Chapter 91: Crown of the Continent
Sky Root was never meant to be a capital.
It began as a survival outpost—steel walls, rationed water, desperate hopes barely stitched together by scavenged tech and old dreams.
But now, the people were no longer just surviving.
They were choosing.
Choosing to stay.
Choosing to build.
Choosing to call it home.
The vote came quietly, but not without tension. Delegates from the southern safe zones, northern highland communes, the coastal enclave, even the mountain clans, arrived with cautious eyes and quiet desperation.
Qi Yue stood before them in what used to be the war room. The screens were now used to stream harvest numbers and school schedules instead of combat alerts. AURA’s old interface, once glowing with battle simulations, now served as a communication hub between the settlements.
She glanced at the gathered leaders—some still carried old weapons at their hips, others wore patched robes of faded distinction.
Then she spoke:
“I didn’t come here to rule.”
Silence.
“I came here to make sure no one had to kneel again. Not to me. Not to anyone.”
A pause.
“But we need something new. Not another empire. Not another chain of command built from fear.”
She stepped closer, fingers brushing the rusted map carved into the central table.
“We need unity. Balance. A place where decisions are made with memory—and vision. We call this place Sky Root, but it belongs to all of you now. And if you choose... it will belong to the future too.”
A child entered the room, tugging on her coat. One of the orphans. Qi Yue knelt immediately.
“What is it?”
The boy whispered something. She smiled and rose.
“Before you vote,” she said, turning back to the room, “come outside.”
Confused murmurs followed her as she stepped out into the central plaza.
And there—spanning the once-broken field—stood nearly a hundred children.
Each held a handmade banner with the name of their settlement, stitched, painted, or burned into it. Some were barely legible. Some were too bright. Some looked like they had been painted in a hurry with plant dye and rainwater.
But they held them high.
Above their heads, the wind carried the colors like flags of peace.
The boy stepped forward again. This time, he spoke aloud:
“We’re the ones who’ll live here next. So... can you build it right?”
Silence.
A long one.
And then one by one, the delegates stepped forward.
They bowed—not to Yue.
To the children.
And when the vote came, the results were unanimous.
Sky Root was declared the capital of the New Continent Alliance.
---
That night, the city pulsed with quiet celebration. No fireworks. Just shared meals. Soft music. People sitting on rooftops, laughing softly, crying quietly.
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Before the Fall: Rebirth of the Cannon Fodder
ActionShe was never meant to survive the story. Qi Yue was just a forgotten name in a tragic novel-a fake daughter, cannon fodder, a girl who died early in a zombie apocalypse no one remembered. But when Lin Yue, a terminally ill girl from the real world...
