Chapter 364 - 364: Ride Back Home, Logging into the Game

Ilyas unlocked the side doors, allowing the group to scramble into the cold cabin. Connor climbed into the driver's seat and turned the key, causing the manual combustion engine to roar to life with a persistent rattle.

Leo spread the paper maps across his knees in the passenger seat, using a small flashlight to illuminate the hand-drawn routes. "The mountain pass is covered in snow, so we must drive cautiously to avoid the icy ledges."

Nelson settled into the rear bench beside Evan and Lucy, wrapping his coat tighter against the chill. "The dummy loops in our bedrooms will hold until morning, giving us enough time to reach our homes."

Connor shifted the truck into gear, steering the vehicle out of the pine grove and onto the slick mountain road. The headlights cut through the swirling snow, illuminating the steep concrete barriers of the New Appalachian Territory.

Lucy rubbed her cold hands together, looking out the frost-coated window as the dark mountain peaks loomed around them. "Red survived the soul flay in 2024, but his entire life back home was built on corporate lies."

Evan checked the offline datapad, his fingers tracing the encrypted ledgers they had copied from the lockbox. "And his daughter carried the financial burden of those twenty-eight families for fifty years while living under constant corporate surveillance. And he supposedly doesn't even know he has a daughter?"

Ilyas looked back from the front seat, his posture rigid as he watched the snowy road behind them. "When Red learns the full truth about his family and the trust fund, the entire continent will feel the impact of his wrath."

Connor kept his hands firm on the rattling steering wheel, guiding the truck through the wind-swept mountain pass.

"What I don't understand is Reviel Vane's existence. She could not have been older than 40 years. But it was 2037 forty years ago, and Redmond was summoned in 2024.There is a thirteen-year gap in between."

"Let's stop thinking about it and just go home. I am exhausted and I feel like I used up decades worth of my luck."

"Yeah, let's go home."

"We will talk about this with Rubedo and get our answers."

"I am never ever getting into such a mess again."

The long, harsh drive through the snowstorm stretched before them, carrying the seven friends back toward the High District as the first light of dawn began to pale the eastern sky.

Morning light filtered through the tinted glass panels of the High District residences as Connor, Leo, Ophelia, Nelson, Lucy, Evan, and Ilyas returned from their physical expedition.

After verifying that their bedroom dummy loops had maintained flawless study schedules throughout the night, the seven teenagers logged back into Project Civilization.

The digital transition did not deposit them in their respective regional domains. A violent crimson-violet flare distorted their vision, signaling the activation of Rubedo's newly awakened spatial authority.

Before anyone could navigate the system menus, an automated override locked their controls and pulled their avatars through the atmosphere. The world dissolved into a swirling vortex of dark mana as the system executed a forced summons.

The seven friends materialized in unison on the cold obsidian floor of Rubedo's orbital sanctuary. Nebulae and distant stars swirled beyond the floating glass walls, casting a pale cosmic light across the expansive chamber.

In the center of the hall, the dark terminal thrummed with a low vibration. Rubedo stood before the primary console wearing his dark suit tailored, his face obscured by shifting shadow while glowing violet eyes locked onto the group.

Connor stepped to the front of the circle, placing himself between Rubedo and his friends. He braced his shoulders, preparing for a swift execution or a barrage of cold questions.

Rubedo swirled a glass of spectral water, his voice echoing through the silent sanctuary like grinding stone. "While you were busy in the real world, many unimaginable things happened here. Well, for now, tell me everything you found."

Leo tightened his grip on his coat, keeping his posture rigid beside Ophelia. "We went to find the truth, because the corporate archives left too many unanswered questions."

Rubedo set the glass onto the obsidian desk, his slitted gaze narrowing. "You risked your lives in the physical realm to chase cold paper, while your digital empires crumble."

Connor took a step forward, his voice remaining clear despite the suffocating aura filling the room. "We did not go for paper, but to speak with your daughter."

The shifting shadow masking Rubedo's face flickered, the violet glow in his eyes flaring with sudden, sharp intensity. "You speak nonsense to delay your judgment."

Connor stated her name while maintaining his focus on the dark silhouette. "Her name is Reviel Vane." He explained that she lives under corporate medical surveillance in a High District penthouse, having survived fifty years in isolation.

The silence in the sanctuary became absolute, the ambient hum of the central console dying as Rubedo remained completely motionless. "Reviel Vane," he repeated, the name sounding foreign on his tongue.

Ophelia stepped beside Connor, her posture firm as she supported his words. She confirmed her identity, explaining that her father Redmond Vane was summoned into this world during the 2024 reunion while she was left behind.

Leo added that she looks to be in her early forties today.

'It's not like I don't doubt they are lying. But what they are saying is so ridiculous that they wouldn't dare to lie about it or even think of it,' Rubedo thought to himself.

Rubedo leaned over his desk, his hands gripping the obsidian edge until the stone cracked beneath his fingers. "And what of the mascot, the girl with the silver hair?"

Connor revealed her true identity and relationship. "Her name is Raven, and she is your wife." He added that Reviel confirmed Raven was her mother, and the original vessel holding the network together.

"So you are saying that I supposedly attended the high school reunion with my wife whom I have never met and can't recall, and I also have a daughter with her who is in her early forties while I was summoned fifty three years ago?"

"Yes."

"Make it make sense."