The entire Blue Star fell into a deathly silence.
First came the deathly silence brought on by the discovery of the cruel truth.
At that moment, it was as if the entire planet had been plunged into an ice cellar of absolute zero, and even the air had frozen.
Countless people lost their ability to think at that moment, their minds filled with only an absurd and cruel thought: all the suffering, sacrifice, and separation they and their departed loved ones had endured was merely a test? A trial?
Immediately following was the deathly silence brought about by the gospel of the resurrection.
The angry lava, before it could erupt, was extinguished by the rain that fell from the sky, leaving only a hazy, evaporating vapor.
At this moment, the entire planet and its billions of inhabitants seemed to fall silent, with only their hearts pounding wildly in their chests, making a loud "thump-thump" sound, as if providing the most primal accompaniment for that incredible divine oracle.
"Resurrected?" Chen Yu's voice was filled with disbelief.
He was the first to break free from this double blow.
"Everyone who died in the assessment? Old Zhang? Little Liu? And that kid from Aunt Wang's family?!"
Each name he uttered represented a heavy memory and regret, and at this moment, these names seemed to be infused with the brilliance of life, burning brightly in his eyes.
"All... everyone who died because of the assessment?" Elizabeth murmured to herself, a violent surge of emotion appearing in her icy blue eyes for the first time.
The aloofness that had always enveloped her was shattered at this moment.
She remembered the little girl who, in the early days of the London settlement, held her hand and, despite having a high fever and suffering from an infected wound, kept saying, "Sister, don't cry," because of the extreme scarcity of supplies and the rudimentary medical conditions.
She recalled Aaron, the young adjutant who always wore a shy smile during the first Abyssal Tide in London Tower, but at the last moment pushed her away and deliberately detonated the Source Energy Crystal within his body, perishing together with the elite Abyssal Beast " Shadow Reaper " that charged up.
Those faces she had buried deep in her heart, faces she thought she could only see in memories and dreams, now had the possibility of standing vividly before her again?
A surge of sour, hot liquid rushed into her nasal cavity, forcing her to tilt her head back slightly and look at the sky, which had just been purified and appeared exceptionally clear.
"God. God! This... this is fucking terrible!"
Andre, a man known for his boldness, rudeness, and outspokenness, was gripping his hair tightly with his large hands, letting out a beast-like howl.
This man, who had never flinched in the face of bullets and the claws of Abyssal Beast, now had his shoulders trembling violently.
He remembered the survivor camp in Hope Town on America's east coast, breached by hordes of " Corrosive Giant Lizard," and the mother who, in her final moments, placed her baby in his arms before being engulfed by the acid. His compatriots he couldn't save, the guilt that gnawed at his heart in the dead of night—was there truly a chance to make amends?
" Old Cat, did you hear that? Resurrection! They can be resurrected! Fatty, Xiao Ling, and Brother Zhao. They can all come back!"
The Monkey seemed to be delirious, gripping the Old Cat's arm tightly, its nails almost digging into the cat's combat suit. It was so excited that it was incoherent, its face covered in snot and tears, yet it was still grinning, its expression twisted to the point of being comical.
The Big Bear opened its mouth wide and made meaningless "hoho" sounds, its honest face filled with unbelievable joy, as if afraid that making a louder sound would disturb this beautiful dream.
Nightingale bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled, and her body trembled slightly uncontrollably.
Ecstasy and disbelief surged like an explosive shockwave, sweeping and colliding among the Star Core level experts around Lin Yi.
They would grab each other's shoulders and shake them vigorously, as if trying to confirm through each other's body temperature that this wasn't a collective hallucination.
Or perhaps he would look up to the sky and let out a long, cathartic roar, releasing the grief and repression that had been building up for forty years.
Or they might embrace tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, washing away the deep wounds of their souls with their tears.
Forty years of blood and fire, forty years of sacrifice and separation, countless days and nights of perseverance and struggle—at this moment, it seems that the greatest reward has finally been received.
However, at the heart of this wave of ecstasy, a mixture of tears and laughter, Lin Yi was also extremely shocked and overjoyed, even needing to take a deep breath to calm himself down.
However, deep down, he also harbored a secret confusion.
resurrection?
A high-level rating even comes with the reward of resurrecting all the dead?
This was completely beyond his comprehension in his previous life.
According to the information he obtained from the Pan-Spirit Alliance Virtual Network in his previous life, he had never heard of anyone being able to revive the dead who died during the Civilization Advancement Assessment.
Such methods would likely require at least a god-level intervention.
That's a god!
What does this mean?
Could it be that behind this assessment lies not the relatively cold selection and elimination mechanism he has always believed in, but some deeper purpose that he has not yet grasped?
Is it an extra reward for potential?
Or is it some other intention?
Countless questions surged wildly in his heart like boiling bubbles.
However, he showed no outward signs of abnormality, simply hovering there quietly, his clothes fluttering gently in the breeze, as if he too was immersed in digesting the afterglow of this earth-shattering information, perfectly blending into the ecstatic crowd around him.
At that moment, as if in response to the complex emotions that permeated the world, a tremendous force, centered on Blue Star, which could not be detected by any instrument yet could be clearly "perceived" by all living beings, like infinitely subtle and omnipresent particles, instantly covered every corner of Blue Star and permeated every inch of space.
The next moment, a miracle occurred.
Without warning or sound, it was as if the laws of the universe themselves were gently manipulated by an invisible hand, silently rewriting the underlying code of reality.
In a newly restored square in the city center, in a well-planned, tree-lined residential area, in a vast field that utilizes energy technology to achieve high-efficiency production, and in an open space inside a heavily guarded yet absolutely secure military base.
In areas deemed "relatively safe," soft, pure white light began to illuminate the area silently.
The light was not dazzling, but rather somewhat hazy, yet it contained the most primal warmth and peace of life, like the first cry of a newborn baby, carrying the most primitive power.
Within the light, countless blurry figures began to solidify rapidly from illusory outlines, like a 3D print, from nothing to something, from transparent to real.
Flesh and blood, bones, clothing, even the objects they held in their hands at the moment of death, and the frozen expressions on their faces.
They are all being perfectly reconstructed in a way that transcends the laws of physics.
These resurrected people are all different in appearance and dressed in clothes that clearly bear the marks of different eras. Their faces still retain the most authentic expressions from the moment before their death.
It could be extreme fear and distortion, or the ferocity and determination of a struggle, or the bewilderment, helplessness, and emptiness, and even a few expressions of a sense of liberation and tranquility.
In the central garden of an old town in Helu City, a young girl wearing a dress with small floral prints that was popular more than forty years ago appeared blankly under a "glowing sycamore" tree that emitted a faint blue light.
She looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, her face pale, her hands still in a pushing-forward posture, as if resisting some unseen terror.
She looked at the skyscrapers around her with their flowing energy patterns, at the sleek hoverbuses gliding silently by in the distance, and at the strange, functional yet aesthetically pleasing clothing worn by pedestrians—clothes she had never seen before. Her eyes were empty and confused, as if she hadn't yet recovered from the excruciating pain and chill of her throat being torn apart by the claws of the " Corrosive Abyss Wolf."
She subconsciously touched her neck, the smooth touch sending a shiver down her spine.
On the parade ground of a large military base, a group of soldiers wearing first-generation standard Source Martial Army combat uniforms suddenly appeared next to the training equipment.
There were about twenty of them, and their uniforms still bore traces of gunpowder.
The moment they appeared, their excellent military skills enabled them to take immediate action.
They let out low shouts and quickly formed a tight circular defensive formation back to back, their weapons pointing outwards, exuding vigilance and a murderous aura.
The captain, a man with a hideous scar on his face, growled, "Alert! Where are we? Where's the leader?! Signalman, try to contact command immediately! Medic, check the wounded!"
At the entrance of a large material transfer center in Southwest China, a middle-aged man wearing a "volunteer" armband and covered in soot stood there in a daze.
He was still loosely gripping the handle of a non-existent box, his body slightly leaning forward, maintaining a posture of exertion.
That was the moment he exhausted his last bit of strength as he tried to salvage the last few boxes of compressed biscuits from a warehouse about to be engulfed in flames after the apocalypse.
He stared at the spacious and bright transfer center before him, where various automated robotic arms and transport robots worked in an orderly fashion. He looked at the neatly stacked boxes of supplies with labels he couldn't understand, and at the surprised expressions on the faces of the people around him. He froze, like a frozen sculpture.
He subconsciously loosened his grip, staring blankly at his empty yet powerful palm.
Beside a martyrs' cemetery on the outskirts of a large city in central China, nestled among tranquil pine and cypress trees.
An Veteran Platform with gray hair and wearing an old military uniform appeared on a clean stone road, still holding the steering wheel with both hands.
His face wore a peculiar expression that mixed resoluteness and relief, with even a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
A few seconds later, his cloudy but determined eyes blinked, realizing that the ear-piercing explosion had not occurred; instead, there were birdsong and the rustling of wind through the pine forest.
He slowly lowered his loosely clenched hands, looking around at the solemn and quiet environment with a puzzled expression. He gazed at the rows of neat tombstones and the outline of a bustling, unfamiliar, and vibrant city in the distance. His wrinkled face was filled with a sense of bewilderment as if he were in a different time and space.
"I... I'm not."
He opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything more. The last thing he remembered was driving an old truck loaded with high explosives, roaring as he charged into the surging tide of abyssal Abyssal Beast, using his life to light up the last second for the evacuation team behind him.
difference.
The enormous, dizzying differences assaulted the senses of every resurrected person.
Their deaths spanned more than forty years, and occurred at vastly different stages of civilization.
From the initial chaos, despair, and collapse of order in the early days of the apocalypse, to the scarcity of resources and the arduous struggle to hold on, and then to the early localized counterattacks and the initial application of technology, the Blue Star in their memories was bloody, desperate, precarious, and extremely dangerous.
What forcibly entered their eyes at this moment was a new world that was orderly, technologically advanced, and full of strange source energy and vibrant life!
The massive beams of light from the energy condensers stand majestically throughout the city, like the backbone and totem of civilization, their tops disappearing into the clouds.
Strange, mutated plants with faint energy flowing naturally between their branches and leaves are planted on both sides of the street.
People wore clothes he had never seen before, made of strange materials and seemingly possessing some kind of function. Although their faces showed bewilderment and shock from just experiencing a massive information shock, they showed no signs of the numbness, fear, and exhaustion typical of the apocalyptic era.
In the sky, there was no longer the hideous shadow and suffocating howls of the Abyssal Beast, but rather the elegant flight paths left by patrol aircraft painted with the community's insignia, and the faint ripples of the " Sky Curtain " defensive energy field, like a transparent eggshell, visible higher up, under the sunlight.
"Is this heaven? Or is it a hallucination after my death?" the girl in the floral dress murmured, her voice barely audible.
"No. This energy environment. This architectural style and materials."
The resurrected Veteran Platform of the Source Martial Army keenly sensed the active yet peaceful Source Energy Particle in the surrounding air. Their concentration and purity were more than ten times stronger than in the era when he was alive and had just begun to utilize Yuan energy!
The materials and structures of those buildings were completely beyond his comprehension.
"Information. Information came directly to my mind! Information about the assessment, about Commander Lin Yi, about the past forty years."
One of the soldiers, a young communications soldier, suddenly clutched his head and shouted, his face filled with the pain and shock of having his understanding forcibly shattered.
Yes, the moment they were fully resurrected and their consciousness was completely awakened, the questions about the " Civilization Advancement Assessment," the " Abyssal Beast Crisis," the "Forty-Year History of Resistance," "Commander Lin Yi's Leadership," the "Establishment of the Blue Star Community," the "Revival of Technology and Source Energy," and the reasons why they were able to be resurrected came to mind.
All this crucial information was directly imprinted deep within their consciousness, allowing them to grasp the basic outline of their wondrous situation and this new world in a very short time, almost instinctively.
Shocking.
An overwhelming sense of shock swept over the souls of every "returnee" like a tsunami.
They were awestruck by the seemingly extraordinary commander named Lin Yi and the legendary stories he created.
They were awestruck by the miraculous rebirth and glorious present of this land that had been transformed in just over forty years.
They were even more awestruck by the fact that they had been brought back from the dead and were about to witness and join this hopeful new era.
Tears welled up uncontrollably again, but this time, they were no longer tears of despair and grief.
Instead, it was tears of joy, as if from another world.
It is the soul's stress response to suddenly seeing light after a long period of darkness, the immense joy of surviving a catastrophe, the bewilderment of a strange world, the faint sadness of lost time, and the vague anticipation of the future.
These complex emotions intertwined, transforming into cries, shouts, and discussions that spread across the various resurrection points, shattering the previous silence.
However, before this commotion, a mixture of ecstasy and bewilderment, could fully develop into a global celebration...
That vast will resounded clearly once again in the hearts of all the Blue Star people.
[The "Resurrection" reward during the Civilization Advancement Assessment is a confidential matter and must not be disclosed to outsiders through the Pan-Spirit Alliance Virtual Network or other means.]
This chilling warning instantly froze the fervor and unrest that had just begun to rise globally.
Everyone understood that this seemingly selfless "divine grace" was not without cost and limitations; it was strictly sealed within the Blue Star Civilization by an insurmountable boundary.
Just as the chilling warning echoed, like invisible threads entwining the hearts of every Blue Star people, and everyone was thrown into disarray by these successive, mind-blowing changes, Lin Yi, hovering above the Amazon Main Nest Ruins, suddenly felt everything around him being forcibly stripped away and severed by some incomprehensible force in a fraction of a second.
The land and sky before me were no longer the familiar landscape that had just witnessed a miracle; instead, they suddenly transformed into a cold, desolate vacuum of space.
There was no transition, no process, not even the slightest spatial fluctuation or energy ripple.
He was as if he had been cut directly from a painting and pasted onto a completely different background.
In an instant, he was transported from the vibrant surface of the planet to this desolate outer space.
He almost instinctively steadied himself instantly, Star Core level source energy within his body instantly circulated at high speed, enveloping his entire body.
Fortunately, the reason why the Star Core level can be called Space Marines is precisely because they have become energy life forms and can survive in space; otherwise, the Stardust level would have been killed instantly.
However, even with Lin Yi's resolute will and the countless storms he had witnessed in his two lifetimes, the scene before him still shook him to his core.
The first thing that caught his eye was the planet below, most of which was covered by azure oceans and white swirling clouds.
Blue Star.
It floats silently against the backdrop of a dark, velvety universe, its edges enveloped in a thin, beautiful atmospheric glow, appearing both beautiful and fragile, like a sapphire set in endless darkness.
Immediately afterwards, his gaze was drawn to the presence in the void directly in front of him.
There, silently hovered a spaceship he had never seen before.
Its entire body is matte black, as if it can absorb all the light that shines on it. Its shape is a simple spindle shape to the extreme, without any visible portholes, engine nozzles or weapon hardpoints. Its lines are smooth and cold, like the most primitive geometry sculpted by the universe itself.
A figure stood before this awe-inspiring black shuttle-shaped spaceship.
It was not made of flesh and blood, but rather of pure light and shadow and countless ever-changing, complex runes that were beyond his comprehension.
His very existence seemed to be a manifestation of some kind of cosmic rule. The mere contact of his gaze caused Lin Yi's soul to feel an instinctive tremor and awe, as if an ant were looking up at the sky, or a mayfly were facing the sea.
A little further to the side and rear, he saw another spaceship.
The style of this spaceship was completely different from that of the black shuttle-shaped object. It was covered with a gentle emerald green light, and its shape was elegant and peculiar, like some kind of growing plant or natural crystal. There seemed to be vine-like energy patterns flowing slowly on the hull.
Although it also exuded an extraordinary aura, compared to the absolute oppressive feeling brought by the black shuttle-shaped object, this emerald green spaceship appeared much more peaceful.
Standing silently in front of the emerald green spaceship was a figure.
She was a tall woman wearing a strange robe that seemed to be woven from starlight and mist.
She had long golden hair, an exquisitely beautiful face, and a diamond-shaped crystal on her forehead that shimmered with a faint, understated radiance.
Lin Yi keenly noticed that the woman was looking at him with a complex and unfathomable gaze, her eyes seemingly containing nebulae.