Chapter 49

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Chapter 49: The Cycle of Civilization

They explored the themed exhibition halls of historical time periods for two and a half hours and had nearly finished visiting all of them. However, they had yet to go to the multiverse model and the time capsule exhibition halls. Wanhua mentioned that his last visit to the multiverse model exhibition was worth the trip, so Luo Yu and the others noticed that it was almost time for the meeting and agreed to return to continue their visit after it ended.

The four of them walked out of the exhibition hall and into the corridor outside. The Serving Robot’s tray was cleaned out of all snacks and drinks, so after leaving the exhibition hall, the Serving Robot departed alongside the cleaning robot, with only the guiding robot leading them to the cave train.

The cave where the time travel center was located stretched in an east-west direction. The exhibition hall they just visited and the conference room they were heading to were at either end of the cave. If they walked, it would be too far, so the guiding robot took them to a train station.

They stood by the rock wall and waited for a while, and soon a small hovering train stopped in front of them. The train traveled at waist height, and when it stopped, the doors automatically opened and sank slightly, allowing them to step aboard. Once all four were on, the train returned to its original height and began to move forward quickly.

This train had side-by-side seating for two. Luo Yu and Ying Zhao sat in the front row, while Zhu Huai and Wanhua occupied the back. The guiding robot sat at the front outside, in a position it could merge with the hovering train, providing navigation and commentary for the passengers onboard.

Since the guiding robot was controlling the orientation and speed, there was no driver’s seat. All four passenger seats were large and comfortable with full soft cushions, and the overhead was a fully transparent ceiling. As they leaned back against the cushions, they could see the various fantastical rock formations above them in the cave.

The cave’s lighting used common hidden refractor lights from this world, which brought in sunlight but lacked any other colorful decorations.

They gazed at the rocks above, some resembling hanging mountains, others like frozen streams. They noticed some branches and columns of rock stood in the middle, surrounded by layers of overlapping rock slices, resembling strange plants in bloom.

Probably due to the lack of urgency in timing and because it was their first ride on the cave train, the speed wasn’t fast. The guiding robot leisurely introduced the formation principles of the various rocks and reminded them to take a closer look at some uniquely shaped landscape rocks, some resembling animals and others like people.

About ten minutes later, the train reached its destination and stopped. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at the conference room,” the guiding robot announced. After saying this, it jumped down from the front and turned to wait for them to disembark.

After the four got off, they followed the guiding robot around a rock wall before finally seeing the large door of the conference room. When they entered, everyone had already taken their seats. Mo Chuan waved them over to join her. Upon noticing Wanhua following, she smiled and asked, “You woke up early today to follow us around. Are you tired? If you find sitting here boring, you can go to the lounge next door and play.”

Wanhua’s eyes sparkled. “I’m not tired; I want to stay here and participate in the meeting.”

The meetings here were not very strict regarding confidentiality and access. Typically, the relevant personnel discussed the time and place, confirmed the content and approximate number of participants, and publicly announced it. If anyone was interested, they could express their wish to attend in person or join remotely.

This relatively open approach was mainly to prevent any information monopoly by a fixed group. Therefore, in principle, anyone could attend the meeting.

Ao Ci, sitting on the other side, smiled and pulled Wanhua to sit next to her. “If she wants to participate, let her. Children often have unique ideas; who knows, she might provide us with new insights.”

Wanhua nodded earnestly, sitting up straight. Luo Yu and her friends also settled down beside Mo Chuan. At that moment, a Serving Robot approached to deliver fruits and drinks to everyone by their seats.

As the conference room gradually filled with people, the clock struck three in the afternoon, marking exactly twenty-four hours since the historical exploration team set out yesterday.

Ti Ran walked to the front of the podium and announced the formal start of today’s meeting, then presented six segments of footage received from the exploration team.

Mo Chuan looked up at the projection in the center of the conference room. She recognized the first two segments, which were the same ones Ti Ran had sent her last night— footage of the suspended expressway in the desert and that strange large bird with three legs.

The subsequent footage was newly transmitted today and was distinctly clearer than the first two segments. The third segment showed a man-made structure in a plain area, with a style that seemed to blend with the natural environment, making it hard to distinguish at first glance.

Upon taking a closer look at this segment, they could spot some gathered humans around the building, seemingly engaged in some kind of assembly.

The fourth segment appeared to show another large bird at first, but as the distance closed in, everyone realized it was an artificial flying machine designed in a bionic style.

Only in the fifth and sixth segments did peculiar animals reappear: one was a ground-running tiger-stripe white-headed horse with a red tail, sprinting quickly, while the other was a large flying creature swirling through the clouds, covered in scales, with wings on its back, sharp claws, and a crocodilian face, soaring as if riding the clouds.

Luo Yu and her friends were left speechless, especially by the last segment. Its form and appearance resembled the legendary dragon!

Among them, Ying Zhao was the most familiar with the *Shan Hai Jing*. After viewing the footage, she softly remarked, “The three-legged bird is Kunlun, the white-headed tiger-striped horse is Shulv, and that last one is Ying Long. The strange beasts in the *Shan Hai Jing* really did exist.”

After the six segments of footage played, there was a moment of silence in the conference room before a lively discussion broke out. Ti Ran remained quiet at the podium, allowing everyone to discuss freely.

After a while, Ti Ran gently tapped a sound cymbal to bring the room to order. Once everyone subsided, she cleared her throat and said, “These six segments of footage come from ten thousand years ago. From the footage, we can clearly see traces of advanced human civilization and the existence of strange beasts that do not exist in our time period. At a preliminary glance, there may be a cyclical pattern between natural ecology and human civilization.”

The impact of today’s six segments of footage was significant for everyone in the conference room, rivaling the scene they had witnessed by the river when they saw a live broadcast from thirty thousand years in the future.

This year, from late spring to early summer, one historic anomaly after another—each refreshes people’s understanding of the world.

According to the historical knowledge of these people, their civilization had begun to be documented only eight thousand years ago, while at that time, humans were still in the preliminary stages of tool use and construction, with writing just starting to take shape.

Therefore, based on historians’ speculations, before this period, humans must have lived in more primitive tribal groups in the jungle, obtaining survival resources through hunting and gathering. Much earlier than that, human civilization was likely still in a state of chaos.

However, today’s six segments of footage shattered their preconceived notions. Before the chaotic period of civilization they had assumed, this planet seemed to have harbored a civilization capable of constructing highways and bionic flying machines, which for reasons unknown, vanished completely in the following millennia, as if it had never existed.

Just like the civilization in their time, it seemed as if it had never existed in the world thirty thousand years in the future.

“Human civilization appears to follow a certain cyclical pattern,” said an elderly lady sitting at the front, “The species in the natural world also display a variety of differences in each cycle, and between each cycle, there exists a complex web of connections.”

Luo Yu glanced towards the elderly lady who had just spoken, recognizing her from the mountaintop exhibition hall during the second live broadcast of the out-of-control scene. She was a respected elder in the assembly hall.

After finishing her statement, the room fell silent as everyone pondered her words until suddenly, a childish voice piped up from the crowd: “Is it like playing a game? Each person has a turn?”

It was Wanhua’s voice. Everyone turned to look at him. His comment eased the serious atmosphere in the conference room a bit, and a few people chuckled softly before murmuring began again.

If this really were a “game,” then who were the designers and initiators? What was the purpose of this “game”?

Following this train of thought, the footage, which belonged to ten thousand years ago, alongside their current time and that of thirty thousand years in the future, represented three independent cycles of civilization. Just how long was each cycle? At what point in their current cycle were they situated?

Everyone engaged in a lively discussion for a while before Ti Ran tapped the sound cymbal again. “After receiving these six segments of footage from the exploration team, they have once again set out for thirteen thousand years ago. We should be able to analyze potential cyclical patterns from future exploration data. At this stage, we will divide into groups to confirm the technology level and biological conditions of that civilization based on this footage. If anyone has thoughts on the matter, feel free to share them on the cloud discussion platform of the time travel center. After the next batch of footage returns, we will hold another meeting like this.”

After saying this, she prompted the meeting organization team beside her to record the key points of today’s discussion and what needed to be confirmed, outlining the personnel responsible for the subsequent footage classification analysis. Once there were no further questions, she invited everyone to leave in turn.

As the people in the conference room began to depart, Ying Zhao asked Luo Yu and Zhu Huai to wait for her. She then stood up and approached the podium to ask Ti Ran about the footage in detail. Ti Ran smiled and took out a tablet to hand to her. “I knew you would be interested. I have saved another copy here for you to take back and study.”

Ying Zhao happily accepted it. “Great! These footages are indeed very valuable for research. When is the next return expected?”

Ti Ran thought for a moment. “If all goes well, they should arrive at thirteen thousand years ago by this evening, and there may be some footage returned tonight. Then, they will head to seventeen thousand years ago. We’re planning to combine these two batches of footage for the next footage analysis meeting. If you wish to see it beforehand, I can forward it to you when I receive it.”

As she spoke, Ti Ran stepped down from the podium. Most of the people in the conference room had already left, leaving only Wanhua still seated, waiting for Luo Yu and her friends.

Mo Chuan and Ao Ci went to the adjacent small conference room to discuss with the technology assessment and biological assessment teams, and Ti Ran also had to hurry to attend the meeting on the assessment of technology levels in historical time periods.

So, the few of them exited the conference room together. After parting at the door, Luo Yu, Zhu Huai, and Wanhua boarded the cave train once more, heading towards the exhibition halls they hadn’t finished visiting.

This time, the guiding robot didn’t take them leisurely to enjoy the scenery in the cave. A few minutes later, the train stopped at the entrance of an exhibition hall. “This is the multiverse model exhibition hall,” the guiding robot said as it jumped down from the front. “Please, come in.”

They followed behind as the guiding robot led them into the exhibition hall. The door opened to reveal a pitch-black void, and a massive model glowing with a soft blue light appeared before them.