Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

Chapter 129 The Song of the Distant Journey

The unloading area around the large elevator leading underground is always noisy, filled with the lingering smell of oil, the harsh sound of metal rubbing together, and the ceaseless roar of construction machinery.

The old worker leaned against the door of his giant construction vehicle, holding an enamel mug in his hand. Inside, a pot of strong hot tea was brewing with tea froth. Although it was not as good as before the disaster, it was still a rare treat.

He squinted at the loading platform not far away, where several workers were using fasteners to secure a huge metal part covered with a shock-absorbing layer to a trailer.

It is said that it was a component of a large ship. In order to build that ship, the factories in the sky were not enough, and they had to rely on factories on the ground to make the parts and then send them to the sky.

The old worker's surname is Li. In this era of advanced medical technology, he is not considered too old, but compared to those whose life expectancy stopped increasing during times of disaster, he can be considered an old man in this factory area.

Although he was a little hard of hearing, he was still very nimble. He had driven construction vehicles his whole life, and the steering wheel was incredibly steady in his hands. Even the youngest driver in the entire factory area didn't dare to show off his skills in front of him.

"Uncle Li! Taking a rest?"

A clear, youthful voice came from the side. The old worker turned around and saw the young man who always worked with him on the first and second halves of the project running over. He must have just come up from underground.

The old worker smiled and waved his hand, refusing the novel drink offered to him by the young man, indicating that he still had tea left in his hand.

"Just finished unloading a batch of goods, taking a breather. Aren't you busy today, kid?" When faced with the work at hand, the veteran worker still had a rare confidence in front of the younger man.

"All done! Take a break," the young man said, pulling the tab on the can and gulping down two large mouthfuls. Then, like the old worker, he leaned against the construction vehicle, raised his chin, and pointed to the huge ship part not far away.

"See those? Those are components of the Infinite Frontier. I heard that this colony ship will be completed soon and ready to set sail."

The old worker glanced in the direction he was pointing, nodded, took a sip of hot tea, and said, "A colony ship? What kind of new kind is this? Times are changing so fast these days, there are so many things I've never seen before."

As he spoke, he suddenly changed the subject, lowered his voice, and said to the young man, "By the way, kid, you heard about the assassination attempt on the sect leader the other day, right? Those bastards even used a nuclear bomb, they were absolutely insane! Luckily, the sect leader is unharmed and dealt with those rotten bastards in no time."

Speaking of Lord Terence, the old worker's face was full of piety. As an old believer in the Death Sect, he had followed the leader's call and hung the dragon bone emblem, which was distributed for free, in his small room. Every morning and evening, he would pray to the emblem, asking the Lord to bless him to run his goods safely and for the future of human civilization to go smoothly.

He had witnessed too much life and death, too much impermanence in his life. He always felt that he was alive because something in the dark was protecting him. Now, the leader of the Terence Church told them that God had saved mankind in the end times and that God had been protecting them all along. The old worker became the most devout believer almost without hesitation.

Hearing this, the young man chuckled, winked at the old worker, and said, "Uncle Li, you pray to God every day, how come you don't know the inside story as well as I, a non-believer?"

The old worker paused, then frowned: "What's the inside story? I watch the news every day; even the cult leader himself preached. How could it be false?"

"What's on the news is all outdated information," the young man said, glancing around and lowering his voice as he leaned closer to the older worker. "I have a friend who's studying on the moon, and he just told me a few days ago that after Terence returned from New Valentine, he went on a killing spree on the moon!"

"What?" The old worker, hard of hearing, didn't hear him clearly at first. He leaned forward. "Going on a killing spree? Who are you killing?"

"Kill those high-ranking members of the Death Faction!" The young man's tone was a mix of excitement and lingering fear. "Most of those old fogies were involved in the assassination of Terence, and others opposed the new doctrines and refused to change their beliefs."

"My friend said that in just the last few days, a large number of people have been purged. Some have been imprisoned, and others have been executed. The entire Death Faction's leadership has been completely reshuffled from top to bottom. All the positions are now filled by people that Terence trusts. It's like one radish filling a hole."

The old worker was stunned, almost dropping the enamel mug in his hand. He had seen the chaos, bloodshed, and slaughter of wartime before, but he had never imagined that such a thing could happen within the sacred Death Faction.

After a long while, he finally came to his senses and muttered, "Then—then those people must be wrong, they are heretics, they have blasphemed the Lord, they have blasphemed the leader. What the leader did must be right."

What he hates most in his life are people who are treacherous and backstabbing. During the company wars, he saw too many people like that who would betray their coworkers or even their families for a bite to eat.

In his view, those who assassinated the cult leader were such scoundrels, and they deserved to be eliminated.

The young man shrugged and said nothing more. He had no interest in these religious struggles. In his view, the leader of the Terrence Church was indeed so powerful that he was beyond human ability, able to catch a hydrogen bomb with his bare hands. What else was there to say?

However, he always felt that psychic energy and those miracles were ultimately a kind of science that could be studied and mastered, rather than something mysterious and mysterious.

Seeing the young man's nonchalant attitude, the old worker couldn't help but advise, "Kid, don't take it lightly. All of human civilization is calling for faith in God. You can't go wrong by following suit."

"The Lord will bless you with peace and safety, and may your journey be smooth. I have a coat of arms hanging in my house. If you want one, I'll get you one later and hang it in your house too. I guarantee it will be effective."

"No, no, no, Uncle Li, please don't try to convert me," the young man quickly waved his hand and said with a smile, "Many of my friends have become believers after watching Terence's sermons live and they pray with him every day, but I still don't believe in this."

"It's true that the Lord Terence is powerful, and the theory of psionic energy is also true, but in the end, it's just a branch of our technology tree, no different from nuclear fusion engines or faster-than-light travel. I still believe in science, not God."

The old worker frowned, about to say something more, but the young man suddenly changed the subject, his eyes lighting up as he excitedly said, "By the way, Uncle Li, you're busy around here every day, don't you know? That colony ship I mentioned earlier, the Infinite Frontier, has discovered a habitable alien planet! They're currently selecting colony volunteers in the underground city! There are plenty of spots, but people are practically fighting tooth and nail to sign up!"

"Colonial volunteers?" The old worker paused, taken aback. "So, they're going to live on that alien planet?"

"Yes!" The young man nodded vigorously, his face full of longing. "That's the first habitable planet humanity has discovered! We can breathe its air directly without wearing protective suits, stand on real land, and have forests and oceans, just like before the disaster! I've already prepared my application materials; I'll submit my application and participate in the selection process when I get back!"

The old worker's smile vanished instantly. He grabbed the young man's arm, his voice filled with worry: "Kid, are you crazy? That's alien space! So far away from here! Who knows what dangers lurk up there? What if there are man-eating monsters? What if you go and something happens and you don't come back?"

In his view, that distant alien planet was a hundred times more dangerous than the frigid winter plains of yesteryear, and this kid actually thought about going there to live; he was simply courting death.

Seeing the old worker's anxious expression, the young man felt a warmth in his heart, but still smiled and said, "Uncle Li, don't worry, the research ship has already scanned that planet thoroughly, there is no intelligent life on it."

He raised his head, looking up at the sky, his eyes gleaming, his voice brimming with youthful passion: "Uncle Li, think about it, this is humanity's first alien colony! It's the greatest milestone since we entered the interstellar age! Our ancestors explored the continents beneath our feet, sailed the oceans, and discovered one new world after another. Now it's our turn. We're going to explore the stars and discover new worlds!"

"Humanity's future lies solely in the vast expanse of space! We can't forever remain confined to our own doorsteps, forever like frogs in a well, can we? I want to be among the first pioneers. Even if—even if something unexpected happens and I die out there—it will be a sacrifice for human civilization. Maybe one day, when humanity builds a monument in the new world, my name will be on it!"

The young man's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an indomitable spirit. The old worker looked at him, at the light shining in his eyes, opened his mouth, but all the words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat, and in the end, they only turned into a long sigh.

He fell silent, leaning against the cold construction vehicle, his gaze becoming distant, as if traveling through a long period of time back to the day before the great earthquake.

Back then, he was still quite young, with a gentle wife and a healthy, fit son. He was the same age as the young man before us, just as energetic, just as adventurous, and just as full of longing for the future.

At that time, my son had just gotten his driver's license and kept pestering him to learn how to drive a big truck, saying that he wanted to drive his own truck all over the world in the future.

But then a major earthquake struck.

The sky collapsed and the city crumbled. His wife was buried in their home and never came out again. His son rushed into the crumbling apartment building to save the children trapped in the ruins, and then the entire building collapsed completely.

He dug in the ruins for days and nights, his hands becoming bloody and mangled, but he found nothing. From then on, he was all alone.

Winter descended, and ice and snow covered the entire world. He survived the apocalypse thanks to his driving skills. He had witnessed too much death and too many partings, and had long since become indifferent to life and death. Only occasionally, in the dead of night, would he think of his wife and children.

If his son hadn't died in the earthquake, his grandson would probably be the same age as this young man in front of him now.

If his son were still alive, would he, like him, watch his son and his grandson, sign up without hesitation to explore outer space?

It definitely will.

They were always fearless kids.

The old worker looked at the young man with a smile on his face, but the worry in his eyes was still there. He patted the young man on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Young man, when you go out there, you must take good care of yourself. Be careful in everything you do, don't be impulsive, don't be reckless. Being safe and sound is more important than anything else."

"I understand, Uncle Li, don't worry!" The young man nodded vigorously. "Once I've established myself in the New World, I'll send you photos of alien planets so you can see their forests and oceans! And if I ever come back, I'll bring you specialties from the New World!"

Just then, a worker nearby called out the young man's name, telling him to continue hauling goods to the underground city.

"Coming!" the young man replied, waving to the older worker. "Uncle Li, I have to get back to work! I'll let you know as soon as I pass the selection!"

"Okay! Go ahead! Be careful on the road!" The old worker waved and watched the young man's retreating figure. That figure was full of vigor, like a sun rising in the morning sun, full of infinite possibilities.

The young man ran a long way, turned back and waved to the old worker, then turned and disappeared behind the container.

The old worker stood there, holding the enamel mug in his hand, not taking a sip for a long time.

The old worker looked up at the moon, which had risen above the horizon and was now visible in the sky, and murmured, "Lord, please bless that child, bless him to live a safe and smooth life out there."

He was once just as young. Generation after generation of young people are willing to pack their bags and head to the unknown distance, to open up a new world for the spark of civilization.

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