“What? The decapitation operation starts in ten days?”
When Wyatt received the Gentleman’s message, he—and the crew aboard the Free Will—were stunned. After all, they’d only departed three days ago. Before leaving, Wyatt had discussed the timeline with Lord Julian; Julian’s estimate had been at least two months.
“Why the rush?” Wyatt asked, staring at the Gentleman’s hologram on the comm screen. “We haven’t even entered the Star Ring.”
At the moment, the ship was tearing through empty space between the Star Ring and Lansen Planet. The distance was so extreme that Lord Julian’s signal arrived with noticeable delay. Several minutes passed before Julian finally replied, relaying the intelligence Blin had brought back.
“In other words,” Wyatt murmured, absorbing it. Then he looked back at the Gentleman’s projection. “If we find Miller, Phantom Forge may already be gone.”
“Don’t forget to tell him,” the Gentleman said, “that we helped him destroy the ‘false god’ he hates most.”
He continued, “Also, I’ve already begun construction on a Long Voyage-class interstellar ship at Deep Space Base No. 2. If Miller accepts my proposal, I can destroy every intelligent machine and leave within half a year. Make sure you pass that along as well.”
“Understood,” Wyatt said. “I’ll report progress as we go.”
“That will be difficult,” the Gentleman said with a faint smile. “Once you enter the Star Ring, the chaotic magnetic fields inside will prevent stable signal links.”
“Then if something changes, how do I inform you?”
“You don’t need to,” the Gentleman said. “I trust your judgment. If you truly require help, you can fire a micro-communicator beacon back. For the near future, I’ll keep the Azure Thunder parked in Lansen’s outer orbit. But even so, it’ll be inefficient—you may not receive my reply or reinforcements until one or two days later. That device is only good for letting me hear your good news early. It won’t save you in an emergency.”
Wyatt exhaled slowly. “All right. I understand.”
“Based on your current position and speed, you’ll enter the Star Ring soon,” the Gentleman said. “This may be our last call before the operation. I wish you success.”
“Thank you,” Wyatt said. “Same to you.”
The connection cut. The Gentleman’s image vanished, and the view outside the ship returned—an asteroid belt stretched across the dark like a ribbon sewn with diamonds. It looked close enough to touch.
“Ah… the Star Ring,” Dancer breathed. “Magnificent. The Star Ring that countless poems have praised. I used to stare up at it from Lansen. Now it’s right in front of us—and we’re about to merge into it. Just thinking about it makes my heart race.”
“Why didn’t I ever notice something this beautiful before?” Big Blue said. “It’s even grander than the ocean.”
“Same,” Dorian added.
“Because after the apocalypse, Lansen is almost always buried under thick clouds,” Wyatt said. “We barely get to see the night sky at all. The Star Ring is beautiful, but inside it isn’t as gentle as it looks. Those drifting rocks can threaten the ship.”
A voice rose from the console.
“You don’t need to worry about that, Captain Wyatt. Veer will activate the ship’s automatic defense system. Any asteroid that endangers the ship will be shattered by the main guns.”
“Thanks, Veer. How long until we enter the Star Ring?”
Veer was the name Wyatt had given the ship’s intelligence system. Over the past two days, Wyatt had used the Origin Key’s capabilities to upgrade it. Now Veer could execute his commands with far greater accuracy.
“Veer can already detect the Star Ring’s gravitational pull. Deceleration will begin in 3 hours. Arrival at the first target sector is in 5 hours and 37 minutes.”
“Thank you, Veer.”
“Always at your service, Captain.”
***
Three days later, Edean.
“Hi! Sienna—oh, wait. Linneya!”
“Hi! No.54. How was today?”
After several nights of long, whispered talks, the two girls had become the kind of friends who could tell each other anything. Linneya had already told her the truth about her name. Every night, once they returned to their rooms, they’d put on the headsets, burrow under their blankets, and talk until late.
“Not great,” No.54 said with a sigh. “I got docked another three points today. At this rate, I don’t think I’ll even make it to next month.”
“Hang in there,” Linneya said. “I’m already working on a plan.”
“If it’s too hard, forget it,” No.54 said gloomily. “Honestly, before I met you, I’d already resigned myself.”
“Don’t give up,” Linneya said. “I’ll find a way to get you out. And these past few days, I’ve been looking for the people who got eliminated. I want to figure out what they’re doing.”
“Any luck?”
“Not yet. I went to every Bubble Farm beneath the tower—robots everywhere, but not a single human. Inside the tower, I checked every level I can access. There were a few humans, but they were all much older. I didn’t dare ask questions.”
“Not a single person under eighteen?”
“No…” Linneya hesitated. “There were two bioengineered kids who looked like boys…”
“Boys? Bioengineered?”
“Yeah. They looked eleven or twelve. Their skin was very dark, and their eyes were kind of… animal-like. Weird. They keep showing up for Sister White’s combat lessons. I only ran into them once in the elevator. I said hello, and they just ignored me.”
“Then how do you know they’re bioengineered?”
“Sister White told me,” Linneya said. “She said they’re dangerous and told me not to talk to them.”
“That’s… scary.”
“So the first rumor is fake,” Linneya said. “The eliminated people aren’t in Edean.”
“Then where are they?” No.54 whispered. “In those dark caves underground?”
“I’m going to check tomorrow.”
“You and Sister White?”
“She’s been really busy. She said something about simulation training. She hasn’t come by for days.”
“Then you shouldn’t go alone. That sounds terrifying.”
“It’ll be fine. I’m bringing Uncle Eisen with me,” Linneya said. “Besides… I’ve wanted to see for myself for a long time. I’ve never gone farther than the Bubble Farms.”
“Aren’t you afraid of the dark?”
“Hehe. I’m used to it.” Linneya yawned softly. “All right—enough for tonight. I need to get up early tomorrow. You should sleep too, or you’ll lose more points.”
“Okay. But be careful.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll talk tomorrow night. Good night.”
“Good night.”
***
After the call ended, No.54 found she still couldn’t fall asleep. She lay awake for a long time before she finally drifted off.
Bang!
Her door flew open. Several Administrators rushed in.
No.54 snatched up the headset and shoved it under her pillow.
“No.54,” one of them said coldly, “you’ve been eliminated due to physical weakness. Come with us.”
“Why?!” No.54 shouted. “I’m still yellow!”
She glanced at her wrist—only to see that the band had turned red at some point.
“No!” she screamed, trembling. “It was yellow just a moment ago!”
An Administrator hauled her up and dragged her toward the door. Another confiscated the headset.
On every level, there was a small section the girls had never been allowed to enter. The Administrators dragged her through three heavy doors in a row and into a room that felt like a nightmare.
A pile of girls’ clothes lay in the corner. Number tags—many stained with blood—were mounted across the walls. No.53’s tag was there.
An Administrator roughly tore off No.54’s tag and hung it beneath No.53’s.
A small door on the far wall was pulled open.
Inside, flames roared.
Ignoring her screams, the Administrators threw her straight into the fire…