2020 AD

Everest

There was a tearing roar in the distance.

Huge ice slid down the pitch-black peaks and plunged into the surging sea.

The tyrannical sea of ice swelled and surged as if it had continued to the end of the world. Then, at the end of the world, a wind blows, mixed with the smell of ash and dust.

All of a sudden, the world became so small.

The towering sky seemed to have been pressed down, turning into pure white iron, and through the huge cracks above, one could glimpse the stars in the universe that were fading and extinguishing.

It's like a lamp that melts into the darkness after losing power.

There seemed to be nothing left between the vast world and the world, and all that remained was the world's tallest narrow platform and the makeshift work cabin.

A rod is set up from the edge of the platform and the line is thrown into the sea, the buoy undulating in the murky water.

Bored anglers wear felt hats and lie in their folding chairs.

As if to pass the time, he even carried a chessboard that was some years old, ignoring the loud cracking noise in the distance, and fiddling with the chess pieces on it at will.

It seems that after a long time, the chess pieces of both black and white have been difficult to assemble, the 'people have withered', and the only remaining 'king' and 'bishop' have also been mutilated, and there are cracks all over the weathered by the years.

Even the chessboard was missing a large corner, and the black and white squares were twisted and mixed together, forming a large area of chaotic ash.

What is surprising is that no matter how the mountains are shaken, those chess pieces always stand firmly on their own territory and never waver in the slightest.

"President, there's a message from NASA—"

The assistant with heavy glasses came out of the cabin and carried the last luggage: "-The fourth settlement is completed, the New York Stock Exchange has been uploaded, they are going to evacuate, and they wish us all the best in our work." ”

"It's long overdue. ”

The chairman shook his head unhappily: "Those guys in the Command Bureau are really troublesome, they are always grinding, and it is not easy to move. ”

"I want to save a backup. After the fall of 'Paradise', the only way to transfer data was to rely on hard drives. ”

"Don't be stupid, kid. The president scoffed: "Those guys just like to enjoy the feeling of stepping on the bell, as if they are professional and punctual, tsk, ten minutes early and no one will die." ”

"Ahaha. ”

The assistant smiled awkwardly, didn't say anything more, and when he leaned over, he saw the computer thrown next to the chessboard. Except for the two pages that just searched for 'how to fish in the Himalayas', all that was left on the screen was a real-time satellite image.

Satellites from the old NASA, to this day, are still stubbornly maintaining their mission, meticulously transmitting back images from space.

It's a pity that what is on the screen is no longer the beautiful stars of the past, but is full of holes.

Countless chaotic cyclones covered the entire blue, and beneath the thick and thin typhoon clouds, there were shocking burns one after another.

At the same time, a huge crack slowly emerged from the satellite image, a line of red spreading from a huge scale of thousands of kilometers, rapidly extending and expanding, pulling the surrounding yellow continents and black-gray oceans, and finally setting off a hurricane, tearing another hole in the atmosphere.

"It's an earthquake, right?"

The assistant sighed in amazement and leaned over, "It's amazing, I didn't expect it to be so spectacular." ”

The president glanced up and immediately realized, "It's a geothermal eruption." As the Earth's core begins to cool, a third wave of oscillations is being released from the continental plates of North and South America, and if left unchecked, it will end in about 60 years...... Look, New York, it's stuck in the sea. ”

"It's a shame I haven't seen Lady Liberty yet. ”

"I've been. ”

The president withdrew his gaze, "Actually, it's not interesting......

There was a sudden roar in the distance, and there seemed to be some light in the depths of the ocean, crimson rolling in the darkness, reflecting the painful burning light from beneath the earth's crust.

The foehn wind blew from the end of the sea, carrying gray dust and white mist, as if covering the whole world.

It's like the whole world is boiling with seawater.

"It's like teppanyaki. The president said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Teppanyaki, didn't you eat it last time? ”

The president seemed to be sleepy, lying on the chair, covering his face with his hat, as if he was ready to sleep, and his voice was soft like a dream: "In the past, a friend of Yingzhou told me that teppanyaki is actually divided into Kanto and Kansai, and everyone generally eats the Kanto kind, which is trouble-free and simple, but the real beauty is the flavor of Kansai."

At the beginning, a thin layer of oil is applied to the iron plate, and if the temperature is sufficient, the fat of the ingredients themselves will cook themselves, and it is said that the natural flavor and flavor of the ingredients can be enjoyed......

The assistant was silent for a moment, "That sounds cruel." ”

"Yes, but aren't humans themselves such cruel creatures?" the chairman asked, "If you can only live by eating, then you will eat, and this is the simplest truth, and the evil rooted in human nature is evil."

At first, they devoured thunder and fire, burned the wilderness, dug coal mines, and then pumped oil, and when there was not enough oil, they coveted fission...... And then now, even if the world is going to die, it will not let go.

As early as our ancestors put Neanderthals in their recipes, they were out of control. ”

The assistant turned his head and looked at the man on the chaise longue, but he couldn't see his face clearly through his hat, and couldn't tell whether the man's eyes were compassion, the ridicule and mockery that he was familiar with in the past.

In the long silence, the sky grew darker and darker, and the original pure white sky gradually became cloudy, until finally, the phantom light behind the clouds gradually contracted and dissipated......

"Is the sun going out too?"

"Yes, the power of the essentia pillar is beginning to rewind. ”

"The storm is blowing again. ”

"Yes. ”

"Will it stop this time?"

"Who knows?" said the president, slowly getting up and putting his hat back on his head, "no matter how you change, this is not a land where humans can live...... Haven't you seen it? It's nothing but the pain of this body. ”

He paused and whispered, "This is our last supper." ”

The last cigarette was lit.

The fire was extinguished, and a line of green smoke rose.

On the computer screen, all the satellite signals gradually went out, and in their place were one strange emblem after another, which ran on the pitch-black screen, as if the gods were running above their own abyss, with indescribable coldness and majesty.

Ideal country, online.

Surviving Hospital, online.

Governing Bureau, online.

Stone Cauldron Society, Bronze Hand, Graveyard of the Homeless......

Through the black screen and its own emblem, it seems that countless eyes are cast on this last piece of land, welcoming the arrival of the final moment.

All the guests are seated, waiting for the final curtain to be lifted.

Gazing at the broken chessboard.

The assistant swallowed nervously and frothed, looked carefully at the pocket watch in his hand, and the moment the hour and minute hands overlapped, he looked up like an electric shock and reported: "The pillar of the divine essence has been warmed up." ”

“...... Wait!"

The president frowned suddenly, as if listening.

Not only the assistant, but the emblems on the screen also seem to be serious, as if facing a great enemy.

Then, the guy suddenly reached out and pulled the fishing rod, and something actually came up from the sea. It looks fluffy, like a cat, but it has a tail like a fish, which is indescribably strange.

"Aha, after waiting for two hours, it's still fruitful. Who said that the Thousand Degrees Encyclopedia is unreliable?" the chairman smiled, looking at his 'harvest': "It's really fateful, little thing! But no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like a fish, can you eat it?"

“......”

Everyone was silent and did not speak.

I don't really want to pay attention to him.

Pulled up by the fishing rod, the little thing opened its mouth and screamed twice unhappily, stretched out two small front paws to scratch his face, but he casually stuffed it into the fishing basket.

When it was back in the water, it settled down and rolled over, too lazy to move.

"Alright. The chairman stuffed the fishing rod and bucket into his assistant's arms and shouldered his chair, "Let's go." ”

He reached out and plucked the white chariot from the chessboard.

With his movements, it was as if the last light had gone out.

The sun hanging high above the sky has lost its track.

Everything in the world is in darkness.

After seeing the light, there was no wind to hear, because everything came to an abrupt halt except them, as if time had frozen for it.

The first to leave was the universe, because a slender and slender palm came out of nowhere, and plucked the black queen - the ideal country extracted the foundation of the star - so the original darkness faded, and countless stars disappeared, leaving only a meaningless void.

Immediately after the exit was the remnants of the ocean, the House of Survival removed the proof of existence, and the black bishop disappeared without a trace. Whether it's a monstrous tsunami or a boiling crimson sea, all the living water in this world is rapidly declining and collapsing, and in the end, only a pitch-black seabed is left.

Then, the white bishop dissolved like an illusion, and the Authority turned off the glorious light, so that everything was silent, the roaring crust fell silent, and the lava that erupted from the cracks quickly solidified, losing all heat......

Today, in Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, North America, in the barren lands, in the tyrannical oceans, in icy or hot hurricanes, or in the skies...... Everything is being destroyed in an orderly manner.

All that remains is the low mournful cry of the world falling apart.

It's as if the strings are breaking one by one, and in the end, only a hollow echo remains.

In the midst of this vast and lonely destruction, Old Gaia Earth VIII. has come to an end of its own.

When the last cigarette was gone, the shattered world was left with its final outline, and the last unclosed door beside the President.

"Fourteenth Abandoned Eden and Promised Land......"

The president stared silently at the empty chessboard in front of him, and took out a pure white bouquet from his bosom, and the petals still had dew on them from nowhere.

Like tears, dripping down the cracks of the chessboard.

"Thank you for your patience over the past 300 years. ”

He took off his hat and said a gentle goodbye, to all this:

"—Someday, let us see you in the rest of hell. ”

.

Finally, the door closed.

In the eternal darkness and silence, the meaningless space shrank inward, and the spectrum that was pulling on the lingering breath began to move in vain, and with the collapse of the four fundamental forces, the chessboard and the flowers disappeared into nothingness.

Earth Eight has been annihilated.

The 14th World Extinction Program of the International Astronomical Society has been completed.

At the last moment, a glimmer of light emerged from the chessboard, outlining the pure white outline of the queen in the weeping tears of the flower, like a meteor, flying into the distance.

Once again, the old world is dead, as it has done countless times in the past.

Then, a new world arrived.

It's business as usual.

.

This is the last remnant of the record of 90 years ago, the last remnant of the glorious era.

Since then, there has been no such glory.