Traveler of the River of Time and Space

Chapter 636 10: There Has Never Been a Savior

"Get in the car!"

Su Ying and her companion were sprinting through the wilderness when they suddenly saw bright lights appear around the corner, followed by the thunderous roar of heavy machine gun fire. Amid the storm of bullets, the figures chasing them in the dark were hit and let out piercing screams before retreating into the shadowy forest.

—"Black Goat Descendants [Old Gods Creation]."

Su Ying had yet to fully see what the monsters chasing her looked like; their bodies seemed to be shrouded in a dark mist, perceptible only through Spiritual Energy. Their movements were difficult to track with the naked eye.

These creatures had powerful limbs, resembling the mythical goat demons, with a pair of towering goat horns, but their forms were more akin to Death Claw.

They could unleash psychic attacks and possessed some Spiritual Energy, and their physical strength alone was enough to tear through conventional exoskeletons. During the pursuit, Su Ying narrowly avoided being hit several times because dealing with them required heavy firepower; standard firearms couldn't inflict enough damage.

"Get in the car."

A gallant figure leapt down from the armored vehicle, brandishing an odd-looking firearm. As she pulled the trigger, a red beam shot forth, causing a small explosion upon impact with its target.

"It's her." Su Ying jumped onto the armored vehicle without hesitation.

The person assigned to assist her was previously seen with Leon, a member of Beidou, the woman who looked exceedingly valiant and agile.

Her right shoulder bore a slight wound, but this didn't hinder her battle prowess. She swiftly tracked the bizarre figures moving rapidly in the dark, and after a barrage of fire, threw out several beeping devices.

"Retreat!" She grabbed the side of the vehicle with one hand, jumped into the backseat, and then took out a communicator, saying: "Beidou! Beidou!"

"This is Mao Tu!"

"Coordinates XXX, XXX."

"Requesting remote fire support!"

"Encountered unknown mutated creatures!… Their traits are strikingly similar to the information received from the Far East Region!… Requesting reinforcement from Apocalypse Heavy Unit!…"

About half a minute later.

A deep male voice sounded from the communicator: "Quickly evacuate!"

"The remote fire support is arriving shortly."

"Apocalypse has already departed."

Mao Tu?

Yin Hu?

The Zodiac signs?

Su Ying was momentarily stunned upon hearing their code names. Due to her father's influence, she had some understanding of Eastern culture and knew that Beidou had been trying to reclaim its cultural heritage since the great cataclysm.

In this regard, North America had completely fallen behind as education in many places had become a luxury.

"I am Mao Tu."

"Hold tight." The valiant lady smiled at Su Ying, and her ease was infectious. Su Ying signaled the driver to change position, then floored the armored vehicle's accelerator.

The convoy turned tail and sped away.

Su Ying was catching her breath as she steadied herself, but upon glancing at the expressionless warriors holding guns in the backseat, her previously relaxed mood tensed up again.

She couldn't forget why the crash happened earlier.

But she had no other choice now; Su Ying could only clutch the Gospel Book tightly and use her eyes and Spiritual Energy to cautiously observe the others present.

She feared that these people too might be influenced by the Gospel Book, as the consequences would be horrifyingly tragic.

Subconsciously.

Su Ying used the Space-Time Apostle System she carried to observe these expressionless warriors. They were a bit nervous too, as their hands never left their guns from start to finish, but they were very good at concealing it, always staring blankly outside and monitoring for any anomalies.

—"Beidou Combat Squad (Low Tier Bionic Transformation) [People's Soldier]!"

"People's Soldier: Will Enhancement, Discipline Enhancement, under certain circumstances, this target will automatically transform into [Martyr]."

Uniformly 'People's Soldier.'"

When it came to equipment, these combat soldiers' gear was slightly inferior to the Academy's elite forces. After all, the Academy inherited the Old World legacy, making them more advanced in bionic transformations. On these soldiers, Su Ying also noticed some early-stage mechanical modifications, meaning their exposed limbs were pure metal and mechanics, without the artificial silicone skin.

However, all these soldiers wore special markings, and their capabilities should be comparable to the Academy's elite forces. The biggest difference was the 'People's Soldier' suffix.

Throughout her experiences, Su Ying had only seen such a suffix on certain powerful entities.

For example, Death Claw, Thousand-Faced Man, and Mother Yisodel, powerful Spiritualists, but these people clearly showed no signs of Spiritual Energy, and their bionic transformation levels weren't high enough to warrant such a suffix from a strength perspective.

Yet they all had it, each bearing it, the suffix being a manifestation of their strength and Spiritual Power.

Su Ying doesn't know much about everything in the Old World. She cannot understand what this suffix denotes, but there is no doubt that the term 'People's Liberation Army' must be the key reason Yin Hu's team could escort the Gospel Book so far during their retreat.

Boom!

In the darkness, flames erupted at the end of the convoy, followed by a series of explosions.

This time, Beidou provided long-range missile support. They did not deploy nuclear weapons again. With the cover of missiles, Su Ying and the others gained precious time to retreat.

But the situation was still grim, because just as they broke through the encirclement and fled, a roar of engines was heard from the rear right of the convoy, followed immediately by fierce gunfire.

Are there pursuers?

How could these Esoteric Cultists have such manpower?

Su Ying and others turned their heads to look back. What they saw made everyone frown. This time, the pursuers were not Esoteric Cultist members or aberrant creatures, but a group of Wilderness Knights riding wildly styled, bionically transformed motorcycles.

All of them were mutants.

Clearly.

Tonight, more than one force wanted to seize the Gospel Book. Su Ying had already encountered these mutants; they seemed to belong to another faction.

These punk-styled mutant robbers were all fearless. A squad of them jumped off a more than ten-meter high cliff, trying to intercept the convoy using a shortcut. The road conditions nearby were poor, so the convoy could only take the deserted highway, whereas the mutant bikers could take shortcuts, quickly flanking the right front and firing wildly at the convoy.

At this moment, these pursuing mutant robbers were not difficult to deal with, but time was precious for everyone.

If they were held up by these enemies, they would surely be overtaken by the Esoteric Cultists again.

Yin Hu, at the driver's seat, showed a hint of hesitation but then decisively issued a command, calmly saying, "The third squad stays behind to cover the rear."

"Everyone else, continue to retreat."

The convoy did not pause at all, but at the rear of the armored car Su Ying was riding, a vehicle suddenly swerved, clearing the way for other vehicles to proceed, followed by a deep male voice: "Roger."

"Ensuring mission completion!"

The modified armored vehicle stopped, and a soldier with fully mechanized arms mounted heavy firepower and jumped onto the roof, while others aimed their guns at the rapidly approaching mutant robbers.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Flames spewed towards the enemies, and two Warriors sprinted to a nearby high ground under enemy fire, then fired down on them, forcing those speeding mutant robbers to seek cover.

—"Martyr!"

Su Ying suddenly noticed that the soldiers' prefixes had changed from 'People's Liberation Army' to 'Martyr.'

This shift occurred instantaneously as they accepted orders to stay and intercept the enemy.

The pursuing mutant robbers were blocked, only a small part managed to catch up with the convoy, and amid intense gunfire, the convoy charged out of a ruined residential area. Yet, during the intense gunfire, a vehicle at the rear suddenly stalled, followed by a calm voice: "We'll stay and hold the rear."

Communication was quickly cut off.

All Su Ying could see in her rearview mirror were several Warriors rushing out from the vehicle, seeking cover and firing back at the enemy.

Now the convoy had only three vehicles left, one of whose hood was smoking, seemingly heavily damaged in the initial intense combat. After struggling to follow the convoy for some distance, they turned sharply and sought a nearby high position. Five fully armed Warriors jumped out of the car, saluted the distant convoy, then placed the car horizontally on the road, quickly constructing a rudimentary barricade.

Su Ying fell silent.

She couldn't help but think of Yin Hu and his team who had entrusted the Gospel Book to her; they too had decisively chosen to stay behind.

The blonde woman beside her also fell silent.

There are legends in the far East, saying that, to rebuild Beidou, they sacrificed three whole generations; they used to not believe these legends. This value system was completely different from what their education taught them, which emphasized personal interests and hoped for the emergence of a savior.

Even institutions like the Academy positioned themselves as saviors, appearing at the right time to act as beacons guiding humanity forward.

In the darkest nuclear winter, the Academy did not emerge; quietly waiting underground, they managed to control the legacy of the Old World. Amid the turbulent chaos, the Academy did not emerge either; they subtly reached out, secretly infiltrating to nurture agents, extracting Wasteland resources, strengthening themselves while waiting for the right moment.

Until they sensed a new star rising in the distant East, the Academy eagerly raised their flag, seeking to become a beacon of freedom illuminating the path forward for humanity.

But before the flag could shine, the Academy faced a civil war, splitting in two.

If it weren't for the transformative changes in the East, the Academy might have stayed dormant much longer, until they deemed it foolproof to lead people with a savior mentality.

But Beidou is different.

In the far East, no one ever expected a savior; they just kept using generation after generation of sacrifices to withstand from the most grueling nuclear winter to the present.

Beidou has always been there.

.........