Chapter 1378 A Big Piece of News

A huge fireball rose up on the other side of the city, the enormous explosion echoing like a booming bell throughout the cavernous metropolis. Hao Ren stared dumbfounded at Izhaks, "Old Wang, what're you doing?"

"Making a big piece of news," Izhaks turned his head expressionlessly, pointing to the TV on the wall, "And waiting to see if it's reported."

Nangong Wudi and Aier Sha stared at the distant flames in the city, and after a long while, they simultaneously uttered an "oh." Aier Sha softly sighed, "We never dared to make such a big commotion back then."

Nothing happened in the ten minutes following the explosion, until the fireball dissipated and the buildings near the blast point were completely engulfed in fiercely burning, inextinguishable demon flames. Only then did the crowd hear the distant wail of sirens. Some oval-shaped aircraft, flashing warning lights, raced along the steel girders of the city's ceiling towards the fire. Hao Ren stood on the balcony, gazing into the distance with his superhuman vision. He could see the situation in the explosion area: many machines were busily extinguishing the fire, and the roads near the affected area were blocked. Robots directed traffic at intersections, guiding passing vehicles to take detours. Hao Ren's attention quickly shifted from the fire to the diverted vehicles—he suddenly realized that since these vehicles were all operating under the control of a massive, unmanned system, their coordination should be seamless. So why were robots still needed to direct traffic at intersections?

Was it just the perverse taste of the city's designer (or should he be called the "watcher outside the glass house")? To simulate the appearance of human society?

"We can act tomorrow," Izhaks said, walking up behind Hao Ren and standing beside him. "Let's wait and see what changes in tomorrow's news. I want to confirm a few things."

The place had plenty of rooms, and it was easy to clean them up enough to be comfortable. Hao Ren and his party spent their first, rather uneasy, night in this bizarre city. Starting in the latter half of the night, various sirens could be heard from other districts. Izhaks' fireball had caused more of a stir than they had imagined. The next morning, Lily was complaining about not sleeping well, but to be honest, Hao Ren doubted it. Of all the people around him, anyone could have insomnia, except for this carefree husky… Did her brain structure even support such a complex symptom as insomnia?

The group whiled away the time in the Nangongs' house, paying attention to any news reports that might appear. Soon, they got what they were looking for.

The morning news began on TV. A woman in a beige jacket, with a professional smile, appeared on the screen, reading from a script with a slightly nervous expression: "...Breaking news. Last night, a particularly large-scale mysterious explosion occurred in a district of 'Shenhe Station.' Four residential buildings were completely destroyed in the explosion, and more than a dozen other buildings were burned down by the subsequent fire. The total affected area covers the entire district. After the fire department's tireless efforts throughout the night, the fire has been contained, but the flames within the affected area have not yet been extinguished..."

Lily smacked Izhaks on the back. "Big guy, you made quite a racket."

Izhaks calmly raised his chin. "Don't rush. Watch out for anything out of the ordinary."

At this moment, the TV announcer finished reading the script, and the camera suddenly panned to the side: "...We have an emergency line to the Fire Safety Director of Shenhe Station, Mr. Wayne Rome. Now, let's have Mr. Wayne Rome introduce us to the progress of the explosion investigation."

A broadcast window appeared on the screen, showing a tall, bald man: "...The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. The last image transmitted by the on-site monitoring equipment shows that the explosion appeared out of nowhere. A huge fireball first formed in the air, and then destroyed the signal at the scene..."

After Wayne Rome babbled on for a while, the camera switched again, this time showing an old, black-skinned man with gray hair. A voice-over introduced, "Loken, the governor of Shenhe Station, on the explosion incident..."

The crowd in front of the TV stared, speechless.

Izhaks turned around. "I guess the city we're in is called 'Shenhe Station.'"

Hao Ren pointed at the figures appearing on the screen, looking at the Nangong couple: "These are the governor and officials of Shenhe Station... How did this empty city suddenly get a mayor?"

Nangong Wudi opened his mouth, then waved his hand. "We've never heard of these people."

At this moment, a rustling sound suddenly came from outside the door. Everyone immediately fell silent. Lily tiptoed to open the door, and after a moment, returned to the living room with a newspaper that still smelled of fresh ink: "Today's newspaper... The front-page headline is the news of the district explosion. There's also a photo of the city's Fire Safety Director, with a caption saying that these big shots have personally gone to the scene to direct the disaster relief..."

Nangong Sanba reached out and took the newspaper, lightly touching the paper. "Freshly printed."

The crowd looked at the newspaper and TV in front of them with a creepy expression, watching the faces on the screen, depicting such a normal world—Hao Ren suddenly realized that he should revise his initial guess.

"'They' are simulating the appearance of a still-existing human society," Izhaks reached out and turned off the rather noisy TV. "'They' are forcibly pretending that this world is still alive."

Lily blinked. "'They' who?"

"We'll have to find the mastermind behind making these programs and newspapers," Hao Ren took a deep breath. "Everyone get ready, let's go make some noise."

The group was already well-coordinated. After Hao Ren made the decision, everyone prepared for action. They walked towards the door, with Nangong Wuyue walking last, turning to greet her parents: "Dad, Mom, come on, this should be your last day in this city."

The Nangong couple looked at each other, and simultaneously smiled. Nangong Wudi loudly greeted the others who had already walked out the door: "Wait a minute, let me get my old gear on!"

The Nangong couple had lived in this city for a hundred years. Originally, they had the opportunity to discover many secrets—and they themselves should have vaguely realized some of the truths about the world around them. But they were different from Hao Ren. They had no way to leave. The environment on the planet's surface was unbearable. In comparison, this bizarre, even fake, city was their only reliable and stable refuge, so they never thought about exposing anything here.

But now, a group of guys who didn't have to worry about where to go after leaving the shelter had arrived, and this fake glass house would soon have all its veils lifted.

Hao Ren took the lead, leading his little team out of the residential area in a whirlwind, walking along the avenue towards the end of the city. The lights on the city's dome were gradually lighting up, simulating the arrival of the morning sun, and more and more small robots, like citizens going to work in the morning, appeared on the streets. They continued to wipe the streetlights, clean the railings, sweep the non-existent street garbage, and check every empty trash can by the roadside, making everything seem lively and extraordinary.

The crowd walked on the city's main road, flanked by neatly arranged billboards. The screens suddenly lit up simultaneously, beginning to play a prosperous and bustling scene of peace. The laughter in the loudspeakers and the happy smiles on the displays seemed to surround this small team.

The billboards on the roadside shouted: "...The Shelter provides the most meticulous safety services for you and your family. We have dozens of kilometers of rock and steel protection, you will be far away from the cold and vacuum of the surface world, living in a safe and comfortable new paradise..."

A taxi broadcast loudly beside the group: "...Who would want to leave their safe home to venture into a place with an uncertain future? Give up these naive ideas of youthful recklessness. You can take this car to the newly built leisure plaza in the city center to spend an entire day. You will realize that it is more comfortable here than any frozen wilderness..."

A small cleaning robot circled happily around Hao Ren's feet: "Vejekari Corporation, cleaning equipment manufacturing experts, provide meticulous hygiene services for you and your beloved home—can you imagine how dirty and chaotic the world would be without Vejekari automatic equipment? You need Vejekari, you need everything here, you need a forever clean and comfortable home!"

More and more robots and vehicles appeared on the street, as if the whole world was beginning to press in on them. Hao Ren reached out and stopped a taxi next to him, leaning in and saying to the flashing lights on the car's driver's seat, "Are you willing to take us out of this city?"

The lights on the taxi's control panel immediately dimmed. "Sorry, vehicle malfunction."

Hao Ren took out his silver-white spear and sidearm from his dimensional pocket, winking at Vivian beside him. "Looks like no one's going to give us a ride."

A mighty mechanical army was gathering in front of the group.

(Power outage tomorrow during the day, update time can only be determined later =.=)