325: Chapter 325: What unsolved mysteries will we leave for our descendants?

On the tablet interface, Jiang Zhe scrolled through until he suddenly saw a spectacular 3D reconstruction of a bridge: Rama Bridge.

He zoomed in on the image. The screen displayed a chain of limestone shoals between India and Sri Lanka. Viewed from the air, it resembled a bridge spanning the strait, about 48 kilometers long, connecting the two landmasses.

"Xiao Yu, this is my favorite case study."

As soon as he said this, Xiao Yu, the viewers, teachers, and experts all had their eyes light up.

Since it was a case that even he liked, millions of people pricked up their ears to listen intently.

"This bridge is called Rama Bridge; it connects India and Sri Lanka."

"It is a real, super-prehistoric case, and you can see it clearly on this satellite image."

Jiang Zhe pointed to the distribution of those limestone reefs.

"The Indian epic 'Ramayana' records that King Rama built this bridge over a million years ago, leading a great army across the sea from India to Sri Lanka to rescue his wife, who had been abducted by a monarch."

"Over a million years ago?" Xiao Yu widened her beautiful eyes in confusion. "Big brother, did I hear that right? Over a million years ago?"

Jiang Zhe smiled and nodded. "Yes, you heard that right. It was over a million years ago. Dr. Badrinarayanan, the former director of the Geological Survey of India, once studied core samples from this bridge."

"The team he led discovered that there were huge boulders above the marine sand layer, and the way these boulders were distributed did not resemble natural sedimentation."

"He later speculated that they might have been placed there by humans."

Xiao Yu leaned closer to the screen, narrowing her eyes. She looked at the neatly arranged reefs with a face full of confusion. "But, if they were placed by humans, what kind of people would have done it?"

"A million years ago, Homo sapiens hadn't even appeared yet, right?"

Meanwhile, at the University of History faculty housing in Kyoto, Professor Chen Runzhi looked at the limestone shoals spanning the strait on the screen, a hint of solemnity appearing in his eyes.

Qian Mingyi spoke up first: "Rama Bridge, I know about this. The former director of the Geological Survey of India, Badrinarayanan, specifically studied it in 2003. This is far more shocking than the nanowires—because there is more physical evidence to support it!"

"At that time, he extracted core samples from near Rama Bridge and found a large number of boulders above the marine sand layer."

"Those boulders were not scattered randomly but were arranged in a regular pattern on top of the sand layer."

"Most importantly, as Jiang Zhe said, the distribution of these boulders does not look like it was formed by natural sedimentation."

Professor Liu Guangyi asked: "Do you mean they were placed by humans?"

Qian Mingyi nodded: "Yes. Badrinarayanan's original words were: 'They might have been placed by humans.' But later, when facing the media, he didn't dare to be definitive. After all, this implies that humans had the capability for transoceanic engineering over a million years ago; that is a taboo in the academic circle."

Suddenly, Professor Chen Runzhi frowned. "I remember the 'Ramayana' records that King Rama built the bridge, and the timeframe is over a million years ago. That timeline completely clashes with the history of human evolution recognized by mainstream academia."

"Yes, it doesn't match," Qian Mingyi continued. "Mainstream academia believes that Homo sapiens only appeared about 300,000 years ago."

"A million years ago, there were no Homo sapiens on Earth, only Homo erectus."

"And according to our current archaeological findings, Homo erectus didn't even know how to use fire, so how could they have built a 48-kilometer-long cross-sea bridge?"

Beside them, Old Wang added: "I've seen this too. Also, another name for Rama Bridge is Adam's Bridge. This name was given during the colonial period of Fu Nation, originating from Islamic legend."

"Interestingly, different religions and cultures have all recorded this bridge."

Qian Mingyi picked up his phone, searched for the original image, and began to explain: "As Jiang Zhe said, what's even more eerie is the satellite imagery."

"When we look down from space, that line is unbelievably straight."

"Naturally formed limestone shoals should be scattered; they wouldn't form such a regular line."

"It's 48 kilometers long, connected from end to end, linking India and Sri Lanka. No matter how you look at it, it looks like a road, a bridge."

Professor Liu Guangyi shook his head: "But geologists don't accept it. They insist that these are naturally formed sandbars and limestone reefs that were exposed when the sea level dropped, and they just happened to be arranged regularly."

Professor Chen Runzhi snorted coldly. "It's 'coincidence' again. The South African spheres are a coincidence, the footprint is a coincidence, the metal tubes are a coincidence, the iron pot is a coincidence, the nanowire coils are a coincidence, the iron pipes are a coincidence, the murals are a coincidence, the lines are a coincidence... Now even a 48-kilometer-long bridge is a coincidence."

He said this and looked at the three of them, somewhat exasperated. "My old friends, what isn't a coincidence?"

Professor Liu Guangyi added: "A 48-kilometer-long cross-sea bridge would be a mega-project even today."

Professor Chen Runzhi sighed deeply. "I finally understand why Jiang Zhe says the blank period of human civilization is 140,000 years. It's not because there was no civilization, but because time has smoothed everything away. All that can remain are the rocks in the natural world."

He looked at the bridge on the screen, his expression complex. "And Rama Bridge happens to be that rock."

After he finished speaking, the faces of the four men were all extremely serious.

Meanwhile, on the big screen, facing Xiao Yu's question, Jiang Zhe did not answer.

Instead, he zoomed in on the satellite image of Rama Bridge, his index finger slowly tracing the 48-kilometer-long straight line.

"Xiao Yu, the fate of this bridge is actually quite interesting." He looked up, his gaze falling on Xiao Yu's curious face.

"In 2002, the Indian government launched a project called the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project. They planned to dig a canal at the location of Rama Bridge to facilitate the passage of large ships so they wouldn't have to detour around Sri Lanka."

"Who would have thought that as soon as the plan was announced, it caused an uproar."

"Indian archaeologists stood up and said that this bridge had significant historical value and could not be excavated."

"Later, the former director of the Geological Survey of India, Badrinarayanan, personally led a team to study it. The core samples extracted proved that the distribution of these boulders was not naturally formed."

"Once the professionals spoke, since India is a country with strong religious influence, their religious circles exploded on the spot."

"The Hindu believers believed that Rama Bridge was a relic of their gods and a holy site—in reality, it wasn't. It was just a super-prehistoric civilization. It wasn't a technological civilization, but rather one similar to the Bronze and Iron Age civilizations from thousands of years ago. Later, as time progressed—who knows how many years—those ancient nuclear explosions and ancient high-tech wars were what I described in the 'Ramayana' epic previously."

Xiao Yu and countless viewers narrowed their eyes, nodding silently.

Only now did they realize that the 'Ramayana' was not fabricated but was a record of an event based on a real super-prehistoric civilization.

So this was the case that Jiang Zhe liked the most—it was truly magical and inconceivable!

Jiang Zhe's voice was magnetic as he narrated. "Later, millions of people gathered on the banks of the Ganges to protest, saying they wanted to protect Rama Bridge."

"As a result, the project was stalled."

"As time passed, by 2007, the Indian government submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court."

"An affidavit is a sworn statement or written declaration."

"It is a voluntarily signed written statement where the signer guarantees the truthfulness of the content under oath or affirmation."

"It usually needs to be signed in front of a notary, lawyer, or court official and is legally binding—if the content is false, the signer may face charges of perjury."

"The government claimed, 'Rama Bridge is a myth and has no historical evidence.'"

"But what happened? Later, a politician named Chandra Kumar took satellite photos from the USA NASA directly to court—on the photo, that line was clear as day, 48 kilometers long, connecting India and Sri Lanka."

Xiao Yu listened intently: "Then what happened?"

Jiang Zhe shook his head with a look of regret: "What happened? Of course, there was an uproar in the court. The onlookers and various people who went to participate in the debate exploded in discussion."

"Later on, the internet in India was full of these things; it was incredibly hot."

"It's just that in 2007, information dissemination on the internet wasn't very developed, so very few people in China knew about it!" [Ps: The event is true]

"And then later."

"The Indian Supreme Court said that this was a religious and historical issue and not under their jurisdiction; later, the project was shelved."

"In the end, the shipping channel was not dug, and Rama Bridge just lay there in the strait, keeping its original appearance."

"Scientists say it is natural."

"Archaeologists say it might be man-made, just not by the people of our current civilization."

"Hindu religious believers say it was created by gods."

"In the end, no one could convince anyone else."

"It just lies there—48 kilometers of stone, silently standing in the waves of the Indian Ocean, waiting for the next person who dares to study it."

Xiao Yu's beautiful eyes shifted as she stared at the bridge on the screen, speechless for a long time. After hearing these stories, the viewers began to discuss them heatedly.

"The 2002 incident, so it was almost dug up?"

"Millions of Hindu believers protesting on the Ganges, this matter was that big?"

"I really didn't know about this. Satellite photos were taken to court, the court said they couldn't handle it, and it was shelved. This is too amazing!"

"Scientists say natural, archaeologists say maybe man-made but not our civilization, religious believers say god-made; so what is it exactly?"

Jiang Zhe didn't continue the explanation, but instead put down the tablet and looked at Xiao Yu.

"Xiao Yu, your big brother has said so much, but actually you have discovered it too."

"Whether it's the Klerksdorp spheres, the trilobite footprint, the Siberia metal tubes, the Costa Rican stone spheres, the Baghdad Battery, the Texas ancient wall, the Nazca Lines, the Delhi iron pillar, or Rama Bridge."

"You could say there is an explanation for every single one!"

Saying this, he nodded slightly, his gaze becoming very sharp. "But Xiao Yu, you should have discovered a truth—"

"If there were really only one civilization on Earth, then we would absolutely not have discovered so many things suspected to be man-made in archaeology and geology."

"Scientists, archaeologists, and geologists are not fools."

"They know what is man-made and what is nature's exquisite craftsmanship."

"But precisely because of this, they have argued for decades, fought for decades, precisely because—these things don't look like they were formed naturally, no matter how you look at them."

His expression became much more serious, and his voice gradually lowered. "Xiao Yu, is it really that our science, knowledge, vision, and cognition are insufficient?"

"Or is it that!"

After he finished speaking, countless viewers widened their eyes, and the barrage came in like a tide.

"Damn, that hit the nail on the head."

"Yeah, if there were really only one civilization, where would all these man-made-like things come from?"

"Scientists have been arguing for decades and can't figure it out, which means these things really have a problem, a huge problem!"

"It's not that our cognition is insufficient; it's that the evidence itself points to another possibility!"

"Thinking about it makes one terrified, terrifying indeed, brothers!!!"

Xiao Yu's cherry lips parted slightly, and she was too stunned to speak. Jiang Zhe, however, continued to narrate.

"Xiao Yu, as you can see, when all the coincidences and irrationalities are combined, you will discover a possibility."

"The traces of civilization on Earth are actually very fragile."

"In a hundred years, the creations of intelligence will pass away under the influence of time and disappear completely—iron will rust, buildings will collapse, and most plastics will decompose."

"In a thousand years, most man-made items will disappear completely—concrete will turn to powder, and steel will turn to dust."

"In two thousand years, everything man-made will be smoothed away by time—only the most solid stones will remain, which might also have their edges worn down by wind and sand."

"Three thousand, five thousand, ten thousand years—the traces of your and my existence will all disappear; today's bustling big cities will all turn into oases, a paradise for plants!"

"If there really only existed one intelligent civilization on Earth!"

"Then all the cases your big brother mentioned before, even if there is a hint of truth in them, then they!"

Saying this, he articulated each word, his expression incomparably stern, speaking with resonance and power, "Where did they!"

"Come from?"

After he finished speaking, he stopped completely, leaving Xiao Yu and countless viewers to think.

Xiao Yu looked at the long list on the screen, her puppy brain spinning rapidly, her thoughts flying.

The 2.8-billion-year-old metal spheres, the 500-million-year-old footprint, the 200-million-year-old metal tubes, the 300-million-year-old iron pot... and then the Nazca Lines and Rama Bridge.

Suddenly, she lifted her head, her beautiful eyes shining. The countless clouds of doubt swept away all the confusing thoughts from before.

She suddenly understood.

Those things were not left by aliens at all; they were left by the previous round of civilization, and the round before that.

They were the final traces left by countless rounds of civilizations that had been annihilated in the long river of time!

Every time a civilization developed to a certain stage, it would leave some things behind; in the end, most of them would be smoothed away by time.

Only a very small number, buried in rocks, sunk on the seabed, or buried in the abyss, would wait for the next round of civilization to dig them up and become unsolved mysteries.

As her thoughts turned to this, Xiao Yu took a deep breath and spoke slowly: "Big brother, I understand completely!"

"Those things were not left by aliens at all!"

"They were left by the previous round of civilization."

"All the signs we suspect to be alien civilizations might just be the traces of survivors from many cycles of civilization who lived secretly on Earth, nothing more!"

Listening to Xiao Yu's aesthetic analysis, the corners of Jiang Zhe's mouth curled slightly, and he did not respond.

Then he turned his head, his gaze looking toward the silent city night sky outside the window. "Then, what will our round of civilization leave for our descendants in tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of years in the future?"

After he finished speaking, the room and the livestream room fell into complete silence, all immersed in these rhetorical questions.