—–
-Kael Technology.
-Capsule No. 39.
Inside the silver-gray, oval-shaped building with a futuristic feel, there is a contrasting scene reminiscent of an insect’s nest. Numerous ‘egg-like’ capsules are neatly arranged inside the building, each emitting a faint, dark glow.
These ‘egg-like’ capsules are, in fact, the login pods for ‘Dream Zero’.
Through the walls of the capsules, one can see employees wearing Kael Technology uniforms.
The liquid inside the pods envelops their entire bodies. From their heads and limbs, many complex wiring ports can be seen, with tubes connected, linking them to the login pods.
Both the liquid and the ports are designed to enhance the login to Dream Zero and increase the synchronization rate with Dream Zero, in other words, to enhance the sense of immersion.
The stronger the immersion, the better they can control their bodies and exert strength in Dream Zero, much like needing a good internet connection to play online games.
But the downside to this is…
In front of all the login pods, there are indicator lights. In a room originally lit up with ‘green’ fluorescence, suddenly ten capsules start flashing red lights, becoming more and more urgent.
Some flashed for just two or three seconds before going out, some for five or six seconds, and the longest lasted for nine seconds, but eventually, they too went out, and the indicator lights dimmed completely.
“Manager William, it is detected that the 39-A exploration team, including the captain and all ten members, have almost simultaneously lost their biological signals. Staff have gone to their login pods for inspection and confirmed that all are dead.”
“List 39-A in the abnormal death observation group and immediately analyze the cause of death.”
“Understood, establishing a data model”
Unlike the ‘insect nest’ building, this place resembles a control room. On the huge screen at the center, which displays a world map of Dream Zero, self-drafted by Kael Technology over years of exploration, many researchers in lab coats are operating something on virtual computers.
William, the Kael Technology executive who was responsible for interfacing with Renji and other scholars from the Sin Garden, stands in front of the large screen, frowning deeply.
Following his command, the world map on the screen keeps shrinking until it stops at… the Witch’s Territory.
“Manager William, analysis complete. It is ruled out to be the work of Dream Zero forces or Miasma monsters. According to the system model, the area where the 39-A team was located likely experienced a B-level or higher natural disaster.” 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Hearing the term ‘B-level natural disaster,’ William’s frown deepens. He quickly asks, “Are there any other teams around 39-A?”
“Three teams are still operating within a fifty-kilometer radius,” a researcher replies quickly after typing on a virtual keyboard.
“Issue a natural disaster warning and instruct them to evacuate immediately.”
“Yes” .𝒎
However, before the researchers below could carry out William’s orders, a communication officer suddenly stood up and shouted at Manager William.
“Manager! The 39-A team has left a message for us, sent out just one second before their biological signals disappeared! And it used the highest-level red signal!”
‘A red signal?’
William’s face changed immediately upon hearing this.
Kael Technology stipulates that when exploration teams discover information valuable to the company, they use white, green, blue, and red to indicate the importance of the information, to facilitate the command center in handling it based on its priority.
Over the years, a red signal had only appeared once, and after that, the Brand technology was born within Kael Technology, leading to a leap in breakthroughs for the entire company and the exploration of Dream Zero.
So now, with the re-emergence of a red signal, how could William not be excited?
He immediately ordered the projection of the 39-A team’s final transmission onto the big screen. Subsequently, the three stories and murals from the cellar appeared before William and the researchers at Kael Technology.
Although the image quality was very blurry, indicating a hasty transmission, it was enough.
“Is this Zero’s memory of the old days?”
“So the highest artificial intelligence being, ‘Zero,’ was originally just a scrapped mechanical maid?”
“No, this might just be a metaphor, but undoubtedly, Zero’s starting point was very low, and its evolution into a higher being was all thanks to the young scientist in the story.”
“So what is the young scientist implying? Could it be…”
“The Emperor! Who else but the Emperor Ashen!”
“The story’s maid and the young scientist fall in love, does it imply that 500 years ago, only ‘Zero’ was the legitimate wife of Emperor Ashen? And the other four, especially the witch, were out of jealousy that they…”
“Oh my God! The cause of the Emperor’s death 500 years ago, the truth… the witch’s scheming… If this information is released, the entire field of ‘Ancient Studies’ will be shaken!”
“No! Not just Ancient Studies, the entire world’s structure could change drastically! After all, Zero was the Emperor’s lover, which means that our Mechanical Alliance is the legitimate successor of the original Ashen Empire!”
In the command center, the researchers were in a frenzy, whispering and discussing among themselves, occasionally letting out sighs and exclamations.
At this moment, even Manager William had no time to pay attention to others, as he himself was so excited that his hands were trembling.
The message sent by the 39-A team just before their death was of immense value, significant enough to propel him to a higher position in the company, no longer just a department head. His years of hard work and dedication to Dream Zero were finally about to pay off.
However, William soon regained his composure and issued further instructions.
“Cancel the natural disaster alert. Instruct the four teams within a fifty-kilometer radius to immediately drop everything and head to the 39-A team’s area for investigation. Also, dispatch five more teams from ‘Dragon’s Nest’ to log into the ‘Witch’s Territory’ and be ready to provide support at any time.”
“Manager William, we still haven’t determined the extent and duration of the natural disaster, if…”
“Do as I say. Tell those teams that this is a special mission. Their salaries will be tripled during the operation. If they make any discoveries, their employee levels will be adjusted accordingly, with a maximum increase of three levels.”
“Understood, Manager.”
No researcher dared to question William’s decision, especially since the last person who did, Famas, was taken away by the enforcement department the next day for “leaking company secrets,” among a dozen other charges. The consequences were obvious.
Moreover, the rewards William offered were tempting even to them, stirring their greed. Salary was secondary; the main attraction was the promotion in employee level, bringing various benefits, conveniences, and power that could ensure the well-being of their families and even descendants.
This perhaps explained why so many employees were willing to sign contracts with the company, risking their lives to explore Dream Zero.
It also explained why the 39-A team, in the face of the natural disaster, despite the last team member’s biological signal lasting a full nine seconds before extinguishing—a time that could have been used to “log out” and possibly escape—chose instead to sacrifice himself to transmit the information.
Clearly, it was not out of loyalty to the company, but because the captain knew that logging out without bringing out the information, without data as evidence, he might have a chance to survive, but his team would have died in vain.
If the company received this important information, even if they died, their wives, parents, children still alive in the real world would receive not only the company’s condolence money but also rewards for the significant information. Considering the importance of this intelligence, it would at least ensure a lifetime of financial security for them.
This was perhaps the final effort the captain could make for his 39-A team, and possibly… a kind of atonement for his remorse.
𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮