Chapter 953 (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There was a fault in the fusion reaction! It was all because of that!

The people of a glorious civilization, running for their very lives, struggling desperately to survive, were in the end stumbled by a mechanical failure! This hibernation facility should have continued running for many more years to come, but when the fusion reactor in the ark suddenly broke down, the hibernation facility’s mainframe was affected. It awakened the children before their time. Hao Ren could not understand what the logic was behind the mainframe’s decision, but he knew that the mainframe’s designer had not foreseen this possibility. Even Vivian, who was no stranger to the rise and fall of various societies, could not help but sighed. “Fate can be cruel.”

Suddenly, the IDT found something interesting. “Hold on, it looks like there is a room in front.”

It flew quickly towards the other end of the bridge. Hao Ren did not know what it found, but he followed closely from behind. The group ran along the hundred-meter long bridge and arrived at the other side of the cylindrical expanse. There was a small door on the wall, with no clear indication of how to open it.

The ID hacked into the door’s security system and made short work of the lock.

Beyond the door was a small room. Hao Ren and his group noticed immediately that this place was not as clean as the vault. Miscellaneous items were scattered on the floor. Empty food cans and paper boxes took up nearly half the room. The rest of the space was occupied by all kinds of electric cables and controls. Upon his first sight of the room, Hao Ren immediately realized something – someone once lived here!

“There’s a hibernation pod here too!” Lily noticed something hidden behind all the junk. Everyone else turned and saw a silverish metallic container stowed away in a corner. Unlike the pods outside, this one was markedly larger.

It was made for an adult.

The IDT floated over to inspect it, and then gasped in pleasant surprise. “There are signs of life inside!”

Hao Ren was taken aback by the discovery, but this was no time to be pensive. “Open it, quick!”

By then, the IDT had already understood the workings of this low tech hibernation pod. It connected to the pod’s system circuitry and verified the vital signals of the person inside before initializing the procedures to awaken the person. Lights flashed on the hibernation pod’s surface, and then the sides of the pod hissed as cold air rushed out of the pod. There were faint sounds of mechanical gears turning, after which the pod’s cover slided upwards, revealing the person sleeping within.

There it was – the visage of a thin, old and wildly bearded old man.

Hao Ren slowly digested this discovery. He never imagined that the person inside would look like this. The old man lying inside the hibernation pod looked skinny as a rail. Deep wrinkles crawled all over his skin. His long and messy hair and beard were not cared for. The untidy and grubby beard rested on the old man’s chest like some animal’s nest.

After the hibernation pod was activated, a sticky substance that filled up the pod slowly receded to both sides under the guidance of some kind of attractive field. The old man inside spasmed all over, and then slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes stared blankly at Hao Ren. The old man did not move for two whole minutes until Lily accidentally touched something and made a sound. The old man jolted awake then. He was so greatly startled and surprised that his expression twisted almost menacingly. The scarecrow of an old man suddenly grabbed onto Hao Ren’s clothes tightly. He muttered incomprehensibly like he had forgotten how to speak.

“Calm down, calm down.” Hao Ren struggled free from the old man’s grasp, and then held held onto the latter’s arms. “Take a deep breath, let’s take a deep breath – Alright, don’t panic now. It’s safe here, take your time and explain to us what has happened.”

The old man was trembling. He looked around slowly and suspiciously at the strangers surrounding him, and then struggled to get out of the hibernation pod. Lily quickly stepped forward to help him, and together with Hao Ren helped the old man to sit on a chair nearby.

The old man was still muttering unclearly throughout when they helped him to the chair. It was when he sat down that Hao Ren finally understood some of his words. He was repeating a few words, “You’ve arrived, you have finally arrived, I’ve waited for hundreds of years … I thought you were all dead …”