Chapter 42: Stories of the Past
"Clank, clank, clank."
Between the steel corridors, faint blue light flickered, and amidst the flow of arcane power, the clear and heavy sound of footsteps could be heard.
At this moment, Joshua and the others were advancing deeper into the pyramid under the guidance of Number Three. Their target was the area beneath the central region.
After briefly conversing with Moria and the others, Joshua decided to tentatively trust what Number Three had said—after all, no matter how much suspicion he harbored, she had indeed shown no malice from the start. As the only entity in this world they could communicate with, Joshua had many questions he wanted to ask her.
Of course, the primary goal was still to find [a food source], since they had no idea how long they would be staying here. The source of food and water was extremely important. After informing Number Three of this, the artificial intelligence led them into a passage heading downward.
Inside the massive pyramid, countless intersecting corridors crisscrossed. Some were illuminated by blue light, while others had gone completely dark. According to Number Three, due to a lack of personnel for maintenance, even though the mobile fortress had self-regulating capabilities, a millennium of disuse had accumulated many irreparable damages.
"We are passing through the energy storage zone and are about to reach our destination," Number Three reported calmly. "The food storage zone is on the other side, but after a thousand years, it has likely all turned to dust."
Above them lay the central doctrinal zone, which regulated energy transport, and below it were the living quarters and the ecological circulation zone.
The light ahead grew brighter and brighter. Without needing Number Three's reminder, Joshua could sense an increasingly distinct life force—a feeling completely opposite to the desolate, barren wilderness outside the pyramid. Claire's lips also curled slightly; she too had detected the presence of nature.
The steel corridor began to widen. The originally narrow passageway grew more expansive, and the flow of air became more noticeable. The group continued forward until they finally reached the end of the corridor. They stepped through a semi-transparent barrier formed by arcane power and entered a vast space.
A surging wave of life energy washed over them. Joshua looked up, taking in the sight before him.
What met his eyes was a blue-green world. An enormous artificial land and sky stretched endlessly before him. Compared to this colossal space, their group was as insignificant as ants. Lush, strange plants swayed their blue-green leaves in the wind, producing a rustling sound. On the dark brown earth, scattered shrubs and weeds dotted the landscape.
"This is the ecological circulation zone."
As Number Three spoke, the group observed this world.
"It's quite impressive," the old dwarf remarked with a sigh. "I never thought there would actually be such a large patch of land inside this pyramid."
He crouched down, grabbed a handful of soil, and rubbed it between his fingers before nodding. "The soil quality isn't bad. Not fertile, but still within normal range."
Claire also examined the surroundings—fields, forests, hills, cliffs, and a small lake not far away. Within this vast space inside the pyramid, everything was present. Though minuscule compared to a real world, it was indeed a complete ecological cycle...
No, it wasn't complete.
Because neither Joshua, Lin, Moria, nor Claire—none of the four—had spotted a single trace of animals after some time of observation. What they saw were only silent ancient trees and scattered small plants, not even insects.
"Only plants are stable existences."
Seeing the confusion in their eyes, Number Three spoke to explain. Her calm, emotionless voice rang out: "Artificial natural cycles are fragile. Without the regulation of the Carlis people, even the slightest error could lead to irreversible destruction here. In this absolutely safe, enclosed environment, all animals exhausted their own potential. Repeated inbreeding caused genetic diseases to worsen, eventually robbing them of the ability to leave offspring, leading them toward self-extinction."
Saying this, Number Three seemed to mock herself: "Just like the struggling world outside. In truth, even these plants can barely sustain themselves. After the extinction of the Carlis people, I did my utmost to maintain the stability of this ecological circulation zone, but while there were some results, they were not significant."
Moria and Claire couldn't understand what Number Three was saying and furrowed their brows, while Lin explained it to them on the side.
"...Yes, indeed, what she said is correct, and the plants here are also on their last legs."
After listening to Lin's translation, Claire crouched down and gently touched the grass and shrubs beside her. A faint green light shimmered in her hand. She closed her eyes, communicating with this tiny patch of nature.
Then, the elf sighed and stood up. She shook her head but said nothing more.
Joshua and Moria were both looking around, and their expressions were no better. Though they had mentally prepared for the worst, the current situation, while not terrible, was far from optimistic.
"It doesn't matter if there are no animals. Even tree bark, I can digest and convert into energy," Joshua said, frowning slightly. He took a step forward and spoke quietly to Number Three. "But what about those large patches of bones buried underground?"
He waved his hand, and crimson battle qi stirred up the soil, revealing countless pale skeletal remains of various creatures before the group. Among them were bones of unknown beings and those of the Carlis people. All the bones were covered by a thin layer of soil, buried beneath the earth. The vast majority were broken and fragmented, leaving only a few stone-like remnants.
Moria, who had also noticed this earlier, paid no attention to the bones. Instead, he stood behind Joshua, his brow deeply furrowed, his golden eyes fixed on the warrior as he communicated with Number Three in a language no one else could understand.
Joshua Radcliffe, the descendant of an old acquaintance bearing the name of the Radcliffe family. Ever since learning of his father's death, he had returned to his homeland without hesitation and inherited the title. Everything this warrior had done could be compared to miracles—whether it was single-handedly eliminating his uncle's usurpation team or repelling the Black Tide twice in a row and closing the space-time gates. And this time, arriving in this world on the brink of doom by accident was also due to the steel crystal he had brought.
And he could even speak the language of another world, communicating with an artificial intelligence lifeform from a different realm... Everything felt so strange, as if it had all been preordained.
"By the gods above..."
The old dwarf muttered, "Damn it, this is just like a legendary tale."
Even if he didn't believe it, the word "fate" couldn't help but cross his mind.
Joshua continued his conversation with Number Three.
"The bones before you are the remains of warriors who resisted the Chaos a thousand years ago."
The artificial intelligence with black wings answered Joshua's question. "On the final day of civilization a millennium ago, seeing not a single shred of hope, they chose to die here. Not just here—there are also many bones in the Crystal Sun Church above. I assume you all saw them."
After a brief pause, Number Three seemed to be processing information within the fortress, then said, "There are even more bones in the nearby living quarters. Most have already been decomposed by arcane power. It was their souls, converging in the central doctrinal zone of the fortress, that gave birth to my intelligence."
"I see."
Joshua nodded slightly, then suddenly thought of something. His voice, muffled by his armor, sounded somewhat hollow: "Number Three, have you been wandering this land for many years?"
"To be precise, it has been one thousand and seventy-two years."
Number Three gave a slight bow. "Of course, if you mean my autonomous consciousness, then only nearly a thousand years."
"Very good."
Joshua was satisfied with this answer. He looked directly into the eyes of the artificial intelligence's projection. "Then can you explain to us the reasons for those strange phenomena outside? And also the special regions in this world?"
The warrior hinted meaningfully: "For example, the places where the Wild Gods gather."
(To be continued.)