The Underclass - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

On the first day aboard the ship, Galaxy remained somewhat vigilant.

She was still afraid of the terrors of the ocean she had been taught about since childhood.

She watched the fathomless giant waves. A ship that looked massive at the docks suddenly seemed incredibly tiny once out at sea, like a plaything at the mercy of the crashing waves.

She was so seasick in her cabin that her face turned pale. Caleb, however, seemed to have walked this ship countless times. She patted Galaxy's shoulder and calmly told the officers looking their way, "This is my younger sister. It's her first real voyage. She just needs to rest for a few days, and she'll be fine."

Everyone gave a knowing look. Some even came over with a smile, patting Galaxy's shoulder to comfort her, "Anyone willing to brave the ocean is a brave soul. We've all been through this. Seasickness is completely normal; even your sister Caleb went through it."

Galaxy froze slightly.

When she finally recovered enough to sit up, she looked deeply at Caleb, who was watching her.

"Why do they know your real name?" Galaxy asked.

As a rebel, Caleb frequently appeared in Districts A and C, openly associating with her. Galaxy had assumed that for this voyage, the two of them had sneaked aboard similarly.

A rare smile appeared on Caleb's serious face. She walked over to help Galaxy up and said slowly, "Because I originally worked on this ship."

"My full name is Caleb Jin Biso," Caleb said. "I started working on Federation ships seven years ago. I have seven years of sailing experience now. And I joined... six years ago."

What could make someone who had just proudly joined the fleet switch over to the rebel army in their second year?

Galaxy met her gaze, but Caleb looked away. "There are some things I cannot tell you myself. Perhaps when you get there, you'll make the same choice I did."

Galaxy nodded. "Alright."

She now had all the patience in the world to see what lay on the other side of the sea.

By the third day, Galaxy woke up in her cabin. Looking out the balcony window at the seamless blend of sea and sky, she finally realized what had felt off since she boarded the ship.

The ocean didn't seem nearly as terrifying as they had been taught.

It had its moments of fierce winds and violent storms, but it could also be calm and gentle. This didn't mean humanity was incapable of navigating it.

Just like the volcanoes in District C—they were violently eruptive at times and dormant at others, yet their interiors were still hollowed out to serve as laboratories and mines.

No matter how terrifying something was, it was impossible that no one would attempt to conquer it.

With world technology as advanced as it was, why was the ocean repeatedly deemed an untouchable taboo?

She was now able to calmly appreciate the view outside her window.

Their voyage, aside from encountering some heavy swells during the first two days, had been terrifyingly smooth, with exceptionally good weather.

The military officers passing by seemed completely unfazed by this. She even heard one remark, "It's boring not hitting any big waves this time. I wanted to try out the research institute's new wave-riding tech."

She heard the answer she was looking for—sailing was not a difficult task for the Federation at all.

The exaggerated tales of the ocean's terror, and the fact that for so many years only this specific group of military officers sailed the seas, suddenly seemed highly bizarre.

Seven days later, Galaxy finally saw land.

It was a place that made one feel as if they had traveled from the modern world back to a primitive jungle.

There was no trace of modernization here, only a dense canopy of trees blocking the sun, and a sharp-roofed structure that could be seen even from the ship.

Galaxy stood on the deck, squinting at it for a long time. She could only tell that the structure was built from countless massive stones. Who knew how many years it had stood there; even the surface of the stones had yellowed from weathering the elements.

She asked Caleb, "What is that?"

Caleb replied, "It's the temple on the island."

"And our final destination."

Galaxy looked astonished. "Isn't this ship out here to restock vital Federation resources?"

"Yes, but the method of restocking isn't mining or plundering like you'd think."

Caleb's words turned Galaxy's confusion up to a ten. It wasn't until the ship docked that the expedition's leader gathered everyone together.

They simply anchored the ship by the shore, fully geared up, and marched toward the heart of the island.

Galaxy had never walked a path this difficult. Thorny brush was everywhere, and some towering trees even sprayed venom. However, the squad was clearly highly experienced, easily evading the dangers. They marched for half a day, reaching the temple just before sunset.

Before entering the temple, Galaxy still held onto a sliver of hope that this might be a facade for a new Federation laboratory. But when the leader brought them into the spacious main hall, actually sat them down in rows, and began reverently assigning people to patrol the hall while the rest knelt and prayed, that sliver of hope was utterly shattered.

They actually came here just to wait and pray.

It wasn't until the next morning that Caleb and she finally found a moment alone. The two stood outside the temple. There were no mechanical eyes here, no omnipresent mechanical enforcers or cameras. The morning sun bathed their faces in a golden glow.

Caleb laughed, somewhat mockingly. "This is it. This is what we do, year after year, every time we sail out."

Embarrassing to speak of, and a total waste of life.

Once upon a time, Caleb had also dedicated her loyalty to the Federation. She endured grueling training to join the expeditionary fleet, arriving on this island ready to die for the cause of retrieving vital resources for the Federation. Yet she suddenly realized that everything she had done felt like a joke.

The journey wasn't far, nor was it dangerous. They didn't even have to search for anything; they just had to kneel in rows inside the temple and pray.

Yet her fellow officers acted as if they noticed nothing wrong, completing the Federation's mission and keeping its secrets as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

But Caleb couldn't accept it.

She tried asking her colleagues, but they just thought she was crazy.

Doing absolutely nothing, just praying to a god, and leaving with abundant resources and honor—who would think there was anything wrong with that?

No one cared to question the truth about the ocean, the Federation, this island, or where the resources came from.

But Caleb couldn't let it go. She had to investigate secretly on her own.

At this point, Caleb paused slightly.

Galaxy pressed, "And then?"

Leaning against the wall, Caleb spoke slowly, "And then, I lost all my memories."

"When the others arrived on the island, I went alone to inspect every location in the temple, including the places the leader forbade us from entering. But every time I came out of those places, I lost all my memories." Caleb pointed to her head. "I tried using hypnosis to recall, tried confirming it through the hippocampus, but it wasn't mere amnesia. Someone, using special means, completely erased the entirety of my memories from every time I entered those places."

"But I refused to give up. I even joined the rebel army to use their tech to crack it. Finally, the year before last, we found a clue," Caleb said. "Over the years, I sneaked into the forbidden zones countless times. Every single time, my memories vanished. But after losing them so many times, a flaw emerged—my emotions."

"During one of my routine hypnotic recall sessions, I still had no memories, but I felt a residual trace of emotion." Caleb said, "Those emotions were identified as terror, breakdown, and despair. Because they had accumulated so heavily, they leaked out that one time."

"Later, the rebel army sent a few people over covertly, but the results were largely the same. The rebels don't have ships capable of making the journey; the shipbuilding technology needed to reach the island is still monopolized by the Federation." Caleb said, "I also discovered that the ocean itself isn't inherently terrifying. Several ships built by the rebels were completely swallowed by the sea shortly after leaving port. Only ships built using materials transported from here can actually reach this place."

Galaxy pondered for a moment before asking, "So those resources... are they really just replenished by anchoring the ship, having everyone pray in the temple, and finding the ship fully loaded afterward?"

Caleb took a deep breath and nodded. "At least, that's how it appears right now. In my seven years of service, every single time, we just wait and pray in the temple for three days, and when we return to the ship, it's fully loaded with cargo."

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