Chalas bowed slightly with feigned reverence. He didn’t believe in gods or cults, but he believed in power.

The Torch Church certainly possessed useful things, such as the Sanctum.

Merely closing his eyes allowed him to communicate with allies in the Ocean Edge Province, acquiring intel and support.

Most importantly, unlike the Sanctuary, which only the dead could enter, the second Sanctuary, the Sanctum, allowed immortality without abandoning the human body.

Which meant that if he obtained his own Sanctum, he could live eternally as a human god. Compared with divine authority, mortal power was insignificant. Thus, though he believed nothing, he still became the Torch Church’s most devout supporter in the South Sea.

“Honored Pathfinder... I’ve confirmed it. It was only a Shelter 70 submersible. Our fleet intercepted it. You may rest assured.” After he spoke, he fell silent, waiting for the man to reply.

Arzu, gazing at him with an ageless calm, murmured, “The Guardian is dead.”

Chalas already knew and respectfully answered: “Do not worry. We’ll handle the corpse. No one will discover its secrets.”

Arzu nodded. “Shelter 70 is insignificant, but beware the New Alliance. They are troublesome. I once saw a Pathfinder fall to them... He was a true Pathfinder, unlike one still clinging to flesh and blood.”

The immaterial Pathfinders were unreliable, yet nearly indestructible.

Arzu wasn’t afraid of the New Alliance’s intentions. He wasn’t fickle. But he had to admit, they were harder to deal with than the Enterprise or Academy.

Unlike Arzu, however, Chalas calmly smiled. “Rest assured. I’m watching them. They’ve camped in the Baiyue Strait. Whatever they’re plotting, their fate is sealed.”

Arzu murmured, “Hopefully. We will clash with them sooner or later, but the later the better. Meanwhile, continue searching for the submersible’s pilots. Regardless of what they found, leave them at the bottom of the sea.”

Chalas bowed again. “As you command.”

...

While the Federation fleet expanded their search over 10 nautical miles, far beyond the ruins, nearly 100 nautical miles away, in unmanned waters, a 200 meter nuclear submarine cruised silently beneath the waves.

That was the Dolphin.

Unlike 21st-century nuclear subs, it ran on second-generation controlled fusion or Helium-3 and hydrogen harvested from seawater.

Even though their technology had been mostly replaced by pure Helium-3 fusion before the Prosperity Era collapsed, two centuries later it was still extremely advanced, far superior to the Federation’s synthetic-fuel engines.

At that moment, neither Chalas nor the sailors on the destroyer knew that the people they were looking for had already escaped. It even happened right under their noses.

Inside the Dolphin’s airlock room, seawater drained away.

Detergent mist sprayed from the walls, and high-pressure jets blasted the algae and silt off the visitors’ deep-sea diving suits.

When the signal light turned green, Sisi and Tail exchanged glances and stepped through the hatch. The hatch opened into a narrow room less than 10 square meters, with a long viewing window overlooking the surprisingly spacious interior.

Walkways and staircases lined the sides, while long cargo containers filled the central area. From the ceiling hung overhead rail-hooks, with workers in coveralls moving about the catwalks.

Sisi couldn’t help showing surprise. She had never seen a submarine like that. It completely overturned her impression of cramped underwater vessels.

Two men in exoskeleton suits stood on either side of the door, holding assault rifles like the Federation Navy’s models. However, their bulky suits resembled the cargo-loader frames used by dock workers, not military gear.

Between them stood a man in a blue coat, his posture and demeanor carrying a faint authority. Seeing the two divers approach, he introduced himself and extended his hand. “Welcome aboard the Dolphin. My name is Chen Jianhong, captain of this submarine.”

Sisi removed her helmet, tucked it under her arm, shook her hair loose, and shook his hand. “I am Sisi. And this is Tail. We’re residents of Shelter 404.”

“Oh! You can call me Tail!” Tail also removed her helmet and stared around in excitement. “Giao! I thought you guys didn’t have weapons, turns out you’ve got a monster like this!”

Chen Jianhong froze briefly. He was surprised, but he recovered quickly. “You mean... this submarine? It’s not a weapon. It’s just an ordinary cargo sub.”

“Cargo sub?!” Tail’s eyes widened. “Why transport cargo by submarine? Isn’t that super troublesome?”

Chen Jianhong shrugged. “I agree. It was originally built to transport goods between the seafloor settlement and the surface settlement. A straight elevator shaft would’ve been easier. But now I’m grateful, otherwise the 500 Coral City residents on board would’ve died at sea. Anyway, before asking about us, shouldn’t you explain yourselves first?”

Tail blinked. “Explain?”

“Huang Guangwei,” the captain said, staring directly at her, then at Sisi. His expression hardened. “The biometrics registered to that submersible belonged to him. But you were the ones we found on board. I want to know where its original pilot is, and whether he’s still alive.”

The atmosphere grew tense, but only for a second. “Of course he’s alive. He’s doing great. If he weren’t, we wouldn’t be suffering here.”

Before Tail could say too much, Sisi cut her off smoothly and continued, “He’s currently in the New Alliance, staying with your shelter administrator, Sun Yuechi.”

Chen Jianhong froze again. Then, moments later, his face filled with shock. “... In the New Alliance? Wait, New Alliance?! Our administrator went there?! But that’s impossible! He went to the Great Rift Valley!”

Only now did he understand the sense of unease he felt earlier. The administrator’s whereabouts, the locked armory, and all related secrets. Those were Shelter 70’s highest-level classified information, known to only a few.

Yet these strangers knew.

“His original destination was the Great Rift Valley,” Sisi said. “But he changed his mind when he passed through Dawn City and handed the administrator’s authority to our administrator...”

She spent half an hour explaining everything in detail.

How Sun Yuechi arrived in Dawn City, how he forced the admin rights onto their administrator. How Huang Guangwei washed ashore at the Baiyue Strait’s northern bank, and how they happened to pick him up.

When she finished, Chen Jianhong pressed his fingers to his brow. A storm of emotions clogged his chest.

He couldn’t accept it. Their administrator would rather entrust hope to total strangers than to people he actually knew.

And what enraged him more was that while they risked their lives hiding from the Federation fleet, that man had already begun a new life in Dawn City?!

What a joke!

“So... That guy is eating well and living well in your place?” his voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

Not wanting to crush him too hard, Sisi hesitated, but nodded honestly. “Yes... The submersible’s owner, Huang Guangwei, is doing the same. Before boarding the airship to Dawn City, he gave us disposal rights over the submersible...”

“You bastards!” He slammed his fist on the table, teeth clenched.

“We’ve been enduring claustrophobia, dodging the fleet, rationing every scrap of supply! And the one who caused this nightmare is enjoying life on land! Does he feel no guilt?!”

This is too unfair.

Sisi coughed softly.

“I think... he probably does feel guilty. That’s why he asked us to investigate the ruins of the power station.”

“Investigate?! What’s the point? Anyone with half a brain knows the Torch Church did it! If he had any backbone, he should return and take responsibility, or at least unlock the armory!”

Sisi didn’t know how to comfort him. Stopping a runaway train wasn’t done by slamming the throttle backwards. That risked an even worse disaster.

Fighting the Torch Church required the survivors’ unity. Letting the survivors tear each other apart wasn’t in the New Alliance’s interest.

Which was why she didn’t tell him she was literally holding the key to the armory right now.

It wasn’t time to use it yet.

As Sisi pondered their next step, Tail suddenly spoke. “Oh! Since your administrator is with us anyway, why don’t you all come live with us too?”