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We are the people of the Fifth Solar Cycle, known from the records as the Civilization of Emotion, the Civilization of Spirit...

No matter how magnificent a civilization becomes, there is always darkness that cannot be escaped. Countless nations, civilizations, and races that once shone brilliantly on Earth were annihilated under that darkness, crushed to dust. According to the Mayan calendar, modern civilization belongs to the Fifth Solar Cycle, while the Atlantean civilization was the Fourth Solar Cycle, known as the Civilization of Light.

The current Fifth Solar Cycle civilization, known to scientists as the Civilization of Emotion, or sometimes the Civilization of Spirit, is predicted by most dedicated researchers to evolve to another level within a few hundred years—a highly developed brain leading to the awakening of the spiritual domain. That would be the most glorious and brilliant era of the Fifth Solar Cycle.

And yet...

A disaster has erupted on Earth. Under the viral assault, countless living beings have become Pseudo-Dark Creatures, but humans can absorb their power to augment themselves and accelerate their evolution.

Originally— Calculated by the Mayan calendar, 2012 was meant to be the end of the world, the day the sun would vanish, plunging the world into a night from which dawn would never return. Given the finite lifespan of stars, this was certainly possible, leading the vast majority to firmly believe the world would end on that date.

In reality, if Earth’s scientists had detected that the sun would truly disappear on December 21, 2012, preparations for evacuation ships would have begun as early as 2010 or 2011. After all, without the sun's illumination, Earth's temperature would drop below -100 degrees Celsius within a single day, freezing all green plants and wild animals to death overnight, a fate humans could not escape. Without light, cultivation would cease, food reserves would rapidly deplete, and coupled with the harsh environment, all surface life would be utterly extinct within a month. Even microorganisms would struggle to survive, relying solely on energy from deep-sea volcanoes, perishing if that environment changed.

From Elvi’s words, Ye Chen formed a suspicion. The Mayan prediction, "After entering the night, one will never see the dawn again," might not literally mean the sun vanished. In his memory, life remained calm and unchanged between 2010 and 2013. Only when the virus erupted did the world suddenly and without warning descend into a nightmare filled with hordes of Zombies and swarms of monsters.

“Entering the night, never to see the next dawn.”

Ye Chen pondered, “The virus outbreak happened precisely at night, though it wasn't December 21, 2012—there’s a slight discrepancy with the prophecy. Perhaps the date mentioned in the prophecy, December 21, 2012, wasn't the actual time of disaster, but the time of the disaster’s birth.”

He turned to Mo Feng beside him and asked, "In that doomsday guidance theory you gave me at the research institute, did it mention anything specific happening at the virus research facility on December 21, 2012?"

Mo Feng paused, thinking for a moment, then replied, "That day was a joyous occasion at the virus research institute; the virus seed culture had officially been developed, and continuous improvements and enhancements were already underway."

"As expected…" Ye Chen sighed internally. "The Mayan Civilization truly lived up to its reputation as a civilization that studied temporal tunnels. They calculated even this. The so-called 2012 apocalypse most likely referred to the day the virus seed was born, the moment humanity could no longer halt its outbreak. From the moment that seed emerged, the situation we face today was already inevitable."

In his previous life, he had seen remnants of Mayan civilization. Ancient texts rumored that Mayan mathematics had reached an almost impossible level, enabling them to research and build temporal tunnels for travel to the prehistoric past and the future. However, that remained legend; he had never encountered a temporal tunnel in his past life.

"The so-called eternal night most likely means that the spiritual civilization of this Fifth Solar Cycle is still in its nascent stage; humanity and the creatures have not truly awakened. Thus, under the claws of the Pseudo-Dark Creatures born from the virus outbreak, they will all be slaughtered and annihilated."

"Earth will become the domain of the Pseudo-Dark Creatures, and no other civilization will ever arise from it..."

Ye Chen frowned, feeling the situation was growing intensely complex.

"If the Mayan Civilization could predict this, why didn't they point it out explicitly? Were they afraid later civilizations would deem it too fantastical to accept, or was there some other hidden reason?"

"And why have the Dark Creatures that destroyed so many prehistoric civilizations vanished from Earth?"

Everything felt strangely off, making Ye Chen feel increasingly agitated. If the Mayan Civilization had used temporal tunnels to calculate the tragic fate of the Fifth Solar Cycle's spiritual civilization, did that imply that no matter how hard he struggled, the outcome was already sealed? This was a deeply discouraging thought. Had the Mayans, through their tunnels, foreseen all the current disasters humanity faced, including his own arduous efforts, only to still conclude with a judgment of "destruction"?

This preordained outcome filled Ye Chen with a sense of powerlessness and suffocating frustration. Finally, he gritted his teeth and resolved to fight regardless. Whatever the future held, whatever the end, he had to push forward. Only by fighting was there even a sliver of a chance. If fate was sealed, he would shatter that fate. My destiny is mine, not heaven's.

If an ordinary person heard such news, they would likely succumb to apathy, indulging their desires with whatever resources and power they possessed, adopting the mindset of dying full rather than dying wanting. But Ye Chen was different. If it were just him, perhaps he would behave like them—hunting for base mutations daily, then seeking women, eating and drinking excessively, choosing to live as if ready for death at any moment.

But now, he still had his sister; he was no longer alone.

Therefore, he must fight. No matter the future, he would fight to the very end.

Ye Chen lifted his head and looked at Elvi, his expression grave. "We are people of a later civilization, currently engaged in war with the Pseudo-Dark Creatures. Are you willing to assist us?"

Elvi nodded. "I will. This Holy City of Qilun fled here while being hunted by the Dark Creatures precisely to await the arrival of a later civilization, so that the resources within the Holy City could be used to aid them in their battle."

Ye Chen nodded. This Elvi was vastly different from that lecherous old man of the Green Rune people. One was merely a ship manager; the other was the intelligent goddess controlling an entire Holy City. The difference was like that between a commoner and a queen. Otherwise, if an intelligence system of Elvi’s caliber, controlling a massive city, harbored rebellious thoughts, the Atlanteans would have long since wiped her out. No one enjoys a manufactured machine rebelling against them.

Ye Chen glanced at the stone platform. "How did you end up trapped here?"

Elvi sighed. "The Holy City was caught by the Dark Creatures, and I was imprisoned here, losing contact with the city itself."

Ye Chen’s eyes flashed. "Then why does the button on the stone platform bear the language of the Atlantean civilization?"

Elvi stared at the stone pillar, a trace of hatred in her eyes. "All of this begins with Ellis, that traitor. He actually surrendered to the Dark Creatures. They didn't know how to imprison me. Only the high command of the Atlantean civilization knew that I, as the Ninth Generation Intelligent System, have an extremely unique physical structure; I can communicate with, control, and utilize any metal simply by touching it. That is why he used this special totem platform to imprison me, preventing me from contacting any metal, or even the air."

Air also contains metallic elements.

Ye Chen fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "If what you say is true, hasn't this city already been scavenged clean by the Dark Creatures? Why didn't we see any Dark Creature corpses or signs of battle when we arrived?"

Elvi’s eyes brightened. "Really? That's wonderful news! It seems the power of the Qilun Sages drove all those Dark Creatures out of the Holy City. If the damage isn't too severe, the Holy City has an automatic repair capability. Those filthy corpses of the Dark Creatures would never be allowed to remain in the city; they would be cast into the Abyss of Sin."

"Automatic repair capability?" Ye Chen was surprised. In the history of metallurgy, "shape-memory alloys" are considered miraculous; the current technology of the Spiritual Civilization cannot replicate it. Yet, this technology already existed during the time of Qin Shi Huang. In the excavated mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, a bronze sword was bent 90 degrees by a Terracotta Warrior and held compressed for over two millennia. When the warrior was moved, the sword automatically sprang back to perfect straightness. Most metals would be permanently deformed by such prolonged pressure, but this bronze sword returned to its original shape—a miracle in metallurgy called shape-memory metal, which current technology cannot replicate. This is why Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum is rightly called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

But the metal in this city seems even more advanced; it possesses self-repairing abilities.

Ye Chen thought for a moment and said to Elvi, "What mechanisms are in this city, especially concerning the Qilun Temple? I need to enter the Qilun Temple to retrieve something."

Elvi hesitated. "You want to go to the Qilun Temple? There are many lockdown zones there. If you enter rashly without the defense level of a Purple Gold-rank Robot, you will be vaporized."

Ye Chen frowned. "Do you have a way?"

Elvi replied, "I have sensed that most of the city’s systems are currently shut down due to a lack of energy supply. The central energy crystal in the city core may have been depleted. We must first go to the Energy Crystal Vault to find replacement crystals to reactivate the city. Once it's running, I can use the energy to interface with the various systems and temporarily deactivate those mechanisms."

"The Energy Crystal Vault?" Ye Chen started, then his eyes lit up.

...

These few chapters are heavy with exposition and information, resulting in slower pacing and a later update. The next update will be around 9:30 PM. Each chapter takes about two hours to write. Hoo...