Chapter Eighteen: Fragments of the Past

Ye Ling scratched her head as she watched Vladimir draw a circle on the blackboard. “This is our Earth,” he said. Then, next to it, he drew a smaller circle. “This is called the ‘Dark Side’.” Ye Ling raised her hand. Vladimir, holding a piece of chalk, pointed at her. “Alright, Ye Ling, what’s your question?”

“First, why am I here? Second, what exactly are you going to tell me? And third, what on earth is the Dark Side?” Ye Ling rubbed her forehead helplessly. It had already been several days since she’d returned from the City of Fantasies. If it weren’t for the fact that she could leap barefoot to the third floor or sprint a hundred meters in under five seconds, she would have thought her previous experiences were nothing but a ridiculous dream.

Indeed, her display of abilities during the playground tests had been witnessed by her counselor. Then, that guy had been dragged off by Xie Liu and subjected to half an hour of high-voltage shocks until his memory was completely wiped. This, indirectly, confirmed that Ye Ling’s decision not to erase her own memory back then was absolutely the right choice.

“Good, Ye Ling, those are all excellent questions.” Vladimir pushed his sunglasses up his nose. “Let’s tackle them one at a time. First, you’re currently in a concealed space I developed, which is also connected to your dormitory. From now on, this will be our place for discussion and training. Of course, don’t get too rough—if you destroy this space, you couldn’t possibly afford to pay for it. As for why you’re here, we need to give you some ideological education.”

“Huh?” Ye Ling curled her lip in a look of utter disdain.

“As for your second question, we’re here to clarify certain settings for you so that the readers don’t get confused.”

“What?” Ye Ling stared in disbelief. Realizing he’d overstepped, Vladimir quickly coughed a few times. “Ahem, never mind that. I strayed from the script. Back to the topic. You know almost nothing about our current world, so I’ll explain it in detail. Readers, please pay attention—ah, there I go again. Now, what was your third question?”

“What is the Dark Side?” Xie Liu, sitting cross-legged behind Ye Ling like an innocent schoolboy, raised his hand. Then he realized something. “Wait, why am I here too?”

“You’re just here to fill out the scene. Xie Liu, please sit down. Ye Ling, go ahead.” Vladimir said unhurriedly.

“Can you just talk properly?” Ye Ling said, her face darkening.

“Alright. The Dark Side.” Ignoring Ye Ling’s expression, Vladimir held up a finger and walked to his right, where a small experimental table came into view. “Imagine a balance scale. Yes, just like this one.” He pointed to a small tin scale on the table. “This scale is extremely precise and stable—at least for now.” As he finished, he placed a cotton ball the size of his palm on the left side, causing the scale to tip left.

“Suppose this cotton ball is Earth, with all its mass. Clearly, the scale tips down. If I want the scale to balance, what should I do?”

“Put something of equal mass on the other side,” Ye Ling replied.

Vladimir gave her a thumbs-up. “Very smart, I like that. Exactly, you add something—but it doesn’t have to be another cotton ball.” He took a small iron bead from a box and placed it on the right side. The scale slowly returned to balance.

“If the cotton ball is Earth, then the iron bead is the Dark Side,” Vladimir explained. “Yes, the Dark Side is a planet made up of substances we can’t even begin to describe. It appears to have mass equivalent to Earth, but its diameter isn’t even one-tenth of Earth’s. All substances from the Dark Side have unimaginable density and properties beyond our comprehension.”

“Our research into the Dark Side is severely limited. The gravity on its surface is hundreds of times that of Earth’s. We can’t even escape its surface. The laws of space and time don’t apply there. We can’t even study what kind of space the planet exists in—just overcoming its gravity stretches our abilities to the breaking point.” Vladimir pointed at Xie Liu. “Take out your little treasure.”

Xie Liu’s eyebrow twitched, but he reached into his pocket and produced a pitch-black bullet.

“This bullet’s casing is made from Dark Side metal, only seven nanometers thick, yet it can withstand a nuclear explosion. So, instead of regular gunpowder, its core is filled with nuclear fuel. After being fired, it ignites again for a second acceleration—the power should be enough to sink an aircraft carrier.” Vladimir explained, while Ye Ling stared in astonishment at the unremarkable bullet.

“This metal is so hard that no physical method can process it. Each bullet must be assembled atom by atom at the crystalline level. Even the patterns on the surface are calculated during atomic arrangement. You can imagine, a single research institute takes a whole year to produce one batch, and each batch is never more than a hundred bullets. The cost? Twenty million merit points.” Vladimir handed the bullet back to Xie Liu. “That’s their trump card.”

“Now do you understand the significance of the Dark Side for us?” Vladimir went on. “We haven’t ventured into space because we haven’t figured out the Dark Side. Even with the City’s technology, it would take a very long time to study it.”

“I see. But, the City of Fantasies you keep mentioning—is that the underwater city I saw?” Ye Ling asked.

Vladimir nodded. “More or less. That’s the main body of the City. But there are branches across the world—not as grand, but essential for the City’s operation. They keep things running.”

“The City of Fantasies was founded in the eleventh century. Its purpose was to create an ideal haven for free development. For a thousand years, all resources have been devoted to science. Of course, we differ from the outside world in some ways. For instance, the physics formulas you’re familiar with are expressed differently here, though the principles are the same.” Vladimir returned from the experiment table. “We’ve been on the scientific path much longer than humanity outside. Their current technology is about where ours was five hundred years ago.”

“About three hundred years ago, we relocated from the mountains of Central Asia and spent seventeen years building the city under the Bermuda Sea. Our technology was immature then, and there were many problems, but in the end, we succeeded and moved the entire city. That’s the City of Fantasies you saw.” Vladimir pointed at the moving photos on the wall.

“Last time, I only showed you the core area. In fact, the City is divided into five layers. The first is the outer artificial planetary ecosystem, which contains every terrestrial ecosystem and regulates the city’s climate. It’s also a vacation paradise.

The second layer is the green belt and industrial zone, gathering all the City’s factories and serving as parks as well.

The third is the residential area—obviously for living. It’s divided into ordinary and student zones. Every child over twelve has to move out of their parents’ home and live in the student zone, which borders the Academy District within the inner commercial area.

The fourth layer is the commercial area, split into four parts: North Business District, South Business District, Western Academy City next to the student zone, and the Eastern Quarantine Zone, which connects to the Dark Side. There are two layers of reinforced glass for protection, and very few have clearance to enter.

The last layer you’ve already seen, so I won’t repeat myself.

The City’s upper echelons are split into two main bodies: the military and the Council.

The Council usually has twelve Chairmen and over a hundred councilors. The military is separate, but major decisions require Council approval. The Chairmen hold immense power—I am one of the twelve.”

“So you’re pretty high up, then,” Ye Ling remarked, eyeing the young man with curiosity.

Vladimir shook his head and continued, “The military is divided into three branches. The first and oldest is the City Guard—well-trained, responsible for public safety, and capable of joining battles if needed.

After the Evolution War, we founded a professional army—the United Strike Force. It’s the City’s strongest power and commands the most advanced weaponry. The space battleship you saw earlier belongs to them.

Finally, there’s the Hunting Squad, Xie Liu and his group. Originally formed to counter the Special Alliance’s special forces, it evolved into the current Hunters’ Guild—a sort of union. Members are all called Hunters, taking on commissions and completing missions. Besides that, there are seventeen Council-direct Hunting Squads, specifically targeting the Special Alliance’s special forces. Now, you’re part of my direct squad, the Doom Squad. Any other questions?”

“What’s this ‘Special Alliance’ then?” Ye Ling raised her hand again.

Vladimir laughed. “At last, the most important topic! Alright, kids, take out your notebooks—this will be on the test.” Ye Ling gave up on trying to drag Vladimir back to normal conversation and said, exasperated, “Just go on.”

“The birth of the Special Alliance stems from the Human Evolution Project. After we moved under the sea, a new problem arose: though our technology advanced rapidly, humanity itself barely evolved. Natural evolution was too slow, so we decided to use science to accelerate it.

There were many research directions, but in the end, we settled on ‘Limit Development’ and the ‘Superpower Project’—improving physical fitness on one hand, and developing superpowers on the other. Both were successful. However, another faction of scientists, those working on Mechanical and Genetic Modification, were dissatisfied and rebelled when the city set its course. We call that incident the Evolution War. The result was the city splitting in two: the rebels took many northern branches and seceded, forming the Special Alliance, dedicated to mechanical and genetic transformation of humanity. The two forces are now enemies.”

“At present, the City has one main city, twenty-six branches, and a total population of sixty-four million, sixty percent of whom live in the main city. As for the City’s wealth,” Vladimir smiled slightly, “the average annual output exceeds the rest of the world by dozens of times—not counting the added value of high-tech products.”

“So, it seems we’re just insignificant ants in this vast machine?” Ye Ling asked in surprise.

Vladimir nodded. “Don’t worry about that. The City is so vast, even I don’t know everything. Just focus on your own role. For now, your task is simple: go back to school and attend your classes.”

Ye Ling sighed, realizing any further questions were pointless, and she now understood her mission. “Then I’ll be going. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

With that, she turned and stepped into the glowing portal behind her.

“Hey, wait, that portal’s not fixed yet—there’s a—” Vladimir shouted.

A scream echoed from Ye Ling. Vladimir’s expression froze.

“A giant pit…” he finished, belatedly.

Then they heard Ye Ling roar, “I’m not done with you all!”