Falling into the Abyss

Chapter 8: Atonement: Red Earth (VI)

As they got nearer and nearer to the Red Earth, the atmosphere among the nonhumans became increasingly tense. It was obvious that one of the nine people who had met with the priest that day had leaked out the contents of the video, causing a stir. There was a female Beta who had been forced into accepting the mission. After listening to the story about that thing, her mind was on the verge of collapse, and she retreated into a corner, mumbling to herself every day. The other Betas and Alphas were so anxious that they didnt know what to do, and decided to seek religious consolation, gathering around Chen Zeng to listen to his sermon.

Ethan saw an old man about 70 years old, constantly writing something. It was not known where he had gotten a pen refill, but he continuously wrote on a piece of toilet paper. Ethan saw that he was trying very hard. He had developed farsightedness due to his age and a lack of proper treatment, so when he wrote, he could only write a few words and hold the page out to read them from a distance, before bending over to write again. Ethan later saw him sitting on the ground, crying, appearing awfully upset. Ethan quietly asked Samuel what had happened, and Samuel replied that the letter he had written to his daughter had been used by someone as regular toilet paper.

Samuel said that there was nothing to cry about. The Forbidden City did not allow communication between nonhumans and citizens, so his daughter would never have seen his letter anyway.

Ethans heart was filled with a sourness. The old mans hair was gray, and his body was a little rickety. He didnt know how many years the old man had been in the Forbidden City. Looking at the tattoo on his arm, he may have been a tough guy like Samuel when he was young, but now, he was as heartbroken as a child. So he asked the old man what his daughters name was and said that he could write for him. He spent the next day sitting on a cardboard box, writing sentences on the crumpled toilet paper. He did not write that it was farewell in the letter, but just talked about the old mans life and urged his daughter to live a happy life.

After he finished writing, the old man joyously put away the letter that could never be sent and thanked Ethan. When Ethan returned to Samuel, he was ridiculed by the latter for a long time, saying that he was more compassionate than an Omega. Ethan was too lazy to explain to him that the old man reminded him of his own father. Instead, he rebuked Samuel for being sexist. And, he couldnt help asking, Since hes so old now, why hasnt he been released yet?

When he was young, he got mixed up with gangs and, although he didnt make any huge mistakes, he caused a lot of small issues. However, the ocean is made up of single droplets of water, and since he was not willing to report other people to gain more moral value points, he was sent in when his moral value points were depleted. In general, people like him who are unable to bear hardships would usually not be used on atonement missions with large rewards. Naturally, his points would not be able to increase this way. Now that he is old and hes getting more health problems, it is likely that he was added to this atonement mission to reduce the expenses of the Forbidden City. To put it bluntly, they are sending him to his death.

Ethan felt a chill surging up from the bottom of his heart. Even a lifetime isnt enough to obtain one hundred points

After the spaceship entered the Red Earths orbit, the elevator attached to the cargo floor opened yet again. People crowded in the elevator like dumplings as they rode all the way to the top floor. Some people who were extremely terrified couldnt stop crying, while Ethan was upset. The chief of security was waiting for them on the first floor in the spaceships control room. As Tanisiel said, they were going to be sent to the Red Earth as the vanguard troops. The mothership, the Magic Flute, would give them instructions to guide their search for the Earthlings and Eves, who had lost contact with them previously.

The surface temperature on the Red Earth was slightly higher than that of Earth, and the gravitational force was slightly higher as well. However, the air quality was rather good, so they did not have to wear a spacesuit. The higherups provided everyone with basic food, water, and some supplies for survival in the wild. The nonhumans filed into a ring-like armory to change into an advanced nano-material suit. It could prevent them from being bitten by poisonous insects on the planet, and had a certain heat insulation ability. They could also turn on the camouflage stealth function when needed, which would cause the clothes to reflect the nearby surroundings and temporarily make the user invisible. Ethan put on the skintight suit and matching collar and found that the suit was much more elastic than he had expected, and looked very stylish. Since they needed to fly from the mothership to Red Earth, everyone also donned spacesuits and helmets. They gathered in the launch bay for small spaceships, each so broad and tall that they intimidated the nonhumans waiting to board and depart.

Ethan realized that two of the nonhumans used to specialize in piloting spaceships. It seemed that the higher-ups did not randomly pick nonhumans for missions, but purposefully chose people.

So why did they pick him when he had just arrived? Could it be due to his talents?

Or did they want to kill him as soon as possible?

Although he didnt want to admit it, Ethan thought that the latter was likelier.

They lined up and slowly entered the hatch of a medium saucer-shaped spaceship. Since everyone was wearing helmets, it was difficult to distinguish people from behind, but the man in front of him turned around and looked at him as he entered the hatch.

Ethan seemed to see a pair of gray eyes and a few wisps of golden hair through the helmets transparent visor?

The spaceship carrying the nonhumans shot out like a bullet from the mothership. In an instant, the empty and cold space and river of stars unfolded in front of everyone, reflected onto the walls and ceiling of the spaceship. The gigantic star Hera was already a red giant, and it was as if she was burning with all her might to radiate heat before she died. The brilliant bloody color stung their eyes, and the steaming heat seemed to evaporate away into the universe as if the queen was incessantly singing one last song. Around it, several untouched planets were still orbiting around her tirelessly, especially the one that was rapidly expanding in their field of vision.

From a distance, it appeared to be a beautiful pearl. Large patches of red and blue blended together and thin white clouds floated like yarn spun around the planet, encompassing the entire planet. The planet had three moons, which meant that there were three moons at night, and Heras reflected light was especially bright in the darkness.

Red Earths gravitational force was stronger than that of Earth. The spaceship trembled violently as it entered the atmosphere, and the lights flickered in the electromagnetic storm. A terrified cry resounded in the cabin. Accompanied by the tremoring, Ethan realized that they had arrived on the planet that was likely to become their burial ground, and no matter what that thing was, they would meet it soon.

Having survived the turbulence while entering the atmosphere, the spaceship successfully landed near a human developers base near blue cyclones. A few nonhumans could not wait to disembark from the spaceship before they vomited. Others had pale faces due to how horrifying the experience of the ship landing was. The spaceships hatch opened, accompanied by the gentle voice of the motherships AI, Angela. A wave of heat rushed into their faces, along with a strange fishy scent.

Outside the spaceships cabin was a large patch of red, appearing like an endless sea of red spider lilies extending in all directions. It was a red plant about 40-50 centimeters (~15-20 inches) high. The thin stem didnt have any leaves, but branched off at the top of the plant, with bowls of what appeared to be flowers and leaves on it. Among the abundant number of red plants, there were many green and purple herbs standing about one meter (~3 feet) high. Their thick stems were covered with dark red spots, and there were numerous tendrils extending from the trunks to dance in the still air. A shadow of a mountain could be seen in the distance. Above it, the sky gradually transformed into a deeper crimson. The clouds were different shades of purple, yellow, pink, and other colors. There was also the shadow of a certain satellite, appearing in the corner of the sky like a crescent moon. High in the sky, several strange creatures with long tails and cylindrical bodies were flying. They would occasionally emit a screech reminiscent of metal on metal, echoing in the silent wilderness.

It was an extraordinarily beautiful and mysterious world.

Ethan hesitantly followed Samuel to step out of the spaceship, bathing in the bright and warm sunlight emitted by the Hera star. Samuel placed a hand under his helmet and removed it with a click. He raised his head slightly before taking a deep breath, a happy expression on his face. Ethan also took off his helmet. For a moment, the wind blew slightly, lifting up the tips of their hair. After being in the cold cargo hold for an entire week without any sunlight or wind, the nonhumans felt as though they had been freed from an iron cage.

Their anxieties and fears were temporarily pacified by the vast world. They took off their heavy outer spacesuits and wore their bags full of survival gear. A low white building could be seen approximately a few hundred meters away from their spaceship, which was the base left by the missing developers.

Ethan wandered among the group of people who were taking off their helmets, eyes carrying a trace of doubt. Eventually, all the nonhumans took off their helmets, other than one person who had just taken off their spacesuit.

Ethan stared at them, and Samuel followed his gaze to also notice the abnormality, looking at the man.

What are you looking at?

Ethan pursed his lips tightly before walking straight toward the man whose back was facing him. When he was a few steps away from them, the other party finally took off their helmet and turned around. His golden hair shone brightly under the red sunlight, and a face that was as delicate as a doll smiled lightly at him.

Ethans eyes widened, and pointed a finger at him. He exclaimed, You its really you!

His voice attracted the attention of others and caused an uproar. No one expected that an Eve would appear among them.

Samuel rushed over and frowned, questioning, Why are you here? Are you crazy?!

Tanisiel casually threw his helmet to the floor and leaned over to arrange his bag of supplies. He replied as though it was but a trifling matter, I changed my mind. I decided to see the God of Disorder personally.

At this time, the sharp sound of static rang out in everyones ears. All contact between the mothership and them was carried out through microwave transmitters worn in their ears. Everything they saw was recorded through cameras in their neck collars and transmitted back to the mothership. Now, the scene of Tanisiel appearing among the nonhumans must have been transmitted back to the mothership. A moment later, they heard a man shouting something angrily in the Eves language, presumably the Eves commander for this operation. The Eve soldiers suddenly found that their army priest had gone to explore the Red Earth without their permission. Inwardly, they must be crazily cursing f*ck his mother tens of thousands of times. The words that he had shouted out just now must not have been anything good.

Tanisiel took the transmitter out of his ear because he detested it for being too noisy. He spoke a few words back into the microphone connected to the transmitter, before placing the transmitter back into his pocket. Ethan and the others heard the Eve commander yelling on the other end of the transmitter, but it obviously could not reach the crazy priests ears. After a while, the howling finally stopped, and it was replaced with the voice of a dignified Earthling, who seemed to be their chief security officer.

Since this happened so abruptly, the contents of this mission will have an additional clause added to protect Tanisiel, the priest. Once all of you have successfully completed the mission, the rewarded points will be increased to twelve. Now, everyone should get ready to head into Developer Base No.18 and search for any suspicious clues.

Developer Base No.18 was about a kilometer away. They could decipher the bases temporary buildings through the thick red fields and a small woodland area filled with the strange green and purple plants. As they got closer, they could tell that the nanoplastic buildings had been abandoned for some time. The white building that they had seen from a distance was covered with a layer of rust-colored dust, and some twisted alien plants that appear like red capillaries had twisted around several buildings.

The main buildings semicircular gate was locked, but after wiping the dust off the surface of the biometric lock, the camera used for iris identification could be seen. At this time, the mothership issued an order for Otto to unlock the gate using the device in his backpack. After rummaging, Otto found a small laptop about the size of his palm and a pair of glasses tinted with strange colors. Otto whistled, putting on the glasses and opening the laptop so that it could float in the air, before standing in front of the biometric lock and dabbling with it. It was probably because the base was stationed on an alien planet that the biometric lock was not as difficult to unlock as expected, since they likely wouldnt encounter anyone trying to break in. Ten minutes later, they heard a boom and the sound of a machine booting up from underground.

Apparently, one of the bases control systems had detected that the gate had been unlocked, and the tightly sealed door was quickly raised. A gentle female voice greeted them, Welcome back.

Ethan followed the crowd into the clean, white corridor. Even after several years, there wasnt too much dust due to the environment being sealed off. A soft, gentle light shone on the smooth white walls, causing the group to feel that this place was extremely neat, to the point that it lacked a human touch. Samuel was at the front, Tanisiel was next in line, and the rest, including Ethan, were all trailing behind them. The short corridor stretched until it reached the front of a door hatch, and the light feminine voice sounded again, Im Gina, the main AI of the developers base. Please verify your identity.

Samuel said, We were sent by the Earth Union. After you contact the Earth Union, you will have the details.

Gina replied, Im sorry, but my communication system has been seriously damaged, and I cant get in touch with the Earth Union. Please state your identification number, or else the eviction program will launch in five minutes.

Everyone broke out into an uproar, and Derek abruptly said, It wouldnt be some kind of deadly lasers or something, right

Samuel impatiently spoke into the microphone, Do you have an identification number?

Someone replied from the other end of the transmitter, All of the identification numbers are personally encrypted, so we wont be able to obtain them. In your team, Derek is good at dealing with artificial intelligence. Let him negotiate with Gina.

Derek straightforwardly said, Ginas main task is to protect the base, and she is already a mature artificial intelligence. I wouldnt be able to persuade her unless I could directly access her internal interface to modify her information receiving interface. However, this interface should be in the safest place in the base.

Although no one could understand what he was talking about, they could figure out that he would not be able to successfully negotiate with this computer. Someone let out a long sigh from the other end of the transmitter, and they said, OK, you guys leave for a bit. Give us a few minutes while we destroy the Base No.18s security system.

Wait a minute, Ethan suddenly interrupted before he looked up and said, KA35T792.

A moment later, the closed security door suddenly opened silently, and Gina responded, Identity confirmed. Welcome, Mr. Eldridge.

Everyone stared at him in surprise, and Ethan smiled, saying somewhat awkwardly, Seven years ago, the identification numbers for all the important personnel in the Energy Bureau were entered into this database. Due to the communication being interrupted, it is likely that Gina has not updated my information.

Samuel laughed and said, It seems that a secretary like you used to be an important figure?

Behind the door was a spacious hall. Several comfortable sofas were placed in the center, surrounded by 3D projectors. At each corner, there were comfortable looking lounge chairs in different styles, with the same projection computer by each seat. When one looked at the snow-white walls carefully, they would notice that there were actually screens that could display 3D projections. On the wall directly in front of the gate was a portrait of President Appiah with fair skin, short velvety back hair, and a pair of cold eyes. She gave off a sharp feeling seldom seen in females.

At first glance, other than the light shining on the wall, the whole hall was surprisingly clean and tidy. It seemed that almost nothing was destroyed. However, all the plants were dead. There was some food on the dining table that had rotted so much it couldnt be identified. In the bowl, a blackish lump emitted a rotten smell, covered in a thick layer of fuzz.

Samuel and other dozen or so individuals separated to search around the main base. Ethan, of course, followed Samuel, and the priest followed the both of them, looking around curiously.

They searched the entire eastern wing and found the greenhouses and animal barns that were supposed to grow crops and food, but all the plants had withered, and all the animals had disappeared. Strangely, there were no signs of damage to the barns. There was a lot of feed in the food troughs inside, but the animals were gone. Even the farm that was meant to keep cockroaches was empty, leaving only rotten food scraps. Additionally, there were so many data disks that were left in the archives. Ethan had pulled out several disks and secretly put them into the pocket of his pants. As he turned around, he saw the Eve priest sitting in front of the computer desk with great interest, looking at the projections of several documents that were suspended above the desk.

Ethan approached and asked, What are you looking at?

It seems that they were still working hard to enter data before they disappeared, Tanisiel pointed to one of the documents above and said, You see, it says that they started to observe that the mammals brought from Earth were very restless a week before they disappeared. The domestic sheepdog also went crazy, trying to escape several times and even biting two breeders. The corn they grew also began to wither for no reason.

Ethan looked at the document carefully, and the words used in the record were very to the point. It was exactly as Tanisiel said. But strangely, it seemed as though someone didnt finish recording the last sentence. The last word was observation, but it stopped abruptly while it was only half written.

The desk was very clean, and there were no traces of blood on it. It was as if the clerk who was entering the information had written obse, but suddenly had to leave because of an emergency, so urgent that he did not finish typing the word. And then, he did not return.

Tanisiel turned to look at Ethan, and his clear eyes lit up with rays of excitement. You see, everything organic in this base has either rotted or disappeared, and it seemed to happen within a short period of time. They didnt even have time to pack up.

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