Chapter 1 The Ancestor Hearth

The Ancestor Hearth—this enormous and ancient machine was groaning in agony. Its surface was dark, nearly all of its heat-dissipating grilles and signal lights were dim, and a series of low, strange noises emanated from its depths, like the mournful cries of some dying monster. On its weathered shell remained the marks of the previous explosion: a conspicuous crack ran diagonally from the top of the main reactor shell, extending almost a third of the way down the Ancestor Hearth’s main body, and smoke and small-scale electric sparks continued to emerge from the crack. Something seemed to still be running in there, but in this situation, it would be more reassuring if the thing shut down completely rather than lingering on in its death throes. Hao Ren was very worried about whether it would produce another explosion.

"The core should already be shut down," the data terminal quickly scanned the energy readings inside the Ancestor Hearth, giving a slightly reassuring conclusion. "There are some residual current surges in what is suspected to be the buffer layer; it won't explode in the short term."

Hao Ren breathed a sigh of relief. He smelled a strong acrid smell in the air. At first, he thought it was the smell of the "Steel Beast Chariot's" engine finally giving out, but later he realized that it was the residual smoke from the previous explosion. Too much gas had leaked out when the giant reactor malfunctioned, and the seriously dilapidated purification pumps in the nearby shelter walls couldn't cope with the incident. Now the entire city was filled with the pungent smell of burnt chemicals.

Led by Willie and a team of Royal City soldiers, the group arrived at the capital of the Tower Kingdom. This Royal City was indeed much more magnificent and solemn than Hearthstone City, and unlike the junkyard-like outland city-states, this Royal City was clearly built with care by many craftsmen—it stood next to the Ancestor Hearth, with an ancient antenna broadcast tower, or some other kind of high tower, at its core. Around the tower, craftsmen had built a seven-story, hexagonal classical castle out of cement and steel. Bright flags fluttered on the castle, knights in shining armor stood guard, and hundreds of intact glass windows sparkled in the light. Around this castle were neat residences and wide streets. Some of these residences were slightly modified based on the original buildings of the shelter city, while others were simply built from scratch by the craftsmen. After getting rid of the problem of decorating walls with garbage and waste, these houses looked beautiful and imposing.

At least compared to other city-states.

Around the Royal City was a high city wall, which was also built with new materials—here, "new materials" referred to things other than garbage and waste. The craftsmen who built the Royal City did not know where they had gotten so much cement and new steel plates. They built the city wall solidly and beautifully, not at all like materials collected from the ruins of shelters. Perhaps the Tower Kingdom was fortunate enough to occupy an ancient building materials warehouse that had not yet been depleted?

In any case, building the Royal City would undoubtedly consume a great deal of wealth, especially in a shelter like this.

The population in the Tower Royal City was dense, far more prosperous than the other city-states in the Ark. There were well-dressed citizens and energetic knights everywhere. People walked in the streets, and all kinds of merchants and hawkers were peddling bizarre goods in the streets and alleys—mainly utensils, food, pieces of cloth, and sheets of metal that hadn't rusted. The degree of prosperity here was somewhat surprising. It was almost like a normal and prosperous medieval city-state, and there was no trace of a starship shelter—unless you looked up at the sky, where another city area was hanging upside down.

The "Steel Beast Chariot" that Hao Ren and the others had ridden on, and the "Bone Chariot" of the Iron City-State, were both stopped outside the city. Those noisy and dirty machines were not allowed to enter the city, just like some countries in ancient Earth did not allow rural mules to set foot in the Royal City.

"Among the Four Kingdoms of the world, only the capital of the Tower Kingdom is so close to the Ancestor Hearth," Willie proudly introduced the capital of his country to Hao Ren. "According to legend, the Tower Capital 'Hearthstone Fortress' was the first human city-state at the beginning of the world's creation. God created mankind in this place and allowed mankind to live in the city. The watchtower at the top of Hearthstone Fortress is level with the first ring of the Ancestor Hearth, which is the stairway to the spirit of the Ancestor. Everyone who dies in this world must pass through that first ring to enter the Hearth and be reborn as part of the world. The Tower Kingdom is closest to the principles of the world's cycle because it possesses that tower. No matter how tragic the conflicts between the Four Kingdoms are, this great city has never fallen."

The tower that Willie pointed to was the spire at the top of the castle in the center of the Royal City. It was still topped with an antenna transmitter that was tens of thousands of years old. The name of the Tower Kingdom may have come from this tower, while the so-called "first ring" was the outermost circle of steel structure of the core reactor, which should have been the reactor's condensing component. In the eyes of the locals, this complex and sophisticated ring had an extraordinary meaning.

"So the scholars of the Four Kingdoms have to gather in the royal capital of the Tower Kingdom when discussing issues related to the Ancestor Hearth?" Vivian felt this was incredible. "Aren't you all enemies of each other? The people of the other three countries just come to the enemy's capital for meetings like this? And you let them in?"

"This is an ancient and sacred covenant," Willie said solemnly. "No one dares to violate the covenant under the Ancestor Hearth. During the ceasefire, no one is allowed to kill or shed blood in Hearthstone Fortress."

Scholar Ouluo explained this issue from a historical perspective: "The Tower Kingdom is the descendant of the royal family of the First Dynasty in ancient times. Although that dynasty has disintegrated, the bloodline of the royal descendants is beyond doubt. The Tower Kingdom has always been the orthodoxy of this world, while the other three kingdoms are just lost people who were separated due to curses. When a crisis involving the foundation of the world appears, all kingdoms must put aside their disputes and re-discuss matters before the throne of the only true king. This is a must."

Lily was particularly interested in such gossip: "The Tower Kingdom is the orthodox descendant of the original royal family? What about the other countries?"

"The ancestors of the Iron City-State were mechanics, the Free City-State inherited from civilians, merchants, and craftsmen, and the Star Fortress is the descendants of a group of scholars," Scholar Ouluo said slowly. "That's how it's recorded in the history books."

"What a strange society," Nangong Wuyue stuck out her tongue. She saw a group of flamboyantly dressed people with painted faces and artificial leather on their backs walking noisily from the other side of the street, and couldn't help but be a little surprised. "Aren't those the 'vagrants' we saw on the road before? They've also entered the city?"

"No, they are scholars and soldiers from the Free City-State," Scholar Ouluo explained. "The people of the Free City-State do look a bit like the wanderers in the wilderness. In fact, people often confuse the two because they really have an ambiguous relationship. But the Free City-State is still considered one of the Four Kingdoms. Their capital is built on the Bulong Highlands on the other side of the world. Half of the leather and cloth in this world are produced from the synthetic factories there."

Although the Tower Kingdom occupied a "God-given land" next to the Ancestor Hearth, the capitals of the other three kingdoms also had their own unshakable status. The capital of the Free City-State controlled the lifeline of cold-weather supplies on the other side of the world, while the capital of the Iron City-State was a key hub called the "Mechanical Core." From Ouluo's description, Hao Ren judged that it was probably the material recovery and recycling center of the intra-ship city. The Star Fortress, as the smallest of the Four Kingdoms, was the location of the Tower of Knowledge. It cultivated generations of intellectuals, representing the mysteries and wisdom of this world. In the disputes between the Four Kingdoms, the Star Fortress could almost maintain its neutral position based on this point.

The four kingdoms, crowded in a closed world one hundred kilometers long, were intertwined with each other, and their forces were intertwined, forming a bizarre and complex situation. It was difficult to explain how they had formed this situation in hundreds to a thousand years, but Hao Ren believed that any smart sociologist would be at a loss after coming to this shelter ark: here was a crazy social model, and logic and common sense were almost gone.

"Then what should we do?" Nangong Sanba asked curiously. "When are you planning to investigate the situation of the Ancestor Hearth?"

"All scholars must go to the castle to meet the king and discuss the matter," Scholar Ouluo raised his finger and pointed to the castle in the distance. "You can wait in the city. Willie knows where to go."

Some royal city knights came over from the direction of the castle. They were specially there to receive scholars gathering from all over the world. Ouluo left under the leadership of these soldiers, leaving Hao Ren and his group and Willie in place.

"I know where the hostel is," Willie shook a small badge hanging on his chest. "The emblem of Hearthstone City can get us each a room. Let's rest for one night first. It's too late today, and the scholars probably won't be back until tomorrow."

Vivian suddenly looked up at the Ancestor Hearth, looking at those dimmed heat-dissipating grilles and coil pipes, and her brow gradually furrowed.

Hao Ren noticed this: "What's wrong?"

"I suddenly heard just now..." Vivian continued to frown. "It seems like something over there is calling me."