Chapter 116: With Whom to Keep Company

A week had passed since the Sky Altar incident, and the number of people in the ruins of Britain's capital was gradually dwindling.

Many had already given up searching for that God Among Men; even the spies and agents near the Wembly Giant Hole had become far fewer.

Perhaps she is already dead... some thought.

Feng Liancheng emerged from the radiation detection hut, and Wei Chang'an approached with a grave expression, "How is it? What's the radiation level?"

"260 mSv," Feng Liancheng said with a heavy face, "And yours?"

"180 mSv." Wei Chang'an shrugged.

"It seems the level of an Awakened's ability is also related to their resistance to nuclear radiation," Feng Liancheng mused. "That being the case, if Yang Yi returns, even without telekinetic protection or wearing a radiation suit, she could endure for quite some time... I'll go build a model to calculate her radiation tolerance limit..."

As the two were speaking, Zhang Zhang Ningning hurried over, her face anxious: "Old Feng, can we let Chris use our nuclear radiation treatment device? He—he vomited today; his body may have suffered radiation exposure..."

Feng Liancheng and Wei Chang'an exchanged glances, somewhat moved; under the protection of the world's most advanced radiation suits and undergoing radiation treatment every two or three days, they still had slightly excessive radiation levels in their bodies after staying for a week, yet that big star had endured this long without a treatment device!

"Let's go speak with Director Zhou," Feng Liancheng said.

After they reported the situation to Director Zhou, he sighed, also moved: "Then let him come over immediately! If Yang Yi returns and finds her boyfriend infected by nuclear radiation, wouldn't that be disastrous?" He made a joke; everyone twitched the corners of their mouths, but the smiles were forced.

Director Zhou emphasized again: "After the treatment, make him leave this place immediately; if he doesn't leave—" He clicked his tongue, finding it somewhat difficult to handle.

"His assistant said his mother is arriving soon, so he won't be able to stay much longer," Zhang Zhang Ningning said. After all, he was her idol; throughout this week, she had been constantly monitoring Chris's movements. Thinking of that figure searching futilely in the ruins, her eyes stung with acidity.

"The organization has dispatched new replacement personnel; tomorrow, you all go back," Director Zhou said.

"Director, you haven't gone back; what are we going back for?" Feng Liancheng asked dissatisfiedly.

"I already have children; what about you? You're all young people, not even married yet. If you suffer radiation exposure and end up infertile later, won't you come looking for trouble with me? Will I be able to conjure children for you then?" Director Zhou said jokingly. "Besides, the organization has already issued transfer orders; there are more tasks awaiting you domestically. Military orders are like a mountain; they cannot be defied!"

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

"Then... will this place just be abandoned?" Chen Chen Yushu asked.

"How could it be abandoned? Flights will come every three days, with different people rotating in," Director Zhou said. "The threat from exotic creatures domestically is also severe; staying here too long causes too much harm to the body. Just go back..."

The crowd silently left the anti-radiation hut; before them lay monotonous ruins and scorched earth. Let alone staying here for a week, even staying for a single day was unbearable. Over this past week, everyone's mood had grown increasingly heavy, not only because of the desolate scenery but also because their work had yielded no results.

Their comrade, colleague, friend, the Republic's Guardian God, the God Among Men, the Superhuman—that girl with so many titles—remained missing to this day.

Many guessed she was dead.

After a carpet-style search over the past week, they actually held little hope; she might be dead, or perhaps she hadn't returned from that yellow-sand planet, but even if there was a sliver of possibility, they could not give up.

Searching for Yang Yi was not merely about finding a colleague, but about finding hope: if China were to suffer a catastrophe like Britain's, having Yang Yi would mean having hope. Apart from her, who could stop such a nation-destroying disaster?

%%

The nuclear explosion on that day had obliterated all buildings with its shockwave; everything nearest to the Wembly Giant Hole disintegrated as if atoms were separating, and the entire city of London was flattened.

Survivors in the air-raid shelters had been rescued by the British military; now, apart from those with ulterior motives and the Chinese searching for Yang Yi, the ruins of London were nearly devoid of human presence.

Yet amidst a patch of collapsed building ruins, a tall figure was struggling to climb over broken walls and rubble.

Chris gazed at the endless expanse of scorched earth and gravel before him; after nearly a week of searching, apart from the initial disbelief and pain, only numbness remained in his heart.

The Chinese side had used instruments to conduct a sweeping search around the Wembly Giant Hole but found no spatial fluctuations; he had wanted to voluntarily take on part of the work, but the Chinese side did not trust him due to his nationality.

He had pushed aside all his work, blocked his assistant John's calls, and even blocked his mother's calls, so that he could search here with peace of mind.

Thus, he could only explore the surrounding areas—London was too vast for the Chinese side to explore every region at once, and he felt responsible for covering those places they had not yet detected.

He did not know how many places he had traversed; here, nothing met the eye but ruins, making it easy to lose one's direction. To avoid repetition, whenever he finished exploring an area, he would mark it on a stone.

To date, these marks already covered a vast expanse of broken walls and rubble.

Suddenly, the already precarious building where he had just leaped over collapsed, revealing a large patch of colored glass; looking closely, he saw reliefs and frescoes on the stones, depicting the Virgin Mary holding the dead Jesus in her arms, gazing sorrowfully at her child.

Not far away, two skeletons of humans embraced each other; he had seen many such skeletons during this period and had become somewhat numb to them by now.

This was a church; perhaps before the nuclear bomb exploded, a pair of lovers had embraced within it, praying for God's salvation.

His steps suddenly halted; he gazed deeply at the ruins of this church, sorrow permeating his azure eyes.

If there truly is a God in this world, would He allow such things to happen? Would He allow humanity to be invaded by creatures from another realm?

Would He allow his beloved, that girl who was clearly so frightened she had nightmares yet insisted on bearing everything, to disappear just like that?

Even if there is just a sliver of hope? he thought.

Thus, he knelt before the fresco, gazing at Jesus lying in the Virgin Mary's embrace, and slowly closed his eyes.

Perhaps

Your blushing cheeks have turned to ash,

Like a sudden halt at the peak of joy.

Upon these ruins I search for you,

Through skeletons, scorched earth, and broken walls,

The wind grows ever more mournful,

Twilight spills its light,

Yet your figure remains nowhere to be found.

——

Acid rain falls,

Pattering, yet making the earth tremble,

Pale withered arms reach toward the dim yellow sky,

To whom does it cry out?

——

In this life I have never known fear,

But now, I am terrified—my beloved,

If I can no longer behold your face,

I shall be all alone, with whom to keep me company?