The path to the city's outskirts was more tortuous than Chen Ke had anticipated. He didn't choose to traverse the surface directly—that would be tantamount to streaking naked under the System's gaze. He utilized the long-abandoned logistical network and maintenance conduits left over from the city's expansion period. These passages, like the blood vessels of a giant beast, were buried deep underground, dark, damp, and reeking of sharp odors from machine oil and oxidized metal.
The environmental camouflage filter hummed faintly, scrambling and obscuring his exhaled moisture and body heat signature as much as possible. He moved swiftly like a silent shadow along the inner walls of the massive pipes and narrow maintenance walkways. His implant's navigation system was highly unstable this deep underground; he relied more on memories from earlier years and vague coordinates left by illegal mapping nodes.
After an indeterminable time, a faint light appeared ahead. It wasn't the city's artificial light, but a colder, thinner kind. He was approaching the exit of the pipe network, already at the edge of District 7. Beyond lay the desolate area known as the "Buffer Zone," and deep within that desolation was the "Oblivion Graveyard."
Just as he was about to step out of the pipe exit, a very subtle vibration, not part of the ambient noise, came from a side branch behind him. Not a rat, nor structural settlement. It was something... more precise.
Chen Ke froze instantly, pressing his body against the cold pipe wall, reducing his breathing to a minimum. A high-frequency cutter he'd acquired from Old Dog was now in his hand, its blade emitting a nearly inaudible low hum.
The footsteps were light, deliberately cautious, but not professionally stealthy. The newcomer seemed familiar with the path, yet carried a hint of hesitation.
Chen Ke waited patiently. The moment the figure was about to round the corner, he moved. Extremely fast. His left hand clamped over the person's mouth like an iron vise, while the cold blade of the cutter pressed against their carotid artery.
The feel of it gave him a slight pause. The person was more slender than he expected, and... lacked the common cold or hardness of implants. Through the rough protective clothing, he could feel warm, purely flesh-and-blood trembling beneath.
"Not a sound," Chen Ke's voice was very low, echoing faintly in the empty pipe.
The person he held stiffened, then a surprising anger replaced the initial fear. They threw an elbow back, not powerful but at an awkward angle, simultaneously trying to trip him to break free. The technique was clumsy, but the reaction was quick.
Chen Ke easily deflected the poor counterattack, tightening his arm slightly to pin them more firmly against the pipe wall. "Who are you? Why are you following me?"
The person, his hand still over their mouth, made muffled sounds, their eyes filled with anger and... a trace of grievance?
Chen Ke slightly loosened his grip on her mouth—from the feel and close observation, it was indeed a young woman.
"Let me go! You bastard!" she hissed, her voice clear, carrying a vitality rare in this age. "Who's following you? Did you buy this path?"
Chen Ke didn't lower his guard, his sharp eyes scanning her. She wore an ill-fitting old protective suit, her face smudged with grime, but her eyes were unusually bright, like an unpolluted sky. She had no visible implant ports, almost unbelievable in today's society.
"Few know this path," Chen Ke said coldly. "Especially at this time, in this direction."
The girl glared at him, her chest heaving slightly from anger and the struggle. "I'm going to the 'Graveyard' to find my father! Is that allowed? You're the one sneaking around, obviously not a good person!"
Father? In the Oblivion Graveyard? Chen Ke's interest was piqued. Besides scavengers and desperadoes, were there actually settlers there?
"What does your father do in the Graveyard?"
"None of your business!" the girl retorted stubbornly, turning her head away, but a flicker of anxiety and worry passed through her eyes.
Chen Ke stared at her for a few seconds, then slowly retracted the cutter, though his body remained alert. "You can go."
The girl was taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to let her off so easily. She rubbed her sore wrist, looked at Chen Ke warily, but didn't leave immediately.
"You..." she hesitated, her voice softer, "Are you going to the 'Graveyard' too? Do you know... it's been unsettled there lately?"
Chen Ke's focus returned to her. "Unsettled?"
The girl bit her lip, as if weighing her words. "Lately, some strangers have been going in, wearing unified uniforms, not like scavengers. They... they're looking for something. My father, he went because of them..." She didn't continue, but the worry in her eyes deepened.
Unified uniforms... "The Ring" moved fast indeed.
"What are they looking for?" Chen Ke asked.
"I don't know," the girl shook her head, genuine confusion in her eyes. "But I overheard them talking, mentioning a word... something called... 'The Cradle'?"
Chen Ke's heart skipped a beat. "The Cradle" again!
He looked at this girl before him, seemingly unrelated to it all, yet appearing on the critical path and seemingly holding some key information. Coincidence? Or trap?
Her eyes were clear, filled with a recklessness and sincerity of one inexperienced with the world, unlike a perfect actor. But Chen Ke couldn't let his guard down.
"You're going to find your father?" he asked.
The girl nodded vigorously.
"Come with me," Chen Ke decided. Whether she was a coincidence or had another purpose, keeping her in sight was better than letting her operate in the shadows. Moreover, her knowledge of the Graveyard might be more useful than his incomplete coordinates.
The girl looked at him in surprise, then with suspicion. "Why should I trust you?"
"You can choose not to," Chen Ke turned, facing the cold light of the pipe exit. "But entering the Graveyard alone now is no different from suicide. Your choice."
With that, he ignored her and stepped out.
After a brief moment of hesitation, hurried footsteps followed. The girl caught up, keeping a small distance.
"My name is Lia," she said from behind.
Chen Ke didn't turn back, merely grunting in acknowledgment.
Outside the pipe exit lay a seemingly endless metallic wasteland. Twisted starship wrecks and abandoned industrial components piled up into mountains, stretching to the horizon, appearing immensely desolate and dead under the gloomy sky.
The Oblivion Graveyard had arrived.
And by Chen Ke's side, a variable named Lia had been added. He didn't know if this variable would lead him to the truth of "The Cradle" or push him deeper into the fog and danger.