The [Aetherophasic Engine] charging had officially entered its final one-year countdown.
An order, transmitted through the [Psionic Network], instantly reached every corner of the Imperium of Man.
The entire human race went into dormancy.
Like a giant beast preparing for a long hibernation, the entire human civilization retracted all its sharp claws and fangs overnight.
The thousands of Stargates spread across a territory of a thousand light-years—whose brilliant halos once acted as cosmic arteries, tirelessly transporting massive amounts of matter and energy day and night—dimmed one by one.
Energy flow was forcibly compressed to the absolute minimum required to maintain basic positioning.
Suspended at the center of the Milky Way, the giant eye of the [Sentry Array] also slowly closed.
Its monitoring power was reduced to an unprecedented low, no longer prying into the unfamiliar civilizations of distant galaxies, no longer surveilling the energy tides in the depths of the universe.
All computing power, all energy, all heartbeats and breaths pointed to a single coordinate—the Sun.
The star that had been transformed into the ultimate engine.
The interstellar empire spanning a thousand light-years fell into a deep slumber overnight.
This was to accumulate strength for the final step.
...
However, under this extreme resource allocation and strategic contraction.
Certain fields classified as top secret ushered in an explosive, frenzied development.
Jupiter's orbit.
Inside the secret dock of the Imperium's Dreadnought Fleet, a massive space large enough to house a small moon was deathly silent.
Chief Scientist Lin Fan and his team stared at the void before them with bated breath.
Moored there was a decommissioned Pioneer-class starship.
It was the target for this experiment.
"Is everything ready?" Lin Fan's thought echoed within the closed channel, carrying a trace of imperceptible tension.
"Don't worry, boss," a young scientist grinned, attempting to ease the pressure with a joke. "It's a 'Dimensional Strike,' after all. It's not our first time seeing one."
Lin Fan ignored his banter.
He waved his hand.
"Activate."
The order was given.
In the center of the dock, the core of a strangely shaped instrument lit up with a faint, eerie glow.
The eerie glow swept gently over the decommissioned starship like a ripple of water.
The next second.
A bizarre and unparalleled scene unfolded.
The starship, with its massive three-dimensional structure, was viciously flattened as if by an invisible giant hand!
Its thickness dropped to zero in an instant.
Its spatial structure was forcibly collapsed and flattened.
It turned into a... two-dimensional image floating in space.
"Holy shit..." the young scientist blurted out, his mouth gaping wide open as a classic expletive escaped his lips.
"This... this is fucking art!"
How was this a weapon?
This was clearly the power of creation and destruction that only a god could possess!
Lin Fan's expression, however, grew increasingly solemn.
He did not immerse himself in this unimaginable power, but immediately ordered, "Activate the next project."
The Dimensional Folder was already terrifying enough.
But compared to the next project, it still fell quite short.
When this name appeared in Lin Fan's mind, even a top scientist like him, who was accustomed to cosmic miracles, felt his blood boil.
Its experimental report was ultimately encrypted by Lin Fan personally, bypassing all hierarchies to be transmitted directly to Luo Ji.
At the end of the report, Lin Fan wrote the conclusion:
"Chairman, limited by the extremes of material science and energy supply, its current area of effect is restricted to a single standard planet."
"However..."
"Its effect is absolute."
"We can... make a planet 'never have existed.'"
"Not destroy it, but erase its information, completely and utterly removing it at the root, on the timeline, and within the river of causality."
"All of its traces, all of its gravitational influence on surrounding star systems, all the life it birthed, all the stories that happened on it..."
"Will all be reduced to nothingness."
"Like a dream that never occurred."
Soon.
Luo Ji's reply was transmitted back.
There were no lengthy instructions, no thrilling praises.
Only a few cold, emotionless words.
"Seal it temporarily. Let the Qu experience it in a year."
...
Meanwhile.
Earth.
The cradle of human civilization.
It had long since taken on the appearance of paradise.
The citizens lived in an ultimate utopia constructed by technology and psionics.
They knew nothing of the mad plans underway in the depths of the Imperium, and had absolutely no concept of those terrifying weapons capable of overturning the laws of the universe.
They only knew.
The Imperium was undertaking a great endeavor.
A great endeavor that would lead all of humanity to usher in the ultimate "evolution."
"Did you hear? The 'evolution' is almost complete!"
"Of course! I feel like lately, when I dream, I see all sorts of weird symbols. My mind feels so much clearer!"
"Me too! My son even told me yesterday that he thinks he can hear what our cat is thinking!"
In the plazas of virtual communities, people discussed excitedly.
Anticipation was written on everyone's faces.
However.
An indescribable collective "psionic anxiety" also began to quietly spread through the crowds like an invisible mist.
As the charging of the [Aetherophasic Engine] drew closer and closer to its end.
All humans, no matter where they were or whether they were paying attention to this matter, could increasingly clearly feel a "call" from a higher dimension.
It was a wondrous feeling.
As if their souls were soaking in warm water, there was an urge to break free from the heavy shackles of the flesh and drift toward endless freedom.
This feeling brought ultimate anticipation.
It also brought an instinctive fear of the unknown.
It was like a primitive man who had lived his entire life on land standing at the edge of a cliff for the first time.
He yearned for the vastness of the sky.
Yet feared the dangers of the sky.
...
The capital of the Imperium, the All Tomorrows Space Station.
Luo Ji stood alone before the massive observation window on the bridge.
Behind him was the azure Earth.
Before his eyes was the Sun, radiating brilliant light, having already been transformed into a magnificent engine.
He could feel it.
The anticipation, excitement, fear, and anxiety radiating from all of humanity... all this complex psionic energy was converging into an unprecedented mental storm, surging madly toward the Sun, toward that ultimate engine.
Providing a slight boost to its final charging process.
This final peace was about to be broken.
For this day.
He had prepared, plotted, and waited for who knew how many years.
He slowly closed his eyes.
That hellish scene, forcibly implanted deep within his memories, surfaced in his mind once again.
The golden age of humanity.
Star People.
Worm People, Modular People...
And that entity known as the "Qu," who treated life as a toy and took pleasure in inflicting eternal suffering.
Luo Ji was waiting.
Waiting for a "guest."
An "old friend" he had become incredibly familiar with and hated to the bone through those implanted memories.
He wanted to ensure.
When that guest crossed several galaxies to arrive here...
Human civilization would have already prepared the most "grand" welcoming ceremony for them.
"Come," he muttered.
"Humanity is finally ready."
"I wonder if you, who love modifying others so much, have ever envisioned the shape you'll take once you're the ones being modified."