I created a foundation

Outside the office window, the first ray of real sunlight finally pierced through the clouds and fell on the city that had just awakened from a nightmare.

It also illuminated the slightly red corners of Yukino's eyes and the unconscious, relieved smile on her lips.

She just said "hmm" softly, her voice was as thin as a mosquito, but with an unprecedented firmness.

Lin Qing's hand stayed on the top of her hair for a moment, then slowly withdrew.

Silence returned to the office.

But some things have changed quietly.

Earth, a blue planet suspended in the boundless universe, rotates silently and lonely along its predetermined orbit against the backdrop of boundless darkness. Billions of stars twinkle across the galaxy's abyss, like eternal, cold eyes, indifferently observing the planet that nurtures countless lives. Throughout history, humanity has continuously explored the land beneath its feet and the starry sky above, believing itself to have a sufficient understanding of the world. However, the mysteries of the universe far exceed the reach of our puny mortals.

Just as the Foundation was methodically dealing with the various "anomalies" arising from the Earth's interior and maintaining the fragile balance and order, a certain will had awakened in the depths of the universe, far beyond humanity's current means of observation.

An indescribable streak of dark red light, like a sharp blade hurled by an invisible hand, silently sliced ​​through Earth's thick atmosphere at a cunning yet precise angle. Unlike any other extraterrestrial object, it didn't burn itself in the fierce friction with the air, releasing a dazzling light and a deafening roar. Quite the contrary, like a dark stone dropped into a calm lake, it stirred only a barely perceptible ripple in the thin upper atmosphere before piercing straight through the thick clouds without a trace of fireworks.

On Mexico's northern border lies a barren valley surrounded by mountains. Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, scattered villages dot the vast agave plantations. Residents work from sunrise to sunset, leading a monotonous and peaceful life, seemingly forgotten by the tide of modern civilization.

Late at night, everything is silent.

"Boom——"

A dull roar, like distant thunder, shattered the tranquility of the countryside. The earth trembled violently, as if struck by an invisible giant hand.

The sudden tremor awakened the sleeping peasants in the wooden house. They sat up from their simple beds, their faces filled with fear and confusion.

"earthquake?"

"No, not like... more like an explosion!"

"Did the plane fall?"

Various speculations spread in the darkness, mixed with the faint cries of women and children.

After a moment of panic, Jose, the most prestigious elder in the village, lit the lantern. The dim light dispelled some of the darkness and calmed the restless hearts a little.

"Don't panic!" Jose's voice was old but steady. "Grab your hunting rifles and machetes and follow me to check the situation."

The men responded one after another. They were descendants of this land, with the brave blood of their Indian ancestors flowing in their bones. Although they were afraid of the unknown power, the instinct to protect their homeland drove them to explore.

Dozens of peasants, armed with crude weapons, held flickering torches and outdated flashlights. In the dim moonlight, they groped their way forward, one foot deep, one foot shallow, toward the source of the tremors. The air was filled with a faint smell of burning, and a hint of an indescribable, cold metallic air.

After trekking for about half an hour, they arrived at a hillside usually used for grazing. The sight before them made everyone gasp and stop in their tracks.

An extremely huge pit suddenly appeared on the originally flat hillside.

The pit was at least fifty meters in diameter, its edges smooth as if dug by a giant spoon, forming a stark contrast to the rough earth around it. The pit's bottom was deep, and the torchlight couldn't fully illuminate it, leaving only a murky darkness.

"Oh my God...what is this?" a young farmer asked in a trembling voice.

"Could it be... a meteorite?" another person speculated, but their tone was filled with uncertainty. They had seen photos of meteorite craters, but the edges of those craters were mostly broken and irregular, not as beautiful as this one before them.

No one dared approach. They gathered around the edge of the pit, whispering and discussing. Fear and curiosity intertwined in everyone's heart.

Jose frowned. In his seventy-plus years of life, he had never seen such a bizarre sight. He raised his lantern, trying to see more clearly.

Just then, a gust of night wind blew by, stirring up some dust from the bottom of the pit. With the help of the flashlight, the scene in the center of the pit finally became vaguely visible.

There, there was neither the burning wreckage of the plane as they had imagined, nor the huge charred meteorite full of holes.

Just a piece of...something.

A strange object, pitch black and smooth as if meticulously polished, lay quietly in the center of the pit, resembling a curled-up human figure.

The outline of the "rock" is remarkably clear, like a masterpiece crafted by a master sculptor at the pinnacle of skill, painstakingly crafting it. The expansion and contraction of muscles, the twists and turns of bones, every detail is vivid and full of an indescribable sense of explosive power.

Even more disturbing was the fact that, from its crouched posture, a kind of perfection and arrogance beyond human reach, almost divine, was faintly revealed. It was as if it were not a dead object, but an ancient deity in deep sleep.

The farmers looked at each other, their faces filled with even greater fear. This thing was definitely not formed naturally.

"The devil...it's the devil's creation!" A devout Catholic woman made the sign of the cross and shouted in a shrill voice.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Jose scolded in a low voice, but his hand holding the lantern was sweating unconsciously.

Silence spread among the crowd.

In the end, it was José who broke the deadlock. His eyes gleamed with a complex light that others could hardly understand: a primal desire to explore the unknown, mingled with the calmness of a seasoned warrior. He handed the lantern to his son beside him.

"I'll go down and take a look."

"Dad! It's too dangerous!" the son hurriedly stopped him.

Jose waved his hand, signaling him to stop talking. He took a deep breath, his eyes firm. He untied the rope around his waist, tied one end to a crooked tree nearby, and held the other in his hand. Then, carefully, he slid down the relatively flat pit wall, toward the unknown darkness.

Everyone's eyes were focused on him, and they didn't dare to breathe.

The bottom of the pit was harder than he'd imagined. José found his footing and, using the faint light from the pit's edge, slowly walked toward the silent "stone statue."

The closer you get, the stronger the inhuman feeling of oppression becomes.

He stretched out his calloused, slightly trembling hand and gently touched the cold, hard surface of the "stone statue."

It felt cold to the touch, like ten-thousand-year-old black ice. Its texture was hard, far stronger than any rock he knew.

However, just as he was about to withdraw his hand——

Jose's pupils suddenly contracted.

An extremely subtle, almost imperceptible vibration was transmitted from the inside of the dark "rock" through his palm.

That feeling...

It's like a heart buried deep under ice.

It is moving at an extremely slow yet extremely heavy rhythm.

a bit.

Another click.

Beating gently.

Chapter 131: The "Artwork" in Transmission! Tokyo Collector

Tens of thousands of years are enough to turn the sea into mulberry fields and the mountains into plains.

Changes in the earth's crust push the deeply buried rock layers to the surface.

The rain washed away the soil.

Mexico, a barren land on the edge of the Sonoran Desert.

Farmers who had lived here for generations discovered the entrance to the deep cave after an unexpected deep well collapsed.

The flickering light of the torch illuminated the depths of the cave.

A human-shaped "stone statue" with a completely black body stands there quietly, as if it has never changed.

It has a perfect shape and smooth muscle lines, like a sleeping demon.

The farmers had never seen anything so strange and frightening.

After fear comes primitive greed.

This thing might be worth a lot of pesos.

They found the strongest man in the village, and with crude ropes and a creaking tractor, they struggled to drag the heavy "stone statue" out of the deep pit.

In the sunlight, the surface of the stone statue glowed with a strange black light. It was extremely hard and emitted a dull metallic sound when struck.

The patterns on it are complex and difficult to understand, and do not seem to be carved by human hands.

The news spread quickly to the nearby towns like a locust with wings.

A few days later, an off-road vehicle covered in thick dust drove into the village.

A European man wearing a linen shirt and a Panama hat got out of the car.

He claimed to be an antique dealer named Alphonse, and his hawk-like eyes kept wandering over the statue.

Alphonse bargained with the farmers in his heavily accented Spanish.

A storm surged in his heart. He had never seen the material of this thing before. The ancient, wild and perfect aura of it almost suffocated him.

He was sure that it was a priceless treasure.

In the end, he bought the "stone statue" for $10,000, an astronomical price for local farmers.

The farmers were overjoyed, thinking they had gotten a great bargain.

Alphonse carefully wrapped the statue in thick canvas, secured it to the back of a truck, and left this remote area overnight.

He gave the stone statue a code name - "God of Dark Night".

In the next few years, the "God of Darkness" began its "world tour" driven by human wealth and desire.

Alphonse transported the statue to Geneva, Switzerland through secret channels.

It was presented as the finale of an underground auction that was not open to the public and was only open to the world's richest people.

In the dim light, the stone statue exudes an unsettling charm.

The auctioneer used highly provocative language to describe its mystery and unknown.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this could be a relic from Atlantis, or even... a creation of an extraterrestrial civilization!"

The eyes of the wealthy people in the audience were shining with greed and curiosity.

Finally, an oil prince from the Middle East bought it for a whopping price of three million US dollars.

The prince is young and rich, and is obsessed with various mystical legends. He firmly believes that this is a statue of a forgotten ancient god that can bring him good luck and power.

The stone statue was placed in the deepest secret room of his palace-like mansion and was fumigated with precious spices every day.

The good times didn't last long, as the prince became addicted to gambling.

He lost everything in a high-stakes poker game in Monte Carlo.

Overnight, he lost most of his fortune, including several oil fields and luxury yachts.

As part of the bet, the stone statue of the "God of Darkness" was transferred to the hands of a flamboyant Russian energy oligarch.

The oligarch, Ivanov, scoffed at all the legends about gods.