Chapter 57: Trisolarans dumbfounded: Our apocalypse is the same as that of the Ultramen, but the choice is different!

Trisolaran Fleet Command Center.

Beside them, an officer's thought fluctuations began.

"Indeed, I never imagined that these giants who wield great power once had such a past."

In its thoughts, there was a hint of strange resonance.

"They are just like us; their star system's sun has problems, and their living conditions are not much better than ours."

This discovery sent a ripple through the cold logic units of many Trisolarans present, something never felt before.

They previously thought the Ultraman civilization's rapid development was merely due to having suitable living conditions,

if we Trisolarans also had sufficiently superior conditions, we might have reached that stage as well.

Now it seems that is not the case.

The Ultraman civilization also appears to face survival difficulties and catastrophes.

Another Trisolaran then asked doubtfully.

"Their sun has already gone out; where should they go? Will they leave their homeland and head into the universe to seek a suitable living environment, just like our Trisolaran civilization, leaving home behind and embarking on the long four-light-year journey?"

Chief Scientist 3056's thought fluctuations interrupted its speculation, containing a complex emotion even it could not fully understand.

"No."

"The Ultraman civilization's approach is completely different from ours."

"According to the information on the sky curtain, they not only did not abandon their home star and star system, but even… after the sun went out, they rebuilt an artificial sun!"

These words made no sound, yet they struck heavily upon the thought core of every Trisolaran.

The entire command center once again fell into a silence deeper than any before.

So that's how it is.

The Ultramen did not build this artificial sun from the start; they were forced to construct it only after their sun went out.

They, like the Trisolaran civilization, are victims driven to desperation by their star.

But their choice is completely different.

The Leader's thought process stalled.

It seemed to see another road, one the Trisolaran civilization had never imagined, nor dared to imagine.

On the sky curtain, the images flowed.

The once prosperous, utopia-like Land of Light has now become a frozen wasteland, a cold eternal night purgatory.

Surface temperatures plummeted rapidly to the point where almost no carbon-based life could survive.

Those previous futuristic skyscrapers and advanced facilities, due to the total energy shortage caused by the sun's extinction, turned completely into useless piles of scrap steel.

Even, due to the lingering aftermath of that supernova explosion, the ancestors of the Land of Light could not even survive on the surface, and could only hide deep underground.

That period was the darkest, most difficult time in the history of the Land of Light.

However, it was utterly different from the choices of certain civilizations.

The ancestors of the Land of Light did not completely abandon themselves just because the sun went out.

They also did not abandon their homeworld because of the supernova explosion, nor did they, unable to survive as a civilization, turn their greedy eyes toward other civilizations' habitable worlds in the universe, intending to invade and plunder.

They made a decision that ordinary people cannot comprehend, and which even seemed somewhat foolish at the time.

That is, they would absolutely not abandon their homeland, nor abandon their home star.

They would rebuild their homeland!

They would make the light shine again in the M78 Nebula, illuminating this lifeless universe!

Abandoning their homeland to wander the universe and seize the living space of weaker civilizations—something the ancestors of the Land of Light would scorn!

Thus, the top scientists among the ancestors of the Land of Light gathered together.

They began the path of self-rescue for their civilization.

Among these top scientists, many were ancestors of the later Ultramen.

One of them, a master of top-tier scientific technology, was the direct ancestor of Hikari.

These scientists gathered together, in the cold, dark underground shelter, relying on the civilization's remaining strength, exploring how to save the civilization and save their homeland.

Although hope was slim, and at the time it seemed even meaningless futility.

But they persisted in holding to their original intentions.

No matter how many difficulties and obstacles they encountered, they always gritted their teeth and persevered.

In the eternal winter night of the whole planet, they sought that faint hope, almost nonexistent.

They firmly believed.

They would never abandon the homeland on which their survival depends, and they would ensure that their civilization's home endures for generations to come!

The ancestors of the Land of Light did not simply ignite the Plasma Spark Tower with ease.

In that nearly desperate situation at the time, they also did not know when their research would succeed, whether the path was correct, or if they had gone astray in the darkness.

But the entire civilization united, working together as one.

Even at the most difficult moments, the interior of the Land of Light remained as solid as a single block of iron.

There was no self-abandonment due to mental imbalance, nor internal conflict due to resource shortage.

Even in such harsh conditions, the evil in their human nature did not surface.

It remained as it had been for four hundred thousand years: not a single person committed a crime!

No, perhaps it could be said this way,

The ancestors of the Land of Light fundamentally had no concept of evil in their nature!

Perhaps it was that heaven finally favored this pure and tenacious people.

The Plasma Spark Tower was successfully developed!

In the picture of the heavenly canopy.

In the cold country that had plunged into eternal night after the sun went out, in the deep underground research facility.

A group of top scientists, dressed in rags and with exhausted faces, groped in the darkness, repeatedly conducting research.

Behind them were countless eyes filled with anticipation.

Finally, a sky-reaching giant tower model was born in their hands.

Upon the dark planet.

They plunged this Plasma Spark Tower, which bore the last hope of the entire civilization, deep into the ice-sealed core region of the Land of Light.

All surviving ancestors came out from underground and gathered around the giant tower.

They, wearing heavy protective gear, anxiously watched the scientists and ignited the Plasma Spark Tower.

Light.

At first, it was merely a faint flicker.

Immediately after, an extremely rich light burst forth from the tower tip!

The blinding light swept everything, instantly tearing apart the dark eternal night that had shrouded the planet for hundreds of thousands of years!

Ah!

The ancestors of the Land of Light exclaimed in surprise, instinctively covering their eyes with their arms.

They had not seen such strong light for too long.

Yet on their faces appeared uncontainable joy.

They succeeded!

The dazzling light of the Plasma Spark Tower, like the primordial flame at the birth of the universe, burned wildly, driving away and devouring that icy, bone-chilling dark night.

The warm bright light once again covered the entire interior of the Land of Light.

Even, this light was richer and brighter than when the sun previously existed, full of endless vitality!

The icy shadow that once blanketed the entire planet was completely corroded by this destructive light.

A planet radiating eternal light was reborn in the lifeless universe.

Land of Light!