When night falls, the food street of the lakeside business district shines with brilliant neon lights, and the streets are lined with a variety of small stalls to attract the taste buds of diners.

The streets are full of people, people in various costumes walking back and forth, whether they are migrant workers who have just finished work, or tourists who are strolling leisurely, are enjoying the food here, and the scene is full of fireworks.

Behind a blazing barbecue stand, the chef expertly turns the pieces of meat, and the sound of frying is constantly ringing, steaming, and the tantalizing aroma wafts out, attracting passers-by to stop frequently.

In a small corner of the barbecue stand, Schenkov, who had finished work, changed into low-key casual clothes and brown glasses to cover his face, and was sitting there eating dinner.

In fact, for a person of his level, there is not only a special canteen for three meals, the ingredients are all special-grade, and even the supporting chefs are on call 24 hours a day in three shifts, so that when he is suddenly hungry, he can immediately provide food, and he doesn't have to find a place to eat by himself.

But the longer he worked in the city council, the more he liked to eat outside the stalls, because it was more lively than the cold public canteen.

Find a small stall, order a few skewers, serve them with egg fried rice, and get two bottles of beer, and chat with the boss about the recent interesting things while eating.

The only thing that is more disturbing is the plainclothes that are mixed in with the crowd, but this is not a thing that can be helped, after all, the city is full of dangers, and personal safety must always be guaranteed.

While eating, Schenkov received a phone call, it was Sumer.

"Hey, buddy."

On the other end of the phone, Summer had sorted out the things that needed to know about Schenkov and told him about the "Beacon Incident" that would happen soon.

After listening to the fact that everyone was stunned, Schenkov subconsciously glanced at his watch: "April Fool's Day hasn't arrived yet, has it?" ”

Su Mo's tone was helpless: "Why don't you react like this. I'm not kidding you. ”

Schenkov's expression was rather embarrassed: "Brother, I have always trusted you, but the facts you said are a bit appalling. ”

He looked around for a moment and lowered his voice: "You said that the Border Patrol Station will fall, and countless fierce beasts will come to Crescent City soon?" Movies don't look like this, man. ”

Su Mo: "Like I just said, don't ask more, just trust me." ”

Schenkov hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice: "What's the use of you telling me about such a serious matter?" You're going to stab up, like telling Zhao Yiming. ”

Sumer: "For some inconvenient reason, I can't explain my source of information, so I can't tell those people, only the people I trust the most." ”

Schenkov was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help laughing: "So I'm one of your most trusted people?" ”

Su Mo smiled and asked, "What, is it in your heart, I'm not?" ”

Schenkov smiled knowingly and said, "So, my most trusted brother, what do you need me to do?" ”

Su Mo's tone became serious: "I'll take care of the beacons, you only need to focus on one place, the rusty wall." ”

"After the disaster, the frontier people will definitely flee to the inner city in frenzy, and if they are kept blocked by the rusty wall, millions of people will probably be slaughtered."

"So, I need you, a key member of the city council, to coordinate the relevant departments, and do everything you can to get the Rust Wall defense forces to let people in, and then properly place them."

Schenkov held his forehead, his expression solemn and depressed: "It's so easy for you to say it, with one mouth, the lives of millions of people are all on me."

Su Mo: "You are not alone, this matter requires the joint efforts of everyone, and I am gathering all the forces that can be trusted." ”

Schenkov: "But have you thought about what if I can't coordinate here?" There is no precedent for this matter, and the Rusty Wall Defense Force is not a direct department of the Public Security Bureau, and they will not let people in if the city council does not allow it. ”

Su Mo was silent for a moment, and his voice was very low: "If the worst happens, it can only be said. We've done our best. ”

Schenkov pursed his dry lips and said faintly: "You really roasted me on the fire, I can't guarantee the result now, but I can assure you that I will do my best." ”

Su Mo: "Well, please! ”

The phone hangs up.

Not long after the end of the communication, an official car stopped not far away, Yang Le walked out of it, trotted to Schenkov's side and said: "Director, the chairman of the Amir City Council has given a temporary notice to the meeting, and I will pick you up." ”

Schenkov settled the account and got into the official car with his assistant.

Arriving at the Civic Center, the two walked into the Municipal Building one after the other.

Yang Le walked behind and suddenly noticed that Schenkov had stopped in front.

"Director?"

I saw Schenkov standing in place, looking up at something.

Yang Le followed his line of sight and soon saw what he was staring at.

It was a phrase engraved on the central wall of the lobby, and it was also the slogan of the world government.

This is not the statement of any supreme leader, and it existed even before the creation of a world government.

When this phrase was first discovered, it was carved into a stone.

Later identification of traces has determined that it was carved during the Doomsday War, which destroyed the entire civilization of the Old World.

No one knew who carved it, maybe it was a leader, a general, or maybe it was just some ordinary soldier who was once alive and later died in war.

The stone was discovered at the beginning of the establishment of the World Government, and the words engraved on it shocked everyone who saw it with their own eyes.

From the content of this sentence, it can be seen that mankind was facing an unprecedented crisis situation at that time, the entire population was on the verge of destruction, and the light of civilization was already extinguished at any time like a candle in the wind.

Later archaeologists believed that it was precisely because of this phrase in the hearts of the soldiers of that time that they were able to continue to fight in the face of a powerful and unknown enemy, and their faith was never defeated.

It is precisely because of this sentence that the intelligent race of mankind survived the apocalyptic catastrophe and did not become extinct in the world, so that the spark of civilization could be rekindled after the war.

Soon after the discovery of this phrase, the world government officially announced that it would be a permanent slogan for future generations.

Now, more than 150 years later, this phrase has been engraved in the lobbies of government offices in every city, and everyone who enters and exits can see it as soon as they walk through the door and look up.

And now, it is also presented high in front of Schenkov and Yang Le, as if it is silently recounting the dark but always burning fire years-

[The survival of mankind is above all else]

Su Mo stood on the top floor of the edge building, late winter was about to pass, the spring wind was quite pleasant, and he could even faintly smell the fragrance of lilacs blooming in the garden, but all he felt at this time was cold.

The Beacon Event, the second mega event in the Dawning World, has a greater scope and impact than the "Fall of the Rusty Wall".

At the same time, the fourth clearance item after the Ancestor Blood Code, Faceless Enzyme, and Black Virus was hidden more than 100,000 meters deep in the ground of Crescent City.

Su Mo knew where it was, and theoretically should have had the opportunity to go underground in advance to get it, and even prevent the beacon event from happening in the first place, but it was firmly restrained by one thing, and that was the black virus.

The Black Virus is the key to getting the fourth clearance item, and you can't get there without it.

And because the original protagonist Ou Chenyu killed the original heroine An Churan, Su Mo couldn't parse it after getting the black virus.

Later, although I got acquainted with Qi Zero, the analysis of the black virus was on the right track, but in terms of time schedule, it has lagged behind the development of the original plot.

At present, it seems that the beacon event is impossible to avoid at the fundamental level, and it will inevitably happen.

In the original story, the Beacon event is not only a far-reaching main story, but also a key bifurcation point between the "Good Line" and the "Evil Line" for players.

Every choice the player makes here will affect the subsequent plot direction, whether good or evil, and there is no turning back.

For Sumer, reality is not a game, nor is it an either/or.

But at least at this point, he has made his choice.

He did everything he could ahead of time.

Su Mo took one last look at the end of the city line, the night of severe light pollution in the northern industrial development zone, and left the rooftop.

He went downstairs to the underground lab, where Qi Ling and Miku were communicating something.

In order to catch up with the progress of the analysis of the black virus this month, Qi Ling only slept three or four hours a day, and he was very haggard, and he looked a lot thinner, and his eyes were bloodshot.

This appearance made Su Mo a little sad, and he stepped forward to hold Qi Ling's hand: "I've worked hard for you this time." ”

Qi Ling chuckled, reached into Su Mo's hair and gently supported it: "Aren't you the same, you are tired of gray hair." ”

Future put his hands on his waist, stared at the pair of black panda eyes and complained: "What about me? When you sprinkle dog food and have fun, no one cares about me? ”

Su Mo joked: "Your eye circles are dark every day, and you can't see any difference." ”

All three burst out laughing.

After laughing, Su Mo's tone became serious: "Black Virus, how is the ground spacecraft?" ”

Qi Ling replied: "It has reached the level of resolution you requested, and the function has been debugged many times, and there is no problem." ”

Future also nodded: "It's the same on my side, the debugging has just been completed in the evening, and all the functional modules you have asked for are available, and you can't find a second more powerful ground spacecraft in the world." ”

Su Mo couldn't help but smile, and at the same time put his arm around the shoulders of the two, took the two technical experts who were responsible for software and hardware into his arms and hugged them: "It's good to have you." ”

"What are you doing, it's embarrassing." Future smiled and nudged him lightly and asked, "Boss, when are you going to dive?" We can do this at any time anyway. ”

Su Mo: "Just tonight, time is not on our side, there is not much left, and there may be an accident if it drags on any further, so I will leave immediately." ”

Future: "Okay, I'll go and get ready for the carry." ”

Qi Ling: "Then I'll go and debug the function of the black virus again to make sure it's safe." ”

The two left one after another and returned to their posts.

Looking at their backs, Su Mo couldn't help but sigh softly, and his mood became heavy.

According to his understanding of the original plot, everything he can do has already been done.

The partners have done their best, and the conditions created for him are not much worse than Ou Chenyu's "protagonist treatment" in the original story.

But

There is one more biggest variable.

This variable cannot be evaluated even by Soumer as a full-achievement player.

That's himself.

In the original plot, the person who drove the ground spacecraft to the depths of the stratum was Ou Chenyu.

Su Mo seems to have the same conditions as Ou Chenyu, and theoretically should be able to reap the same results.

Not really.

Because there are innate physical variables.

The most intuitive embodiment of this variable is when Su Mo had just crossed over, obtained a xenogene fusion tincture at the Life Sequence Research Center, and tried to suppress the ancestral blood code.

In the original plot, Ou Chenyu, as the chosen son, easily withstood the side effects with his unique domineering physique, and at most only took a few breaths.

But Su Mo was tossed to death by the side effects, if it wasn't for Nuo Bai who offered his blood to help him survive the catastrophe, he would probably have confessed there.

Even if he is now the same as Ou Chenyu in the plot, he has an ancestral blood code, injected faceless enzymes, hunted multiple blood codes in his body, and many high-quality prostheses.

But the congenital constitution cannot be changed.

According to the original story, something deep in the stratum has a strong negative impact on those who approach it.

Ou Chenyu was able to withstand this influence and successfully break through the crisis.

Can you withstand it? Su Mo didn't know the bottom of his heart.

But he had to go again at this time.

Because once it is delayed, until the Beacon incident breaks out, and when the three giants notice the secrets in the depths of the formation, it will be difficult for them to keep the fourth clearance item for themselves.

Once that thing falls into the hands of the three giants, he can't imagine what the consequences will be, and I'm afraid that it will be like what Schenkov said - the world is hopeless, everyone will be a dog for the giants for the rest of their lives.

So, all he can do is prepare as much as he can.

Of course, if the worst-case scenario, such as the negative effects that go beyond your body's limits, causes something unforeseen to happen, then

Sumo went upstairs to find KK.

KK has little technical skills, and there is only a limit to what he can do in the Beacon Event, so he inevitably seems to be more anxious than others.

He looked at Su Mo worriedly and asked, "Big brother, are you getting ready to go?" ”

Su Mo nodded: "Well, before leaving, I have something to hand over to you, you have to keep it properly, it concerns each and every one of you." ”

After speaking, Su Mo took out a small black box and handed it to KK.

KK: "What is this?" ”

Su Mo leaned over to KK's ear and said something.

KK's expression changed from doubt to worry, and finally looked a little dazed, biting his lower lip and looking at Su Mo, tears rolling in his eyes.

Su Mo reached out and hugged KK, patted him on the back to show comfort, and then turned to leave: "There will be a time later." ”

(End of chapter)