At this moment.
No one knew that beneath Lighthouse 43, at the edge of the quarantine zone where no one had set foot for a long time, there stood in silence an incomparably grand, cutting-edge safe harbor.
Pacific Ocean.
Aboard the Globetrotter.
A middle-aged research scholar with black-rimmed glasses and an air of refinement was reading through documents.
That document was a precious handwritten manuscript left behind before the Electromagnetic Storm.
It was also the final record left by Jiang Xiuyuan before his sacrifice.
When it came to the many ruins.
Humanity first needed to understand their patterns before cultivating Transcendent sequences alongside scientific research according to the relevant methods.
But the process of that research.
Perhaps represented sacrifice.
The ones who lost control due to Mental Pollution, disaster Ground Zeros formed by ancient viruses, and the aberrations born from fear—all kinds of dangers.
Even Transcendent teams made up of Tier 3 Precognitives and Tier 3 Great Navigators.
Could suffer losses within the ruins.
The fact that the Globetrotter could now return with the results obtained only after those sacrifices.
Was already a stroke of luck for them.
Yet perhaps only a very small number of people would choose to refuse the next voyage.
Just as Su Wen had said at the Mental Review Bureau.
From humanity's discovery of fire until the day it could truly kindle a flame at its fingertips.
More than a million years had passed.
But civilization had never fled from the journey of seeking truth.
Lü Shengkang sat beside a second-deck porthole on the research vessel. Rather than calmly reading documents, he pulled a silver-chained pocket watch from his jacket pocket and said to Jiang Xiuyuan,
"My daughter, isn't she adorable?"
On the back of the pocket watch.
The round photograph showed a woman who was not especially beautiful but possessed a remarkably gentle temperament, holding a rosy-cheeked infant in her arms.
"Professor Jiang, this is my one-year-old daughter. When I set sail, she was only six months old. I don't know whether she'll still recognize her father when I return this time."
Professor Jiang smiled gently and said:
"Research by Decasper and Spencer (1994) found that when fetuses heard their mothers reading during the final three months of pregnancy, their primitive heart rates underwent noticeable changes.
You can understand this behavior as an infant searching for another self, because to an infant, its mother is actually its community of life. Only there does it feel safest. Recognizing her voice is merely a means of returning to its point of origin.
As for recognizing the father, it probably takes three and a half months of visual and auditory development to build familiarity."
"Looks like, from a biological standpoint, I've already lost."
Lü Shengkang shrugged.
"Don't worry. You still have a long road ahead of you. Transfer back to the Yunzhou University research institute. Don't leave regrets in your life."
Jiang Xiuyuan said gently.
He had always been tolerant toward these young research scholars.
And the one he thought most highly of.
Was probably Su Wen, who worked with his daughter.
But at that moment.
Lü Shengkang, looking through the porthole, saw the edge of the pale blue sky in the distance gradually stained black.
It was a deep black hue spreading like thick ink.
His tone grew solemn as well:
"Professor Jiang, I remember the hurricane Ewiniar reported a few days ago was supposed to be moving along a route far from ours."
"An anomalous storm-front phenomenon has appeared."
As an experienced research scholar.
Jiang Xiuyuan understood immediately.
"The situation is urgent. Let's go to the observation room."
When they reached the observation room.
Academician Qi Ming was already coordinating with the meteorological bureau based on the observation points.
At the same time.
The Globetrotter's return broadcast had already begun.
Hundreds of thousands, even millions of viewers were gathered before the largest television station in the Jiangnan Area, waiting for the researchers' return.
"Academician Qi, were there any earlier signs of another storm center forming?"
Jiang Xiuyuan asked.
Before Qi Ming could answer.
The communications feed had already split to show the hurricane's diverted path.
Then the deputy director of the meteorological bureau said to them gravely:
"According to observations, due to unknown factors, Hurricane Ewiniar's route has undergone a major deviation. Please alter your course immediately."
"You mean the hurricane adjusted its trajectory in violation of the laws of thermal circulation? How is that possible?"
Jiang Xiuyuan said.
"No, it hasn't violated the laws of thermal circulation, but it should be under the influence of a far more powerful deflection field."
Qi Ming answered in a low voice:
"It is consistent with the Electromagnetic Interference inside the ruins. Dark Matter activation has caused the error value to exceed tolerance."
He looked at the hurricane's direction of travel and delivered his final conclusion,
"The Globetrotter is now too far from its destination. Our return route will happen to intersect the storm disaster zone. We can no longer return through Coastal Port.
Now, we can only find our own way out."
There were quite a few Transcendents accompanying the expedition.
But the vast majority were specialists in ruin exploration.
For example, Miners from the Sequence—Geotechnical Manipulation, Secret Keepers from the Esoteric Order, and Alchemists—Mystic Analysts.
When a natural disaster like a super hurricane struck.
These Tier 1, Tier 2, and even Tier 3 Transcendents were completely useless.
Only the captain remained: Spring Fal, a Tier 3 Transcendent of the Great Navigator sequence.
With a pipe clenched between his teeth, he stood on the deck and felt the movement of the wind. Then he blew out a smoke ring and said in heavily accented Europa-style Chinese:
"Doctor Qi, you are right. We cannot choose the original route anymore. That would be suicide.
To be honest.
Even on the Lost Sea route, I have never seen such a terrifying sign of a hurricane."
The bearded retired Norwegian naval officer watched the dense blackness sweeping toward them.
He stubbed out his cigar, waved a hand, and issued the final sailing order:
"Electromagnetic braking, hard to port, and open the backup propulsion valves too.
Sailors, we are about to clash head-on with death."
At that moment.
Before a natural disaster humanity could not resist.
A tense, oppressive, terrifying atmosphere instantly spread into every corner where the news was known.
Even among the viewers in front of their televisions:
"The hurricane actually changed its route!"
"Look at the latest footage from the meteorological bureau. It's terrifying. That suffocating sense of oppression—I can barely breathe."
"I live near the coast. I can already hear the wind making the windows rattle."
"The person upstairs needs to be careful. Make sure you lock your doors and windows."
"I'm a reporter from Coastal TV. I am currently at the location Hurricane Ewiniar is about to skim past. Yes, skim past.
If I were in the circular area at the center of the disaster zone right now, I would probably already be flying."
Before you continue