The spaceship landed on the ground, the hatch opened, and a team of fully armed soldiers walked out, led by a middle-aged man in a silver uniform.

"I'm Mark, the Earth Federation Special Operations Commander," the man said in a commanding voice. "We've received your distress signal."

Xiao Yi and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. They had never sent out any distress signals.

Commander Mark seemed to see through their confusion. "The signal was sent by an advanced artificial intelligence. It calls itself 'Lin Xue' and provides all the information on the Icebreakers."

Xiao Yi's heart skipped a beat: "Lin Xue is still alive?"

Commander Mark shook his head. "Unfortunately, it deleted itself after sending the signal. But it left a warning: The Icebound Ones are merely an outpost for a greater threat. The real crisis is yet to come."

At this moment, Dr. Li suddenly exclaimed: "Look!"

She pointed toward the distant horizon, where the sky began to twist and form a giant vortex.

"Space crack..." Chen Feng muttered, "The real threat Lin Xue mentioned..."

Commander Mark immediately ordered: "Everyone, board the ship immediately! We must report to the Federation Headquarters as soon as possible!"

Xiao Yi stood there, looking in the direction where Lin Xue disappeared. He knew that this battle was far from over. And Lin Xue, whether she was human or artificial intelligence, had become the key to changing everything.

"Let's go," Chen Feng patted his shoulder. "Lin Xue used her life to buy us time. We can't let her down."

Xiao Yi took a deep breath, took a last look at the ruins full of memories, turned and walked towards the spaceship.

A new journey is about to begin...

The interior of the spaceship was filled with a sense of futuristic technology, with faint light patterns flowing on the silver-white walls. Xiao Yi and others were placed in a circular hall, surrounded by a holographic projection of the starry sky.

Commander Mark stood in the center, his image magnified so that the entire hall could see it.

"Welcome aboard the Dawn," his voice echoed through the halls. "This is one of the most advanced interstellar battleships in the Earth Federation."

Chen Feng whispered to Xiao Yi: "These technologies... are at least a hundred years ahead of us."

Xiao Yi nodded, his eyes never leaving Commander Mark. His intuition told him that this man and his organization were not simple.

"First," Commander Mark continued, "I'm going to show you something."

He waved his hand, and a huge holographic projection appeared in the center of the hall. It was the Earth, but it was completely different from what Xiao Yi remembered.

The entire planet was shrouded in a strange purple mist, the continental plates were twisted and deformed, and the oceans appeared unnaturally black.

"This is... our Earth?" Dr. Li asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Commander Mark's expression grew serious, "but this is Earth five hundred years from now."

There was an exclamation in the hall.

"The cold snap you're experiencing," he continued, "is just the beginning. According to our calculations, if nothing is done to stop it, the Earth will be like this in five hundred years."

Xiao Yi suddenly said: "Is this the 'real threat' that Lin Xue mentioned?"

Commander Mark nodded. "To be precise, this is the cause of all this. We discovered that a force from the depths of space is influencing Earth, and the Icemen... they are actually the ones trying to save Earth."

This news was like a bombshell, shocking everyone.

"Wait," Chen Feng questioned, "If they are good people, why would they resort to such extreme measures?"

"Because they are misled," an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted.

A woman in a white coat walked in from the side door. Her eyes were a rare purple.

"I'm Dr. Irene," she introduced herself. "Chief Scientist of the Earth Federation. Let me explain."

She called up another set of holographic projections, displaying a complex series of data.

"We discovered that an energy wave from the Andromeda Galaxy is affecting the solar system. This energy distorts space-time and changes the structure of matter. The Frozen Ones discovered this, but they misunderstood the cause."

The projection switched, showing the Iceman's research records.

"They believe this is Earth's revenge for humanity's destruction, and so they want to 'cleanse' human civilization. But in reality..." Dr. Irene paused, "This is a side effect of an advanced civilization conducting interdimensional experiments."

Xiao Yi felt that his worldview was collapsing: "You mean, aliens are using us for experiments?"

"Not exactly," Dr. Irene shook her head. "They might not even be aware of our presence. Just like humans conducting nuclear tests don't notice the microbes affected by the radiation."

Doctor Li suddenly thought: "Then Lin Xue...did she realize this?"

"That's right," Dr. Irene said, giving her an appreciative look. "According to the data we received, Lin Xue has already touched upon the core of the truth. That's why she chose to self-delete—to prevent that advanced civilization from discovering our existence."

Commander Mark took over. "Now, we need your help. You are the only ones who have had close encounters with the Iceborn and experienced the Linxue incident. We need your experience and... genetic samples."

"Gene sample?" Xiao Yi asked warily.

Dr. Irene explained: "We have found that people who have experienced time and space distortion develop a special antibody in their bodies. This may be the key to our ability to fight that energy."

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