Golden Humans

After flying all the way, Jiang Yang finally arrived above the former Great Snowfield Shelter.

The Great Snowfield Shelter had changed completely. Had Jiang Yang not possessed such keen perception, he would have struggled to find it.

At first glance, the area looked like a snow-covered mountain peak, making it extremely difficult to spot.

He stood quietly above the shelter for a while. Soon, an eggshell-like dome opened, and a stunning young woman in military uniform rushed out.

Behind her followed a young man in a white lab coat.

"Where the hell have you been, Jiang Yang!"

The uniformed girl's voice carried three parts anger and seven parts delighted surprise as she loudly vented.

"Hahahaha."

Jiang Yang laughed awkwardly, glancing toward the young man in the white coat to signal that it was his turn to help him out.

"Welcome back, King Jiang!"

The young man in the white coat understood. He stepped forward and smiled at Jiang Yang with sincere warmth.

"I'm back, Xiaowa, Feng Xi."

"Mm."

"I have a lot of questions. Let's go inside to talk. I'd also like to see some old acquaintances, especially Ms. Chen Jing. I wonder how she's doing."

Jiang Yang changed the subject, a hint of anticipation in his words.

But at those words, Li Xiaowa and Qing Fengxi fell somewhat silent.

"What's wrong?"

As though sensing something, Jiang Yang's voice trembled slightly.

"Let's talk inside."

"All right!"

Inside the Great Snowfield Shelter.

Walking through the enormous technological structure with the two of them, Jiang Yang was overwhelmed with emotion.

He had already told Li Xiaowa and Qing Fengxi that he had actually been frozen in slumber.

He knew he had been frozen for many years, but until now, he had had no way of knowing exactly how long.

Perhaps ten years, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand!

Yet now, as he walked along this familiar path, the entire shelter seemed deserted.

As though noticing his confusion, Li Xiaowa spoke first beside him.

"Jiang Yang, you need to understand that you've been asleep for over a thousand years."

"A thousand years?!"

Although Jiang Yang had prepared himself mentally, he still felt somewhat lost.

"Yes, a thousand years. You've noticed how deserted the shelter is, haven't you?"

"Mm."

"Ms. Yuan Jing passed away hundreds of years ago."

"Ah..."

At those words, Jiang Yang clenched his fists, his expression grim.

"As you know, even for the awakened, a thousand years is an incredibly long time. Only awakened of A-Rank or higher have such long lifespans. Those below A-Rank don't live as long as a thousand years."

Li Xiaowa paused, then continued.

"Over a thousand years, no matter how the awakened of Human Civilization have advanced, only a few thousand have reached A-Rank, and even now, only a few dozen have become King-Rank awakened."

"What about everyone else?"

Jiang Yang asked.

"Some chose to be frozen as their lifespans neared their end, while others chose to die naturally.

As you know, many of our people lost their dearest loved ones, friends, and family while fighting that devastating apocalypse.

What once kept them going was nothing more than revenge and the wish to rebuild Human Civilization."

Li Xiaowa continued in her cool voice.

"Of those who let everything go, some chose to spend their remaining years educating the new humans, while others chose to live in seclusion upon the earth, silently approaching death."

Jiang Yang nodded silently.

"I see. In other words, there are only a few hundred people left in our shelter now?"

"Yes. Perhaps this is fate. Our era has ended..."

Li Xiaowa lowered her eyes and spoke softly.

Jiang Yang fell silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and asked.

"Right, what about Ania? Was she cured?"

Jiang Yang asked with a faint sliver of hope. Ania was also A-Rank, so she should have been able to survive until now.

"No, but Yisha took Ania away. Yisha tried many methods but couldn't bring her back to life, and in the end could only freeze her forever in the Arctic. Do you want to go see her, Jiang Yang?"

Jiang Yang silently shook his head.

He did not want to go see her. He wanted to find a way to resurrect her.

So he changed the subject.

"By the way, I saw those new humans outside, but they seemed very different from us."

At the mention of this, Li Xiaowa and Qing Fengxi visibly grew downcast.

Only after a long silence did Qing Fengxi slowly speak.

"We spent a long time studying the problem with the new humans. The human genes in humanity's gene bank were altered by the apocalypse, perhaps by some unknown element, perhaps by an alien scheme. The new humans born from that foundation became what they are today."

"Leader Chen Ping'an was also deeply pained by this, but matters had already reached this point. These new humans were still the seeds of our humanity, after all, so we left things as they were for the time being."

"And because the new humans looked so different, Leader Chen Ping'an named them the Golden Humans!"

"Golden Humans, with golden hair and golden eyes. It certainly fits."

Jiang Yang murmured to himself.

"By the way, is Leader Chen Ping'an doing well? I've only just awakened from the solid ice, and I'd like to visit him."

"Leader Chen Ping'an has also passed away."

Beside him, Li Xiaowa spoke again.

"A thousand years. The world remains, but its people are gone."

Jiang Yang sighed.

"King Jiang..."

Seeing his distress, Qing Fengxi wanted to offer some comfort.

"There's no need to call me King Jiang anymore. Just call me Jiang Yang. I've been away all these years, and it's been entirely up to you to sustain the last glow of Human Civilization. Besides, I see Feng Xi has become a king too..."

At this, Li Xiaowa grew somewhat proud.

"Over these thousand years, although we embers of the former Human Civilization have dwindled in number, everyone who remains has grown stronger. I've also broken through King-Rank and advanced to Emperor-Rank."

"Emperor-Rank?!"

"Yes. Above King-Rank, awakened who can control a domain of heaven and earth are called Emperor-Rank."

With that, Li Xiaowa willed it, and a stretch of yellow earth instantly appeared before them, weighty and profound, as though tangible.

"Emperor-Rank-is it like this?"

Seeing Li Xiaowa reveal her Domain Power, Jiang Yang also stirred his will slightly.

A world of fire suddenly appeared behind him, with a golden sun hanging high above in the distance!

"So you've reached Emperor-Rank too, Jiang Yang."

Li Xiaowa said delightedly.

"By the way, do you have Gungnir with you too?"

"I do."

Jiang Yang pointed into the Flame World, and Li Xiaowa and Qing Fengxi saw a blood-red spear planted in the flaming ground.

"With Gungnir still here, we'll have an even better chance with that matter."

Gungnir had originally been forged through the full efforts of the former Human Civilization in preparation for dealing with the alien spacecraft.

But the alien spacecraft had departed, and a super beast like Nidhogg had appeared, so they had brought it out to deal with Nidhogg instead.

But what was that matter?

"What requires Gungnir? Do we still have any enemies on Earth now?"

Jiang Yang asked in puzzlement.