Chapter 2, Hope

I received this email around April 2028, sent to me by an electronic encryption expert with whom I have some acquaintance, as I once saved his daughter abroad. At that time, he also sent me a lengthy encryption. However, during my visit to his home, I had heard about a new type of encryption he was still researching, and I attempted to crack it. To my surprise, I obtained this set of data and English.

However, just a few days after the collective disappearance of the upper echelons of the world, some exposed information shattered everything, leading to severe turmoil across the globe. People began to act frantically and in despair, and those with weapons and military personnel started to riot and commit massacres, plunging the entire world into a catastrophic apocalypse

Thus, the army revolted, the populace rioted, death, slaughter, and rape unfolded, with various forms of venting and ugliness being enacted across the globe. Those abandoned government officials became the first scapegoats... They and their families suffered unimaginable torture and death, followed by the vulnerable women and children

We still have hope

However, at this moment, the high-ranking officials on Earth have collectively disappeared. According to various disclosed information, these officials have been secretly manufacturing spaceships, reminiscent of a science fiction film from many years ago, "2012." It is secretive, hidden, and the public is completely unaware; only the powerful and the wealthy have the privilege to board these massive vessels. Astonishingly, these high-ranking individuals have indeed done so, abandoning billions of their fellow human beings on Earth, and they have fled alone.

Yao Yuan nodded and said: "Indeed, if I am not mistaken, the two English words 'Noah' likely refer to a spacecraft, and this set of coordinates may very well indicate the Earth's location of that spacecraft! This is our only hope of escaping this catastrophe"

The progress of humanity has never ceased; it may only accelerate or decelerate due to various reasons, such as wars, massacres, genocide, or events like the Renaissance and technological explosions. Through these various trials and tribulations, humanity has arrived at the twenty-first century. Finally, humanity is about to step into the universe

The era of explosive technological advancement for humanity began after the First Industrial Revolution, continuing through the Second Industrial Revolution and into the Third... The emergence of computers and various new technological theories marked a period of technological explosion for humanity that persisted until the late 2020s of the twenty-first century, when signs of a gradual slowdown began to appear

When Yao Yuan reached this point, he rubbed his brow and said with some pain: "I have a modest understanding of European mythology, particularly the legend of Noah's Ark... Because God saw that the world was filled with sin, He decided to destroy it, sending down heavy rains to flood the entire world. Only one person received God's warning, so this individual began to build the ark. The ark housed all the animals, one male and one female, as well as his family. In the end, this family and those animals escaped with their lives, becoming the only living beings to survive the apocalypse, and this ark was named Noah!"

Yao Yuan slammed his fist onto the metal table, creating a small dent on the surface. Gritting his teeth, he said, "We still have hope! If these coordinates and the accompanying English instructions are genuine! Then I still have hope! A spaceship, a vessel capable of taking us away from Earth, the only hope of finding a glimmer of survival!"

It is by no means a problem that can be solved by merely digging some giant holes underground and hiding there for decades, nor is it a matter of simply relocating to Mars to preserve the human race. This could very likely lead to an extinction-level catastrophe for humanity; no, it is not just humanity that is at stake, but it could potentially result in the complete destruction of the Earth itself.

However, even so, I still did not think deeply about it, only believing that the old man's new-style password had been exposed. Perhaps this password held benefits far beyond my imagination, leading to a scramble between the United States and the United Kingdom, which resulted in the situation I observed. It was already the spring of 2029, and I was then thinking of ways to rescue the old man

The information indicates that in 2027, shortly after the United States conducted its first space jump experiment with the Hubble Space Telescope, several countries' space telescopes detected anomalies beyond the solar system. A remarkably massive fragment of a celestial body was hurtling towards the solar system at an extremely high speed. Although this fragment was not very large, its mass was several times that of Earth, suspected to be debris from a neutron star.

Yao Yuan looked at the more than ten brothers and comrades in front of him, and he said in a deep voice: "At that time, I didn't think much of it and didn't ponder deeply; I just thought that this old man was testing my proficiency with his new code. However, not long after, various doomsday declarations erupted online, and it was then that I suddenly noticed this set of numbers and letters. I then seized an opportunity to visit their family in Italy. But when I arrived in that small town, I suddenly found that their home was being monitored by certain forces. From the surveillance pattern, it seemed to involve the tactics of American and British agents. Fortunately, I had disguised myself as a European at that time, which allowed me to avoid alarming the snake and escape smoothly. However, it took quite a bit of effort to divert their attention. At that moment, I knew that this set of numbers and letters was anything but simple"

In this situation, the only chance for survival lies in utilizing the space jump technology invented by Americans, to venture far beyond the solar system into outer space, in search of potentially habitable planets. This is humanity's sole opportunity for continuation

However, by the time I had prepared my internal lines and eyeliner, as well as weapons and escape routes, it was about a month ago. You all know what happened, right? At that time, I was planning to go abroad, and suddenly news spread worldwide about government officials, wealthy individuals, and the powerful disappearing. Moreover, no government came forward to refute these claims. The entire world continued to operate merely on its usual inertia. I realized then that the situation might not be as I had imagined, but rather a far more terrifying scenario

The development of humanity began in the distant ancient period of the last apes. Initially, it started with the accidental striking of stones, which produced sharp stone points. This progressed to the learning of grinding and manufacturing stone tools, followed by the kindling of the first fire, and the recording of simple symbols, leading eventually to the formation of written language

However, as the pace of human progress is about to slow down, the United States suddenly unveiled the alien spacecraft incident in 2027, simultaneously claiming that they have mastered space jump technology. They are set to conduct the first jump experiment at the end of 2027, marking humanity's imminent step beyond Earth to conquer the solar system and venture into extraterrestrial realms. This is a significant leap for humankind

Based on its speed and trajectory calculations, this neutron star fragment is expected to collide with the Sun in the spring of 2030, which may result in the Sun erupting with intense plumes of flame, potentially causing dramatic changes throughout the entire solar system. Unfortunately, Earth is precisely within the range of the Sun's projected flame plumes.

In 2027, the United States unveiled a secret from the 1950s, when a crashed alien spacecraft was discovered in Tennessee, containing even the decayed bodies of extraterrestrials. This incident was classified and kept hidden, while the United States continued to study the spacecraft. However, due to the vast technological gap, there had been no significant breakthroughs for decades. As time slowly progressed into the twenty-first century, this matter remained classified and the research on the alien spacecraft continued, yet the technological disparity persisted, resulting in no substantial advancements over the years.

This will be a true extinction

Since the disappearance of the global elite one month ago, the world has plunged into chaos. However, according to social inertia, massacres and military uprisings are unlikely to occur, as we have not yet reached that point. At most, there will be a period of social unrest, followed by the selection of a new government, and the world will likely continue to progress forward.

The nearly seven billion people living on Earth have completely lost hope. They possess neither scientific technology nor sufficient prestige to rally others to build a spacecraft, and time is running out. It is now the summer of 2029, and in about eight months, the entire Earth will be utterly destroyed, awaiting everyone...! ... Only destruction! There is not a shred of hope left! It is now the summer of 2029, and in about eight months, the entire Earth will be utterly destroyed, awaiting everyone...! ... Only destruction! There is not a shred of hope left!

Wang Guangzheng, who was deep in thought beside him, said: "Captain Yao, if what you say is true, this so-called Noah's Ark and these coordinates are very likely to be ... ... "