48 Hours a Day

“What do you mean, he’s gone?”

“He has… passed away,” Kovitz said.

After a long period of silence, Besnova spoke again.

“Then where else can we find people who know about reactor design?”

“We actually have many people who know about reactor design, but if you’re looking for people who can find fatal flaws in reactor design, I’m sorry. As far as I know… there really isn’t such a person. Our duty is to provide the overall design for the construction of the nuclear power plant, and at the same time, take responsibility for the safety of the plant after it is completed. If we really find a design problem, we will definitely correct it at the first moment,” Kovitz said.

After a pause, he added, “Of course, the accident this time is extremely serious. There will definitely be more in-depth investigations after that. At that time, there may be a reassessment of the risks in the design. However, we need to first get the computer in the control room and study the various parameters recorded on it before the explosion so that we can recreate the situation of the reactor at that time.”

“How long will it take?”

“It’s hard to say. At this stage, our focus is still on dealing with the accident, including evacuating the crowd and putting out the fire in the reactor. The investigation of the cause of the accident will be done later.” Kovitz noticed that his kidnappers seemed particularly concerned about the design of the reactor. After giving it a bit of thought, he reluctantly gave a timeframe. “At the very least, it will take a or two months.”

“A month or two?” Mouse, who had taken over Coconut’s job as a translator, inhaled sharply when he heard that. With a look of despair, he said, “One or two months. When the results of the investigation are out, how many of us will still be alive?”

Kovitz felt the emotions of the intruder on his right hand fluctuate violently. After he said the last sentence, the intruder’s breathing had immediately hastened. However, unable to understand what the intruder was saying, he could only stand there in confusion.

Then something hit the back of his head. Kovitz’s vision went black, and he fell to the ground.

Then Zhang Heng opened the door. Other than Coconut, sent to the hospital, all the other players came to Kovitz’s room five minutes later.

Zhang Heng gave a brief introduction of the latest intelligence he had received from the deputy director.

“This is the situation,” he then said.

As expected, almost all the expressions of the players changed when they heard this.

“Are we walking into a dead end?” the maintenance man asked.

“That’s not necessarily the case. The dungeon doesn’t have an unsolvable situation,” Zhang Heng said. “Either our direction was wrong from the beginning, or we left something behind.”

“Could it be that this dungeon is actually testing who can live the longest after such radiation exposure?” The doctor frowned.

“It’s hard to say for the others, but if that’s the case, then Coconut is dead for sure,” said the youth in uniform.

“Will we still be alive after two months?” Master Kui asked the doctor.

“I don’t know. As I said, everyone’s physical condition is different, so their survival time will also differ accordingly,” said the doctor. “Moreover, Coconut’s body is deteriorating rapidly. To be honest, it has already exceeded my expectations, so it’s hard to estimate how the others would do.”

“Then what should we do?” Mouse was already in a daze. He stuttered in a panic, “Do we really have to wait for two months? What if the investigation results are out in two months, but the main mission is still not completed?”

“It’s definitely impossible to just wait. We have to try heading in another direction,” Master Kui said.

“Wait, do you mean that we still have to stay here?” the maintenance man objected. “You heard what the doctor said. This dungeon might be a competition to see who can live longer in the radiation. We’ve already absorbed obscene amounts of radiation from the explosion, and now the whole town is contaminated. Don’t you think that leaving this place is the wisest choice?”

“If you can’t complete the main storyline mission, it doesn’t matter how far you run. Where can you run to?” Master Kui asked in return.

“But the problem is that we don’t even know what the main storyline quest is!” The repairman said, “From the beginning of the explosion until now, we’ve been continuously absorbing radiation without thinking about it. We even returned to the vicinity of the nuclear power plant. In the end, what did we get? The main storyline quest hasn’t moved at all.”

“This is why we have to stay in Pripyat,” Master Kui said. “You’re also a player, so you should know very well that very few quests are completed outside the initial city.”

“But in less than ten hours, the entire city will be evacuated!” The maintenance worker said. “The residents here will be forcibly evacuated, and the injured will be sent to Moscow. So what if we stay? By then, this place will become a ghost town!!! We won’t be able to find anything.”

“Well, although I can’t bear the pain of running around, I have to admit that what he said makes sense,” the uniformed youth said. “After the evacuation, all we can do is wander around the city. Other than absorbing the radiation, it doesn’t seem to be of any use. We might as well leave.”

“Have you ever thought that the so-called key people might not be the ones who caused the Chernobyl accident, but the key people who will provide disaster relief later?” Master Kui interjected.

“That’s possible.” The boy nodded.

The maintenance man was displeased. “Whose side are you on?”

“I’m not on anyone’s side. I’ll listen to whoever makes sense. Of course, I’ll still listen to Simon in the end because what he said must be the most reasonable theory so far.” The boy shrugged.

“In short, if we want to find the key figure in the disaster relief, we need to continue staying in Pripyat,” Kui added.

“This is just conjecture, just like what the doctors and I have guessed. This dungeon is a competition to see who can live the longest after radiation exposure,” the maintenance man said.

“You’re right, but I’m different from you guys. Rather than waiting passively, I prefer to be the master of my own fate,” Master Kui said. “I’ll stay.”

“Then, I choose to leave this godforsaken place immediately.” The maintenance man did not budge an inch as he swept his gaze across the other players. “Is there anyone who wants to leave with me? We can drive ourselves out of here before the evacuation. We first head to Kiev, then find a way to board a plane from there and fly as far as we can from this contaminated city.”

“Save it. You won’t be getting anywhere without an interpreter,” Master Kui said calmly. “Even if the investigation report comes out in two months and you’re still alive, what can you do? If you can’t even understand it, why are you looking for key figures?”

“The Soviet Union is a massive place. I don’t believe that we can’t even find a single English interpreter,” the maintenance man said.

“Brothers, we’re splitting up now. Are we taking sides?” the uniformed boy spread his hands. “We haven’t reached that stage, have we?”