Chapter 290

The special thing was that the mech's chest bore an especially large smiling face, and Wang Hao also doodled a line of small text beside it: "Welcome to the Solar System, remember to give a five‑star rating, dear~".

The Harvesters flew around it.

"Civilization signal…" Chen Guang's eyes grew ever brighter,

"They really are avoiding artistic elements! Qiming's hypothesis was correct! The Harvesters' system cannot process this meaningless, emotional information!"

Feng Yan walked to the screen and stared at that line of graffiti for a long time.

Then he turned and said, "Recover all debris, especially that of the Harvesters. We need more samples."

"Also," he paused, "notify the Moon Base and commence the final preparations for the Ark Protocol."

Li Yang was startled: "Activate it now? Weren't we supposed to wait—"

"Can't wait any longer." Feng Yan looked toward deep space.

"The main fleet will arrive at the battlefield in seventy‑two hours. The wave just now was only a probing attack by the vanguard, the next wave… might be the full assault."

He pulled up Qiming's latest calculation data:

【Based on the vanguard's combat performance, reverse‑calculated adjustment to the Harvesters' main fleet combat power estimate: originally forecast 3,000 units, revised to 8,000+】

【Human defense line current status assessment: even with artistic weapon assistance, frontal battle win probability is below 1.7%】

【Recommendation: execute the contingency plan immediately】

The holographic text finally froze:

【Plan name: Ark Protocol — Civilization Spark Plan】

【Simultaneously activate: Mutual Annihilation Protocol】

In the bridge, Jupiter's massive shadow poured in through the observation window.

Everyone stared at that line of text.

Beyond the window, in the star‑filled sky, humanity's first interstellar war had been won.

But it also seemed as if it had just begun.

"Ark Protocol, activate."

At 4:13 a. m., Feng Yan's voice spread worldwide via quantum communication.

Most people were still asleep, awakened by the urgent vibration of their wristbands.

Lao Wu sat up in the communal dormitory of Zone 3 in the underground city, rubbed his eyes, and looked at the public screen on the wall.

A notification was scrolling on it:

【According to the 17th emergency resolution of the Human Deep‑Space Defense Council, the 'Ark Protocol' is now activated】

【Objective: preserve the spark of human civilization】

【Plan: select one million citizens plus all civilization data, board the Noah Ark spacecraft and head to the safe zone at the edge of the galaxy】

【Selection method: global random lottery, process fully transparent】

【Special note: personnel involved in the Dragon Chant core project voluntarily relinquish their slots, all remain to fight】

Lao Wu stared at the final line of text for a long time.

The young person in the next bed muttered, "One million people… the world now has 5.2 billion, this lottery odds are lower than a lottery ticket."

"That's different," Lao Wu said softly, "Winning a lottery makes you rich; winning this means… surviving."

Moon Base, Ark shipyard.

Three colossal starships were undergoing final assembly, each over five kilometers long, their streamlined silver hulls coated with a violet energy‑deflection layer.

This is the latest model reverse‑engineered from Harvesters' technology.

Zhao Kaiyuan's holographic projection floated in the shipyard control room, explaining to a group of engineers:

"See? Here, the core of the jump engine uses the spatial‑folding algorithm from the detector debris."

"Although we only cracked 35%, it's enough; a single jump can reach 0.5 light‑years."

"What about power?" a young engineer raised a hand, "Three ships, each carrying over three hundred thousand people, and we must sustain a five‑hundred‑year ecosystem…"

"A vacuum zero‑point energy experimental stack, miniaturized," Zhao Kaiyuan displayed the schematic.

"Qiming optimized the design, raising energy conversion efficiency from 17% to 43%. Though still experimental, it's far better than being dead‑on‑the‑road."

He paused, his voice lowering: "And each ship carries a backup: Xuanming fusion batteries, enough for a hundred years."

"If the zero‑point stack blows up… at least it can hold until we find the next landing spot."

The control room fell silent.

"Zhao Suo." someone whispered, "Are we… really not going up?"

Zhao Kaiyuan turned his head, looking at the young man who asked, his disciple of three years, only twenty‑five.

"Want to go up?" Zhao Kaiyuan asked.

The disciple shook his head vigorously, but his eyes were a bit red.

"Then just work hard," Zhao Kaiyuan patted the young man's shoulder.

Although it was only a holographic projection, he had made that gesture for decades.

"Build the ships sturdier, so those who go up… can live longer."

At nine a. m., the global lottery system was activated.

All wristbands, terminals, and public screens connected to the Xuanming network simultaneously popped up the same interface:

【Human Civilization Spark Plan — Ark Passenger Selection】

【Countdown: 10 minutes】

The central plaza of Yunchuan City's underground district was packed with people, all looking up at the big screen.

Lao Wu stood at the edge of the crowd, clutching his wristband.

Next to him was a young mother holding a child, the child about three or four years old, playing with his mother's hair.

"Do you hope to be selected?" the young mother suddenly asked.

Lao Wu blinked: "What?"

"To win an Ark spot." She looked at the child.

"I want my child to go up, but I myself… am a little afraid."

"I've heard we'd have to go to the edge of the galaxy, the journey would take several hundred years, and once we got there we wouldn't know what awaits."

Lao Wu fell silent for a moment.

"I'm sixty‑one." He said, "I've lived enough. But you young people… you should go up."

The countdown reached zero.

Numbers began to roll on the screen, skipping several million IDs each second, like a silent celebration.

Ten minutes later, the results were announced.

One million names appeared, sorted by region.

Lao Wu entered his ID number on his wristband; he didn't win.

As expected.

He smiled, preparing to turn back to the workshop.

"Wait!" the young mother suddenly grabbed his arm, her voice trembling, "Wu, Wu Jianguo… is that you?"

Lao Wu turned his head.

On the screen, in the Yun Chuan region list, his name appeared conspicuously.

"I won?" Lao Wu stared, "No… the system must be wrong? I'm sixty‑one, priority should go to the young…"

The wristband vibrated, popping up a confirmation message:

【Congratulations, you have been selected as a passenger for the Ark Project. Please report to the designated assembly point within 24 hours. Note: Based on your contribution points, you have priority eligibility (wartime special contributor).】

Special contributor.

Lao Wu recalled that over the past three months, on the quality‑inspection post he had worked fourteen hours a day, handling 170,000 purple material boards, with the lowest error rate in the entire base.

"So… this counts as contribution too." He murmured.

"Congratulations." The young mother smiled, but her eyes were a little wet, "You can go up now."

Lao Wu looked at the child in her arms; the child was curiously staring at the light dots on the screen.

"I'm not going." Lao Wu said.

"What?"