Chapter 52: The Year 330

Chen Jian finally understood why this world had turned into such an abstract state.

It was not because they were too weak, but because the enemy they faced was indeed far beyond cognition and completely impossible to resist.

If death had occurred within the span of two hours, then it was highly probable that the maximum response time left to them was no more than five hours.

Yet within these five hours, this squad had rapidly assessed the situation.

Having suffered irresistible and unceasing casualties, they had made a decision bordering on madness.

They abandoned self-rescue.

Clearly, even medical measures had been discarded.

They did not care about saving the present; they poured all their efforts into supporting the future.

At the very last moment of their lives, these people burned through everything, burying their hope in a fortification a dozen meters underground.

Just as the note said, they did not know if anyone would survive, nor what the survivors would face.

However, they knew that every single box of supplies they moved inside would be a precious spark of fire for those who came after.

They were fortunate.

Chen Jian received this spark of fire.

He let out a long breath and saluted smartly toward the pitch-black corridor.

A moment later, he lowered his hand and said in a low voice:

"At ease!"

The martyrs could not be forgotten, but he had to focus on the future.

After briefly calming his emotions, Chen Jian issued his command:

"Shen Yue, He Shuo, bring the people in."

"Received."

"Understood."

The voices of the two sounded somewhat hoarse. Immediately afterward, a line of text popped up on Chen Jian's smart eyepiece.

"Should the Blood-Blessed ones go in too?"

"Bring them in."

Chen Jian replied in writing without hesitation. Then, alongside Lei Jie, he lost no time in beginning an inspection of the facilities and supplies within the fortification.

The scale of the fortification was not large, consisting of only three levels in total, with each level providing approximately 1,200 cubic meters of space.

The lowest level housed the generator room and life-support facilities. Chen Jian located the position of the generator, initially assuming that the apparatus would have long since rusted away. Upon testing, however, he discovered that in the semi-vacuum environment, the rate of equipment aging was remarkably slow. After topping it off with diesel that had been hermetically stored nearby, it actually managed to start.

Accompanied by the rumbling roar of the generator, the lights inside the fortification flickered on one by one.

The two men removed the night-vision goggles from their heads, and Lei Jie exclaimed with emotion:

"Weichai engines really are built to last; after all these years, this thing still works."

"Isn't this a pure, living advertisement? If only it weren't the apocalypse..."

"If it weren't the apocalypse, you wouldn't even see this thing."

Chen Jian gave a slight shake of his head. Looking around, he found that the equipment in the bottom-level generator room was quite extensive.

Not only were there diesel generators, but there were also several massive sealed crates. Judging by the icons on the outside, they likely contained spare parts for various mechanical devices.

In addition, Chen Jian spotted similarly packaged cables of various types, diverse electronic equipment, and portable energy devices.

Virtually all the self-sustaining equipment for the fortification had been placed on this level, packing it so tightly that the two men in powered exoskeletons found it quite difficult to move through the space.

"Lei Jie, try to assemble the computers in the fortification and boot up the smart terminal."

"The string of passwords we found wasn't meant for opening doors; it must be for booting up the smart terminal."

"The terminal's server and storage units are temporarily sealed; there should be something inside them."

"Perhaps from this terminal, we can obtain more information about the Cataclysm."

"Understood."

Lei Jie immediately set about stripping off his powered exoskeleton, while Chen Jian turned and walked toward the second level.

Most of the items on this level were likewise stored in packaging crates, but the most conspicuous among them was a CNC machine tool.

This was a medium-sized CNC machine tool roughly eight meters in length. It must have been brought in as separate modules and was partially assembled, but due to lack of time, it had never been fully completed.

Now this was a good thing.

Theoretically speaking, as long as one possessed a machine tool and the corresponding knowledge, humanity could completely recreate all industrial goods within a certain period of time.

----However, that was precisely where the problem lay: knowledge was the scarcest commodity of all.

Relying solely on Chen Jian's four-person team was not enough. Yet without them, even if the smart terminal in this fortification stored the relevant data, getting the local natives here to master it would be a lengthy process.

Perhaps they could only shelve it temporarily for now.

Once the troop strength was built up and more usable manpower became available, they could then consider the issue of "restoring civilization."

Chen Jian walked toward the depths of the second-level space, and just at that moment, Shen Yue's voice came from the entrance.

"Captain!"

"Over here, come in."

Chen Jian replied casually. Following the voice, Shen Yue spotted Chen Jian's figure amidst the mountain of piled equipment and reported:

"He Shuo is standing guard on the first level with three Blood-Blessed ones. Their behavior is relatively normal, and there are currently no signs of betrayal."

"I gave my gun to He Shuo. If there's any trouble, he should be able to handle it."

"Good, no problem."

Chen Jian nodded slightly.

In truth, he was not worried that the Blood-Blessed would betray them at a time like this; after all, even if they were tempted by wealth, they would first have to figure out what the items were actually used for.

Shen Yue's arrangement was sound. Right now, he truly needed more manpower to sort through the various equipment on the second level of the fortification.

The two split up to inspect the area, and a few minutes later, Shen Yue spoke up:

"The equipment in here mainly consists of various tools and mechanical devices, along with a small quantity of sealed seeds."

"Quite a few good things----Captain, there are two disassembled cat-vehicles here."

"Cat-vehicles?"

Chen Jian hurried over in the direction of Shen Yue, and upon seeing the stack of crates kept separately, he could not help but beam with joy.

"It really is a cat-car! And it's tracked, too!"

"Not bad, the mobility issue is solved----except we don't have enough fuel."

"There's plenty of fuel on the third level, but most of it needs to be reserved for the fortification's self-sustenance. Unless we abandon this underground fortification, it's best not to touch that fuel."

Shen Yue shook his head, pondered for a moment, and said:

"Actually, abandoning the underground fortification is an option too. Our main area of operations is still on the surface."

"Besides, it's obvious that we won't be able to enter the stage of farming and development anytime soon. Our focus should still be on seizing control and eliminating monsters."

"Things we can't use can be resealed and retrieved when needed."

"Agreed, that's sound reasoning."

Chen Jian nodded slightly, then pointed to two plastic-sealed charts on a nearby crate and asked:

"What are these?"

Shen Yue looked in the direction of his finger, frowned in thought for a moment, and tentatively spoke:

"The first one is clearly a 3D topographic map of this area, but I can't understand what's marked on it."

"There are so many densely packed coordinates, there must be dozens of them... What about the numbers? What do the numbers in the brackets at the end mean?"

"Could they possibly be burial sites for other equipment? Or distribution maps for underground power and water systems?"

"I don't know."

Chen Jian looked at the second chart. It was a star map, which also had parameters marked upon it. However, since Chen Jian had not studied this field, he took a photo with his smart eyepiece and transmitted it to He Shuo.

"He Shuo, don't you know astronomy? Take a look and see what this is."

A moment later, He Shuo's reply came through the earpiece.

"I'm just an amateur too... This is a star map. Judging by the markings, it's a celestial coordinate chart for October 2045."

"For something like this to be preserved so well in plastic wrap, it must have a special purpose."

"Could they still have suspected that the Cataclysm was related to celestial phenomena? That doesn't seem right either; looking at this chart, the celestial phenomena appear normal."

"Checking the celestial sphere coordinates of the vernal equinox, they're correct too... Wait."

As soon as the phrase "vernal equinox" was uttered, not only He Shuo, but even Chen Jian immediately realized the function of this chart.

That's right, it was a star map, but its purpose was not to "determine position," but rather to "determine time"!

"Do we have the ability to observe today's celestial phenomena? Can we calculate time backward from the coordinates of the vernal equinox?"

Chen Jian asked hurriedly.

"No, we lack a high-precision astronomical telescope, and I don't have the capability to calculate that."

He Shuo's tone carried a trace of disappointment, but Chen Jian picked up the other chart nearby, his eyes growing increasingly bright.

"Biological chronometry."

"I know what those coordinates are."

"That thing really is a 3D topographic map, but the coordinates marked on it are not man-made structures."

"The coordinates mark trees! The numbers after them are the ages of each tree!"

"Both of these charts are timers."

"They wanted us to know what time it is right now!"

"He Shuo, take Li Shi and Zeng Yi to go outside and cut down trees at the designated locations, and bring the tree stumps back!"

"We're going to count the tree rings. However many rings there are, that's how many years have passed since the Cataclysm!"

"Understood!"

........

A few minutes later, having roughly inspected the equipment on the second level, Chen Jian and Shen Yue returned to the first level.

By this time, Li Shi and Zeng Yi had already carried in several tree stumps on their shoulders.

They neatly arranged the logs at the entrance of the first-level hall, as if fearing they might disturb the pristine environment inside.

Chen Jian stepped forward and asked:

"Did you cut them down according to the locations He Shuo gave you?"

"Yes, God-Chosen He Shuo checked them, there's no mistake."

"That's good."

Chen Jian squatted down and carefully counted the tree rings on the stumps.

A few minutes later, he raised his head and spoke:

"330 years."

"330 years have passed since the Cataclysm."