Starry Sky Railway: Twin Origins

Chapter 44 For a Better Tomorrow

As the Great Guardian finished speaking in the video, the projection screen went dark.

Many people present still didn't understand why Schwarzlo had shown them this footage.

In the video, the scholar in the white robe mentioned that the "star core" was the culprit behind all the disasters.

However, apart from the few "Earth Fire" members who had contact with Lin Qiong and the others, everyone else was completely baffled when they heard the words "Star Core." They had no idea what the so-called "Star Core" was.

"The guardian in this video said that a voice resides in her mind, and I feel like I've seen that scene somewhere before..."

After the video ended, Xing, who was standing next to March 7, suddenly spoke.

Upon hearing this, everyone's attention was drawn to Xing's words, and they all focused their gaze on her.

Xing was looking down, her brows slightly furrowed, and one hand gently supporting her chin, as if she was trying hard to remember something.

Just as everyone was patiently waiting for Xing to continue, Schwarz's metallic voice suddenly reached their ears.

"The presentation of document number 1 has finished. Next up: document number 2."

As the words fell, the screen suspended in mid-air flickered slightly, and a brand new video slowly appeared on it.

In the scene, what catches the eye is an elderly man with gray hair, wearing a white robe and leaning on a cane, while a girl dressed as a scholar stands in front of him.

"Doctor, I don't understand why you would hide those invaluable research findings; they represent your life's work..."

"Cough cough...sigh," the old man coughed softly twice and then sighed, "Child, you are still young, one day you will understand..."

"The Great Guardian...every decision she made was for the peace of Beloborg."

"...But!" The female scholar frowned and said with some regret, "Our research has hit a bottleneck, and your results will have to be shelved. Don't you feel very regretful, Doctor?"

Upon hearing this, the old man gently shook his head and said, "There's no need to feel regretful, child, you still have plenty of time."

"Once you find a way to destroy the 'Star Core,' all our efforts will not have been in vain."

The video ended after the old man finished speaking.

"Star Core"—these two words were mentioned again in this video.

Moreover, after watching these two videos, we can see that the ultimate goal of these people is to destroy something called the "Star Core".

"The data playback is complete, and the data display is finished." After this video ended, the screen projected by Schwarzro also began to disappear.

At the intersection of Rivet Town, the members of "Earthfire" fell into an unprecedented silence.

Having lived in isolation in the lower realms for so long, it was incredibly difficult for them to accept the sudden exposure to the secrets of this world.

It's like a frog sitting at the bottom of a well, always thinking that the sky is only as big as the well opening, but one day it suddenly sees the vast and boundless sky.

That shock will shatter their long-held worldview.

As people fell into deep thought, Swaro, who was not far away, strode forward and walked straight up to Oleg, the leader of "Earthfire".

Damn it!

Seeing this, Seele, who had been stunned for a moment, was suddenly startled. She cursed herself inwardly for her dereliction of duty, then picked up the scythe in her hand and rushed towards Swallow.

"Boss!" Seele shouted anxiously, quickly swinging her scythe towards Swallow. "Swallow! Get out of my way!"

Oleg looked up and met the gaze of Swallow in front of him, while simultaneously extending a hand toward Seele, raising his palm in a stop gesture.

Seeing this, Seele quickly steadied herself and stopped. The momentum from running at high speed carried her forward for a short distance.

At this moment, she looked at Oleg, who was standing in front of Schwarz, with a puzzled expression. She didn't understand why her boss was stopping her.

What if Schvaro suddenly intervenes? The "Earthfire" can't afford to lose Oleg as their "leader"!

Just as Seele was thinking this, Oleg smiled slightly at Swallow: "What? What brings you here to see this old man?"

"Oleg Quickfist, former Silvermane Iron Guard of the 'Earthfire' organization, I'm not looking for you, but for the true leader of the 'Earthfire' organization."

Schwaronna's cold, mechanical voice reached the ears of everyone nearby.

"Huh? Wasn't he the leader of the Earthfire organization?" March 7 said with some surprise upon hearing this. "Seeing how much Seele respects him, I thought he really was the leader of Earthfire."

"Wow! As expected of a robot with a database, it even knows my old title from the military," Oleg praised Schwarz.

"I am the acting leader of the organization. Just tell me what you want to say, and I will relay it to you."

“Rejected—I must meet with the true leader of the Earthfire Organization before I can tell you the purpose of this trip.” Swaro rejected Oleg’s proposal.

It wasn't that it didn't trust Oleg, but rather that it wanted to personally verify the possibilities that humans possessed.

Previously, its mission was to "protect" the humans in the lower zones, so it didn't care what the humans thought.

The only human it cared about was Clara, but at Lin Qiong's urging and Clara's request, it tried to understand the thoughts of other humans.

"Ah! That's troublesome." Oleg scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled. "Our leader just happens to be..."

However, before Oleg could finish speaking, a gentle female voice came from the crowded people behind him.

“It’s alright, Oleg, I’m here.”

As the voice faded, a person whom Lin Qiong and the others knew very well stepped out from the crowd, accompanied by an old acquaintance.

"...Is Miss Natasha the true leader of 'Earthfire'?"

Seeing the two people, March 7 was very surprised. She couldn't even count how many times she had been overwhelmed by this feeling of surprise that day.

"No wonder Sambo called Oleg 'the old man' back then."

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Natasha and Sambo slowly walked to Oleg's side.

"Hello, Swallow, I am Natasha, the true leader of the 'Earthfire' organization. I heard you wanted to see me?"

Before Swallow could answer, a head suddenly popped out from behind it, and the person greeted Natasha: "Hello, Sister Natasha!"

Upon hearing this, Natasha looked towards the source of the voice, and after recognizing the person, she smiled and waved, replying, "Long time no see, Clara, hello!"

Clara seemed quite pleased after greeting Natasha, a sight that Swallow noticed.

Then, in a metallic voice, it asked Natasha, "Leader of 'Earthfire,' what has been the purpose of everything you've done so far?"

Schwarzlo wanted to know what was driving the people of the lower districts to continuously resist the upper districts.

It had informed them of its calculations countless times, but they still joined "Earthfire" without hesitation, ignoring the risks and resisting the upper zone at any cost.

However, when she heard the question, Natasha paused for a moment, then gave a faint smile.

She looked at Schwarz with a serious expression and replied, "For myself, for the children who lost their families before they were even weaned, for the elderly people homeless on the streets, and also for a return to—a time when there was no distinction between the 'upper and lower classes' in Belberg."

"Humans have always been creatures that yearn for freedom. If they can't see the 'sky' for too long, they'll get sick..."

After listening to Natasha's words, Swallow fell silent again.

In its understanding, being sick is like a part of the body breaking down, so you just need to find a new part to replace it.

But that only applied to robots. Clara accidentally cut herself while repairing a robot, and the wound became infected, causing her to have a persistent high fever.

That was also the first time Schwarzkopf experienced an emotion called "anxiety".

However, with the help of homeless people outside the settlement, Clara was taken to a clinic in town for treatment and gradually recovered her health.

Schwarzlo therefore granted the homeless people access to his residence.

"Mr. Schwarzlo..."

Seeing that Schwarzro had fallen into a long silence, Clara, somewhat worried, gently called its name.

Upon hearing the sound, Schwarz turned to look at Clara beside him. Seeing the worried expression on her face, Schwarz seemed to have made up his mind.

It looked at Natasha, who was patiently waiting for its response, and said, "Prototype 3—'Supervision Machine' Swaro, agreement to assist 'Earthfire' in resisting the Upper Zone: Passed."

"Leader of the 'Earthfire,' I will lift the blockade on the path to the Upper Zone—the Core Nexus."

"All mechs in the lower zone will be ordered to unconditionally assist 'Groundfire'."