Traces of Change...

"The current situation is highly unusual. We cannot even determine the exact scope or nature of the effects.

"But one thing is certain—our world has, in some sense, already been changed."

Inside a building resembling a conference hall, the expert's opening remarks left many people feeling dizzy.

It was not that they could not understand what he meant. It was precisely because they understood all too well what those words implied that the informed found them unbelievable and difficult to accept.

"Academician Ji, why not put it more plainly? Consider it a courtesy to us ignorant folk."

An old man who did not look much younger than the elder gave a wry smile and spoke up, smoothly easing the tension.

Among the crowd of listeners in suits and headsets, the elderly academic looked only at the man who had spoken, silently staring at him for several seconds.

Even the medical staff standing by nearby grew slightly restless, afraid that something might happen to these elderly national treasures.

Only after staring long enough to make even those around them uneasy did the old man finally speak again.

His voice was rather heavy.

"To be honest, I am not entirely sure how to explain this to you—at least for now. Many things are still undergoing urgent verification, and old bones like us cannot yet confirm whether these deductions are correct."

"Of the information we can reveal at present... well, let us take yesterday's comet's 'descent' as an example."

The old man tapped the screen behind him, and a broad set of data charts immediately appeared.

"Our monitoring data showed that the intensity of light entering the planet's lower atmosphere from outside Earth underwent at least a brief period of weakening. Including the points where geomagnetic signals became chaotic, they coincided exactly with