Chapter Three

“You are… a human?” Han Liang opened his mouth. Aside from her eye color, Yu Wensi looked like the most ordinary human being.

“I am a human, or rather, a human from three thousand years in the future.”

Han Liang: ???

Over the next half hour, Han Liang felt like he was listening to a bizarre story—

In April 2043, the China Space Station detected that the sun was cooling rapidly at an irregular rate, a process that was uncontrollable. It was predicted that in twenty years, the global average temperature would reach -90°C.

“Minus ninety?”

“Is this data accurate?”

“Was the detection reliable?”

…

After the China Space Station released its announcement, the world was in an uproar. Many countries mocked China for being alarmist.

“This is a conservative estimate by the Space Station. If solar cooling fluctuates more severely, the timeline and temperature could be even worse.” Despite pressure from other nations, the China Space Station stood by its findings.

Two months later, the U.S. and Russia both released statements confirming China’s detection. The world was facing a solar crisis, and by 2060 at the latest, Earth would no longer be habitable for humans.

“The end of the world?” People looked up at the sun, unwilling to believe that the blazing sun was cooling down.

Over the next five years, a wave of panic buying swept the globe. Tensions between nations escalated, and the global average temperature dropped from 19°C to 8°C, marking the first significant global temperature decline in a century.

In 2048, China issued a new World Peace Initiative, once again urging the world to set aside conflicts and face the solar crisis together. Over the past six years, China had issued countless peace proposals and acted to safeguard its own interests without bullying smaller nations.

After the new peace initiative was released, 130 countries signed in agreement, including powerful nations like the UK, France, the U.S., and Russia. They had come to realize that endless internal strife could not solve the solar crisis, and only unity offered a sliver of hope.

The world established the Solar Crisis Base, where countless scientists gathered to find ways to combat the crisis.

Proposals included migrating to Mars, propelling Earth to a new orbit, and reigniting the sun, but none were feasible with current technology.

Ten years later, the world had constructed 5,200 underground cities. With surface temperatures at -30°C, humans could only survive on instant foods like oatmeal and nutrient pastes. Fresh fruits and vegetables had become luxuries.

By 2063, the global population had dwindled to three billion. Surface vehicles barely functioned. The sun had gone cold and dark. Humanity decided to implement the Solar Ignition Plan. The plan involved using specialized Tungsten Spaceships to approach the sun and deploy Artificial Nuclear Fusion Devices into its core in hopes of reigniting it and reviving solar activity.

“You’re saying that twenty-six years from now, we’ll be piloting ships toward the sun?” Han Liang interrupted Yu Wensi. It was currently 2037, and she was referring to 2063. Tungsten’s melting point is lower than the sun’s surface temperature—this plan was sheer folly!

“So, you failed,” Yu Wensi said with a smile. Humanity had launched seven hundred spacecraft in total, all of which vaporized before they could get close to the sun.

By 2070, Earth was dead.

“Did humans die and then get revived by freezing?” Han Liang recalled that Yu Wensi said she came from three thousand years in the future.

“No.” Dead meant dead. Without the sun’s thermal energy, the entire solar system collapsed.

“Then how…”

“Alongside the Solar Plan, humanity also initiated the Human Seed Project.”

While executing the Solar Plan, humanity built the Seed Ship, a hundred-meter-long spacecraft that contained genetic material, cultural records, and data from all over the world. The ship carried no oxygen; its purpose was to escape the solar system and seek a new home with this knowledge and DNA.

“This time it succeeded?”

“Yes.”

After the Seed Ship left Earth, all contact was lost. Humans didn’t know if the project had succeeded, but Yu Wensi did—because she was a descendant of the Seed Ship.

“The Seed Ship was controlled by three hundred intelligent robots. Humanity gave them the directive to find a suitable environment, and once found, the robots would activate the gene bank to cultivate new humans.” With no oxygen onboard, everything depended on the robots. It was a miracle of Earth’s technology.

“You found a new home?”

“If survival alone counts, then yes…”

The Seed Ship wandered outside the solar system for three hundred years. Just as the robots were nearing their operational limits, they discovered a small planet—only half the size of the moon—with water and some indigenous plants. The robots followed protocol, landed, and humanity was reborn.

The new humans learned from Earth’s data and began to explore their environment with curiosity. They enjoyed five hundred years of prosperity.

This golden age lasted until 2,300 years ago, when a massive warship arrived above the new planet. Humanity then discovered they were in a galaxy called M2, inhabited by advanced civilizations like the Moerans, Duoweians, and Molemen. This was a vast interstellar stage, and humans were ‘foreigners’ who had stumbled into it.

The Moerans stood five meters tall, had facial features and tails, and their brain capacity was three hundred times that of humans. After nearly ten thousand years of evolution, the Moerans believed that ‘inappropriate’ emotions impaired judgment, and had long since lost feelings like joy, anger, sorrow, and delight.

Upon discovering humans, they became deeply intrigued and began to domesticate them.

Humans became lab rats in the eyes of these aliens. Besides observation, the aliens were keen on altering humans—implanting high-tech devices in their bodies to stimulate emotions like excitement and fear, then analyzing the brain’s chemical secretions during these emotional states.

This continued for 1,500 years. During the age of captivity, disappearances were frequent on the new planet. Apart from experimentation, the aliens also treated humans as exotic pets, distributing them across different planets where they became prized companions.

Eight hundred years ago, during one such alien experiment, humanity finally rebelled. In truth, they had been resisting for a millennium, but this time, they succeeded.

They seized the Moerans’ spaceship, severed its connection with the Moer Empire, and began a great interstellar escape. They hoped to find a pure land, but there was nowhere in the deep universe suitable for human survival.

They lived on the spaceship year after year. Due to resource shortages, humans ceased reproduction, and their numbers dwindled each year.

After eight hundred years, only 3,000 of the new humans remained aboard the ship.

“You all…” Han Liang opened his mouth, sensing he was close to the truth.

“We are the last generation of new humans. The lunar spaceship is the Moer ship from back then.” Yu Wensi smiled. “A year ago, we were pursued by the Moer Empire and accidentally encountered a cosmic black hole…”

The Moer Empire could already replicate countless humans using their genetic data, but that defection years ago remained a stain on their pride. They had to capture these detestable pets!

The Moer Empire launched a fierce assault on the ship. After analyzing the battle, the ship plunged straight into the black hole. The black hole exerted a terrifying pull—they thought it was the end, but after repeated turbulence, they emerged in an unusually peaceful galaxy.

The universe is a river flowing forward. Not even the Moer Empire could alter time. Upon investigation, they realized this was the solar system from 3,000 years ago.

It was a miracle.

…

Han Liang was speechless. If this were true, it would be a catastrophe for all humanity.

“You want to change Earth’s history?” Han Liang asked.

“If it’s possible, we don’t want any of this to happen.”

“On behalf of Earth, I thank you…” Han Liang began, but Yu Wensi smiled and said, “No need to thank us yet—we’re not necessarily going to help you.”

“Then what about the cooperation you mentioned?”

“History from 3,000 years ago proves that you couldn’t save Earth. Now that we’ve come, we’re unsure whether we should take control of Earth.”

Han Liang: ???

He felt the balance of power on Earth was about to be upended.