Chapter 90: Doom Arrives
Chapter 90: Doom Arrives
“Academician Qin, where did you think the future of Human Civilization was headed?”
“I cannot foresee the very distant future. In a few hundred years or a few thousand years, Human Civilization should keep growing stronger.”
“I guess it should be like that too. Thanks to your achievements in research, Academician Qin, and all the workers at the Negentropy Research Institute, we made huge strides in smart fields like energy and computing power… When the Doomsday Crisis ends, Human Civilization should indeed grow stronger and stronger.”
Near the end of the talk, the Senior Leader asked Qin Yu this sort of vague question.
After hearing Qin Yu’s reply, the Senior Leader smiled warmly and spoke these words again.
Qin Yu looked at this Senior Leader, paused in silence for a moment,
“You are not planning to enter the Underground Refuge City?”
Hearing Qin Yu say this, the Senior Leader shook his head and chuckled softly,
“Indeed, I cannot hide that from a wise person like you.”
The Senior Leader smiled, seemingly without any intention to hide things, and spoke very freely next,
“To be honest, I am not young anymore; I am already an old man.”
“In this lifetime, I have been through many big and small storms.”
“The roads I have walked, the places I have visited, the whole world I have seen—it is more and bigger than what most people have experienced.”
“I was born in the Social Upbringing Bureau and grew up there. When I was young, it was still Professor Qin Yu’s era. Then, as I grew older, I saw Academician Qin come to prominence.”
“I have lived through the whole grand history of our civilization. My life can be said to be complete.”
“There is no need for me to go to the Underground Refuge City. Let that chance go to more of the next generation’s young people.”
“Besides, even though we built the Underground Refuge City as much as possible, many of our people on this land will still stay behind. Most are of my age and gave up their chance to go; I have no reason to flee at the last moment.”
With a relaxed smile, the Senior Leader finished speaking these lines.
Qin Yu listened to the Senior Leader’s words and stayed silent for a bit.
Really, there was no need to persuade this Senior Leader.
Although the Senior Leader might not have lived as long as Qin Yu,
he had experienced enough in the last one hundred and sixty to seventy years.
By now, he had clearly made up his mind; it would not be easy to change or waver.
“Academician Qin, when you come out of the Underground Refuge City again, it will be a whole new age for all of Human Civilization.”
“I know for sure that this crisis is just a small bump on the road to Human Civilization’s progress. After the crisis, Human Civilization will grow stronger much faster.”
“One day, when Human Civilization is strong enough, it will have many more choices when facing such dangers again.”
The Senior Leader stood up and reached out his hand to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu looked at the Senior Leader and also reached out; their hands clasped together.
“I believe that too.”
Hearing Qin Yu say this, the Senior Leader smiled again,
“… By then, our Helium-3 Fusion Reactor should be everywhere; the Moon should be fully built and used; we should keep spreading through the Solar System… Our ability to make things should shoot up a lot more…”
The Senior Leader seemed to dream about the future after the doom of Human Civilization. Then, he paused and shook his head with a smile,
simply telling Qin Yu,
“Academician Qin, the growth and strength of our civilization now rests on you. I hope Human Civilization gets better and stronger.”
After one last firm handshake, Qin Yu’s talk with the Senior Leader came to an end.
Later on, in February 282,
before the month ended,
the whole Negentropy Research Institute finished moving away.
After that move was done, Qin Yu was also strongly asked to enter the Lingchuan Underground Shelter City.
….
Lingchuan Underground Shelter City.
Even though the underground space dug by Intelligent Machinery was big,
with over twelve million people crammed inside, it became super crowded now.
Especially since, besides living areas for people, the city had Intelligent Industrial Clusters set up all over, taking up large parts of the underground space.
Inside the Lingchuan Underground Shelter City, things like going to the meal hall in groups and having set eating times became everyday basics.
Because the work was run by Intelligent Machinery, people were not needed to keep the city going,
so once inside, most times people stayed in their small rooms or on their single beds unless they must go out.
Some folks who used to do research outside couldn’t do it here—only math could continue without much stuff; other work mostly stopped.
Learning by some people moved online too.
If not for the city’s network, which gave people a way to let out feelings,
and the Intelligent Machinery and city system keeping things in order,
this super tight, hard life could have led to many bad things by now.
It was like that in Lingchuan Underground Shelter City, and even worse in others.
Planned common open spaces were packed full already.
Compared to just staying alive, how good that life is was not something to worry about at such times.
After Qin Yu got inside the Underground Refuge City,
his living place was about the same as the others.
But for Qin Yu, that hardly mattered.
He could use Intangibility anytime to slip out of the shelter and back to the ground.
….
Time came to early March.
On a night,
moving through Intangibility from inside the shelter, Qin Yu went around Lingchuan City.
Right then, most of Lingchuan City was dark and still.
The moon above the city shone brighter than it had in a long time, but that was not a good sign.
As the main city of Qinzhou Province, with Lingchuan University and being close to the Negentropy Research Institute, its people grabbed chances early;
before the Doomsday Crisis, long-term folks there were tens of millions,
making it a top big city in all the Huaxia Nation.
But now, under the dim light, the city was totally silent.
Most of the city’s Smart Industrial Clusters had moved into Lingchuan Underground Shelter City and other nearby shelters.
The buildings here stayed as they were; people did not waste time knocking stuff down before the doom.
The city’s wholeness and its deadness showed together,
giving Qin Yu a weird, hard-to-put-finger-on feeling of sadness.
Maybe because he was moving through Lingchuan City in Intangibility,
Qin Yu almost felt like a ghost drifting in the hollow city.
Though the city looked intact on the outside, it was already a ruin in truth.
After a long time,
he could finally spot scattered Intelligent Machinery and Intelligent Robots operating on the city streets.
They kept the city running at its bare minimum,
for those who still refused to leave.
The few lingering lights in the city belonged to people who willingly gave up their chance to migrate into the Underground Shelter Cities.
…
By early March,
the migration to Underground Shelter Cities was in its final stage.
Just as originally expected, or calculated,
after all Underground Shelter Cities were gradually constructed,
even after cramming them to full capacity,
barely over 1.8 billion people had been accommodated.
However,
the remaining 600 million more weren’t completely abandoned,
but efforts were maximized
to create some additional ‘underground spaces’ in the last two or three months.
These underground spaces couldn’t be called Underground Shelter Cities.
Time ran too short. Their depth was insufficient,
far from matching the safety of earlier-built Underground Shelter Cities.
These were simply reinforced chambers—
basic shelter, lacking industrial facilities and even full life-support systems.
Like sardines in a can, as many remaining people as possible were packed inside at the last moment.
Intelligent Robots barely maintained order within these spaces.
These crude, last-minute shelters offered no guarantee of surviving the Doomsday Crisis.
Even if people endured the initial Asteroid 2801 impact,
the underground spaces lacked conditions for long-term independent survival.
Their only hope was rescue
—immediate aid from Underground Shelter Cities after the impact,
relying on their resources to sustain through the worst.
Still, flawed and dangerous as they were, it beat doing nothing.
Until the final days,
with help from Intelligent Machinery and Strong Artificial Intelligence,
people frantically crammed more into these spaces.
But even then,
a substantial number remained above ground.
Around 200 million people voluntarily gave up their spots in Underground Shelter Cities.
Another 200 million, exceeding underground capacity, stayed behind.
Among them was the Senior Leader Qin Yu knew well.
…
“Countdown: 6 days, 23 hours.”
This precise timing appeared on everyone’s personal screens
and in prominent locations across shelter cities.
Since people compulsively tracked Asteroid 2801’s approach anyway,
authorities placed an official countdown atop social platforms and public displays.
Now, alongside this timer,
online reports multiplied endlessly.
“Update: Asteroid 2801 has entered within 10 astronautic units (AU) of Earth. Its trajectory remains unchanged.”
“Limit movement outside rest zones. Stay united through these final, difficult hours before Doomsday Crisis.”
“Lunar Surface Crater observatories continue real-time tracking. Entire Asteroid 2801 impact will be recorded from the Moon.”
Naturally, public discussion surged with each news piece.
Right now,
missing news caused anxiety; seeing news caused it too.
Even for those already in Underground Shelter Cities,
insecurity gnawed as the Doomsday Crisis drew closer.
Theoretically, their shelters could save them.
But what if something went wrong?
Until certainty came, fear was unavoidable.
“…Remember the 236 Algae Spread Crisis over 40 years ago? Shelters were built then too, ready for evacuation. Turned out a false alarm… I wish this was just another scare.”
“Sigh… Unlikely this time. Asteroid 2801’s too close now. Impact is almost certain.”
“With Asteroid 2801 nearing, I haven’t slept for days.”
“Eat. Sleep. Human Civilization won’t fall so easily. Building this many Underground Shelter Cities so fast proves our strength.”
“Darn it, why the bad luck? Why’d this asteroid aim straight at Earth?”
“Statistically, asteroid hits happened before and will again. We just drew unlucky timing.”
“Trust Academician Qin and the Negentropy Research Institute. Their assessment says shelters are safe inside. If even they’re wrong… well, Human Civilization had its time. Our shelters are as deep as we could’ve dug in this rush. We’ve done all we could. Rest now.”
“…I try to relax, but my heart just won’t listen.”
Day 6 of countdown.
Day 5.
As people discussed,
instruments like the Lunar Surface Crater sensor confirmed
Asteroid 2801’s approach was imminent.
Many outcomes seemed unavoidable now.
The predicted impact zone,
once a wider area, had narrowed to a precise point.
Day 3 of countdown.
Day 2.
The day of collision arrived.
And however much Human Civilization resisted,
Asteroid 2801’s path didn’t waver—it raced toward Earth through space.
The Doomsday Crisis predicted nineteen months earlier
now unfolded on schedule.
On this day,
Qin Yu wasn’t in the Underground Refuge City.
Using Intangibility, he emerged onto the surface.
Drifting unseen across the land,
he looked up at the sky.
At this moment,
countdown timers on personal screens and shelter displays showed single digits.
“Asteroid 2801 Impact Countdown: 3 Hours”
“Huaxin News Agency Live: Full Coverage of Asteroid 2801 Impact Today.”