Chapter 141 - Joining The Rebellion (Patreon)

Julia quickly assisted Ceres to the hovercar. “Don’t forget about Halyon…” Ceres muttered before he closed his eyes to take a nap.

Yet another moment of ‘oh shit we forgot’, but Julia and Saater quickly headed to the last known location of Halyon, finding him chilling on a bench and eating ice cream bought from a nearby store. “Oh, you guys are done?”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could only kill like five of them, afterwards I couldn’t get past the automated turrets and barricades, so I gave up.” Halyon shrugged, before following them back to the hovercar.

This made the strength of Ceres in Julia’s and Saater’s minds skyrocket. A single person managed to fight off an entire defended complex and make it all the way to the centre while going toe to toe with a Keeper and surviving an explosion face-first.

“If ’17 Dumplings’ is not transcendent I don’t know what is anymore.” Saater could not help gossiping with Julia in the hovercar as they exited Rockhold.

“Maybe he’s actually a cyborg under the skin, or he got some crazy genetic augmentations.” Julia shook her head. Though she could easily find out now with the scanner function of her multi-terminal by using it on the sleeping Ceres, it would be extremely rude of her!

“Biggest question I have is, why does the Queen know about him?”

Julia shook her head, unable to answer Saater’s question. However, that didn’t stop the gossip from going on. Ideas like a time traveller, alien-human hybrid, and exotics were thrown.

“Regardless, he saved us and exposed the traitor among us. We owe him a huge favour.” Julia muttered, with Saater nodding in agreement. Now that the real traitor had already been eliminated, Saater had already lost all suspicion against Ceres.

Instead, only curiosity reigned in his mind, as he still was wondering how Ceres was able to achieve all of this.

“As I said, ’17 Dumplings’ is a bit of a main character if you ask me.” Halyon smugly replied when Julia and Saater decided to question him, seeing as Halyon was fairly close to him. “I’ve been through thick and thin with him, and I swear almost nothing can kill him. The plot armour is extremely strong. If you learn anything from me today, it’s that you NEVER go against someone with such main character vibes.”

Julia and Saater did not really understand what Halyon was talking about, but they agreed about not wanting to go against Ceres. They could not even imagine themselves taking down fifty mercenaries on their own.

“I can hear you guys back here…” Ceres groaned, but secretly he smiled under the mask. A part of him was slightly happy at gaining some reputation, but it was only a very small part.

All of these were because of the black goo, but even he himself did not know what the black goo was. He would be more than happy to be able to put it into a nice little category and explain exactly what he could do.

Would it not be nice if he had a handy nice game-like interface that told him exactly what to do?

“System, open menu,” Ceres whispered with a tinge of hope. But after five minutes of nothing happening, a single tear came to his eye.

If he was truly the main character, where the fuck was his ‘System’? “The novels lied to me!”

He recalled his daydreams when he was still back in the orphanage, wondering about what was the truth of the mysterious white box. He had an inkling that the black goo was what was inside the white box, but he needed to verify it.

Hopefully, now that he was headed to the ‘White Fang’, the first person he met after exiting the vat, he may get more information!

***

“Are you absolutely sure that it was Drone-C in Rockhold?” Maddy asked Kitana seriously as they went over the video footage.

“Confirmed. It matches what I fought in the research lab.”

“Hmm…” Maddy pondered. “I’ll call you back in a bit. Keep Dr Theria alive.”

“Yes sir.”

Maddy ended the call, before quickly calling Doctor Wu. “Sir, Ceres has been found and confirmed to be alive.” Among the enforcers, only Oliver Athen, Maddy Seras and Doctor Wu knew about what exactly had happened to Ceres.

“He’s still alive?!” Doctor Wu exclaimed. He originally postulated that Ceres would not be able to live long after exiting the vat in such a violent fashion, especially after discovering that the black goo had already integrated so well with Ceres.

Doctor Wu was well aware of the properties of the black goo, having run countless tests on it over the last five years. It was also the key substance that allowed him to form the technology that allowed the Keepers to operate.

Their original production of black goo was to actually extract it directly from Ceres, using him as sort of a factory. They had run a few other tests of forcibly integrating the black goo into other test subjects, but the results were less than desirable.

Ever since Ceres was lost, they had swapped over to synthetic production, using the current black goo they had and using it to consume more biomass to reproduce.

Doctor Wu watched the video recording of Ceres fighting the drone, his eyes widening as he saw the superhuman strength and speed of Ceres. “As expected of the original source of the black goo, he seems to have perfectly integrated with it to a scale beyond what I can understand or replicate. If we can capture him it will be a great boost to the Keeper technology!”

“I agree, I’ll immediately send enforcers into Rockhold to capture him. There won’t be any more negotiations with the Queen’s Guards.” Maddy nodded in agreement. “What if Ceres reveals himself to the public? A former martyr who suddenly revived and accuses us will be bad publicity for us. Control of the populace will be even harder.”

“Bah, you don’t need to worry about that. The population has already been far too indoctrinated, our media companies would immediately call him a fake the moment he tries to. Just do your best to capture him. I suspect that he most likely is not in Rockhold any longer. The Queen would not be stupid enough to hold on to him. Who was the Keeper who found him?”

“It was Kitana, sir.”

“Ah, as expected of our best Keeper. I fear that any other Keeper may not have been able to defeat Ceres at this stage even if they had five drones.” Doctor Wu said. “Either way, focus on the preparations to begin mass production of the Keeper and testing in the coming year. We’re nearing the deadline set by Oliver. ”

***

The rebellion was already notified by the Queen, and the amount of care they took into transferring Ceres was immense.

At the first stop, Ceres and Halyon were dropped off and separated from Julia and Saater, who returned to the Queen’s Tower.

Ceres understood why Cardenia had immediately washed his hands off of him due to the enforcers finding out about him, and he was more than happy to finally get to meet the ‘White Fang’.

He did not know that Cardenia had already made a ‘deal’ with the ‘White Fang’, receiving additional benefits by exploiting both sides want to meet.

After the first stop, they were escorted by rebellion agents into an opaque windowed hovercar, preventing Ceres from seeing where they were being transported. His H.T. mode didn’t do him any favours when there were not any humans or significant living organisms around to serve as a landmark save for a few mawsie swarms.

They swapped vehicles and routes more than five times before they finally reached the main base of the rebellion. Halyon had already given up trying to figure out the path they took from Rockhold.

The hovercar swooped into a hangar bay filled to the brim with combat vehicles. The sight and scale of the operation awed Ceres as he used his H.T. mode to see through the opaque window.

The hangar bay itself had thirty levels split apart to allow for flight in the middle, as though it was cut through the middle with a large ‘V’. Each level had more than three thousand vehicles, divided into docks where each ‘dock’ had a dedicated technician team.

Armoured hovercars, communication relay drones and mobile command centres were being maintained and serviced, while a few dozen repairmen swarmed damaged vehicles and tried to salvage what they could.

The hovercar sailed towards the upper levels, where there were more empty docks, before landing into one. With a small thud and a hiss as it landed, the door opened, revealing the ‘White Fang’ waiting for them with Sierra and two guards.

“Welcome, ’17 Dumplings’. I’ve been waiting to meet you for a very very long time.” The ‘White Fang’ bowed.

“Really? The Queen told me she had to beg you for me to meet you?” Ceres exclaimed.

Both of them had masks with opposing colours on, but behind them, their faces were already showing a pained expression, simultaneously realizing at the same instance that both of them were played by the Queen.

“It does not matter anymore. Follow me.” The ‘White Fang’ motioned. They were ushered towards a moving platform that was attached to the slope, moving upwards along the levels.

Ceres and Halyon glanced at the rebellion base from within as they were elevated even higher and higher through the large hangar bay that seem to be infinite. Halyon couldn’t stop staring at the hectic activity that dominated the hangar bay.

There seemed to be an endless stream of floater platforms, ferrying cargo back and forth between the hangar bays. Dozens of lift platforms like the ones they were on were almost continuously in motion, scaling up and down along the slopes connected between the levels.

Yellow warning signs and continuous short bursts of klaxons marked the entrance and exit of every hovercar into the docks. Ceres could spot a few heavily damaged hovercars being shifted out of their docks. He wondered how many people were here for them to have such a large operation.

With his H.T. mode, Ceres could see much of the rebellion’s base layout through the walls. Tens of thousands of soldiers, support staff and administrative clerks swarmed the myriad of hallways, along with rows upon rows of VR pods for simulation training. It looked like a conventional military base. Ceres estimated the number of humans that he could see right now to number at near a hundred thousand.

The ‘White Fang’ did not say a word as they took the lift platform, only staring silently at Ceres and Halyon. The lift platform soon reached the top, where there was a clear sign leading deeper into the military base.

“We will perform a security check on you first, just to be safe. You may have already been implanted with trackers and listening devices from your stint in Rockhold, so please bear with us.” They were brought to a security chamber, where a whole suite of scanning equipment and a squad of guards was in position, ready to receive them.

“This is, erm… quite the welcome,” Ceres muttered as he stepped into the marked square on the floor, waiting. His body suddenly reacted to the intense radiation coming from the active scanner, absorbing it heavily.

The guard frowned as he watched the screen. “Uhm, Madam Sierra? We’re not getting any feedback from the scanner. It’s like his body is a stealth exosuit!”

The remaining guards and Sierra immediately pulled out their weapons, aiming at Ceres. “It’s an infiltrator cyborg! Hands in the air, now!” Sierra ordered.

“STAND DOWN! He’s a guest of ours!” The ‘White Fang’ sternly ordered, stepping between the aimed rifles and Ceres, protecting him.

“But sir, he could be a cyborg from the enforcers!” Sierra defended her stance.

“Do you really think our scanners can’t detect an infiltrator cyborg? Stand down! This is an order!” The ‘White Fang’ ordered again.

Finally, the guards and Sierra relaxed, though Sierra kept a close eye on Ceres.

Halyon was already scared and stiff by the sudden reaction of the guards. He meekly stepped into the scanner, wondering if he would be found to be a Keeper of some sort.

“The other one is good, a normal baseline human. No signs of trackers.”

“Good.” The ‘White Fang’ walked off without another word. Halyon didn’t know whether to be happy or sad – it felt like he was not even important enough for the Keepers to place a tracker on him.

Ceres could already tell that the ‘White Fang’ knew who he was already, but he still could not pinpoint who the ‘White Fang’ was. Was it a rioter he worked with before? Or perhaps someone he met in passing at the Gladius? Eventually, they reached an interrogation room.

The ‘White Fang’ motioned for Ceres to enter first, before stopping Halyon and even Sierra from entering.

“But sir…” Sierra frowned. The ‘White Fang’ was acting extremely unusual today from her point of view.

“I can handle it myself.” The room door was sealed shut, blocking off all communications.

Halyon and Sierra stared at each other, unsure of what to do. “So, err… you guys got ice cream down here?” Haylon asked cheekily.

Inside the room, Ceres finally had a chance to talk to the ‘White Fang’ one-on-one, but before he could even start, the ‘White Fang’ took off his mask, revealing his face.

Ceres gasped audibly. “Holy shit, Ardan?!”

“Hello Ceres, we meet again.” Ardan smiled weakly.

Ceres could recognize this albino kid anywhere, but his face was no longer childish and cute. Instead, it was scarred with years of battles and hard work, with multiple scars to show for it and a stern demeanour. It was obvious Ardan had been through a lot.

The contrast between Ceres’s memories of Ardan and the present started to tug at Ceres’s heart. “What the hell have you been through?”

“Nothing as bad as you… Sorry I could not save you from the vat earlier before the Keepers arrived. It was pretty dangerous to let you out from the vat at that time.”

“Wait wait wait slow down, who was ‘holding’ on to me?”

Ardan sighed. “Who else? It was the Keepers. You’re the main source of their technology.”

Ceres was not that shocked as he had already guessed it in the past when he pryed open Halyon’s exosuit, but he could not control separate drones as they did. “Doesn’t make any sense, I can’t do what a Keeper does. But how did you become the ‘White Fang’ in the first place?”

A pained expression appeared on Ardan’s face for a split second, before he shook his head, changing the topic: “That’s not important, what’s more, important is that you can finally join the fight against the Five Families. We need every bit of strength we can get, and you’re the last piece we need to prepare for a big push.”

“What exactly has the rebellion been doing? I’ve been trying to find news on it, but the media seems to downplay every single event.”

Ardan smirked. “They can try all they want to hide what’s happening, but eventually we will show New Saint we’re not to be trifled with.”

Ceres was slightly taken aback by the sheer determination and charisma from Ardan. He could see via the H.T. mode that Ardan was extremely focused and confident in his stance, making Ceres wonder how bad the situation was exactly.

Ceres started by explaining what he knew about the rebellion from the town chief and the Queen, as well as a bit from Halyon.

Ardan groaned as he learnt about them. “If only I knew the Queen was Cardenia beforehand, I could have saved the rebellion so much more money… no matter, she is a reliable trading partner and a good distractor for us. But everything else they said is pretty accurate.”

“About the outers?”

Ardan nodded, unfazed. “Not just outers, the oppression of non-inners outside of New Saint is far beyond anything you can imagine now. The enforcers are gearing up to subjugate the rest of the planet, most likely through force or intimidation. As long as the Five Families remain in power, we don’t have any other choice but to defend at all costs.”

Ceres did not reply, thinking quietly to himself. He trusted Ardan, but this was a stance that required some hard evidence, especially after he had been away for five years and more.

Ardan could see the hesitation in Ceres’s body posture. “Let me show you something, it’s easier that way.”

The ‘White Fang’ and Ceres exited the soundproof room with their masks on again, with Sierra and Halyon waiting outside, holding an ice cream cone each.

“Hey man, they really only got one flavour of ice cream in here, it’s ridiculous!” Halyon tried to joke with Ceres, who ignored him. He was far too focused on contemplating the implications of what Ardan was saying.

A civil war on the planet was far beyond anything Ceres had ever imagined. “Did it have to go to that level? Are there no options left?” The last time he was stubborn and forced his way towards a goal, he inadvertently harmed everyone around him.

This time he was going to make a clearer informed choice, no longer apathetic to the problems around him.

The group soon reached a restricted zone, with two security guards flanking the double doors. “Sir, are you sure about this? This is restricted information, how can you trust them so easil..” Sierra began whispering into the ‘White Fang’s ear.

“They are potential recruits I’ve approved of personally, and they need to know the gravity of the situation we’re facing. Of why we’re fighting. Hiding information critical to the cause doesn’t help anyone.” The ‘White Fang’ waved the guards out of the way, opening the double doors.

They walked through the corridors, reaching a large series of rooms with glassed windows showing kids and children in each room, segregated by age.

The kids were watching combat videos and sparring with each other under the guidance of a few instructors, and the youngest he saw was about twelve years old.

“You guys are training child soldiers?!” Ceres exclaimed.

“Not exactly. These are the kids we have rescued from New Saint and other restricted facilities.” Ardan shook his head.

“Rescued? What do you mean?”

“Do you remember the wager between Cardenia and Oliver?”

“Yea, something about a university or some sort.”

“That university exists now here on Athen.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Why are all of you so uptight about having a good education system?” Halyon interrupted, earning a glare from Sierra.

Ardan stopped, turning around to face them. “We all know that universities are considered institutes of higher learning. In any nation since ancient Earth, it was impossible to expect every citizen of your nation to have graduated from university. Many jobs were considered menial labour, and hence it is an active effort by governments to properly manage the level of literacy in the country to prevent hyper-wage inflation.”

Halyon’s eyes could already be seen to be swirling. “It doesn’t answer my question..?”

“The Loeric Empire controls the number of universities very carefully. Only the five Dynasties have the right to provide a charter to implement a university. Now, if you were a new university, how would you try to grow your reputation, and prestige to attract professors?”

Ceres pondered. “Hmm, I would maybe try to lure them with fat salaries.”

“Except Athen, or specifically the Five Families, does not have the same purchasing power as Strathon does for example. You see, over the past few years, the rebellion has slowly been closing in on a few possibilities of what Oliver Athen is intending to achieve as his end goal. His actions at the time seem to be self-contradictory, but this is a man who pulled off a ‘righteous coup’ against a Dynasty member, which could be said to be the first in history in the Loeric Empire.” Ardan continued as the group watched two kids sparring with swords and performing military drills.

Ceres had been through the military drills himself as a child, but seeing other kids go through it supposedly with the intent of overthrowing the Five Families was a shock.

“Now to grow a university, you need to specialize. And what you specialize in has to provide a unique offering that no other university can provide to these professors. This is the main critical point, especially since Athen does not have salaries that can compete with other universities.”

Ardan continued walking, bringing them to a room where a few young adults were sparring with exosuits. All of them were outers, and they trained with diligence. Ceres noticed a single young adult wielding a long sword, seemingly having a special barrier around him that could deflect energy shots. He recognized the ability from the arena in Rockhold.

Halyon’s eyes widened: “What kind of ability or module is that? That’s amazing!”

“These kids are the result of the University of Athen.”

Ceres stopped walking, remaining completely silent as he used his H.T. mode to scan the trainees beyond the glass. He could see their strong willpower that far exceeded the average fighter.

“I’m sure you know what I mean.” Ardan nodded at Ceres.

“Wait, you mean they graduated from the University?” Halyon was still oblivious to what Ardan meant before Sierra slapped him on his head.

“I’ve been holding it back for a while now, but you’re really an idiot. The kids are failed human test subjects from the research conducted at the University of Athen.” Sierra scowled at Halyon.

Ardan turned to face Ceres. “You were the first casualty, Ceres. At first, I did not know it myself, but over the years I’ve developed my own hypothesis on what Oliver is trying to achieve.”

Ceres didn’t reply, trying to think quickly. The notion of outers being second-class citizens just became worse than he expected – they were harvesting guinea pigs for human trials.

“Athen is a mining planet first and foremost, but there are plenty of other mining planets in the Loeric Empire. We are not unique. Oliver Athen is planning to make us truly unique by offering professors the ability to run human trials on the outers. We’re a human farm, through and through.” Ardan concluded.

“That can’t be true.” Ceres refused to believe it. “How can the Dynasty of Hawthorn allow such a thing to happen? Wouldn’t the emperor intervene? This is illegal!”

Sierra scoffed. “The one who provided the charter for the university and funding was the Dynasty of Hawthorn themselves!”