Chapter 2 I Am Behind You
When he opened his eyes again, Wen Wen found himself already inside the Catastrophe Containment Facility.
Viewing this place with his mind was a completely different feeling than being here in person, a solemn, somber, and oppressive atmosphere permeated the entire space.
There was a thick layer of dust on the ground, it seemed that no one had visited here for a long time.
"What is this place? Let me out!"
The voice of the female vampire came from nearby. Wen Wen turned his head to see her confined in a five-meter square metal cage, labeled Calamity-0001.
"This is a place you can never leave."
Wen Wen said with a smile to the female vampire, then ignored her endless cursing and didn't linger, walking further into the sanctuary, as he remembered that he was supposed to collect some things in the Central Area.
As for those items, Wen Wen didn't really care; he was more curious about what exactly the Catastrophe Containment Facility was and why he had been chosen.
If he didn't figure these things out, he wouldn't even be able to sleep peacefully, which is also why he took such a big risk hunting vampires—he wanted to clarify the reasons behind these happenings.
The first floor of the sanctuary, also known as the Disaster Area, was vast, filled with various cells and some equipment he didn't recognize.
Soon, he arrived at the center of the Disaster Area and saw what was called the disaster core area.
The core was blocked by a huge metal door, which Wen Wen had never entered even when he roamed here with his mind.
When Wen Wen approached the door, it automatically opened. Stepping inside, he discovered a massive circular space.
Directly in front of him was a silver-white sphere made up of countless small spherical metal particles.
"Hiss... this must be the core, and it doesn't look like Federation technology at all," Wen Wen said, gaping in surprise. He had never seen such miraculous things outside of science fiction movies.
"Welcome to the Catastrophe Containment Facility, Disaster Containment Officer number 72580, Mr. Wen Wen," the small metal particles transformed into a man in a suit and bowed to Wen Wen.
"Impressive, it can even talk. Can you tell me what exactly is the Catastrophe Containment Facility?" Wen Wen raised an eyebrow and asked in amazement.
"Detect threats, control threats, contain threats, reduce calamities, imprison supernaturally dangerous entities, and maintain the balance between the Inner and Outer Worlds, are the main tasks of the Catastrophe Containment Facility…" the metal man honestly replied.
"I ask and you just answer?" Wen Wen squinted his eyes, thinking he would need to pry information out of this guy indirectly.
"This information is within the authority range of a Disaster Containment Officer," the metal man responded.
"Since that's the case, tell me everything you can that I'm allowed to know. I've become a Disaster Containment Officer without understanding anything," Wen Wen said, finding a clean place to sit down and started to question the metal man about his own doubts.
...
About an hour later, Wen Wen got up from the ground, having almost clarified everything he needed to know.
The metal man wasn't a living creature but the administrative core of the sanctuary, so their conversation felt more like searching for information on a computer.
Many things Wen Wen wanted to know remained unknown due to insufficient access rights, such as why he could suddenly access this space. He still had no clear explanation.
But he still gained some insights. As the metal man had said, this was a place existing to counteract supernatural entities.
Unknown to him how many years ago, this space had completely ceased operation, only to reactivate again when Wen Wen captured a vampire.
Disaster Containment Officers are the grassroots employees of the sanctuary, primarily responsible for capturing and dealing with supernatural entities wandering in the world.
If the sanctuary was still running normally, then Wen Wen would be a low-level worker continually battling dangers, but now, he is the human with the highest authority in the entire sanctuary...
Having confirmed the situation, Wen Wen took a briefcase from the metal man's hand, which contained a badge and a complete set of black trench coats, which constituted the full gear of a Disaster Containment Officer.
The material of the black trench coat was very special; at least Wen Wen had never seen it on the market and thought it could be sold for a lot of money.
As for the badge, it was a duck egg-sized silver star metal piece with thin silver-white metal chains, evidently meant to be worn around the neck.
"A black trench coat... this badge... plus my gloves, makes a pretty melodramatic set," Wen Wen commented.
"You have already collected your items, please try to capture more monsters and restore the Catastrophe Containment Facility to its former glory," the metal man said to Wen Wen.
"That depends on whether I feel like it," Wen Wen replied.
Wen Wen waved at the metal man and began strolling around the Central Area. Behind him, a look of disappointment spread across the metal man's face.
This place resembled a small city, where rooms once housed people, but now, they were merely empty buildings, making Wen Wen inexplicably feel desolate.
As he walked, he found himself outside the buildings and witnessed a magnificent sight—a vast group of tombstones.
This was the graveyard of the Disaster Containment Officers!
Under each tombstone were recorded the deeds of the officer!
Dan Xiazi, captured 27 monsters, contained 48 hazardous items, saved over a hundred people...
William Aaron, captured 74 monsters, contained 25 hazardous items, saved Grey Soil Town from destruction...
...
As he focused on each tombstone, Wen Wen's mind automatically conjured flashes of the lives of their owners.
These flashes seemed to narrate moving stories, the poignant emotions embedded within them affecting Wen Wen's heart.
The tens of thousands of tombstones before him represented as many individuals who had sacrificed themselves to save others.
Even someone as indifferent as Wen Wen could not remain aloof at that moment.
"Is this environment affecting my mood? But it doesn't matter, this place deserves my emotion," Wen Wen lightly sighed, filled with more reflections.
Just like when ordinary people see the sacrifice of a firefighting hero on the news, emotional individuals might feel sad for a while and then lose interest, those more detached might only see it as a piece of news.
But if one were actually standing at the funeral, even the most stone-hearted could not remain unaffected.
The tens of thousands of tombstones created a palpable, nearly supernatural powerful solemn atmosphere of ultimate poignancy, impacting anyone standing among them, Wen Wen included.
Step by step, he walked forward until he reached the innermost part and saw a somewhat crude tombstone. This tombstone had no flashes and in front of it was a dust-covered empty coffin.
There was no body because no one had collected his corpse...
The words on the tombstone slightly moved Wen Wen.
They read:
'This is my tombstone!
My name is Jing Du, the last containment officer. I am seventy-eight years old now. My last companion died seventeen years ago...
To this day, I have captured 124 monsters, contained 54 hazardous items...
I can feel life slipping away, and my days are likely few. No one can erect a tombstone for me, so I erected one myself.
I have never been afraid of monsters or danger.
But, when only I am left, I really became afraid.
I don't want to be the last one...'
After reading, Wen Wen sighed softly, "Since you don't want to be the last one, let me help you achieve this wish. It's just a small effort."
Wen Wen disliked uncontrollable things and was also averse to the Catastrophe Containment Facility, but when he saw the words on this tombstone, he couldn't bring himself to detest it.
He first bowed deeply to the tombstone, then found a wooden plank, placed it beside the tombstone, and wrote his own name.
"At least now, you are not the last one."
...