Chapter 30: Chapter 30 The World (Part 1)
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
During the time that Han Dong had entered the Fate Space, he had truly become quite exhausted.
After completing the injection of the Cell Essence, lying on the wooden bed of the previous Nicholas, Han Dong felt his eyes could shut at any moment. But… before they closed, Han Dong called his younger sister Nina in.
He issued an order.
Nina, patting her chest, confidently declared, “Don’t worry! Leave it to me. I often went to the scrap disposal station to rummage for books during my apprenticeship… only the ones related to [Mysticism], right?”
“Yes, the older, the better.”
Han Dong asked Nina to help him find books, not only for his own reading but for another purpose.
Once the task had been explained, Han Dong promptly fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up, it was already dark.
The clock at the bedside pointed at exactly eight o’clock. The second hand moved at the same speed as in his last life, marking the days as twenty-four hours long as well.
Feeling slightly hungry, he was just about to go out to eat something.
Who knew that Nina, who had changed into a flower-print dress, was waiting at the door with a bountiful dinner, including an entire roast chicken of modest size.
Considering their circumstances, serving a roast chicken required splurging a significant amount of their belongings.
Moreover, on both sides of Han Dong’s bedroom door, there was a large stack of old books. It had to be said that Nina’s efficiency was outstanding.
“Mother specifically prepared this for you… guessing you would be hungry as soon as you woke up. Brother, you probably didn’t have much to eat in such dangerous circumstances in the Fate Space, did you?
Hurry and take it inside to eat, I’m not hungry!”
Nina, holding the roast chicken, deliberately emphasized ‘not hungry,’ but in reality, her mouth was watering voraciously.
Although Han Dong desperately wanted to gobble up the chicken by himself, considering Nina’s ability to help him understand the world and her role as his ‘sister,’ he ended up sharing a leg of the chicken with her. He told her:
“Join me in my room later.”
“Okay!” Nina, who had received the chicken leg, was over the moon.
Han Dong felt his wording was ambiguous and quickly corrected it. “To come to my room, just to ask you about the Holy City and this world’s information.”
“Okay!”
Han Dong carried the dinner and locked the room.
He placed the roast chicken, vegetable salad, and carrot stew temporarily on a relatively clean wooden table.
Accompanied by a release of sinister energy.
The red-clad, black-haired “[Possessed] Chen Li” was let out.
When Chen Li appeared, even the flame in the kerosene lamp faintly flickered.
“Miss Chen Li, there’s no need to deliberately ‘scare people’ in normal times, you can just be yourself.”
“Oh! Okay.”
Chen Li quickly produced a hairband from somewhere, tied up her black hair hanging in front of her face, and withdrew her imposing aura… Transforming from a demonic presence into an ordinary and endearing lady in red.
“Have something to eat.”
“Hmm…”
Chen Li was also a human, after all. To help Han Dong, she hadn’t eaten for more than a day… Faced with the succulent roast chicken, she couldn’t resist and started to eat heartily.
In no time, they had eaten all the abundant dinner to the last bite.
“Had enough?”
“I’m full.” Chen Li answered with a slight nod.
“In a bit of time, we should be able to improve the living conditions, at least we won’t have to go hungry.”
“It’s okay.”
After circling the tiny room twice, Chen Li commented, “I would like to go back now… If there is any danger or need for help, call me.”
“Alright.”
Apart from the prison, her ‘home,’ she was not yet well-tuned to the environment in the Holy City and would prefer to spend her time in the prison. This time was the first real-world encounter between the two of them, the conversation had an awkward feeling… Both of them were introverted by nature, the situation might improve as they get more acquainted with each other.
Han Dong muttered quietly to himself, “Miss Chen Li seems to have significant growth potential. If I continue nurturing her, she will grow even further… I should procure some books for her to read in the prison later, it would otherwise be too boring for her alone.”
Then came the critical time for inquiries.
Han Dong called Nina into his bedroom and got directly to the point.
Han Dong found a barely usable pen in his room, ready to record important information from the discussion.
Nina, wearing a floral skirt, entered the room. Facing Han Dong, she wasn’t a bit unfamiliar, her wide, ocean-blue eyes were expectant as she seated herself next to him.
“Brother, what would you like to know first?”
“Is the world like this where you come from?”
Han Dong roughly sketched a world map on a notebook, the European area drawn with additional detail. “What is this?” Nina asked, confused.
“World map.”
Nina looked upset. She seemed unable to answer Han Dong’s first question:
“A world….map.
I honestly don’t know. I was born in Holy City, and I’ve never left.
My teacher said the outside world is immeasurably vast, but we don’t have the opportunity or the ability to see it.”
“Let’s do this then, tell me everything you know about the world. What’s out there? Why does humanity cower within a large metal city, living their lives?”
“This is also what the teacher said, about two hundred years ago… a higher species was born, superior to humans. Within a few days, the global human population decreased by more than 80%, it was horrific!
The remaining humans all went into hiding, that’s about what happened.”
“Hmm!? Two hundred years ago, a superior species to humans was born? What era were humans in at that time? Firearms should have been invented by then, right?”
“About that… I don’t know, hehe.” Nina giggled awkwardly.
Han Dong speculated, “Cannons must have existed at the most basic level, yet 80% of humanity was wiped out in just a few days. It seems that only some advanced nations have survived.
That being said, are the higher lifeforms outside afraid of copper metal?”
“Yes! It is precisely because someone discovered this, that Holy City was established in its current form, allowing its inhabitants to live safely.”
“Copper… no wonder the level of human technology has been stuck at brass, steam and gears for such a long time. So, copper also has this use.
With this, if my guess is right, the most basic form of currency in Holy City is copper coins, right? Copper has replaced the position that gold and silver once maintained?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Han Dong continued with his inquiries, “What about the source of copper?
There should be a lot of copper mines beneath Holy City, right?”
“Hehe, this I know! My teacher said that Holy City was indeed built on a massive natural mine, but the copious mining over the years has basically emptied the copper mines roughly fifty years ago.
Now, the only source is [Fate Space].
The cost of mining outside the city is too high, it’s basically impossible…”
“Hm..
After recording this notable piece of information, Han Dong officially started to inquire about the [Fate Space].
He had some speculations of his own and hoped to find answers here.
“Tell me more about the [Fate Space].”
“Okay! Hehe, I knew you would ask about this.
So I specifically dropped by my teacher’s house to bring this book about Fate Space, written by a contemporary noble author, who detailed the origins of
Fate Space.
Uh… Brother, please return this to me once you’ve finished reading.
I have to return it before my teacher notices it’s missing tomorrow morning.”
“No problem.”
Han Dong looked at the book titled “Fate Origins — The Light of Hope for the Survival of Humanity,” a smile spreading on his face.
Nina was more capable than he imagined, and moreover, her teacher seemed to be a highly-ranked machinery craftsman.
The first sentence of the book’s introduction completely immersed Han Dong within its pages.
“When I fathomed Fate, the sense of despair swirling in my mind disappeared, for I understood that humanity had not been forsaken.”
Upon seeing the time Fate Space first appeared on the first page, Han Dong nodded slightly.
“Indeed, Fate Space and the higher lifeforms almost appeared at the same time….”