Chapter 6 Crossing Over
June XX, 19XX, New Calendar.
The United States captured an alien who had accidentally arrived on Earth for the first time.
This occurred during a period of intense hostility between the United States and the Bear Nation.
Later, the Bear Nation also unexpectedly discovered the wreckage of a crashed spaceship and alien remains on Earth.
Aliens officially entered the awareness of humanity’s highest echelons.
Subsequently, other major powers captured more aliens.
Those friendly were placed under control, neutrals were used as test subjects, and hostiles were subjected to dissection.
Although the authorities suppressed the information, there is no wall without a crack; the common people caught wind of rumors about extraterrestrials.
Humanity was in an era of rapid technological advancement, yet harbored a deep curiosity about the mysterious, even developing a new faith centered on aliens.
Influenced by this belief among some humans, the aliens arriving on Earth began to exhibit special enhancements.
At the same time, Earth seemed to show signs of spiritual energy resurgence.
The relationship between humans and aliens came to resemble that of ancient humans to their gods.
Regardless of the original purpose behind the United States’ launch of the LXZ cosmic probe, the calamity it invited was lamentable.
...
Earth, Dragon Nation, Demon Capital Airport.
An alien clad in a large black cloak, taking notes in human script, was escorted by Dragon Nation soldiers onto a transport plane headed for the East African Rift Valley.
——
The Age of Discovery.
Adventurers discovered a strange place in the East African Rift Valley, seemingly a portal to another world, but none who entered ever returned.
Later, the Church learned of this place and dispatched powerful priests and explorers to investigate, but they vanished without a trace.
Thus, the Church declared the area forbidden.
Even the Western high-ranking individuals possessing mystical powers organized an expedition, but no news ever returned.
Moreover, families of those who entered the forbidden zone mysteriously lost their mystical powers.
By 19XX, following the capture of aliens, humanity’s leaders grew eager to explore this forbidden zone.
The West and the Dragon Nation jointly formed an expedition team composed of humanity’s top warriors and aliens.
At that time, the West and the Dragon Nation were in a friendly phase; after reviewing intelligence, Dragon Nation’s leadership agreed to cooperate.
This time, the expedition was not fruitless: on the third day, a Dragon Nation warrior burst out of the forbidden zone, shouting to those waiting outside,
“Do not come any closer!”
“There are monsters beyond human reach here!”
After shouting, the warrior suddenly turned into a pile of black ash.
Later, human scientists discovered the ash was unidentifiable, and even the aliens did not know what it was.
From then on, humanity’s leadership abandoned further exploration of the forbidden zone and established outposts to monitor it.
—
The Dragon Nation named the forbidden zone “D Zone,” and the monsters within were called “Taboo D.”
Those who entered the zone from the West had their families mysteriously stripped of mystical power; Dragon Nation’s warriors’ families lost their Qi skills.
Mu Changge’s great-grandfather was part of that expedition team.
...
Earth, Inner World.
A girl appearing about seventeen or eighteen years old was summarizing humanity’s previous understanding of the storm based on recorded archives.
She glanced at Mu Changge, who was following Athena, then withdrew her gaze after a moment.
Her ethereal white hair flowed like a dream; her left eye was tightly closed, while her right eye shone brilliantly like a ruby.
Her face, sculpted as if by heaven itself, seemed to be smiling joyfully. Her figure was perfect—curves where curves should be, proportions flawless.
She wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the word “Invincible” in ornate script, layered beneath a hoodie, and adorned with a necklace and earrings.
Though her beauty and figure could bring empires to ruin, her fashion was peculiarly unconventional, lending her a somewhat frivolous air.
Her closed left eye sparked delightful speculation that she might possess heterochromia.
This unforgettable and distinctive girl was named—Uroboros!
The cosmic serpent god symbolizing the universe, infinity, and eternity!
Uroboros spoke confidently and melodiously toward a point in the starry sky:
“Gengchen! Heavenly Primordial Dragon! My little storm has stirred once more!”
“You hold little hope for the Yanhuang people, do you?”
“I want to see how you respond to such a magnificent beginning!”
——
Earth, East African Rift Valley.
Intercontinental missiles launched by the planet’s five great powers relentlessly struck the hovering storm.
The remaining alien fleet on Earth, fighting for survival, also attacked the storm.
The storm was unmoved by their feeble assaults, which were like gentle breezes, utterly ineffectual.
The Dragon Nation, United States, and Bear Nation all launched their sixth-generation nuclear weapons at the storm.
The sixth-generation nukes were humanity’s ultimate weapons, confirmed capable of slaying gods.
Yet to the storm, these attacks were no different from the earlier ones.
Feeling it had blown enough, the storm stretched its limbs and yawned.
Its expression was that of a “cute little kitten with no ill intent.”
Seemingly acknowledging humanity’s final, futile struggle, the storm emitted a tiger’s roar.
“Roar!”
This roar was much softer but created an invisible and formidable barrier, cutting off all alien fleet and human attacks, preventing them from advancing even one step.
At this moment, most of the world’s mythic inheritors and deities gathered at the East African Rift Valley, preparing to confront the tiger!
——
Dragon Nation, Central Theater Airspace.
Athena and Mu Changge rode atop a gigantic owl.
Because Athena used divine power to block perception, the military forces in the theater did not detect them.
“Teacher Athena, are we here to seek cooperation with the army?”
Athena shook her head.
“There is currently no force on Earth capable of opposing that monster. Fortunately, the Dragon Nation seems to have activated its national treasure.”
“The Dragon Nation’s national treasure might be our breakthrough.”
“Breakthrough?” Mu Changge was puzzled.
“Yes. The Dragon Nation’s leadership likely seeks to awaken a deity deeply connected with the Chinese civilization. Unfortunately, it’s too slow; that monster will probably exterminate humanity first.”
“What do we do then?”
“There is another way. I will use divine power and the Imperial Jade Seal to create a space-time tunnel and take you to the mythic era of China to seek a solution.”
“Space-time tunnel? The Imperial Jade Seal can do that?”
“Of course! Qin Shi Huang, who forged the Imperial Jade Seal, was extraordinary. I can sense that the seal contains divine will.”
“Divine will?”
“Indeed! Presumably, Qin Shi Huang forcibly seized this will from heaven during its creation. Sadly, the seal is chipped, causing the divine will to leak. Even after repairs, it cannot be stopped.”
With that, Athena descended, bringing Mu Changge straight to the Imperial Jade Seal.
One thing Athena did not tell Mu Changge was that the seal was Qin Shi Huang’s weapon against the immortals.
At that time, Qin Shi Huang forged the seal to prevent the Chinese emperor from becoming a vassal of the Taoist celestial court.
This marked the beginning of the rift between Chinese emperors and the Taoist heavens.
In fact, not only China but the West also has examples of monarchs opposing deities, such as Nero of the Roman Empire, who massacred the followers of the Lord of the Holy Light.
Athena preferred Mu Changge to avoid getting entangled in the conflict between human emperors and the gods.
She used some means to dismiss the guards, opened the door, and approached the Imperial Jade Seal.
Athena gathered divine power with both hands, aiming to create a space-time tunnel through the seal.
After a few moments, she said to Mu Changge, “Quick, drip your blood onto the seal and say the command for it to obey!”
Mu Changge immediately stepped forward, bit his finger to draw blood, and let a drop fall upon the seal.
Then he shouted, “Seal, activate!”
Athena’s mouth twitched, thinking the two-word command was rather crude.
A silver cave appeared above the Imperial Jade Seal but began to shrink slowly.
“Quick!”
Athena grabbed Mu Changge and dove directly into the cave.