Love, death, and false man

Chapter 69, 2441-3. Human Weapons
2441 years.

9/29—14:16
Wallenberg, the main city in the southern part of the Principality of Aetheria, is in Containment Zone 2, but it is more like a large medieval village, with a rather vast area.

The population remains at around four thousand.

Each household member can only perform the work designated by the religious organization.

"Organic clothing" is made by hand, "organic livestock" is raised by hand, and "organic vegetables" are cultivated by hand.

These items, unlike those produced on modern large-scale factory assembly lines, can be sold at higher prices in the market and are unaffordable for ordinary people. Even among the Astradians, only the wealthy and powerful can afford to buy them.

The people who produce these things in the shelter are simply tenant farmers. Legally speaking, they rent land and raw materials, and their actual income is only enough to make a living.

Leaving the containment area requires an application, and an armband must be worn outside. Moreover, only honorary believers can apply for this; non-honorary believers are not allowed to leave the containment area.

The Ascetic Order is the state religion of the Kingdom of Astria, and every citizen is a believer. However, there is a distinction between believers and formal members. Believers are part of the state apparatus and are different from ordinary citizens.

After eating the lunch prepared by Theresa, Fang Yan stood dumbfounded in the yard, staring at a crow on the fence.

He was dressed in the clothes of Theresa's missing husband: a gray wool coat and dark snow boots.

The crow gripped the wooden pole tightly with its claws, shook its body to remove the snow from its feathers, and let out a mournful cry.

He had never seen this species before, seemingly due to a genetic mutation, and it also had a pair of secondary eyes.

These eyes are incredibly powerful; besides reading thoughts, they seem to possess a database of everything.

Black-feathered Ice Sparrow

Mitochondrial DNA analysis revealed positive selection signals in the genome associated with antifreeze protein synthesis (AFP type III gene) and hypoxia tolerance (EPAS1 gene mutation), indicating adaptive radiative evolution in response to extreme cold environments.

【…】

Given its relatively narrow ecological niche and fragile environmental dependence, it was included in the "Global Climate Change Sensitive Species Reserve" in 2267.

The tens of thousands of words of report gave Fang Yan a headache, so he immediately shut down his eyes.

Do you hate those people?

Fang Yan asked Theresa, "This body is indeed made of flesh and blood. Although there is no equipment to detect the intensity of the soul fire, it can be felt that it has reached an unimaginable astronomical number."

If he wanted, he could start a massacre of the Astraians who oppressed all the people of Aesiria right now, and wipe out the entire Wallenberg within an hour.

Theresa did not answer. She took in this man entirely to get through the winter. All the kindness she showed him was also in the hope that he could work in the leather factory in place of her husband in exchange for enough food. She was willing to give a lot.

Fang Yan suddenly disliked this feeling. No thought of hers could hide from him, and he could see right through her without her even having to reply.

After a long silence.

"I think there's nothing more I can do to help you."

Theresa began to regret taking him in. He kept talking nonsense during meals, mentioning gravitational particle accelerators and time travel. Maybe he had some kind of mental illness. She thought she had found someone to rely on, but he turned out to be a burden. She couldn't bear any more of his burden.

At that moment, two men wearing armbands of honorary members of the Ascetic Order passed by on the stone path outside the fence. They appeared to have been drinking, as their faces were flushed with a deep red.

"Has your husband... been found?"

"Are you blind? That's not her husband. Hey, who are you?"

A man asked Fang Yan.

Theresa looked troubled for a moment. She knew her husband was involved in restoration activities, but the rest of the internment did not. Fortunately, she had prepared a lie when she picked up Fang Yan.

“He is my cousin. He used to live a secluded life in the mountains, but now he has come to stay with me.”

Theresa defended Fang Yan, saying that this was the last thing she could do to help him, and that he would probably know to leave afterward.

The two were somewhat skeptical.

This person looks like a ghost, and it's impossible to tell whether he's related to Theresa by blood.

Entry and exit from the containment area requires complete procedures. Nobody likes to come to this awful place on their own initiative. The Aetherian people outside all choose to flee to foreign countries.

Fang Yan read through the thoughts and memories of the two, dissecting them like a book. As honorary believers of the monastic order and law enforcement officers in the containment area, in addition to their daily patrols and security duties, they were also responsible for inspecting the wool and mutton produced by their fellow believers each month.

Their lives are slightly better than those of their compatriots.

Because of a rights revolt that broke out in Containment Zone 2 six months ago, many husbands and sons in the zone either disappeared or were publicly executed.

The fact that the entire family of these individuals had not yet been killed, given the existence of the collective punishment system, indicates that, at least in the eyes of the Astradians, these people were safe and had not yet been suspected.

This also gave the two men the opportunity to abuse their power, using their positions to coerce and assault women who had lost their support.

Theresa's husband has not yet been exposed; he is simply missing and it is unknown when he will return. However, three months have passed, and there has been some concern for Theresa, who lives alone. Today, she came to check on her and was surprised to find that there was still a man here.

"I see. Show me your entry and exit permits."

Both men were carrying guns and were deliberately making things difficult for them.

Fang Yan didn't know what kind of gun it was; its design was different from the guns he was familiar with. This wasn't a supply issued to him by the Salvation Army; it was a genuine weapon from the future.

【RAIL-02 "Aurora"】

Third-generation electromagnetic kinetic energy-electromagnetic pulse composite weapon system

[Operational Role: (Personnel lethality/Electronic suppression)]

【…】

The message, consisting of thousands of words, left Fang Yan speechless. It didn't need to be this detailed; as long as it posed no threat to him, that would be enough. He didn't even need one ten-thousandth of the Soul Fire Force Field to block it.

Theresa had no entry or exit permits; she was found at a fishing spot in the containment area where organic fish were fed, and realized she had told a lie she couldn't cover up.

It exceeded the psychological limits.

"Is it satisfying to profit from national disaster and bully one's own compatriots?"

Although Fang Yan wasn't from Asia and didn't have much empathy for these foreigners, he simply thought these two were utterly despicable.

"What the hell did you say?"

A man immediately raised his gun and pointed it at Fang Yan's head. The absolute dual advantage in force and power quickly calmed his anger. "Do you want me to write a report? I can decide the life and death of all of you, everyone's. Kneel down now and I'll spare you."

Fang Yan didn't waste any words.

Because of "self-mind control" and "memory overwriting," Fang Yan at this moment is exactly the same as he was at seventeen years old. I don't care about this or that.

He didn't move at all, his hands were still in his coat pockets, but the bright red light from his mechanical prosthetic eyes shone brightly, like the eyes of a Terminator robot whose outer skin was completely destroyed, making the snow ground slightly red.

Memory implantation overwrites the neural signals of the five senses, causing them to fall into hallucinations, and directly implants false pain signals.

Fang Yan had considered all the most ruthless forms of execution he could think of.

The gun fell to the ground as they lost their strength, and the two men knelt down, clutching their heads with their hands, their eyes bloodshot, screaming as if they were having a nightmare, their hearts racing, their vagus nerves flaring up, and then they began to have epileptic seizures.

Fang Yan simply looked at them calmly. Although he was still seventeen years old, his body's conditioned reflexes and combat memory were terrifyingly strong, as if he had experienced countless fierce battles. He had gradually adapted to this invincible body.

Finally, amidst the two convulsing and foaming at the mouth, their two plump heads exploded under the EMP impact function of Fang Yan's eyes, splattering red and white matter everywhere.

Theresa took two steps back in fear. Could it be that the crazy things this man said during lunch were all true?

Fang Yan is formulating a killing plan, but there are too many variables on the way to kill [Supreme] Andy, and he doesn't know what to do for the time being. It might be better to brainstorm together.

He repeated the question he had just asked.

Do you hate those people?
I know your husband is a member of the restoration movement; I can help you find him.

I also need some help. Take me to someone you trust in the containment area; I'm gathering intelligence.

Since the first target is the high-ranking members of the Papacy of the Kingdom of Astria.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend; I'm also a half-member of the restorationists.

(End of this chapter)