Chapter 21: The Myriad Mountains Send You on Your Way

The AI, recently named "Murphy," paused briefly, before the mechanical voice replied with its usual coldness, "As you wish. Murphy has acknowledged."Lu Yuan let out a huff, brushed the dust off his knees as he stood up, and packed the remaining portable medical supplies from the medical bay into his waist pouch. "Continue your so-called escape guidance," he ordered.The neural chip interface was still fully active, instantly projecting images onto his retina. Lu Yuan needed to set the Cloud Sunset for self-destruction, activating the miniature zero-point detonation charge embedded in the ship's keel on a timed countdown. After that, he'd leave in an escape pod, piloting a specific vehicle from the best available launch bay.As he reviewed the escape route, data from earlier environmental scans compiled on his display. Radio feedback showed that the area surrounding the Cloud Sunset, stretching for several hundred kilometers, was barren desert. To the northwest lay a series of low mountain ranges, while the south was still a vast, flat wasteland. Murphy's upload of an old terrestrial atlas revealed a potential advantage: both the northwest and south regions once had spaceports constructed in the interstellar age. If the bases still held supplies, Murphy could guide Lu Yuan to make a thorough inspection of Earth.Murphy, naturally, mapped out a route for Lu Yuan: take the all-terrain vehicle towards the closer ruins of the spaceport in the northwest. If Lu Yuan's luck held, he might avoid becoming a desiccated corpse. Whatever the base might contain, however, was beyond Murphy's concern—the long legs and arms belonged to Lu Yuan. And if he didn't make it, the AI would preserve itself well enough for another five or six centuries.Lu Yuan walked back to the bridge, lifted the captain's control panel, and revealed a large dark-red rotary dial. He turned it clockwise three times, and a mechanical timer began its relentless "tick-tick," set to detonate in three hours. The zero-point detonation charge, small enough to fit in a suitcase, had the power to reduce everything within the vicinity of the Cloud Sunset into a bottomless pit.Lu Yuan retraced his steps to the midship's escape pod, which remained intact thanks to its double-layered armor. Unfortunately, the escape pod could only be deployed under impending destruction."Open the final part of the navigation log, before the encounter at the light monument," he commanded internally, curious about how the Eagle Valley Campaign, seemingly only yesterday, had ended."Access denied due to insufficient permissions," Murphy replied with no hesitation.Lu Yuan smirked and scoffed, "Captain's authority has transferred to me. What kind of clearance do I need to read it?""According to Fleet Law…" Murphy began, reciting the familiar protocol. "For fleet security, log access is restricted during escape protocol until a fleet officer terminates the evacuation status. All combat logs are classified and are not to be released."Another possibility dawned on Lu Yuan, though he had no interest in hearing a machine describe yet another grim ending. Still, he muttered wistfully, "Then, with my current clearance, I'd like to know the last known whereabouts of Sergeant Zhang Yueyang, the paratrooper."Murphy took three or four seconds to respond, "Based on remaining signal nodes on the ship, Sergeant Zhang Yueyang was last located in the secondary hibernation pod of the midship."This location was exactly where Lu Yuan had woken up. He remembered clearly that there hadn't been anyone else, let alone any remains of other sailors. Perhaps Zhang Yueyang had inadvertently lost his tracking module during the chaos."May whatever luck I have left be passed on to the brothers who made it," Lu Yuan thought, then tried his luck with another question."Did the Kyushu-class heavy cruiser with hull number 49 appear in Eagle Valley?"This was the ship she belonged to, the first bait fleet flagship to dash into the wormhole. How could Lu Yuan ever forget?"Combat logs are classified as Level Two secrets. Information release is prohibited during evacuation protocol."Lu Yuan shook his head. That was just a dream anyway. The mysterious ship with hull number 49 had long been assimilated by the Empire fleet. What became of it was anyone's guess.Lu Yuan's survival up to this point was due not only to his skills and luck but also to selectively forgetting certain things, at least setting them aside for now. When the day came to fire the ceremonial guns, he'd remember them fully. Otherwise, adding one more volley would mean nothing.The escape pod's door opened smoothly. There should've been a single-seater aerospace vehicle inside, but such models had long been requisitioned to supplement the fleet. Lu Yuan himself had piloted an aerospace vehicle taken from an escape pod once, during the Thor Star Campaign. In its place was a much flimsier turbine-powered aerospace vehicle. A glance was enough for Lu Yuan to recognize its shoddy design.Left with no alternative, he switched to a ground vehicle—a "Hare" anti-ambush all-terrain transport. The rear section had been converted into a cargo compartment, which, if rationed carefully, could sustain an adult for more than six months. Sadly, it only included a portable field communications set, barely capable of contacting ships in low Earth orbit.He pushed open the heavy blast-proof door, and the iron-framed seat under him dug into his back uncomfortably. Lu Yuan wasn't bothered by the minor discomfort, though. With both hands on the wheel, he took a deep breath. Once outside this door, he would no longer smell the familiar scent of the fleet, only endless dangers. In the past, he'd have had his paratrooper brothers by his side. Now, it was just him.He emptied his pack and, as expected, a pack of "Sunset Blaze" cigarettes fell out. Lighting one with the in-vehicle lighter, he inhaled the familiar acrid, dusty flavor. Sunset Blaze was far from quality tobacco; officers never touched this soldier's issue junk—they smoked only Black Swan. Lu Yuan had been a captain for a couple of years but rarely smoked, usually trading them for liquor or giving them to the other paratroopers after a whiff.No particular reason—he simply didn't like them.The smoke wafted upward, hazy and thin, as Lu Yuan took slow drags. He held the cigarette between two fingers, flicking ash from time to time, still wearing his old military gear with his feet propped up on the dashboard. Before every major battle, he'd read the inscription on his wristwatch. But he'd already passed through the good night, so there was no longer a need to enter it.Maybe it was just another long mission. This time, alone.Ash fell onto his belt as the cigarette burned down to the filter. Bathed in the earth-yellow glow of the planet, the captain began to sing."There's a tint flowing in your blood,Oh, what a reckless gold that is,You're that awe-inspiring danger,Making it impossible to leave you.As darkness draws near,I see secrets encircling your neck.…""Vroom!" He pressed down on the gas pedal. The engine roared as the door opened, bathing the captain in Earth's sepia-toned light. Still singing the song that once earned him a lover's smile, he tossed the cigarette and floored the pedal."… Quiet me down, dear, So I can swearNot to tell anyone you exist.Contemplation, In this biting cold, You're already an outlaw.These things make me wonderHow the sun once rose."