In outer space, a meteorite two kilometers in diameter was flying at a violent speed.
This meteorite had originated from the Oort Nebula, a region spanning from approximately 30,000 astronomical units to one light-year beyond Pluto’s orbit, also known as the Kap Belt.
A trillion comets orbit the Solar here, making it the source of many long-period comets.
After a long journey, the meteorite was accelerated by Jupiter’s gravitational slingshot at a perfect angle, thereby gaining immense kinetic energy.
The meteorite then avoided the gravitational interference of other planets, continuing relentlessly in a straight line.
Ahead of it now was a patch of darkness, like a black hole.
If the meteorite had a consciousness of its own, it would surely be astonished by the immense gravity emanating from the darkness ahead, which was deflecting its trajectory toward a certain presence within.
What it did not know was that the dark presence once had a satellite called the Moon as a gravitational shield. Now, that shield was long gone, leaving this world an undefended shooting range.
Fortunately, it was the first super-sized meteorite to arrive at this shooting range.
"Ten thousand kilometers... five thousand... three thousand... Intercept!" Jingwei’s voice rang out in Shen Feng’s mind. Both of their Consciousness Antennae had already entered the Reverse Dyson Sphere in low-Earth orbit.
In the next instant, tidal waves of gray metal, like ocean waves, suddenly surged in front of the meteorite, blocking its advance.
Instantly, the violent kinetic energy converted into heat, erupting in a bright flash of fire within the dark void, as if a flower of flame had suddenly bloomed in space.
But the Gray Tide’s interception was clearly not powerful enough. Vast quantities of it were instantly melted by the immense kinetic energy, and the terrifyingly fast meteorite continued to slice through the Gray Tide, rapidly approaching the Reverse Dyson Sphere.
The entire Reverse Dyson Sphere instantly began to writhe. The outer graphene superconducting layer in this area temporarily retracted as the endless Gray Tide within churned, surging like layer upon layer of ocean waves to intercept the advancing meteorite.
The reaction force from its sudden deceleration finally caused the meteorite to shatter into countless fragments. The largest piece, still about a kilometer in diameter, continued to plunge into the Gray Tide, carrying a temperature of several thousand degrees.
The entire Reverse Dyson Sphere was in violent upheaval. Energy from the Beast Gold burned furiously within the Nanomechanical Cluster, generating reverse-pulse currents that bombarded the massive meteorite.
Finally, the meteorite was completely melted and absorbed by an immense volume of the Gray Tide, but its final impact still blasted a hole several hundred meters in diameter through the Reverse Dyson Sphere.
Above the Sea City Ruins, the entire sky suddenly brightened. A circular hole appeared in the dark heavens, and sunlight, like a sharp sword, pierced the darkness, casting its light over the entire Sea City Ruins and bathing the area in brilliance.
The people running frantically toward the Tower of Radiance, as well as those already inside, all looked up at the circular hole in the sky. They stared at the light pouring through the opening, their faces filled with astonishment.
There, in the hole, was a disc-shaped orb of light, radiating an endless glow!
"The Solar! This must be the Solar!"
"This is the sunlight of legend! Light has returned!"
"The Solar is still here! The Solar hasn’t disappeared! My eyes... my eyes!"
"I can’t see! Why is this happening!? I just saw the light! Don’t take away my Solar!"
"Don’t look at the Solar! You’ll go blind! Close your eyes, quickly!"
Cries of terror and excitement erupted from the crowd. Many had only glanced at the Solar for a moment, but their eyes, having never seen such an intense light, were instantly filled with a flash of white, followed by a sharp, stabbing pain. Unable to see anything, they collapsed to the ground, wailing in agony.
Some people who had read about such things in books immediately shouted for everyone to close their eyes.
Having lived their entire lives in darkness, their eyes were completely unable to adapt to such intense light, leading to temporary blindness.
But even facing blindness, many still greedily kept their eyes wide open, fixed in the direction of the light, unwilling even to blink.
The Solar!
The source of light they had never seen, a thing of legend!
To see the Solar just once, even if it meant dying right now, was worth it!
Fortunately, the hole that had suddenly appeared in the sky did not last long. After only a few minutes, it vanished, and the long-lost sunlight disappeared along with it, as if it had never been there at all.
"The Solar! My Solar is gone!"
"No... don’t take the sunlight away! I’m begging you!"
"I’d rather die in the sunlight! Devils! This must be the work of Devils!"
"Sob... give it back... give me back the Solar..."
"Who did this?! Who!?"
"..."
The Solar vanished once more, and the world returned to darkness. Many people wailed in utter devastation, and even though the vision in their temporarily blinded eyes returned, it could not compensate for the sense of loss in their hearts.
If they had never seen sunlight, they could have lived out their lives in ignorance, and it would not have mattered.
But to have seen the sunlight only to lose it again filled them with a sense of loss and despair that was simply insurmountable.
Fortunately, the Tower of Radiance was still there before them...
Many people rallied, getting back to their feet and continuing their journey toward the Tower of Radiance.
Regardless of how any of this had happened, they sensed that the Tower of Radiance held the answers they sought. Perhaps they could also find that soul-stirring light there.
In the space at the top of the Tower of Radiance, Shen Feng had no time to concern himself with the survivors’ wails and despair.
He stood motionless as a statue within the Gray Tide Space. The vast majority of his conscious form had entered the Reverse Dyson Sphere, from where he nervously observed the enormous Quantum Ghost of the Billion-Will in the distance.
The disturbance from intercepting the meteorite had been immense, producing huge energy fluctuations and tearing a small hole in the Reverse Dyson Sphere that covered Earth’s surface.
These massive energy fluctuations were very likely to attract the attention of the Billion-Will.
’It seems the Billion-Will’s body hasn’t changed much. Apparently, my actions destroying the statues in the Stone Statue Apocalypse didn’t affect it at all.’
’My previous theory was wrong.’
’Perhaps the only way to preserve the lives of the human survivors is to rely on the Shelter built from the Quantum Force Field Core.’
’These survivors in the Sea City Ruins and the surrounding areas might soon be the last of humanity.’
’A massacre of the remaining human survivors by an unnamable entity is about to begin.’
Just as Shen Feng had this thought, the Billion-Will, which had been drifting in the distance, suddenly shifted its form and turned toward Earth.
The Reverse Dyson Sphere had been discovered.