Chapter 176 The battle is over
"Control the situation?" Angers smiled coldly, his eyes still fixed on the screen, "The situation is out of our control. In the coming era, it will not be us who control the secrets, but the secrets that control us."
Everyone was silent. Norma's calm analysis and Angers' words made the atmosphere even more depressing, and the temporary command center seemed to be shrouded in a dark cloud.
"So what are our choices?" The vice-president put down the bottle in his hand, his eyes were serious for the first time. "Just wait for all the governments and non-governmental organizations to come to us? We will be thoroughly scrutinized and dissected, which means the end of the academy and the world of hybrids."
Ange took a deep breath and looked at the battle map on the table. He tapped his fingers on the location of Japan. "Since the secret can no longer be hidden, let's push the truth to everyone and declare openly that the threat of the dragon tribe has never left humans. Kassel Academy will continue to be the core of the fight against it."
"Do you want the academy to disclose the truth?" A hint of surprise flashed in Caesar's eyes. "Principal Angers, are you serious? Disclosing the truth will make us the target of public criticism!"
Ange nodded slowly. "That's right. But instead of waiting for governments to unveil the story, we should take control of the narrative." He paused and emphasized, "If the human world wants to acknowledge the existence of dragons, it must also acknowledge our role. We are not enemies, but guardians."
"This is indeed much more beneficial than passively accepting a beating." Chu Zihang whispered, his eyes still fixed on the screen, "But the premise is that we can prove that the threat of the dragon clan still exists and that only Kassel Academy can resist it."
"That's right." Ange's eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. "The White King has not been confirmed dead, but even if He is really dead, the dragon race will not perish. Those sleeping dragon kings and out-of-control hybrids will become threats in the future. We hold the only key to fight these threats - our knowledge, technology and power of the dragon race. The government cannot drop a nuclear bomb on every revived dragon king. They cannot afford such a huge loss."
Xia Mi whispered, "But if we do this, we will be at the center of the storm... Humans will not trust us, they will be afraid and will question us. More importantly, if they knew the truth that we have been hiding for so many years, I am afraid that the first one to be liquidated will be the academy."
"Humans are always afraid of the unknown." The vice-president shrugged and smiled helplessly, "But Ange is right. Instead of letting them control us with fear, we should guide them with the truth. As long as we can prove that we are on the side of humans, we can regain some of their trust."
"This is a gamble." Caesar looked at Ange, frowning, "And it's a gamble that we have no way out of. Principal Ange, are you sure this is the only option?"
Ange's eyes slowly swept over each person and finally landed on the screen. The ruins after the nuclear explosion were still burning with embers, like a microcosm of the future of mankind - dangerous and unknown.
"I have been dealing with the secrets of the dragon clan all my life," Ange said in a low and firm voice. "If someone asks me now if I have any other choice, my answer is no."
"The academy has come this far not because we have hidden secrets, but because we have faced the most horrific truth. The dragon race has never been truly defeated. The White King may be dead, but He is a warning - the future war has just begun."
"So, now we have to make a choice. Either continue to conceal it until the threat of the dragons completely destroys humans, or reveal the truth and become the shield and spear between humans and dragons." Ange's eyes swept over everyone, his tone cold and firm, "Tell me, what is your answer?"
There was silence in the command room. Caesar, Chu Zihang and Xia Mi looked at each other. Finally, Caesar spoke first: "No matter what happens in the future, the core mission of the academy has never changed - stand on the side of humanity. Since there is no way back, we must fight to the end."
Chu Zihang nodded and said in a deep voice: "I agree. Hiding will only make humans more sensitive. If this war is unavoidable, then we should put the power of the academy on the table."
"I don't want to be a coward." Finkel spread his hands and smiled indifferently, "Since we have come to this point, let's take a gamble."
The vice principal sighed softly, put the bottle of wine in his hand on the table, and said helplessly, "Well, since you little brats are working so hard, I can only join you in the fun."
Ange's eyes showed a hint of barely perceptible relief, and he nodded: "Very good."
At this moment, Norma's voice sounded again: "New vital signs detected, near the epicenter."
"Vital signs?" Ange looked up suddenly, a sharp light flashing in his eyes, "Who is it?"
Norma's answer was like a cold wind, blowing away the brief calm: "The reaction intensity is extremely high, and the specific identity cannot be determined, but according to the analysis of the dragon clan's energy fluctuations, there is a high possibility that it is the remaining spirit of the White King."
Everyone in the command room looked grim in an instant. Caesar asked in a low voice, "So, the White King is still alive?"
"It cannot be confirmed yet." Norma continued to analyze, "but based on the data, it is speculated that the White King's dragon soul may be trying to reshape its form and restore its complete life form."
"Damn it!" The vice principal cursed in a low voice, "Isn't the nuclear explosion just now enough? Why isn't this guy dead yet?"
Ange's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. He said slowly: "Prepare for battle. If the White King is really still alive, it means that we are still ignorant of the threat of the dragon clan."
Caesar clenched the gun in his hand, his eyes like blazing flames: "Since the White King won't die, let's kill him again."
Chu Zihang's hand quietly fell on the hilt of the knife, and a cold light flashed in his golden eyes: "Isn't this the meaning of the academy's existence?"
"Then, let's act." Ange drew out his folding knife and said in a voice like an order, "This is the era of mankind."
-
Aso Makoto and the other survivors only heard a loud explosion in the sky, and then the world seemed to be completely quiet. The roars of the monsters and the thunder in the sky seemed to disappear in an instant.
"It looks like daybreak outside..." A survivor watched the sunlight shine into the mall through the broken windows.
Aso Shin followed the survivor's gaze and saw that outside the broken glass window, the thick dark clouds that had covered the sky had dispersed, and rays of sunlight shone through the clouds, illuminating the ruined city with a golden glow. However, this sunlight did not make people feel warm, but instead revealed an eerie tranquility and uneasiness.
The whole city was eerily quiet. There was no roar of dragons, nor the howling of storms. There was only dust floating in the sun, gently drifting among the ruins. Aso Makoto's heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by someone. The previous second he was still feeling grateful for his luck of surviving the calamity, but at this moment he was shrouded in even deeper fear.
"It's dawn?" Aso Shin repeated in a low voice, but there was no relaxation in his eyes. Instead, there was a deep suspicion.
The survivors gathered one after another and looked out the window, their eyes filled with confusion, fear and a glimmer of hope. They had been hiding in this shattered mall for the whole day, worrying all the time that the monsters would break through the defenses and tear them to pieces. Now, everything seemed to have ended suddenly, but they did not feel the slightest bit of relief.
"Maybe... maybe the war is over?" A young man asked tremblingly, with a tentative tone in his voice, "Did the explosion just now... kill all the monsters?"
"Don't guess!" The other middle-aged man glared at him fiercely, "How can a war end so easily? Look at what the city has become? This is basically the end of the world!"
Masao took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She looked down at the old electronic watch on her wrist. The screen had become blurry due to electronic interference and had completely lost its function. He remembered the explosions before, the loud noise that seemed to tear the whole world apart and the drastic changes in the sky. Everything seemed like an incredible nightmare.
"We need to confirm the situation outside." Aso Makoto said in a low voice. Her voice was not loud, but everyone could hear it clearly.
"Go out?" A woman's eyes widened, her face full of fear. "Are you crazy? Those monsters are still outside. If we go out, we will die!"
Aso Makoto shook his head and said with a firm look: "Without confirming the situation outside, we don't know if we can survive. If the danger is still there, we must find a way to leave Tokyo. If the danger is really over, we need to find a rescue team and can't be trapped here forever." Everyone fell into a brief silence, no one objected, but their faces were still full of hesitation and fear. Aso Makoto knew that everyone, like him, had an intuition deep in their hearts - under this silent sky, there was a greater unknown hidden.
"I'll go out and explore the way first." Aso Shin broke the deadlock and picked up a steel pipe on the ground. "If it's safe outside, I'll come back to pick you up. If it's not safe... you just stay here." She did not forget her grandmother who was alone at home. She wanted to rush back to see how her grandmother was doing.
"You're alone? No!" The young man tried to stop him. "It's too dangerous. If we have to go, we should go together."
Aso Makoto shook her head, her eyes firm: "If you go out together, it will only increase the risk of exposure. Staying here is the safest option. At least you can remain silent. Listen to me and wait for me to come back." After this crisis, she also became stronger.
Her words left no one to refute. In the ruins of the apocalypse, they needed someone to decide the direction, and Aso Makoto was obviously the most suitable one.
"You must be careful..." the young man finally whispered, with mixed emotions in his eyes.
Aso nodded without saying anything more. She turned around and pushed open the door of the mall. The sunlight instantly shone on her face. She couldn't help but squint her eyes. The air outside had a burning smell, mixed with a hint of gunpowder and rust, which made people suffocate.
She carefully stepped over the threshold and walked into the street. Under her feet was a field of broken glass and burnt metal fragments. Most of the tall buildings in the distance had collapsed, as if crushed by a huge force. The devastated ruins were like a silent witness, recording the catastrophe that had just occurred.
Masao looked around and didn't see any monsters or hear any unusual sounds. She took a deep breath, held the iron pipe tightly in her hand, and continued to move forward. The sun shone on him, bringing a touch of warmth.
He felt that this catastrophe was not really over. Perhaps, this was just the beginning of something even more terrifying.
Masao walked carefully along the broken street, each step making a slight "crackling" sound on the ruins. He looked around, his hands tightly grasping the iron pipe, his body tensed like a fully drawn bowstring.
Abandoned vehicles were lying on the road in all directions, some of which had been melted by the high temperature, with blackened windows. The air was filled with the smell of burning gunpowder and a nauseating burnt odor, making it feel oppressive to breathe.
"Is this really the end?" Masao asked himself silently. His eyes swept over the completely destroyed convenience store nearby. The sign at the door of the store was hanging in the air and swaying. The shelves inside had collapsed and were covered with scattered goods.
Suddenly, her ears moved slightly - there seemed to be a strange sound mixed in the wind. She stopped, held her breath, and tried to identify the source of the sound.
It's the sound of breathing.
Aso Makoto turned around quickly, held the iron pipe across her body, and looked vigilantly in the direction where the sound came from. Her heart was beating fast, but she forced herself to remain calm.
The sound came from the back of a burnt bus. The outer shell of the bus had been melted and shattered, and the windows were shattered into sharp edges. Charred seats and scattered ashes on the ground were vaguely visible inside the bus.
She carefully walked around to the back of the bus, with the iron pipe slightly raised, ready to attack at any time. However, when she finally saw the source of the sound, she was stunned.
is a person.
It was a man covered in blood. He leaned against the back door of the bus, breathing rapidly, his chest heaving violently, as if he used up all his strength with every breath. His clothes had long been tattered, and his exposed skin was covered with hideous wounds, some of which even revealed his dark red muscles.
Masao slowly approached and tentatively called out, "Hey...are you okay?"
The man slowly raised his head, his eyes were empty and tired, but the moment he saw Aso Makoto, there was a glimmer of hope for survival in his eyes. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but his voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible.
"Help...save me..." His voice was hoarse and weak, as if he would die in the next second.
Masao hesitated for a moment, but finally took a step forward, put the iron pipe on his waist, and reached out to help him: "What's wrong with you? What happened here?"
The man did not answer, or rather, he did not have the strength to answer. His body was as heavy as a stone, and it took almost all of Asou Makoto's strength to lift him up.
Just when Aso really wanted to drag him back to the mall, the man suddenly grabbed his wrist with incredible strength. He said in a low and rapid voice: "Run... Run! It... is coming..."
"What?" Aso was stunned.
“It… is still… still looking for us…” The man’s voice grew weaker, but every word he uttered was filled with fear. “Don’t… don’t stop…”
Before he finished speaking, a deep roar came from afar. The sound seemed to come from a beast deep in hell, with a sense of oppression that made people's hair stand on end, echoing in the dead silence of the ruins.
A badly broken body of Shou came out from the side. Aso Shin retreated tremblingly. Just as Shou was about to pounce on her, a gunshot rang out and the bullet pierced Shou's head.
Aso looked blankly in the direction where the bullet came from, and found a fully armed convoy approaching from not far away. She could vaguely hear someone shouting in the car.
"Everyone start searching for survivors and treating the wounded!" Then the fully armed soldiers got off the car and entered the ruins to search.
"There are wounded people here!" A soldier came to Aso Makoto's side, saw the man lying on the ground and waved to the back. Soon a doctor in a white coat came over with a stretcher and lifted the man into the car.
Aso was staring at all this in a daze, still finding it a little unbelievable. At this moment, the display on the street lit up again, and Lu Mingfei's figure appeared on the screen, but this time he had changed into a suit.
"To all citizens, this disaster is over. In this disaster, we lost our prime minister and almost all the cabinet members. Japan is now in ruins, but this does not mean the end of hope. In order to ensure the stability and order of the country, I will temporarily take over the post of prime minister, establish a provisional government, and preside over the subsequent post-disaster reconstruction work."
"Disaster will not defeat us." Lu Mingfei finally said, "Everyone who is still standing here, please believe that today's sunshine is the beginning of rebirth."
Aso Shin turned his head and looked at the fully armed soldiers and the medical staff who were starting to carry the wounded into the car.
"Is it really over?" She whispered to herself, her eyes falling on the ruined city again. The sunlight was a little dazzling, but it could not cover up the strong smell of death and the dilapidated wreckage.
(End of this chapter)
