Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Extraterrestrial Civilizations!
In the previous month, the entire world was shaken by the appearance of the Blood Demon, but a month ago, the “Star Jump” event and the emergence of the Chosen One were the main events in the public eye.
In such a short time, Shen Hao naturally wouldn’t forget the fact that their entire planet had traveled to a brand-new universe.
Within this universe, there were no stars, only that utterly different new sun in existence.
With this understanding, the sudden appearance of two such stars was certainly abnormal.
“Are there still our satellites in outer space, and have they discovered anything?” Shen Hao asked.
“Yes!” Dong Gong quickly reported, “We’ve checked some of the satellite records and can almost confirm that these two planets appeared right at the moment the Civilization Trial concluded and, moreover, they are essentially in the same planetary orbit as ours!”
“The same orbit?” Shen Hao paused in surprise.
“Yes, the same orbit,” Dong Gong continued, looking at the latest intelligence, “Initial exploration and calculation results show that these two planets, in terms of size and density, are unlike ours. One is roughly four times the size of ours, while the other is about three-quarters our size. According to normal universal rules, they shouldn’t possibly be exactly in the same orbital path around the sun.”
“Normal universal rules?” Shen Hao echoed, momentarily at a loss for words.
Although his knowledge of astronomy was only amateur, he understood that under normal rules, the entire planet moving into another sun’s orbit couldn’t happen without changes.
The sun’s different parameters would bring a series of impacts—gravity, distance, light heat—which normally would bring catastrophic disasters to the entire planet, even to all civilization.
This concern had already been omnipresent on the internet earlier, with many people believing it was a game played by gods.
Even some thought that in this world, science had already died.
However, the Blood Demon crisis had temporarily suppressed these voices.
But there was no doubt that, with the resolution of the Blood Demon crisis, humans would ultimately have to face this entirely unfamiliar universe.
“In front of this sun, some things we once knew indeed no longer exist,” Dong Gong continued, “However, current observations indicate that both planets should be Life Planets. The larger one is wrapped in a thick atmosphere, making it impossible to observe its interior. However, the smaller one clearly shows oceans, land, forests, and even things resembling civilization’s buildings. The experts believe there must be extraterrestrial civilizations on these two planets, and there is a high probability that they are related to our next Trial, although it’s unknown whether they are allies or enemies. However, they are most likely not civilizations that failed in the Trial like the Blood Demons.”
The distance was indeed very close.
So close that even from finding a good observation point on the planet’s surface, one could see approximate colors, shapes, and even surface light through a telescope.
This was enough to deduce quite a bit of information.
Ironically:
For a period of time, humanity had been searching for traces of extraterrestrial Life Planets; they wanted to know if humans were alone in the universe, but no one could have imagined that real extraterrestrial life planets would appear in such a way.
“Allies and enemies do not depend on us, nor on them,” Shen Hao spoke more seriously, “but on the specifics of the next Trial, just like us and the Blood Demon. In any case, we must continue what we’re doing, and quickly strengthen ourselves to be able to face any problem.”
“Yes,” Dong Gong also acknowledged Shen Hao’s attitude.
Shen Hao didn’t suggest finding a way to explore those two newly appeared planets, or even try to establish contact, much less send personnel to investigate directly. This indicated that for now, the only thing to do was to keep observing.
Without the specifics of the next Trial, being too proactive could indeed have adverse effects.
Moreover, this seemingly close distance was actually very far by human civilization’s current technology; even using a space shuttle purchased from the Level 15 Mall, which is typically used within planetary ranges, could take many months to reach the destination.
Communication ended.
Shen Hao once again looked up at the two additional “stars” in the sky.
The map cheat hadn’t provided much information, so he didn’t know what the appearance of these two planets meant, but in his initial dream about the coming doomsday, indeed more than one civilization appeared.
Whether united in the face of apocalypse or waging war against each other, anything was possible.
The only certain thing — humanity was moving towards a stage with multiple civilizations, on a much broader scale.
“Strive on,” Shen Hao controlled all his emotions, which included worry and anticipation.
Nevertheless, as he’d told Dong Gong, empowering oneself was indeed what needed to be done now.
Shen Hao continued to clear the Blood Demons below.
In fact, after the Trial ended and it was no longer possible to earn points, his map cheat also lost its effect temporarily, as this cheat worked on the principle of hacking into the Civilization Trial’s points data, marking real-time locations where points could be achieved or identifying noteworthy places.
With no points available, it was naturally inoperative.
The cheat wasn’t all-powerful but operated according to its own logic.
Fortunately, the Blood Demon of the Northern Alliance had been contained within a certain range by the Human Alliance forces, so Shen Hao could still indulge in a killing spree without need for distinction.
However, that night, experts weren’t the only ones who noticed those two “stars” in the sky.
It was something anyone could see just by looking up.
Even without waiting for dawn, just a few hours later, various opinions emerged online, including some clearer photos taken by amateur astronomers with expensive telescopes.
“That’s definitely a Life Planet! The smaller one even looks not much different from our own planet!”
“Real extraterrestrial Life Planet! Real extraterrestrial civilization!”
“After the Blood Demon, is it a planetary war?”
“Shocking! Different planets on the same Sun orbit!”
“What exactly is happening? Star Jump, Blood Demon, Chosen One, and now these suddenly appearing Life Planets, what’s behind all this?”
“Astronomy is dead! Physics is dead!”
“…”
This was the first time since the Blood Demon war began that other voices crowded the intelligence related to the war.
But this was because this sudden event truly rattled everyone’s nerves!
They were engaged in a brutal war with extraterrestrial life, having only just seen the approach of victory, and now, suddenly, two extraterrestrial civilizations appeared together with their planets?
The impact was too great!
If before the Blood Demon war many had fantasized about this being the beginning of an interstellar civilization, dreaming of peace, now, everyone was worried it might be the start of another, even larger scale war.
Some even speculated that those two planets were the origin of the Blood Demon!
Or that those two planets had been invaded and occupied by the Blood Demon.
A variety of different voices swarmed in in a short time, and the dawning hope brought by the war’s victory seemed once again obscured by clouds.
After all, the Blood Demon war had caused immense losses to humanity; while it ultimately caused less than three percent of fatalities, this still exceeded two hundred million people!
Just the West State alone suffered over 130 million casualties, nearly half of its entire population.
The most powerful nation in recent global history was nearly destroyed in this war.
The economic losses were incalculable.
In such a situation, no one was unafraid of an even greater crisis, a larger war.
The Global United Front even had to convene a public opinion crisis management meeting to discuss how to reassure people.
However, at this time, Shen Hao’s voice reached the meeting.
“People just need an answer,” Shen Hao said, “The unknown is the greatest fear, but I believe that the vast majority within our civilization would not fear a challenge that is inevitable yet clearly visible.”
Indeed, in Shen Hao’s view, it was time to reveal all the truths.
Previously, other than Shen Hao, no one could be entirely sure of the existence and functioning of the Civilization Trial; the term even came from the Blood Demon’s mouth, but everything had been clarified after the first Trial ended.
The Civilization Trial did exist, and they were indeed facing the next Trial.
So, as Shen Hao had said, it was also time to make it public.
After Shen Hao spoke, the remaining vote seemed merely a formality, with no opposition, everything quickly progressed, and less than an hour later, a global press conference issued by the Global United Front, aimed at all of humanity, officially commenced.
People longing for answers poured in like crazy.
“The Star Jump incident, the appearance of the Chosen One, the appearance of the Blood Demon, including the appearance of those two Life Planets, and even the many technologies and weapons that suddenly emerged during the Blood Demon war that surpassed the technological levels, behind all these, there is a Shadow—Civilization Trial!”
In this press conference, the Global United Front revealed many pieces of intelligence that had previously been classified.
For example, after the Star Jump occurred, a group of astronomers, physicists, and environmental scientists gathered together shouting in disbelief, their expressions bordering on mad and collapsing.