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Chapter 58: Reunion Festival

The air was filled with a sweet and greasy smell of cream.

Marshal Zhu enjoyed his cream bread while listening to Shu Jun passionately recount his encounter with Sigma. Although it was an extremely dangerous venture, it somehow turned into a trip to the zoo in Shu Jun’s storytelling.

Shu Jun appeared relaxed, but Zhu Yanchen couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. Once engulfed by negative emotions, even the calmest person could act impulsively. If Shu Jun’s willpower was weaker, Sigma’s success would only be a matter of time.

He mechanically chewed on the cream bread, staring directly at Shu Jun. His tongue could hardly taste the sweetness.

As if pierced by his gaze, Shu Jun raised an eyebrow and took a half step forward. Before Zhu Yanchen could react, Shu Jun’s thumb wiped the corner of his mouth, removing a trace of cream.

Shu Jun glanced at the milky smear on his thumb, his expression somewhat conflicted. His thumb instinctively approached his lips, wanting to lick off the precious food. In the next moment, his movement stiffened, and he slowly lowered his arm.

“At least we can be sure of one thing.” Shu Jun cleared his throat a few times and wiped his hands with a towel. “There is still some good news in this trip, Sigma…”

“Sigma’s ability cannot be ‘produced’, only ‘transferred’.” Zhu Yanchen touched his mouth corner and suppressed a smile. “Is that what you wanted to say?”

“Mhm.” Shu Jun sat down on the sofa armrest, appearing attentive.

“According to your intelligence, Sigma’s ‘brain’ is essentially an aggregate—separating a portion of the brain and implanting it into a non-sentient Erosion Swamp, thus creating an Erosion Swamp with a brain. If this theory is correct, it can explain a lot of questions.” Zhu Yanchen tapped on the table. “And I suspect that gathering so many brains together also relies on the ‘binding’ ability of a certain brain.”

Shu Jun hummed in agreement, not needing further explanation from Zhu Yanchen. He had also pondered similar questions after encountering several Erosion Swamps.

For example, they had never encountered an Erosion Swamp with the same abilities.

And for example, the swamps they encountered lacked composite abilities—the Mirror Erosion Swamp’s ‘Replication’, the command center Erosion Swamp’s ‘Crush’. If the two were combined, Sigma could gather more intelligence from the command center, but it didn’t do so.

“Hmm, Sigma’s brain is like a bunch of grapes, plucking one out when necessary… It feels kinda like that, right?”

“You could say that.”

Shu Jun clicked his tongue. No wonder something felt off—the abilities of those Erosion Swamps they encountered before were like tricks, deceiving humans to some extent, but almost harmless to other swamps. It seemed that with him as a nuisance, Sigma didn’t dare easily send him more “dishes”.

“I have another question.” Shu Jun took a bite of his bread and mumbled unclearly. “Since I gained the abilities of other swamps, does that mean their brains have fused with mine?”

“Strictly speaking, yes. But your ability is ‘Suppression’, and their minds are simple, unable to control your thoughts. From what it seems now, they have become a source of replenishment for your brain.”

Shu Jun choked on his bread. Suddenly, he felt like he was worse than Sigma—those Erosion Swamps that willingly came to him had all been used as a mental pick-me-up.

“Wait, according to what you’re saying, if Sigma tries to assimilate me,” Shu Jun pointed to his mouth, “Can I just… take that bunch of grapes and…?”

“So, it will definitely kill you first, and carefully handle your brain.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone turned cold.

“What if I charge straight at it?”

“The command center Erosion Swamp isn’t very formidable in size. It only stimulated you, and you’ve been having nightmares for so long. If you were to face Sigma itself, the accumulated resentment would drive you instantly insane.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone grew colder. “Don’t consider that as a solution.”

“Okay, okay, I won’t bring it up.” Seeing that Marshal Zhu was emitting a chill, Shu Jun quickly waved his hand. “I don’t really want to use the swamps for diving practice anyway. Let’s talk about the preparations for the Reunion Festival…”

Before dawn, Y City.

“Open up,” Xia Liang said.

She couldn’t express her frustration and didn’t dare drink too much at home, under the scrutiny of her elders. Wearing Dong Lao’s disguise, she couldn’t go to the bars outside either. After thinking it over, she had no choice but to knock on the door of the Ai’s Clinic in the middle of the night.

Seeing Dong Lao’s face at the door, Ai Xiaoxiao almost closed the door on the spot. Before she could react, Xia Liang shook the e-wallet in her hand. Ai Xiaoxiao struggled for a moment and opened the door.

“What do you want?” She had a dissatisfied expression.

“You have a bar here.” Xia Liang glanced at the miscellaneous counter in the clinic. “Bring me some food and drinks to go with the alcohol. I’m not in a good mood.”

“In this place, the price is double for ordinary people, and you’ll have to pay five times the market price. You should think about it.” Ai Xiaoxiao snorted. “This is a clinic, not a bar, and I won’t keep you company.”

“Ten times. You don’t have to keep me company. Just don’t be so unpleasant.” Xia Liang was annoyed. If it weren’t for the scarcity of alliance members at the same level, she wouldn’t have made this choice. Xia Yufeng barely qualified, but unfortunately, he perfectly inherited the pettiness of the Xia family, unable to make any significant progress.

Ai Xiaoxiao stood up gracefully. “What do you want to drink?”

“Anything, preferably something strong.”

After a while, Ai Xiaoxiao brought two bottles of cheap white wine and a plate of salted edamame. Perhaps fearing that Xia Liang, an “old man”, would get drunk, she also brought a kettle of warm water and began pouring it in front of Xia Liang.

It seemed this person wasn’t completely bad to the core. Xia Liang sighed.

“Don’t drink anything too strong,” Ai Xiaoxiao said seriously. “But even with the water, you still have to pay the original price.”

Xia Liang: “…” She retracted her thoughts.

“Alright, spill it. What’s the matter with that one surnamed Zhu?” Ai Xiaoxiao finished pouring the water and pushed the cup forward. “Running to my place in the middle of the night, I can’t think of any other reason.”

“It’s nothing major,” Xia Liang sipped her drink and responded lightly. “I just suddenly felt like it’s all so boring.”

Ai Xiaoxiao furrowed her brow.

“Haha, don’t want to hear it? I know what you’re thinking.” Xia Liang chuckled. “After all, you, Zhu Yanchen, and Shu Jun are all on the same path—what are you doing? You’re revolutionaries. And me? I’m just playing games.”

“You’re certainly young at heart and full of vitality,” Ai Xiaoxiao scoffed.

“Wow, so impressive. Either fighting for justice or for your fellow humans. Even someone like you, a commoner, has saved a bunch of synthetic humans underground. And… they’re the kind that can’t be cured—just hanging on to their lives, tsk tsk.” Xia Liang finished her drink in one gulp. “And what about the great saint, Dr. Ai?”

Ai Xiaoxiao squinted her eyes and remained silent.

“Impressive,” Xia Liang repeated. “Truly impressive.”

“Did you come here just to annoy me?”

“How could I?” Xia Liang smiled. “I was just thinking, to carry out such a big plan… impressive motives, impressive abilities, you should have at least one of them, right? I thought I was someone important, but in the end, I’m just a half-hearted person. You say I can’t find satisfaction and don’t have lofty goals, so what am I aiming for?”

After saying that, Xia Liang swirled her cup and shook her head. “It’s boring.”

“…You think too much.” Ai Xiaoxiao squeezed out the words through her teeth.

Xia Liang looked at Ai Xiaoxiao with anticipation, hoping that Dr. Ai would get angry. If the two of them had a heated argument, this matter would be over. After all, it wasn’t a big deal to begin with—she was just overthinking things herself.

“I think we’re all like-minded.” Ai Xiaoxiao poured herself a glass. “You can spare me your ‘impressive’ rhetoric.”

Xia Liang raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know Shu Jun well, but from what I know, he’s not parading himself as a liberator of synthetic humans. He’s only concerned about his group of teammates—saving family and friends, it’s only natural.”

“As for me, it’s easier to explain. I owe synthetic humans a favor, and I’m not a beast. Besides, in this world, even if you earn more, you can’t find any meaning in it. Helping people here and there helps improve my sleep quality a bit.”

Ai Xiaoxiao absentmindedly squeezed the edamame, not even looking up.

“As for Zhu Yanchen, do you really think he was born a saint? Come on, in a place like the command center, it’s hard enough to find a normal person. If he didn’t have some personal desires, how could he have acted on his own from such a young age… Erosion Swamp research is a deadly business.”

“In short, everyone just wants to feel better. It’s not as complicated as you think. You can’t even see through this simple matter, with your age…?”

Dr. Ai smirked, glanced at Xia Liang’s wallet, and stopped herself in time. Xia Liang quietly turned her body, dodging a flying bean.

“Naïve.” Ai Xiaoxiao licked her fingertips and chose a more subtle wording.

Xia Liang stared at her.

“You’re actually still thinking about personal value. I want to applaud you.” Ai Xiaoxiao took a sip of her drink, and her face contorted. “Look at our Great Marshal Zhu—besides righteousness, he’s all about romance and frivolity. Young men, tsk tsk.”

“Romance… with Shu Jun?” Xia Liang sensibly caught onto the key word.

Ai Xiaoxiao slowly turned her face, and their gazes shifted from confusion to probing and then to deep contemplation.

“So, you know too?” Drunk with alcohol, Dr. Ai spoke slowly.

“I’m afraid it’s not just Zhu Yanchen’s wishful thinking.” Xia Liang nodded slowly. “Those two idiots are as guarded against outsiders as they are against thieves. They’re just a step away from spinning in circles back-to-back.”

Afterwards, for the first time, Xia Liang saw something resembling revolutionary friendship on Ai Xiaoxiao’s face.

Xia Liang didn’t know how the topic had veered off, and the conversation between the two took a strange direction. Later on, fueled by alcohol, they began cursing each other—Xia Liang cursing the Xia family without naming names, while Ai Xiaoxiao ranted about the researchers at the command center from head to toe. They didn’t quite understand what the other was saying, but at least they both felt relieved after the venting.

Ai Xiaoxiao had a lower alcohol tolerance than Xia Liang, and soon her face turned red. Unfortunately, even when drunk, Dr. Ai didn’t forget to charge Xia Liang ten times the price for the drinks. The latter let out a sigh and couldn’t be bothered to care about it.

Sometimes it was refreshing to curse things out. Even if she couldn’t understand, as long as she wasn’t the one being cursed, listening to Ai Xiaoxiao’s rants was quite stress-relieving—considering that the Xia family members were all running their own businesses everywhere, appearing and disappearing like dragons, this Fourth Squadron captain had been holding back for a long time.

After Xia Liang paid the money and left, the cool night breeze seeped into her clothes, cooling the sweat on her body. With the alcohol and adrenaline rushing through her, her troubles, though not completely gone, became less suffocating.

‘Oh well,’ Xia Liang thought. ‘Let’s just make do for now and go with the flow.’ This game wasn’t as boring as she thought, and Dr. Ai wasn’t as annoying as she imagined. No one knew what the future would hold, and there might be some unexpected turns of events.

Or perhaps, as Ai Xiaoxiao said—Sigma was stronger than anyone imagined, and it would come directly and kill everyone. Everyone’s efforts would be in vain, merely building sandcastles against a tsunami.

She took a deep breath, and that sense of pride climbed up her spine once again. The Reunion Festival was approaching, and the singer Xia Liang had plenty of things to prepare for.

On that night, at the command center.

Since merging with that tiny Erosion Swamp, Luo Duan gradually gave up sleep. To cope with the doctor’s rounds, he would occasionally pretend to be asleep in bed—covering his face with a blanket, eyes wide open.

His own physical condition wasn’t right, and Luo Duan could sense it. He hadn’t completely fused with the Erosion Swamp; his body was slowly deteriorating at an extremely slow pace. He was like a snowman from winter, slowly melting away in the spring.

The Erosion Swamp in his body avoided discussing this matter. But as an experienced soldier, Luo Duan was well aware of it. Shu Jun could survive by coexisting with the Erosion Swamp, but he couldn’t.

It seemed that his luck was always a bit worse.

However, there were advantages to the fusion. He didn’t get tired due to lack of sleep. His brain felt as though it had melted, listening to the Erosion Swamp babbling in his ears, and occasionally he would catch a glimpse of his lover’s figure. But upon closer inspection, it was just a bookshelf, a clothes rack, or curtains swaying in the wind.

Yet he enjoyed this illusion and cherished this madness.

Recently, the Erosion Swamp in his body urged him to leave the command center and gather updated information from the outside world. But Luo Duan continued reading, refusing to comply.

“My goal is here.” Having had enough of his lover’s whispers, he began to explain his intentions. “Opportunities come only once, and I must seize it.”

The small Erosion Swamp made an effort to convey its confusion.

“Instead of ordering me, you should try to persuade Shu Jun more.” Luo Duan looked out the window, where Yi Ning was standing downstairs for some fresh air. He lowered his gaze, and their eyes met. Luo Duan smiled and waved to greet him. “For you guys, he has more talent than I do… Does he also have those dreams? Despair-filled dreams?”

“He does,” the Erosion Swamp said truthfully.

Luo Duan withdrew his gaze and continued reading. “That’s enough.”

“I… don’t understand.”

“As long as it involves human hearts, there will always be limits,” Luo Duan said softly. “I have an idea… When we leave this place, you must help me convey it.”

“Okay.”

Another week passed, and the Reunion Festival was about to begin.

The Reunion Festival would last for seven days, and thirty thousand players would gather at the celebration venue near Y City. The erosion in the vicinity of Y City was more severe than in the city itself, so most of the residents wouldn’t travel. However, the people living in the settlements would come to the vicinity of the celebration venue to do business.

While the players reveled, important NPCs would give their final speeches about the election. On the sixth day of the Reunion Festival, once the vote count was completed, a new leader would emerge. The seventh day would be considered a celebration day for the winning faction. After another month, when the transition of power from the previous leader Zhu Sheng was completed, the new leader would officially assume control of the United Government.

A massive stage was erected on the previously barren land, covered in artificial flowers and plastic grass, hiding the muddy ground. Vivid projections were everywhere, with intense lighting that almost dispersed the clouds.

Luo Duan joined Yi Ning’s convoy.

“How did you know I was going to the celebration site?” When he intercepted Yi Ning in the corridor, he was almost pinned to the ground by Yi Ning’s guards. Yi Ning didn’t question his actions, but his expression remained cautious.

Even though players were “controllable”, the powerful figures wouldn’t recklessly venture into the crowd of players. Generally, they would give speeches in the city, broadcasted through screens to various locations.

“I know you’re not fixated on winning; you just want to push Zhu Sheng to do better.” Luo Duan smiled. “And you care about the people in the settlements, don’t you? At this time, they are all gathered at the Reunion Festival. They hide in their shells while putting up a facade for the public. It’s obvious which side will benefit more.”

He patted Yi Ning’s shoulder with one hand. “Anyway, I’m going back to my team, and I’ll have to wait for a specialized person to pick me up later. I want to see my teammates as soon as possible, so why not follow your convoy? If you’re not comfortable with it, then forget it.”

Yi Ning closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

“Alright, come with me,” he said. “I have a few questions to discuss with you as well.”

Luo Duan’s smile deepened. “Okay.”

On the way, the guards’ gazes were as piercing as thorns, but Luo Duan paid no attention. The purifier in the car made him quite uncomfortable, but he maintained a perfect smile and engaged in patient conversation throughout the journey.

He had cast a net for a long time, but it wasn’t time to reel it in yet.

“Captain!”

“Captain Luo!”

When they arrived at their destination, Luo Duan was nearly overwhelmed by the Groundwater team members.

“Haven’t seen you around lately. Did you go on a solo mission?”

“Don’t be disheartened, Captain. Although the Blackbirds won the match, we’ll win next time, right guys?”

“Right!” The team members pushed and shoved each other with laughter.

Luo Duan hugged the closest young team member and gently patted his back without saying a word.

“The Blackbirds are over there, Captain. Look—there’s their new captain, Hu Yan. He’s been wearing a bitter melon face recently. They must be afraid without Shu Jun.”

“That’s right. This Reunion Festival, we must take first place in the activities… Captain, your eyes?!”

Luo Duan felt his left eye moistening and absentmindedly touched it, feeling the sticky blood.

“I got a minor injury on the way here.” Luo Duan wiped it away casually, speaking in his usual gentle tone. “Go and have fun. During lunch, I’ll discuss the action plan for the activities.”

“Are you okay?” the young team member asked worriedly.

“I’m fine. I’ll go check on it at the medical tent.” Luo Duan smiled at him.

Luo Duan remembered this young man. He admired him a lot and had been shouting about joining Groundwater back in school. Luo Duan remembered his face, their conversations, and his way of doing things.

But he couldn’t remember the name of this team member. Whether it was due to brain damage or the gradual dominance of the Erosion Swamp over his thoughts, countless things merged into a blurry mess. He tried to grasp them but couldn’t hold on to anything.

The dazzling scene in front of him twisted and melted. Luo Duan stood still for a few seconds before taking another step. Laughter and noise from Groundwater echoed from behind, like arrows piercing through his back.

In the end, he couldn’t turn back.

“Are you ready?” he asked the dormant Erosion Swamp beneath his uniform.

“Everything that needs to be conveyed externally has been conveyed.” The voice of his loved one entered his ears.

“Perhaps I should ask myself… Am I really ready?” Luo Duan opened his hands, and another drop of blood fell onto his left palm, slowly spreading on the white fabric.

Then he shook his head, removed the blood-stained gloves, and gently threw them into the trash bin.