Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

"Whoa!"

"This is a ternary optical quantum computer!"

As soon as he entered the central control center, Zhang Zhengqing "snatched" the flashlight and quickly ran to a room door, looking at the inside through the glass curtain wall in front of him.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

"So beautiful!"

Ren Feng quickly walked behind him and followed his gaze inside.

Cold, lifeless components.

He couldn't understand the aesthetic sense that Zhang Zhengqing was talking about.

"Let's get down to business."

Ren Feng urged helplessly, "You said you could find the reason when we came."

Zhang Zhengqing reluctantly withdrew his gaze, smacked his lips lightly, and said, "Don't worry, I'll go check right away."

As he spoke, he used the flashlight in his hand to scan the surroundings.

"The most urgent task at present is to restore power to the central control room."

"Restore power?" Ren Feng was taken aback. "What are you planning to do?"

"I've looked it up before," Zhang Zhengqing chuckled. "The central control center has its own temporary power generation unit."

"I reckon this time it's completely down."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have had a chance to come in."

Ren Feng: "..."

Is this even searchable?!

"Stay here and don't move." Zhang Zhengqing straightened his expression. "I'll go buy you some oranges."

Ren Feng's lips twitched slightly.

Do you really think he doesn't understand what I'm saying?!

I'll only eat two, the rest are yours.

Without the slightest hesitation, he responded directly.

Zhang Zhengqing's eyes lit up: "You're going to eat two more? You can just soak the orange peels in water and drink it."

Ren Feng retorted sharply: "As Lu Xun said, this phrase doesn't exist in the story of four generations living under one roof."

"You actually know this meme?!"

Zhang Zhengqing, unfazed by being called out, laughed heartily and said, "That's an old joke from over two hundred years ago!"

Ren Feng shrugged.

"Before we discuss ancient culture, you should turn on the temporary generator first."

……

More than ten minutes later.

A slight buzzing sound came from the side.

Bright lights once again filled the entire central control center.

Having grown accustomed to the darkness, Ren Feng instinctively reached out and covered his eyes.

At this moment, he also understood what Zhang Zhengqing had felt not long ago.

"How about it? Am I awesome or not?"

Before he could adjust to the light, Zhang Zhengqing's sleazy voice came from the side.

Ren Feng opened his eyes with difficulty, instinctively wanting to speak in rebuttal, but saw Zhang Zhengqing standing solemnly in front of the control panel.

He silently swallowed the words of complaint that were about to come out of his mouth.

"What are you going to do now?"

Zhang Zhengqing didn't turn around, but stared seriously at the control panel in front of him.

"Next, we'll start the quantum computer and then try to establish contact with other cities."

"I wonder what the situation is like in City One..."

Zhang Zhengqing muttered to himself, "It's been so long, haven't they made contact with the human fleet yet?"

"These problems could all be solved without lifting a finger..."

"Wait, wait a minute!" Ren Feng was a bit overwhelmed. "Let's take it one step at a time. Do you know how to start this quantum computer?"

"...No way," Zhang Zhengqing replied confidently. "I'm just an ordinary person, how could I possibly operate this thing?"

Ren Feng: "..."

There were so many things he wanted to complain about that he didn't know where to begin!

Don't worry.

Zhang Zhengqing waved his hand and said, "You can learn this on the spot."

As he spoke, he took out a brick-sized emergency response guide from a cabinet under the control panel.

Looking at Zhang Zhengqing, who was engrossed in reading, Ren Feng suddenly felt a little tired.

Is this guy... really reliable?

……

at this time.

Within the Ross 154 system, 8.24 light-years away from Proxima Centauri b, the human fleet is facing the greatest crisis in its history.

The appearance of the painting caused Zero to stop all unnecessary work.

This includes the constant distress signals coming from the direction of Proxima Centauri.

……

Proxima Centauri b is in a synchronous orbit.

Dozens of satellites were reduced to wreckage, silently floating in orbit, as if they had been attacked.

The camera continues to pan downwards.

Giant hemispherical buildings stand on the surface of Proxima Centauri b, with several orbits connecting each hemispherical building.

That's the Proxima Centauri b city cluster.

A huge crater appeared around the hemispherical building in the very center.

Even the incredibly sturdy hemispherical building has developed some damage.

The camera zooms in further.

The ground was covered with broken steel bars and alloy fragments in the damaged area.

You can even see some severed limbs and dark brown bloodstains.

The yellowish atmosphere poured into City One through this huge hole.

Fortunately, a large airtight facility has been built not far from the hole.

Despite being described as an airtight facility, it is actually a giant "balloon" made of carbon nanotube material.

After being inflated, the large "balloon" successfully plugged the leaking hole.

……

"ha!"

"It's a success!"

After an unknown amount of time, Ren Feng, who was sitting to the side and dozing off, was awakened by a joyful shout.

He suddenly raised his head and looked warily in the direction from which the sound came.

Zhang Zhengqing's face was filled with joy as he stood in front of the control panel.

In the nearby server room, lasers flashed.

A huge holographic image slowly appeared above the control panel.

Holy crap!

Upon seeing this, Ren Feng jumped up abruptly, blurting out a classic Chinese phrase: "You fucking said, this is even possible?!"

Zhang Zhengqing waved his hand casually, but a smile kept creeping onto his face: "Hey! What are you saying?"

"This is a piece of cake for me!"

"It's just a quantum computer. Give me a manual, and I'll show you how to pilot a starship!"

"..." Ren Feng looked at Zhang Zhengqing with a strange expression.

It's over, it's over!

"cough!"

Perhaps noticing Ren Feng's unusual gaze, Zhang Zhengqing coughed slightly awkwardly: "Now, let's try contacting other cities first."

As he spoke, he reached out and pressed a button on the holographic projection in front of him.

As for Ren Feng, he could only wait silently on the sidelines.

Ren Feng looked thoughtful as he watched Zhang Zhengqing's fingers fly across the keyboard.

Am I... too useless?

Perhaps Grandpa was right.

He should find an opportunity to go to City Number One.

"The situation is not good."

Zhang Zhengqing's tone was somewhat heavy.

"Huh?" Ren Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "What happened?"

Zhang Zhengqing shook his head, the smirk on his face completely vanishing.

"Currently, only City 4 is online, in addition to City 1."

"In other words, after such a long time, other cities haven't even restored their central control centers."

"Then let's contact City One first!" Ren Feng shouted anxiously.

"I tried it."

There has been no response from the other side yet.

Zhang Zhengqing sighed deeply: "But that's not the most serious problem."

"The air circulation system has stopped."