Chapter 14: The Great Wall

No POV (Third Person)

Had anyone been present amidst the forest of Jinzhou they might have felt a rumble and shake, would have seen the trees shaking in the lurid light of a crimson sunrise. This hypothetical individual may have become frightened as the tremors only increased in intensity as a blackened wall tore its way upwards, clawing towards the sky at a frightful pace. Perhaps this individual may have even felt awe as symbols and etchings wove themselves across the wall before glowing with eldritch light.

Alas, the camps had long been emptied of both guards and occupants.

So there were none to see a strange shift across the battlements, the light flickered and danced like a heat haze. This distortion reached the very heavens to form an oily dome that encompassed the circular wall from above. Likewise this energy slipped into the crack and crevices in the ground to mirror the skyward barrier.

Most importantly, perhaps, nobody was present to see the uncanny resemblance these walls had to the Great Wall of China, if cast in a strange void like metal in place of bricks.

Yes nobody had seen the foundations of this city being made, but the C.U.I would eventually come to curse this city and it’s ever present defiance.

-Alexander-

‘Insert Trump joke here’ I thought wryly to myself.

The joke would have been in poor taste, assuming anyone other than myself understood it, but I couldn’t help the small snort that escaped me.

It felt good to laugh.

While I had kept myself busy these last few hours my thoughts had always incessantly turned towards Japan and my fuck up there. Logically I knew my fault was minimal. I had created a shiny bauble that others might want but I had never ordered people to kill over it.

Unfortunately for me reason was promptly kicked to the curb and shot by my emotions, who then proceeding to dance over the body.

It was still my fault. I could have communicated, could have done something other than what I had done.

I was feeling better now, I had a goal to work towards and a plan to prevent the invasion of Japan.

Ironically it involved creating a city and causing chaos.

But this time on purpose.

The foundation had been set. The walls had been built and fortified, before being enchanted with a clever spatial effect.

There were numerous myths and stories across Asia that involved individuals losing the favour of their patrons as well as being separated from their homes over long distances. I simply combined these two aspects together to create a ward that would be especially deadly against parahumans.

Fun fact for any who didn’t know: Parahumans had a range limit. If a parahuman passed the orbit of the moon they would find themselves bereft of powers. Now, to be clear, this wasn’t a hard limit, more of a limit on how much energy a shard is willing to waste on their host in order to stay attached.

Perhaps a human who had synergised well with their shard could break this limit, but you could count the number of humans with that sort of connection on two hands.

My ward warped space in order to increase distance between the walls and the outside world. For all intents and purposes my city may as well be farther than the Moon is from the Earth. Bullets and bombs would fail to even reach the walls while lasers would be too dispersed to even come close to damaging the walls by the time they hit. And if, by some miracle, a parahuman manages to enter this city their powers would be stripped from them because of the distance created by the wards.

It was an elegant solution for the problem of defending a city sitting in the beating heart of the C.U.I.

Unfortunately it had its downsides too.

Just as the outside world would be unable to breach the walls, so too would the people within be unable to leave, and initially I had even attempted to figure out alternate solutions.

But when Renji had brought these concerns to the people I had saved they had, all of them, given me the go ahead. I was both relieved and slightly worried by just how much they wanted to leave China behind, to have a land that couldn’t be invaded or ransacked.

Seriously the people were practically falling over themselves to thank me.

It was a bit creepy.

Behemoth’s rampage had lead to the evacuation of around 20,000 KM squared, enough for a decently sized island. My remaining drones were already hard at work placing the wasteland reclaimers I had given them across the region.

Those machines would revitalise the land and suck up harmful particulates and radiation left behind by my sibling. Until then I had commanded them to lay low in the lodgings I had developed.

It wasn’t much. Each person got a room of only ten meters across with a bed, bathroom and other essentials. It was also, to my growing frustration and disappointment, much more humane than anything they were used to.

I had travelled into the depths of the forest after that, in part to get a better look at the ongoing progress but mostly to get away from the reverent stares.

I sighed, mentally chiding myself for once more getting lost in thought and depressing myself once again.

I was beginning work on the local geology now, and this was actually rather vital. If this city was to remain alive with the defensive ward up it would have to be completely self-sufficient. Aquifers and better quality top soil for farming would be essential.

The ground around this area was primarily clay and worst of all it was at an incline. This would mean any rainwater would quickly overflow and run down and away from my new city, and that would not do. The clay was transmuted into a hard and sandy like texture, while the clay a few hundred meters down was preserved and formed into an underground bowl-like structure, perfect for keeping water trapped.

The soil was also given a few tweaks, adding a few chemicals here and there mostly. Wells were dug and soil was churned before I decided the local geology was complete.

I turned my eyes on the trees next and began to work. I fiddled with their genetics, increasing their carbon dioxide intake as well as their ability to produce oxygen. I noted that such a thing would vastly shorten their lifetimes, so I added increased seed production as well.

Now the people of Jinzhou would have plenty of oxygen and wood.

Then I sighed, the extra growth of trees would require mass from somewhere and could render the soil barren very easily if I left things as they were.

Turns out ecology is hard.

My SolarPunk technology could help, but it simply wasn’t built to sustain a piece of land cut off from the rest of the world.

Thankfully my drones could once again come in handy. They would have no issue surveying the area and noting needs and areas of potential instability. With their teleporters they were fully capable of obtaining anything they may need from the outside world and stealthy enough to do so.

With that sorted I finally turned to the buildings, some part of me wanted to flex my SilkPunk knowledge and build something classically Chinese but my previous interactions with the former prisoners of Jinzhou put those ideas to rest. They wanted an escape from China, they wanted to throw off their past and create something new.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, I reached for a charge that had been burning in the back of my head for the last few hours and willed it to change to my will.

NanoPunk Level 2- The science of a world where nanites and bio-nanotechnologies are widely in use and are the predominant force in society. Now able to create buildings and large structures composed of wonder materials.

Chrome and smooth surfaces covered my mind. Structures that could stand higher than any other thanks to their high tensile strengths. It was shiny and new, a promise of the future that I knew the people I was protecting desperately wanted.

I turned to begin before hesitating.

I turned to view my wards, their shimmering light obvious to me alone.

I reached out and made my alterations.

Should this city begin to fall, whether it be by outside forces or by my own lack of foresight, this city would be transported across the world and away from their current position with the wards permanently down as a result of this extraordinary work.

If Jinzhou was ever at threat of falling then at least they would have a chance to rebuild elsewhere, because if they succumbed here there would be no future at all.

With that I began my work.

-Bai Wenjie POV-

The whispers of the gathered people echoed across the clean white walls. None looked at each other but muttered whispers drifted between them. Most were not sure why they were here, others were unsure if they should have come at all and remained in their comfortable rooms.

Bai personally was beginning to think she should have stayed in her air conditioned room. At least their she wouldn’t feel the push and pull of countless bodies cramming into the tight space.

Yet she felt she had to come.

The figure standing on a raised surface was not a young man, the lines and creases of his skin proved that much, but he wasn’t quite ancient either. The man had been a comforting figure in her camp, always having the time to spare to act as a shoulder to cry on or to give advice. Not many chose to take his kindness, for they had all been suspicious of each other.

But he had been remembered for it nonetheless.

“Comrades” He spoke, a fervour filling his eyes, “I would like to thank all who chose to join us and before we start I am aware that many are unsure as to why they have come”

The man lifted his hands and let them fall in an exaggerated manner.

“It is understandable, we have been tricked and led astray by promises from distant larger than life figures before.”

The man narrowed his eyes at that, spitting to the side, and she could see others vocally agreeing with the man.

“However” he intoned, gesturing outside and towards the slowly rising buildings in the distance, “She is different!”

The crowd muttered again at that, and mostly in agreement she noted. Even the ones who had dismissed this entire event as religious hogwash still saw their saviour in a good light.

“Even now Yà lì shān dà toils for our benefit! Raising great walls to shield us! Creating monuments to shelter us! Delivering us from the hands of the cruel!”

Many roared their approval at that, the reverberations making her shake slightly, and cover her ears.

This was why she had come, because in nearly every face she saw she found the same uncanny faith she had seen in Renji’s eyes. A terrible certainty that set her on edge.

“There exists no parahuman like her, for they are all destroyers! She builds, creates, saves and renews!”

She closed her eyes at that, dreading yet also already knowing what the man was going to say.

“NO! She is something higher! A goddess come to aid us in our time of need, come to deliver us to the promised land!”

The roar that answered threatened to shake the very ground apart, and as Bai closed her eyes all she could see was the distraught face of Yà lì shān dà staring back at her when she had been informed of the conflict that had raged because of her actions.

AN: So the city is being built, it’ll be a fortress designed to repel any parahuman as well as a self sufficient paradise because Alexander feels really bad for the people he’s met so far. This kindness has somewhat backfired because there are now a group of people who now genuinely believe Alexander is a goddess come to save them. Lots of people assumed that Alexanders branch of the fallen would begin in America, but these would be his first believers. Of course there will be multiple groups of people across the entire world that see him in this light later.

I’m sure that won’t be troublesome for Alexander at all! Trust me guys nothing will come of this! Totally not setting anything up!