am-books Book 7: Chapter 43: Aug Energy
Book 7: Chapter 43: Aug Energy
Book 7: Chapter 43: Aug Energy
The moment Elijah left the metro behind, he realized that he’d just jumped out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire. There were tens of thousands of zombies around, and more than a few were the augmented version he’d just killed with Incinerate. Thankfully, they didn’t immediately react to his arrival, so he had enough time to shift into Shape of Sky and leap into the air. Flapping his wings, he gained altitude, but as had happened before, it wasn’t long before the bat-like creatures responded.
They poured out of the skyscrapers’ top floors like someone had kicked a hornet’s nest, and Elijah instantly knew he only had one way out. Before he could enact his plan, he needed to get above the skyscrapers, so he continued to gain altitude, narrowly avoiding being ripped to pieces by divebombing monsters. Finally, more than a thousand feet from the ground, he aimed himself toward the edge of the city, then used Lightning Rush.
He became lightning, streaking across the sky faster than at any time in the past. One second passed, and Elijah passed the boundaries of the city. Another second went by, and he was in the wilderness. He didn’t resume the normal Shape of Sky until half a second later, and by that point, he’d traveled hundreds of miles into the forested region around Hong Kong.
He glided for a few more miles before his speed dissipated. Wanting to get a sense of the area, he landed in the first clearing he found. It was barely large enough to accommodate Shape of Sky, which was technically his largest form when taking his wingspan into account. Still, he had enough practice with the form that he managed the landing without difficulty.
Then, he shifted back into his natural shape and let out a sigh.
As he did so, he could only think of the mistakes he’d made over the past few hours. He had survived, but that wasn’t the point. He’d gone into Hong Kong high on his recent advancements, and he’d never even considered that the zombies – or the flying creatures – could pose much of a threat to him.
And he had been wrong.
It was just another reminder – which he’d sorely needed – that even though he’d made a lot of progress regarding his personal power, he was not invincible. The world had advanced as well, and it was still a dangerous place that required caution to survive. With that in mind, Elijah just sat in the middle of the clearing, spending the next few minutes centering himself.
That helped, at least a little, and when he opened his eyes, he was ready to confront his current situation.
Because of his cultivation advancements, Lightning Rush lasted almost half a second longer than it had the last time he’d used it. In addition, it had felt faster – if such a thing was possible. As such, he’d traveled much further than he’d intended. Before, Lightning Rush was enough to take him somewhere between seventy-five and a hundred miles, but with the additional duration and speed, he knew it was at least twice that. Maybe more, considering he didn’t have much frame of reference for the distance traveled.
That meant he had a long way to go before he returned to Hong Kong. Thankfully, the time constraints weren’t nearly as onerous as he’d initially suspected, largely because the Primal Realm – or the shrines associated with entry – wouldn’t be active for another ten days. So, he had time to spare.
With that in mind, Elijah shifted into Shape of Venom, adopted Guise of the Unseen, then slipped away from the clearing. The surrounding forest wasn’t much different from many other sub-tropical regions he’d visited, with a predominance of evergreen trees, thick undergrowth, and a thriving animal population. The region itself was fairly mountainous, and Elijah suspected that he’d reached the foothills leading to a sizable range.@@@@
Elijah wandered for a bit, mostly just to satisfy his curiosity. After all, it wasn’t every day that he got to visit an entirely different part of the world, and he couldn’t pass up the opportunity for exploration. In addition, he planned to eventually establish a dolmen in the area, so he remained on the lookout for an appropriately powerful intersection of ley lines. Often, those locations were characterized by natural treasures, but Elijah had found a few – like where he’d built the Dragon Circle – that lacked such obvious signs.
Elijah’s heart beat a little harder as he realized that, if he’d been even a little less durable, he might’ve already died. His experiences with cancer were not so far removed from the present that he had forgotten what it had felt like. And due to that, he desperately wanted to flee.
However, it wasn’t long before his good sense took over. He knew his body well enough, and because of that familiarity, he was certain that he’d experienced no lasting damage. Part of that was due to his constant use of Soothe, but it was mostly because of his advanced cultivation and high Constitution attribute. In short, he wasn’t really in any danger from something so mundane as radiation.
Still, it was yet another reminder that there were plenty of dangers out there that could easily kill him. The levels of radiation in the air weren’t currently a danger, but would that have been the case if ethera had mixed with it? He wasn’t sure, but he resolved to be a little more careful going forward.
Regardless, Elijah also knew that he needed to investigate further, and not just because of his nature-based cultivation. Sure, that was a big part of it. Intellectually, he recognized just how much damage the radiation could do to the environment. In addition, he felt it down to the very core of his being. But even more than that, it didn’t take him long to imagine some hapless traveler stumbling upon the area. If that happened, they would surely die.
Elijah didn’t want that possibility on his conscience.
So, for a variety of reasons, he descended the hill toward the disaster laid out before him. Within a few steps, he felt the radiation levels rise considerably, but it was still well within his ability to mitigate. He kept on, finding a road leading toward a gate, which he bypassed, stepping into a parking lot. There were a dozen cars present, most of which were intact. The tires looked like they were dry-rotted, and the glass had taken on a slightly darker hue. In addition, some of the paint on the older vehicles had bubbled, though most of the cars looked to be in decent condition.
Elijah thought about removing some of the metal for Carmen to experiment with, but he decided that it was probably contaminated. While he could survive such exposure, he didn’t think many other people could. So, he forewent that idea.
A moment later, he saw a sign proclaiming that the plant had been owned by Aug Energy, which meant that it probably wasn’t Chinese in origin. Not surprising, considering how jumbled the entire planet had become, but interesting nonetheless. The sign also featured a stylized horse as a logo, with a bunch of writing beneath it that had been rendered illegible by time and decay.
Further exploration revealed more of the same. When he entered the compound, he found what he’d expected. He’d never entered any power plants before, but he’d seen enough on television to know what was coming. And the interior of the Aug Energy Nuclear Plant lived up to those expectations. Mostly, the interior featured a bunch of pipes and machinery whose purpose Elijah couldn’t guess at, but he also found an office, a locker room, and a large control room.
And finally, he came upon the armored building where the nuclear materials were located. He didn’t need his senses to recognize it, either. He saw a gaping hole in the side of the structure, beyond which was a huge mass of toxic metal mixed with sand and concrete.
The elephant’s foot.
That was what they’d called it in Chernobyl, and he knew that it was one of the most corruptive substances on the planet. From a few dozen feet away, Elijah could feel it breaking down his body, and he recognized that if he went even a few steps closer, its toxicity would outpace his ability to heal via Soothe. He could probably endure it with Nature’s Bloom and Blessing of the Grove, but he didn’t see any reason to tempt fate.
What he did know was that he couldn’t just let it stand. He had ten days until the Primal Realm opened, and he could only hope that it would be enough to begin the process of healing that the land demanded.