Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Looking at the brilliant and magnificent red aurora outside the window, Councilor Li swallowed slightly.

The breathtakingly beautiful scene before him, however, gave him a strong sense of suffocation.

The aurora predicted by Lü Yongchang has already appeared, along with the red giant phase ten years later and the helium flash fifteen years later...

Representative Li shook his head, not daring to think about the future scenario any further.

……

Xia Kingdom.

Magic City.

Zhao Zijie sat on the balcony, quietly gazing at the bright moon in the sky.

The early summer evening breeze brought a slight chill to my skin.

He took out his phone from his pocket, opened QQ Groups, and skillfully found the chat group where his friends chatted and joked.

"I'm so bored..."

Zhao Zijie's fingers trembled slightly as he typed a line of text on his phone.

He then raised his phone and recorded a video of the surrounding environment.

"I'm all alone on the open-air balcony, sigh... so boring!"

Zhao Zijie's Versailles-style words instantly drew everyone's contempt.

"Holy crap! If I remember correctly, Lao Zhao should be in Shanghai! This open-air balcony is huge... I'm so jealous!"

"Tsk! I can practically picture Old Zhao's face when he says that!"

"Damn it! Is this the world of the rich?! I'm not envious at all!"

"Hey bro! What do you think of this keychain I'm wearing?!"

"..."

As he watched the barrage of negative comments flooding his screen, Zhao Zijie smiled faintly.

Just as he was about to type and chat with the group members, a comment caught his attention.

"Old Zhao, there's something wrong with the video you filmed!"

Zhao Zijie's expression stiffened slightly, and a chill instantly ran down his spine!

He typed furiously on the keyboard, muttering, "Holy crap! Don't scare me like that in the middle of the night!"

It would have been better if these words hadn't been spoken. Once they were, those who had spoken earlier in the group started chiming in with their own comments, as if they wanted to stir up trouble.

"Old Zhao, turn on your phone's front camera and look behind you. I think I just saw a face!"

"What? A human face? It's clearly a white figure!"

Zhao Zijie swallowed slightly.

Although he is an atheist, seeing these comments at around 10 p.m. still made him feel a little uneasy.

Just as he was about to leave the balcony and return to his room, the person who had spoken earlier spoke again.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I just watched the video carefully. At 28 seconds, the moon you filmed had a reddish glow. See for yourself if you don't believe me!"

The QQ group was silent for a few seconds, then a flood of messages appeared.

"A blood moon has descended, plunging the world into chaos!"

"Oh no, I'm going to stock up on several years' worth of dry rations right now!"

Despite these rumors, some people, driven by curiosity, clicked on the video again to watch it.

"Wait! The moon in the video does indeed appear somewhat reddish!"

"I saw it too!"

Zhao Zijie frowned as he looked at his phone, and subconsciously opened the video he had just recorded.

As the playback reached 28 seconds, his pupils contracted slightly.

He saw it too!

A faint red glow seemed to appear on the surface of the moon!

The next moment, he suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky.

Do not!

It wasn't the moon emitting a red light!

The entire sky was emitting a faint red glow!

With trembling hands, he picked up his phone and filmed another video.

"Look outside! Why is the sky over Shanghai starting to glow red?!"

A few seconds after the message was sent.

"Holy crap! Me too! I'm in Hangzhou!"

"Mountain City too!"

"The sky over the land of cherry blossoms is glowing red!"

"..."

As time went on, the red light in the sky grew brighter and brighter.

Gradually, a dazzling red "ribbon" appeared before Zhao Zijie's eyes.

"Bang!"

A loud bang was heard.

The brightly lit city of Shanghai was instantly plunged into darkness.

At the same time, screams came from all around.

Zhao Zijie hurriedly took out his phone.

22: 50.

The phone has no signal at all.

……

That night, Zhao Zijie fell asleep in panic and unease.

The next morning, as soon as he opened his eyes, he grabbed the phone that was on the bedside table.

Thank goodness, we have a signal!

He tentatively pressed the switch for the bedside lamp.

It's powered on!

He turned on the TV while trying to search online for what had happened last night.

"According to the latest report from the Xia Guo Astronomical Observatory, a solar flare suddenly erupted at around 22:42 last night, bringing with it an extremely powerful solar wind. As a result, at 22:50 last night, auroras of varying sizes were observed around the world..."

"This solar flare has caused immense damage to the Xia Kingdom, starting with its power system..."

The host's voice rang in Zhao Zijie's ears.

He instinctively opened the penguin colony.

999+ unread messages.

"Holy crap! It's the aurora borealis!"

"That's not scientific! Aren't auroras only visible in the Arctic and Antarctic?!"

"See? We told you to study, but you insisted on herding cattle. Now you know you were wrong, right? There was a large red aurora event in 1958, but based on the description, it shouldn't have been as exaggerated as this one!"

"Logically, this shouldn't be the solar peak season, so how could this happen..."

"How would I know? You'll have to ask the scientists at the observatory!"

"..."

Looking at the chat logs, Zhao Zijie's panic subsided slightly.

It turned out to be just a solar storm.

However… watching the “expert” on TV explaining the causes of the aurora borealis with such seriousness, Zhao Zijie gradually felt a little worried.

Is it really just a solar storm?

……

Compared to China, the United States undoubtedly suffered greater losses.

It was daytime in the United States at the time, and the sun was directly overhead.

The incredibly powerful solar wind not only destroyed most of the United States' power system, but also caused several planes to lose contact!

Even more surprisingly, most of the United States' civilian satellites were destroyed by the solar wind!

No electricity, no communication equipment...

At this moment, the United States seems to have returned directly to the steam age!

……

Within the first ring road of Beijing.

The office of the Speaker of Parliament.

Yesterday's meeting kept flashing through Representative Lee's mind.

Following the appearance of the aurora, Representative Lee initiated a vote.

The vote was naturally about Lü Yongchang's "prophecy" about the sun.

Unsurprisingly, all the astronomy and physics professors present voted in favor.

Representative Li frowned, tapping his knuckles lightly on the solid wood desk.

What should he do to ensure that the Xia Kingdom survives this disaster...?

"Knock knock knock..."

There was a knock on the door.

Representative Li paused slightly, then said softly, "Come in!"

The office door slowly opened, and Lü Yongchang appeared in the doorway.