The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

Golden veins, like blood vessels, flowed across the barrier. Each vein pulsed, like a heartbeat.

is his.

Those were the six great paths he burned out and the remaining vitality that transformed into a shield, enclosing the blue planet within.

The enormous figure in the sky was no longer recognizable as human.

Only a wisp of golden-red light remained, slowly and irreversibly dissipating.

The last ray of light was drawn from the cloud of light and fell into the barrier of the blue star.

The light and mist dissipated.

The sky is empty.

Only that golden-red barrier remained on the outer edge of the blue star, quietly shimmering with light.

The people on the ground are still looking at the sky.

Some people cried. Some people knelt. Some people stood there in a daze.

A female soldier in military uniform looked up, tears streaming down her face, her voice hoarse, only able to utter a breathy phrase: "Goddess..."

In the eternal night sky, that golden-red barrier replaced the sun, becoming the only source of light for the blue planet.

It's not glaring. It's very soft. Like the sunlight at dusk.

But it is warm.

The barrier remained lit for three days and three nights.

On the fourth day, the light stabilized and stopped pulsating. The golden-red patterns became a constant flow, neither fast nor slow, like a heart finding its own rhythm.

The equipment of the Human Rights Space Monitoring Agency locked onto the barrier immediately.

Seventy-two hours of continuous observation. Cross-validation from forty-eight monitoring stations.

All the researchers at the Star Core Energy Research Institute worked through the night analyzing data.

Seventh day.

The UNHCR broadcast the final survey results globally.

This is the People's Federation, which has been silent for a long time, speaking out once again.

The announcement was in text format—this text simultaneously appeared on all remaining communication terminals, wristbands, and public address screens.

"Following joint surveys and repeated verifications by the Human Union Space Monitoring Bureau and the Star Core Energy Research Institute, the final survey results are now officially announced to all of humanity worldwide..."

"The God Chen Hao sacrificed his life, but failed to completely end the extraterrestrial devouring catastrophe. However, he successfully halted the destructive force's process of engulfing Earth."

"To buy a full ten years of buffer time for the survival of the Earth, which is on the verge of extinction, and for human civilization, which is in grave danger."

"On behalf of seven billion people worldwide, the United Human Government hereby pays the highest and deepest respect to God Chen Hao in the history of human civilization."

The last line took a long time to appear. It's as if the person who wrote this hesitated for a long time before finally typing it in.

"The broken land can be healed, but the person is gone and will never return."

"These ten years are his gift to all mankind. They are the only source of confidence for the restart of civilization. They are the only glimmer of light in the face of despair."

The broadcast has ended.

Reactions varied across different regions.

After reading that passage, someone remained silent for a long time before returning to the lab.

Turn those devices that have been shut down for so long back on. Ten years is enough; it's enough for them to try again.

Someone has stored that text in the bracelet's permanent memory.

Someone stood up from the rubble, dusted himself off, and headed towards the nearest AfD relief center. "Is there any work? I can move things."

Most people did nothing. They simply stood under that golden-red light for a long time.

Shenzhen. On the balcony of Baotiancheng residential complex, a husky is perched at the foot of the railing.

It's old. Its fur has darkened considerably, and its eyes are cloudy.

But it never left the balcony, except when it went out to find food.

Now, it tilts its head back, looking at the golden-red light in the sky.

Its tail wagged.

It's very slow. The amplitude is very small.

It was as if they recognized something.

In the years following the devastating catastrophe, the earth cracked, the oceans overflowed, cities collapsed, and the order of civilization crumbled and disintegrated little by little.

Everyone knew that Earth Blue Star would eventually be completely swallowed up by the endless dark void, with no miracles and no way out.

Despair, like a poisonous vine, entwined in everyone's heart, eroding all their struggles and hopes.

People gave up the struggle, gave up the work, and gave up all expectations for the future.

The streets were piled with abandoned vehicles and debris, and no one was cleaning them up;

Fertile fields lie fallow, uncultivated; research institutes stand still, and countless top scholars put down their pens and quietly await the end of the world.

Humanity, which once fought endlessly for resources and interests, has completely given up and allowed despair to engulf it.

Families no longer yearn for reunion. Everyone's life is reduced to a single end, awaiting the arrival of the devouring force, awaiting the moment of finality.

Some people drink themselves into oblivion all day long, some huddle in the corners of the ruins and close their eyes to wait for death, some squander the remaining supplies, and some weep numbly at the shattered sky.

The whole world fell into a strange stillness. Time seemed to lose its meaning, and struggling became the most ridiculous joke. Giving up and waiting to die was the only option for humanity at that time.

But when that golden shield of light that filled the sky lit up, when the UN government's statement resounded throughout the world, when everyone learned of it...

When that supreme god, using flesh and blood as fuel and his divine soul as a shield, forcibly granted ten years of life to the desperate humanity, the entire desolate world suddenly came back to life.

The still crowd began to move, and the hearts of those who had fallen into despair were awakened.

No one is willing to accept death calmly anymore, and no one dares to betray the ten years of life that were bought with a human life.

This is no longer a countdown to a desperate struggle for survival; it is a gift entrusted with the lives of the brave, and the last and only chance for human civilization to turn the tide.

Young, middle-aged men were the first to pick up shovels, wrenches, and broken construction equipment from the ground, and silently walked towards the collapsed city blocks.

The abandoned roads, broken bridges, and damaged water and electricity facilities are all remnants of the apocalypse, and now they have become the targets of their desperate repair efforts.

The spaceship, which had not been seen for a long time, flew towards the universe that devours stars and flew out of Earth's atmosphere. This meant facing the terrifying void turbulence and the aftershocks of being devoured, which was tantamount to courting death.

For the past three years, no one has dared to set foot in the universe; everyone has huddled on the remnants of Earth, quietly awaiting the end.

But now, batches of pilots, astronauts, and deep space explorers are voluntarily submitting applications to explore and find a way out.

Every ordinary person who toils away, every scholar who devotes himself to scientific research, and every brave person who ventures into the stars are responding to that grand sacrifice in their own way.

In a void and darkness.

There was no light. There was no darkness. There was no up or down, no front or back, no concept that could be called "direction".

Chen Hao's consciousness was suspended in an absolute void.