Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

The Solar System, Earth.

"Professor, it's time." A soft light shone in the dimly lit office.

Zero's virtual avatar gradually appeared beside the desk: "Most of the researchers have already evacuated; it's your turn and the Speaker's turn."

Lu Yongchang nodded silently, picked up the white coat hanging to the side, and draped it over his shoulders.

He then walked towards the office door.

The moment his hand touched the doorknob, Lü Yongchang turned his head again to look into the dimly lit room.

His gaze was fixed straight on the window.

Outside the thick reinforced glass lies a scene resembling hell.

The entire world was filled with clouds stretching for countless kilometers, countless swirling golden thunderbolts, and unprecedented storms.

"Why……"

Lü Yongchang turned the doorknob, turned around, and walked out of the room.

As the door clicked shut, the holographic image dissipated into light fragments in the air, making the already dim room appear even darker.

……

【Jianmu】Underground base.

Due to the extremely harsh weather conditions, they chose to take the space elevator to the spaceport as a precaution.

"Chief Councilor." Upon arriving at the underground base, Lü Yongchang saw Councilor Li standing in front of a screen in the distance.

"Yongchang." Councilor Li turned his head to look at Lü Yongchang. "You've arrived."

"Look at this Earth."

As Representative Lee spoke, he glanced back at the screen beside him: "It's unbelievable that our planet has become like this in just a few years!"

Seeing the pain in Representative Li's eyes, Lü Yongchang fell silent.

After a long silence, he sighed softly, "Speaker, there will be a chance to come back."

"The solar system will always be the home of human civilization."

Representative Li nodded slightly, said nothing, and stepped directly into the space elevator.

Lu Yongchang glanced back at the underground base one last time.

"Zero, begin data transmission," Lü Yongchang said solemnly.

This is the penultimate step in humanity's withdrawal from Earth.

Zero needs to package and transfer its main program to the Earth-class starship host located in the [Jianmu] spaceport.

The transmission method is naturally quantum long-distance communication.

"Yes, Professor," Zero's voice rang out. "Connecting to the Earth starship."

"Connection successful, transferring data..."

The next moment, the holographic image in the underground base quietly disappeared.

All the facilities have been reduced to their most basic functions to keep them running.

The wait wasn't long, only about ten minutes.

"Professor, the transmission is complete." Zero's voice rang out again, and the holographic image unfolded once more. "Everything went smoothly."

Unlike ten minutes ago, Zero is now inside the Earth-class starship, 9.1 kilometers above the Earth's surface, communicating with Lü Yongchang through quantum long-distance communication technology.

Lu Yongchang nodded slightly, his previously serious expression immediately relaxing considerably.

This was the step he was most worried about, and also the step where accidents were most likely to happen.

If anything goes wrong during the transmission of Zero's main program, human civilization will essentially be doomed.

He breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into the space elevator.

The elevator was full of people, yet unusually quiet.

Researchers, starship pilots, and members of the People's Union Congress.

The last group of evacuees sat quietly in their seats, silent, their eyes unfocused as they stared ahead.

The moment Lü Yongchang stepped into the space elevator, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Familiar faces came into his view.

Fang Xu, Tang Wenshan, Mao Zhengzhi, Mo Zeyang, Kong Xingbang, Hong Qiming...

Faced with the expectant yet somewhat bewildered looks in everyone's eyes, Lü Yongchang couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his heart.

It felt as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe!

"Everyone."

Lu Yongchang opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

He silently gazed into the eyes of all the researchers, and after a long while, he exhaled a deep breath: "May humanity's glory endure forever."

A soft clapping sounded from the corner.

Lü Yongchang turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.

Representative Li sat quietly in a chair by the window of the space elevator, gazing at him with a slight smile on his lips.

The light illuminated the wrinkles on the old man's face.

It was at this moment that he suddenly realized that the old man had aged considerably in just a few short years.

As Representative Lee's applause rang out, applause gradually echoed throughout the space elevator.

"Professor Lü! We're waiting for you to lead us out of the solar system!"

"Yes! Break out of the solar system and colonize the Milky Way!"

"Professor! You promised to take us back to the solar system again!"

Several young researchers, their faces beaming with smiles, clapped and shouted.

The previously somber atmosphere inside the space elevator was instantly dispelled.

As Lü Yongchang looked at the familiar faces smiling at him from the side, a smile also appeared on his lips.

He strode towards the councilor, sat down in the seat next to the old man, and said in a deep voice, "Zero, let's begin!"

A slight vibration and buzzing sound came from the soles of my feet.

[Jianmu] has been launched.

Considering that the physical fitness of the people present was generally not high, the space elevator adopted the gentlest operating mode.

Even so, the space elevator traveled thousands of meters into the air in just a few minutes!

Lü Yongchang turned his head to look out the porthole.

Outside the porthole, there were layers upon layers of thick, dark clouds.

That was formed by the large-scale evaporation of seawater.

They enveloped the entire Earth, like a sauna.

A torrent of rain poured down between heaven and earth.

However, most of this rainwater evaporated back into the air due to the high temperature before it even fell.

As the altitude continued to rise, Lü Yongchang's gaze was fixed on the infinite distance.

That's the direction of the equator.

A large amount of cloud cover blocked his view.

Lu Yongchang sighed softly, a hint of regret in his eyes.

The next moment, a holographic image appeared in front of everyone.

It was clearly live footage taken by a robot.

A slender, straight ribbon connects heaven and earth.

That's the Tower of Babel in Africa.

Camera angle change.

A large number of white objects were left on the beach.

Those are salt deposits that have been released after a large amount of seawater has evaporated.

The screen jumps again and again.

Through the cameras on the robot, the current appearance of the Earth is clearly presented to everyone.

This was humanity's last encounter with Earth.

Lü Yongchang sighed softly and closed his eyes.

The journey is still long, so he can rest for a while first.

……

When Lü Yongchang opened his eyes again, they had already arrived at the end of their journey.

【Jianmu】Spaceport.

Fifty Luan Niao Type I starships were quietly moored inside and outside the spaceport.

These starships house 500 million researchers and starship pilots who have long since entered hibernation.

As long as Lü Yongchang gives the order, these starships will head straight for Mars.

Over there, these 500 million people will contribute their last light and heat to human civilization, making it a true interstellar civilization!

Lu Yongchang silently stood up from his seat and, guided by Zero, walked towards the Earth-class starship.

That was the starship they were going to ride in.

The prototype was the Earth-class starship, Luan Niao I, which, as the flagship of human civilization, appeared to be much larger.

Its length reached an astonishing 1200 meters, 1.5 times that of the Luan Bird I starship.

As for why it was designed to be so large, there are naturally unique reasons.

On the one hand, it is to house the Zero supercomputing center, and on the other hand, it is to accommodate a large number of quantum long-distance communication terminals.

As the flagship of human civilization at that time, the Earth naturally had to play the role of issuing commands.

A message can't possibly need to go through several transfers before reaching its destination, can it?

Looking at the magnificent starship in the distance, Councilor Li, standing next to Lü Yongchang, had a touch of emotion in his eyes.

"Yongchang, it's time for us to set off!"

The old man said softly.

Lu Yongchang nodded, reached out to help the old man, and with the help of the electromagnetic boots, walked step by step into the starship.

……

Inside the deep-sea cabin.

Lu Yongchang took a deep breath of the deep-sea liquid, feeling the coolness as it flowed through his lungs. He silently issued his final command through the brainwave reading device on his head.

【Earth, launch!】

P.S. To avoid affecting the reading experience, this chapter has been slightly longer.

Starting tomorrow, a new chapter will begin: the Solar System chapter.