Saving Unpermitted

Chapter 55: Bellflower

It took Hu Yan three full days to regain his composure.

Relying on his resilience in the face of war, Hu Yan barely managed to stabilize his mind and maintain a calm demeanor while going “online” and “offline”. During the rest of the time, he mostly stayed underground in the ruins of the small town. To ensure that Hu Yan wouldn’t despair, both Shu Jun and Zhu Yanchen stayed with him in the same room, ready to answer his questions.

After three days, Hu Yan had mostly regained his calmness. The cleanup of the town ruins had also made some progress, and the outline of an underground city was gradually taking shape.

The materials were temporarily sourced, and the lighting equipment was quite rudimentary, with only the cheapest light bulbs available. The dim light illuminated the underground cavern as Hu Yan pinched the damp soil in his hand.

The soil was filled with small, crushed stones and empty insect shells.

“Before, I thought the modeling was too detailed.” Hu Yan murmured. “Captain Shu, how did you survive? Our comrades back then…”

“I survived purely by accident,” Shu Jun replied bitterly, without further explanation.

Hu Yan understood the implicit meaning behind his words and let out a bitter smile. “I don’t know if I can return to the battlefield. Once the vacation is over, the Blackbirds will definitely have other missions. I really can’t do it. I…”

“Dong Lao is on our side, and he will fully support you all. Lao Hu, do you know why I awakened you first?”

“…”

“I’ve told you before, Luo Duan won’t stop his actions. If everyone is restored at the same time, given your leadership experience, what do you think would happen?” Shu Jun remained calm in the face of Hu Yan’s confusion.

Hu Yan gritted his teeth. “Report! Those who have lost their loved ones would want to fight desperately, while people like me would be confused. There would certainly be a portion of people who deny reality and want to escape.”

“And then?”

“And then, the team would fall apart…”

“If the team falls apart, we will all be doomed together. If I were Luo Duan, I would cut off the escape route of those who want to avoid facing reality. Then, I would incite the revenge-driven faction, forcing everyone to be involved. I think you understand that feeling—even if you don’t want to face reality, can you still work for humanity? When people lose hope, their choices become very limited.”

Hu Yan leaned against the side of the underground tunnel and let out a heavy sigh.

“Lao Hu, you’re a smart person. That’s why I restored you first. Then I’ll gradually restore the relatively rational cadres in the layers below one by one. This way, even if Luo Duan intervenes, at least everyone can quickly find some semblance of order and avoid walking down a path of no return. To be honest, I can’t be certain what the future holds—once everyone survives, we’ll have time to think.”

“I understand.” Hu Yan fell silent for a long time. “Although I can’t forgive those people, I haven’t lived enough myself. But I have a question… Captain Shu, it took so much effort just to prove it to me alone. What will you do when there are more people to restore? Are they all going to come running to your house one by one? The people on the human side will definitely notice something is wrong.”

“I have a solution,” Shu Jun whispered softly. His gray-white pupils glowed dimly in the darkness, resembling the eyes of the undead.

“Okay, then I’ll go back and organize the current situation and refine the key points.” Hu Yan stood up; the relaxed air about him was completely gone. “After the Reunion Festival, new missions will be issued, and our time is running out… Take care of my sister-in-law for me.”

Shu Jun: “…” It seemed that this person had regained some spirit.

Unfortunately, Zhu Yanchen wasn’t by his side.

To avoid triggering Hu Yan, Shu Jun temporarily withheld the identity of Zhu Yanchen. Early this morning, he sent Zhu Yanchen to Y City.

Xia Yufeng couldn’t handle the upcoming situation.

The reason was quite simple—the Reunion Festival in <Erosion> was approaching.

The mid-year Reunion Festival and the New Year at the end of the year were the two most important holidays in <Erosion>. On the evening of the Reunion Festival, people would walk along the river, setting off splendid fireworks and praying for well-being. Shu Jun’s memories of the past ended on the night of the Reunion Festival sixteen years ago.

In <Erosion>, the Reunion Festival also had corresponding activities. At that time, an area near Y City would be designated, and the authorities would arrange various entertaining tasks, with well-known NPCs performing on-site. It was said to be a time for relaxation, and there were many team points to be earned at the celebration. With over thirty thousand combat players in <Erosion>, they would all gather near Y City during the festival.

Luo Duan wanted to interfere, and the Reunion Festival was an excellent opportunity. Hearing that Luo Duan had been hiding in the command center, Shu Jun’s determination to take action grew stronger.

Currently, only Shu Jun himself could confront Luo Duan, and Luo Duan was as cunning as a fox. It would be difficult to assassinate him, so they had to confront him openly. However, if they were to fight in the command center, even if they won, the situation with the synthetic humans would be exposed. Shu Jun would likely be fine, but the players who had not yet been awakened would undoubtedly suffer.

At present, Shu Jun couldn’t move against Luo Duan, and Luo Duan couldn’t reach the players. This stalemate couldn’t last forever. The problem was that Luo Duan was operating openly while Sigma operated in secret. Their manpower was insufficient, so they had to proceed steadily.

…Shu Jun understood the reasoning. However, when he returned to the inn and faced the empty double bed, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of melancholy.

Previously, their routines had diverged quite a bit due to taking care of Hu Yan. Now that Hu Yan had finally stabilized, they would have to be separated again.

Shu Jun stayed idle for a while, giving himself a five-minute break, and then picked up the communicator. “Yu Jin? Yeah, it’s me. How did things go with what we asked you to do? …Bro, let’s not complain. You just have to dig deeper.”

Y City.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t immediately replace Xia Yufeng; he went to the Ai’s Clinic first.

“Yo, here to settle the bill?” Recognizing Zhu Yanchen, Ai Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow. “The technical support a few days ago was quite valuable.”

“Shu Jun and I both believe that Luo Duan will make a move during the Reunion Festival. I can slightly change the location of the event, but Y City might still be affected. For strategic reasons, I want to move the underground machinery to—”

“No,” Ai Xiaoxiao interrupted, raising her head. Her gaze was sharp as a knife.

“At that time, I will maximize the city’s defenses and ensure the safety of the residents. The buildings and power systems are already fragile, and I may not be able to protect ‘Bellflower’.'”

“We agreed on this fourteen years ago. I’m just an ordinary person, not as enlightened as you, wanting to play revolution.” Ai Xiaoxiao crossed her arms. “Yes, ‘Bellflower’ was designed by you, and you provided the funding. But it was me who hid it and meticulously adjusted and maintained it every day. It has been fourteen years, Zhu Yanchen, and if you take it away, my patients may not be able to survive.”

As she spoke, her smile twisted. “Or do you think that synthetic humans without a human form aren’t considered human? Don’t lecture me with high-minded principles. I won’t sacrifice them for anything.”

“I have considered these things.” Zhu Yanchen shook his head. They had known each other for over ten years, and he had long been accustomed to Ai Xiaoxiao’s sharp tongue. “Shu Jun can temporarily suppress the erosion substance within them, causing a state similar to a false death. Once they are transferred to a safe location, the suppression can be lifted, and no additional medication is required.”

“…I see.” Ai Xiaoxiao snorted. “So, you’re here to see them?”

“Yes, I need to record the body data of everyone. The Old Fourth caravan has also been contacted, and the transportation of ‘Bellflower’ and the patients won’t be a problem.”

“Follow me.” Ai Xiaoxiao grabbed her keychain and headed deeper underground.

The bottommost level of the Ai’s Clinic.

Massive mechanical devices hummed as the hibernation pods lay quietly, arranged horizontally.

“203 people.” Ai Xiaoxiao’s tone was cold. “I have recorded the body data of each person, without missing a day, for the past fourteen years.”

Zhu Yanchen walked past the coffin-like hibernation pods and stopped in front of the one in the middle. He reached out his hand and gently stroked the lid of the hibernation pod.

Fourteen years ago, the Ai’s Clinic didn’t have such a deep underground level.

At that time, Zhu Yanchen was about to turn fifteen and had started to handle relatively simple governmental affairs. Ai Xiaoxiao, at that time, was one of those “practice questions”.

The situation was simple. The outpost had discovered a girl who was attempting to make contact with players, but she had a strong counter-surveillance awareness and couldn’t be captured immediately. The outpost manager didn’t pay much attention to it, but they still reported it according to protocol. Coincidentally, Zhu Yanchen was studying on-site at the outpost, so Zhu Sheng handed the matter over to him.

“Capture her,” Zhu Sheng had said, “and follow the procedures.”

For Zhu Yanchen at the time, tracking her was simple. The girl was quite cautious, but she had an obviously incapacitated companion who couldn’t run far.

When he approached her, he deliberately kept his subordinates away. It was their first meeting, and Ai Xiaoxiao hid in a rocky cave on the edge of the erosion zone. Her eyes were full of hatred.

“Don’t touch my patient!” She was filthy all over, baring her teeth threateningly and trembling as she held a gun.

A female player lay unconscious behind her. Her body had been severely eroded, with almost only bones remaining in her lower half, but her wounds had been treated neatly. An unconscious person couldn’t achieve this level of care, so it was likely the doing of this girl.

However, even so, if she didn’t receive proper treatment promptly, she wouldn’t live much longer.

“This injury… She fell into the Erosion Swamp.” Zhu Yanchen approached the player, ignoring the gun aimed at him. The girl let out a scream, nearly pulling the trigger.

“Stay away from us!” The girl gnashed her teeth.

“You don’t know how to use a player’s gun. The safety isn’t even off.” Zhu Yanchen crouched down and carefully examined the woman’s injuries. “You’re not a player.”

“So what?” The girl gritted her teeth. “You’re here to ‘deal with her’, aren’t you? I saw it all—they escaped from the Erosion Swamp, those severely injured patients, and what happened when the ‘rescue’ troops arrived? They killed everyone. I saw it clearly… If they didn’t think this sister was dead…”

As the heir of the Zhu family, Zhu Yanchen was already well aware of the fate of the synthetic humans.

The lucky ones died in battle, straightforward and clean, or they were euthanized when they reached a certain age. The unfortunate ones were those who had managed to reclaim half a life on the battlefield but couldn’t return and couldn’t die. If such people were discovered, the troops would usually kill them all.

This “patient” clearly fell into the second category. The girl covered in black mud, probably realizing the danger, gave this player some rudimentary bandaging before carrying her away.

Zhu Yanchen took out a handkerchief, dampened it, and wiped the woman’s face. “This isn’t your first time doing something like this, is it?”

The girl looked at Zhu Yanchen warily—a handsome and clean-cut young man in a brand-new uniform stood before her, clearly not an ordinary person.

“Don’t be nervous. I just wanted to say that your emergency treatment is quite good.” Zhu Yanchen retrieved the handkerchief. “If you’re willing to tell the truth, I can help you.”

He raised his hands, indicating for the girl to remove the gun from his waist. After hesitating for a moment, the girl complied.

“Ai Xiaoxiao.” After kicking the gun away, she introduced herself begrudgingly.

“Zhu Yanchen.”

“Zhu Yanchen from the Zhu family?” Ai Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes.

“Yes.” Zhu Yanchen nodded. “If you haven’t been discovered, where do you want to take her?”

“A certain settlement.” Ai Xiaoxiao, naturally, didn’t plan on revealing everything. “Somewhere with people to take care of her. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting—you want me to take you there and then wipe us all at once.”

She protected the woman behind her while her body trembled slightly.

“I can argue with you here, but this lady can’t afford to wait.” Zhu Yanchen pointed out mercilessly. “If I wanted to harm you, I could immediately contact the outpost, and their interrogation methods are much more professional than mine.”

“You want to take all the credit for yourself.”

“I’m also in better control.”

The girl fumbled with the gun in her hand for a while, but she couldn’t find the safety mechanism designed for players’ guns. Exhausted herself, it was difficult for her to silence a young man her age. Caught in a dilemma, she had to compromise. “I still have a knife. Once we have a signal, immediately terminate the tracking mission and dismiss your subordinates. No unnecessary chatter, got it? If you do as I say, I can take you to my place.”

Zhu Yanchen didn’t say anything.

The girl draped a cloak over the player and took out another one for Zhu Yanchen to cover his face and disguise himself. She pressed the knife against Zhu Yanchen’s lower back. After struggling for a while, the three of them managed to make their way to the nearest settlement. There was a crude clinic near the settlement, with a sign that read “Ai’s Clinic” in crooked letters.

“Granny!” After entering the clinic, Ai Xiaoxiao locked the door and shouted at the top of her lungs. “Granny, I’m back!”

An old woman walked out from the inner room. Her back was twisted and one of her eyes swollen with a purple blister, resembling a goldfish’s eyeball.

“Xiaoxiao, who is this…” The old woman glanced at Zhu Yanchen and coughed twice. Then she acted, but luckily, Zhu Yanchen reacted quickly. He grabbed a nearby book and held it up to block the incoming object—

A small needle quivered and wavered, piercing into the book.

Taking advantage of Ai Xiaoxiao’s lack of response, Zhu Yanchen swiftly took the knife from her, pressing the tip against Ai Xiaoxiao’s neck. “Take me to the ‘patients’.”

Ai Xiaoxiao was furious, rolling her eyes. The old woman sighed and resignedly picked up a bunch of keys.

The clinic wasn’t large, but it had a crude basement. As soon as they entered the room, a nauseating stench filled the air. Two figures lay on the sickbed, with IV drips hanging from their hands, sleeping deeply. Their muscles had varying degrees of atrophy and deformation, undoubtedly having been in this state for a long time.

One of them looked somewhat familiar.

“Xu Kan,” Zhu Yanchen whispered softly. “According to official records, Xu Kan passed away three years ago.”

“My dad isn’t dead.” Even with a knife at her throat, Ai Xiaoxiao’s tone was far from friendly. “I’m the one who broke the law, so you can kill or torture me as you please. Granny is old now. Even if my dad and the others regain consciousness, they can’t do anything. If you want to take someone, take me. Two or three living dead aren’t worth much credit.”

Zhu Yanchen smoothly put away the knife. “Forced artificial coma, and then… Let me see, hmm, these drugs. I didn’t expect this purification combination. Did you come up with it yourself?”

Suddenly regaining her freedom, Ai Xiaoxiao was a bit dazed. “You…”

“The artificial coma is to prevent them from facing the harsh reality and falling into madness—I understand that.” Zhu Yanchen crouched down beside Xu Kan’s sickbed, observing attentively. “But by keeping them unconscious all this time, can it really solve the problem?”

Ai Xiaoxiao was still in a daze. “No, wait, surname Zhu, you…?”

“I said from the beginning that I can help you, as long as you’re willing to tell the truth.” Zhu Yanchen turned around and spoke in a calm tone. “First, tell me what exactly happened with your ‘father’.”

Ai Xiaoxiao wiped her face with both hands. “Fine, let me settle that sister first.”

Ai Xiaoxiao’s story wasn’t complicated.

She didn’t remember her biological parents. Ever since she could remember, she had lived like a rat, learning to scavenge for food near the outpost.

Players would pass by this area and, seeing her pitiful state, occasionally leave behind some food and money, barely enough for her to survive. Until Xu Kan appeared, she wasn’t much different from an ordinary stray cat.

Xu Kan was kind to her.

“I have a younger daughter who’s a little smaller than you, but unfortunately, I can’t see her regularly.” He sighed and patted her head. “Take these clothes and food. Don’t go near the erosion zone. I will take care of you. What’s your name?”

“I… don’t have a name.”

“Then let’s call you Xiaoxiao.”

He would allocate half an hour every day to visit her and teach her many things.

“Don’t let anyone touch your body, especially the lower half. Remember that? There is crime in this world. In our previous mission files… Never mind, that’s beside the point.” His tone was quite serious as he spoke. “In any case, at most, let others pat your head. If someone touches you, you should struggle and call for help loudly. It’s best to run to the jurisdiction of the guards.”

“Can’t you do it too?” she asked. “I want a hug.”

“No, I can’t.” He shook his head. “No one can.”

She felt a little disappointed, but she followed Xu Kan’s instructions and managed to shake off many strange people.

As she grew a little older, he began to bring her books. She particularly liked medical books—every time after a mission, Xu Kan would be injured, which made her unhappy. When Xu Kan wasn’t around, she would wander around and eavesdrop on the conversations of merchants and guards in the settlement to pass the time.

With those fragments, she couldn’t piece together the whole truth. But Ai Xiaoxiao knew that the guards didn’t truly respect Xu Kan. According to them, her “foster father” seemed to have a limited lifespan.

She felt frustrated and became more diligent in her studies.

Xu Kan was pleased with her progress. “Recently, I met an old woman. She runs a clinic near the settlement, and her place is very close to here. I talked to her, and she is willing to take you in as her student.”

“Will you come to see me then?”

“I have to go on missions.” He patted her head again. “And in a while, I’ll retire, so we probably won’t be able to see each other.”

Xu Kan was going to meet his real daughter, and Ai Xiaoxiao felt a pang in her heart. “But you’re still my dad! I won’t go.”

Xu Kan was taken aback. “Don’t be silly. Be good. Granny Ai is a very kind person.”

“I still won’t go!”

“Xiaoxiao, listen to me.”

She secretly cried all night but eventually obediently went with Xu Kan to the clinic. Granny Ai was indeed a lovely old lady, and from that day on, the orphan girl near the outpost had a real name—people in the settlement started calling her Ai Xiaoxiao.

Xu Kan would occasionally come to see her, and he would also bring some food for Granny Ai, who had difficulty with daily life. Granny Ai didn’t object to them meeting, but she seemed a little sad.

One day, Xu Kan, who had promised to come and see her, was late.

“Granny Ai, where’s my dad?” she asked. “He said he would come to see both of us after he finished his mission.”

“You’re not a child anymore, Xiaoxiao.” Granny Ai sounded quite weary. “I’ve been a doctor here for decades. I know quite a lot about what should be known and what shouldn’t. Listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you…”

However, Ai Xiaoxiao didn’t want to accept that reality.

After learning the truth about the player system, she disappeared from the Ai’s Clinic. Two days later, the girl dragged a figure wrapped in a cloak—or more accurately, half a person—unsteadily to the door.

“Granny Ai,” she murmured in a dreamy state, “I found my dad.”

Her face was covered in black mud, and tears left two prominent trails. “He’s still alive, but he doesn’t recognize me… Can you save him?”

This one rescue would take three years.

“He can’t hold on much longer.” After listening to Ai Xiaoxiao’s account, Zhu Yanchen fell silent for a long time. “Based on the medication you’ve been using, three years is about the limit.”

“I know.” Ai Xiaoxiao’s eyes turned red. “But I owe him. He gave me a life, a way out. But him and his people—”

“I can send them back.” Zhu Yanchen extended his hand. “As long as we cooperate, I can find a way to send them back to that world. That would at least be better than being in a coma until death, don’t you think?”

“Is the young master of the Zhu family not doing well?” Ai Xiaoxiao bared her teeth. “Kindness has its limits, and charity is not easy to do—I’ve thought about invading the player system before. It would require being close to the command center and a lot of money to obtain the hibernation pods. Hacking the machinery is even more complicated and not very effective without internal system permissions… If you just let us go, that’s enough. I’ll be quite touched. Let’s drop the big talk.”

“You can open a shop in Y City and arrange for an underground basement. That should be close enough. As for the hibernation pods, some old models have been phased out, and parts are available on the market. If you’re determined, you can get your hands on them.”

Zhu Yanchen spoke in a solemn tone.

“Regarding hacking the machinery, I’ve been considering it for a full two years, and while there are still some design flaws, it runs without any issues. As for internal system permissions, being a member of the Zhu family, I naturally have some.”

“What do you want?” Ai Xiaoxiao asked straightforwardly. “I don’t believe in pies falling from the sky.”

“I want these people to find peace. I want a treatment method for synthetic humans. I want loyal, capable subordinates who share the same interests and courage.” Zhu Yanchen closed his eyes. “…And the possibility of seeing someone again.”

Ai Xiaoxiao pondered for a full half-hour and eventually shook his hand.

From that day on, fourteen years passed, and the hacked machinery “Bellflower” became increasingly sophisticated.

At first, it could only create one-way passages for the synthetic humans to return to the “other side”. It wasn’t until three years ago that it could truly rewrite internal data without a trace and without being detected by the player system.

Ironically, the command center was researching related subjects, attempting to create low-cost expansion machinery to increase production for synthetic humans. If they were to hand over “Bellflower”, it would likely be instantly approved.

Zhu Yanchen looked up at the flickering lights on the ceiling.

“Send me their physiological data, take care of them these days, and prepare them for soft hibernation.”

“Um, what about the transfer time?”

“The eve of the Reunion Festival.”