Falling Stars

In 7300 AD, 1985 of the Galactic Calendar, with the tragic deaths of Tianchen, located on humanity's home planet Earth, and the Earth-like planet MR1048, two major scientific organizations were established.

This officially heralded the entry of humanity into the Space Age, following the "Third Technological Revolution," the "Fourth Laser Revolution" and the "Fifth Space Revolution."

The two organizations share a common origin on Earth, both centered around parliaments and jointly governing the solar system.

However, due to conflicting academic and political philosophies, and also to the pursuit of unilateral control of the solar system, a constant cold war has broken out between the two organizations, with occasional outbreaks of localized hot wars, creating a subtle bipolar relationship. The two organizations share a deep-seated hatred.

However, whenever the once-every-two-hundred-years space virus, codenamed "Nirvana," invades the solar system, the two organizations temporarily unite to resist the enemy.

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Earth, Asia, China, Chang'an

Chang'an, formerly known as Haojing, was a vast, ancient capital. Along with Rome, Italy, Athens, Greece, and Cairo, Egypt, it is known as one of the "Four Ancient Capitals of the World." It also holds the title of the six ancient capitals of ancient China.

It is the capital city with the most dynasties and the greatest influence in Chinese history. It is the birthplace of Chinese civilization, the cradle of the Chinese nation, and an outstanding representative of Chinese culture.

When people mention Chang'an, they often think of the ancient capital of 13 dynasties. Not only was it the capital of 13 dynasties, but it was also the starting point of the renowned Silk Road, pioneered during the Western Han Dynasty, and a pioneer of the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road.

It can be said that, from ancient times to the technologically advanced modern world, Chang'an has always been a cosmopolitan city.

Whether it is surrounded by eight rivers, the ancient capital of 13 dynasties, or its role on the Silk Road and as a cosmopolitan city, these all indirectly attest to Chang'an's long history and brilliant geography and culture.

"Tick, tick, tick."

The rectangular electronic clock placed by the bedside ticked silently, the seconds ticking in the lower right corner. A young man lay soundly asleep on the bed next to the digital clock, his pajamas wrinkled.

He hadn't even noticed when his pillow had been thrown under the bed, leaving only half of the quilt on him, the other half draped over the pillow on the floor. His sleeping posture was quite ungainly.

With a final, clear chime, the clock marked six o'clock, and the alarm blared loudly.

Before the alarm could even wake the young man, the entire room suddenly lit up. Countless pale blue threads emanated from every corner of the room, converging at a single point.

A closer look revealed they weren't threads. Blue threads stop extending upon encountering an object, suggesting they were something like light.

The light converged, slowly moving downward, as if carving something, like a 3D printer. As countless laser beams converged, a young woman in white appeared, a charming figure. Black hair, clear eyes, a fitted dress—every scene seemed so real, even her fair skin seemed to be as soft as water.

The laser vanished, and the girl landed with it. Just as the young man on the bed's brow furrowed, clearly disturbed by the alarm, the girl lightly approached and pressed a button above the clock.

The blaring alarm faded, and the young man's brow relaxed. But being interrupted at this moment clearly made it impossible for him to continue sleeping.

The girl approached, nudged the young man, leaned over, and whispered softly in his ear, "Master, wake up! It's time to get up."

The young man didn't move. Falling asleep immediately after being woken by the alarm was clearly impossible, at least not for him.

However, being called like that while awake would have probably put anyone to sleep, but he didn't. Perhaps he was used to it.

"Na'er, stop it! Let me get five more minutes," the young man mumbled, pleading, without even opening his eyes. The girl smiled faintly, not forcing anything. She turned and went out to prepare breakfast. There was the sound of pots and spoons clattering, and then, as if by clockwork, she returned five minutes later.

This time, however, she didn't call the young man. Instead, she went to the desk and sorted through the scattered papers.

Logically, in such an advanced age, paper shouldn't exist anymore. A memory card and a virtual screen for operation essentially solved everything.

But people weren't overly reliant on technology; at least a power outage wouldn't leave them completely unable to do anything. Therefore, no matter what they were doing, whether starting a job at a company or attending school, they all had to submit handwritten documents as backup.

She sorted the papers on the desk by category and placed them in her briefcase. The girl then came to the windowbed, leaned over again, and spoke softly.

"Master, today is your most important day." She turned her head to check her watch before continuing. "It's already 6:08, and the meeting starts in 22 minutes."

This time her voice was soft, even softer than the first time she'd woken the young man. But when he heard it, he sat up with a whirl.

"Right, right, this meeting is very important." Turning to look at the girl with a charming smile, the young man said with a hint of resignation. "Na'er, why didn't you tell me earlier..."

Looking at the girl, he simply couldn't vent his anger. The slight irritation from his morning grumpiness instantly turned to helplessness when he expressed it.

Getting out of bed, he rushed to the bathroom and began to wash up. This time, he was quick to wash up; what usually took him fifteen minutes took him less than five.

When he sat at the dining table to eat breakfast, Na'er had already made the bed and was standing by, waiting for him.

Checking the time on his watch, the young man sighed and began to eat his breakfast leisurely. Holding a piece of bread with jam in his right hand, he waved his left hand. A flash of white light appeared, and the briefcase that had been placed on the table vanished.

Space storage was invented approximately seven hundred years ago. It utilizes complex spatial principles, encoding objects into informational data patterns and storing them in specialized electronic devices equipped with hard drives.

Although the objects are encoded as information, their integrity remains intact; they can be restored by simply finding the long serial number of the object.

This space storage technology is truly a groundbreaking invention, freeing people's hands and eliminating the need to carry anything when traveling.

Watching the young man eat his breakfast, Na'er smiled faintly and said, "Master, between 11:00 p.m. last night and 5:00 a.m. the following morning, you received a total of 1,632 messages. Would you like to check?"

The young man nodded, and Na'er smiled back. Without her moving, a floating screen appeared on the dining table.

With a flick of his finger, the young man found the message board, and was startled by the sight. These weren't just over 1,600 messages; in just one hour, the message board had already seen over 4,000 more.

Clearly, they all thought they might see it if they posted it now.

Resignedly, he shook his head and clicked on the first page, the newest one. Just before his finger touched the screen, a message popped up.

"Welcome, Yuxuan Lanjielt."

Seeing this, the young man closed it almost out of habit.

This was a system message, visible every time he opened it for the first time each day. After turning off the system notification, he finally clicked on the first message.

"Keep going, Yuxuan. We'll always support you. -Fiji." Seeing this, he smiled slightly.

Fiji had been his high school homeroom teacher. Even though it was summer vacation, the teacher hadn't forgotten his important event.

He slid his finger across to the next message. "Lan Jielt, don't be nervous. Even though the top scientists in the entire alliance will be attending your lecture, don't take it too seriously. Your research is good, and anyone with a good point can see its merits, so don't worry too much about it. —Sieg"

Sieg was a brilliant student he met during his research. Initially, they were at odds, but after a few clashes, they became academic friends. He was truly delighted to receive well wishes from his former rival.

His fingers slid across the screen, his eyes constantly scanning, his right hand constantly shoving bread into his mouth.

He read over a dozen messages, all from different sources. Besides his few close friends, there were also many well wishes from people he didn't know. They all urged him to be relaxed and wished him success.

After finishing the breakfast Na'er had prepared for him, Yu Xuan subconsciously glanced at the time in the upper right corner: 6:23.

With a wave of his hand, the screen floating above the table instantly stood up, reflecting him like a mirror—actually, a selfie function. He stood up and adjusted his tie. He was wearing a traditional suit today. For such a formal occasion, something a bit more rustic was preferred. Although he was only nineteen, he still had a unique charm in the suits popular during the Shangyuan period.

Historically, since there was nearly a thousand years between the Third and Fourth Industrial Revolutions, the gap between the new and old eras was too great.

Thus, the Fourth Industrial Revolution was artificially designated as the benchmark, and the period before that was collectively referred to as the Shangyuan era.

The implication is that after the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the entire world will be: a new beginning, a new era, with all things renewed.

"Alright," he said, after tidying himself up and completely distancing himself from his sleepy appearance. "Na'er, I'm leaving now. I'll leave you to look after the house."

Na'er smiled sweetly, bowed slightly, her long, soft hair falling, and said gently, "Goodbye, my master."

He left the room and checked his watch. It was already six twenty-five. If it were the Shangyuan era, leaving the house five minutes before the start of the revolution would have been unimaginable. But it's quite common these days. Perhaps the scientists attending his lecture had just gotten up.

Checking the time, Yu Xuan smiled faintly, gave his feet a slight push, and rushed out of the apartment building.

A blue light rippled like water, and a pair of wings, as light as paper, unfolded from his back.

A powerful thrust came from behind, and a pale blue shield protected him just before accelerating.

Instantly, a piercing sound of piercing air was heard, but the shield immediately blocked the sound.

Ten times the speed of sound—in just a moment's acceleration, he had reached an incredible speed of ten times the speed of sound thanks to his technological equipment.

Private flying wings of this level are extremely rare, even in this technologically advanced era.