After the asteroid struck Earth, catastrophic tsunamis and continuous meteor showers buried civilizations on the planet's surface.

However, all of humanity's efforts were not in vain. The asteroid was bombarded by ballistic missiles and broken into countless fragments, which dispersed the impact force on Earth, leaving Earth's crust intact and solid.

In most areas, the impact did not penetrate deep underground.

Gradually, the tide began to recede, returning to its original horizon. The land was covered with radioactive dust, and every now and then, scattered meteorites would fall to the ground from the gray sky.

but.

Humans, however, stubbornly survived.

Underground.

However, transportation, communication, military, economy, and many other sectors have been paralyzed.

More precisely, it was completely destroyed.

Overnight, human technology regressed by at least 200 years, almost back to the Stone Age.

Historians later designated the day the asteroid struck Earth as the beginning of the "New Era." The first month of the New Era is often referred to by historians as the "Age of Chaos."

The world's population has plummeted from 6 billion to 100 million.

As disaster struck, people fled to any place they could find refuge. Some ran into air-raid shelters and survived the first impact of the meteorites; some took refuge in subway stations, luckily finding convenience stores inside; some ran into their cellars and survived on previously stored food; and some, in a panic, hid in caves in the wilderness, shivering inside…

Humanity was caught completely off guard, underground resources were severely depleted, and chaos was inevitable.

Looting, killing, rioting, fighting... it happens every day, and nothing is inevitable.

The interim governments of various countries all chose to remain silent.

This is a very simple addition and subtraction problem. The existing underground resources are fixed and cannot support 100 million people. If one person dies, the chances of another person surviving will be greater.

That's not wrong, no one is wrong, everyone is just trying to survive.

The fewer people, the less energy is consumed.

When the world's population drops to a certain number, interim governments in various countries begin to intervene in an attempt to suppress the riots.

But policymakers miscalculated; the riots were far more severe than anticipated, and the world’s population continued to decline rapidly as they frantically decided to use state machinery.

Humanity has lost its purpose in life, social order has collapsed, human faith has vanished, and the transmission of civilization has been severed. Humanity is heading further and further down the road to extinction.

...

"Alas, if God does not lend humanity a hand, our civilization will perish in this generation."

Qiongzhou Island, Wenchang, a mountain by the sea.

This place was originally a secret nuclear submarine base of the Republic of China, and the entire mountain was hollowed out.

This is now the temporary center of the China National Space Administration, where all the research personnel from the Wenchang Space Launch Site have been transferred. Huge cables are connected to the nuclear reactor of the Type 099 "Blue Whale" strategic nuclear submarine, providing power to the entire base.

Xiao Yimin, director of the China National Space Administration, frowned as he looked at the rioting crowd on the big screen.

"Mr. Xiao, who are you referring to as 'God'? Jesus? Allah? Buddha? Or Guanyin Bodhisattva?"

Standing next to Xiao Yimin is the Director General of the European Space Agency, Bruno Fernandes. He happened to be visiting China on the day the asteroid struck Earth and ended up stranded here.

“Mr. Brosnan, please stop mocking me,” Xiao Yimin said with a wry smile. “As you know, I am an atheist.”

"What would make an atheist pray to God? Has things gotten this bad?"

“Mr. Brosnan, what’s playing on the big screen now isn’t a horror movie, but footage taken by our investigation team from various recent survivor sites.”

"Ah! You mean those scenes of cannibalism just now..." Brosnan opened his mouth but couldn't speak.

Xiao Yimin nodded sadly: "This disaster not only set our technology back to the Stone Age, but also turned humanity back into primitive people who eat raw meat and drink blood."

"Mr. Xiao, please let me make a call to the US President! These demons must be stopped!"

“Telephone?” Xiao Yimin shook his head, looking at the European Space Agency director as if he were an idiot. “Mr. Brosnan, I think you must have forgotten that the Internet no longer exists. The most advanced communication method I have now is ‘carrier pigeon’. Would you like to give it a try? Perhaps we can find a pigeon from Europe for you.”

“Uh…” Brosnan was speechless.

Meteor showers and tsunamis have destroyed almost all facilities on the surface of Earth, turning even human survivors into isolated islands.

To establish communication between isolated islands, physical communication is necessary: ​​going onto the ground and traversing on foot.

Even with full protective gear and a gas mask, this remains an extremely dangerous activity. While not immediately fatal, prolonged exposure to radioactive dust can cause irreversible damage to the human body. Many people die from radiation-induced illnesses and complications.

Even so, some people still dare to venture to the surface in the face of radioactive dust, simply by putting on a raincoat and a disposable mask.

After all, radiation won't kill you immediately, but starvation will.

Although the ground facilities were destroyed, resources were scattered everywhere after the tide receded, such as supermarket shelves lying on the beach.

The first people to venture onto the surface brought back biscuits, milk, packaged noodles, and other items, becoming rich overnight.

More people ventured onto the surface, bringing back even more strange and unusual things. People bartered, exchanging goods they no longer needed.

Power bank rental stations are readily available in supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, and convenience stores across the country, making them very easy to find. Moreover, these power banks are highly waterproof.

Portable power banks are in high demand, since not everyone can access the power supply from a nuclear submarine reactor like the base on the coast of Wenchang.

Electricity is a product of modern human civilization. People plug power banks into televisions in the hope of obtaining external information, watching the news, or even just watching entertainment programs to relax their tense nerves.

But the TV screen only showed static.

Humans have lost the ability to transmit radio waves.

This was an era in which human civilization declined and perished.

This is an era of scarce entertainment.

This is a chaotic era.

Looting, killing, rioting, fighting... it happens every day, and it never stops.

Until one day.

People discovered that those snowy television sets were receiving video signals from 60 million kilometers away.

That concludes the discussion.

Later historians unanimously designated this day as the end of the new era's "Age of Chaos," and named the beginning of this day:

The Age of Heroes!