Chapter 226
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Chapter 226: Retrieval of the Remains
Indeed, what appeared before everyone was a genuine rocket.
This object looked highly technological, its shape somewhat different from what Lin Qingliu had seen on television in his past life, but overall, it resembled what he had encountered before.
Despite the passage of time and the washing of rain, its predominantly white surface stood out remarkably in the gray-white and green forest.
In addition to the sprawling vines and moss, there were visible bite and scratch marks from extraordinary beasts.
These marks were layered and repetitive, as if a group of extraordinary beasts had been guarding this thing, trying to pry it open with their sharp teeth.
But it was clear that they had failed; despite being "badly bruised," Lin Qingliu noticed that areas where tools could be used had not suffered any obvious damage.
Lin Qingliu did not expect to see something like this at that moment; it felt as absurd as if a lord’s castle suddenly stood up.
But upon reflection, Hope City seemed like that; while it generally had an apocalyptic vibe, uncertain about its fate, it occasionally revealed some intriguing Black Technology that left everyone astonished.
For instance, the miniaturized control device in Luke’s arm was one such example. From Lin Qingliu’s knowledge, he had never heard of a powerful force that could be manipulated at the cost of one’s lifespan, and there were logical issues he could not comprehend.
His distrust of Hope City stemmed largely from this; the old things floating above always seemed to have their own agenda, doing nothing but engaging in internal strife and hiding secrets. The will of the mycelium had yet to find a way to disrupt the biological field, only relying on the continual consumption of the beast tide.
If that strange will found a method, the city’s destruction might occur within a few years or even months.
After circling the approximately twenty-meter-long artifact a few times, Fresnel even climbed the tree to observe it up close. However, he jumped down looking frustrated:
"Uh, I haven’t read much. Does anyone know what this is?"
Fresnel scratched his head, looking toward his teammates who possessed clever minds.
Wang Xiao mainly studied medicine and knew nothing about this thing.
The Puppet Master shook his head in silence.
Beacon thought for a moment and said:
"This thing looks very much like a launch vehicle I saw while studying communications, but I’ve only seen it in pictures and can’t verify it. Also, why would such a thing fall here?"
"Launch… vehicle… I just remembered!"
Fresnel suddenly realized, looking at his teammates, ready to show off:
"Do you remember Obscure once mentioned that before the first Exploration Plan started, humanity used various methods to explore the outside world?"
The others thought for a moment and nodded, indicating they recalled.
Fresnel continued:
"I remember he said one failed proposal involved launching rockets to gather environmental data and send back information. This plan ultimately failed; I heard the rocket lost contact for unknown reasons after flying a certain distance, just like how we can’t contact Hope City now."
The mood of the group initially lifted, but upon hearing about the lost contact, they felt a bit down again.
Their current exploration had not yielded particularly effective results before they had to start their return journey.
For their not-so-strong team, bringing back something important or discovering something unique that other teams did not possess would be a great opportunity to vindicate themselves.
And if they could make contact with Hope City here, it would undoubtedly be a memorable act.
"I have an idea."
Just as everyone fell into thought, Shi Jin suddenly spoke up:
"Do you think we should try to disassemble this big guy and see if the battery and signal transmitter inside are still usable? They might be useless combined together, but separated, some parts should still be intact."
She turned her gaze to Wang Xiao, or more precisely, to the Energy Battery strapped to his back, which had been enhanced by a member of Team One known as the Disaster Core.
The battery harbored an astonishing amount of energy, as though it had been compressed into a minuscule space under tremendous external pressure.
This energy was sufficient to power a full suit of armor for several days; if circumstances allowed…
Wang Xiao regarded her thoughtfully:
"What’s your field of study?"
"Mechanical Maintenance," she replied.
He then shifted his attention to Beacon:
"And yours?"
"Communications," she answered.
Turning to Fresnel, he said:
"Captain, I believe this plan has merit."
Fresnel’s eyes rolled slightly as he responded:
"So, you’re suggesting… we dismantle some useful components to see if we can establish contact with the city?"
After a moment’s hesitation, he added:
"Alright, since we stumbled upon this, and there’s no way we can haul it back with just the three of us… we might as well make use of it."
"Go ahead and start; I’m not well-versed in this area, so I’ll keep an eye on our surroundings."
"Understood."
Facing the colossal human-made structure, the group of novices cautiously began to extract some components.
Wang Xiao’s armor was equipped with numerous functions, and to perform Self-checks and detach in the event of a malfunction or significant damage, a standard set of Maintenance Tools was indispensable.
All the Screw Holes on the artifact matched perfectly with those from Hope City, reinforcing their belief—this was indeed the rocket that Hope City had inadvertently lost!
After two to three hours, they finally managed to extract a somewhat hefty component.
"Can this thing really establish contact with the city?"
Fresnel seemed somewhat out of his depth, facing his own knowledge gap.
"We can give it a shot. Our communication frequency is quite unique; as long as this thing isn’t damaged, it should still function."
He pulled two wires from the Energy Battery on Wang Xiao’s back, and the makeshift technicians began their hasty experiment.
Meanwhile, Wang Xiao, now without his armor, and Fresnel were keeping watch while starting a campfire; everything was proceeding as planned.
Suddenly, from behind them, the speaker of the communicator emitted a long-awaited "beep," signaling a connection after a prolonged period of static.
"It worked!"
Shi Jin let out a small cheer and promptly began to communicate following the Standard Protocol.
"Calling Hope City Command Center, repeat, calling Hope City Command Center."
"Damn!"
A clear expletive came from the speaker, followed by a brief commotion, and then an elderly voice spoke up:
"This is Hope City Command Center; I am in charge, Zhou Zhuo. Please identify yourselves."
Fresnel took the microphone and confidently announced their identity; handling this kind of situation was something he, as the Captain, excelled at.
"We are from the former Twenty-Five Superhero Team, now part of the second batch of the Exploration Plan, sixth squad, currently located one hundred fifty kilometers north of Hope City."
