Chapter Four

That evening, the Earth delegation released internal footage of the Lead Sphere Spaceship. Inside the spherical structure were multiple zones including commerce, residential, agriculture, and technology. These areas were filled with digital signal lights, intelligent AI, hover trains, and other sci-fi technologies, forming a sleek, high-tech world.

Before the public could fully absorb this, the United Nations announced the spaceship’s origin and revealed a second agreement: the 3,000 new humans aboard the Lead Sphere Spaceship would live on Earth for one month. After that month, they would decide internally whether to continue cooperating with Earth or take control of it.

“Are they declaring war on Earth?”

“Why would they want to control Earth?”

…

After the United Nations’ announcement, humanity became highly alert.

The Lead Sphere Spaceship didn’t offer much explanation but instead accepted an Earth interview and released historical data on humanity.

This data covered Earth’s history from 2043 to 2070, detailing the China Space Station’s explorations, the global decision to build underground cities, and the freezing of the Pacific Ocean—events meticulously recorded from 2043 to 2070.

“Is this the history of the future?”

“I saw myself—twenty years from now, I’ll be a spaceship researcher.”

“I saw an ‘older’ national leader…”

…

The footage depicted events that had yet to happen. Some residents saw themselves twenty years in the future and felt as if they were immersed in history.

“History proves that Earth failed three thousand years ago. We only want to better protect it.” Representing the Lead Sphere Spaceship, Yu Wensi echoed what she had previously discussed with Han Liang.

Over the past year, the Lead Sphere Spaceship had not been of one mind. Its population split into three factions: the Control Faction, the Friendly Faction, and the Neutral Faction. The Control Faction wanted to take control of Earth, the Friendly Faction sought peaceful cooperation, and the Neutral Faction refrained from taking sides. Despite their political differences, all shared a common goal: to prevent the solar crisis and the nightmare of the captive era.

“If the Lead Sphere Spaceship really comes from three thousand years in the future, then from the moment they arrived, Earth’s history has already changed. Is the history we’re seeing still the real one?”

Someone raised the issue of the Temporal Paradox. If the new humans truly came from three thousand years ahead, their arrival might negate their existence, since history would inevitably trigger a Butterfly Effect.

“If the original history was like the number ‘6’—with Earth’s past crises, the captive era, and the spaceship escape all within that circle—then the moment we passed through the black hole, we jumped outside the circle and began drawing a new arc. We’re now creating a new circle.” The Lead Sphere Spaceship explained their theory: they had already broken free from history the moment they entered the black hole.

Three days later, various national space stations issued a joint statement: they had detected that the sun’s core was cooling. This detection came five years earlier than it had in the “history” data. All evidence suggested that this change could not be caused by external technology. Like it or not, the sun was cooling, and humanity might face extinction within fifty years.

“Will humanity really go extinct?” Residents thought back to the disastrous images in the data. Even if they had foreknowledge of the future, could they really change it?

The solar crisis was terrifying.

…

“Mom, will Earth really be destroyed?” On February 20, Luo Xiaowen asked as he packed his backpack, glancing at his mother. He had been among the first Earthlings to make contact with the “Aliens,” and since that expedition, he had become a star at school—even the teachers praised his bravery.

“I don’t know. There’s still a long time before Earth’s possible end. Maybe there will be a turning point.” Sun Jingjuan adjusted his red scarf. Since the global release of the historical data, the overall mood had been grim, and her company’s business had plummeted. She was finally taking a rare long vacation.

Click—

Just as Sun Jingjuan finished adjusting Luo Xiaowen’s scarf, the door of their neighbors across the hall opened.

Her hand paused mid-motion as footsteps echoed down the corridor. Half a minute later, she pulled back the curtain.

Downstairs, a young woman was walking toward the bus stop holding a little girl’s hand. They looked just like ordinary people, but Sun Jingjuan knew they weren’t.

They were the new neighbors who had moved in a week ago: Lead Sphere humans.

…

“She’s really an Alien?”

“Seems like she’s from three thousand years in the future.”

“Her eyes are green…”

…

At 8 a.m., when Luo Xiaowen arrived in class, he saw a group of students gathered together, cautiously glancing toward the back row. There sat a ten-year-old girl with green eyes and a ponytail, seriously reading her language textbook.

“What’s going on?” Luo Xiaowen asked, setting down his backpack.

“The teacher told Han Meifang to sit with Aiwen Lingling, but Han Meifang refused. Her mom’s in the office talking to the teacher right now,” Fan Jiayi explained quickly.

Aiwen Lingling was a student from the Lead Sphere who had transferred three days ago. According to the agreement, they would live on Earth for a month, and Earthlings were not allowed to harm or discriminate against them. The teacher had assigned Aiwen Lingling to sit with Han Meifang, but Han Meifang had called in sick that same afternoon. Now her parent was in the office arguing about the seating.

Ten minutes later, the bell rang and the teacher walked in with Han Meifang, who had tears in her eyes. The teacher glanced at the seats and said, “Han Meifang, please pack up and move to Xu Fangze’s seat.” Xu Fangze, the class hygiene monitor, had been out sick.

Each desk was shared by two students. Once Xu Fangze returned, someone would still have to sit with Aiwen Lingling.

The teacher had clearly been thinking about this issue, and taught the whole lesson distractedly.

When the first period ended, the teacher could no longer hold back. “Aiwen Lingling is our new classmate. We must treat her kindly. Is there anyone willing to sit with her?”

All the students looked down. The internet was filled with talk about the Aliens. None of them dared speak to one.

“No one?” the teacher asked again.

Luo Xiaowen glanced at Aiwen Lingling, hesitated, then raised his hand. “Teacher, I can sit with Aiwen Lingling.”

“You’re crazy,” his desk mate whispered, nudging him.

“Aiwen Lingling is my neighbor,” Luo Xiaowen added.

“Good! Move your books over to Aiwen Lingling’s desk,” the teacher said, looking at Luo Xiaowen like a savior.

And just like that, Luo Xiaowen had an Alien as his new desk mate.

When Luo Xiaowen first became desk mates with Aiwen Lingling, he was extremely nervous. He didn’t dare look her in the eyes or at the silver chip on the back of her head. The chip seemed as if it was embedded into her skull—it was a little frightening.

Aside from those two things, Aiwen Lingling behaved like a regular person. She didn’t like to talk in class or interact with classmates. As soon as class ended, her mother would come pick her up. Aside from the initial surprise when Luo Xiaowen raised his hand to sit with her, she remained as solitary as an invisible person.

The turning point came during a science lab class on the topic of “volume change when alcohol and water are mixed.” Halfway through the lesson, the teacher received a phone call and hurriedly left.

“How are we supposed to do this?”

“Are we just supposed to pour them together?”

The students started fiddling with the lab equipment without direction. Suddenly, an accident occurred—one student mishandled the experiment and accidentally ignited a curtain. A girl standing near the curtain had her clothes and ponytail catch fire instantly.

“Ahhh!” The whole class panicked.

At that moment, Luo Xiaowen saw Aiwen Lingling take off her jacket and throw herself over the burning girl. The flames were extinguished, but a gruesome burn appeared on Aiwen Lingling’s arm.

“Someone help!” The teacher rushed back and shouted when he saw the situation.

Both the girl and Aiwen Lingling were sent to the hospital. The girl was only frightened, but Aiwen Lingling’s arm was truly injured.

The next morning, Aiwen Lingling came to school as usual.

“Aiwen Lingling, I’m sorry…” The girl and a mischievous boy came with a beautiful cake to apologize to her.

“It’s okay.” Aiwen Lingling looked at the cartoon design on the cake and eventually accepted it.

From that day on, the class’s attitude toward Aiwen Lingling changed noticeably. Classmates started inviting her to play badminton and jump rope. Though she didn’t talk much, she accepted their gestures of kindness.

Over the following days, Luo Xiaowen kept observing Aiwen Lingling’s scar. He noticed that although the scar was ugly, it didn’t seem to hurt.

“Do you really care about that?” Aiwen Lingling noticed his gaze.

“Why doesn’t it hurt?” He realized she hadn’t seemed in pain even on the day of the accident.

Aiwen Lingling smiled. “Because I can’t feel pain.”

“You can’t feel pain?”

“Have you heard of the Domestication Era?”

“Yes.”

“My mom told me that my great-great-great-grandfather was once captured by the Moerans. They conducted some interstellar experiments on him—it was pretty horrifying. After he escaped, he could no longer feel pain, and his descendants couldn’t either…”

“You guys…” Luo Xiaowen had seen a science program that said pain was a protective reflex for the human body. Without pain, one could be in serious danger. He wanted to express concern for her but didn’t know how.

“During the Domestication Era, there were many experimental subjects like us. Our genes changed. Compared to those who didn’t survive, I’m already very lucky.”

For the first time, Luo Xiaowen felt the brutality of the Domestication Era. He fell silent, then tried to lighten the mood. “Why are you named Aiwen Lingling?”

The name sounded part-Chinese, part-English, and quite unusual.

“My mom picked it from Earth’s records. Aiwen seemed like a very ordinary name, and Lingling sounded really nice…” Aiwen Lingling’s name was indeed a mix of Chinese and English. Luo Xiaowen softly repeated it twice—it did sound pleasant.

After that, Luo Xiaowen and Aiwen Lingling became good friends. They went to and from school together, and Aiwen Lingling and her mother would even visit his home. After spending more time with them, Luo Xiaowen found that the Aliens weren’t as frightening as he’d imagined.

On March 15th, the day the Aliens were to return to the Lead Sphere Spaceship, Luo Xiaowen and Aiwen Lingling sat on the rooftop of their apartment building, each holding a bowl of sweet glutinous rice balls cooked by Luo Xiaowen’s mother.

They ate happily, one bite at a time. The sky sparkled above them. Suddenly, Luo Xiaowen felt sad. “Will we meet again?” He knew that after tomorrow, the Aliens would hold a general vote. Depending on the outcome, there might be a war between Earth and the Lead Sphere Spaceship over control.

“We will.” Aiwen Lingling nodded solemnly.

“On the battlefield?” Luo Xiaowen wasn’t sure why he thought of such a heavy word.

Aiwen Lingling smiled. “Luo Xiaowen, have I ever told you a secret?”

“What secret?”

“We actually held the vote a year ago, before any of you knew Aliens existed.”

“What was the result?”

“We never wanted to control Earth. You are our ancestors. We’ve always been proud of you, because you never gave up on Earth—not even at the very end.”

“This past month…”

“This is the history we’ve learned since childhood. We wanted to embrace the peace in that history, and it’s just as warm as we imagined.”

Luo Xiaowen looked at Aiwen Lingling, and she looked back at him. Neither of them said a word, but they both knew—they would meet again.