Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Dawn Star's No. 1 Surface City.

The familiar road layout and the familiar roadside trees made Hope feel a momentary daze.

If it weren't for the exoskeleton armor he was wearing and the slight feeling of heaviness in his abdomen, he would have thought he was still living in Ross 154.

He followed his memory and found the house that belonged to him.

Standing at the doorway, he took a deep breath and reached out to grasp the doorknob.

A holographic image rapidly unfolds.

"Biometric authentication in progress..."

"Palm print confirmed."

"Iris confirmed."

"Facial recognition confirmed."

"Welcome home, Mr. Hope."

The familiar, gentle, electronically synthesized female voice made Hope's heart flutter slightly.

That's his home smart home assistant.

Like One, it belongs to weak artificial intelligence and is under the jurisdiction of Zero.

"Is this... is it built from scratch?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

He came to his senses as soon as he finished speaking.

What am I saying?

Who else but Zero could have built this city?

He quickly changed his tune, saying, "What I mean is... the layout of Dawn Star City One seems to be similar to Ross 154 City One?"

"Yes, Mr. Hope," the home smart home assistant responded quickly.

"For convenience and to give people a better sense of belonging, the blueprints of Ross 154 were used directly when building this city."

"Only the Academy of Sciences and some important sites were redesigned."

Hope suddenly realized.

Understood.

It's mainly for convenience.

That's right. Having just arrived at their new home, facing the heavy construction tasks, Zero's computing power must be under immense strain.

Hey! Hope!

Just as Hope was standing at the front door lost in thought, a familiar voice interrupted his train of thought.

He turned around abruptly and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

A blond, blue-eyed man stood not far away, smiling and waving at him.

"Hansent?!"

"You actually showed up too!"

Upon seeing his old friend, Hope was both surprised and delighted, and quickly waved and called out.

Clearly, the man named Hansent was not satisfied with Hope's reaction.

He immediately put on a stern face, feigning anger, and said, "Hope, is this how you treat an old comrade you haven't seen in over a century?"

"What do you mean I'm here too?"

"In terms of contribution, I'm no less than you, so why can't I be among the first to awaken?"

Upon hearing that familiar tone, Hope immediately smiled.

He apologized repeatedly, saying, "I'm so sorry, it was just an accident."

Then he beckoned to Hansen: "Come to my house and let's talk. Strictly speaking, it's been over a century since we last met."

……

"Is the city crowded right now?"

Hope took the teacup from the robot and asked softly, "It seems you've been here for a few days now?"

Upon hearing this, Hansent raised his head and nodded smugly: "Of course, I have already passed a series of tests for the exoskeleton armor."

"We entered City Number One about a week ago."

Hope smiled and nodded in agreement with Hansent.

As a long-time comrade-in-arms who had been together for decades, Hope naturally knew Hansent's character very well.

Although he has a somewhat flamboyant personality, he is reliable when it comes to important matters.

"As for people..." After showing off for a while, Hansent got back to the point, shrugging helplessly, "Actually, there aren't many people."

"You should have noticed when you came here that there are hardly any people on the street."

"After all, only a small number of people have been revived so far."

"Moreover... there are still quite a few awakened personnel who have not passed the exoskeleton armor tests."

Hope nodded, not particularly surprised by the answer.

"Don't worry, cities two and three are already under construction." He patted Hansent on the shoulder and comforted him softly. "Once the second and third batches of people wake up, the cities will be bustling with activity."

Hansent shrugged nonchalantly, seemingly unconcerned about the city's population problem.

The next moment, he leaned close to Hope, his face full of encouragement, and whispered, "Let's not talk about the city's population for now."

"How about it, interested in going out for a walk?"

"You should have seen me when I arrived, right?"

"There are quite a few active volcanoes on this planet."

"Let's strike while there aren't many people around and try to take over the entire surrounding area!"

Upon hearing this, Hope felt her heart skip a beat.

Seemingly sensing the interest on Hope's face, Hansent leaned closer again: "Opportunity knocks but once."

"Don't forget, this is a brand new planet!"

"Do you really want to waste your precious time on empty streets?!"

"Snapped!"

Hope slammed her hand on the coffee table in front of her: "Stop talking!"

"Wow!"

"time?"

"Tomorrow." Hansent's lips curled up quickly. He knew that, like him, Hope was not one to sit idle.

As he spoke, he opened his watch and pressed a few buttons on the small holographic projection: "I have already reported it to the city management center."

"It's 10:21 AM now, and we should have the results this afternoon."

"I've already decided, our first stop will be the crater."

Thinking of the enormous crater he had seen from the Mystic Maiden II, Hope gradually became excited.

He quickly turned on his watch and skillfully submitted his application to leave the city to the city management center.

The reason, of course, was to go out and explore for minerals.

As grassroots employees of a local institution under the Academy of Sciences, the city management center generally does not reject their applications.

"Oh, right." Hansent suddenly remembered something and asked casually.

"I heard that when the human fleet was heading to the Gliese 555 system, it encountered a space pirate civilization. A great battle broke out, and many starships suffered innocent casualties as a result."

Hope's smile instantly froze.

seemingly……

possible……

Was his starship one of them?

"Hey! Dude, seriously?!"

Seeing Hope's expression, Hansent panicked a little.

"Calm down, you're still here, aren't you?" Hope's lips twitched, and he waved his hand dismissively, saying, "I'll just ride on your mineral exploration ship tomorrow."

"...Is it possible that my exploration vessel has also malfunctioned?"

Hansent said in a low voice, "Otherwise, why do you think I've been here for a whole week?"

Hope: "..."

"Mr. Hope." The home smart home assistant's voice broke the slightly awkward atmosphere between the two.

"A message has been sent from the Human Alliance Starship Manufacturing Plant."

"Your Type VI mineral exploration vessel has arrived at Dawn Star One City Dock 6. Please proceed to check it."