Chapter 4

The debris from the crash directly impacted the continental shelf, causing a chain of destruction that not only made large areas of the crust shake violently but also stirred up super waves dozens of meters high, sweeping everything away with an irresistible force, engulfing nearby coastal cities in a torrent.

The terrifying natural disaster caused a severe earthquake over a hundred kilometers, and the accompanying tsunami inflicted a second wave of devastation on nearby cities. The once peaceful summer seaside was transformed into a hell of devastation in the blink of an eye.

In just the town where Li Pu and Xiao Xian lived, over 200,000 people were killed in the first impact, and countless more became disaster victims. Apart from the Chinese coast, the international community was also in a state of chaos. The debris that disintegrated in the high atmosphere by an unknown force, with about one-sixth of it falling near Okinawa, completely destroyed the U.S. military base there. Another one-sixth fell into the Tsushima Strait, causing super tsunamis and continental shelf shaking that affected large areas of land, including Fukuoka in Japan and Busan in South Korea.

The largest piece, which was directly influenced by that unknown powerful force, was thrown deep into the Pacific Ocean, causing super waves that not only inflicted heavy damage on eastern Japan but also spread to the American continent in the eastern Pacific.

Within 24 hours of the first impact, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan solemnly declared July 30, 1999, as "Earth Disaster Day." Several countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian and Oceanian nations, paid millions of lives, and the death toll continued to rise over time.

The unprecedented super disaster plunged billions of people into grief, but a small number of people keenly and excitedly noticed the uniqueness of this crash—some videos occasionally capturing the falling objects suggested to experts that this was not just a unlucky asteroid but a technological product created by a highly advanced civilization—a spaceship from the depths of the galaxy. NASA's satellites also confirmed the sudden appearance of a spatial anomaly over East Asia at the time.

This could very well be the first contact between Earth and an extraterrestrial civilization.

"It's a bit smaller than 'Rama,' but unlike 'Rama,' which quietly passed by us, just taking a harmless look from a distance, this one lost control for some unknown reason and crashed into our planet. Bang! The disaster happened. Fortunately, since it's a man-made object—most of it is likely hollow or honeycomb-like inside, the mass is not as great as it appears, so the damage caused by the impact is much less than that of a similarly sized meteorite."

The BBC quickly produced a news special, and a space expert, unable to hide his excitement, used the classic work "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke, which describes the alien mothership 'Rama' passing by the solar system, to explain to the host: "I am not insensitive to the tragedy; this is certainly an unprecedented disaster for Earth. But it's also the beginning of a new era—we are not alone, and God did not create only the human race on Earth!"

Salvage operations began almost as early as rescue efforts. Although the Okinawa base was completely destroyed, and the conditions at bases like Yokosuka and Guam were not much better, the powerful U.S. Navy still rushed to all the debris-affected waters outside China's territorial sea. President Clinton's resolution, passed by Congress, prohibited any other forces—whether nations or organizations like Greenpeace—from approaching, let alone participating in the salvage. This aggressive move was met with protests from countries around the world, including European nations, and Russia declared it would not accept it, leading to a tense international atmosphere.

China did not show excessive anger, but joined other countries capable of participating in the salvage in a strong protest. After all, the Chinese navy at the end of the 20th century was far from having the capability to compete with the U.S. in the open sea. Moreover, there was also debris in China's territorial waters. The U.S. could not possibly claim a part of China's territorial sea for a small piece of debris—especially since the international community, including U.S. allies, was in a state of excitement after the announcement.

Moreover, the coastal areas of China were also severely affected, with half the country's resources devoted to rescue efforts. Although rescue teams quickly mobilized to the disaster areas, the scope of the disaster was vast, and the rescue work was extremely challenging.

In the devastated community of Haizhou, the severely cracked roads were filled with debris and garbage swept by the dirty seawater. Buildings collapsed in a chain reaction, and in the underground garages, which also served as air-raid shelters, swollen bodies still floated in the black, dirty water, moving with the plastic waste on the surface.

It was unknown how many victims were still buried under the collapsed buildings, struggling to survive and praying for rescue. Fortunately, the boy and the girl were not among them.

Li Pu and Chen Xian, who witnessed the debris falling, had time to prepare for survival. The debris, falling at several times the speed of sound, produced a shockwave upon impact that spread as fast as a nuclear explosion, but their civilian community, unlike the expensive sea-view apartments, was a considerable distance from the coast.

After running out of the apartment building, Li Pu pedaled his bicycle with all his might, carrying Xiao Xian to the nearest high ground for shelter.

On the high ground, there were other survivors who had also witnessed the "fall" and reacted. After the initial impact, the shockwave, layer upon layer, devastated most of the buildings in the coastal areas. The concrete surface, like an easily crushed eggshell, twisted and cracked, and a large amount of seawater instantly evaporated, mixing with mud and dust to rise as a dirty cloud, obscuring the sky.

Faced with this apocalyptic scene, the crowd of survivors cried, screamed, and cursed in chaos, but soon everything was drowned out by a deafening roar.

—No, it was not a single "sound," but countless sounds pressing, repelling, and breaking, merging into an indescribable cacophony, like a symphony of the end of the world.

In this final moment, Li Pu could do nothing but tightly embrace Xiao Xian.

After that, Li Pu's memory became hazy. Hours later, when the first rescue team, composed of soldiers, arrived at this devastated shelter area, a young soldier discovered the sobbing girl and the unconscious, severely injured boy.

The experienced soldier immediately understood what had happened—the boy had used his body as a shield to protect the girl when the residual shockwave and debris swept through the area.

The young soldier's eyes showed a hint of admiration, and he waved to the back, shouting, "Stretcher! Hurry!"

When Li Pu woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

"My head feels so heavy... I haven't met Marx yet?"

Li Pu勉强 opened his eyes, grimacing as he twisted his neck. He found himself lying on a makeshift bed of cotton. His head was wrapped in bandages that smelled of medicine, his left arm was in a cast, and his right hand felt wrapped in something soft and smooth.

A delicate girl, wearing a slightly dirty dress, was curled up beside him, like a sleeping kitten. Her soft hand gently held his right wrist. Her tear-streaked face, with slightly parted lips, exhaled warm breath that tickled Li Pu's fingers, making him feel a bit itchy.

"Phew, Xiao Xian... are you sleeping?"

Seeing his childhood friend safely asleep beside him, Li Pu's heart eased a bit. The girl had bandages on her legs and arms, but her injuries were clearly much lighter than his.

"Brat, you're finally awake."

A middle-aged man, half-lying on a stretcher next to him, spoke to Li Pu: "This little girl has been by your side since yesterday. She only fell asleep about two hours ago."

"Yesterday? It's been a whole day?" Li Pu asked.

"Yes, the heavens are truly cruel." The man shook his head, a bit gossipy: "No one knows how many people have died. The PLA soldiers who brought you here said you were lucky. The small hill where you were was just a bit higher than the tsunami. People in the houses below were probably all buried."

The impact not only caused the crust to shake, generating earthquakes and shockwaves, but also, because it fell into the sea, triggered a tsunami that devastated half the city. Li Pu and Chen Xian survived partly because they decisively left the apartment and fled to a higher ground, but more likely due to luck.

Li Pu looked around. The environment was noisy, with many injured people like him. This was clearly a hospital corridor, but the makeshift stretchers and beds were full of victims, and moans echoed throughout.

Both Xiao Xian and I survived, so... what about Dad? Aunt Chenxin? Li Pu's previously relaxed mood tightened again as he saw the injured around him.

Aunt Chenxin works at a private hospital far from the coast, but my dad... damn! Why did he have to work at the dock!

Although his often irritable father often beat him until he was dazed, Li Pu knew that sometimes he deserved it. And... the single father who raised him had put in a lot of effort, and Li Pu could feel how hard his father had worked.

Thinking of the apocalyptic scene from yesterday, Li Pu felt a chill all over, but he still held out a glimmer of hope and shook the girl sleeping beside him awake.

"Ugh," the girl woke up with sleepy eyes. Seeing Li Pu, her face first showed joy, but soon became a bit dim as Li Pu asked his question.

Li Pu asked urgently, "Did you see my dad and Aunt Chenxin?"

"A Pu..." Chen Xian hesitated, "Mom is fine, she's helping with surgery upstairs."

Hearing this, Li Pu let out a breath of relief and asked hopefully, "Then... what about my damn dad?"

"Uncle Li..." Chen Xian bit her lip, opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't bring herself to say it. She sniffed and suddenly opened her arms, hugging Li Pu tightly.