While Shang Jianyao was reading Lu Fuxing's letter, Jiang Baimian guarded against any accidents and casually rummaged through the documents and files in her backpack.
Some of the papers were noticeably yellowed, showing signs of drying and becoming brittle, while others were relatively well-preserved, with only a faint musty smell.
The former were the documents Lu Fuxing and others had taken from the Renhui Hospital Vegetative State Rehabilitation Center, while the latter were the last letters left by the survivors.
These letters had no envelopes, but were neatly folded, with the recipient written on the top.
While rummaging, Jiang Baimian caught a glimpse of a familiar name:
"Ding Ling."
She immediately diverted half her attention to the inside of the backpack, and a line of text caught her eye:
"Wubei Border Settlement, Ding Ling, Recipient."
Is this the last letter left by Ji Qiang? Jiang Baimian didn't know whether to be happy or sigh.
She had originally thought that Ding Ling's husband, Ji Qiang, had most likely died in the Renhui Hospital Vegetative State Rehabilitation Center, because he was just a researcher, neither an Awakened nor a particularly strong warrior. At most, he had undergone the "Salvation Army's" mandatory combat and shooting training for all members over the age of twelve and under the age of sixty.
Even if Ji Qiang was lucky and didn't get tainted by the strangeness, become silent, or be forced into a room, or the room he entered wasn't too dangerous, he wouldn't have had much hope of surviving the subsequent split of the expedition team, the fierce battle, and escaping the Renhui Hospital Vegetative State Rehabilitation Center.
Who knew he had persevered until the end, leaving behind a last letter.
Jiang Baimian couldn't help but sigh at how lucky he had been at the time, but even with such good luck, he was inevitably trapped in Taicheng and infected with the "Heartless Disease," with only a last letter proving he had once been there.
Driven by curiosity, Jiang Baimian relied on her abilities and the "Integrated Early Warning System" of the military exoskeleton to sense the surroundings, observed the nearby situation out of the corner of her eye, and reached out with her left hand to pick up Ji Qiang's letter, shaking it open with a flick of her wrist.
There were several pages.
Jiang Baimian quickly scanned through it:
"Lingling:
"This might be the last time I call you that. I've been infected with the 'Heartless Disease,' and my mind is slowly becoming muddled.
"Although I've never encountered a case of 'Heartless Disease' with early symptoms, even slightly severe ones, the behavior of my colleagues has convinced me that this is indeed 'Heartless Disease.' Three people have already fallen ill and been shot on the spot. If I don't make it to the end, that should be my fate too.
"The difficulty I originally told you about was having to stay in the ice plains for several months, surveying a large area, which could mean facing blizzards and a cold season several times harsher than Wubei's winter.
"In such a season, with such a mission, someone would always die in the line of duty. That was my main concern at first.
"But the changes that occurred exceeded my imagination. This is an encounter permeated with strangeness, bloodshed, madness, and despair.
"We discovered a strange city that we had passed by twice before without noticing. We entered a building that didn't seem to belong to this world.
"I can't tell you the specific details. Firstly, there are confidentiality rules, and secondly, I don't want you to have nightmares because of it, nor do I want you to be constantly preoccupied for the rest of your life, trying to investigate the truth and avenge me.
"What I can tell you is that the main culprit behind the whole thing has already died in that building, in the fierce battle that occurred after the team split up. My only confusion is why he and those people did those things. Don't worry, the organization will investigate. We have the capability to do so.
"When I was a child, listening to my grandparents tell stories about the early days of the 'Salvation Army,' I didn't really understand why, in that era, a loving couple would be separated by war, disaster, or organizational orders, and wouldn't be able to hold on. By the time they met again, they each had a new love.
"Now, I vaguely understand.
"Lingling, let me call you that one more time. At the end of this last letter, I've specifically written an application to have you transferred back to Wubei. As someone who died in the line of duty, I have the right to do that.
"Once you return to Wubei, remember to visit my parents. I didn't leave them a last letter, and I don't want the organization to notify them, because I'm afraid they're too old to handle the shock. When you visit them, you can slowly lay the groundwork for my sacrifice. Wait until they're psychologically prepared enough before telling them.
"Lingling, once you return to Wubei, remember to find another partner. You love children so much, and your eyes light up when you talk about the future with me. I still remember you saying you liked me because I patiently helped a child fix her toy the first time we met. I still remember how beautiful you looked when you smiled back then.
"Lingling, when you find another partner, make sure to choose someone who works in Wubei and won't be sent out on assignments, even if he earns a little less each month, it doesn't matter too much.
"Lingling, better a dog in times of peace, than a person in times of chaos."
Better a dog in times of peace, than a person in times of chaos… Jiang Baimian slowly exhaled.
At this moment, Shang Jianyao had also finished reading the letter Lu Fuxing had left behind.
He raised his right hand covered in a metal exoskeleton, pressing the letter against his left chest, and solemnly saluted the skeleton in front of him:
"For all of humanity!"
Once he completed the ceremony, Jiang Baimian spoke:
"Fold the letter up. We'll put it back in the backpack later and hand it over to the 'Salvation Army' when we return."
"What's yours?" Shang Jianyao asked curiously, nodding.
"Ji Qiang's, Ding Ling's husband, Ji Qiang's." Jiang Baimian said after a moment of silence.
Shang Jianyao, who valued emotions, immediately reached out:
"Let me see."
Jiang Baimian handed Ji Qiang's last letter to him, planning to take this opportunity to quickly go through the files, lest they encounter an accident later and lose the data.
At this moment, she noticed that one of the last letters was only a thin page.
Out of curiosity, she shook it open and began to read:
"Son:
"Your old man is about to die!"
After reading only two lines, Jiang Baimian felt that the slightly sad atmosphere was almost shattered.
She calmed herself down and resumed reading:
"Fortunately, you're already an adult and have been assigned a job. Your old man isn't too worried about you. As for a partner, the organization will introduce one to you.
"Haven't you been saying that I'm an old fossil, unwilling to be flexible, and constantly scolding those high-ranking relatives who resell supplies, and that I've been marginalized at work? Why am I still actively participating in missions that last for several months, going to the most remote and harsh places to conduct surveys? I'll answer you now.
"When your grandfather was still alive, he often told me a saying from the Old World: 'Give a light, give a heat.' It's their business if those people don't learn, if those people willingly fall into depravity, abuse their power for personal gain, and refuse to work diligently. I can't scold them and then also prevaricate, be perfunctory, and be lazy.
"I have to live up to the oath I took back then.
"As for you, I never expected you to have the ideal of saving all of humanity. I only hope that you can be down-to-earth, work diligently, not collude with those people, and not willingly fall into depravity.
"Let those people continue to do what they do. Everyone's eyes are sharp. Selfishness is temporary, while public service is eternal. You young people will eventually wake up and understand.
"When that time comes, humanity's beautiful future will surely be realized!"
Jiang Baimian refolded the letter and stuffed it back into her backpack.
She picked up the stack of files and gently flipped through them, afraid of causing damage.
These files were roughly divided into four categories: correspondence, experiment records, higher-level orders, and doctor's notes.
Among them, the three most important ones had been marked by Lu Fuxing, greatly saving Jiang Baimian's time:
One was the order to transfer one-third of the patients from the Vegetative State Rehabilitation Center to Base 2, issued by the "Eighth Research Institute" a week before the destruction of the Old World;
One was an experiment record involving the brain conditions and physical reactions of multiple patients, repeatedly mentioning the use of some kind of stimulation, but without saying what that stimulation was;
One was a doctor's note, in which he wrote on one page, "We are about to build the ladder to the restricted area of the gods. We can already vaguely see that so-called new world."
Base 2… Jiang Baimian muttered, stuffing the files in her hand back into the dark green canvas backpack.
She turned to Shang Jianyao and said:
"Let's go down. We'll examine it in detail after we evacuate Taicheng."
Shang Jianyao, who had been reading Ji Qiang's last letter, raised his head, his eyes behind the helmet's visor red and brimming with tears.
Jiang Baimian's first reaction was bewilderment and surprise.
This was hardly the kind of behavior Shang Jianyao would exhibit.
Then, she vaguely understood the reason:
Currently, it was the emotion-valuing, psychologically younger Shang Jianyao. He must have been reminded of his own father by Ji Qiang's last letter, wondering if his father had left his mother and him a few words before he died.
Jiang Baimian sighed and patted Shang Jianyao on the shoulder:
"Put the last letter away. Let's go down.
"The people from the 'Salvation Army' can come and collect the corpses in the surrounding rooms."
After such a missile strike, the fake Taicheng should no longer appear. The people from the "Salvation Army" could directly enter the real Taicheng.
Shang Jianyao quickly switched personalities, smiling as he said:
"Okay."