Chapter 4

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Chapter 4: The Great Civilization Divide

The sun began to set, and the live broadcast on the sky curtain continued. Everyone by the river stood with their backs to the sunset, quietly watching the event in the air. Luo Yu and Zhu Huai had hoped to rush back to the Shan Hai Jing to see if they could shut down the sky curtain and retrieve it, but Mo Chuan and others blocked their way. At the same time, a large aircraft arrived at the riverside, delivering a batch of semantic analysis goggles to the assembly hall attendees so everyone could understand the comments popping up beneath the live broadcast.

This was a historical hypothetical live stream from thirty thousand years in the future on some internet platform, themed "When Modern Technology is Applied in Ancient Times." The broadcast had gained significant online popularity, with real-time viewer numbers showing thirty thousand in the upper right corner, and a constant flow of comments appearing in the lower left corner:

[Give me all this technology, my Emperor Zheng!]

[If the Qin Dynasty had this infrastructure technology, Emperor Zhu Long would have unified the world long ago.]

[Our obsession with infrastructure is a inherited skill.]

[I wish I could travel back to the Great Qin immediately and present a world map to Emperor Zhu Long.]

[If Emperor Zheng were still alive, I wouldn’t be here struggling through my college entrance exams, sobbing.]

"Tsk, what a joke," Zhu Huai couldn’t take it anymore as the screen flooded with praise for the feudal male emperor. It turned her stomach. She frowned and looked around, noticing everyone else was watching the sky curtain intently, except for the two people behind Mo Chuan, who were closely monitoring the three of them to prevent any escape back to the Shan Hai Jing.

After a moment, she nudged Luo Yu, lowering her voice. "I suspect that the control panel took on water during the emergency landing; we need to dismantle it quickly, or the retrieval might fail."

Luo Yu was still staring blankly at the sky curtain, her head buzzing. In other dimensions, revealing their whereabouts and leaking mission details would result in severe consequences upon their return.

Once she heard Zhu Huai’s words, she snapped back to reality. If the retrieved sky curtain malfunctioned and was redeployed to the previous time, their mission would have been completely futile. If this incident triggered anomalies in another time… She shook her head, not wanting to think further lest she dwell on it too long and end up in despair.

Quickly adjusting her emotions, she hurried over to Mo Chuan, with Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao following suit. They began discussing the issue of the control panel losing functionality and asked her to send a team to help them dismantle it.

Mo Chuan was also considering how to reposition the sky curtain and the time capsule in mid-air. After being appointed as the head of the time investigation team, she hadn’t started the investigation yet, and now relevant information was being handed to her.

They needed to analyze and compile the information from the sky curtain, which was inconveniently deployed above the river. Mo Chuan thought that the position of the deployment must be related to the time capsule. Initially, she planned to clear out a hangar for parking the aircraft to move the Shan Hai Jing inside, but now she was unsure about the mechanism for the sky curtain deployment. She couldn’t afford to lose the sky curtain just because the time capsule was repositioned.

When Luo Yu mentioned the control panel malfunctioning, Mo Chuan immediately took it seriously. "That sky curtain is crucial to us; we can’t let it fail." She turned around and called for several people, heading toward the time capsule with Luo Yu and the others.

At this time of the year, early spring, the river had calm waters, with many ducks floating in groups, quacking loudly, adding to the lively atmosphere. The Shan Hai Jing lay quietly on the riverbank, resembling a beached whale.

The time capsule stood two and a half meters tall, wide in the front and narrow in the back, entirely white. Damage from atmospheric friction had ignited the stealth layer, leaving burns and ashes on the surface. The gravitational sensor plate and the tail wing’s balance plate were both broken from stalling in mid-air, and the impact from the water during the emergency landing caused slight deformation around the capsule. Overall, the Shan Hai Jing looked quite ragged.

They had been taken away shortly after exiting the capsule yesterday morning, leaving Luo Yu without a chance to properly inspect it. As she approached the hatch, gazing at the battered structure, she gently touched the Shan Hai Jing with a pang of sadness.

Just as Luo Yu was about to lift her hand to open the hatch, Zhu Huai suddenly remembered something and stopped her. "Wait, we need to check the power compartment first."

The Shan Hai Jing’s power compartment housed a small nuclear reactor connected to two ramjet fusion engines. If the emergency landing caused a nuclear leak, they needed to manage it safely before opening the hatch.

Mo Chuan waved her hand after hearing Zhu Huai’s explanation. "After we took you away yesterday, we scanned the entire capsule and found no nuclear leaks; don’t worry."

Zhu Huai was taken aback. "Oh, I forgot. You have advanced systems here."

Luo Yu reached out to open the hatch, and suddenly, a heavy machine tumbled out. They looked down to find it was the electronic detection dog.

After the three of them had been taken away yesterday, the detection dog had been restored to the capsule for scanning. Now, it fell out, landing on its back with its legs in the air, its back power button hitting the gravel on the riverbank and continuing to diligently report the geological detection results: "The matriarchal primitive tribe from thirty thousand years ago belongs to the Late Stone Age. Ancient humans of that time could skillfully master fire-making and stone tool production…"

Zhu Huai, quick on her feet, grabbed the detection dog and pressed the shut-off button. "Shut up! You’re not a stone tool; you look like a stone tool."

Mo Chuan chuckled as she listened and extended her hand. "This machine is quite interesting. Could I borrow it to study? I’m curious about your interpretation of history."

Zhu Huai looked up at Mo Chuan, who was at least two heads taller than her. The pressure made it hard for her to refuse. She realized that the people here were polite in speech but had hardline attitudes.

Under the pressure, she answered, standing tall and holding the detection dog. "Well, I can lend it; just take it, and feel free to research it."

Mo Chuan smiled as she took the detection dog, turned, and handed it to someone behind her to keep safe. Then she instructed a few other things. Luo Yu noticed them conversing and lightly nudged Zhu Huai with her shoulder. "You’re quite smooth."

Zhu Huai raised an eyebrow. "Adapting to the situation." After saying that, she stepped forward, entering the time capsule ahead of Luo Yu.

The door of the time capsule was only two meters high, and Mo Chuan along with the two people behind her had to bend down to enter. The cockpit was even more cramped, making it impossible to stand once they got inside. Mo Chuan contemplated for a moment outside the hatch and said to Luo Yu, “We won’t go in. Please make sure to carefully bring out the sky curtain’s deployment equipment.” She emphasized again, “This is very important to us.”

Luo Yu looked at her, the two people behind her, and the distant crowd still watching the live broadcast by the river. She silently nodded and turned to step through the hatch. Seeing both of them go in, Ying Zhao hurriedly followed.

The interior of the Shan Hai Jing appeared dim at this moment. Walking inside, they faced the back seat of the cockpit; to the left was the cockpit, and to the right was the tail section. Once Luo Yu and Ying Zhao entered, they split up to explore both sides. Ying Zhao, eager to find out the whereabouts of the two trainee members, headed straight toward the tail section to investigate.

Luo Yu moved left into the cockpit, where Zhu Huai squatted beside the control panel, a wrench in her mouth, already fervently disassembling it. Upon seeing Luo Yu enter, she mumbled unclear words, "It flooded. Come help me."

Hearing this, Luo Yu approached her side, squatting down to support the partially disassembled control panel. Zhu Huai got up and moved to the other end, removing the wrench to continue taking apart the other half. Luo Yu glanced at the mass of wiring behind the control panel, which was already soaked in a small patch of muddy water. She frowned and asked, "Is the malfunction going to be easy to fix?"

After a while, Zhu Huai’s muffled voice came from the other side. "Hard to say. We need to dismantle it further and take a closer look." She then quietly asked, "Hey, what do you think they mean? Do they want to keep the recovery panel for research? How much do they have to study it before they let us go?"

Luo Yu recalled Mo Chuan’s expression when she spoke with her just before entering the capsule. It was clear she wanted to see if they would cooperate. While the people here seemed friendly for now, no one knew what could happen if tensions rose. Thinking of this, she gently replied, "Let’s cooperate with them for now. We’ll take it one step at a time." She felt it was best to figure out the locals’ methods first.

Zhu Huai, quick with her hands, soon took apart the other side as well. They carefully carried the disassembled control panel out of the cockpit, being cautious as they stepped into the central aisle. Just then, Ying Zhao emerged from the tail section, and their eyes met. Ying Zhao shook her head at the two of them.

The hatch was beside the aisle, and Mo Chuan and the others were just outside. Hence, Ying Zhao didn’t say anything, but the message was clear to Luo Yu and Zhu Huai: there were no leads on the two trainee members’ fates in the tail section.

Luo Yu gave Ying Zhao a knowing glance, signaling for her to elaborate later. Soon, the three of them, along with the disassembled control panel, exited the time capsule.

Mo Chuan stood outside, her gaze fixed on the sky curtain not far away. The disassembly of the control panel hadn’t affected the deployment outside; the host was still talking excitedly about the engineering techniques of railways, bridges, and ports to the Qin Dynasty officials, genuinely eager to teach them something.

Only after hearing voices behind her did she turn around to see Luo Yu and the others bringing out the equipment. Zhu Huai then said, "The bottom of the control panel took in a bit of water. We need to clean the mud first; I need a bigger maintenance station."

Mo Chuan smiled gently, "Sure, no problem."

At that moment, the sky curtain announced the end of the broadcast: "That concludes today’s live stream. Thank you all for joining us. We will go live again at the same time next week, with the theme being ‘When Military Technology is Applied in the Han Dynasty.’ Be sure to reserve your spot by clicking the top right corner so you won’t miss it. Please give the host your support. Goodbye!"

The sky curtain turned black immediately after the host finished speaking, displaying only a host avatar and a prompt: [Live Stream Ended]. This scene quickly faded away as the sky returned to normal.

As dusk deepened, the spectators by the river began to disperse in small groups, discussing the live stream content excitedly as they walked away.

Mo Chuan called over a large transport aircraft, gently lifting the Shan Hai Jing with a giant space net. The two assistants behind Mo Chuan boarded the aircraft to ensure escort.

Once the Shan Hai Jing left the ground, a small aircraft approached, and Mo Chuan led Luo Yu and the others onboard. They followed the transport aircraft carrying the Shan Hai Jing, gliding slowly through the low sky. The setting sun grew brighter, enveloping the cabin in golden light, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

Luo Yu sat in the front right seat, looking down through the window. Below was a stretch of mountains and grassy slopes. She had noticed earlier that there were no cities in this area, which explained why she couldn’t gauge the level of civilization when she made the emergency landing yesterday.

As the evening progressed, the earth began to bustle. Many people hurried homeward from the riverbank, wearing bionic devices that allowed them to leap effortlessly among the trees. Not far off, several groups of wild animals returned to their nests.

Glimpses of the hovering trains flashed through the woods below, occasionally stopping beside tall trees. Some passengers disembarked, including both humans and various unfamiliar animals like monkeys, who each went their separate ways after getting off, creating a unique sense of harmony.

Luo Yu realized that it had been years since she had seen any wildlife. In her previous world, all of humanity lived in towering cities, amidst a concrete jungle intertwined with smog and neon lights. Wildlife had largely vanished, while trees and flowers were grown in laboratories and trimmed into perfect ornamental shapes once outside. People often said this was the price of technological advancement.

But here, she witnessed a scene she had never imagined, where technology and nature combined so closely, so seamlessly.

This was the matriarchal civilization of another dimension, where humans coexisted with all living beings. They thrived with wisdom, powerful yet benevolent.

On the evolutionary path of this planet over billions of years, such a brilliant civilization had once existed, while the world she came from revelled in its technological advancements that deprived other species of their right to exist, arrogantly believing it stood atop human civilization.

It was only at this point that Luo Yu realized she actually came from a foolish and ignorant civilization at the bottom of the valley.