as they exited the confines of the wall, the officials of civil affairs wrote them dead, and even gave their family members pensions ahead of time.

Yet no one anticipated their eventual return, along with a world changing piece of information!

The expeditionary force told the people inside the wall that the invading Cubes possessed exceedingly high intelligence and would regularly transmit mission instructions to the minds of nearby humans! The completed missions could be exchanged for rewards! Whether legendary bloodlines, genetic evolution, or high-tech weapons, anything one could think of could be exchanged for!

In order to convince the people in the city, a person who had completed a mission took out a gun. From its appearance, the gun was not a product manufactured by humans. When he pulled the trigger, the energy released from the gun directly leveled a building!

At this moment, humans finally realized that the Cubes apparently brought more than just the Apocalypse.

Since then, more and more people rushed out of the confines of the wall, set foot on the wasteland, and set out for their homeland engulfed by monsters. Whether it was because of some lofty ideals or to pursue their own selfish desires, everyone fought bravely for their own convictions.

Since then, human history turned a new page in the wasteland. In the distant future, how many tearjerker elegies and torrential epics would there be when later generations removed the veil of history?

No one knew the answer.

The 7th year of the Age of Collapse, inside the borders of the republic…

“I didn’t expect the world outside the wall to be so sinister.” A young man with his head drenched in cold sweat lay on the ground. The sweat flowed along his cheeks, dropped on the sun-backed scalding land, and evaporated before long.

There was the body of a monster in front of the young man. From the outward appearance, the monster looked like a wolf, yet its built was similar to a tiger’s and it had no fur. The sinister-looking dense capillaries covering the body were enough to turn numb the scalps of people with Trypophobia.

This monster was a creature that mutated under the influence from the Cube. It was called Blood Wolf, and was a rather commonly seen creature in the wasteland.

The Blood Wolf had a huge wound on its skull, with red and white flowing out of it. Its purple tongue had fallen on the ground, it didn’t budge. It gave off sizzling noises and nauseating charred smell while being roasted on the hot-plate-like scalding surface.

“You bet it is. Do you think this is the world inside the wall, where you can boast all day long?” A muscular middle-aged man, who was more than two meters tall, helped the young man up, and said with a loud laugh: “Lin Geng, you’re still wet behind the ears.”

“Thanks a lot Arnold.” Lin Geng grasped Arnold’s hand, climbed up to his feet, and said with a shy smile: “It’s my first time outside the city. Unlike you, who had completed two Cube missions, I’m a complete rookie.”

Arnold was not a foreigner, it was just that his build was rather similar to that of a certain governor from the old era and the contours of his face were sharp as if carved by a blade. In their nostalgia, his friends gave him the nickname ‘Arnold’; his real name had gradually been forgotten and even he himself no longer mentioned it.

Arnold patted his muscles and said with a loud laugh: “Although the two missions that I’ve received from the Cube were only of the lowest C-rank, but the strengthening that they brought me was still very impressive. I’m a rash person, and know not much more beside swinging my fists. Therefore, I exchanged the C-rank rewards for a Giant bloodline. The evolution points obtained from battles had also been used to enhance my strength. Hahaha.”

“Then… that person…” Lin Geng subconsciously glanced at the youngster in the rear of the party. The youngster was covered in a shabby cloak, and his face and the rest of his body were wrapped in white bandages. He had a huge sniper rifle on his back.

“About that person, I also don’t know how many missions he had completed, but he is most probably at a freakish level. I didn’t manage to react when you were attacked by that Blood Wolf. At that time, he had killed that damn wolf with a single shot. It was so cool!” While looking like a father teaching his son, Arnold patted Lin Geng on the shoulder and urged: “Instead of chatting idly with me, you should go thank your savior? If it was not for him, you would be inside the Blood Wolf’s digestive system by now.”

Lin Geng gave a vexed smile and ran up to the youngster. Just as he was about to speak, the youngster suddenly sped up his footsteps and passed the other by. The youngster looking cold and detached, showing no interest in talking.

Lin Geng felt a bit embarrassed. He came to express his thanks, but was humiliated instead. However, how could he get angry at the person who had saved his life just a moment ago?

“Brother, you’re being too cold.” The straightforward Arnold walked up to the youngster. He thought that the other was merely bad at social interactions; therefore, he planned to use his enthusiasm to strike a conversation. He reached out to pat the youngster on the shoulder: “We’re in the same group. We still have to depend on each other until the Cube issues a mission, so at least let us know your name, alright?”

Without any warning, just as Arnold was about to touch the youngster’s shoulder, he suddenly felt his wrist being locked by a hard to describe force. He took a closer look and, to his astonishment, discovered that the youngster had grabbed his wrist at some point. The slim and tender hand wrapped in bandages had a few patches of exceptionally fair skin, which should be rarely exposed to sunlight, revealed. At this moment, the lily-white hand, akin to pliers, erupted with enormous strength. Under the irresistible force, Arnold could even vaguely hear his bones crackling.

Arnold was immediately erupted with cold sweat. He was someone who had completed two Cube missions and invested his reward points into strength related fields. As such, his current strength was about eight times that of an ordinary man. He cold easily squash a stone into powder. Yet surprisingly, he was rendered immobile by the youngster and his wrist was about to be squashed.

After his initial shock, Arnold looked at the youngster’s face. Under the cover of the cloak’s shadow and the bandages, he couldn’t see what the youngster looked like, but he could see his eyes.

Arnold could swear that those were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. The beautiful rose-red of the eyes was like a flame ignited in the middle of a boundless night sky. It was as if they were blessed by Hephaestus, yet were as abstruse as a vast black sea, eclipsing everything in their surroundings.

The youngster didn’t seem to have any ill will, he just wasn’t used to have others touching him. He quickly relaxed his grip. Confronted with Arnold’s question, he was silent for a moment, and then indifferently said two words: “Luo You.”

“Luo You? Wow, this name sounds just like a little girl’s, yet it turned out to be the name of such a strong freak!” Arnold sucked in a breath of cold while touching the red handprint on his wrist. His straightforward nature made him forget the inamicable experience just now, and like sticky candy, proceeded to pester Luo You: “Brother, can you tell me the number of Cube missions you completed and their grades?”

“I can’t.” Luo You didn’t beat around the bush and refused bluntly, before proceeding to move forward.

“Ok.” Arnold had hit a wall, but he didn’t take it to heart. He just touched his nose in embarrassment and shifted the subject by saying to the rest of the squad: “It’s getting late, we should go search for a place to rest.”

It was already dusk. The sunset’s orange light along with a faint blood-red contended against the raised curtain of darkness, splitting the sky in half. But in the end, it was futile.

Ever since humanity started to venture outside the wall, through past sacrifices, it started to amass wilderness survival experiences.

Wilderness Survival Code, Article 1: Do not operate at night!

Due to the damage to Earth’s atmosphere, the humanity’s home planet had lost its ability to regulate its temperature. It was extremely dry and hot at daytime and exceptionally cold at nighttime. Additionally, human eyes had not acquired night vision. Humans were vulnerable to attacks from nocturnal creatures during the cold nights. Therefore, in general, they didn’t dare to be active at night. It was best to find a safe place to start a fire and rest.

Of course, safety was a relative concept. No matter where, as long as one was outside the wall, one would always be followed by the shadow of death. The only difference lied in the proximity to the shadow of death, from which there was no escape.

The squad had a total of seven people. Besides Luo You and Arnold, the rest had never before stepped outside the confines of the wall, nor had they ever been exposed to the Cube missions. It was their desire for freedom that lead them to break away from the secure but depressing environment and into the wilderness.

Although Arnold was not as strong as Luo You, but his heroic spirit and enthusiasm spurred him to act as the captain. He lead everyone to look for a cave. Afterwards, he took out some items necessary for survival in the wilderness from his knapsack, started a fire, and said: “We still have plenty of dry food and water and can replenish them at a later time. For now, everyone should have a proper rest. I reckon that we’ll arrive at the nearest Cube in less than two days time, which will be followed by a bitter struggle. Therefore, take this chance to enjoy a good night of sleep.”

“I’ll be on night duty.” Luo You suddenly uttered, took the firearm from his back, and went to the cave’s entrance.

Arnold stood up and said: “Brother Luo, let’s take turns. You’re the strongest one in the squad and therefore, should conserve your strength. We cannon have you accumulate too much fatigue.”

“There’s no need.” Luo You gave off the feeling of someone who was a miser with words. In spite of Arnold’s opposition, he went outside. He found a random place to sit, then embraced his sniper rifle and looked into the distance.

In the exceptionally cold night, even when squatting beside a bonfire, one still would feel a chill penetrate their skin and invade their every cell. Arnold rubbed the goosebumps on his body, looked at Luo You, who was far away from the bonfire and was nearly engulfed by the darkness, and whispered: “Truly a freak…”

Late at night, seeing that everyone had fallen asleep and that there was nothing strange in the surroundings, Luo You closed his eyes. Of course, instead of sleeping, he entered deep into his consciousness and touched a mysterious domain.

As if a vast sea of stars, the domain was filled with nodes. The majority of the nodes were grayed out, but six of the nodes were lit, resembling lighthouses in a dark sea.

Ordinary people could not touch upon this domain. However, anyone who completed a Cube mission, would be rather familiar with it. Whenever one completed their first mission, the domain would be automatically opened.

Was this a curse from the Devil? Or a gift from God? No one knew. But one thing was for sure, this domain was the key for humanity to become stronger. It was the…

Evolutionary Tree!





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