Earth.
As the only unique planet in the Solar System, Earth relied on its powerful magnetic field and dense atmosphere to block all manner of radiation, thus nurturing a rich ecosystem and the intelligent species known as humanity.
Backlit by the sun, its oceans, forests, and landmasses could be seen clearly. And because colors with shorter wavelengths scattered more easily in every direction, the atmosphere appeared even bluer.
Otherwise, most astronauts would experience the "Overview Effect"—when observing their familiar home from a perspective most people could never experience, they would marvel at its splendor and fragility, while also feeling humanity's insignificance and helplessness.
Looking again at the nightside, which was currently shrouded in the deep predawn darkness, the details of the surface had become blurred. Yet the lights representing cities, towns, and traces of human activity instead resembled brilliant stars.
Zooming in.
At a low Earth orbit roughly two hundred kilometers above the surface, one could even vaguely distinguish which city each light came from.
At that moment, a colossal object... or rather, a colossal aircraft invisible to the naked eye, was traveling along this orbit two hundred kilometers above the ground.
This massive craft was one of Atlas's aerospace vehicles: the Ernio.
Only when the pilots actively disengaged the Optical Camouflage could its outline and appearance be clearly seen.
Its appearance was highly similar to that of the Valkyrie aerospace transport, but its fuselage was a full 170 meters long, with a wingspan of around 120 meters.
Using 3D-printing technology, Atlas had thoroughly "refurbished" and modified an original Valkyrie. Although it still fell short of the human military equipment in Universe 02's Avatar, it utterly outclassed every kind of vehicle in the Main Universe and Universe 01's Edge of Tomorrow.
It was equipped with four nuclear fusion engines and