Chapter 126

The Reapers' warning was like a massive stone thrown into a calm lake.

Three hours after the meeting ended, the atmosphere in the Pure Land shifted from hopeful reconstruction to oppressive vigilance. Kaiwen and the underground shelter's technicians began urgently revising all external communication protocols, encrypting the stardust plants in an attempt to hide the Pure Land's Starfire energy signature.

But the problem arose: they had already sent a brief reply to that Orion distress signal—'Received. Hold on. Hope is on the way.'

Although it was only a few seconds of directed broadcast, it was enough to expose their position.

«The signal propagates at the speed of light, » Kaiwen said at the makeshift communications station, data reflecting on his lenses, «If the Reapers are a hundred light‑years away, what they are receiving now is a signal we hadn't sent a hundred years ago. But if we keep using Starfire technology, the energy signature will keep leaking…»

«Then we don't need it? » Makusi asked, checking the rapid‑response team's equipment list.

«Without it, the rescue mission can't be completed, » Han Qing said, pointing to the survivor settlements on the map. «Without stardust weapons we can't cross the heavily contaminated zones; without stardust medical tech we can't save the wounded; without stardust communication we can't even locate their exact positions. »

A dilemma. A stark dilemma.

Using Starfire might attract the Reapers—a threat that could come in years, decades, or even longer; but if it arrives, it could be devastating.

Without Starfire, our compatriots before us will die within months, and they will never become true seeders, only able to hold onto a patch of land and slowly wither away.

Su Yu stood by the communications station window, watching the bustling camp outside. People still didn't know the Reapers' warning—a message shared only within the core team. They were still delighted by the first flower's bloom, busy with tomorrow's planting plan, and preparing supplies for the rapid‑response team's formation.

The girl named Xiao Yu was helping Aili pack medical kits, her small face full of concentration. She carefully arranged each roll of bandage, each bottle of disinfectant, each painkiller tablet, as if organizing treasures.

«How many people can these save? » Xiao Yu asked.

«The more, the better. » Aili stroked her head.

Su Yu turned around: «Keep working on the encryption—do as much as you can. But the rescue mission remains unchanged; we will continue using Starfire technology as usual. »

«But the Reapers…» Kaiwen began, then trailed off.

«The Reapers might come, or they might not. They could arrive in decades, or tomorrow. » Su Yu's voice was calm but firm. «But those survivors will die within three months. We cannot abandon the lives we know for a mere possibility of threat. »

Han Qing nodded: «Agreed. Save who we can first. »

«Moreover, » Su Yu added, her finger lightly touching the scar on her chest, «Chen Mo chose us not because we're good at hiding, but because we excel at… choosing light even in dire straits. »

She looked at each person: «If we abandon becoming seeders out of fear, then we were never worthy of Starfire from the start. »

Kaiwen fell silent for a few seconds, then pushed up his glasses and began typing faster: «Understood. I'll set up a double encryption layer—one to hide the Starfire signature, another to disguise it as… natural stardust energy fluctuations. The underground ecosystem itself emits similar energy; perhaps it can confuse them. »

«Can it be done? »

«We'll know only by trying. » The tech‑savvy one's eyes flashed with the light of challenge.

Over the next three days, the Pure Land entered a state of high‑speed operation.

Preparing the rapid‑response team's equipment was the top priority. Li Xiaofeng led the underground engineering team, working day and night in the old shelter's manufacturing workshop. Starfire knowledge provided weapon designs, but materials were limited—they dismantled scrap vehicles, construction rebar, even old‑era household appliances, and remelted them in a stardust furnace.

Su Yu visited the workshop once. The heat made the air shimmer; inside the furnace flowed a silver‑blue metallic liquid, the fusion of stardust and steel. Li Xiaofeng, face smeared with oil, was pouring the first batch of weapon parts into a simple mold.

«This is the 'Dawn's Sting,'» he said, picking up a cooled short spear. Its shaft bore spiral grooves, and the tip flashed a pale gold light. «The stardust‑energy guidance channel can be infused with the wielder's 'heart‑fire,' giving it a purifying effect against shadow‑born creatures. But its power… depends on the wielder's will strength. »

«Will strength? » Su Yu took the spear; it was light, yet holding it gave her a strange sense of resonance.

«It's your determination to save people. » Li Xiaofeng wiped his brow. «Dr. Chen's design philosophy: a weapon shouldn't be merely a killing tool; it should be an extension of will. So the 'Dawn's Sting' reacts weakly to pure destructive malice, but… it resonates and grows stronger with the resolve to protect others. »

Su Yu recalled a note Chen Mo left in the chemical industrial park: «True strength isn't what you can destroy, but what you're willing to exist for. »

She gripped the spear, and in her mind rose the faces of strangers awaiting rescue, Xiao Yu's hopeful gaze for an apple, and Old Zhao's tears when his memory returned.

The gold light at the spear's tip suddenly brightened, like a tiny sun igniting.

«Looks like you qualify. » Li Xiaofeng smiled—a rare, pure smile after the disaster.

At the other end of the workshop, Old Zhao was testing the first batch of protective gear. Not heavy armor, but a lightweight soft armor woven from stardust fiber, its surface bearing a faint blue glow. He had a young team member put it on, then fired a modified weapon at a safe distance.

The moment the bullet struck the soft armor, the surface glow condensed into localized hardened crystal layers, deflecting the bullet. The impact still pushed the wearer back two steps, but they were unharmed.

«It can withstand a full‑force lunge from a mid‑size shadow creature once, » Old Zhao recorded the data, «but not repeatedly. And its protection against energy attacks… is average. »

«It's enough. » Han Qing checked the other gear. «We're going on a rescue, not to war. Fast, covert, deliver supplies, set up communications, then withdraw. Avoiding combat is the first principle. »

«But what if we can't avoid it? » Wang Hu asked, as he fitted a stardust‑improved scope onto a heavy rifle.

«Then we'll use the 'Dawn's Sting.'» Han Qing glanced at the row of new weapons displayed in the workshop's center. «Remember the design principle: protection, not slaughter. »

On the evening of the fourth day, the rapid‑response team's equipment was basically ready. A seven‑person squad—Han Qing, Wang Hu, Makusi, Kaiwen, Aili, plus volunteer Li Xiaofeng and an underground shelter veteran Liu Yan—conducted a final simulation drill.

Su Yu watched from the observation area. They simulated twelve scenarios: crossing the contaminated zone, encountering shadow‑born beings, setting up temporary purification points, contacting survivors, emergency withdrawal, and so on. Each scenario included surprises: equipment failure, sudden casualty conditions, communication breakdown…

Yet the team's coordination was astonishingly seamless. Han Qing's decisive command, Wang Hu and Makusi's combat synergy, Kaiwen's technical support, Aili's calm medical care, Li Xiaofeng's on‑the‑fly equipment adjustments, and Liu Yan's experienced judgment—they functioned like a finely tuned machine that had been broken in for years.

When the drill ended, night had fallen. The camp lit up with stardust illumination lamps—small devices made according to Starfire knowledge, hovering like fireflies in the air and emitting a soft white glow.

The team members were exhausted, slumped on the ground, but their eyes shone. They knew they were ready.

Su Yu walked over and handed each person a small packet. Inside wasn't gear, but… snacks: preserved chocolate, compressed biscuits from the old era, and even a few fruit candies—spontaneously contributed by the Pure Land's residents, who said it was «food for heroes on the road. »

Wang Hu looked at the chocolate in his hand, the wrapper faded but not yet expired. This tough man's eyes reddened a little: «My daughter… she used to love this the most. »

«When we rescue more people and build a real farm, » Aili said softly, «we'll be able to make our own chocolate. »

«With real cacao beans. » Kaiwen pushed up his glasses. «Starfire knowledge includes tropical‑crop cultivation techniques, though we can't use them yet…»

«But someday we'll be able to use them. » Han Qing tore open the wrapper, broke off a small piece of chocolate, put it in his mouth, closed his eyes, and whispered, «…Sweet. »

Makusi laughed: «Boss, that expression is like a kid eating sugar for the first time. »

«Seven years, » Han Qing said, breaking off another piece, «indeed it's the first time. »

Su Yu watched them—people who had struggled for seven years in the apocalypse, yet could still be moved by a piece of chocolate. She thought, this is why Chen Mo chose them.

Not because they are strong.

But because of their resilience in fragility.

Night had deepened; most people were already resting. At dawn tomorrow, the rapid‑response team would set out.

Su Yu couldn't sleep. She walked slowly along the camp's edge, the stardust illumination lamps drifting above her head like loyal sentinels.

Then she saw Old Zhao.

The old man sat on a chunk of rubble, holding something in his hands, examining it carefully in the moonlight. Su Yu approached and saw it was a photograph—the plastic film had yellowed, but the image remained clear: a young woman cradling a baby, smiling brightly.

«My wife, » Old Zhao whispered, «taken with Xiaofeng at their baby's one‑month mark. Three months before the disaster. »

Su Yu sat down beside him.

"Her name is Lin Jing, an elementary school teacher." Lao Zhao's rough fingers brushed the photo, "On the day of the disaster, she was at school. When I arrived... it was already too late. She was protecting six children in a basement, but the oxygen ran out."

He paused for a long time, long enough that Su Yu thought he would never speak again.

"When I found her, she was still holding those children, as if she were asleep." Lao Zhao's voice was calm, but that calm broke the heart more than crying, "Of the six children... only four survived, because she kept them in the innermost part."

In the moonlight, the old man's profile resembled a stone-carved statue.

"So you see," he turned to Su Yu, starlight reflected in his eyes, "I understand Dr. Chen's choice. I also understand your choice. Some people... are born to stand in front of others."

"Uncle Zhao..."

"I'm not being sentimental," Lao Zhao carefully tucked the photo into his inner pocket, "I'm telling you: after they set out tomorrow, you must be prepared for the Pure Land possibly being attacked. The Reaper's warning is no joke."

"Do you think they'll come?"

"I don't know." Lao Zhao looked toward the starry sky, "But after thirty years in the troops, I've learned one thing: always prepare for the worst to secure the best outcome."

He stood up, brushed the dust off his trousers, "So I've come up with a plan. If the Reaper truly comes... the Pure Land needs an escape route. One they cannot find."

Su Yu also stood, "Where?"

"Underground." Lao Zhao pointed to the ground beneath his feet, "Not the original shelter—it has already been exposed. Deeper. According to Starfire knowledge, this area has a natural underground cavern system extending more than a thousand meters deep. If we start preparing now, we might be able to build a small shelter within a few months."

"But if the Reaper doesn't arrive for decades? We build the shelter and then hide inside forever?"

"No." Lao Zhao shook his head, "A shelter isn't for hiding. It's for... preserving seeds. Like farmers keep their best seeds in a basement to survive famine years."

He looked toward the Stardust Cradle at the camp's center, "Move part of that plant down there. Back up the core data of Starfire knowledge. Send the children... down there. That way, even if what's above is destroyed, the light can still continue."

Su Yu felt a chill, but she also knew this was rational.

"You will be in charge of this," she said, "If you need any resources, allocate them directly."

Lao Zhao nodded, then pulled another item from his pocket—not a photo, but a tiny handcrafted metal flower, its petals made from discarded spring steel, its core a small bulb attached to a miniature solar panel.

"Xiao Feng made this when he was a child," he handed to Su Yu, "He said it's the 'Immortal Flower.' It charges by day, glows by night. Keep it."

Su Yu took it; the metal flower warmed slightly in her palm, already beginning to absorb tonight's moonlight.

"Tomorrow they set out," Lao Zhao concluded, "I'll light a lamp on the Purification Tower. No matter how far they go, when they look back they'll see the light leading home."

He turned and walked away, his silhouette stretching long in the moonlight.

Su Yu clutched the Immortal Flower, lifted her gaze to the starry sky.

Orion was clearly visible in the night sky. In that direction, a civilization was calling for help, and the Reaper was lurking.

And they, caught in the middle, must rescue people, protect themselves, and prepare to become sowers.

The scar on her chest warmed faintly, as if responding to her thoughts.

Then a faint but clear perception entered her consciousness—not a sound, but a feeling:

"You are not alone."

It is the Stardust plant. It is Chen Mo's imprint. It is all who choose to believe in the light.

Su Yu inhaled deeply; the night wind was crisp.

Tomorrow, the rescue team will march into darkness.

And she must ensure the light never goes out.