Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 274 One Month Before the End of the World
"Citizens of the Empire, please remain calm... please...%*$# (mechanical noise)"

"Die, you tin can! We want to live! We want to survive..."

"Da da da da..."

"Believers, descendants of the serpent, the Father of the Serpent is coming soon! Those hypocritical imperial bureaucrats cannot stop us..."

(Screams, hurried footsteps, gunshots, explosions...)

"..."

After a long while, amidst the devastated city ruins, flesh and blood mingled with broken machinery, and some survivors groaned behind cover and in corners, the autonomous machines that arrived one after another silently cleared the rubble and treated the wounded. The once chaotic stronghold returned to calm once more... at least for the time being.

Hasegawa looked indifferently at everything in front of her, her heart unmoved. She simply reset her weapon and adjusted it to a ready state.

It was just another ordinary day. Desperate rioters tried to steal tickets and smuggle themselves onto the ship, but as a member of the police department, Hasegawa had to stop them from having any hope of survival, simply because there weren't enough tickets.

When night falls, countless people will surely lick their wounds from the day and mention his name through gritted teeth.

Hasegawa looked on expressionlessly.

Such scenes are commonplace in RimWorld at this moment.

Once, the Ringworld was the pride of all humanity in the Milky Way, with over 80% of humankind living on this giant ring-shaped world. But it is no longer so.

With the approach of the "stars," humanity's fear grows stronger every day.

Every day, hundreds of millions of spaceships travel between Ringworld and other planets, and every day, trillions of humans flee Ringworld for other planets. In the starry sky, countless reinforcements are desperately trying to intercept "Star," trying to slow its progress, even by a minute, even by a second, which would be enough to save millions of lives.

But the "star" never stops; it never stops except to feed.

Above the blue sky surrounding the world, the "stars" are growing larger every day. A year ago, it was just a white dot next to the blue giant star Sommer, almost invisible if you weren't paying attention; but now, that huge white dot is so prominent next to the blue star.

Everyone wants to escape, but only a minority can actually do so.

Every day, trillions of humans fleeing the Ringworld are enough to fill a high-quality administrative planet, but for this Ringworld, which has 200 trillion trillion, trillions are just a drop in the ocean.

With just a ticket, even the most revered and arrogant imperial nobles will fawn over you; the most celestial ladies, worshipped and admired by billions, will abandon their reserve and shed their clothes like the lowest prostitutes…

Power, wealth, beauty, wisdom...

All these things that were once revered paled in comparison to this ticket to survival. On the eve of the apocalypse, the entire circular world descended into hysterical madness.

The end of the world has not yet come, but the empire is already struggling to survive.

Silently gazing at the city ruins before her, Hasegawa raised her head.

Looking up, beyond the endless clusters of aerial cities and the faintly visible clouds, the enormous, magnificent blue giant star is clearly visible amidst the cities and floating islands, and beside the blue giant star Sumer, a shining "star" is clearly visible.

There are 30 days left until the end of the world.

……

The streets were deserted, with hardly anyone in sight. There were no shuttles flying in the air, no pedestrians on the ground, and only a few automated machines were still running, maintaining a meager amount of order.

Three months ago, commercial activities had essentially ceased, replaced by military control and stay-at-home orders. People were no longer allowed to move freely and were instead spending their last moments at home. Although the empire consistently denied the apocalypse, the slogan "Enjoy the last moments before the end" had already appeared on various social media platforms.

An atmosphere of despair permeated the entire Ringworld.

Hasegawa walked towards the police station, where there were even fewer people than before, except for Jerome and another young girl. Jerome, as always, floated in the zero-gravity spherical cabin, listlessly blowing bubbles.

"Chief, Hemnom has resigned. He said he didn't want to die a virgin and went off to party. Now there are only the three of us left in the entire police department."

Jerome raised his hand listlessly, then said lazily.

The man paused slightly. Hemnom? In Hasegawa's memory, he was originally a very shy and bashful boy who loved to laugh, but under long-term pressure, his face had basically lost its smile and he was now melancholy.

I was thinking of letting him relax a bit yesterday, but I never expected this to happen today...

Despite the turmoil in her heart, Hasegawa remained expressionless, simply nodding calmly before taking her seat.

For a moment, the three of them were speechless.

After a while, the girl seemed unable to stand the dull atmosphere and took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Director, it seems you weren't a resident of RimWorld before, were you? Why did you come to RimWorld later?"

RimWorld, five thousand years ago, or even two thousand years ago, was a dream that everyone in the entire galaxy yearned for. But now it's a prison that everyone in the galaxy wants to escape. Hasegawa is only thirty years old, so why has she come to RimWorld, a place mired in despair?

Jerome remained listless and unmotivated, his back to the two, but his slightly open eyes indicated that he was also quite interested in the matter.

Hasegawa did not answer immediately, but paused for a moment before speaking slowly.

"My mother brought me here."

"She said that my ancestors lived in this administrative region a long time ago, and later went to other planets to multiply. Shortly after I was born, she brought me to the Ringworld in the hope of tracing the memories of my ancestors' lives... at least that's what she told me."

Hasegawa spoke calmly, but the girl was taken aback.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help but speak.

"Chief, in my opinion, your mother... is utterly unfit to be a mother. Everyone wants to escape this prison, yet your mother pushed you into this inferno with her own hands. It's truly... truly..."

She hesitated, unable to continue. In the end, she could only shake her head, her face etched with sadness, as if unwilling to admit it.

“If it were me… I would never let my family come here, never.”

But Hasegawa simply shook her head.

"No, she was a very good person, gentle and kind. Perhaps she had her own special reasons. But in any case, I have no way of knowing now."

The man's psychic energy fluctuations were very calm, without any resentment or bitterness.

Then, he looked up at the young girl.

"And you, Fafachip, tell us your story."

Fafachipu gave a bitter smile.

"Me? I don't have much of a story. My ancestors settled here in the early days of RimWorld, and then it was just a series of mundane and boring stories until I was born... when that star was already clearly visible."

The girl murmured to herself, lost in her memories.

“Sometimes I really think, why did they bring me into this world? If I had never been born, I wouldn’t have to endure this torment and suffering… Every now and then, I would wake up from that nightmare, but many times, I really wish I could just stay in that nightmare so I could wake up and not have to wait for death.”

Her voice gradually faded.

Although she is more optimistic than most people, she is currently in a state of uncertainty and unease.

"Jerome, what about you?"

When questioned by the man, Jerome kept his back to the two men, remained silent for a while, and then snorted.

"Hmph, just like her."

It was clear that Jerome was unwilling to talk about his story.

The man didn't press further; if his friend didn't want to talk about it, then so be it.

……

The man fell asleep at night.

Without the restraint of reason, all sorts of strange dreams surfaced in his mind.

He dreamt of a group of primitive people clad in animal skins, raising spears and roaring as they charged at the giant serpent considered the "Huhu Lugu God"; he dreamt of a family huddled together, shivering in a stormy water world, gazing fearfully at the gloomy sky above, as if in terror, while a gentle phantom opened her arms, embracing her descendants; he dreamt of people crawling on a beach stained with blood, finally being held to the head by a man with a gun, exchanging a few words before being suddenly shot through the skull by the man's pistol…

In the universe, the venerable emperor opens his eyes, galaxies swirl before him, and planets crumble before his eyes; in another dimension, abandoned monsters of the old world lurk in the shadows, trillions of pupils fixed on the laughing present, stirring with restless intent…

All sorts of incomprehensible and indescribable dreams come and go.

These bizarre dreams have haunted him since childhood, but he has now learned how to ignore them.

But the dream kept changing, and eventually he arrived at a scene he had never seen before.

……

Tall wooden tables and chairs, tall houses, tall people... everything was so huge that it felt like I had wandered into a land of giants.

Not far away, the 'mother' was talking to a person who looked nervous.

“Witch…Lord Morogara…death…must be escaped…hope…”

The voices were muffled when they reached my ears; I could only vaguely make out some strange words. As the conversation continued, the 'mother's' face grew paler and paler.

Eventually, the other party left, and the 'mother' stood there dejectedly.

"Mommy, hug me..."

He spoke unclearly.

Hearing the sound, 'Mother' turned around, then bent down and hugged herself tightly, and then said some things that she couldn't understand.

"...Galo, you must live on...and wait for the day when fate turns..."

As she spoke, the 'mother' let go of her.

At this moment, she looked at her face, which was covered with tears, but while crying, she also showed a sad smile.

"One day, one day..."

The voice faded into the distance, only the lips moving, making the unfinished words seem indistinct. But for some reason, an intangible feeling arose within, a vague awareness that the unspoken words were extremely important. What could it be?

I tried hard to listen, and then I thought I understood.

"One day, you will become the savior."

……

TVIK-6395465 District, no incidents today.

There are 30 days left until the end of the world.

(End of this chapter)