On a wasteland between the Bilongtan area and the Karakoram Mountains in the southern part of the Aksai Chin uninhabited area.

The ground cracked open and slowly moved to the sides, revealing a huge bottomless cavity underneath, and it was impossible to have such a sleek and neat natural sinkhole even in the karst landscape.

The "Hope" flew out of the exit and landed steadily on the ground. The exit closes again and blends in with the surrounding nature.

"I didn't expect there to be so many plantations and trees here." Lin Xuexi observed the outside world through the huge porthole in the cabin, and was amazed at how much this land had changed, the last time she came here was more than five hundred years ago, when it was a wasteland as far as the eye could see.

The sky is gray, and it should be that the radioactive dust of World War III has not completely dissipated.

"China, due to its rapid population density, is looking for ways to transform deserts, Gobi, wastelands and high-altitude areas into habitable places, which are genetically modified species from the alpine and low-oxygen regions introduced three centuries ago, and these plants have been able to survive and thrive here until before the Great War because of global warming." "Hope" had to answer questions for the acting president and his assistant, who had never seen the world.

"It's 3:45 p.m., and we're pressed for time, so it's best to find out the cause of the energy supply failure before it gets dark." Lin Xuexi said solemnly, "The energy for the two bases of 'exploration' and 'traversal' comes from the underground generator set under the Karakoram Mountains, which is also the largest particle generator set in the world, which is the top secret base of the Rocket Force, which is indestructible, and it is unlikely that there will be an accident, we only need to check the underground transmission cable from the Karakoram Mountains to here." ”

"I'm against this proposal!" Holod protested. "We don't know anything about the outside world right now, and I suggest we don't take action yet, and now that it's getting dark, there is an unknowable danger of acting rashly. What's more, I haven't eaten since I woke up, and I'm hungry right now. ”

"I'm sorry, Mr. Holold, this is not a proposal, but a decision, and you have no right to object." Of course, Wen Xiu still has to stand with Lin Xuexi, although they are not in harmony with each other. "And you're not the only one who hasn't eaten here."

"I'm just informing you, not asking for your opinion." Lin Xuexi looked at Horod and said, in a condescending manner, then turned around and ordered the Hope: "Fly along the underground transmission cable, pay attention to scanning at all times." ”

"Yes, ma'am." The Hope slowly rose, without the noise of the noise, the flying dust, or even the swirling currents.

Horod tried to express his anger by hitting the table, but in the end he just shrugged his shoulders and showed that he couldn't help it.

After a few minutes of flying, the underground cable fault was found. It was in a section of the Karakoram Mountains that appeared to have been hit by a strong regional earthquake that caused the mountain to collapse and break underground cables. The damage to infrastructure caused by this great force of nature is extremely difficult to repair, and we have to find another way.

"Temperature: -14 degrees Celsius, altitude: 5,712 meters, northwest wind 6.4, radiation concentration: 1,900 hago, well above the surrounding radiation concentration, there should have been a skirmish and the use of radiological weapons not long ago. The cable break is about 450 meters underground, with a total damage length of 4.9 kilometers, and it cannot be repaired by itself. The Hope AI began to report the results of the scan analysis, with some small guesses of its own, "Also, ma'am, has detected UHF radio waves, emitting near astronomical points, do you need to receive them?" ”

"Receive."

The damage to the underground cables was far greater than expected, but the trio were relieved to hear the Hope's report, because the war and wireless signals at least indicated that there were still human beings.

The emitted radio waves are a mixture of audio and video, which ensures that the receiver can hear useful information even on the oldest radios.

The message was received, and a video began to play on a light screen near the front of the Hope cabin, in which a man in a clown costume performed a magic trick on a huge stage, and the magic was very exciting, and the audience burst into applause from time to time.

Judging from the magic show alone, Lin Xuexi believes that this video must have been recorded after she fell asleep, because she has never seen these magic shows, let alone those tricks that have long been debunked by netizens, and judging from the audience's feedback, this performer should also be a well-known magician, if she is of the same age or before her, she should be able to know her.

The magic lasted for more than seven minutes, and then the screen went black for a moment, and then a large text appeared and read by a female voice, saying: "The nuclear war of the century, the destruction of everything, the sky is full of dust and haze, the temperature plummets, the water source is polluted, the food shortage is serious, and mankind is facing extinction." The Jisheng Salvation League is a hegemonic organization and a deception, don't believe their lies! Their safe zone is not safe, and countless compatriots have been tricked into the safe zone by them and slaughtered. "What follows is dozens of pictures, all of which are of human beings being slaughtered and *, bloody, shocking, and horrific.

"The Chosen are loyal lackeys and executioners of the League, and their crimes are too numerous to mention! Achilles is a cold-blooded machine thug, a racist and dictator ten thousand times more disgusting than the Nazis! Its plan is to exterminate humanity! We're going to fight it to the end! ”

Then there are a few more sets of pictures that look like a neighborhood with comfy beds, spacious and clean rooms, and steaming food.

"This is the country of immortals, the community of immortals, the only remaining pure land of mankind after the Great War, we have houses, electricity, radar and weapons, we have the strength to confront the alliance, we have granaries, water purifiers, medicines and oxygen."

"Are you still struggling to survive alone? Hurry up and join the country of immortals! Clean food, drinking water and beds are provided, don't hesitate any longer! More and more people have joined this big family, let us join hands to fight against Achilles and his chosen ones, and the dawn of the reconstruction of human civilization will illuminate the whole world here! ”

"If you decide, our address is at the original Shenxian Bay outpost, which can be reached by National Highway 219, specifically south of Saitula Town, Pishan County, northwest of Ritu County, 77.8 degrees east longitude, 35.6 degrees north latitude, and 5480 meters above sea level."

"If you don't have transportation, we have helicopters to pick you up, just send us your satellite positioning, warning: a small number of people may have some altitude sickness and need to go through a period of adaptation."

"The country of immortals, the community of immortals, the last refuge of the earthlings, defend the homeland, rebuild civilization, and look forward to your arrival!"

This was followed by a video of singing and dancing, which was clearly a promotional signal for the community called "Land of Immortals", interspersed with some entertainment that seemed to be played on an infinite loop.

"What are you talking about here?" The three of them looked at each other, because they didn't know what Achilles, what Salvation Alliance, or Chosen One mentioned in the video were, so they had to turn to Hope's AI to answer.

"I only know that Achilles, also known as Achilles, is a supercomputer invented by humans in the twenty-fourth century, which is in charge of transportation and networks in most of the region, and as for the Chosen One and the Alliance for the Salvation of the World, I have heard of it for the first time." The Hope has been able to refer to itself as "I", indicating that it has also begun to have some sense of autonomy.

"Achilles? Is it the guy who runs slower than a turtle? Horod teased. Showing just the right amount of humor in front of a beautiful lady is a gentleman's obligatory course, though that is often self-defeating.

Horod's allusion comes from the famous Achilles paradox, which says: Suppose Achilles and the tortoise race, the tortoise first set off to run a certain distance, and Achilles is a demigod in Greek mythology, the fastest warrior, but when he runs to the distance where the tortoise was ahead when he started first, he will find that the tortoise has advanced a short distance in the time he has run this distance, and when he catches up with this short distance, the tortoise has advanced a smaller distance, and in this way, even if the tortoise runs slower, But it seems to be forever a short distance ahead of Achilles.

Of course, this is a paradox, as boring as the infinite monkey paradox.

The two ladies gave him a tacit glance at the same time, saying that it was inappropriate to joke at such a time. Horod spread his hands, looking innocent.

"So, has Achilles already rebelled against humanity?" Lin Xuexi asked with some concern, if an advanced intelligent computer that controls the control of traffic and networks is determined to go against humans, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"It's impossible to tell, but at least until the Great Century, Achilles was still in the service of humanity." After the war, the "Exploration" and "Crossing" bases were sealed, and the Hope certainly had no way of knowing what happened next.

"Looks like we're going to Hideaway Cove to find out." Lin Xuexi seems to believe the words in the video.

"I'm against it!" Horod said hurriedly. "Don't you think this decision was too arbitrary and hasty? We can't tell what the other side is trying to do, so I think we should wait and see, and isn't the problem we need to fix the underground cables and restart the energy supply system? Horod felt that he was being slighted and had to stand up and say something.

"We don't have a choice. Spare cables and superconducting materials are in an underground warehouse dozens of miles away, repairing nearly five kilometers of underground cables, the cables and superconducting materials that need to be transported weigh dozens of tons, and we also need at least one large drilling rig and a loading and unloading mecha, so what I want to say is: we need manpower, a lot of manpower, otherwise only the three of us will have to wait until the year of the monkey to repair this cable, and what we are short of now is time. Lin Xuexi patiently explained that there was a rare lack of cynicism in this conversation, which made Holode, who was about to refute, feel a little surprised, and even felt that she had some truth in it, so she had to sit down silently.

Sometimes it has to be admitted that a refined look increases the persuasiveness of its words, and if this happens between people of the opposite sex, this effect increases exponentially.

"You see, we have the most advanced individual weapons in the world," Lin Xuexi patted the quantum gun on her waist, "and the most stylish warship in the entire solar system," she stretched out her hand again to signal that they were riding on the Hope, "So, what else do we have to fear?" She wanted to make a domineering pose with her waist tucked in, but she looked playful and delicate because her figure was too weak.

"You have it, but I don't." Holod muttered under his breath, haunted by the two women's refusal to give him weapons.

"Okay, let's go. Let's go to the astronomical point first! Lin Xuexi was a little high-spirited, deaf to Horod's complaints, she was very excited since she knew that the human race in the outside world was not extinct, you must know that she was in the "crossing" base with the worst intentions, it is hard to imagine that if there are no humans outside to survive, and the energy supply of the base cannot be repaired, and finally the use of backup energy can only thaw out dozens of people, how miserable it would be at that time.

"Yes, ma'am!" The Hope AI is still a die-hard fan tone.

"The destination astronomical point, 78.2 degrees east longitude, 35.3 degrees north latitude, 5160 meters above sea level, 124 kilometers in a straight line, it takes 6 minutes and 21 seconds to fly at low speed, considering air resistance, density, wind direction and other unknown factors, this process may be prolonged, please be patient."

The Hope rose vertically and disappeared silently into the haze of dust high in the sky.