Chapter 10
1083words
Ethan Frost spotted the vehicle and ran over carrying his father's machete, the light in his eyes much brighter than before.
"Brother Jack! You're back!" Alex rushed over to help unload the helium-3 canisters, his fingers trembling as they touched the containers. "How's Lily doing?"
"Much better." Jack carried Lily down from the vehicle. The little girl could now stand on her own and was curiously sniffing the radiation protection paste from the Mutants, which she clutched tightly.
Ella's brother followed, holding luminescent moss brought back from the Arctic. It gave off a pale blue glow in the sunlight, drawing curious children who gathered around.
Marcus had no time for small talk and ran toward the Purification Station with a metal canister: "Need to connect the expansion device quickly! The helium-3 stays active only seven days—after that it's useless!"
Ben and Ella followed while Scavengers voluntarily helped carry equipment. Even several elderly people who'd previously shown hostility toward Tech Hunters came with wrenches to help.
Jack watched the scene, remembering Raymond's stubbornness in life, then looked at the green sprouts in the furrows. A pang hit his heart—if Raymond could see this, he'd probably put down his machete and pick up farming tools instead.
In the Purification Station's control zone, Marcus connected the helium-3 canister to the expansion interface. On screen, the purification range map visibly expanded, green area growing from 100 to 500 square kilometers, covering the entire southern survival zone.
"It's done!" Marcus patted the control console, voice brimming with excitement. "Cesium-137 concentration in soil has dropped to safe levels. In another two weeks, we can plant cold-resistant wheat and potatoes!"
Ella's brother suddenly pointed to a corner of the screen and said softly: "There's an encrypted file there."
Marcus paused, then opened the file—inside were three blurry maps marked "Exl Terra No. 2," "No. 3," and "No. 4." The coordinates were encrypted, with only one note: "Aurora Company pre-war deployment, requires helium-3 key to unlock."
"Three more Purification Stations?" Jack leaned in, staring at the map. "Did Aurora Corporation know about the nuclear war in advance and build these beforehand?"
"Very likely." Marcus frowned. "They fabricated data to provoke the war, then built Purification Stations, probably planning to monopolize world purification rights afterward."
Just then, hoofbeats sounded from outside the camp—survivors from Shelter 79, led by a woman in a light blue Radiation Suit holding a white flag: "We've come to negotiate cooperation. After Supervisor Thorn's detention, everyone in the shelter wants to survive and is willing to share energy technology with the camp."
Jack and Ella exchanged glances, both seeing surprise and delight in each other's eyes.
Ella stepped forward and took the white flag from the woman: "We need the shelter's agricultural data and medical equipment. In exchange, we'll provide purified soil so you can grow crops too."
The woman nodded and pulled a notebook from her backpack: "This is the inventory of our seed bank, with pre-war medical manuals. All yours. We only hope… to survive this winter together with the camp people."
That afternoon, the three parties signed the "New Green Agreement" in the Purification Station's control zone: shelter survivors would provide energy technology and medical resources, Tech Hunters would maintain the Station and decrypt coordinates, and Scavengers would cultivate land and grow crops. All resources would be distributed according to population, with no hierarchy.
On signing day, the camp slaughtered a mutated pig and made a large pot of meat soup. Everyone gathered around the bonfire, holding flatbread made from compressed biscuit powder, with long-absent smiles on their faces.
Lily sat in Jack's lap, sipping soup and whispering: "Brother, the soup smells so good today."
Jack patted her head and looked around the campfire—Alex telling children stories about the Arctic, Ben helping Marcus adjust equipment, Ella discussing planting schedules with shelter women, and Ethan sitting by the furrows holding his father's machete, staring at the newly sprouting wheat.
Night deepened, the campfire died down, and everyone returned to their tents. Jack and Marcus sat on the Purification Station roof, sharing a half bottle of whiskey they'd found in a pre-war bar.
"When can the encrypted coordinates be decoded?" Jack asked.
"At least a month," Marcus swirled the bottle. "We need the key from Aurora Corporation, probably in their headquarters—now the New York Ruins. Radiation there is still extremely high, even worse than the Arctic."
Jack nodded and looked toward the Arctic, where the sky remained gray and the Polar Vortex continued its endless spin.
"The Mutants sent word that stronger mutated creatures are awakening beneath the Polar Vortex," he recalled the worried looks in the Mutants' eyes. "We need to decode those coordinates and activate the other Stations quickly, or when those creatures emerge, we could face another disaster."
Marcus took a sip of whiskey, his eyes hardening with determination: "We will decode it. When spring comes, we'll go to New York, no matter the danger. We must get that key."
The roof wind was cool but no longer carried radiation dust. Instead, it held a hint of earthy smell—the scent of the new green zone, the smell of rebirth.
Jack pulled out the Radiation Protection Paste from his pocket and sniffed it. It carried a faint mossy fragrance.
He thought about Raymond's death, Ben's transformation, Ella and her brother's persistence, and the little wire rabbit in Lily's hand.
These fragments pieced together represented the most precious thing in this wasteland—not helium-3, not the Purification Station, but people's desire to survive and their trust in each other.
"Spring will come," Jack said.
"It will," Marcus nodded.
In the distant furrows, tender sprouts of cold-resistant wheat gleamed with pale green light under the moonlight, like stars fallen to earth.
The Purification Station's screen remained lit, its green areas quietly flickering, protecting this land just freed from gray frost's grip.
Jack knew the challenges weren't over—New York ruins, mutated creatures beneath the Polar Vortex, unsolved coordinates—all waiting for them.
But he was no longer afraid, because he had people willing to fight alongside him, land beginning to recover, and the smile on Lily's face.
The ten years of darkness under the Gray Frost were finally ending. And a new story was just beginning.
