Chapter 91: Human Civilization Will Be Reborn in Apocalypse
Chapter 91: Human Civilization Will Be Reborn in Apocalypse
“The impact point of Asteroid 2801 hitting the ground was on the edge of the Arctic Ocean in the Arctic Circle.”
“According to calculations by the Negentropy Research Institute and the Strong Artificial Intelligence, the asteroid impact would make the Earth spin faster, shortening each full rotation by forty seconds to one minute.”
“Asteroid 2801 would create a vacuum in the seawater at the impact site instantly, causing massive waves over a thousand meters high stretching from the Arctic Ocean all the way to the Sun Ocean.”
“It would cause strong earthquakes and massive volcanic eruptions worldwide… The immediate crater would reach from the Arctic Ocean’s edge to North Bear Nation and Moon Nation’s shores, with powerful shockwaves spreading across most of Huaxia Nation.”
“The countdown to impact was two hours and three minutes.”
“…Huaxin News Agency is now live reporting for you near the impact site.”
In Huaxin News Agency’s broadcast, background announcements repeated.
The live images were captured near the predicted impact site directly by Intelligent Machinery and streamed back.
In the steady shots, the weather looked clear at the impact spot.
The nearby sea was calm with no strong winds.
The blue sky had few clouds, mirroring the sea and meeting it at the distant horizon.
The afternoon sun still shone brightly overhead, casting a hazy reflection on the sparkling ocean surface.
Some close-up shots showed schools of fish swimming in the area.
There seemed to be no sign that doomsday was approaching.
At that moment, people both in Underground Shelter Cities and on the surface watched intently.
Some felt nervous and uneasy; others were restless and couldn’t calm down.
Almost everyone felt low and heavy inside.
“…What about you? Do the fish in the sea know doomsday is coming?”
“The fish don’t know. The wild animals in the jungles don’t know. Birds flying above might still wonder where to find their next meal. Plants on land keep growing toward the sun, taking in nutrients… So sometimes, I feel thankful. Thankful that when this disaster came, we could spot it early and do something. Not be wiped out without understanding why.”
“I don’t know how you feel now, but sadness is welling up inside me. I want to cry… Even though I know everything will get rebuilt fast after doomsday, it still hurts now… Everything will be gone.”
Huaxin News Agency’s live feed switched shots.
Apart from the footage by the impact point, there were also background reports.
Images cut to empty cities on the surface, quiet and lifeless, long deserted.
Everything built by Human Civilization above ground would vanish after this disaster.
Once familiar city views now held memories of a whole generation.
Even if rebuilt after doomsday, things could never be the same.
“Countdown to impact… exactly two hours.”
…
In Lingchuan City, inside an old house,
some elderly people gathered for an early dinner.
“…How about we head to the rooftop soon? Ancient people raised their cups to toast the moon—why don’t we toast the ‘star in the sky’?”
“Sure! It’s my first time seeing an asteroid strike Earth. Too bad our spot here isn’t great. Even if we rushed toward the North Pole now, it’d be too late, ha!”
The elderly laughed and kept pouring drinks for each other.
They’d all chosen not to enter the Underground Refuge City.
Now, old friends together, they faced death calmly.
Beside them, two Service Robots stood, doing their jobs.
“Gentlemen, please don’t drink too much—it’s bad for your health.”
one Intelligent Robot reminded.
Hearing this, the elderly burst out laughing.
“Who said these robots were smart? I don’t think so!”
“Hey—it’s almost doomsday. Don’t you know that?”
One tipsy old man patted a Service Robot’s shoulder, grinning.
The robot paused, then performed a new logic check.
It poured more wine for the men.
“Haha, that’s more like it…”
The old man roared with laughter again.
The group stumbled a little but didn’t mind.
Holding each other up, carrying their glasses, they climbed toward the rooftop.
While some chose to spend time with friends, others faced the end alone.
One old man washed carefully and changed into clean clothes.
He simply watched the apocalypse live stream on his device, calm but wary.
Though he willingly skipped the Underground Refuge City, as the moment neared, unease crept in.
Even so, he didn’t regret his choice.
He never thought of himself as a hero—
but if he died, he’d do it with honor.
Human Civilization couldn’t beat this disaster,
but as part of it, he’d cling to humanity’s pride till the final breath.
Others headed outside cities to open ground.
They readied themselves.
When Asteroid 2801 struck,
even if they stayed silent,
they’d flip it off.
In the capital,
the city too stood hollow and eerily still.
The Senior Leader who stayed behind
waited quietly in a room as Intelligent Robots and other Intelligent Machinery prepped nearby.
During the last hours, he’d give his final televised speech.
He shut his eyes, running through every detail:
Was anything left undone?
Could he do more in two hours?
Only once certain he’d tried his best
did his mind finally settle.
However, when he opened his eyes again,
the Senior Leader froze for a moment.
Naturally, it was because he saw a familiar face who shouldn’t be here.
“Academician Qin?”
After calling out, the Senior Leader paused again himself.
Then, he used a different name.
“Professor Qin.”
Qin Yu, who appeared here, smiled but didn’t correct the title.
The Senior Leader also chuckled and shook his head.
“I see. That explains it. Everyone with this name is just… incredibly capable.”
Still, the Senior Leader didn’t press further,
didn’t ask how Qin Yu lived until now, how he changed his identity, how he altered his appearance.
He didn’t ask either how Qin Yu managed to reach here directly from the shelter beneath Lingchuan.
Because, at this moment, none of that seemed very important.
He simply smiled again, then gestured inviting Qin Yu to sit beside him.
“Thank you, Professor Qin, for being willing to see me at this hour, it cleared up my final questions.”
“And, with you here, Professor Qin, I feel a little more assured about humanity’s future.”
“Professor Qin, where… where will Human Civilization go next?”
The Senior Leader asked again a question he had posed before,
but he was asking a different person.
Qin Yu gave the same answer he had given previously.
“The very distant future is unknown to me. But in the short term, it should only continue to grow stronger.”
Hearing Qin Yu’s once more, the Senior Leader smiled, asking no further questions.
Facing Qin Yu now, this Senior Leader undoubtedly had many things he could ask.
But in the end, he asked nothing.
After a moment’s thought, the Senior Leader only sent the Intelligent Robot to fetch some simple food.
“Professor Qin, let’s eat together.”
Qin Yu nodded, not refusing.
As they ate, the Senior Leader seemed deep in thought, then spoke again.
“… Standing where we are now, looking back at humanity’s past…”
“There was a time when our numbers were frighteningly small. Looking back, it seems humanity teetered on the edge, one wrong step from utter extinction.”
“Looking forward thousands, millions of years from now, if Human Civilization still endures then… people will surely marvel at how fragile we were at this moment… how we couldn’t withstand the slightest disturbance.”
“And I earnestly hope that Human Civilization will grow stronger, faster, in the future.”
The first part of his words seemed to touch on old rumors about Professor Qin Yu – the whispers of “Apocalypse Anxiety.”
Qin Yu just nodded, saying nothing more.
After this simple meal,
the Senior Leader stood up again, took a long, slow breath, and smiled once more at Qin Yu.
“Professor Qin, I won’t hold you here any longer.”
“I wish for you, and for Human Civilization, all the best for the future.”
The Senior Leader spoke with a certain calm resolution.
Qin Yu raised his hand, signaling the Senior Leader to proceed as he wished.
The Senior Leader, naturally, went to prepare for this, his final broadcast.
…
“… Friends. Compatriots.”
“Regretfully… it seems I may miss our appointment. I won’t be able to meet you again after the Doomsday Crisis.”
The Huaxin News Agency broadcast momentarily shifted to show the final address from this Senior Leader,
while the same screen continued to display the live feed near the estimated impact zone.
In the top right corner, the impact countdown still ticked down:
Thirty minutes.
“… I know… that those sheltering in Underground Shelter Cities at this moment might feel confused, anxious… perhaps even sorrowful, sorrowful and in pain.”
“The collision of Asteroid 2801 with Earth cannot be stopped. The coming Doomsday Crisis will annihilate everything we built upon the surface.”
“Everything on the surface holds memories for all of us.”
“Yet, friends… do not worry… do not fear… do not be afraid.”
“We are a powerful, resilient Civilization. Throughout our history… we have endured countless disasters.”
“This time… is merely one of them. It cannot destroy our Civilization.”
“Our Civilization will endure. Right here… on this Earth… on this very land. We will continue to exist… to grow!”
“Until… the day we need fear a disaster like this no longer!”
“This crisis… this collision… even the end itself… will not break us!”
Against the backdrop of the ever-ticking countdown on the screen,
the Senior Leader made his stirring declarations.
The vast majority of people watched, listened, as this elder gave his final words.
“… Friends. Compatriots.”
“The task of rebuilding and continuing our Civilization… I entrust it to you.”
“And before I go… on behalf of the Negentropy Research Institute… I wish to announce good news… news I hope will inspire everyone.”
“Helium-3 Fusion technology… led by Academician Qin Yu… has been achieved… through the efforts of the Institute of Energy Dynamics at Negentropy.”
“When you have weathered this disaster… when you set foot once more upon this Earth… you will find it reborn… a beacon for stronger development!”
“You will remake it… conquer it anew… just as our ancestors conquered this land! You will turn it back into the fertile soil that nourishes our lives!”
“And you… you will not stop there… you will leave this land… reach the Moon… and journey into the deep beyond!”
“This apocalyptic disaster… may cost us dearly… but it will be but a small ripple… a brief moment… in the long history of Human Civilization!”
“A stronger… more resilient… more advanced Human Civilization… will be reborn from the ashes of Doomsday!”
The old man stood up from his chair.
He faced the camera squarely.
“So… friends… compatriots…”
“Do not be terrified… do not be afraid…”
“After Doomsday… Human Civilization will only grow stronger… it will grow strong in your hands… strong before your very eyes!”
“‘The new era of humanity will unfold in your hands!'”
The countdown to impact now had only the last two or three minutes left.
After saying these words, this Senior Leader, the old man, paused and went silent for a long while.
Finally,
he spoke a sentence that started with a hoarse but gradually louder voice.
It was the start of an old, ancient song from hundreds of years ago.
“‘…Onward, onward! Our team marches towards the sun…'”
“Boom…”
The TV live broadcast suddenly cut off right there.
Everything ended.
Because, on the live broadcast, the countdown to Asteroid 2801 impact had reached zero.
…
At that instant,
what was happening?
The scary speed and energy of Asteroid 2801 did not change at all until it really hit Earth.
At such extreme speed,
in reality, between when people on the ground could spot signs of Asteroid 2801 coming,
and when the impact fully happened, there was almost no gap.
For everyone, right as the impact countdown hit zero seconds,
Doomsday Crisis had arrived without any warning.
An indescribable sound started at the impact spot and was sure to spread across the whole planet.
On a rooftop of a building in Lingchuan City,
several old men had drunk too much and lay on their backs on the rooftop; hearing the warning countdown pass zero,
they watched the evening sky seem to suddenly brighten, and all laughed loudly.
A nearby Service Robot, following its base rules, was already rushing toward the old men,
carrying out its final protection plan.
Even though it probably could do nothing.
The old man who waited quietly for doomsday to come, seeing that doomsday had finally arrived,
instead seemed to let out a sigh of relief; he smiled and then calmly met the arrival of doomsday.
Since they were a bit far from the impact spot,
the people who came to the open, empty areas in the city still got their wish,
before Asteroid 2801 came, and they cursed a nasty word toward the direction of the impact spot.
“Damn it! What stupid thing? Could humanity be wiped out by you?”
…
But Qin Yu,
after saying goodbye to that Senior Leader earlier,
by now had shown up outside the building.
Walking on the land, Qin Yu left his Intangibility state,
watching all the chaos under the Doomsday Crisis caused by Asteroid 2801 hitting down.
Qin Yu did not know what to say.
Even in Qin Yu’s long life, the shock from these scenes right now
was sure to stay in Qin Yu’s memory for a very long time.
You could say, at this exact moment,
under the Doomsday Crisis, Qin Yu, this Absolute Immortal, was the one who saw everything under this doomsday most clearly.