Chapter 60
The cabin was dead silent, with only dust floating slowly in the dim green light.
Lin Yao leaned his back against the cold metal wall and slowly slid down to the ground.
The document envelope with the title "Ark Project" on it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in his hands.
He could definitely do it. With just a thought, his vast mental power could instantly scan every page of paper and imprint all the information deep in his consciousness, taking no more than a second.
But he didn't.
He chose the most primitive and slowest way - reading word by word with his naked eyes.
The fingertips slid across the rough and tough special paper, making a slight rustling sound.
It seemed that only through this most direct sensory contact could he be sure of the authenticity of every word and every sentence he received.
As the papers turned page by page, the layer of ice that had not melted for thousands of years in Lin Yao's azure eyes was being replaced by an unprecedented, overwhelming shock.
The so-called "old world"...is actually the "new world"?
The so-called "new world"... is actually the "old world"!
This realization was like the most violent mental shock, severely shattering his inherent worldview!
The material clearly depicts a forgotten world called "Gaia." There, humans once thrived, established nations, and despite occasional conflicts, generally maintained a fragile peace. Until that day...
An incomprehensible and irresistible "pollution" substance has quietly arrived like the most vicious plague.
It erodes the land, distorts the plants, alienates the animals, and ultimately... drags humans into the abyss.
The once prosperous homeland turned into a dead zone at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the polluted "rotten soil" continued to expand, devouring all life.
The technological weapons that humans are proud of are as ridiculous as children's toys in the face of such horrific pollution. They cannot even really harm the most basic polluting beasts.
In the midst of despair, hope arrives in another form: the awakening of "superpowers." They are like a spark in the darkness, providing a brief respite for the endangered human race.
However, the strength of an individual cannot reverse the decline of the entire world. Pollution continues to spread like a maggot on the tarsal bone.
Faced with the completely polluted and hopelessly devastated "Gaia," humanity made a final, desperate decision—escape! In search of the legendary unpolluted pure land—"Taoyuan"!
They have devoted all their resources, wisdom, and even paid an unimaginable price to build a massive flying fleet capable of carrying the flames of civilization - the Ark! These Ark, carrying the last hope of mankind, will cross the unknown dimensional barriers and head for the "Utopia".
And those strange spaces now known as "replicas"... are precisely the spatial wrinkles and energy remnants left behind by the Ark Fleet's repeated attempts to cross the dimensional barrier. They are the "scars" left by the failed voyage to "Peach Blossom Land."
When he turned to the last page of the material, Lin Yao's gaze was fixed on the last few lines of scribbled, trembling words, as if written with the last bit of his life's strength.
"...It's all over...Everyone's been contaminated...I'm almost there too...My body...is changing...My consciousness...is blurring...Has humanity...really reached the day of...extinction?...I can't accept this...I really can't accept this..."
The handwriting here becomes extremely distorted, as if the writer is experiencing great pain.
"...If...this material...can be seen...it should...mean...that humanity...has not yet been truly...annihilated...Those who come after...be careful...Peach Blossom Land...may not be...a pure land..."
The last few words were barely legible, carrying with them a veil of endless despair and a faint, unidentified warning.
Pop.
Lin Yao closed the last page of the document.
He slowly raised his head, his azure eyes staring unfocused at the twisted and deformed metal structure on top of the cabin, as if he wanted to penetrate the heavy wreckage, penetrate the poisonous miasma of the rotten bone forest, and look at the sky of the so-called "new world" shrouded by the dome.
For a long, long time.
He let out a long, deep breath, which seemed to carry with it the heaviness and absurdity that had settled over three hundred years, blowing away the dust floating before his eyes.
Just now, he learned a shocking secret that would overturn the entire world's understanding. The old world is the new world, and the new world is the old world. Humanity did not migrate from the old world, but... failed to escape from "Gaia" and was trapped in this polluted land.
The so-called "Four Dome Cities" are nothing more than shelters built on the wreckage of "Gaia"! The so-called "superpowers" are mutations that struggle to survive in the polluted and desperate environment.
The truth... is so cruel and ironic.
Lin Yao closed his eyes, forcing down the turmoil surging within him. Now was not the time to dwell on the shock. He quickly calmed himself and carefully kept the crucial "Ark Project" document close to his body.
He stood up and scanned the eerie conference room with his sharp eyes. Apart from the papers and empty boxes that had turned to ashes, there seemed to be nothing else.
He carefully used his spiritual threads to explore every inch of the corner, the walls, the floor, the ceiling... but still found nothing.
Leaving the conference room, Lin Yao continued to explore the depths of the massive, twisted wreck. The cabin was complex, like a vast maze, with traces of the hasty evacuation and desperate struggle left everywhere.
As time passed, his mental strength continued to be depleted, and his body ached from the previous battles and pollution.
Just when he was about to give up and prepare to leave the wreckage, his mental thread captured an extremely faint, non-metallic feedback with information fluctuations while scanning a corner obscured by huge twisted pipes and collapsed bulkheads.
Lin Yao immediately stepped forward and carefully used his spiritual thread to remove the heavy obstacle. An extremely narrow, niche-like hidden space was revealed.
There is no gold, silver, or treasure inside, no high-energy weapons.
There are only two things.
A boxy, black plastic box with a faded label on it—an old videotape.
Next to it is an equally old but exceptionally well-preserved machine with a play button and a magnetic head mechanism - an old-fashioned tape recorder.
Lin Yao's spiritual thread gently enveloped the two objects. Their material structure was indeed extremely ancient, exuding the same aura as the shipwreck, more than three hundred years old.
But what is amazing is that they are protected by some force, isolating them from most corrosion and surviving to this day.
Videotape... a video record from three hundred years ago?
Lin Yao's heartbeat quickened slightly, and he immediately found a relatively stable corner with dim light nearby.
He cleared a small area and set aside the old VCR. With rare caution, he removed the black videotape and, following the method he remembered, carefully inserted it into the machine's slot.
Press play.
Sizzle...sizzle...
A sharp, old-fashioned electrical noise and snowflakes instantly filled the dim cabin, and the old machines made a dull sound.
After a few seconds, the screen with flickering snowflakes gradually stabilized, revealing a blurry black and white image.
The scene appears to be a place resembling a command center or a large laboratory. A group of people in white research coats sit around a long table, the atmosphere solemn.
Their faces appear blurry in the low-resolution image, but it can be seen that most of them are very old, with tired and serious expressions.
"…The coordinates have been recalibrated…The stability of the dimensional barrier is the key…"
"...The anchor signal from Taoyuanxiang is still weak...but this is our last hope..."
"...Ark Three's energy core is at risk of overloading... We must find an alternative..."
"...public sentiment...panic is spreading...we don't have much time left..."
Intermittent conversations could be heard, and the content was highly consistent with the "Ark Project" document that Lin Yao had just read. They discussed time travel technology, energy supply, the collapse of social order, and the illusory "Utopia".
The despair and desperate determination are clearly conveyed through the blurred images and distorted sounds.
Lin Yao watched quietly, his azure eyes like the most sophisticated recorder, capturing every detail. Time passed in the dull meeting discussion.
Sudden!
When the screen switched to a wider shot, focusing on the main seat at the long conference table, Lin Yao's body suddenly froze.
It was like being struck by an invisible thunderbolt.
His pupils suddenly contracted to their limit! Within his azure eyes, the eternal calm was replaced by an unprecedented mixture of extreme shock, disbelief, and... a sharp pain buried deep in his memory.
In the picture, the man sitting in the main seat, speaking to the participants, was clearly the host and the soul of the meeting...
That face!
That face he would recognize even if it turned into ashes!
Otto!
The president of the Old World Superpower Association! The man who had appeared before him like a god when he awakened his superpowers in an orphanage at the age of three, lost and terrified, thinking he was cursed!
Memories were like a flood that burst through a dam, instantly flooding Lin Yao's core of thought.
[In a dark and cold corner of the orphanage, a little boy with silver hair and blue eyes curled up, looking at his toy that was floating uncontrollably, his eyes full of fear.
"Child, this is not a curse." A gentle yet powerful voice sounded.
The little boy looked up and saw a man in a well-tailored suit, with an elegant face and eyes as deep as the starry sky, squatting before him. The man extended his hand, his fingertips shimmering with warm golden light.
"This is the power of God, the key that will lead you to the altar." The man smiled, his smile like the warm winter sun, dispelling all the haze in the little boy's heart. "Come with me, learn to control it, and become... a true 'God'."
It was he who brought him out of the mud, led him into the world of superpowers, discovered his potential in "soul manipulation", and watched him climb to the top of the leaderboard step by step, becoming the "GOD" that the entire old world feared!
It was he who, during a seemingly ordinary mission, launched a fatal backstab on him at the moment when he was most trusting and most defenseless! The reason? What a ridiculous and greedy reason - "coveting his huge points"!
That betrayal was the turning point when Lin Yao's rationality completely overwhelmed his emotions.
He killed his only "mentor" and "guide" with his own hands, and from then on he no longer trusted anyone. He regarded emotions as the most useless burden, transformed himself into a synonym for absolute rationality, and became a true "God" above all living beings.
How come he is here?!
In this videotape shot three hundred years ago?!
In this meeting place belonging to the world of "Gaia" and the "Ark Project"?!
Lin Yao's mind went blank. It was as if a massive information bomb had been dropped onto his core, instantly overloading him! A sharp dizziness washed over him, and he subconsciously clung to the cold metal wall beside him, barely able to steady himself.
The ages don't match! The timeline doesn't match! Everything doesn't match!
Otto, the mentor in his memory, had lived in the Old World for a time that was at most a few decades different from the time Lin Yao lived in! There was no way it could have spanned three hundred years!
A terrifying, horrifying possibility surfaced in Lin Yao's chaotic mind: time travel? Clones? Or... some elaborate, vast conspiracy spanning the vastness of time? Could the truth behind his betrayal... be far more complex than it seemed?!
The mysterious veil of "truth" that had just been lifted seemed to have transformed into a thicker, more confusing fog. Instead of bringing clarity and hope, it led to more, deeper, and more terrifying mysteries.
Like an invisible net, it has quietly enveloped him since three hundred years ago or even longer, and he himself seems to have been deeply trapped in the net.
For the first time, a bone-chilling chill didn't originate from the polluted environment or physical pain, but rather spread uncontrollably from the depths of Lin Yao's soul. His pride in absolute rationality and control paled in the face of this vast mystery spanning time and space.
He leaned against the cold bulkhead, looking at the "Otto" from three hundred years ago who was talking eloquently on the VCR screen. For the first time, an emotion called "bewilderment" clearly emerged in the depths of his deep blue eyes.
For a moment, he didn't even know...where to go next.
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