Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Zhang Man followed silently behind Wu Pengxing.

She walked through the crowd and entered a passageway made of metal.

"Xiaoman, your name is Xiaoman, right?" Wu Pengxing's voice rang out.

The passageway was very empty, and even a slight echo could be heard.

"Mmm." Zhang Man nodded gently and responded in a low voice.

Silence fell between them again.

Gradually, the passage came to an end.

Looking at the Xuan Nu II on the tarmac in front of her, Zhang Man's eyes widened suddenly, and she stood there dumbfounded.

The second Xuan Nu was clearly too overwhelming for a child her age.

"Uncle Wu... Uncle Wu, where are we going?"

Zhang Man swallowed hard, her slightly childish voice filled with panic.

Wu Pengxing chuckled lightly: "Once we've waited long enough, let's go to Africa."

……

Africa.

The bottom of the space elevator in the Tower of Babel.

A large city built around the Tower of Babel.

Due to geographical factors, the local temperature has exceeded 50 degrees Celsius at this moment.

Under such high temperatures, almost all plants and animals face a life-or-death crisis.

There were no pedestrians to be seen on the city streets.

There were only freight trucks speeding by and trains running along the tracks.

Above the city, the Xuan Nu II starships shuttled back and forth.

In order to increase the efficiency of material transportation, there are basically no real residents in the entire city, except for some management personnel.

There are only a large number of robots and robotic arms.

With zero remote control, countless robots and robotic arms transported supplies into the enormous space elevator.

Subsequently, the electricity provided by the helium-3 fusion reactor powered the space elevator, transporting countless supplies into space.

Unlike before, the skies above the city of Babel were unusually busy at this time.

One after another, the Xuan Nu II ships came from all directions.

Under Zero's control, these starships entered their respective landing pads in an orderly manner.

……

"Is this the Tower of Babel...?"

Zhang Man stared blankly at the scene outside the porthole.

A thin rope connecting the two ends suddenly appeared between heaven and earth!

"How about it? Isn't it spectacular?" Wu Pengxing chuckled and said, "When I first saw this thing, my reaction was much bigger than yours."

As he spoke, he made a funny face.

"Pfft." Zhang Man couldn't help but laugh out loud when she saw Wu Pengxing's exaggerated expression beside her.

"How long is the Tower of Babel?" She leaned closer to the porthole and looked up at the ceiling.

The straight, thin line went all the way up until it disappeared into the thick clouds.

"If I remember correctly, it should be 9.1 kilometers."

"Wow!" At this moment, Zhang Man finally showed the composure expected of someone her age. "My home is about... 50 kilometers from the county seat?"

She frowned, trying to figure out the quantitative relationship.

"Hahaha!" Wu Pengxing laughed and reached out to pat Zhang Man's head.

"I really want to go up and take a look..." Zhang Man murmured to herself.

Upon hearing this, Wu Pengxing's eyes showed a hint of regret.

He shook his head: "Unfortunately, you won't have that luck this time."

"Perhaps you will have this opportunity in the future."

Zhang Man nodded silently and looked away.

"Captain Wu, we're almost there!"

A voice of warning came from the side.

Wu Pengxing quickly composed himself and turned to Zhang Man beside him, saying, "Xiao Man, sit tight, we're about to land."

"I was entrusted by your parents to make sure you get into the hibernation pod safely."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Man's eyes dimmed slightly.

Wu Pengxing's lips twitched, and he resisted the urge to slap himself.

That sharp tongue of hers, why does she always have to bring up the most sensitive topics!

……

Under the intense sunlight, the Xuan Nu II starship slowly flew towards the B45 helipad.

Under Zero's control, its flight trajectory was unusually smooth.

Decelerate, hover, land.

The series of operations were completed in one smooth motion.

To avoid being burned by the high temperatures outside the starship, a hemispherical light-blocking curtain automatically rose on the ground around the landing of the Mysterious Maiden II.

The refrigeration system was then activated, and once the ambient temperature dropped to a normal level, the hatch of the Xuan Nu II slowly opened.

Zhang Man followed behind Wu Pengxing and was the first to walk out of Xuan Nu No. 2.

Looking at the somewhat cramped space around her, Zhang Man cast a puzzled look at Wu Pengxing.

The next moment, the ground in front of them suddenly cracked open, revealing an escalator leading underground.

Such a technologically advanced scene naturally surprised Zhang Man and the other children.

In an instant, exclamations of surprise rose and fell.

"Ahem!" Wu Pengxing coughed forcefully. "Everyone, please be quiet."

"Now, we are heading to the underground base of the Tower of Babel."

"After the medical examination, you will enter the hibernation pod to begin a hibernation process that will last up to 50 years."

……

The physical examination was simple, but also very important.

Resistance to hibernation.

Simply put, it involves testing whether the human body can spontaneously produce antibodies against hibernation.

Although the probability is very low, given the absolute number of people, there are actually quite a few like this.

These people are collectively referred to as hibernation insulators.

As their name suggests, they are immune to hibernation and will never be able to enter a hibernation state unless new technologies emerge.

In a sense, this is extremely cruel.

While their companions and family members entered hibernation one after another, these hibernation-resistant individuals could not enter hibernation and could only silently grow old and die in the starship.

A hibernator wakes up to find that their former friends or family members have turned into ashes.

Those who are immune to hibernation face death alone in endless loneliness and solitude.

This is a huge blow to both sides.

Fortunately, none of the children Wu Pengxing was training were the so-called hibernation-resistant individuals.

After the physical examination, everyone entered their respective hibernation pods in turn.

Unlike hibernation pods for adults, hibernation pods for children are a size smaller, which means that the same size spacecraft can transport more people.

……

05:00

04:59

Zhang Man lay quietly in the hibernation pod, waiting for the countdown in front of her to end.

At that moment, she suddenly thought of her grandfather, who was thousands of miles away.

Memories of the past surfaced in my mind.

When she thought about how everything would be different when she opened her eyes again, a tear welled up in Zhang Man's eye once more.

00:00

Countdown reset.

My arm throbbed slightly.

A few seconds later, her consciousness began to fade.

Crystalline tears slid slowly down her cheeks, and the indicator light in the hibernation pod turned green.

Hibernation successful