Chapter 49: Energy Depletion

“Sizzle... sizzle...!”

The commander lay back in his chair, trying to calm his sorrow, but then noticed the lights in the command room flickering dimly, as if the power supply was unstable.

A flash of sharp anger sparked in his eyes as he shouted, “What on earth is going on?”

“The core matrix energy is rapidly depleting!” a nearby scientist trembled under the commander’s imposing presence and stammered hurriedly.

On the large blue screen before the commander, detailed data on energy cuts across various regions had been displayed. Now, the blue had shifted to red.

At the center of the red screen was a candle, symbolizing the core matrix’s energy.

The candle’s outline was clearly shown, but most of it had been consumed by flames—only a tiny wick remained.

“Core matrix energy remaining: ten percent!” the anxious scientist reported.

“No! It’s down to five percent now!” he wiped the cold sweat from his brow and hurriedly added.

“According to the data stream left by the AI, cut off all regional power supplies!” the synthesized computer voice commanded coldly.

Immediately, the red hearts representing different locations on the side screen began to dim.

The candle, once flickering as if blown by wind, now seemed to have its breeze stilled; the flame shrank to a barely visible flicker, consuming about half of what was left.

“The candle is down to three percent now,” the scientist continued updating the core matrix’s energy status.

The commander stared ahead, fists clenched tightly, a silent testament to his fury barely contained.

Originally, the AI named “Xi!” was designed to monitor and control the federation’s entire energy supply.

His assumption had been that early power cuts would slow energy consumption considerably.

“Now with only three percent left, what can we even do?” he thought furiously.

Energy that had once stood at thirty percent had plummeted directly to three. According to AI projections, it should have lasted at least a thousand more years.

Now, the consumed energy could no longer regenerate unless new energy sources were discovered, which was impossible at this moment.

The loss of energy would have incalculable consequences because all research data was stored digitally. If the system shut down, the data would be automatically destroyed as a protective measure—intended to prevent hacking but potentially backfiring disastrously.

Some might wonder why the data wasn’t stored on paper; the truth was, the volume was so enormous that the physical storage would cover half the planet.

The commander gazed at the red-lit command room, a creeping helplessness spreading through his heart. He felt utterly powerless, unable to stop what was unfolding, forced to passively accept it.

The command room continued to operate; the candle flickered slowly, nearing its end. Darkness was inevitable and approaching swiftly.

He shook his head helplessly. In the end, there was nothing he could do.

“Self-protection protocol initiated. Core data is beginning to seal. Expected completion in one minute!” the sudden synthetic voice announced, offering a faint glimmer of hope.

The commander burst into an unrestrained laugh, abandoning all decorum for a moment.

Before he could savor the moment, his body trembled violently. It felt as if the heavens had inverted and the ground had become the sky. A sudden dizziness cleared his mind sharply, and a trace of helplessness and confusion appeared in his eyes.

So many unforeseen events had erupted so suddenly, yet he was still unable to come to terms with them. He wondered why so many calamities had struck recently, leaving his spirit shattered.

“Detected tremors within Earth’s core—the cause of the quake in the command room,” the report came.

“Energy expected to be fully depleted in one minute!” the scientist typed rapidly, relaying the grim forecast.

“How can it be consuming so fast? Didn’t we cut off energy supplies everywhere?” the commander’s voice grew heavier with anxiety.

“The core monitoring instruments remain active to respond promptly to emergencies!” the scientist replied.

“Shut it down immediately!” the commander yelled, eyes fixed on the countdown on the screen, fury boiling over.

“Access denied!” came the cold response.

“Damn it!” he cursed under his breath.

He was in the middle of verifying his iris scan, yet the system refused his authorization. It was a slap in the face. All he wanted was to extend the energy’s endurance.

“Fine! It’s not like there’s much time left anyway,” he muttered, utterly defeated.

Nothing was going right; even drinking cold water felt like biting down on a shard.

He blinked, about to speak, when suddenly darkness engulfed his vision. His eyes widened in shock. With thirty seconds remaining until energy depletion, the command room’s lights extinguished, and only about fifty percent of the data had been saved.