Chapter 1

On June 16, 1996, the weather was somewhat strange. The sun appeared and disappeared among the dark clouds, which rolled like waves in the strong wind.

At the base of the mountain near the Earth's "Shancheng Base," the "Gelai Mountain" stands at an altitude of 1,300 meters.

At this moment, on the peak of the front mountain of Gelai Mountain, a tall and robust old man in black stood silently at the edge of a cliff. Under the sky, which had been mostly overcast since the Third World War, he seemed to blend into the environment like a ghost.

The mountain wind was fierce, but his gray hair remained perfectly in place, and his windbreaker hung naturally, in stark contrast to the branches around him, which were being whipped by the wind as if trying to break free from the tree trunks.

In front of him, a figure, no, a corpse, was floating in mid-air outside the cliff.

This was the body of a young man with freckles on his face, wearing a simple windbreaker and carrying a small flying device on his back. A bloody hole in his forehead was still oozing blood, and his lifeless eyes were filled with fear and regret. His legs dangled limply, occasionally scraping the ground when they flew low, the leather on his shoe tips already worn away.

The old man gazed down at the corpse expressionlessly, not moving for a long time.

At this moment, several black-clad men hurried to the old man. The leader, though trying to remain calm, could not hide his nervousness. "Elder Yu, we've searched the entire area around the mountain but couldn't find the thing. I wonder if it might have..."

"What do you mean?" The black-clad old man's sharp gaze pierced through them, his eyes as keen as an eagle's, unlike the dim eyes of an ordinary old man.

"Could it have fallen to the bottom of the cliff..." the black-clad man said hesitantly.

"A bunch of useless fools!" The black-clad old man snorted. "Then go to the bottom of the cliff and find it! If you don't find it before the Federation is alerted, you'll all be buried with this guy!"

As he spoke, the corpse of the freckled young man seemed to be pulled by some force and drifted over. The old man, in a bad mood, slapped the corpse's head with a "thud," and the head was instantly reduced to powder.

What terrifying power!

...

Almost at the same time, on the steep backside of Gelai Mountain, halfway up the mountain, there was an inconspicuous deep cave, with an unremarkable open-air stone platform extending outside.

The stone platform was about two square meters in size, like a tabletop.

Inside the cave, there were some tools for rock climbing and herbal collection, as well as several scientific collection bags. On the stone platform, there was a solar-powered outdoor pot. This type of pot could work anywhere with light, making it essential for home and travel.

The four legs of the small outdoor pot were securely fixed to the stone platform with alloy nails, and it was boiling, with steam rising from it. Noodles were bubbling inside.

Suddenly, a transparent, non-reflective, finger-sized red crystal fell from the sky, landing with a muffled thud in the pot of boiling noodles, splashing some water before settling back down.

The noodles continued to boil as if nothing had happened.

Wang Ge, wearing a dirty and old field work uniform, was unaware of what had happened to his breakfast. He was carefully placing his feet on the protruding rocks of the stone wall, his hands in suction-cup gloves with alloy hooks, moving slowly like a gecko.

The strong mountain wind made his clothes billow, and his half-long black hair was tousled like a bird's nest.

A few minutes later, Wang Ge's feet finally landed on the stone platform.

It felt so good to be on solid ground!

Wang Ge let out a long sigh, sat down at the cave entrance, and eagerly took off the scientific collection bag from his waist.

"Living Blood Grass, Babag Mushroom, Cold Heart Leaf..."

Opening the bag, Wang Ge carefully took out the various herbs he had collected from the mountain wall that morning, sorting them into the collection bags inside the cave labeled with their names.

After taking out a large-rooted coiling vine, Wang Ge suddenly widened his eyes and peeled off a strange small plant with snake-like patterns on its roots and a forked core resembling a snake's tongue.

Wang Ge brought the plant close to the cave's windward side, and as the leaves were blown by the wind, the entire plant indeed made a "hissing" sound, like a venomous snake's tongue.

"Good luck, I actually found a well-grown Snake Tongue Grass!"

Snake Tongue Grass was a key ingredient in the HPV-2 gene-enhancing drug, which could sell for at least 2,000 solar coins on the black market, ten times the value of all the other herbs he had collected that morning.

Wang Ge's mood instantly improved. He hummed a tune as he continued to organize the herbs, then realized he was hungry.

The rich aroma of the noodles wafted in with the mountain wind, making Wang Ge's stomach growl. He leaned out to look at the pot, took a deep sniff, and then reached out to turn off the heating switch.

After a hard morning's work in the wilderness, eating a pot of steaming noodles when his stomach was rumbling was truly a delightful experience.

"Brother, answer the call! Brother, answer the call!"

Just as Wang Ge was about to lift the pot, a sweet and cloying ringtone sounded, and he quickly put the pot down, pressing the button on his communication watch to answer the call.

As soon as the call connected, a girl's piercing sobs came through, identical to the ringtone.

"Fifi, why are you crying?"

Wang Ge's heart tightened. "What happened?"

The call was from his sister, Wang Fei.

Wang Ge's parents had both passed away when he was in high school, leaving the siblings to rely on each other.

As his only family, Wang Fei was Wang Ge's precious little sister.

"No, brother, sniff... sniff..." Wang Fei sobbed. "I, I've been accepted into Starlight University! Sniff... sniff..."

"R-really?!" Wang Ge stammered.

"Yes, Starlight University! Yes, Starlight University!" Wang Fei was so excited that she even let out a dolphin-like squeal. "Ah ah ah—my first choice!"

"I knew you would get in!" Wang Ge laughed proudly. "My sister is a genius in the Star Warfare Department. If Starlight University didn't accept my sister, the principal must be blind, hahaha..."

Starlight University was one of the nine top universities in the Earth Federation. Those who could enter and graduate from Starlight University would generally be recognized as Federation elites and gain the right to immigrate with their families to other administrative planets in the Earth Federation.

Due to the severe damage caused by the Third World War, the living environment on Earth was currently very harsh. Sandstorms, smog—these environmental issues that were serious for humans a few hundred years ago were nothing compared to the current nuclear magnetic changes and nuclear winter.

The Mercurian natives, the Votans, were an ancient race that revered nature. If not for the invasion of Earthlings, they might still be in the Stone Age.

The Tianhui people from the Andromeda Galaxy, with their far superior technology to the Solar System, had developed a presence on Jupiter and established themselves there.

These two forces, along with the Earth Federation, which directly controlled Earth, Venus, and Mars, formed the Solar System Alliance, with Earthlings in the dominant position.

Almost all officials and wealthy people in the Earth Federation had immigrated to the Venus and Mars bases, where the environment was comfortable, technology advanced, and living conditions superior, making it a utopia that countless poor people dreamed of.

"Brother, I got into the Star Warfare Department, and my tuition is waived!" Wang Fei's excited voice dimmed slightly, her voice choked with tears. "Brother, you won't have to work so hard anymore..."

"Ha, what are you talking about!" Wang Ge, who had almost dropped the scientific collection bag off the cliff, brought it back into the cave and scolded her. "What hard work? The benefits in our construction team are great, the work is easy and safe..."

"Don't worry, Fifi. I've already taken care of our rent, food, living expenses, and medical bills!" Wang Ge said with a forced laugh. "Alright, I have to get back to work. Wait for me at home, and I'll bring you a gift when I come back, hehe..."

After hanging up, Wang Ge felt light and carefree. He chuckled and pulled out the chopsticks from the sterilization slot of the solar pot, taking a sip of the noodle soup directly from the pot.

"Delicious! So delicious!" Wang Ge's mood was great, and the noodles he often ate seemed to taste different today.

The temperature was just right, and after a hard morning's work, he was indeed hungry. He slurped the noodles into his mouth like a pig eating a ginseng fruit.

He even drank the soup in one big gulp.

After eating and drinking his fill, Wang Ge wiped his mouth and let out a big, satisfied burp.

"Huff... huff..." Suddenly, Wang Ge felt very anxious, and his breathing became heavy and rapid. He clutched his chest—what was happening to him?

"Thump... thump... thump..."

Wang Ge felt his heartbeat like a drum, the sound so loud it made his ears ring!

At first, he thought it was just a psychological effect, but as the heartbeat grew louder, he opened his shirt and saw his entire chest cavity expanding and contracting with each beat.

Wang Ge tried to press his hand on his chest, but it was immediately pushed away by a powerful force!

At the same time, his blood temperature seemed to be rising. Initially, his attention was on his heartbeat, and although he felt hot all over, he didn't think much of it.

But later, he felt scorching hot, as if his blood was a flood about to burst through a dam, no, a lava flow!

The lava-like blood boiled in his veins, burning his skin to a bright red, like a cooked crab!

Wang Ge even heard the sound of the lava flowing, "rumbling" like the Qiantang River tide or rolling thunder.

So hot! So painful!

Oh no, could this be the spontaneous human combustion phenomenon reported in the news?

No, I can't die like this... Wang Ge tried to shout but couldn't. He struggled to lean against the stone wall and reach for the emergency alarm button on his communication watch. Just a light press would connect him to the nearest police station.

Even if he would be imprisoned for illegally collecting herbs in a restricted area, it was better than losing his life.

But before he could press the button, he fainted.

"Fifi..."

Wang Ge closed his eyes weakly.

...

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