Chapter 1224: Heavenly Pivot

"You want to go up?" The staff member immediately stopped him. "Director Sun, it’s too dangerous for you to go to the surface. You are the backbone of the entire underground project; you absolutely cannot have anything happen to you!"

"I know, I won't leave the scope of the hillside hotel," Sun Zhongliang paused for a long time.

"I just want to see what the outside has become... If possible, we can still treat some of the wounded on the surface and then transport them down using those two elevators. There are always some who, because of their serious injuries, cannot enter the underground project via the stairs, aren't there?"

The staff member was speechless.

In the end, they followed Sun Zhongliang’s order, immediately welded the bottoms of the two elevators, and ascended to the ground.

At this time, the hillside hotel was already in a mess, with broken glass and dust scattered all over the floor. Sun Zhongliang stepped directly on them and walked out of the hotel, overlooking Mount Wu town below, and was stunned.

A vast galaxy flowed under the dim firmament, stretching from the distance to the sky above the hotel. The brilliant starlight flickered like ribbons in a fairy tale, dreamlike and illusory... Beneath it, in the devastated city ruins, there were traces of fighting and slaughter everywhere. Various strange roots and flesh were scattered all over the ground, like terrifying species from outer space, making one’s scalp tingle at a single glance.

And at this moment, a large group of survivors was approaching here in a vast procession under the protection of the starlight.

"Director! There are so many survivors in this batch!"

The staff member saw this wave of people, and their eyes lit up. "In that case, the total should be close to 40,000..."

Forty thousand. Even so, it was still not even half of what Sun Zhongliang had originally estimated...

Sun Zhongliang’s attention at this moment was all on that brilliant galaxy. He muttered to himself, the image of the starlight reflected in his pupils:

"Stars... is that Lu Xun? Did he come to Mount Wu too?"

……

"Everyone, we’re almost there."

Lu Xun followed among the civilians, pointing to the hillside hotel ahead.

Lu Xun, shrouded in starlight, had become the backbone of these survivors and their spiritual pillar. They had survived the nuclear strike with great difficulty, experienced the calamity attack, but in the end, they had all survived.

Just as the Heavenly Pivot Lord said... none of them would die.

"Lord Heavenly Pivot, that seems to be just a hotel... can it accommodate so many of us?" someone asked with concern.

Lu Xun smiled slightly. "It’s not just a hotel. Beneath the mountain, there is a large base that can accommodate all of you to live for a period of time."

As soon as this was said, everyone’s eyes lit up!

"Great, it’s a base!! We’re safe!!"

"Survived... we actually really survived!!"

"Thank you, Heavenly Pivot Lord!! Thank you, Heavenly Pivot Lord!!!!"

“……”

People had endured all hardships and, seeing a safe haven that could accommodate them, finally smiled. They shouted to each other in excitement, and their footsteps quickened quite a bit.

And at this moment, Lu Xun’s figure slowly stopped.

"We’re almost there... you go on ahead."

"Lord Heavenly Pivot, aren't you coming with us?"

"I have some things to deal with."

"Understood, Lord Heavenly Pivot is going to save more people!"

Lu Xun smiled and didn't answer. He just stood quietly in place, letting the excited civilians run past him toward the hillside hotel.

As the crowd surged, Lu Xun slowly looked up, looking from afar at the front of the hotel...

His gaze met Sun Zhongliang’s across the distance.

Sun Zhongliang saw Lu Xun in the crowd, and a sense of indescribable guilt welled up in his heart. Although the research on the Nine Monarchs wasn't initiated by him and he had no say in it, Lu Xun likely already considered him a two-faced villain, and had completely lost faith in the 749 Bureau...

He wanted to explain something to Lu Xun in person, but the next moment, Lu Xun turned and left.

“……”

Sun Zhongliang sighed heavily.

Sun Zhongliang knew he owed Lu Xun, but he didn't know how to explain it, nor how to make amends...

As the last large group of survivors approached the Half-Mountain Hotel, the river of stars flowing across the sky gradually dissipated, leaving only scattered remnants of starlight drifting over the ruins like fireflies. The desolation of the apocalypse intertwined with the dreamlike stardust, as if civilization were sinking in war, yet finding eternal life in spirit.

Staff members stepped forward one after another to guide the survivors into the underground facility. During this time, Sun Zhongliang heard the name "Lord Tian-Shu" mentioned several times.

"Excuse me, who is Lord Tian-Shu?" Sun Zhongliang asked, pulling aside a young man.

"Lord Tian-Shu? He’s that person from just now, the one who led us here." Brother Pao pointed in the direction Lu Xun had left. "He protected everyone in the shelter and led us all the way out..."

"Yeah, if it weren't for Lord Tian-Shu, we would have died hundreds of times over."

"Lord Tian-Shu must be an envoy sent by the gods to save us from this sea of suffering..."

"He has many other companions, they must all be 'Lords' too, but it's a pity we still don't know the names of the others..."

"I actually chatted with Lord Tian-Shu for a bit earlier; he said he lived in Wushan when he was a kid, so he's practically a local!"

"Is that so? No wonder he came specifically to save us..."

"If we can make it back this time, I’m going to set up a memorial tablet for Lord Tian-Shu... otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to repay him for saving my life."

"Forget a tablet, we could all build a temple for him in Wushan together."

“……”

When talking about Lord Tian-Shu, the surrounding people’s eyes lit up as they chattered excitedly. The survivors who had come from other shelters didn't know about Lord Tian-Shu, but upon hearing their stories, they were utterly astonished... Only then did they realize that the starlight that had shielded them was actually the power of Lord Tian-Shu.

"By the way, is this base big enough to hold all of us?"

"It is." A staff member nearby explained patiently, "We just finished surveying it. There are thirteen underground levels in total, and each level is extremely spacious. It can easily accommodate forty thousand people."

"There is also enough food and water here; under normal circumstances, it will last this many people for over half a month."

"That's good."

Brother Pao, standing in the crowd, suddenly asked: "Does this base have a name?"

"Seven..." Sun Zhongliang was about to say "7012 Underground Project," but he suddenly realized that the underground base had changed completely. The area that originally belonged to 7012 was now less than one percent of the whole.

This was a brand-new, unregistered super-shelter, and the final safe haven for all the survivors of Wushan.

"...It has a name."

Sun Zhongliang looked at the stardust dispersing over Wushan and spoke slowly:

"Let's call it... Tian-Shu Base."

……

……

Tomorrow, Sanjiu needs to attend the Tomato Wuhan Cherry Blossom Festival event, which will take up the whole day; then I have to rush to Chengdu overnight to attend the book signing for the two new volumes of "Zhan Shen" the day after. Time is really tight, so I'm taking leave on the 29th and 30th~~ Sorry, sorry.