Chapter 262: Dawn of Despair
by xennovel“Hate?”
“Who’s speaking!?”
Lin Rui looked up in surprise, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
A few seconds later, meeting Yenir’s calm gaze, he realized the voice belonged to his counterpart.
A jolt struck his heart.
Never having experienced this form of communication before, he instinctively nodded then quickly shook his head, nervous uncertainty taking hold.
“Hate?”
He didn’t know.
But after witnessing the corpses of those children and learning of the Military’s atrocities, his anger burned fiercely.
He even felt deep sorrow and helplessness.
Heartbroken by humanity’s cruelty and powerless to act, he had never imagined such darkness existed.
His core values, his lifelong education, everything he knew was shattered in that moment.
How could a Federation that preached peace, friendship, and human rights—protecting every citizen—commit such acts?
These were living, breathing human beings…
Yet on a petri dish, on an operating table, these people were treated like animals, dissected without a thought. If he were in their place… how devastating that despair would be.
Had they lost all capacity for thought?
Lin Rui recalled those soulless eyes and refused to believe that humans could truly be so devoid of thought.
Even an embryo reacts to the outside world.
“I don’t know…”
“But they need to stop! Someone has to pay the price!”
Clenching his fists in silence, Lin Rui’s expression turned resolute amid his confusion. He detested the Military’s actions, although he felt utterly powerless.
He nodded slightly.
Yenir was not surprised by Lin Rui’s reaction.
There was anger, but not a deep-seated vendetta—more like a youth’s naive kindness unwilling to accept such cruelty.
Unless it involved a loved one, perhaps then true hatred might arise.
But… even that small amount of hate was enough.
After a moment of silence, Yenir’s calm expression shifted as he spoke in a low, steady tone:
“Do you know why I didn’t destroy it, but instead chose to leave?”
As the words faded, Lin Rui hesitantly shook his head.
Truth be told, he wished Yenir had obliterated it. He had indeed wondered why Yenir stopped after his first strike.
“Is it because there’s still value there…”
“I heard what an officer said…”
“The Federation needs that place; its worth is immense.”
His fists clenched even tighter.
Despite his youth, Lin Rui understood that significant gains could change many things.
Ignoring the law and trampling on humanity had become all too common.
And in his eyes, Yenir was no different from the Authorities. Likely, they quietly allowed such things. After all, stopping a disaster would require high-level cooperation…
“No.”
Unexpectedly, Yenir shook his head. Disregarding Lin Rui’s stunned look, he continued in a measured tone:
“In fact, that place must be destroyed, no matter how valuable it is!”
“The reason I hesitated earlier was that everything had become too late—everything lost its meaning.”
“Remember when I told you we came here to prevent a catastrophe?”
Lin Rui paused in thought.
Yes, he certainly remembered.
But he couldn’t understand why Yenir would bring it up now.
Had something unusual been discovered?
Before he could speak, Yenir offered a self-deprecating smile, his eyes turning distant:
“We have found the source of the catastrophe.”
“The factory you saw earlier marks the beginning of the end. Every organ there is contaminated with the zombie virus.”
“It hasn’t exploded into chaos yet—it’s only a matter of time.”
“I never imagined the disaster that would destroy our civilization was one we engineered ourselves.”
With a mocking smile, Yenir fell silent, patiently waiting for Lin Rui to absorb the shock.
He needed someone to take out a portion of the high-ups, and who better than Lin Rui, the very protagonist? In a strange way, Yenir was merely pushing Lin Rui to break away from the Military a bit sooner.
Like a bolt out of the blue, Lin Rui’s eyes widened in horror.
“Those people are infected with the virus!?”
“Wait!”
“So this means…!!”
Before Yenir could elaborate further, Lin Rui felt as if he had fallen into an icy chasm—a massive wave of panic crashing over him.
Infected organs from transplants?! Considering most high-ups had already had their organs replaced, didn’t that imply…
In his terror, Lin Rui began trembling uncontrollably.
He had seen the list Yenir held.
From the President to Ministers, from Professors to Soldiers—the Federation’s elite were mostly on that list!
In that instant, he finally understood why Yenir had said it was too late!
“Aren’t we supposed to inform the Military!?”
“No! This information must be revealed to them! We have to act immediately!”
In his panic, Lin Rui scrambled to his feet, drawing the attention of every soldier in the cabin.
Yenir restrained him with a firm grip, shaking his head slightly as he resumed their mental communication.
“Tell the Military? Tell the high-ups?”
“And then? Expect them to commit suicide on their own?”
Yenir chuckled softly, his eyes tinted with sorrow.
“Even if they believe it, imagine if you knew you were infected—what would you do?”
“Sure, you might sacrifice yourself, but what about everyone else!?”
“Not just a hundred or a thousand, but millions!”
“Even a pig would fight back if its throat were cut! Remember, the list doesn’t cover everyone! One missing name and the catastrophe will still erupt!”
Once Yenir forced him to regain his composure, Lin Rui realized just how naive he had been.
“But are we just going to wait for death!?”
“Aren’t you here to stop the catastrophe!?”
It was hard to imagine what the future might bring.
Even though Yenir had warned him of impending doom, and that he might one day lead humanity, it was only when faced with the crisis that he truly grasped its gravity.
As if struck by a sudden thought, Lin Rui gripped Yenir’s arm tightly:
“You’re so powerful! You could easily take them out, right!?”
He remembered the scene where Yenir had threatened the high-ups. If Yenir acted, he could probably snuff out this disaster right in its cradle.
“How could I possibly stop it?”
Yenir’s mocking expression faded as he shook his head:
“That’s right—I could kill all the infected, but then what?”
“If even one slips through, the catastrophe will still break out. I can only delay its progress.”
“And once I act, the Authorities will undoubtedly turn against us.”
“Social chaos, the loss of countless high-ups, a hostile Military hunting us down… by then, it’s practically the end.”
“To be blunt, the Military currently trusts us solely because of the threat of nuclear missiles. But when death becomes inevitable, who will care?”
“What I need is for the Federation to heed my advice and prepare in advance.”
“If chaos erupts now, the future will be all the more grim.”
As Yenir finished his explanation, Lin Rui felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him, leaving him speechless for a long moment.
It all seemed like a doomed chess game—with no hope in sight.
“Yes…”
If the Military ever turned against them, they’d soon be surrounded and slaughtered!
After a long silence, Yenir spoke once more in a low, measured tone:
“Actually, there is a way.”
“I may not be able to kill the Military, but you can…”
“Eliminate most of them, then gradually take care of the rest. The apocalypse can at least be delayed. By then, we might just have a chance!”