73: Return to Earth and Wasteland Mysteries

The destroyer "hope" sliced through the silence of space. After several days of sailing, that beautiful blue and white planet finally appeared clearly before their eyes.

Earth.

The cradle of humanity, the home of civilization.

But when the warship's sensors aimed at the planet's surface, everyone on the bridge gasped.

Completely different from the vibrant planet in their memories, the Earth's surface was now covered in large patches of ominous green—tiberium veins! Like a spreading plague, it was eroding the continents and oceans. The once azure oceans shimmered with a murky green light, and the emerald continents were covered in withered, gray traces of decay. Only the poles and high-altitude regions still retained a bit of their original color.

The atmosphere had also become thin and turbid; sensors detected high concentrations of tiberium dust and harmful gases.

"Earth... how did it become like this?" Colonel Falcon's voice trembled. Although tiberium ore had already appeared when they left, it was nowhere near this shocking level.

"It's the Scrin... they accelerated the spread and mutation of tiberium." Sun Zheng's voice was low, suppressing his anger. tiberium was the tool used by the "Reaper" to terraform planets and extract life essence. Earth's ecology was being systematically destroyed.

"Scan for life signs and signals of civilized activity," Sun Zheng ordered.

High-precision sensors carefully scanned the Earth's surface. The results were heavy-hearted, yet carried a glimmer of hope.

Life signs: Large-scale wildlife was almost extinct, but faint human life reactions were detected in some non-contaminated areas! The numbers were far fewer than before the Great Cataclysm, but they did indeed exist!

Civilized activity: Multiple scattered low-power electromagnetic signal sources were detected, primarily concentrated in treacherous plateaus, mountain ranges, and large islands. The signal patterns were primitive, like shortwave radio and local area networks; the technological level had clearly regressed.

Abnormal signals: Strong energy fluctuations homologous to the Scrin were detected in several major tiberium vein clusters, suggesting the existence of small Scrin Outposts or mines.

Orbital facilities: The "Guanghan Palace" base in lunar orbit remained silent, with no signs of being attacked. A large amount of space junk and debris from abandoned space stations floated in low Earth orbit, a scene of dead silence.

Earth was not completely dead, but civilization had regressed to the level of the early industrial age, with humans struggling to survive on the wasteland. The Scrin's tentacles had already reached deep into the Earth's body.

"Attempt to establish contact with the largest signal source," Sun Zheng ordered the communications officer.

The communications officer adjusted the frequency, using multiple languages and clear codes to scan the area with the strongest signal—showing as the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau—sending friendly greetings and identification information.

After several minutes of silence, a voice full of static, with a heavy accent and a wary tone, came back intermittently:

"...Who... who are you? Where... are you from? Warning... do not... approach..."

"We are from the human bases on the Moon and Mars. We are compatriots, here to provide help," Sun Zheng responded personally, his tone as calm as possible.

"...Moon? Mars?" The other party's voice was full of confusion and suspicion. "Impossible... the cities... in the sky... were destroyed long ago... You are... a trick of the 'Demons from Beyond'!"

The communication was unilaterally cut off.

Sun Zheng's heart sank. Not only had the Earth's survivors regressed technologically, but they also seemed to harbor great fear and hostility toward the "heavens," possibly even linking the Scrin invasion to anything from beyond the sky. They had been tormented by isolation and fear for too long and were full of distrust toward the outside world.

"Commander, what should we do? They don't believe us," Falcon asked.

Forced contact might trigger a conflict, which was something Sun Zheng did not want to see.

"Maintain distance for now and continue monitoring," Sun Zheng mused. "We need more information. Send a stealth drone for low-altitude reconnaissance of the signal source area to understand their social structure and living conditions."

"Yes!"

A small stealth drone was released from the "hope," silently entering Earth's atmosphere and flying toward the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

A few hours later, the drone sent back heartbreaking images: in a barren plateau valley, a crude settlement built against a steep mountain wall was made of scrap metal and concrete. People in rags, thin and sallow, were struggling to farm the limited land, looking warily at the sky. The settlement was surrounded by crude fortifications and watchtowers, clearly on guard against ground and air threats at all times. The technological level seemed to have stalled in the late twentieth century.

In the distance from the settlement, at the edge of the spreading tiberium veins, the drone captured several moving figures emitting purple light—they were the Scrin's "Reaper" lackeys! They seemed to be patrolling, monitoring this human settlement like guards watching livestock in a pen.

Earth had become the Scrin's ranch and experimental field. Surviving humans struggled for life on the wasteland while living in unknown fear.

Sun Zheng clenched his fists. The situation was worse than expected. To unite their Earth compatriots, they would not only have to face the Scrin threat but also dissolve the barriers, fears, and misunderstandings accumulated over decades.