62: Lonely Island Spark

New Era, Day 7

At dawn, Lin Feng stood on the deck of the Deep Blue, gazing at the unfamiliar sea horizon.

Ever since the Deep Blue Heart detonated, Earth seemed to have been cast into an unknown starfield—the sun still rose, but the alignment of stars was completely different.

There was no moon, no familiar constellations, only a strange nebula with a faint purple glow hanging in the sky.

Old Chen's hoarse voice came through the communicator: "Commander, global scan complete.

The good news is, all remaining Leviathan units are inactive; the bad news is…we're completely offline."

"Offline?" Lin Feng raised an eyebrow.

"Literally," Old Chen chuckled bitterly, "All satellite signals are gone, quantum communication is silent, and even the geomagnetic field has become unstable.

We're like we've been thrown into a whole new corner of the universe, where even physical constants might have tiny differences."

Lin Feng looked towards the distant coastline—survivors from the Free City States were building a temporary camp, Iron Brotherhood warriors were patrolling, and further away, several small survivor groups emerged from their hiding places for the first time.

These people were the last embers of human civilization.

"Gather everyone on the main deck," he pressed the communicator, "It's time to decide our future."

---

New Era, Day 30

The bow of the Deep Blue cleaved through the waves like a plow.

This scarred behemoth was now towing twelve modified freighters, forming the most peculiar "fleet" in human history.

Lin Feng stood on the modified bridge, looking at the route marked on the holographic map—they were sailing north along the west coast of America, searching for the legendary "Alaska Seed Vault."

According to calculations by Free City States scholars, it might still contain unpolluted crop seeds.

"Anomaly detected at 30 degrees to port!" the lookout suddenly shouted.

As the camera zoomed in, everyone held their breath—a half-submerged Ark rescue boat was wedged between rocks, its hull covered in strange claw marks.

Even more chilling, dozens of…no, not bodies, but shriveled husks drained of all fluids, were neatly arranged on the deck.

"It's the Ark's 'Ark Project' execution team," Old Chen checked his data pad, "They tried to activate the dimensional jump engine, but apparently…they failed."

Lin Feng noticed one of the "bodies" clutching something tightly in its hand.

After zooming in on the image, everyone gasped—it was an intact Deep Blue Heart miniature prototype.

"They stole the blueprints!" a female warrior from the Iron Brotherhood cursed angrily.

Lin Feng, however, was pensive: "No, this is an earlier version…without weaponized modifications."

He turned to Old Chen, "Can we remotely activate it?"

Ten minutes later, a precise laser beam struck the prototype.

There was no explosion, only a strange blue ripple that spread out—instantly, all the shriveled "bodies" turned to dust as if ripped apart by an invisible hand, and the rescue boat vanished without a trace, as if erased by an eraser.

"Dimensional repulsion reaction," Old Chen's voice trembled, "They tried to escape with this universe's 'key,' and as a result, they were 'digested' by the new rules…"

Silence fell on the deck.

Everyone realized a terrifying truth: they were not only trapped in this space-time, but even attempting to leave would lead to destruction.

Lin Feng, however, suddenly smiled: "Then let's stop thinking about escaping."

He pointed to the faintly visible coastline in the distance, "There's land, resources, and all the foundations for rebuilding civilization—all we need is time."

---

New Era, Year 1

The first wheat fields of "Deep Blue City" glowed golden in the sunset.

Lin Feng stood on the newly built observation tower, looking at this strange city constructed from warship wreckage, recycled plastic, and solar panels.

To the east was the Free City States' research area, to the west was the Iron Brotherhood's training ground, and in the central plaza, children played around a sculpture made from Leviathan wreckage—it was deliberately shaped into a monster pierced by a spear.

"The communication tower received a faint signal!" a young communicator ran over, panting, "It's not our frequency!"

The command center instantly erupted.

When the signal was deciphered, the text on the screen left everyone stunned:

[To the survivors of TX plane]

[We are NY-455 Civilization]

[Also abandoned ones]

[Coordinates attached]

[Beware of the Hunters]

Lin Feng gazed at the unfamiliar star map coordinates, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

He turned to the room full of expectant eyes and said:

"It seems…we are not the only embers."

Outside the window, humanity's first artificial satellite streaked across the night sky, its metal casing engraved with two simple words:

NOT ALONE

Afterword:

This story began with one man and one ship, and ended with the rebirth of a civilization.

When Lin Feng chose to blow up the dimensional passage, he not only gave up the chance to return to the old world but also won true freedom for humanity—no longer observed experiments, no longer pawns of higher civilizations.

Even if the road ahead was unknown, at least their fate was in their own hands.

As the Deep Blue's last ship rule stated:

"We may be lost in the sea of stars, but we will never lose ourselves."

[End of Story]

Apology: Sorry, sorry, I've been under a lot of stress lately, and after reading your comments, etc., it might be my first time writing a novel, so there are some imprecise parts.

Please bear with me, as it's my first time writing and I have too little experience.

I thank everyone here.

This book, well, that's how it is!

I don't have the mood to write anymore, sorry, sorry, and again, thank you to those who read my book, I'm very sorry to have disappointed you!

And then what?

I'm going to continue writing this book.