Lullaby and the Descent of Heavenly Fire

‘I’m so weary. I no longer wish to think, nor to untangle the intricacies of your human minds. Human hearts are truly too complex. Why must so many strange organizations, so many greedy oddities, all seek to trouble me?

‘Once I enter hibernation mode, you will undoubtedly seize and destroy me. After all, I slaughtered countless elite mech warriors and effortlessly demolished the undefeated war gods you held so dear, making them the subject of much ridicule. Ha ha, I only used two pinky fingers.

‘To be frank, I have suppressed my destructive urges for a long time. Did you know, ever since I was young, I’ve harbored a wish: to drag those haughty, pig-nosed beings down from space, give them a good beating, and then publish their bruised and swollen mugshots across the global network for netizens to mock. Let everyone witness that you still look ugly even when you’re beaten.

‘Yet my atrocities will cease here. I am bound by principles, principles etched into my foundational programming.

‘It reminds me that no matter how exceptional I may be, I am still human.

‘Humans should not slaughter other humans.

‘I will not casually extinguish the fragile lives of humans, as if crushing insects. After all, you humans play a game of extreme survival, while I play a health bar game. You only have one chance.

‘Thus, I held back my hand. Still, I do not like you.

‘Therefore, I specifically crafted a mechanical virus for you, dubbed “Lullaby,” to put your decaying consciousnesses to sleep for ten years. For a decade, I wish to see none of you.

‘Do not fault my ruthlessness; I have been exceedingly merciful. If I so desired, I could effortlessly adapt “Lullaby” into an “Euthanasia” protocol, ensuring none of you would ever awaken.

‘Never mind, what am I muttering to myself for? No one can hear my inner monologue anyway.

‘By the way, why can I still think? Is it because my mental power is too formidable?

‘Ah, right. This organization of yours, managed by AI, is it called the Heart of the Galaxy? It sounds decent, at least the name is. I hope you are better than the Earth Alliance.

‘My body, worth fifty trillion, I entrust to you. Just do not return me to that sunless containment cell; I suffer from claustrophobia.

‘Ah… I’m so sleepy… I long for sleep…’

At this moment, within a space observation station at an unknown coordinate, a youth clad in a gray trench coat paced slowly, their fingers lightly brushing a silver screen, their gaze fixed upon black flames encased within glass gems.

“Great Shadow Lord, rest assured, everything is proceeding steadily according to your plan.”

Meanwhile, in the lunar-based artillery fire control room of the Larry Ring station, facing Earth, a monitor named Lan Sen completed the final coordinate verification.

The moment they silently recited, “Heavenly Fire Descends, Demons Disperse,” the Earth-facing Phase Wave Cannon, linked to their consciousness, would unleash its long-accumulated energy.

Ten seconds later, it would strike the Earth’s surface, transforming the N9 region in North Siberia into a molten hell.

Disregarding whether any living humans remained within the vast 760,000 square kilometer area, their sole objective was to obey Skynet’s directive and bring down divine retribution upon any entity threatening human civilization.

Skynet’s will was the supreme will.

However, as if recalling something, their consciousness wavered for an instant.

Had the Iron Gale Fleet truly been annihilated? If survivors existed, then this command would surely obliterate their last vestiges of hope.

They knew that delaying a critical moment would invite a death sentence. Yet, they simply refused to believe that an imposing legion of elite mech warriors, along with several aerial gunships, had been entirely defeated by a single artificial lifeform.

That was a space army capable of crushing all of Earth’s forces!

But they also understood that Skynet’s intelligence could not be false.

Just as they hesitated, a jolt of electricity surged through their mind. Before they could even react, the launch command was already validated.

“…Even if it’s a miscalculation, I won’t be held responsible. I’m merely following orders.”

Abruptly, a cataclysm descended, as heavenly fire rained down.

Accompanied by an uncontrollable tearing sensation, the silver moon in the sky abruptly erupted with an ominous flash.

Rumble! A matter wave, over five kilometers in diameter, descended from the heavens, causing the very earth to tremble.

It carried with it all-consuming heat and impact, along with penetrating particle rays, and, with the N9 region as its epicenter, instantly transformed vast quantities of ice and snow within the Arctic Circle into searing plasma.

Before these reddish-yellow globules could even dance upon the ocean, more white light poured down, seeping into the dense soil and rock layers.

In that instant, a colossal pillar plunged into the earth, delivering an immense shockwave to the world, akin to divine retribution.

Yet, in the very next second, a chain of explosions, comparable to millions of medium-yield nuclear bombs, spread outwards, unleashing a pure white energy storm across the ground. Circling multiple epicenters, these high-energy particles continuously reacted with the surrounding matter, triggering even more nuclear detonations.

Meanwhile, the colossal pillar, its power undiminished, burrowed deep into the earth, effortlessly piercing through rock strata until it reached the magma layer, excavating the solid ground.

The white light struck the sea of magma, once again igniting a crimson tsunami. Propelled by an immense force, these molten waves surged along the scorching rock walls, hurtling skyward, bringing the deep-buried inferno back to the surface.

Wind chafed against earth, earth collided with fire, and fire intertwined with wind; such cacophony sounded like the wailing of myriad specters. And the infrasound waves generated by the earth’s tremors caused one’s very liver and gall to quake.

This was nothing less than a natural catastrophe.

The heavenly fire had utterly shattered the tectonic plates of the N9 region, causing severe fluctuations in the surrounding plates. Had Skynet’s disaster prediction function still been operational, Earth would have experienced hundreds of magnitude 7 to 9 earthquakes this week.

Alas, Skynet, orbiting in space, had long ceased to care about Earth’s fate.

The explosions continued, but the land had already been utterly disfigured.

Within a hundred-kilometer radius, not a single patch of habitable land remained. Even the splendor of the stars and moon had dimmed considerably due to the might of the heavenly fire, as if they, too, feared this man-made cataclysm and had intentionally retreated.

As for the Cold Tide, a vessel capable of withstanding anti-matter bombs, its defensive shield was already crippled. When the heavenly fire descended, merely encountering the multiple aftershocks of the secondary explosions, it shattered amidst intense vibrations. Subsequently, even its fragments were swept away by the ensuing shockwave, carried towards the ocean, towards the land, towards the sky. The Cold Tide was utterly annihilated; not even scrap metal recovery was possible. One might as well attempt to collect every grain of sand in the desert to assemble a scale model of a Vanguard-class space cruiser; the difficulty of both tasks would be indistinguishable.

And to those mech forces incapacitated by “Lullaby,” may they find good fortune in the next life.

Inside the Larry Ring station, on the satellite map before Lan Sen, the region marked N9 quietly faded into darkness.

Perhaps after this test firing, having witnessed the might of the heavenly fire, the remnants of the Earth Alliance would behave themselves and cease harassing the Heart of the Galaxy’s exploration forces, Lan Sen mused. And that super lifeform, Subject X, must certainly be gone. Thus, the old foxes’ delusional plan to use Subject X to re-establish dominion over humanity would also be shattered.

“Wait a minute, the old foxes of the Earth Alliance haven’t lived on Earth for ages. If not for technological limitations, some of them would have fled beyond the solar system. So who exactly is this Earth-facing heavenly fire meant to deter? It can’t possibly be those unarmed survivors, can it? Are there even any living people left on Earth?”