2020 AD
Mount Everest
There was a tearing roar in the distance.
A huge layer of ice slid down from the dark mountain peak and fell into the surging sea.
The violent ice sea surged, surging for thousands of feet as if it would continue to the end of the world. Then, a wind blew from the end of the world, mixed with the smell of ashes and dust.
The world suddenly became so narrow.
The towering sky seemed to be pressing down, turning into pure white iron. Through the huge cracks above, one could see the gradually dimming stars in the universe.
They were like lamps that had melted into the darkness after losing power.
There seemed to be nothing left in the vast world. In the end, only the highest narrow platform in the world and the temporary work cabin were left.
A fishing rod was set up from the edge of the platform, and the fishing line was thrown into the sea. The buoy bobbed in the turbid water.
The bored fisherman wore a felt hat and lay on his folding chair.
As if to kill time, he even brought an old chessboard, ignoring the loud cracking sounds in the distance, and casually played with the chess pieces on it.
As if a long time had passed, the chess pieces of the black and white sides were difficult to gather. The only remaining 'king' and 'bishop' were also incomplete and full of cracks under the weathering of time.
Even the chessboard was missing a large corner. The black and white squares were twisted and mixed together, forming a large patch of chaotic gray.
However, what was surprising was that no matter how much the ground shook, those chess pieces still stood firmly on their own territory without the slightest movement.
"President, NASA sent a message —"
An assistant wearing thick glasses walked out of the cabin, carrying the last of the luggage. "The fourth settlement has been completed. The New York Stock Exchange has finished uploading. They are leaving and wish us success."
"They should have left long ago."
The president shook his head unhappily. "Those guys in the Directorate of Command are so troublesome. They are always dawdling and can't even move fast."
"We have to keep a backup. After 'Heaven' fell, we can only rely on hard drives to transfer data. "
"Don't be silly, child." The president snorted. "Those guys just like to enjoy the feeling of stepping on the bell, as if they are professional punctuality. Tsk, ten minutes early won't kill anyone."
"Ahahaha."
The assistant smiled awkwardly and didn't say anything else. When he moved closer, he saw the computer beside the chessboard. Apart from the two pages of 'How to Fish in the Himalayas', there was only a real-time satellite image on the screen.
The satellite from the old NASA was still tenaciously maintaining its mission. It meticulously transmitted the images from space back to Earth.
Unfortunately, what appeared on the screen was no longer the beautiful stars of the past. Instead, it was riddled with holes.
Countless chaotic cyclones covered the entire Azure Sky. Beneath the thick and thin layers of typhoon clouds, were patches of horrifying burns.
At the same time, a huge crack slowly appeared on the defensive star map. A line of crimson spread over thousands of kilometers and rapidly expanded, pulling at the surrounding yellowed continents and dark gray oceans, before stirring up a hurricane and tearing another hole in the atmosphere.
"Is that an earthquake?"
The assistant sighed in amazement and leaned over. "Amazing. I didn't expect it to be so spectacular."
The president looked up and immediately understood. "It's a geothermal eruption. After the core began to cool, the third wave of earthquakes is being released from the continental plates of North America and South America. If left alone, it will end in about sixty years … Look, New York has sunk into the sea. "
"What a pity, I haven't seen the Statue of Liberty yet."
"I've been there."
The president retracted his gaze. "Actually, it's not that interesting …"
There was a sudden roar in the distance, and something seemed to light up in the depths of the ocean. The crimson light tumbled in the darkness, reflecting the painful burning light under the earth's crust.
A foehn wind blew from the end of the sea, wrapped in gray dust and white fog, as if covering the entire world.
It was as if the whole world was boiling with seawater.
"It's really like teppanyaki," the president suddenly said.
"Hmm?"
"Teppanyaki, didn't I take you to eat it last time? It's delicious. "
The president seemed to be sleepy. He lay on the chair and covered his face with his hat, as if he was about to sleep. His voice was soft as if he was sleep-talking. "In the past, a friend in Yingzhou told me that teppanyaki is actually divided into two types: Kandong and Kanxi. Most people usually eat the Kandong type, which is convenient and simple, but the Kanxi type is the most delicious.
This is because they only apply a thin layer of oil on the iron plate at the beginning. As long as the temperature is high enough, the oil of the ingredients will cook themselves. It is said that this is the only way to taste the natural freshness and taste of the ingredients … "
The assistant was silent for a moment. "That sounds cruel."
"Yes, but aren't humans such cruel creatures?" The president asked back. "If eating is the only way to survive, then eating is the simplest reason. It's the evil that is rooted in human nature.
In the beginning, they devoured thunder and fire, burned the wilderness, dug coal mines, and then extracted oil. When there was insufficient oil, they coveted fission … Since then, even if the world is about to die, they will not relent.
Long before our ancestors put the Neanderthals into their diet, they were already out of control. "
The assistant turned around and looked at the man on the recliner, but he couldn't see the man's face through the hat. He couldn't tell if the man's eyes were filled with compassion or the mockery and ridicule he was familiar with.
In the long silence, the sky grew darker and darker. The originally pure white sky gradually turned gloomy. Finally, the halo of light behind the clouds gradually shrank and dissipated …
"Is the sun about to go out?"
"Yes, the power of the Source Pillar is beginning to retract."
"The storm is brewing again."
"Yes."
"Will it stop this time?"
"Who knows?" The president slowly got up and put the hat back on his head. "No matter how much it changes, this is no longer a place where humans can live … Haven't you seen it already? Apart from the pain, it has nothing left. "
He paused for a moment and whispered softly, "This is our last dinner."
The last cigarette was lit.
The flame flickered and a line of green smoke curled up.
On the computer screen, all the signals representing the satellites gradually extinguished and were replaced by strange emblems one after another. They operated on the dark screen as if the gods were operating on the surface of their own abyss, with indescribable coldness and majesty.
Utopia, online.
Continuation Academy, online.
Command Bureau, online.
Stoneware Society, Hand of Bronze, Cemetery of the Returnless …
Through the black screen and their emblems, it seemed that countless gazes were cast on this last piece of land, welcoming the arrival of the final moment.
All the guests had taken their seats and were waiting for the final curtain to be lifted.
He stared at the broken chessboard.
The assistant swallowed nervously and carefully looked at the pocket watch in his hand. At the moment when the needle and minute hand overlapped, he looked up as if he had been electrocuted and reported, "The Pillar of the Spirit's Marrow has been preheated."
"… Wait!"
The president suddenly frowned and seemed to be listening attentively.
Not only the assistant, but the emblems on the screen also seemed to be serious as if they were facing a great enemy.
Then, the guy suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled the fishing rod out. He actually pulled something out of the sea. It looked furry like a cat, but it had a fish-like tail. It was indescribably strange.
"Aha, after waiting for two hours, there's still a result. Who said that the Qiandu Encyclopedia is unreliable? "The president beamed and looked at his' harvest '." What fate, little thing! But it doesn't look like a fish. Can it be eaten? "
"…"
Everyone was silent and didn't speak.
They didn't want to talk to him.
Being pulled up by the fishing rod, the little thing opened its mouth and cried out twice unhappily. It stretched out its two small front claws and wanted to scratch his face, but he casually stuffed it into the fish basket.
After returning to the sea, it settled down, turned over, and was too lazy to move.
"Okay." The president stuffed the fishing rod and bucket into the assistant's arms and picked up his chair. "Get ready to go."
He reached out and took the white chariot from the chessboard.
Accompanied by his action, it was as if the last light went out.
The sun hanging high in the sky disappeared without a trace.
Everything in the world fell into darkness.
After the light disappeared, no wind could be heard. Because apart from them, everything stopped abruptly, as if time had frozen.
The first to leave was the universe, because a slender hand came out of nowhere and plucked the black queen. The utopia had extracted the foundation of the stars. So the original darkness faded, and countless stars disappeared, leaving only a meaningless void.
Next was the remaining ocean. The Continuation Court removed the proof of existence, and the black bishop disappeared without a trace. Whether it was the monstrous tsunami or the boiling crimson sea, all the flowing water in the world was rapidly declining and collapsing. In the end, only a dark seabed was left.
Then, the white bishop melted like an illusion, and the Directorate of Governance turned off the glorious light. So, everything was quiet. The rumbling crust fell into silence, and the lava spewing out of the cracks quickly solidified, losing all heat …
Now, in Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, North America, the barren land, the tyrannical ocean, the cold or hot hurricane, or the sky … everything was being destroyed in an orderly manner.
Only the low wail of the world's collapse was left.
Like the strings of a piano being broken one by one, in the end, only a hollow echo was left.
In this vast and lonely destruction, the old Gaia Earth VIII ushered in its own end.
When the last cigarette was smoked, only the final outline of this world, which was riddled with holes, was left, and the last door that had not been closed beside the president.
"The fourteenth abandoned Eden and the Promised Land …"
The president quietly stared at the empty chessboard in front of him and took out a bouquet of pure white flowers from his arms. The petals of the flowers were still dewy.
Like tears, they dripped into the cracks of the chessboard.
"Thank you for your shelter and patience for more than three hundred years. It's been hard on you."
He took off his hat and said a gentle farewell.
"— — One day, let us meet again in another hell."
.
Finally, the door closed.
In the eternal darkness and silence, space that no longer held any meaning contracted inwards, pulling the spectrum that was struggling at death's door as it began a futile Redshift. As the four fundamental forces crumbled, the chessboard and the flower vanished into nothingness.
The annihilation of Earth VIII was complete.
The fourteenth plan of the International Astronomical Association was completed.
At the last moment, a glimmer of light appeared on the chessboard, outlining the pure white outline of the queen in the tears of the flowers. Like a meteor, it flew into the distance.
The old world died once again, just like countless times in the past.
Then, a new world arrived.
Everything operated as usual.
.
This was the remnant record of ninety years ago, the last remnant of the glorious era.
Since then, there was no such glory.
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