The surface of the sea began to boil, continuously bubbling before churning with rolling waves.
As everyone stared in astonishment, a square metal platform, a hundred meters to a side, suddenly rose from the seabed until it was flush with the surface.
The platform’s surface was incredibly smooth, like a mirror, reflecting the silhouettes of the crowd.
Pan Jianguo’s breath hitched. He could already tell—this, too, was formed from the Gray Tide Nanomechanical Cluster!
He had been stunned just seeing the body double composed of the Nanomechanical Cluster. He never imagined he would see such a massive artificial structure here!
This was enough to prove that the legendary Savior Army Commander’s research into the Nanomechanical Cluster was profound, far surpassing the current level of human technology!
As the crowd watched in amazement, metal walkways extended from the platform. They skimmed across the water’s surface to the ships below, and then flights of stairs rose to meet the decks.
Though they knew it was all the product of advanced technology, to everyone watching, it looked like a miracle. It was impossible not to be reminded of futuristic sci-fi movies.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic... Arthur C. Clarke was right all along..." Zhang Yun remarked with a sigh. He was the first to step onto the metal staircase and head toward the platform.
On all the ships, the scientists invited by the developer from far and wide strode eagerly toward the platform. Some even broke into a jog, their excitement palpable.
Pan Jianguo took a deep breath and followed close behind, merging with the crowd.
Soon, the entire group had assembled on the metal platform in the middle of the sea, several thousand people standing together.
Most of the ships that had brought them began to head back, but a few actually melted on the spot like candles, transforming into a mercury-like Gray Tide that merged with the platform they were standing on.
It turned out quite a few of the ships had been formed directly from the Gray Tide!
The sight sent another wave of shock through the crowd.
Before they could speak, walls rose from the platform’s perimeter, and a dome sealed shut above, encasing them completely.
Their location had transformed into something resembling an elevator shaft, with a faint white light emanating from the surrounding walls.
Then, the massive elevator shaft began to descend, carrying them all toward the bottom of the sea!
The massive elevator shaft, though made of metal, was semi-transparent, allowing them to see outside through its walls.
At first, it was like being in an aquarium. They could see all sorts of marine creatures swimming around the shaft.
As they descended deeper, the light in the water grew dim, then faded to black. The visible sea life grew scarcer and scarcer.
Eventually, all outside light vanished, leaving only endless blackness. The only illumination came from the faint white glow inside their "elevator car," casting a heavy, oppressive mood over everyone.
They were plunging into the Abyss.
This was, after all, the same stretch of sea where the Space Wormhole was located. The news of a single tentacle annihilating an entire fleet was still fresh in their minds. For all they knew, those monsters were waiting on the seabed with gaping maws, ready for their arrival.
They knew the Savior Army Commander wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble just to feed them to the fishes, but many people’s hearts were still pounding in their chests. Some even began to tremble.
Fear of the unknown has always been the root of all human terror.
A little while later, a light suddenly appeared outside.
Everyone immediately peered through the elevator’s outer wall into the deep sea.
They were approaching the seafloor. But where they expected a dark and terrifying abyss, they found a world of light!
The original Space Wormhole was gone. In its place, a silvery underwater "city" now stood where the wormhole had once been!
This metal "city" was clearly some kind of massive installation, presumably designed to control the Space Wormhole.
The city was built from the exact same silver-gray material as their elevator car.
Visible within the underwater city were several round, domed structures that appeared to be small-scale biospheres, suitable for habitation.
Before they could finish marveling at the magnificent underwater city, they reached the bottom of the elevator shaft.
Their descent slowed, and the metal floor beneath them turned translucent, allowing an ethereal blue light to shine through from below.
The crowd looked down, and a new wave of gasps rippled through them.
Just below them was a brilliant, star-filled sky, slowly rising to meet them!
That was the Space Wormhole beneath their feet!
The magnificent sight left the scientists utterly mesmerized.
Many of them had observed the magnificent wonders of the distant Cosmos through telescopes, but seeing it from afar was one thing; experiencing it in person was something else entirely.
Before they could even react, their elevator car shot forward and plunged straight through the Space Wormhole!
A wave of dizziness, tremors, and a hazy, unreal sensation washed over them, as if for an instant their bodies were being stretched thin.
This was followed by an intense feeling of weightlessness. Earth’s gravity was gone, and they could feel themselves beginning to float.
By the time they came to their senses, they were in an unfamiliar region of space!
Before them lay a dense Meteorite Belt. Behind them, a Space Wormhole hung suspended in the void.
The metal room they were in had completely broken away from Earth. It now floated in the void, like a tiny space station.
The crowd quickly recovered from their shock and realized the gravity of the situation.
Over a thousand people were crammed into this metal room. With no propulsion and no supplies, it was nothing more than a space-faring tomb.
Before they could dwell on it, a colossal shadow emerged from the Meteorite Belt and appeared before them.
It was a monster thousands of meters long, as vast as a mountain. It had long tentacles, massive, sharp limbs, and eyes that glinted with both intelligence and madness. Its spiraling, lamprey-like maw instantly told them what it was. This was the same kind of monster that had tried to attack Earth!
’These monsters are still alive!’
’This is the monsters’ nest!’
’The developer didn’t exterminate the monsters at all?’
’But if that’s true, why bring us to the Shield UY Star Realm?’
As panic surged through the crowd, one of the monster’s colossal tentacles shot out and coiled tightly around their metal room!
"Old Pan, are we going to die here?" Zhang Yun asked with a wry smile. "It’s a shame. We finally find such a powerful extraterrestrial life form, and we don’t have time to study it... Still, just making it here was worth it."
He seemed to take it in stride.
Pan Jianguo shook his head and said gravely,
"If the Commander wanted us dead, he wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. He could have just devoured us with the Gray Tide, and no one would ever know... Haven’t you noticed? The monster’s movements are incredibly gentle, as if it’s afraid of damaging this room..."
Just as he spoke, to the astonishment of the crowd, the monster’s tentacle gently lifted their metal room and placed it on its back.
The monster’s thousands of tentacles then writhed in the void. A brilliant flame erupted from its maw, and it propelled itself forward like a spaceship, carrying the scientists toward the Meteorite Belt!
The meteorites ahead parted as if they were alive, clearing a path before them.
Soon, they reached a clearing in the Meteorite Belt. A colossal Space City, shimmering with silver light and brimming with futuristic technology, appeared before their eyes!
The Space City was nearly a hundred kilometers in diameter, constructed from countless metallic components. It resembled a Divine Hall suspended high in the Cosmos.
Encircling the Space City was a massive, ring-shaped particle accelerator, a testament to the power and beauty of Science.
The moment they saw the ring-shaped particle accelerator, every physicist in the room gulped audibly.
The largest particle accelerator on Earth was 27 kilometers long. This behemoth before them had to be at least a thousand kilometers in circumference!
To these physicists, a particle accelerator of this magnitude was like a naked goddess laid out before a starving lecher!
"Old Pan, I... I’m not seeing things, right?! It’s so thick... so big... I love it so much!" Zhang Yun murmured, his eyes glazed over as he stared at the ring-shaped particle accelerator.
"Don’t just stare at the accelerator! Look around you!" said Pan Jianguo.
Zhang Yun immediately turned his head. His eyes widened in shock once again, unable to believe what he was seeing.
In the surrounding Meteorite Belt, thousands upon thousands of those giant beasts were diligently hauling massive meteorites, constructing... something.
Many others were feeding meteorites into enormous processing machines, extracting various minerals and water, which were then transported to the Space City.
’These giant beasts are working for this massive Space City!’
The beast carrying them had now reached the Space City. It extended a tentacle and gently placed their metal room down upon the city’s surface.
Instantly, the entire metal room seemed to connect to the Space City. With a sudden jolt, one of its outer walls fused completely with the city’s structure.
The next moment, a warm, friendly female voice suddenly spoke:
"Hello, everyone. I am Tian Maomao, the auxiliary AI of the Daiyu Space Station. On behalf of the developer of the True Apocalypse Game, I welcome you. This station is fully equipped and will provide its complete support for your work. I hope that in the days to come, you will all work happily, live well, and achieve your research goals."
Then, the wall that had fused with the space station slid open, revealing the scene beyond.
To everyone’s surprise, what lay before them was an open field, complete with mountains, rivers, and rows of houses. The recently planted vegetation was just beginning to show tender green sprouts.
The vegetation was fresh, the houses stood in neat rows, and the air was filled with the scent of fresh soil.
Looking up, they saw an artificial sun radiating light and heat. Beyond the dome that contained it all was the starry expanse of space.
Everyone finally understood exactly where they were.
Pan Jianguo’s eyes glazed over as he murmured, "This is a generation ship..."