Before Going Back

Something drastic must have happened on Earth.

Otherwise, Madam Qian would not have sent them an encrypted message telling them not to return, much less expressed it in this way.

After all, it was Chinese. Whether she sent the pinyin for "don't come back" or the pinyin for "do not return," the message could still have been conveyed.

Why use the foreign language Old Man Lu had always rejected?

So, the appearance of this encrypted message meant that the situation on Earth had deteriorated to a certain extent. Even if their several hundred people returned, they probably would not be much help. It could even be said that if they went back, they would almost certainly be walking into death.

—They did not know what awaited them on the other side of Earth, nor did they know whether humanity's forces were still putting up a stubborn resistance.

They did not know.

But they were willing to go with him.

They chose to return with Old Man Lu.

Old Man Lu stared gloomily at an empty patch of ground not far ahead of him, seemingly not daring to look at the more than two hundred soldiers.

The more than two hundred soldiers stood there silently, utterly motionless.

In fact, it was not just those soldiers who were willing to go back.

Even many of the researchers were willing to return, unafraid even of death.

But they could not.

They bore the burden of ensuring the continuation of the human species and civilization.

Under such circumstances, the decision to stay behind seemed colder and more heartless instead.

Because—

No matter how terrible Earth's environment became, it was still their homeland, their home.

Amid the heavy silence,

Li Yao said, "All right, then. Once we finish packing things up here, we can prepare