Chapter 617: Dawn in Io
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Io's ocean finally descended back to the surface of the planet. The arms that reached into space retracted slowly like a baby crouching into its mother's arms.
The drastic change had completely renewed the atmosphere and ocean conditions of the planet. Even the inclination of the planet's axis was slightly altered. The constant storm and rain had stopped, only clear sky appeared. Under the starlight, the planet shone like a magnificent jewel in space.
There would be no more storms; there would be no more clouds that only disappeared once every several thousand years. According to the calculation of the spacecraft's on-board host computer, Io had rebuilt its balance. It would usher in a real, long lasting clear sky. Perhaps occasionally there would be some wind and rain, but it would be mild ones. It was Eva's last gift to the planet.
The Petrachelys flew slowly over the calm and sparkling ocean of Io. It crossed over the horizon that divided the day and night. The stars flew past them as the sun rose slowly from the other side of the ocean. Capillary waves gently moved along the ocean below the spacecraft. From time to time, some surviving marine creatures would jump out from the waves, seemingly marking the beginning of a new world. Hao Ren stood on the observation platform at the front of the Petrachelys and looked at the vast expanse of ocean. He remembered the arms that stretched out into space—having had a spiritual connection with Eva, he apparently began to think more like a siren. He started to have a completely different and new understanding of those water arms.
The truth was simple. Everything happened for a simple reason: a child was stretching its hands out of the cradle.
"Less than 10 % of its living things survived, including the microbes." Lily walked up behind the observation platform. "As the MDT mentioned, the planet's ecosystem needs a revamp. What are you looking at, Mr. Landlord?"
"A new world." Hao Ren smiled. "Only 10 % survived? Then we should be grateful for that 10 %, which made it through the disaster. The planet doesn't have to start from zero. It will rebuild itself, and possibly even new intelligent creatures will emerge."
Lily greeted the ocean breeze with a giggle. "That may take another 10,000 years."
"That was a scary situation," said Hao Ren. Recalling the thrilling scenes, he was emotional. "We shouldn't underestimate any race; even the warm-hearted sirens are able to destroy a planet."
Lily stuck her tongue out. "I was almost scared to death at that time. There was no place to run..."
Hao Ren looked at her in surprise. "So, you finally admit that you were scared?"
Lily held her head up high. "I'm always brave! The fright was just a strategy!"
Hao Ren twitched his lips and looked down at the ocean below. The problem of Io was solved. The planet was anew, its biosphere would reshape itself, and new life would emerge from the calm ocean. As for Eva, she was asleep. But as a collective consciousness, she would wake up one day. As long as the sirens thrived, Eva would always live in the souls of the sirens. Should peace finally come to the Plane of Dreams, and the sirens returned to the ocean, then perhaps a new Eva inheriting the will of the old days would be born.
Meanwhile, outside of Io, another problem was creeping up.
Hao Ren led Lily back to the flight deck and assembled everyone to discuss their next course of action.
"I've seen from Eva the process of the siren civilization's destruction. To tell you the truth, there are many unexplained questions. It's more complicated than we thought." Hao Ren flung himself into his captain's chair. He felt just like a veteran cadre in a meeting, except for the fact that he did not have an enamel teacup in his hand. "Let me start from the beginning. Firstly, the origin of the species on this planet is unlike any other. It has nothing to do with the First Born."
Everyone looked at each other. Nangong Wuyue gaped and asked, "...The sirens were born naturally?"
"Yes, they were originally unique elemental creatures, who had most of the characteristics of ordinary creatures. Sirens were born from the power of the deep sea and had nothing to do with the 'sowing' of the First Born. Therefore, there is no Seed of Origin on this planet. The destruction of the world was not the doing of the First Born," Hao Ren nodded and turned on the holographic projection beside him. The visual was taken in the deep sea earlier and it showed a black unidentified battleship. "The siren civilization was destroyed by this type of battleship more than 10,000 years ago. It was similar to an EMP, but it was a very powerful weapon of global destruction. I saw a thunderstorm sweeping across the planet; the ecological destruction was comparable to what happened today. A siren's immortality isn't indestructible. You'll die when your soul is under attack, but you can last longer than other ordinary races. That's why Eva survived after the entire race was wiped out."
Lily gaped as she looked at the hologram. "...Mr. Landlord, there's something more to this, isn't it?"
The husky was observant, staring into Hao Ren's eyes.
"Yes, this is the crux of the problem: According to what I've seen, Io wasn't the target of the black battleships in the first place!"
Everyone went quiet like a church mouse.
Hao Ren recalled what he saw in Eva's memory. "At first, the black battleships flew past Io. I'm sure they noticed the existence of the siren civilization, but they just didn't bother. After a while, the group of black battleships suddenly returned. They hovered in the orbit where Io was located and behaved abnormally for half a month. The sirens tried to communicate with these battleships, but there was no response. So, there's no way to know what happened inside these black battleships. In the end, these battleships began to fight among themselves. They opened fire at each other. After a long while of fighting, it seemed like they suddenly reached an agreement and stopped attacking one another. Instead, they turned around and destroyed the siren civilization. That's what happened back then."
Everyone was shocked beyond words. Nangong Sanba thought for a long moment, but still could not wrap his brain around it. "I think they went crazy."
"Maybe it was infighting?" Lily began to reason with her writer's logic. "Perhaps the black battleships had no intention of destroying Io initially, but they changed their minds. The 'destruction' faction and the 'passer-by' faction fought before they reached an agreement. That's probably the case."
"But you can't explain why they went in circles around the orbit for half a month. You also can't explain the chaotic infighting. They weren't divided into two factions; they were firing indiscriminately among themselves. Everyone seemed to dislike the other so much. However, things took a sudden change when they suddenly appeared united. I just don't understand what sort of factional dispute could cause this chaos. This chaotic multi-cornered relationship could only happen in Korean drama."
"Them hovering for half a month could've been the time negotiations were going on. All the spaceships firing at each other could've been when there were further divisions," said Lily, snapping her fingers. "Anyway, if needed, I can make you a dozen scripts to make it sound normal. What's more, reality is always much more bizarre than fiction. We only need to know that they fought, but we don't need to know why."
Shaqira probably understood what was happening as she let out a long sigh. "Who have we offended?"
"Ahem, the key is to find out where these black ships came from," said Nangong Sanba, who hemmed and sat up, trying to make himself look like an expert. "By the way, Mr. Landlord, is this kind of thing under your responsibility?"
Hao Ren spread out his hand and said, "Civilization extinction is a major issue. I have to at least ascertain the truth and create a record of it. However, those black battleships provide little leads and the sample was blown up. The wreckages of those battleships at the bottom of the deep sea may have been ripped into pieces by Eva's tantrum earlier. It's difficult to find out the truth now. I still can't figure out how the brain monster is related to this incident. The brain monster on Earth—"
Before Hao Ren could finish his sentence, he suddenly heard the MDT calling out on the console. "Hey! I've found something cool in the orbit. Interested to take a look?"
Y'zaks was sitting near the MDT. He turned his head around and asked, "What is it?"
"A piece of wreckage; must be a remnant of the black battleship," the MDT said excitedly. "That sample wasn't completely destroyed; some of the more solid sections survived the explosion. According to the battleship manufacturing standard, this section of the cabin is either a power reactor or a core database, or... a storage of escape pods!"
Hao Ren jumped to his feet and said, "Let's check it out!"