Death Notice

“Rumble, rumble, rumble!” A few minutes later, the heavy generator in the hangar started rumbling.

“Done! The Magic Crystals we collected recently should keep it running for another day and a half!” A blonde girl jumped down from the engineering mech, patted the generator, and said happily.

“Okay, let’s go then. The Elder and the others must be getting impatient.” Another engineering mech turned off the explosion-proof light on its mechanical arm. A dark-haired young man jumped down from it. He and the girl turned on their flashlights and walked out of the hangar side by side.

“Tang, I heard the underground resistance in the eastern part of the continent has also collapsed. Do you think we can ever return to our old lives?” The blonde girl asked softly after walking a short distance.

“I don’t know. Several Elders said most areas of the continent have fallen, probably under enemy control. Their Floating City is very close to the Holy City, but for some reason, it stopped dozens of kilometers away and hasn’t advanced further!” The dark-haired young man replied after a moment of silence, his voice low.

“Could it be related to those huge orange-yellow shields that appeared over the Holy City this morning?” The blonde girl asked doubtfully.

“Maybe! It’s a pity all the Saints inside the Holy City have left. Otherwise, we would know the reason!” The dark-haired young man said gloomily. “Elder Anlis said we need to leave soon too. But it seems those orange-yellow shields have isolated the portal inside the base. We can only wait and hope it won’t take too long!”

“Tang, have the Elders reached an agreement with the humans of the Narshen continent? Are they willing to take us in?” The blonde girl asked quietly.

“I’m not sure. Those sub-humans insist we hand over our mech technology. The Elders originally disagreed, but the situation is getting more urgent. I’m afraid we have no choice!” The dark-haired young man said angrily. “They’re just sub-humans, how dare they make such rude demands…”

“Tang, their technology is just a bit lower than Atlantis’s, they aren’t sub-humans! And they have help from many Saints…” The blonde girl said bitterly. “Maybe now, in their eyes, we Atlanteans are the sub-humans!” “Saints…” The dark-haired young man punched the steel wall hard, breathing heavily. “Don’t mention those Saints! If it weren’t for them, the Holy City wouldn’t be in this state!”

“It’s not most Saints’ fault. Those Sapient Races who mocked us weren’t wrong. The Saints abandoned the Holy City because our leaders became corrupt. Our civilization’s system is flawed at its root!” The blonde girl sighed softly.

“…Forget it, what’s the point of talking about this now!” The dark-haired young man mumbled. “Meimei, do you think we still have a chance to return to the Holy City?”

“I think we probably don’t. Maybe our descendants can learn from our mistakes and return to the Atlantis continent to reclaim the Holy City in the future!” The blonde girl shook her head with a bitter smile.

Both fell silent at the same time, walking quietly through the dark passage. A short while later, after many turns, they entered a wide passage and arrived before a large steel gate. The gate was about five meters wide and over ten meters tall. It looked very heavy, like a dam’s floodgate.

The dark-haired young man walked to the side of the steel gate, opened a hidden panel, pressed several buttons, then spoke into the intercom inside.

“Password?” A blurry mechanical voice came from the intercom.

“Meg, it’s me, open the door!” Perhaps due to the earlier conversation, the dark-haired young man was in a bad mood and shouted impatiently into the intercom.

“Tang, why are you being mean to Meg? It’s just an intelligent robot!” The blonde girl glared at her companion, then said something softly into the intercom.

“Clank, clank, clank!” As the password was verified, the steel gate slowly rose, revealing what was behind it.

This was a large warehouse inside the base. About a hundred surviving Atlanteans were inside. Various supplies were piled in the corners. It seemed all the usable weapons and food from the base were stored here. The middle of the warehouse was filled with wire beds and hammocks formerly used by soldiers. There were also several specially partitioned small rooms serving as offices and a medical room.

Compared to Earth humans, Atlanteans had more athletic builds and were primarily of white and yellow races. Men averaged about 1.9 meters tall, women around 1.8 meters. Most had beauty not inferior to Elves. Combined with their advanced technology, it was no wonder they looked down on other humans, considering them sub-humans.

The awake Atlanteans in the warehouse just glanced at the blonde girl and dark-haired young man at the entrance, then ignored them, focusing on their own tasks. As it was midnight, most were already asleep. Only a few sentries stood guard near the entrance.

After the blonde girl and dark-haired young man entered the warehouse, an old man in white priestly robes, accompanied by a humanoid skeleton-like steel robot, walked towards them.

“Elder Anlis, Tang and I have repaired the generator in the hangar. Those two intruders who broke into the base are still trapped in the Main Control Room!” The blonde girl bowed to the old priest respectfully.

“Elder, why didn’t you let us activate the leftover defense system in the Main Control Room directly? That would have eliminated the two intruders. They definitely don’t look like Atlanteans!” The dark-haired young man asked puzzledly.

“No, that would expose our presence!” The old man in priestly robes shook his head, his long white eyebrows furrowed. “And… the Main Control Room’s defense system might not be able to kill those two. I suspect they are Saints sent by other Sapient Races to scout the Holy City… Huh? Meg, why haven’t you closed the gate yet?”

“There is still a heat source outside the door!” The robot’s electronic eyes flickered as it turned its head and spoke in a muffled voice.

“Another heat source?! Oh no!” The three talking Atlanteans were shocked. The dark-haired young man widened his eyes and yelled at the robot, “Meg, lower the gate now!”

“Too late!” The old man in priestly robes pointed towards the entrance with a bitter smile. The blonde girl and dark-haired young man turned to look. In the dark passage outside the gate, a tall, slender figure was slowly walking towards the warehouse.

“Approaching individual, state the password!” The humanoid skeleton robot raised the laser rifle in its hands and walked towards the figure in the darkness, its voice rising and falling mechanically.

“Hehe, this robot’s information processing system is quite good. It should be equipped with an anthropomorphic AI, right? It seems Atlantis’s mechanical and information technology is even more advanced than the rumors outside suggest!” A young man with a smile slowly emerged from the darkness. With a flip of his hands, he held two classic-style black and white revolvers.

“Approaching individual, put down your weapons and submit to inspection… Beep beep!”

“Bang! Bang!” Before the robot could finish, the young man fired directly. Two crisp gunshots sounded exceptionally loud in the night, completely shattering the warehouse’s tranquility.

Two bullets with trailing light instantly destroyed the robot’s electronic eyes. The robot’s skull jerked back, and its laser rifle fired simultaneously. A bright laser beam hit the young man. However, a fiery red glow immediately lit up on the young man’s body, completely neutralizing the laser rifle’s damage.

“This robot has other sensors too? It actually managed to offset over two hundred units of the Bakh Wall. That laser rifle packs quite a punch!”

The young man raised an eyebrow slightly. A light breeze stirred around him, and his figure vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he was above the robot’s head. He clamped the robot’s skull between his knees, twisted his waist, and ripped the robot’s head off.

“Crash! Bang! Sizzle!” The robot flailed its limbs and collapsed to the ground. Sparks burst from its broken neck as it twitched continuously on the floor.

“What’s going on…”

“What happened?”

The sleeping Atlanteans in the warehouse woke up one after another, peering out from their wire beds and hammocks, looking confusedly in this direction.

The sentries at the entrance immediately aimed their guns at the intruding young man. From the back of the warehouse came a series of clanking mechanical sounds as two tall mechs suddenly stood up. These mechs were covered in dents and many steel patches, holding large rotary cannons in their hands.

But the young man who broke into the warehouse ignored them. In a flash, he appeared in front of a dining table, grabbed a military canteen, and started drinking from it casually.

“Put down the guns, everyone put down the guns! Get back quickly!” Elder Anlis, sweating profusely, stood in front of the young man, blocking the sentries’ line of fire, while shouting loudly towards the two mechs at the back of the warehouse.

The sentries looked at each other, hesitantly lowering their guns. The two mechs also slowly lowered their rotary cannons, their electronic eyes blinking continuously, as if the pilots inside were assessing the situation.

“Elder, is this person… a Saint?” The blonde girl moved closer to the old priest and asked in a trembling voice.

The old man nodded. He turned to the stunned dark-haired young man and blonde girl and said quietly, “I will go negotiate with him. You two go wake everyone else. Remember, tell them not to act rashly. Even with two mechs, we cannot fight against a Saint who has undergone Class Change!”

After instructing them, Elder Anlis straightened his priestly robe, stood up straight, and walked towards the young man.

“Honorable Saint, may I ask what we can do for you?” The old priest placed his right hand on his chest and bowed to the young man.

“Saint? Is that what Atlanteans call Apostles?” The young man put down the canteen, a slight smile appearing on his face. “You can call me Qin Lun. I have some questions for you!”