Chapter 5

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Chapter 5: The Collapse of the Worldview

At this moment, a few gray sparrows suddenly flew outside the window. Luo Yu instinctively changed her expression, saying, “There are birds!”

Mo Chuan, sitting in the driver’s seat to her left, turned to see the gray sparrows outside and just laughed, “Tired birds return to the forest. These little guys are the best at being lazy; they’ve come to borrow our airflow.”

However, Luo Yu still looked shaken. The sight of the gray sparrows reminded her of a past flying mission when a bird control device malfunctioned, and a sudden bird strike nearly led to a catastrophic crash. Seeing her expression, Mo Chuan was puzzled, “What’s wrong? Are you afraid of birds?”

Luo Yu paused for a moment before saying, “Our aircraft is afraid of birds.”

Mo Chuan then understood, “Our aircraft used to fear birds, but thanks to technological advancements, we can finally share the skies with them.”

The aircraft flew slowly at low altitude, not too fast, and the window was partially open when a gray sparrow unexpectedly jumped in, landing on Luo Yu’s lap and tilting its little head to look at her. She gently touched the abundant orange feathers on the sparrow’s chest with her fingertip, saying, “Technological advancements are truly wonderful.”

Mo Chuan nodded, “For thousands of years, we have been exploring how to coexist with other species. After all, this planet does not belong solely to humanity.”

After saying this, she switched the aircraft to autopilot, stretched her shoulders and neck a bit, and with a relaxed expression turned to the three of them, saying, “It seems the differences between your world and ours are too great. It’s normal for you to feel a bit out of place. The events of the past few days are related to the mysteries of human civilization, and we need to work together to unravel them. Stay a little longer, and I promise you will fall in love with this place.”

Luo Yu looked at her and thought for a moment, “This place is indeed good, but we have a mission. We need to fix the time capsule and return as soon as possible. However, during this time, if you need anything, we will do our best to cooperate, as long as it doesn’t violate our mission regulations.”

After she spoke, Mo Chuan noticed that Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao in the back seat hesitated to say something, so she said nothing more, simply responding with her usual gentle smile, “Alright.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the little gray sparrow on Luo Yu’s lap flapped its wings twice and elegantly flew out the window, joining the others outside as they headed down toward the dense forest below.

Soon after, the aircraft they were in landed on an open platform. The earlier transport aircraft had dropped the Shan Hai Jing in front of a nearby hangar.

All ground personnel were in place, moving the Shan Hai Jing along with the disassembled control panel into Hangar 3.

When they disembarked from the small aircraft, it was dark outside.

Mo Chuan stood in front of them, retrieving a translucent screen from the device on her wrist. She showed them the placement of the Shan Hai Jing in the hangar, including the disassembled control panel, which was placed on a large workbench in the operation room. According to the environmental standards provided by Zhu Huai, they were drying the circuitry at the rear of the control panel. After a night, the mud on it would be easier to handle.

After they finished looking, Mo Chuan opened a vacation reminder in the lower part of the screen, shaking her head helplessly, “I worked overtime today, so I have to take a day off tomorrow. I’ll arrange for someone else to help you. If you want to go to the hangar to repair the time capsule or explore the area to learn about our local customs, she can take you.”

After saying this, she displayed the person’s photo and name for them before turning to lead them toward the inner side of the platform.

Luo Yu walked out a few steps but couldn’t help turning back to glance at Hangar 3, where the Shan Hai Jing was placed. The hangar door was now closed. She sighed softly before turning to catch up with the others.

The platform where the aircraft landed extended from the edge of a mountain. The three of them followed Mo Chuan toward the dark mountain, feeling slightly confused about where she was taking them.

It wasn’t until they got within ten steps of the mountain that a protruding stone slowly opened upwards, revealing the entrance to a hidden world inside the mountain.

Entering the mountain, they found a spacious corridor. Since the hour was late, everyone had returned home, so only the footsteps of the four echoed in the corridor.

As they walked, Mo Chuan leisurely talked about the evening arrangements, “This afternoon, while you were out, we selected a few houses in the assembly hall. We originally planned to wait for you to return to decide on room assignments, but after the unexpected trip to the river, this plan was interrupted. I took the initiative and chose a set for you.”

Just as she finished speaking, they reached the elevator door in the middle of the corridor. The outer layer of the elevator had no door, and the interior was an open shuttle that moved in various directions, some upward and some sideways. When a shuttle approached the entrance and detected someone, it would stop and wait for the person to board before starting again. After one shuttle started and merged into the inner track, the next would quickly roll to the entrance to welcome the next group of riders.

They had already experienced this efficient transport mechanism in the assembly hall earlier that day, with shuttles arriving at intervals of no more than ten seconds. The hundred or so people in the assembly hall reached the ground in less than five minutes.

Looking at the sliding track above the shuttle, Luo Yu recalled the administrative building at the Space Administration headquarters, where during peak hours, twelve elevators worked at full capacity but still required a wait of ten minutes.

When the elevators finally arrived, they were packed as tightly as sardines, making for an extremely frustrating experience. People at the base often complained, demanding upgrades to the elevator firmware and distribution algorithms.

This wasn’t a technological challenge, but the finance department refused to allocate funds for such trivial matters that didn’t generate direct benefits. After all, the higher-ups had their own exclusive elevators, so the administrative department’s ultimate solution was to suggest that everyone try to travel at off-peak times.

What a stark contrast, Luo Yu thought silently. If this were the future, she wouldn’t argue, but here, it was thirty thousand years ago.

In everything she had learned in her life, human civilization’s development was supposed to be a spiral ascent, from primitive humans to ancient people and now to modernity, with technology constantly advancing. But after arriving here, her worldview began to collapse. Was the development of human civilization really more of a roller-coaster ride?

About two minutes later, they reached the ground and exited the elevator. A gentle night breeze brushed against them, and the moonlight spilled onto the stone path ahead, illuminating it brightly.

The three of them were momentarily stunned by the sight. They were used to the flashing neon lights of city nightlife and had never encountered such a pure moonlit scene on the ground.

“The moon is really beautiful,” Ying Zhao said simply, and Luo Yu and Zhu Huai looked up at the night sky, nodding silently in agreement.

Mo Chuan stood beside them, observing their reaction to the moon as if they had rarely seen it before, and felt a hint of concern, "Has the moon disappeared thirty thousand years later?"

“It exists,” Luo Yu turned to her with an awkward smile, “It’s just that our city has severe light pollution, and with tall buildings blocking the view, people usually can’t see the moon.”

Mo Chuan nodded thoughtfully after hearing this, “I’m interested in your city now. When I come back from vacation, please tell me about it.”

Just then, her wristband chimed with a reminder: “You have worked over six hours today; for your physical and mental health, please rest soon.”

The three of them hurriedly returned their focus and turned to follow Mo Chuan to their assigned residence.

Their destination was not far from the elevator. After walking about a hundred steps, a massive cave appeared before them, its entrance adorned with a faint green laser curtain, resembling the entrance to another world.

“This is a beast barrier,” Mo Chuan explained as she led them inside. “This is the ninth cliff dwelling we expanded using the natural cave, and you have been assigned the third cave villa, a combined suite.”

As she spoke, they reached a large platform in the middle of the cave, where a robot rolled over from behind the platform, addressing her, “Professor Mo Chuan, are you here to handle the villa handover for the external time-space guests?”

After receiving a confirmed response, a document appeared on the robot’s display panel. Once Mo Chuan confirmed it, the robot turned to Luo Yu and the others, saying, “Please sign to acknowledge the property ownership.”

Seeing that the three were a bit bewildered, Mo Chuan explained, “This villa is temporarily under my name. I’m handing it over to you now, and all the equipment and furniture inside belong to you; you can dispose of them as you wish.”

The three of them blinked in astonishment, thinking they were only getting a temporary residence, but they had not expected to sign over property ownership. They hadn’t enjoyed such treatment during their years at the Space Administration, and now, in less than forty-eight hours of arriving, they were being given a house?

At that moment, Mo Chuan’s wristband chimed again with a rest reminder. Seeing this, Luo Yu quickly checked the document on the screen, confirming it was indeed the villa ownership statement. She led the way by tapping to confirm receipt, and Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao followed suit on the screen.

Mo Chuan gave them a slight smile and pointed to her wristband, “Alright, I’ve completed my last task for today. I’m heading back, or this little thing will drive me crazy.”

The three watched Mo Chuan pass through the laser curtain, and another robot emerged from behind the platform, saying to them, “Hello, I am your butler robot. Please follow me.” It then turned and led them deeper into the cave to the right.

After taking another elevator and walking down a winding corridor, they found the path illuminated by soft lighting along the inner wall, devoid of any signs of artificial carving. Only at the entrance of the third cave villa did they see some semblance of human construction.

The entrance door used palm vein recognition. Following the butler robot’s instructions, they verified their identities, and soon, the massive stone door slowly slid open to the sides.

“Wow, a high-tech stone door inside a cave? This is beyond my understanding.” Zhu Huai couldn’t help but exclaim, “I never thought I would own my first property in a cave thirty thousand years ago.”

Luo Yu and Ying Zhao exchanged glances at her remark, silently chuckling at how surreal their day had been.

“Please, come in,” the butler robot said politely, gesturing for them to enter.

The three stepped through the massive stone door, revealing a spacious hall with a circle of soft cushions in the center, resembling a sunken ring-shaped sofa encircling a round table.

“This is the public lounge. On both sides, there are three archways leading to your private spaces. Would you like an introduction to each room?”

Luo Yu thought for a moment and tentatively asked, “Can we explore on our own first, and if we have any questions, can we find you?”

The butler robot readily agreed, “Certainly. Please take your time to rest. Professor Mo Chuan has ordered dinner for you, and a housekeeping robot will bring it shortly.” With that, it turned and left, and the stone door slowly closed behind it.

Once the butler robot was gone, the three finally relaxed, choosing not to rush into exploring the rooms but instead lounging together on the circle of soft cushions.

After some time, a robot indeed brought in a table of food and asked if they wanted to activate the in-house housekeeping system. Considering the potential listening issues, Luo Yu declined, stating they would turn it on later if needed. The robot said nothing more, placed the food down, and exited the room.

When the three had nearly finished eating, Ying Zhao wiped her mouth and said, “While there’s no one else around, I have something important to discuss with you regarding the two trainee team members’ whereabouts.”

Luo Yu and Zhu Huai both sat up straight, listening as she continued, “Although everyone has been quite friendly to us today, I feel like something is off. Considering the two trainees, I have a hypothesis…”

As she spoke, the panel on the round table suddenly lit up, saying, “You have an incoming communication request. Would you like to connect?”