169: Project Firefly (1)

Looking at the "the sky is falling" expression on the Old Ice Stick in front of him, Xi Hai rubbed his nose.

This guy was truly pitiful; he slept for over ten thousand years, and when he woke up, his country was gone, his home was gone, and his descendants were behaving in a way that was completely regressive.

For someone from the second era, this was indeed very hard to accept.

But he had to accept it, because one cannot return to the past, and no matter how bad the future is, one must look forward—

Besides, he was very interested in the so-called "Firefly Project" and "genetic virus" mentioned just now.

So, after the guy calmed down a bit, Xi Hai looked at him and said:

"Brother, it seems you've been on a time travel journey of over ten thousand years."

The Old Ice Stick asked stiffly,

"Has it been that long..."

Xi Hai nodded,

"Yes, it's been that long—what is your name?"

"As for me, I am called Dongfeng."

"Dongfeng?" Xi Hai raised an eyebrow. "That sounds more like a codename than a person's name."

The Old Ice Stick nodded,

"To be precise, the name my parents gave me was Keith Sorensen,"

"It's just that, back in our time, many people liked to give themselves another name besides their real name—"

"Just like... hmm... just like how people in the late Sprout Era liked to use screen names,"

"'Dongfeng' comes from a poem I really like—The east wind blows open a thousand trees of flowers, and blows down, stars like rain."

Hearing this verse, Xi Hai subconsciously continued:

"Jeweled horses and carved carriages scent the road, phoenix flutes play, the jade pot turns, all night the fish and dragons dance."

After reciting it, he felt something was wrong—

Wait? This, this, this, this... isn't this Xin Qiji's "Qing Yu An · Yuan Xi"?

Isn't this an alternate world? Isn't this damn place an alternate world!

This can't be the future, right!!!

The Old Ice Stick—Keith, hearing what Xi Hai said, his eyes suddenly lit up:

"You've read it too—it's been tens of thousands of years, and there's still someone who remembers him!"

Xi Hai looked at him with a complex expression, watching the expectation that suddenly welled up, watching the hope that immediately appeared in his eyes.

Xi Hai nodded gently:

"Yes, there is still someone—"

"At least I remember."

Keith breathed a sigh of relief,

"That's good—at least humanity hasn't lost its own history."

The expression on Xi Hai's face froze instantly—

He found it hard to imagine whether this guy would just give up on the spot if he knew what kind of state humanity was in now.

He hurriedly changed the subject:

"Pretty much..."

"Tell me first, what exactly are the Firefly Project and the genetic virus you mentioned?"

Keith took a breath, and all the expression on his face was suddenly covered by a sense of loss.

"Did the Human Federation not disclose it later?"

"Perhaps it was just a failed project."

Xi Hai shrugged,

"Maybe the Human Federation collapsed before it could be disclosed."

Keith's face looked even uglier,

"That's even worse, okay!"

As he spoke, he looked at the people in the area and sighed,

"Do you know what this megastructure we are standing on is?"

He began to narrate.

The Firefly Project was named after a group of fantastic creatures that existed on the home planet during the Sprout Era: Coleoptera Lampyridae.

Rotting grass turns into fireflies, golden light flows on summer nights; these little creatures brought the brilliant starry sky to the human world in their own way—but the price of over ten days of splendor was hundreds of days of darkness.

People of that era used it to symbolize childhood, used it to symbolize romance, and also used it to symbolize hope:

It was the glimmer that never extinguished in adversity, and also the beauty of life that was short and brilliant.

So, what kind of project would be crowned with such a poignant name?

The answer is self-evident.

Although, looking back at history, the second era ruled by the Human Federation was indeed an era of unprecedented prosperity for humanity,

But the predicament faced by the people of that era was by no means something people of today could imagine—

That era started from when the Earth Alliance of the first era had just stepped out of Earth.

At that time, the starry sky was like a can of sardines, overcrowded.

All kinds of strange alien creatures occupied every direction, tightly compressing humanity's living space to the Earth-Proxima Centauri area.

Unlike humans, those aliens who had developed for thousands of years had sufficient foundation and incomparable self-confidence.

They brandished giant ships and cannons, speaking of humiliation and lies, attempting to harvest the young and ignorant humans.

The high-level officials of the newly unified Earth Alliance were divided into two factions. One faction advocated accepting those alien civilizations, exploring and developing with them, and striving to integrate into the cosmic family early.

And the other faction—

"Expansion! War! The only outcome of compromise is extinction!"

"Only by carrying the courage to perish together is there a chance to survive in a desperate situation!"

They gathered the strength of all humanity, built 3 huge Pioneer Ships, carried the seeds of hope, and sailed into the distance.

The second and third ships had no news, while the first ship, which was accidentally involved in Void Turbulence, became the opening chapter of an epic by chance.

They quickly integrated into the "Expansion Military Government," using every method they could think of to expand their population and improve their foundation.

After several wars that gambled on everything, they finally gained a foothold in the cruel starry sky.

Soon, ten thousand years passed.

At this time, the military government had long been renamed the Human Federation. Under the leadership of generations of Grand Marshal, they took back the home planet Earth occupied by mixed-race aliens, and sent a large group of ill-intentioned aliens into power plants, canning factories, soap factories...

However, the malice from the universe still existed.

Although the Human Federation looked like it had impressive battle records, in fact, almost every battle was fought by relying on a desperate, suicidal strike—

Every enemy they faced had a foundation far exceeding their own.

And the Firefly Project was the final swan song of this giant beast, the Human Federation.

At that time, treading on bloody footprints, they forcibly fought out a space for reproduction and survival.

Those aliens who had been fighting back and forth finally united under the pressure of the Human Federation, intending to crush the Human Federation first.

And the Human Federation was not afraid. After receiving the news, they directly issued a declaration of war on the entire observable universe and quickly began war mobilization within the entire territory.

Originally, this battle might have been very difficult to fight, but the Human Federation could never be defeated—

After all, the enemy-to-self ratio this time was only 1 to 20,000. Li Yunlong, the then Grand Marshal of the Human Federation, stated that he had never fought such a wealthy battle.

However—just as the Human Federation was passionately engaging with the aliens,

A very absurd thing happened...