Irreversibility

Evacuation!

The hall fell into silence, with only War Angel, Bluesea, and the heads of the other two resident teams exchanging glances.

It could be said that for those present, tonight’s mood was truly like a roller coaster.

First, the discovery that the Zero City system was directly in hibernation, all programs out of control, everyone almost facing the crisis of being trapped to death in Zero City. Then, inexplicably, Zero City woke up on its own, and everything returned to normal.

But before anyone could start to rejoice, it was discovered that the “external passage program” that had always guarded Zero City had inexplicably disappeared.

This sanctuary that everyone considered safe suddenly became an undefended city.

The ups and downs of life are truly too thrilling…

“This is of great significance.”

“Yes, I believe we must wait for all the elder members to gather before making a decision.”

“Evacuation requires a plan; we still have a large number of equipment and supplies in our workshop.”

“If evacuation is necessary, the transfer of supplies will require a lot of transportation capacity, which needs to be allocated.”

“At this point, no one knows if this decision is right or wrong; I believe it must be a collective decision.”

Except for Bluesea, the key figures of the other two teams present were whispering to each other.

Just as the heads were exchanging glances back and forth.

Suddenly, the person from the reporting Angel Corps couldn’t help but growl softly, “What are you waiting for!”

“?” Everyone looked unexpectedly at this minor character.

This minor character’s face turned pale, clenching his fists tightly, his eyes filled with anger as he swept his gaze over Bluesea and the leaders of the two resident teams.

At this moment, this minor character from the Angel Corps seemed completely unafraid of the authority of the heads before him, suddenly using all his strength to shout, “Normally, the elders procrastinate and play bureaucratic games, which is tolerable. But now, it’s a matter of life and death. Are you still playing that boring and disgusting game of power balance?!”

“Hey! What did you say!” Next to the leader in the white mage robe, a bearded man angrily shouted, “Who do you think you are! How dare you speak to the elders like that!”

This bearded man was wearing a leather vest with two iron forks strapped to his back, and a large revolver hanging from his waist.

The members of the other teams also looked at this minor character from the Angel Corps with dissatisfaction.

Despite being stared at by everyone, this minor character showed no fear. Suddenly, he grabbed the Angel Corps hat on his head and slammed it fiercely on the table.

He roared in anger!

“Isn’t what I said the truth?!! Over the past three years, the elders have been controlled by you people, and the efficiency of our work has been slowing down!! A request for maintenance of a backup ecological recycling system was delayed for half a year!! Last year, we calculated the surplus energy of Zero City and proposed four plans for resource utilization, which were submitted to the elders. What was the result? For six months, you argued endlessly over how to allocate it!! Last month, because of the Blood Verdict, you suspended all proposals! The automatic defense weapon system of Zero City is supposed to be maintained every six months! You took forty-one days to respond!! The backup energy system’s mainframe has been operating past its service life by four months, and you are still arguing over how many resources each household should contribute!!

Enough! Enough!! Enough, damn it!!

You are not worthy of being the elders of Zero City! You are just a bunch of selfish individuals, only seeking profit for your own small teams, without caring about the welfare of Zero City! Shameful bureaucrats! Politicians!”

War Angel suddenly spoke in a low voice, “Gibbs!!”

The minor character trembled, turning back to look at his leader.

“Mr. Gibbs, mind your position and your words!”

“Sir,” the minor character named Gibbs seemed to have thrown caution to the wind, as he looked up at War Angel. “I know what I’m doing. It’s just that, at this point, they are still hesitating. Still shirking responsibility, still calculating the interests of their own small teams? A bunch of clueless fools!”

Gibbs sneered, pointing at the door. “Are you still concerned about the transfer of materials and property in your team’s private warehouses and factories?

Let me tell you what reality is!

Reality is, our ‘door’ is now wide open! Zero City no longer protects the coordinates of the door! In the past, with Zero City’s protection, the coordinates of the door on the other side of the outside world were randomly shifting, making it difficult for enemies to locate our door accurately!

But now it’s different! Without Zero City’s protection of the door, the coordinates of the door are no longer randomly changing. At this moment, in that segment of the outside world, the door is fixed at a certain area, at a certain coordinate! It’s fixed in place!

Our enemies will quickly find it, and then attack from the outside!

There will be countless electronic guards, and the main system will mobilize all possible resources to attack us!

And you are still considering the petty interests of your own teams?!

Ridiculous!”

At this point, Gibbs snorted and turned to War Angel, straightening up and performing a salute. “Sir, I have said what I needed to say. If you wish to discipline me, I accept it.”

War Angel glanced deeply at Gibbs. “Gibbs, from now on, you are suspended indefinitely. This is the punishment for your disrespectful remarks and lack of respect towards the members of the elders. Now, you may leave.”

Upon hearing War Angel’s words, the bearded man grunted in dissatisfaction, but the white-robed mage, the Guild Leader next to him, shook his head and gave him a glance, silencing the bearded man.

“Yes, sir, I will leave now.”

Gibbs nodded and strode towards the door. When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned back, and glanced at War Angel. “Sir, my final suggestion… leave! Everyone should leave Zero City as soon as possible. The sooner, the better. Take as many as you can!”

With that, he glanced at the members of the resident teams and said coldly, “I don’t care what you do, but I will immediately go back, take my loved ones, and leave as quickly as possible.”

Finishing his words, Gibbs stormed out of the door without looking back.

Before leaving, he tore off the Angel Corps badge pinned to his chest and handed it to a colleague from the Angel Corps at the door, whispering, “Leave as soon as you can!”

…

The atmosphere in the hall was exceptionally awkward, with all the members of the Angel Corps looking up at their leader, War Angel.

War Angel’s gaze turned to Bluesea and the other Guild Leaders.

“What do you suggest?”

No one spoke.

There seemed to be a dim light in War Angel’s eyes, a deep sense of disappointment evident. He shook his head.

At that moment, Bluesea suddenly spoke up.

“I’ve decided to evacuate.”

“Bluesea, the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild has no right to make such a decision alone. Zero City is not solely under the authority of your Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild,” a member of a resident team said coldly.

Bluesea glanced at him. “I have no intention of being your leader. I am only the leader of the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild. If you want to stay here for the meeting and continue to discuss, feel free. I’m just saying that the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild will immediately carry out the evacuation. As the leader, I have the authority to decide for my own team.”

With that, Bluesea suddenly turned around, grabbing Chen Xiaolian’s arm and pulling him towards the door. When the members of the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild saw their leader leaving, they quickly followed suit.

The hall suddenly had fewer people.

“Bastard!!”

“Hmph!”

“He doesn’t even respect the elders.”

War Angel glanced at these people, sighed suddenly, and whispered to a deputy beside him, “Angel Corps, all combat personnel, enter emergency combat readiness, open the arsenal, everyone take up their positions for battle!”

Pausing for a moment, War Angel quickly added, “Send a team to evacuate all foreign personnel from the city, demand that they leave Zero City immediately through the main channel in the central area! The sooner, the better! If anyone has doubts or refuses, I authorize you to use force… no, forget it, don’t use force. Let those willing to leave go, don’t waste time on those who don’t want to leave. Now… execute!”

“Yes!”

His deputy straightened up and quickly left the hall.

“Gentlemen,” War Angel looked at the members of the other teams, “you have the right to continue discussing, but the Angel Corps will independently carry out the evacuation. Whether your team members leave or not is up to you.”

“War Angel! According to the rules of Zero City, only the elders have the right to make such decisions! Evacuating the entire city… is the Angel Corps trying to override the authority of the elders?”

“Well said! Even if there really is an invasion from outside, are we going to abandon Zero City, our home? We have great power, generations have worked hard to build Zero City over the years! With a few resident teams plus the strength of the Angel Corps, can’t we protect our home?”

But War Angel seemed too lazy to argue with these people.

He had already walked to the front of the table, suddenly picked up the hat left by Gibbs, and toyed with it in his hand, saying indifferently, “You have the right to protest, but gentlemen, please don’t forget! The Angel Corps has never been under the command of the elders! I order the evacuation, and you can impeach me in the elders’ council, so… you can continue your meeting!”

With that, War Angel shouted to his people, “Let’s go, we are no longer needed here! The system has returned to normal, everyone evacuate, and everyone take up their positions for battle, including civilian personnel!”

War Angel led the Angel Corps out, leaving the hall empty, with only a few dozen people from the two remaining teams.

These people were full of anger, with only three or four Guild Leaders and deputy Guild Leaders showing signs of worry.

They looked at each other, shaking their heads with sighs.

“Does it have to be this way?”

“War Angel is also so impulsive.”

…

Exiting the elders’ control center, standing in the lobby outside, Bluesea suddenly stopped. Behind him, the members of the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, including Guan Shan, also halted. Each person looked anxiously at their leader, but no one spoke, seemingly waiting for Bluesea’s command.

Bluesea’s eyes, however, were fixed on Chen Xiaolian.

“Little Face, if you can do something, do it now! The situation doesn’t allow me to talk slowly with you anymore.”

Chen Xiaolian looked at Bluesea.

“I know something must have happened to you, right? Now I don’t want to ask too much, I just want to know, do you have a solution to the current situation?”

“…I can try.”

“Good!” Bluesea turned back to look at everyone. “Order all personnel to return to the Hive and be on the highest alert! Guan Shan, take my badge and lead a team to the warehouses and factories, transfer the supplies… hmm, only take class A supplies, abandon the rest for now.”

“Guild Leader?” Guan Shan was puzzled.

“Just do it,” Bluesea’s expression remained unchanged.

Guan Shan didn’t dare to say much and quickly ran off with a few people.

“I… need to go to the place you mentioned, the ‘door’,” Chen Xiaolian glanced at Bluesea.

“I’ll accompany you.”

…

A few minutes later, in the central public area of Zero City, at the center of the square, Chen Xiaolian and Bluesea stood here.

The other members of the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild had been sent back to the Hive by Bluesea for evacuation and material transfer.

For awakened individuals, transferring materials was much easier than for ordinary people, given the existence of storage equipment.

But even so, for a group like the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild of Zero City, transferring the team’s materials was still a massive undertaking!

Chen Xiaolian had been inside the warehouses of the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild and had seen the mountains of various supplies there.

In addition, each resident team had its own production factories for producing special equipment and resources.

To transfer all of these items would take far more than just a few days.

However, Bluesea had ordered everything to be temporarily abandoned, taking only “class A supplies.”

If it weren’t for Bluesea’s reputation and authority, and the fact that he was currently the only leader in the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, with no one daring to defy his orders, such a command would be difficult to execute.

Standing in the central public area, Chen Xiaolian had already seen the so-called “door.”

It was a huge teleportation array on the ground in the central public square.

“The door is indeed open,” Bluesea said, looking at the teleportation array flashing with green light screens. Clearly, the door was not closed; it was activated.

Bluesea looked at Chen Xiaolian. “Do you have a way to shut it down?”

Chen Xiaolian didn’t speak. He walked into the teleportation array, closed his eyes, and sensed the flow of energy.

“So… let’s close it.” Chen Xiaolian silently thought.

But at that moment, Chen Xiaolian’s personal system received a response.

“????: Unable to execute command. This command contradicts another higher priority command previously issued by you.”

Hmm?

Chen Xiaolian froze.

Does this mean…

He had previously issued a command? And it contradicted the command to “close the door”? But he didn’t remember issuing any commands at all.

“Could it be that I requested the door to be opened?” Chen Xiaolian suddenly had a complicated thought.

“Regardless, close the door! Cancel the previous command—whatever it was!”

“????: Invalid command! The previous command issued is irreversible!”

“What the heck?!” Chen Xiaolian was stunned.

He couldn’t help but roar to the sky, “Zero City! What’s going on?!”

Bluesea, beside him, watched Chen Xiaolian’s actions, biting his lip, but ultimately remained silent.

Finally, the voice that Chen Xiaolian both hated and loved resounded in his ears.

Zero City’s cold and dry voice fell into Chen Xiaolian’s heart.

“Because in Room Zero, you issued a command, and you’ve marked that command as irrevocable—meaning, when you issued the command, you anticipated that you would later retract it… So you made an additional notation for that command, and I’m simply executing your command now.”

“What was that command!” Chen Xiaolian angrily demanded in his consciousness.

“Sorry, I don’t know.”

Although Zero City said “sorry,” its tone remained dry and devoid of any sense of apology.

Chen Xiaolian was stunned. “You don’t know what it means?”

“It means that, as someone with advanced permissions, you deleted this memory segment… including erasing my memory of this command. Additionally, you now have the highest level of permissions within Zero City, but… you’ve sealed off certain permissions yourself, including the external channels. Those permissions are now sealed, and neither you nor I can touch them.”

“So, the irrevocable command I issued is related to the opening of the ‘door’? Can’t you help me analyze what that command might be? Aren’t you a super-intelligent entity?” Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and quickly communicated with Zero City. “The permissions I sealed off? Those parts? If you list them, we can probably deduce what the irrevocable command might be! Hurry!”

“No.” Finally, there was a hint of emotion in Zero City’s tone—a mocking tone, rather unpleasant.

“Inside Room Zero, you, who were incredibly clever and cunning at the time… seemed determined to temporarily deceive yourself. Therefore, you issued a command to me: not to make any conjectures or calculations, and to seal off those permissions, prohibiting me from listing them. I am just a program; I must follow your instructions, so… I’m sorry, but I cannot fulfill your current request. Because…”

“Because the command issued in Room Zero by me is irrevocable, right!” Chen Xiaolian was infuriated to the point of grinding his teeth.

But what could he do? He couldn’t exactly beat himself up!

The question was… what exactly happened in Room Zero?

What led to such a bizarre behavior from himself?!!

What exactly happened in Room Zero???

…

In the Alps, on a certain peak.

In a mountain hollow, where snow never melts, a tiny figure walked amidst the vast expanse of white.

Dressed in white fur, he seemed to blend into the snow, as if merging with the world.

And he wasn’t holding the typical ice axe used by mountaineers; instead, he held…

An umbrella!

Mr. San raised his head, watching as the two distinct light screens in the sky collided, the surreal spectacle gradually dissipating until it vanished completely…

He sighed as if relieved, removing his goggles and gazing at the sky, now restored to its azure hue.

A hint of complexity flickered in Mr. San’s eyes.

“At last… is it about to begin?”

…

“No, all combat personnel are to be in position, gathering at the designated location. Without my command, no one is allowed to enter the combat zone without authorization.”

Shen had already dressed and stood before the mirror, adjusting his collar.

Beside him, the burly man who served as his driver stood waiting.

“Everyone on standby? Commander, this mission issued by the system is quite peculiar… Shouldn’t we carry out this task? Falling behind by even a step could mean missing out… There are plenty of tempting resources in Zero City… Destroying Zero City, the system is sure to offer a substantial reward!”

Turning to face his new assistant, Shen suddenly smiled.

“Who said we were going to destroy Zero City?”

“Huh?” The big man was taken aback. “Not destroy Zero City? Then what are we…”

“We… are going to… occupy it!”

A bright smile spread across Shen’s face.