One day, the autumn sunlight was warm and mellow.
The half-demolished, half-occupied old residential complex echoed with the roar of machinery. Dust flew along the roadside. Inside a simply furnished fast-food restaurant of average cleanliness, Zhen Bei, dressed in a courier's uniform, lowered his head over a boxed meal. One meat dish and two vegetables, cheap, with soup included; if the rice was not enough, he could refill it as much as he wanted.
The people who came here to eat were all laboring men, and business was booming.
The room was thick with the oily fragrance of cooked food. It was not bad, but not particularly good either. Its defining feature was that it filled the stomach.
The television hanging on the wall beside him was broadcasting the news.
"...Good afternoon, viewers. I am currently at the observatory interviewing an expert. Teacher Jia, what caused the auroras that have appeared across the world since last night...?"
Zhen Bei, shoveling rice into his mouth, looked up at the fat expert on the television screen.
"Good afternoon, viewers. Please rest assured, this is merely a rare and unusual phenomenon. According to historical records..."
He rambled on and on. In short, it was harmless and there was no need to worry.
Zhen Bei shook his head, ate the last piece of meat, then gulped down half a cup of water.
He paid the bill and put on his safety helmet.
Walking outside, he raised a hand over his eyes and squinted up at the sky.
"What the hell..."
Since last night, magnificent auroras had appeared in skies across the world.
They had appeared without any warning, utterly suddenly. After the initial tension and shock, people discovered that they had no impact on Earth's environment. They ate and drank as usual, their eating,