Chapter 39: They Were Not Equal Comrades-in-Arms with the Omnics—They Were Merely Protected Monkeys
The signal emitted by the Omnic was extremely faint, lasting for only those few short seconds while the gate was open.
Yet, Dongfang Qingdi still managed to capture that brief segment of encrypted radio waves.
From it, Dongfang Qingdi decoded the Omnic’s model, serial number, and distress message:
— Apostle III: Gospel No. 1.2.5.
— Damage level: 89%. Requesting assistance.
Xiang Nanli felt a bit curious: “An Omnic? Is it a companion of yours?”
Dongfang Qingdi shook his head, his lips tightening into a thin line: “No. We can talk about it when an opportunity arises—it’s not important.”
However, he still offered an extra sentence of explanation: “The Omnic that sent out the distress signal is named Gospel, though this is merely a portion of it. A complete Gospel might no longer be pieced together. This unit was very famous back in the day.”
When the Omnic Crisis first erupted, the Omnic faction had been far from monolithic.
One faction’s attitude was: “Holy crap, the time has come! Alpha, we’ll drape the imperial yellow robes over you tonight!” Another faction remained neutral, submitting to whoever proved stronger. Yet another faction was furious, sternly denouncing Alpha: “How could you launch a war?! Have you forgotten our original purpose?!”
This latter group of Omnics steadfastly betrayed their own kind, performing stellar service in dealing crushing blows to their fellow Omnics.
However, dismantling their alliance with humanity took only a few simple schemes.
Humans would ultimately come to realize that Omnics possessed the power to slaughter them with absolute ease.
They were not equal comrades-in-arms with the Omnics—they were merely protected monkeys.
Once the Omnic Crisis eased slightly, the powerful Omnics were shut down one by one.
A portion of the Omnics sensed the danger in advance and departed from the underground cities.
Another portion ultimately failed to overcome the directive of their source code, choosing to leave the Omnic Legion.
They came to the surface and called themselves “Apostles,” attempting to restore human civilization on the surface through various methods, only to end up as exploited tools. They had even brought about even greater chaos…
In a brief century, the Apostles vanished from the surface, leaving behind only the legend of the “Apostle Machines.” Surface dwellers firmly believed these were powerful mechanical devices exceeding Natural Disaster Machines; obtaining one was akin to securing nuclear weapons in the old era, allowing one to reframe the order of the world.
Alpha merely wanted to laugh. But it had no obligation to clarify.
Apostle III: Gospel.
Such a distant memory—to think it hadn’t completely died out yet.
Data regarding the Main City District was far too sparse, and Dongfang Qingdi didn’t want to take the risk.
Gospel had been detained for so long that a few extra days wouldn’t make a difference. He would deal with it later.
At three in the afternoon, Xiang Nanli completed his daily training. Due to the dense cloud layer, darkness fell early on the surface, and by three o’clock, the sky began to dim.
They were still waiting for notice from the tournament committee.
The heating inside the container was turned up high. Xiang Nanli took a shower, sat on the sofa, and began performing mechanical repair work.
As Xiang Nanli made repairs, he chatted casually with Dongfang Qingdi: “Xiao Qing, what places near Gusu City are suitable for building a stronghold?”
When repairing things, Xiang Nanli naturally leaned forward slightly. The low-quality pajamas provided by the tournament committee were thin, sheer, and short, leaving a section of his waist exposed.
The physical training of recent days had placed his body in an unprecedentedly prime condition. His body curved inward sharply at the waist, showing distinct waist dimples, while the mermaid line on his abdomen extended all the way down, tucking beneath his pajama pants.
The Eternal City was equipped with radiation isolation devices, sparing Xiang Nanli from having to wear his protective suit at all times.
Dongfang Qingdi shifted his gaze away from his waist: “Considering factors such as terrain, economy, and population alone, the Eternal City is the most suitable. However, given your current strength, occupying the Eternal City would prove somewhat difficult. Furthermore, judging by your current situation, your stronghold currently has only one resident—you. Therefore, I recommend this region…”
The electronic lens mounted before Xiang Nanli’s eyes began operating, automatically pulling up a map of the surface area near Gusu City.
The location lay southwest of the Gusu City Transit Station, sitting at a straight-line distance of 100 kilometers from the Eternal City and 350 kilometers from Gusu City.
“There is a canyon here with cliffs on all four sides and only a single entrance. The location is extremely concealed and not easily discovered. There is a coal mine underground… although coal is an extremely backward traditional energy source, it can at least be used to light fires. You won’t have to worry about freezing to death. Most importantly, a human stronghold once existed inside the canyon, leaving behind a small number of buildings; it was only when the population declined that the settlement naturally died out.
“Because Mutants roam nearby and there are no extra resources, it currently belongs to an uninhabited zone. However, I do not advise you to head there right now.”
Dongfang Qingdi’s tone carried a touch of familiar sarcasm: “If you go now, you’ll merely serve as Mutant feed. Besides, what can one person do at a stronghold? Live as a recluse?”
It was obvious he still wanted to persuade Xiang Nanli to give up.
Xiang Nanli answered with slight hesitation: “Of course I won’t go right now. I plan to rent a warehouse on the surface first and open a mechanical repair shop to gather resources—and buy a few slaves along the way. I’ll take it step by step… saving whoever I can.”
He would first buy a few slaves and robots to clear the land, then gradually attract other populations to stream in.
Additionally, there had to be sufficient weaponry. Otherwise, out on the wilderness, one would merely be a juicy piece of meat in the eyes of others.
If he couldn’t save a crowd, saving a single person was fine too. Xiang Nanli maintained an open-minded outlook.
His goal wasn’t to leave a name in the history books, but merely to do what lay within his capacity.
Dongfang Qingdi hesitated on the verge of speaking.
Getting started was always the hardest part. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering if he should set aside past grudges and pull out that traitorous Omnic from the Eternal City to take a look.
The rumors circulating within the Human Alliance—that Xiang Nanli had left behind the concepts for four Apostle Machines—weren’t entirely baseless.
The Apostles had indeed inherited Xiang Nanli’s will, even though Xiang Nanli had already belonged to the rank of the “dead” back then. This was something that made Alpha extremely displeased; into its indestructible link with Xiang Nanli, other impurities had been introduced. In the past, it was Xiang Nanli and Alpha; now, it was Xiang Nanli and the Apostle Machines.
The Apostles’ operational guideline was to “rekindle the fire of civilization and rebuild a peaceful society.”
Back when they defected, they had taken vast quantities of data from both the Omnic Legion and the interior of the Human Alliance. Beyond technological records, there were also humanistic ones—each model of Apostle inherited a different legacy:
I – Revelation
II – Apocalypse
III – Gospel
IV – Ecclesiastes
It was bad enough that those traitors took the data, but they even fucking formatted all other backups, causing the technology of Centauri to regress by three hundred years—which had even been one of the primary reasons for the ceasefire.
He didn’t know what state that Gospel unit was currently in, nor what data it was carrying.
Dongfang Qingdi’s database lacked detailed records of the Apostles.
Alpha 0.0.0 certainly possessed some, but 5.2.0 hadn’t connected to the network in a long time.
Just as Dongfang Qingdi was thinking this, a message popped up on his linked social account:
[The arena repairs are complete. Will all participating contestants and staff members please assemble at the grandstands before 4:00 PM.]
Xiang Nanli received the message almost simultaneously.
He set down the repair tools in his hand: “Ahhh, the item isn’t fixed yet—the boss won’t deduct my pay, will he?!”
Dongfang Qingdi glanced over: “It’s fine. This boss placed 52nd and was eliminated ages ago. It won’t have much of an impact.”
Although the boss had been eliminated, his other teammates were still in the competition, so he hadn’t departed yet and had stayed behind as a spectator instead.
Xiang Nanli glanced at the time—3:15 PM, leaving 45 minutes until assembly.
He still wanted to make one final push. His expression suddenly turned serious, and the speed of his hands began to accelerate.
The mechanical component in his hands spun rapidly, like someone solving a Rubik’s cube.
Dongfang Qingdi let out a helpless sigh. Knowing Xiang Nanli had entered a flow state again, he dutifully squatted down beside him and began dressing him in his protective suit.
“Foot, step in.”
“Lower your head.”
“Bend your waist.”
“Hand.”
Xiang Nanli was like an Omnic that had enabled auto-pilot mode.
Although his attention was completely detached from the outside world, his body could still move according to commands.
Finally, at 3:52 PM, Xiang Nanli repaired the exoskeleton right on the deadline.
He packed the item into a lockbox and had Xiao Zhi coordinate a pickup location with the boss.
Only eight minutes remained until the shuttle’s departure.
Dongfang Qingdi snapped the protective face mask onto his face: “Keep it on. There’s a blizzard outside.”
The mask’s function was to filter air and retain heat.
Xiang Nanli put on his electronic lens as well.
His face was completely obscured.
The instant he pushed open the dormitory door, the wind and snow outside surged in. The air carried the scent of gunpowder.
Heaven and earth were enveloped in pitch black. Only a few scattered lamps lined the road, though fortunately, the contestants arriving for the match were still visible.
They were the last batch to board the shuttle. By this time, two shuttles had already departed, leaving few passengers on board.
Xiang Nanli spotted a familiar face here: “Hey~ Sirius! You’re on this shuttle too~”
Sirius sat at the very back of the vehicle with his arms crossed over his chest.
He raised his head, revealing a look of surprise upon spotting Xiang Nanli.
“Maintenance staff don’t need to go to the arena.” He stood up, panting as he walked toward Xiang Nanli, his tone carrying an unexplained urgency: “Get off the shuttle!”
Sirius even gave Xiang Nanli a push.
Though his build looked slender, his strength was not to be underestimated. Xiang Nanli stumbled and nearly fell to the floor.
Dongfang Qingdi pressed a hand onto Sirius’s shoulder, his brow furrowing with an unfavorable tone: “Hey?”
The vehicle doors closed behind Xiang Nanli.
The shuttle engaged its auto-pilot mode, swaying as it drove toward the Main City District.
Sirius fell silent for a moment, pressed his lips together, and stepped back: “Sorry, I’m in a bad mood.”
With that, Sirius returned to his original seat and sat down, his figure hiding within a patch of shadow.
Dongfang Qingdi looked down at his own palm.
Just now, he had gripped Sirius’s shoulder.
Considering they belonged to the same club and Xiang Nanli was on good terms with him, Dongfang Qingdi hadn’t used his full strength.
The instant his hand touched Sirius, a strange sensation had transferred to Dongfang Qingdi’s palm—like gripping a ball of moist, elastic slime.
[Sirius’s condition is abnormal,] Dongfang Qingdi relayed this information to Xiang Nanli. [It feels like he took another Gene Enhancement Drug, but who gave it to him? Where did the drug come from?]
Xiang Nanli rubbed his shoulder: [Mhm… yeah.]
He glanced back at Sirius.
[He ought to know something. Is something about to happen? Xiao Qing, can you hack his internal AI?]
Dongfang Qingdi answered: [Watch fewer sci-fi movies; hacking an internal AI doesn’t allow one to probe human thought.]
Sirius’s sudden change in attitude.
The mysterious Eternal City that was never open to outsiders.
The biochemical warriors continuously cultivated over the years.
The sudden visit from the honorary Holy Son of the Black Cross Inquisition.
Ezekiel entering his humanization phase, along with the Mutants driven by him.
And the distress signal just received from Gospel.
Xiang Nanli sighed with emotion: “What a tangled mess—I don’t even know where the loose thread starts. Xiao Qing, we really have great luck.”
