[City of Measurement, Residential Buildings in Outer City]

[102km from Central Building.]

…

"Grandma, grandma, can you tell me a story?" Next to an old-fashioned rocking chair, a little girl leaned next to a gray-haired old lady.

The bell at the window jingled, and the window next to it had been sealed, so no black mist leaked in.

In the small house, there were only the old lady and her granddaughter. They cuddled together, and the photo on the table glowed brightly.

"Tuan Tuan, what story do you want to hear?" the old lady said gently.

"I haven't heard the story of the universe since I was a child. Now the world seems to be destroyed. I want to hear it." The little girl raised her head and said: "Grandma, how big is the universe? Is it as big as a big pool?"

The old lady raised her head and thought for a while.

Her cloudy eyes narrowed slightly.

"The universe... the universe is very big. It originated from a big bang and evolved from a state of extremely high density and high temperature... Compared to it, our ruined world is just an inconspicuous planet.

." The old lady said: "Because the dimension was blocked many years ago, we cannot leave the ruined world and go into space, but I still know that there is a vast universe above our heads..."

"Grandma, where did you know this?" The little girl blinked.

The old lady squinted her eyes and thought for a long time.

After a moment, she recalled:

"My mother, your great-grandmother, lived in the era before the catastrophe of the century - in that era, manned space technology gradually matured, and people began to engage in various exploration, research, experiments, production and military affairs in space.

Applied round-trip flight activity.”

"My mother's memory is not clear. Humanity has had many memories erased since the Catastrophe of the Century. Not many people remember the era before the Catastrophe of the Century."

"But at that time, before the catastrophe of the century, she vaguely remembered that the ruined world was not called the ruined world, but the name of a planet. The development of human science and technology is like flowers blooming, making rapid leaps every year. Mechanical manufacturing, bionic technology, artificial intelligence

Fields such as these are developing rapidly. They confirmed quantum entanglement, transplanted the hearts of genetically modified pigs, and developed rudimentary AI... Everything was wonderful at that time."

"People are trying to explore the universe beyond the galaxy and find another intelligent civilization. So they send signals to the depths of the distant universe, carrying human text and audio and video images, hoping to find a civilization similar to theirs."

"Have they found it?" the little girl asked.

"Found it." The old lady smiled.

"Really? Great, what is that civilization?" The little girl was very excited. If humans can find a new civilization in the vast universe, it must be very lucky.

The old lady touched her head:

"It's called [Tavi]."

"The universe is a Pandora's box, and humans have unfortunately attracted the devil."

"Ding——" the bell swayed slightly, and the lily's petals drooped slightly.

The old lady picked up the group photo on the table and fumbled with her rough fingers for a black-haired woman in the photo frame. The little girl watched with her.

The black-haired woman in the photo has long, shiny black hair, cunning eyes like a little fox, and a charming smile.

They watched quietly for a long time.

"Is this my great-grandmother?" the little girl said.

"Yeah." The old lady responded.

The little girl knew that this black-haired woman was her great-grandmother - her great-grandmother was very old, spanning the period of the Catastrophe of the Century and the War of Dawn. She had made indelible contributions to human civilization, and had also led

Soldiers have personally stepped onto the battlefield.

My great-grandmother died in the 72nd year of the disaster, and the cause of death was death.

According to the diary left by her great-grandmother, she had a habit when she was young. If she met someone she admired, she would call him "Little Handsome". However, the little girl didn't know who got it in those days.

Such an honor is because her great-great-grandfather has never been called "Little Handsome" by her great-grandmother. Presumably, those feelings have been quietly buried by her great-grandmother.

Grandma's name is Xi.

She was really beautiful when she was young.

"Small universe,

"The joyful universe,

"Bounce and laugh,

"It was when I was a kid..."

The little girl hummed a song and leaned against her grandma's rocking chair. Grandma sang along with her until the city-state's energy supply ran out and the lights on the ceiling went out.

The windows were corroded and had holes, and black mist seeped in through the gaps in the windows, eroding their skin, but they were still singing about the universe that could no longer be touched.

The little girl stretched out her rotten hand and looked at the dark ceiling through her fingers.

She thought, maybe the universe is really big and the sky is really far away - in distant civilizations, maybe there really are civilizations similar to them, spying on this mysterious and dangerous universe.

It may usher in a new life, or it may usher in an end.

How far is the universe and what is life?

"How much new becomes old,

"Time never retreats,

"Today I am facing you,

"There must be changes..."

…

【City of Measurement, BW-03 Terminal.】

【78km from Central Building】

…

"The inspection is completed and the aircraft is in good condition."

"Route information and other data have been input into the cdu (flight management system), the flight plan has been checked, and the engines, lights, wings, etc. have been automatically detected by the Dawn Flight Assist System."

"This is the Measurement City Aviation Administration. Thirty-six flight applications from the bw-03 terminal have been detected. Please flash the light to reply when you receive it. Please flash the light to reply."

"Report, the concentration of black fog is too high and the light cannot penetrate beyond 2m."

"Reply received."

The rain was heavy, and several pairs of black-soled rubber shoes splashed across the asphalt road.

The sky and the earth are the same color, and the continuous rain has condensed into a rain curtain, drifting back and forth in people's unclear field of vision. The water on the ground is rolling and gathering into one.

The red light representing warning and the green light representing traffic overlap and flash in the darkness. A blue-haired young man wearing a military cap stands in the rain. The heavy rain has wet his military uniform. He looks far into the horizon. The mobile

The boarding bridge is slowly approaching.

Beside him, a total of thirty-six columns of soldiers rushed past carrying boxed objects. The small carrier vehicle made a "wuwuwu" sound and carried several sealed cans and glass bottles.

He raised his wrist, and the screen of his watch flashed bright blue, displaying: [Flight Qualification Authorized], and next to the screen was his name and photo.

"The bridge is connected, please have qualified pilots to get on the driver's seat."

"The Aviation Administration has approved the flight application. The flight range is 100km within the Measurement City, and the flight time is twenty minutes and forty seconds. This flight mission is an escort mission, and all weapons and equipment of the aircraft have been blocked and cannot be used.

"

"Pilot Lou Likarpos. The system has recognized your aircraft piloting ability and approved your participation in this escort mission."

The announcement came from the watch, and the blue-haired young man raised his head slightly, his eyes distant.

"Click-click."

The movable boarding bridge was connected to the aircraft, and the footsteps of soldiers boarding the aircraft were heard above the blue-haired young man. He put down his hand and walked towards the direction of the other aircraft.

A woman with rose-red hair walked towards her. She was tall, beautiful and wearing a flight suit. Behind her was a group of players.

They looked at each other through the rain, and the thick black fog rattled between their flight suits and military uniforms.

"Violet, has the Origin Stone been transported to the plane?" the blue-haired young man said.

"Ninety-seven percent of the existing Origin Stones have been transported to the signal station at the edge of the world, and less than 3% of the Source Stones are stored in city-states as backup energy. Now, most of them are transported on planes." Wei Wei

Olett said: "Lu, can you reveal the purpose of this order?"

Lu shook his head:

"This is Su Mingan's order. I don't know what he plans to do next. His plan is all in his mind, and he will not reveal a word to outsiders."

"He is more cautious about civilization than any of us. His surveillance is everywhere, and any action or language will be observed. All we can do..."

Lu put his index finger in front of his lips:

"...Only silence."

Violet's eyes widened slightly and she nodded quickly.

The searchlight moved slowly on the medals on their chests, outlining the lines of the city-state's military medals. Including every soldier standing outside the terminal, the military medals on their chests shimmered.
To be continued...