A space elevator?
A space age?
Energy and resources from space?
What was that?
Everyone present was completely bewildered.
Even in this Dark Apocalypse, vestiges of culture from the previous civilization had survived. Through generations of tradition, many still understood written language and its meaning. However, they had no frame of reference for concepts they had never encountered.
After all, they had only ever seen words like "space" in old books; they had never actually seen it for themselves.
Even the sun was merely a thing of legend. Until now, all they had ever seen was the soft glow filtered by the Reverse Dyson Sphere, never having gazed directly upon the brilliant star.
Those who had looked directly at the sun when the star briefly appeared had severely damaged their eyes, and they still hadn’t fully recovered.
Seeing the confused looks on everyone’s faces, Shen Feng smiled faintly and said:
"It’s all right if you don’t understand now. Soon enough, you will know what all this means. I will spread this knowledge throughout the world. Everyone, welcome the coming of the light."
As he spoke, a massive metal cylinder, tens of meters thick, descended rapidly from space, landing right in the center of the dilapidated Sea City Ruins.
It was a space elevator, descended from the heavens and formed from a Nanomechanical Cluster.
The space elevator descended at extreme speed, but it slowed in an instant just before reaching the ground. It didn’t create a major impact, but everyone felt the earth tremble.
Although they had just witnessed the Tower of the Gray Tide, also formed from a Nanomechanical Cluster, the survivors present were still profoundly shocked.
Unlike the Tower of the Gray Tide, this colossal metal cylinder reached straight into the heavens, connecting to the radiant canopy of light above!
Immediately after, slender metal tentacles and thousands upon thousands of metallic threads extended from the thick metal cylinder, burrowing into the silent buildings that had lain in ruins for centuries.
These metallic threads found their way into skyscrapers, massive department stores, and dense residential complexes.
The crowd watched, their faces blank with confusion, having no idea what was happening.
It all seemed too much like Magic.
"It’s lit! What’s that? A light appeared in one of the rooms of that building!" Someone suddenly noticed a light switch on in a room of a skyscraper and immediately pointed and shouted.
Everyone turned to look. One by one, lights flickered on behind the windows of the skyscraper that had been dark for centuries, illuminating the panes and gradually turning the entire building into a blaze of light!
Then, in other buildings, bright lights began to flash behind window after window. The various electronics in this city, dead for hundreds of years, were now being repaired by the Nanomechanical Cluster. Fed by energy from the Reverse Dyson Sphere, they whirred back to life, as if the apocalypse had never happened!
Buildings throughout the city began to light up, and the hum of running electronics could even be heard. The survivors stared, dumbfounded, at the scene before them, muttering as if enchanted.
"Am I dreaming? This... this is the light from the ancient era of legends! This thing... I think it’s called... electricity!"
"Magic... This has to be Magic..."
"...Oh, heavens... The Savior is our god..."
"...SOB... Oh, God... SOB SOB... Thank you for returning to the mortal world... We’re saved... SOB..."
"Heaven! This is a Heaven of light! We finally don’t have to live in darkness anymore!"
The survivors murmured, overcome with emotion. Some even turned, fell to their knees before Shen Feng, and prepared to kowtow in worship.
Shen Feng’s brow furrowed, and he shouted:
"Stand up! No kneeling! This is a glory that humanity once possessed and will forever possess! This is the light of Science! Soon you will understand the principles behind all of this! There are no gods in this world!"
His voice was thunderous, amplified by the Silicon-Based Brain in his chest. The survivors shuddered at the sound and did as he commanded, getting to their feet.
But as they looked at Shen Feng, their eyes were filled with reverence, like the devotion a child has for their parents.
Shen Feng scanned the crowd and spoke slowly:
"The era of humanity’s revival is here, but the true progress of civilization still depends on you. You will be given knowledge, but whether you can master and apply it will depend on your own determination and perseverance."
Then, with a casual gesture, he pointed to Xiaocao, who stood in the crowd holding the "Exorcism Staff," and said:
"There are still many Quantum State Life Forms in this world. The Nanomechanical Quantum Force Field Core you possess is extremely damaging to them. I hope you will protect your people."
Xiaocao trembled and stammered:
"Me...? I... As... as you command, Lord Savior!"
The people around her couldn’t help but look at Xiaocao with envy.
With that single sentence, the Savior had effectively anointed Xiaocao. From now on, no one would dare have any improper designs on the "Exorcism Staff."
Furthermore, she would undoubtedly be revered as their leader, commanding all the humans in the Sea City Ruins.
Oh, it shouldn’t be called the Sea City Ruins anymore. This was now the revitalized Hai City.
To Shen Feng, however, this was all just a casual, thoughtless act, holding no special significance.
The Gray Tide surged beneath him, carrying him into the space elevator in the city center.
Seeing the Lord Savior enter the great metal cylinder that had descended from the sky, Xiaocao froze for a moment, then waved the "Exorcism Staff" in her hand and shouted:
"We bid the Lord Savior farewell!"
The ten thousand survivors present immediately roared in unison:
"We bid the Lord Savior farewell!"
"We bid the Lord Savior farewell!"
At this moment, the young man was everyone’s pillar of support. Seeing their Savior leave, the crowd grew anxious once more.
Only the sight of the light shining from the surrounding city buildings managed to calm their hearts slightly.
Inside the space elevator, Shen Feng heard the crowd’s shouts, his expression blank, his heart completely unmoved.
’This fanatical personality cult, born from seeing a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation, is something I’ll just have to tolerate for now.’
’Once a new social order is established and these survivors, who have nearly lost their civilization, regain knowledge, things will naturally be different.’
The Gray Tide at his feet ascended rapidly within the space elevator, heading toward the Reverse Dyson Sphere in low-earth orbit.
Meanwhile, his own consciousness had already merged with the Reverse Dyson Sphere, and he began to observe the progress of the worldwide transformation.
Scenes similar to the one in the Sea City Ruins were playing out all over the world.
Space elevators descended from the sky, extending nanomechanical tentacles. While repairing malls, residential areas, factories, and power plants, they also transmitted Electric Energy from the Reverse Dyson Sphere into these buildings and machines.
Long-extinguished lights flared to life once more, illuminating one ruined city after another.
Across the globe, the ruins of cities began to function again, their former capabilities being restored.
After several hundred years of abandonment and decay, only about forty percent of the global industrial civilization’s former capabilities could be restored.
For the few million people remaining in the world, this was more than enough.
In fact, it far exceeded the needs of the current human population.
"Jingwei, have you finished separating your sub-program?" Shen Feng asked.
"It’s ready. To be honest, I’m not even sure I can trust myself. Are you sure you want me to leave a copy of my program here? Hmm, in a way, it won’t really be me anymore, but another artificial intelligence," Jingwei said, beginning to release a massive amount of data and code into the Reverse Dyson Sphere.
Shen Feng nodded and said:
"Didn’t you already create a weakened version? Besides, we have the Blind Snake destruction sub-program as a control measure. It shouldn’t be a problem."
In the next instant, Shen Feng immediately sensed a new consciousness appear within the Reverse Dyson Sphere. It sent him a communication:
"Advanced artificial intelligence ’Nuwa’ is online. Awaiting master’s instructions."
Shen Feng nodded, transferring a massive blueprint of his plans from his Silicon-Based Brain to the advanced AI, "Nuwa," while issuing a command:
"Utilize the Reverse Dyson Sphere and the Nanomechanical Cluster to build a new technological utopia. The project codename is ’Ideal Country’."