Loren walked out of the main office building in a daze.
At present, both "Red Silicon Main Star" and "You Chong Star" had sunk below the horizon. The Sky Screen was dim, and even the lights in the Laboratory courtyard seemed much fainter than usual—so dim that the GG floating before his eyes looked fucking dazzlingly colorful, garish, and decadent.
Loren walked through the crisscrossing lights and shadows, suddenly wanting a drink. If he could, he wanted to put together a gathering right now, bump heads with a bunch of buddies, and drink until they dropped.
But everyone's movements and external communications had been restricted. He could only return to the dorm alone.
The farther he walked, the more stifled he felt. Loren opened his mouth, about to let out a cathartic roar, but before it could burst from his throat, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook. Then, it seemed as though the surrounding buildings were swaying as well.
An earthquake?
Loren was among the first generation of "native residents" born after "Star Ring City" had relocated to the Red Silicon Star System. Normally, at most, he took short trips and went on adventures to habitable and uninhabitable planets within and beyond the system, such as "You Chong Star." He had never personally experienced an earthquake, but he was extremely familiar with them in Virtual Reality.
Then he realized:
How could "Star Ring City" have an earthquake?
The next second, dazzling colored light spread across a vast stretch of the Sky Screen. Then, fine vibrations traveled through the air and pressed down on him, seemingly coming from the direction where the colored light had unfurled.
Same old story: even if Loren had never seen it for real, he had experienced it in Virtual Reality—this was the aftermath of a