Book 2: Chapter 27 - Act Solo
Love Code At the End of The World
“How about junior high maths?” I decided to go down by one level.
Another book appeared in front of me. When I flipped it open, I was relieved to see the geometry I was familiar with. Evidently, the people in this world had higher IQ than the world I’d come from. Judging from Silver Moon City alone, their technology was far ahead of ours.
I read the book in silence as Harry slept. For a long time, the entire cabin was enveloped in silence. It was so quiet that I almost forgot that Harry was there. This was the quietest he’d ever been since I got to know him.
“Incoming signal connection,” Ice Dragon reported. Then, Raffles appeared on the screen before me; he looked excited to see me. “Signal connection succeeded!” He looked to the side. It seemed that there were other people next to him. Then, Uncle Mason moved into sight and stood next to Raffles.
Uncle Mason looked at me, then his face grew grave when he didn’t see Harry, “Where’s Harry?!”
“Sleeping.”
“What?! Wake him up for me!” Uncle Mason roared in anger.
I looked to the side but Harry hadn’t moved an inch. I looked at Uncle Mason and said, “It’s okay. Nothing happened. Harry said to wake him up when we arrive.”
Uncle Mason looked gloomy.
Raffles looked at him. “Uncle Mason, I need to check some data with Luo Bing.”
Uncle Mason grumpily exited the screen. Suddenly, he popped his head in again and shouted, “Tell him to contact me when he wakes up!”
“Yes!” I got a shock. Uncle Mason was like an angry lion when he was pissed off.
Raffles had already taken out his booklet and was facing me solemnly, “Luo Bing, this is the first time Ice Dragon is going on a mission. Data collection is very important for me, so please share with me Ice Dragon’s data at all times.”
“Alright, Ice Dragon, you heard Raffles.”
“Preparing to share data. Data sharing begins.” The data in front of me began to transfer while Raffles looked to the side, probably at another screen that displayed the transferred data.
“Luo Bing, we are entering Kro,” Ice Dragon said.
“What? So fast!” I looked to the front in shock as Ice Dragon gradually descended. After we left the clouds, I saw the barren land. This land was different from the crimson land I’d seen previously. It was pale in color and looked like it was covered by a layer of salt. Regardless of its color, there was nothing else in sight. There were no plants nor water. It felt like we were flying above a sea of snow.
“You should be at the radiation border of Kro…” Raffles seemed to be even more excited than I was. “The radiation should be at level three now. Ice Dragon’s radiation resistance is at level six. According to the previous scouting, there should be a forest in the level six zone…”
There’s a forest!
“However, the trees in the forest are mutated due to radiation. They-”
Suddenly, Raffles’s screen got cut off. I was stunned. Ice Dragon appeared before me and pointed next to me carefully. I looked to the side and saw that Harry had sat up and was staring straight ahead. “So noisy. Pay attention when you are on a mission! No one sent you here to chat!” He humphed, not looking at me.
I looked at him and my expression darkened, “Harry, shouldn’t we talk? You are affecting the mission.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I want to focus on the mission.”
“What are you throwing a tantrum for? If it’s about the punch this morning, I can apologize to you. Just please don’t come so close to me next time.”
Harry continued to look in front of him. “Switch to manual.” He took over Ice Dragon’s navigation and ignored me.
I was pissed off too because I’d already taken the initiative to apologize, yet he persisted in his stubborn behavior. He was simply being ridiculous.
“Entering level four radiation zone…” Ice Dragon reminded. I became nervous and didn’t care about Harry anymore. The mission was more important!
The white ground in front of us faded and black soil came into sight. Patches of withered grass were scattered here and there. Arsenal had mentioned that the plants in the radiation zone were all evolved. Those that couldn’t adapt would be killed by radiation, and those that survived would be genetically mutated. Hence, even if there were fruits, they couldn’t be eaten.
“Entering level five radiation zone…”
A glaring light appeared in front. As we flew closer, I could see a huge body of water! It was simply unbelievable that this was a radiation zone where humans couldn’t live, because there was both water and plants. Everything looked so harmless and inviting.
“Entering level six radiation zone…” Finally, we’re entering level six radiation zone. I can see a patch of green coming into view. There are trees! It is really a forest!
Although the forest in front wasn’t as dense as the forest in my world, and the trees looked extremely eerie with branches spread out like sharp claws and roots bulging and coiled up like piles of black snakes, at least they were trees.
“Prepare for cabin segregation,” Harry suddenly said.
I immediately looked at him. What segregation?
Just then, my seat started moving backward, leaving its original spot as I was moved back and away from Harry’s seat. A transparent door extended from the floor and across the entire cockpit, sealing it off.
My seat continued to move backward, and another isolation door rose up in front of me. After three isolation doors, *bang!* My seat steadily fastened itself to the floor. Then, both sides of the cabin opened up and sunlight poured in from above. I was exposed to the outside world!
*Crack.* The piece of floor under my feet separated from the cockpit in front of me, as I continued to move backward, going further and further away from Harry. From start to end, Harry only looked in front of him. The white cabin door closed, and I turned to look behind me. My miniature cockpit had connected to the storage cabin. The walls of the oval storage cabin stretched around my seat, forming a new smaller spaceship.
I looked to the front again as my cockpit was engulfed by the storage cabin and the main cockpit closed before me. The very second before it closed, Harry quickly glanced back at me. When our eyes met, I glimpsed concern and annoyance in his eyes. Seeing me looking at him, he creased his eyebrows and looked away. Then, he turned his back on me again, without even explaining to me the ongoing situation!
“Luo Bing.” Ice Dragon’s face appeared in front of me again. “From now onwards, you act solo.”
“Yes.” Ice Dragon could only resist level six radiation. In other words, Harry would be in danger if they went further in. Hence from here on, I had to drive into the center of the radiation zone to look for resources alone.