Chapter 102: Preparing for the Deep Dive

Dang Wei clutched his neck in shock and slowly collapsed to the ground. His eyes were filled with disbelief, but more than that, a sense of relief in facing death. He was not afraid to die; rather, he was astonished at how decisively and swiftly Cao Fusheng had dealt with him.

Cao Fusheng knelt down slowly and said, “It seems I still don’t understand your group well enough. In just a few words, you revealed a weakness, making you instinctively reach for the gun at your waist.”

“Heh… you… don’t just… misunderstand… We, the people of Heaven’s Kingdom… are fearless of death…” blood mixed with saliva spilled continuously from Dang Wei’s mouth as he gasped for breath like a bull.

“Hmm, I understand what you mean. Many people in this world do not fear death; what they fear is dying without making a grand impact, or dying quietly and ignominiously.”

Cao Fusheng smiled as he looked at the ragged breathing of Dang Wei. His blade had sliced open the man’s neck, but just enough to not kill him instantly.

“Cough… For us of Heaven’s Kingdom… death is truly the beginning… without death, there is no rebirth… my soul will return to Heaven’s Kingdom… my body will contribute to cleansing this world…”

Cao Fusheng gazed deeply at the now lifeless Dang Wei, feeling a headache coming on. This so-called Heaven’s Kingdom was clearly a cult! It poisoned its survivors heavily.

Dang Wei seemed to be a person of normal intelligence and emotional awareness, yet he had been brainwashed so thoroughly. Even on the brink of death, he still deeply believed in the doctrines of Heaven’s Kingdom. Cao Fusheng found himself curious about what kind of place it really was—and what kind of person claimed to be its god.

Cao Fusheng picked up his combat knife and drove it hard into Dang Wei’s head, whispering, “Your body can no longer contribute to cleansing this world.”

Having taken the first kill and drawn first blood, there was no reason to spare the others. Soon, Cao Fusheng and Gao Yi dealt with the others who were still asleep; some remained hidden outside the lonely building.

But going out now risked alerting those outside. By headcount, at least seven people were on duty as sentinels.

“How’s Chu Wei? Has the fever gone down?”

“She’s awake now, but still weak. She needs to rest first.”

“Captain Cao, what’s our next move? Should we return to ZZ City to investigate?”

Cao Fusheng thought briefly. Earlier, Dang Wei had mentioned a team from Heaven’s Kingdom that dug tunnels, though no details were known. If those tunnels reached beneath the Heavenly Pillar, that would make infiltration easy.

“Once Chu Wei can move, we’ll be ready. We just need the right moment. Then, it wouldn’t hurt to make a trip back to ZZ City. I’ll go check on her now.”

After Cao Fusheng left, Gao Yi remained, frowning and hesitating, apparently harboring doubts about Cao’s decision but not voicing them.

To everyone else but Cao Fusheng, entering the Heavenly Pillar didn’t seem so urgent. Compared to their lives, whether they succeeded or failed to enter and enjoy the promised future seemed insignificant.

That was precisely the problem.

Cao Fusheng understood this, but he could wait no longer. He had never intended to challenge the authority of the system that had assigned his mission. If he failed to complete the task as required, it might very well kill him.

Moreover, the system had spoken of duty and mission, calling itself both the beginning and the end, throwing out cryptic remarks that left Cao Fusheng bewildered.

“They are exactly as you guessed—those people come from the Northern Heaven’s Kingdom. On the surface, they appear normal, but behind the scenes, they are fanatical believers. In the old era, they would be called cultists,” Cao Fusheng said, pulling a chair to sit beside Chu Wei’s bed, recounting the events.

Chu Wei leaned against the bedframe, her gaze toward Cao Fusheng layered with complexity. She whispered, “They claim to act for the survivors, for humanity, for a better tomorrow, yet they commit acts against humanity. They are nothing but cultists. If they succeed in breaching the Heavenly Pillar, this world will lose all sanctuaries. Eventually, only one of either the Heavenly Pillar or Heaven’s Kingdom will remain.”

“My view isn’t quite so extreme,” said Han Shuqing, a lawyer by training, her perspective more nuanced.

“Though the Northern Heaven’s Kingdom shows tendencies of evil, tyranny, divine judgment, and anti-humanity, the problem lies only in the leadership. Not every one of their tens of thousands of survivors are accomplices or villains. Most simply want to survive, compelled to raise their flags and shout, but they haven’t truly committed intolerable acts that would outrage both man and god.”

Han Shuqing’s pragmatic approach contrasted with Chu Wei’s stark moral judgment: black or white, no gray area, no mercy.

But what she said was true. Cao Fusheng shared her thoughts. One must not condemn all for the sins of a few. If the day came when Chu Wei had the chance to destroy the Northern Heaven’s Kingdom, she might slaughter all tens of thousands of survivors indiscriminately, including innocents—dealing a severe blow to the already dwindling human race.

“My husband’s goal is to enter the Heavenly Pillar. Naturally, I will follow him. I will join the Pillar in the future. From the Pillar’s standpoint, if a large-scale war erupts someday, we only need to defeat the leadership of the Northern Heaven’s Kingdom—to punish those in command and the active war participants. There’s no need to exterminate everyone else,” Han Shuqing said, then looked tenderly at Cao Fusheng, her eyes brimming with love. Unconsciously, her whole heart belonged to this man.

From reluctant beginnings to gradual acceptance, then partnership, in this apocalypse, Han Shuqing had grown dependent on Cao Fusheng, but more than that, she felt safe and deeply beloved.

Her use of “my husband” naturally asserted her status among the group; Shen Dong and Gao Yi understood well.

Over the past month, Han Shuqing had embraced the role of elder sister-in-law, and she was dutiful—two grown men had no complaints.

“Let’s put the Northern Heaven’s Kingdom aside for now. No matter how urgent it feels, it’s only after returning to the Heavenly Pillar that we can consider our next steps. Our immediate priority is how to break through the obstacles and get back inside. That’s my view. Once Chu Wei’s health stabilizes, we depart immediately. This time, we must penetrate deep into the city center!”