One Last System

The Internet died.

The global connection that brought forth massive development in every field of human knowledge, ceased to exist.

Theoretically, one could still use it. Anyone could try to open a search engine… but not only they would land on some other, random page, but the page itself would also be a chaotic mess.

One could start rebuilding the connection right away. After all, burning through the majority of the quantum computer's horsepower wasn't an easy or cheap task.

But the ensuing month of near-absolute radio silence was well worth it.

'At least, for the conglomerate,' Daniel thought, staring through the window of his housing unit.

Only a month has passed since the failed attempt at starting the next world war.

The sudden disappearance of the major outlets of the mass media prevented any of the interested parties from spreading war propaganda and news. The lack of communication effectively stopped several countries from joining the conflict, keeping the entire thing under wraps.

But that didn't mean no one was affected.

The few countries located near the site where the two private companies clashed couldn't ignore the nuclear developments. And within the first half of the month, nearly the entire continent turned into one mess of a war zone.

This was also the only avenue of conflict that the other powers could use, exploiting various shady deals and companies to fight the war.

For the local powers, this was a war on supremacy and independence of the continent from private companies. As for the global powers, it was the long-brewing war of the resource-rich continent in the times when the majority of the easily accessible nodes of the world were already exhausted.

"Daily frontline report, sir!" A soldier stepped into Daniel's cubicle before setting a folder of papers down.

"Thanks," Daniel nodded his head while keeping his eyes on the dark sky of the night outside.

The soldier left, prompting Daniel to look at the clock hanging on the wall.

'Six o'clock,' Daniel took notice before releasing a heavy sigh. 'Right on time, as always.'

It wasn't six in the afternoon. By that time, Daniel would receive a fifth report of the day, outlining all the major developments on the tactical side along with all the strategic changes.

No, right now, at six in the morning, Daniel only received a short note describing the events that transpired overnight.

A short note… consisting of seven pages full of details that Daniel had to study, analyze and absorb.

'At least one part of the military is working as it should,' Daniel heaved another sigh as he forced himself out of the daze and focused on the papers.

While everyone else was fighting for some lofty ideals or cheap resources, Daniel's conglomerate only had a single aim.

The legacy ruins of the seventh storage kept deep below the surface ruins of Atlantis.

The upper layer of the ruins has long eroded, falling prey to the long years that passed since the city's downfall. The remnants from thousands of years ago were wiped so thoroughly that Daniel spent nearly ten years of his life trying to find the right location.

And ever since he nailed it, he spent five further years, digging deep below the surface in search of the ancient warehouses.

He found thirteen of them. Thirteen of the ancient sites he left days before the collapse of the former civilization.

'And from the looks of it, whether or not I find the seventh warehouse soon enough will decide whether this civilization will last or not,' Daniel thought while scanning through the content of the report.

The situation at the front was developing more or less as expected.

Armed with technology exceeding the current level of global civilization by around a hundred years, conglomerate private arms companies could hold on against the enemy assault for ages.

The only weapon that sort of equalized the fighting field was nuclear ordnance… But after its first use and Daniel's determined response, the message was clear.

The serious response of the conglomerate to the nuclear threat would always be greater than whatever others would throw at them!

"We will need to reinforce the southern flank," Daniel muttered once he laid his eyes on the casualty report for one of the few areas his group was interested in.

And just as the luck would have it, the most serious fighting was fighting right at the doorstep of one of the last three digging sites that could hold the secrets of the ultimate chamber deep below!

'Right now it's a race whether this world will turn into the nuclear desert or if we can find this device first,' Daniel thought, turning the report papers into a ball before throwing it towards a small incinerator that kept the place warm.

The presence of the technology reliant on burning fuel like wood to produce warmth was the greatest example of how far Daniel had to go when pushing his resources around.

Because of all the tech the conglomerate had at its disposal, his group seriously lacked manpower.

'It's already a challenge to hold off all those black rock mercs. Now that two more countries joined on their side, it's going to turn into a massive pain!' Daniel whined in his thoughts before finally turning his eyes away from the window.

The sun was starting to peek over the line of the horizon, destroying the peaceful tranquility Daniel found in the night sky.

And with the rising of the sun, the fighting on all fronts would soon ensue, once again soaking the ground of the black continent with rivers of blood.

'We need to push through,' Daniel thought, closing his eyes as he thought of all the sons, husbands, and fathers that were dying on a daily basis in the conflict for African supremacy. 'Only when we find the device, we will be able to modify it so that it won't just end the world.'

Daniel took a deep breath.

This thought was the source of his anxiety.

They lacked manpower, but were he so desired, he could bring the entire world to its knees in a matter of three days tops. After all, the technology that was revealed to the world in the span of the last month was just the tip of the iceberg of what Daniel had in store.

But Daniel had no wish for the world's conquest. The experiences of Atlanti served as proof that it was never a good idea to bring all the people together without presenting them with some sort of an enemy.

As sad as it was, humanity, a civilization born out of the contest for resources, would forever remain in need of an enemy to mobilize it. As such, unifying the entire world would only ever lead to the implosion of the unifying power.

"Sir!" Alice entered Theo's makeshift office in her full combat gear. As the child of the long lost era, she knew better than to move around in a civilian outfit during the war on such a scale. And even though she was no trooper, she knew her way around the guns well enough to serve not only as a secretary but also as Daniel's bodyguard.

"All ready?" Daniel asked as he raised his eyes to the girl's face.

"They are still setting the excavator for the move, but we should be able to depart in ten," Alice dutifully reported.

"Good," Daniel muttered as he stood up.

He then threw one last look at the sky outside.

It was just a feeling, but Daniel could swear he could hear the screams of thousands of poor soldiers his enemies were throwing at his automated defense lines.

In carnage between battle bots and mobile sentry guns, no human could prevail.

Daniel shook his head and grabbed the stealth cloak that proved to be a far better piece of defense equipment than even the best reactionary armor the conglomerate could produce.

"Let's go," he then said, passing by the girl and heading for the rallying point.

'There are only three digging sites left,' Daniel thought as he moved out, unable to contain his excitement. 'If we nail it this time, we should be able to stop this madness in time,' he thought.

Then, he raised his eyes at the place where all the troops has long since gathered.

Only a month ago, a group a hundredth of the size of what he had before his eyes would suffice to move the excavator. But now, in addition to all the engineers and their equipment,  Daniel had no other choice but to include several light units for protecting the digging site and then two heavy units to establish a safe perimeter.

In his eyes, the group before his eyes represented nothing more but a massive financial strain on the budget of his organization.

But in the eyes that tracked every last of Daniel's movements from high above the skies, this group looked like an enormous grouping of manpower and hardware… just seventeen kilometers north of where nearly half of the world poured its resources to stop whatever Daniel wanted to dig out!