Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

Chapter 93 Ordinary People

"Have you heard? Aliens have come to our area."

"Huh? It seems that's true. Then why haven't I seen their ship?"

The older worker sitting in the driver's seat of the construction vehicle was a little hard of hearing and couldn't quite hear what the young man next to him was saying. The vehicle was really too high; you had to climb a ladder to get out. The glass was incredibly thick.

He had been driving a truck before the disaster and was still doing the same thing now. It was as if his whole life had just smoothly glided to the end on the ice, leaving his wife, children and elderly parents behind.

He only knew that one should take a spaceship to go to heaven, and that there used to be sparks like fireworks in the sky. His younger colleagues said that it was an experimental nuclear fusion reactor exploding in space, and so on.

After that, the sparks disappeared, just like after the earth dragon turned over, there were no more fireworks and firecrackers, and no one celebrated the New Year anymore. Instead, there were more ships flying in the sky, and the underground towns were dug deeper and bigger. He was often so busy that he couldn't even have a hot meal, because he had to deliver goods to those elevators that led to the underground.

The young man was definitely more knowledgeable than him. Sometimes when he had free time, he would squat down next to the truck and listen to the young man talk about the news after unloading the goods. Apart from not understanding the content, the atmosphere was similar to the conversations he had when he was resting at a roadside restaurant when he was delivering goods.

The same thing happened again. The young people started to explain to him what aliens looked like and how advanced their technology was. After listening to them, the old worker remembered one thing: aliens looked quite like humans, with a head, hands and feet, but their skin was yellowish-green and they had a big horn on the back of their heads, like a water buffalo.

Following the old worker's habit of giving and receiving in conversation, he asked the young man how he knew about these things, as he hadn't heard it mentioned in the news recently. The young man, naturally, still displayed the superiority brought by the information gap, saying, "My dear old man Li, how could such a big event be kept from everyone in time? The higher-ups still need to discuss and come to a decision first."

"We're so close, don't tell anyone else that I have a network in the sky, and when I log in, all kinds of messages fly around instantly."

The old worker readily agreed. Whether in the sky or on the ground, he preferred to stay on the ground. Young people hadn't spent much time on the ground and preferred to buy houses underground. Those who dealt with him on the ground were all on assignment.

I heard that the underground buildings are like a forest, and you buy houses by buying individual "leaves". The houses are built in the air, and flying boats travel between the "leaves", just like the traffic flow of the past.

The old worker delivered goods underground many times. It's possible that the "leaves" this young man bought were made from the materials he delivered. Even though there's no retirement these days, once the underground project is finished, who knows where he'll be able to deliver goods to?

Outside, it was still a world of ice and snow, with the white snow seemingly never-ending. It had been so long, it felt as if the next Awakening of Insects would never come, and the solar term of the year was forever stuck at the Great Cold.

The young man was about to rush back underground again. As always, he listened to the old worker's auspicious words of praise to God and wishes for his safety. Before leaving, he reminded the old worker to check the news when he got home, as there would be new announcements.

As a survivor of the calamity, the old worker naturally joined the "Death Party" early on and became a believer. However, he never had any special talents and never showed any so-called "spiritual abilities."

Relatively few young people have faith; most go to academies to try to awaken and become "psychics." If a family produces such a descendant, the whole family can enjoy the benefits.

However, the old worker preferred to call the priests of the Lord "wizards" rather than "psychics," and the priests in the great temples were naturally called "great shamans." He had seen one once when he attended a festival before, and he still remembered it vividly.

However, since there were more ships in the sky, the old workers didn't see the "wizards" as frequently as before. They heard that they had all gone to the moon and only came to Earth for work.

As a long-time believer, he wasn't particularly fanatical; his faith was as calm as water, yet as pure and clear as flowing water.

It's so vivid, as if faith has become an integral and inseparable part of life.

If given the chance, the old worker would like to take those super tall elevators to go up to the sky and pay homage to the statue of God on the moon, but he hasn't been able to go yet because he hasn't saved enough money.

A few days ago, I heard that the Lord had returned. I was so excited that the old worker, who already had a light sleep, couldn't sleep well. Then the cult leader announced that the moon had become a holy place, sacred and inviolable. The cult leader also made a rare appearance and gave a speech. His eyebrows, beard, and hair were no longer visible. He looked like a stone.

Back home, the bell with the dragon bone pattern on the porch rang crisply. The old worker heated up a can of rice and meatballs to eat. The leftover cans were piled up in a bag, ready to be recycled and sold in a few days.

He lived in the parish, and his neighbors were mostly elderly people of the same generation who were used to staying on the ground and occasionally organized community activities.

The parish cemetery surrounding the "Tree of Peace" is growing larger and larger. In the future, he will probably occupy a small place there, completely declaring the end of his bloodline. To be honest, after so long, he has forgotten what his hometown looks like. This is the home where he will return to his roots.

I watched the news as always, but times are changing. There are now many more comments on the news channels, mostly from young people. The older workers have always just watched and never commented.

"Our reporter reports that an alien civilization called the Boros Space Foundation has met with General Howard, and church leader Terence is also present."

"Previously, the extraterrestrial civilization accepted our request not to bring its ships close to the Moon, but to transfer to our ships in the outer planetary orbit to reach the ground."

"The talks proceeded smoothly under the themes of justice, peace, and cooperation. The extraterrestrial civilization returned a human ancestor from an ancient dynasty. The ancestor is in good health, and we are currently confirming his era and hometown address. The following is a detailed report —"

The old workers saw the alien-like appearance that the young people were talking about on the news. In the picture, a man dressed in the original ancient style was standing on the stage in a daze, and the language he was speaking was no longer something that they, the younger generation, could understand directly and had to be translated.

"My ancestors, the story of the Rotten Chessman has come true!" the old worker sighed. He still knew these stories, but the young people were increasingly forgetting these legends and arguing endlessly in the comments.

Putting aside the new vocabulary that some of the older workers couldn't understand, based on what he saw, attitudes toward aliens were divided into several opposing camps.

At first glance, curiosity about extraterrestrial civilizations still prevails, with people proclaiming that humanity is not alone, that life flourishes in the cosmos, and that a bright future is just around the corner.

Squeezed to the sidelines by these voices were those who argued that the abduction of humans by extraterrestrial civilizations was a heinous crime, and that even if they came to apologize and return the abductees, they should still be treated as enemies and eliminated.

The centrists, on the other hand, called for humanity to make positive contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, arguing that this is the best opportunity for humanity to integrate into interstellar society, as the other side has shown sufficient sincerity. They believe that if humanity wants to go further in the universe, it cannot forever remain confined to its own star system; stagnation will only lead to extinction.

The old worker didn't care about these comments; his gaze was fixed on the cult leader in the picture. The cult leader appeared calm and indifferent to these aliens.

In the eyes of believers, the will of the Lord ultimately decides everything. Even if they cannot see the Lord who resides on the moon, believers should receive divine revelation from the words of the leader Terence.

At this visible turning point in civilization, the old worker knelt before the statue of the god he worshipped in his home, praying for the Lord's guidance.

The Lord walks with them, and as long as humanity follows the Lord's will, it will not go astray.