492. Cradle

Back at the Ecological Park, Lu Ban saw Frostheart and the others sitting on the lawn.

Although they are artificial plants, they are already considered "real" vegetation to them, who have hardly ever seen real plants.

Lin stood in the center of the Ecological Park, surrounded by mechanical animals, like a forest goddess descending to earth.

In this desolate world, she was like a fairy who lived apart from the world, traveling through time.

Lu Ban sat down next to Frostheart. The dome of the Ecological Park was a huge screen reflecting starlight. For thousands of years, perhaps only these things have remained unchanged.

The surroundings suddenly darkened, accompanied by Lin's voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, next up is a special program from the Ecological Park called 'Cradle,' which I will be presenting to you."

Her voice was imbued with more emotion, suggesting that many subtle adjustments were made for the program. Shyness, anticipation, and longing resonated under the dome along with the Robot Girl's voice.

"Please look."

Lin pointed to the sky, where the stars on the screen shone brightly, evoking feelings of nostalgia and melancholy.

"In the distant past, when the universe was first born and the galaxies were still in chaos, a planet was being conceived in a small corner of this starry sky."

The view from the dome is zoomed in, passing through a dazzling array of stars, and the camera focuses on a still-hot, crimson planet.

"This was just an insignificant planet among the billions of planets in the universe at that time. As the star cooled, land formed, and elements reacted under the sunlight, condensing into the Oldest One water droplets."

Having read this far, Lu Ban had a general idea of what the program was about.

Just like the science videos in science museums, it tells the story of this planet from its appearance to the present day.

He glanced at Frostheart, whose eyes were shining brightly. To her, this was the history of this foreign land, a history she had never known before.

And the protagonist at this moment, without a doubt, is the Robot Girl standing in the very center of the Ecological Park.

"In the Oldest One ocean, lightning, the matter carried by meteorites, and the inorganic matter floating in the ocean, after thousands of Thunder, finally gave rise to a wondrous reaction, generating organic matter. These organic matter then spent an unknown amount of time before finally coalescing into the Oldest One life. From then on, this planet was no longer silent."

As the images on the dome changed, Lu Ban discovered that the surrounding vegetation had transformed into seaweed and similar things, making them feel as if they were in the ocean, experiencing the environment of this planet from billions of years ago.

"From then on, ancient creatures, whether familiar or unfamiliar to us, began to appear. For life, even this vast ocean was not enough to contain their abundance. Thus, the first life form to leave the water and enter the land appeared."

Footprints stumbling forward on the beach.

Wings spread and flutter in the sunlight.

Cold blood, colossal creatures that dominate the earth, and climate change brought about by natural disasters—the history of extinction and rebirth repeats itself endlessly.

In this environment, tiny creatures hiding among the rubble and caves thrived and multiplied.

Hands outstretched to reach the fruit on the branch, and legs that gradually grow stronger.

The surrounding scenery transformed into a vast grassland.

"This is how the ancestors of mankind were born. They hunted and lived together on the grasslands, taking steps towards the future."

Lu Ban was not very familiar with what happened next; the human history here was different from what he knew.

But the main idea is the same.

War, progress, barbarism tramples on civilization, while civilization also embraces barbarism, intellectual liberation, technological development, and even greater wars and natural disasters.

The cycle of hatred repeats itself, and the lesson humanity learns from history is that humanity can never truly learn from history.

Of course, along with development, peace, cooperation, and win-win outcomes have also become the mainstream.

What finally appeared before Lu Ban, Frostheart, and the others was a brightly lit city.

"This is Future City, a city built for the future. Although the living conditions are not so good, we have still provided everyone with green plants, blue skies, and clear water as much as possible. According to the designer's intention, this city can run continuously for 600 years without relying on external energy. As a pilot project, it will provide data and samples for future space travel."

"People working here will also seek breakthroughs and solutions to the current situation in fields such as biology, aerospace, energy, and materials."

Lin spoke as if these things were bound to happen.

"Although there are still many problems in the world, I believe that with the efforts of mankind, we will be able to solve these problems and lead people into a new era."

"I am just a robot. I don't know what the future is like that is not shown in the database, but I have a good memory. I believe that just as organisms have suffered hardships and extinctions in the hundreds of millions of years of evolution, they have all been reborn. No matter what kind of suffering humans suffer, they will eventually get out of trouble and usher in a new future."

"I will remember all of this, imprint it in my database, and never forget it."

"When that time comes, please remember that no matter how far humanity goes, this will always be our home, the cradle of life."

The Robot Girl's storytelling is like a bedtime story told by her mother when she was a child, full of hope and without any gloom.

Perhaps it is precisely because robots are devoid of emotions that they can persist in this belief under such circumstances.

Lu Ban knew that this special program was probably made to encourage the people living here.

Perhaps when the Future City was being built, this alien world was already starting to go wrong. The environment was damaged, crystallization disease was spreading, and humanity's living space was shrinking. The only hope was to save themselves by leaving this planet.

Unfortunately, they failed. Humanity entered its countdown to destruction, the entire planet became a desert, and only a few people survived. Those people had long forgotten history and struggled among the rampant insect swarms.

This place is like a street frozen in time, where everything is frozen before destruction.

Only the increasingly damaged solar panels and the robots, unable to move due to lack of power, slowly propelled time forward.

All four of them fell silent.

Frostheart and the others were shocked by the brilliant and magnificent history of the past. They had never imagined that the world was once so prosperous, and the contrast with its current desolation made it seem even more cruel.

Lu Ban noticed something else.

In the image of the Future City, there is an Industrial Park not far from here.

That place is a research center for the most advanced technologies.

Given the power outage here, it's clear that the other side isn't operating normally either.

Should they go and explore it?