Chapter 297: "Reappearance"

Bang—

Han Meng sat in the back seat of the car and closed the door hard.

"Any survivors?" Tan Xin’s gaze swept through the window over the corpses covering the ground.

"Everyone who participated in selling the coal is dead."

"What about Yan Shang?"

"I don't know." Han Meng paused. "However, he won't survive either."

Tan Xin raised an eyebrow slightly, not asking further, but looked at the figure in the gray cotton coat leaving alone. "Who is he?"

Han Meng was silent for a long time. "He’s just an innocent child."

The current Zhao Yi was, after all, a Fusionist and a target for the Arbiters to purge... Han Meng emphasized the word "innocent" to make Tan Xin let him go.

Tan Xin withdrew his gaze from Zhao Yi’s back and said calmly:

"Drive."

As the car moved forward, Han Meng finally let his heart go.

"How did it feel at the Aurora Base?"

Hearing Tan Xin’s words, Han Meng fell into silence. In his mind, the figures disfigured by human experiments and Dr. Yi’s hysterical roars flashed by. After a long time, he finally spoke slowly:

"I... saw despair."

"Despair." Tan Xin nodded, his gaze looking at the buildings lining the streets outside the window. "We have never possessed true peace and stability; it was just the cooking smoke and kites under the aurora that made us forget what this world was originally like... Now, the aurora has faded, and this beautiful dream should come to an end."

"Aurora City... is it really beyond saving?" Han Meng’s brows were locked tight.

"Yes, and no."

Under Han Meng’s confused gaze, Tan Xin spoke again. "At the beginning of the Great Cataclysm, a nuclear bomb attacked this land. Tens of millions of lives vanished, and their souls were captured by a newly born magnetic field, turning into the aurora and merging into it... They created an unprecedentedly powerful monarch, a guardian god beneath the aurora."

"You mean, the birth of the Aurora Lord?"

"Exactly."

"What does this have to do with saving Aurora City?" Han Meng frowned. "Shouldn't the way to save Aurora City be to extend the Aurora Lord’s life?"

"With our current technological means, it is fundamentally impossible to extend his life... The only one who can extend his life is himself."

"What do you mean?"

Tan Xin was silent for a moment, then slowly spat out four words: "Beyond the Ninth Rank."

Han Meng was stunned. "Beyond the Ninth Rank? Tenth Rank? Is that really possible?"

"I don't know... Throughout history, no one has ever taken that step, but assuming that rank truly exists, it is the last hope for this realm."

"But now the Aurora Lord is about to die of old age... How is he supposed to step beyond the Ninth Rank?"

"I already told you just now."

Han Meng didn't understand Tan Xin’s meaning at first, but the next moment he reacted. "The birth of the Aurora Lord... Don't tell me you plan to sacrifice the three million citizens in Aurora City, letting their souls merge into the Aurora Lord’s body again??"

"Tens of millions of souls created a Ninth-Rank Aurora Lord. With another three million souls... perhaps there is a slim possibility of knocking on that door."

"Are you crazy?!!"

The usually calm and composed Han Meng’s expression changed. "So the explosives in the base are meant to destroy Aurora City?? But what is the point of doing that? Even if you save the Aurora Lord by killing everyone in Aurora City, the Aurora Realm will no longer exist!"

Tan Xin shook his head. "You’re wrong. As long as the Aurora Lord lives, the Aurora Realm will exist... Perhaps three hundred years from now, a new city will be built on this ruin, perhaps there will be new Seven Districts or Nine Districts... As long as the aurora never fades, Aurora City will be eternal.

That is how the current Aurora City came to be."

Han Meng was stunned. He sat sideways in the back seat, the streets on both sides receding past him... He didn't know how much time had passed before he shook his head again:

"But it’s not even certain if 'beyond the Ninth Rank' exists, and it’s not certain if sacrificing these three million people can let the Aurora Lord take that step... Why do you think doing this will succeed?"

"The Aurora Base has calculated that the probability of this plan being successfully implemented is less than 0.001%."

"Then why are you still..."

"Seeking a way out amidst slim possibilities—that is what it means to be human."

Han Meng opened his mouth, but didn't know how to refute it. He sat back in his seat in silence, motionless as a statue.

"...So, this is the 'Hand of Redemption' plan?"

"No."

Tan Xin shook his head. "The name of this plan is 'Reappearance'... Recreating the day the aurora was born, abandoning humanity and morality, and betting three million lives for a slim chance at the Aurora Lord’s survival... This is the plan the Aurora Base is currently insisting on."

Han Meng was stunned.

"Then what is the 'Hand of Redemption'?"

Tan Xin turned to look at Han Meng, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth:

"Have you ever heard of a vinyl record?"

……

The car slowly stopped in front of the elevator at the Aurora Base.

Tan Xin opened the door and got out. On the hem of his black trench coat, eight silver patterns flickered silently. He straightened his collar and looked calmly at the deep passage leading underground.

"You wait for me here."

Hearing this, Han Meng didn't follow, but stood quietly by the car waiting.

Tan Xin walked into the elevator, pressed the button, and his figure slowly sank deep into the underground...

"Deputy Chief Tan Xin."

"Good day, Deputy Chief."

The metal door of the elevator opened, and the guarding Arbiters standing to the side spoke respectfully as they saw him walk out. After verifying the secret code, he passed through layer after layer of checkpoints and walked straight toward the deepest part of the base...

Finally, he arrived at the last checkpoint leading to the fourth floor.

Beside the door, a red-haired woman in a white shirt and tie slowly looked up. Seeing Tan Xin walk over, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"What kind of look is that?" Tan Xin felt a bit awkward being stared at by her and asked in confusion.

"...Nothing." The red-haired woman closed the book in her hand. "Just wanted to confirm if it was really you."

Tan Xin remembered the sacrificial artifact destroyed on the third floor and was thoughtful. "[Heart of Red 6] has been here? And he turned into my appearance?"

“……”

"You weren't actually fooled by him, were you?"

“…………”

The corners of Tan Xin’s mouth couldn't help but curl up. His originally heavy and gloomy face showed a trace of relaxation. "Are all of you on the [Asura] path this thick-skinned?"

"Tan Xin, watch your tone and attitude toward your superior," the red-haired woman said coldly.

"My deepest apologies, respected Chief Hongxiu."

"..." The red-haired woman glanced at him, the anger in her eyes gradually dissipating, replaced by a complex emotion.

"Have you really made up your mind?"

"Yeah."

"...Good." The red-haired woman nodded, slowly stood up from her seat, walked straight out of the passage to Tan Xin’s side, and stopped.

"Go... leave the rest to me."