Chapter 298: Betrayal

Tan Xin gazed deeply at her, said nothing more, and walked straight towards the fourth floor. At the same time, the red-haired woman moved out of the passage and headed upstairs, their paths diverging.

Tan Xin reached the intersection on the fourth floor. He glanced at the right side, which was now completely empty—the former site of Laboratory 0...

Then, he turned and walked to the left.

After traversing a dim path leading underground, Tan Xin finally stood before a heavy metal door. He entered a string of commands, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

Beyond the door was an enclosed underground space, where unadorned gray support pillars stood. Inside this drab, unfinished room, a figure was continuously hitting a ping-pong ball against the wall with a paddle.

"Leader," Tan Xin said calmly.

"You're here?"

The Leader glanced at him. This brief distraction caused the paddle to miss the falling ping-pong ball, which then clattered to the floor.

"I already know about what's happening outside," the Leader said slowly, picking up the ball. "The cold disaster has caused immense losses within Aurora City. Some souls have drifted out of their bodies and are gradually dissipating... The souls available for the Aurora Lord to absorb are diminishing. The 'Reappearance' plan must be initiated quickly, or the success rate will only be lower."

"I came today precisely to discuss this with you."

"Oh?"

Tan Xin took a deep breath. "I disagree with the 'Reappearance' plan."

The Leader paused slightly. He looked at Tan Xin with a hint of surprise, his voice still calm. "Why?"

"A loss is a loss," Tan Xin said gravely. "For over three hundred years, the Aurora Base has achieved virtually nothing. The 'Reappearance' plan itself holds no possibility of success... We have failed to find a way out for humanity, and we have failed to maintain the Aurora Dominion. We are failures."

"So?"

"When you fail, you should cut your losses promptly. I believe there's no need to implement the 'Reappearance' plan; it's merely a fig leaf for the Aurora Base to cover its own failures."

The Leader gazed at him for a long time, then sighed. "So, you still haven't given up on the 'Hand of Salvation' plan."

"At the very least, it can keep the over three million people of Aurora City 'alive,' and the Aurora Dominion won't vanish completely... What we can't achieve, perhaps other dominions can. If they find a way to salvage everything, at least Aurora City might have a chance to reappear... But if the 'Reappearance' plan fails now, we'll have nothing left."

The Leader didn't reply. He walked silently to the wall of the room, and looking at the snowy landscape drawn with colorful chalk on the wall, he slowly began to speak:

"Tan Xin, do you remember... how I taught you back then?"

"The fate of humanity always takes precedence over any individual."

"Among the children back then, you were the most decisive, the most resolute... Everyone believed you were the best candidate, but I knew clearly that you were softer than anyone else inside." The Leader turned to look at him. "I thought becoming the Deputy Chief would make you grow, but it seems... you're still the same as when you were a child. You're too emotional."

"I have never been emotional; I know what I'm doing... It's you who cannot accept the Aurora Base's failure, and your methods are extreme."

"You should know better than I what the Aurora Lord means. Only with him alive can the Aurora Dominion have a chance to reappear. Only then can we continue to study him, to find humanity's hope for a comeback through him... He represents the future of humanity! From humanity's perspective, as long as he can survive, any sacrifice is worth it, no matter how slim the chances of success... But you... you want to sacrifice the Aurora Lord?"

"We've spent three hundred years without any results from him, even if we were given another three hundred, or three thousand years! By the time technology reverts to the Stone Age, would we have gained anything? No, we would gain nothing!" Tan Xin took a deep breath, speaking slowly and deliberately. "The Aurora Lord is not humanity's future; all of humanity is."

The Leader stared at Tan Xin, who fearlessly met his gaze. The air suddenly fell into a dead silence.

"It seems our philosophies are in conflict," the Leader said slowly. "However, you should know that I am the one who represents the Aurora Base, steering the fate of humanity... As Tan Xin, the order maintainer dispatched by the base to the surface, according to Initial Clause 001 of the Aurora Base, you do not have the right to participate in ultimate decisions concerning humanity's fate."

"I know."

"Then... as the sole Leader of the Aurora Base, I reject the 'Hand of Salvation' plan."

Tan Xin watched him silently, seemingly unsurprised by the outcome... After a flicker of complexity in his eyes, a hand slowly emerged from his trench coat.

A dark muzzle was aimed at the Leader's forehead.

"Then... I betray the Aurora Base."

Bang—!

Facing the Leader who had personally raised him, Tan Xin pulled the trigger without hesitation. A flash of fire burst forth, and the bullet instantly pierced the Leader's forehead!

The Leader stared blankly at him, seemingly not expecting Tan Xin to betray the Aurora Base. He stumbled back against the wall, then slowly collapsed... finally falling before the chalk-drawn window.

Crimson blood flowed across the grayish-white floor, spreading to Tan Xin's feet. Almost simultaneously, a soft pop came from inside the lightbulb!

Pop—

The Aurora Base's electrical system once again failed, and the room plunged into dark silence.

Tan Xin looked at the Leader's fallen figure in the darkness, closing his eyes for a moment with a hint of reluctance. A second later, he slowly opened them, regaining his composure and rationality, and turned to walk towards the upper level.

Just half a minute after he left, in a corner of the enclosed room, a perfectly seamless portal was slowly pushed open...

Within the Aurora Base, no one knew that hidden in the Leader's room was a secret chamber, and an aged figure who had lived there for an unknown number of years.

The figure was disheveled, with extremely messy hair. He emotionlessly glanced in the direction Tan Xin had left, didn't even bother to look down at the "Leader's" corpse, and turned back into the narrow secret chamber...

Inside the secret chamber, there were only three items: a toilet, a bed, and an ancient brass speaking tube.

The figure walked to the speaking tube, lifted its rusty cover, and a voice, so calm it held no trace of emotion, resonated:

"Deputy Chief Enforcer Tan Xin has violated Clause 001 and betrayed the Aurora Base. He is designated as the Dominion's top priority target... All personnel are authorized to eliminate him by any means, regardless of cost. Recover the 'Reappearance' plan's explosive detonator within three hours. Any who aid him will be deemed complicit."