The black SUV, a silent phantom, sliced through layers of camouflage netting and electronic jamming fields, finally plunging into a colossal mountain hollow deep within the Western Hills of the capital – a place erased from all maps. Massive alloy blast doors sealed shut behind it with a whisper, cutting off the last vestiges of outside light and signal. This was "Kunlun," a fortress buried in stone, China's ultimate redoubt against apocalypse-level threats.
Inside, Chu Xuan followed Zhao Qiming out. The sight that greeted him stole his breath. Beneath a vaulted ceiling soaring dozens of meters high lay a world of cold, futuristic light. Technicians in white anti-static suits or military uniforms moved like ghosts through oceans of holographic projections and cascading data streams. Massive screens pulsed with global satellite feeds, geological activity, and… blinking crimson markers labeled "Anomalous Energy Fluctuations." The air hummed with ozone, metal, and a palpable, electric tension.
"Welcome to 'Kunlun'," Zhao Qiming's voice echoed slightly in the vastness, his gaze still complex when it landed on Chu Xuan, though the professional scrutiny had been replaced by the gravity of confronting the unknown. "This way. The leadership awaits in the 'Pangu Hall.'"
Passing through multiple blast doors requiring retina, voice, and palm verification, Chu Xuan stepped into the true nerve center – "Pangu Hall." A colossal circular chamber dominated by a central holotable currently projecting a shimmering blue Earth. Marked upon it were the spatial ripple point over the capital, the Qinling coordinates, and other global anomalies highlighted in crimson. Over a dozen individuals – men and women of varying ages, radiating the quiet authority of those who steered nations – sat around the table. Their collective gaze, sharp as scalpels, locked onto Chu Xuan the moment he entered.
The pressure was immense. These were the architects of national destiny, weathered by countless storms. Their eyes held scrutiny, doubt, shock-hardened resolve, and a sliver of desperate hope clinging to a lifeline. Chu Xuan even recognized faces usually seen on the evening news.
At the head sat an elderly man in a deep grey Zhongshan suit, silver-haired, with a lean, ascetic face. His eyes, calm yet fathomless as ancient oceans, seemed capable of absorbing any tempest. Chu Xuan knew him – General Yang Zhenguo, operational head of the Supreme Emergency Office, codename "Great Wall." In his past life, this man had detonated the core reactor of the last Ark City, taking several Golden Core realm alien commanders with him into oblivion.
"Comrade Chu Xuan, please sit." General Yang's voice was warm, resonant, carrying an uncanny power to soothe even amidst chaos, instantly diffusing some of the suffocating pressure. He gestured to a seat deliberately left empty opposite the holotable.
Chu Xuan gave a slight nod and sat under the weight of their gazes, utterly composed. His preternatural calm drew faint, approving glances from the hawkish generals present.
"Comrade Qiming has provided a preliminary report of your… 'warning'," General Yang began, his gaze piercing. "The information is staggering, the details precise beyond any existing intelligence assessment. Regarding Wang Zhenhai, the evidence is irrefutable; judicial proceedings have commenced. You have proven your access to information. Now, we require more. About the 'apocalypse' in ten months. About our path to survival."
Chu Xuan took a steadying breath. The true trial began now. He needed revelations powerful enough to shatter doubt and commandeer the nation's full resources.
"General Yang, esteemed leaders," Chu Xuan's voice was clear, steady, resonating in the silent hall. "The 'Ten Thousand Realms Invasion' is, in essence, the forced assimilation of Earth's cosmic plane into a higher-dimensional, pyramid-shaped structure – the 'Nine Heavenly Domains'. We stand at the bloody threshold of its lowest tier, the 'Mortal Dust Realm'."
He focused his will, channeling a sliver of his meager stolen life essence and strained mental energy through his fractured system into the holotable's control nexus.
Huummm—
The image of Earth blurred, stretched, warped! Under the stunned gazes of the assembly, the planet shrank, pulled back, replaced by a staggering, layered pyramid composed of countless shimmering reality bubbles! Each tier radiated distinct energies: the chaotic grey bottom (Mortal Dust Realm), ascending through abyssal depths (Nine Nether Domain), clashing immortal and demonic auras (Profound Truth Domain), vibrant life (Spirit Ruins Domain), starry brilliance (Star Sea Domain), primordial heaviness (Mysterious Yellow Domain), and chaotic murkiness (Primordial Chaos Domain), culminating at the apex in an indescribable, all-encompassing, creation-imbued light (Vast Primordial World)!
[WARNING! Forced holographic projection! Essence depletion accelerating… Current: 0.008%…]
Chu Xuan fought back dizziness and a stabbing pain in his temples as he manipulated the projection. He marked countless crimson flares on the pyramid's base, representing the impending Dungeon Gates and Spatial Rifts on Earth. Blood-red arrows speared from the rifts, connecting to nightmarish alien territories within the pyramid's middle layers (Wolfkin, Lizardmen, Frost Prison Tribe, Nine Nether Tribe…). At the pyramid's pinnacle, a colossal, cold, eye-like golden list shimmered into existence, radiating supreme, oppressive authority!
"This is the 'Nine Heavenly Domains' structure," Chu Xuan's voice was heavy, resonant. "Each domain is governed by its 'Heavenly Dao' law. Survival of the fittest is the sole creed. And connecting the layers, distributing resources, deciding the fate of races, is this – the 'Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking'!"
He pointed at the golden list. "Two rankings: Race Rank and Heavenly Pride Rank. The Race Rank decides a race's share of vital resources within its domain – 'Source Qi' (cultivation energy), 'Dao Traces' (fragments of cosmic law), 'Realm Cores' (control over pocket dimensions). Higher rank means greater share, the only chance for survival and ascension!"
Chu Xuan's gaze swept the room, each word an ice dagger plunging into their hearts. "And the Human Race, on the Mortal Dust Realm's Race Rank… is Unranked!"
"Unranked?!" An elder in charge of economic affairs gasped, voice trembling with disbelief.
"Yes. Unranked." Chu Xuan's tone was frigid, brutal. "The Rank lists only the top ten thousand! Races beyond ten thousand lack even the right to be listed! They are the pyramid's dregs – hunting grounds, livestock, slave stock for the powerful! To the myriad races, Earth's humans, frail and untrained, are 'fodder' penned in a slaughterhouse awaiting harvest! Our cities are their hunting grounds! Our people are their sustenance, their cultivation fuel! This is Earth's fate in ten months – dragged into the Mortal Dust Realm, served as the newest dish on the Ten Thousand Realms' banquet table!"
Tomb-like silence gripped the hall. The air congealed like lead, crushing every chest. The colossal pyramid glowed with cold indifference; the words "HUMAN RACE: UNRANKED" burned into their souls like brands. Veteran generals clenched fists till knuckles whitened, eyes blazing with humiliation and rage. Scientists and intelligence chiefs paled, cold sweat beading on their brows.
"How… how do we break this?" General Yang's voice remained steady, but a subtle rasp betrayed the strain. He voiced the question screaming in every mind.
"The path is fraught, survival uncertain," Chu Xuan stated flatly. "Two pillars: Survival and Ascension!"
He refocused the projection, Earth enlarging, key points highlighted:
Arks of Survival (Life Arks): Immediately initiate construction of colossal, ecologically self-sustaining, energy-shielded subterranean fortresses worldwide! Sites must avoid known spatial weak points, anchored in stable geology and Dragon Vein nodes (Kunlun, Qinling, Taihang). These are the only bastions to preserve the human spark, withstand initial chaos, and resist alien predation! Goal: Ten Ark Cities, each sheltering tens of millions, within ten months!
Cultivation & Resource Seizure: Leverage the next ten months, especially the sporadic 'Ability Manifestation' phenomenon beginning soon (like Zhou Wu's awakening), combined with basic cultivation methods I provide (Qi Refining Arts, Body Tempering Techniques), to mass-train the military and suitable civilians! Simultaneously, take the offensive! Explore and cleanse emerging 'Temporary Dungeons' and spatial weak points! These places are perilous, but also the only sources of rising ambient energy, 'Spirit Crystals,' 'Dao Trace Fragments' – our vital early cultivation resources! Dungeons MUST be cleansed! Fail, and in seven days, they become alien invasion gates! Succeed, and they become invaluable cultivation grounds!
Ascension! The ultimate goal, the only escape! After global datafication, after Earth is dragged into the Mortal Dust Realm, the Human Race must secure a place on the Race Rank! Even the 9999th spot! Only by Ascending do we gain the Heavenly Dao's resource allocation (Source Qi), granting humanity breathing room! The absolute minimum requirement? The birth of at least one 'Golden Core' cultivator within our race!" Chu Xuan's gaze was brutally clear. "This means forging a warrior capable of matching mature alien combatants amidst resource scarcity and encircling enemies! It is our beacon, our greatest trial!"
"Golden Core…" A star-adorned general murmured, understanding nuclear firepower, yet struggling to grasp such individual might.
"This… this is fantasy! Ten months! Ten subterranean metropolises? Forging a Golden Core? With what resources?" A infrastructure official blurted, face etched with despair.
"With resolve! With sacrifice! With our entire civilization wagered on survival!" Chu Xuan's voice cracked like a whip, infused with desperate conviction. "We have NO choice! Pour everything into the next ten months for a sliver of hope! Or, in ten months, watch our cities crumble, hear our people's screams become the soundtrack to an alien feast! Watch our civilization… erased from the cosmic tapestry!"
His words were sledgehammers. Pressure choked the air. Gloom and despair began to seep into the chamber.
Suddenly!
Huuuuuummm—!!!
Without warning, the entire "Pangu Hall" shuddered violently! Not a physical earthquake, but a spatial, fundamental tremor! Deafening alarms blared! Screens flickered madly, data streams dissolving into gibberish, sparks fizzing from overloaded consoles!
"What's happening?!"
"Energy surge?! Spatial disturbance?!"
"Report! Unknown energy source erupting! Magnitude… immeasurable! Origin… inside the chamber!"
Technicians shouted in panic. General Yang, Zhao Qiming, and others surged to their feet, scanning the room in shock.
Chu Xuan's heart seized! A soul-deep tremor made him snap his gaze upwards, towards the chamber's dome!
Above the holotable projecting the Nine Heavenly Domains, space rippled like disturbed water! Shards of golden light manifested from nothingness, swirling and coalescing with furious energy!
A vast, majestic, oppressively heavy golden list phantom was tearing through space, slowly solidifying! It resembled the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking Chu Xuan had projected, but was blurred, fragmented, its edges disintegrating into golden dust, flickering like a bad signal, unstable and filled with static.
[WARNING! Detecting ultra-high-dimensional Law Projection intrusion!]
[Target: Mortal Dust Realm Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking (Corrupted/Unstable Projection)…]
[Analysis: Violent conflict with Planetary Suppression Field… Projection strength attenuated by 99.999%… Data integrity <1%…]
[Energy Source: ??? (Primordial-level fluctuations)… Correlation: Extreme! Matches System Lock Source Frequency!]
[WARNING! Essence Energy draining rapidly! 0.005%… 0.004%…]
Chu Xuan felt like his skull was splitting, vision blurring, the system's shrieking alarms threatening to shred his mind. This projection… here? Now? And so weak and broken? The planet's suppression? Or because it was merely the Golden Ranking's shadow?
The corrupted list flickered, only its top section partially visible. Blurred golden runes squirmed like tadpoles, barely forming recognizable rankings:
1st: ??? (Runes distorted, unreadable)… Reward: ??? Source Qi / ??? Dao Traces / ??? Realm Cores…
2nd: Dragon ??? Clan… Reward: … (Data fragmented)
…
9998th: Rock-Sprite Clan… Reward: 1000 tons Source Qi…
9999th: Burrower ??? Clan… Reward: 800 tons Source Qi…
10000th: Moss Giant Clan… Reward: 500 tons Source Qi…
The list ended abruptly! Below was only churning golden static and dissolving light particles! HUMAN RACE UNRANKED! Not even the races beyond ten thousand merited a flicker on this broken ghost!
As the phantom manifested, a wave of icy, vast, utterly impersonal will washed over the hall! It held no emotion, only the pure logic of resource distribution and survival of the strongest! It scanned every person present like so much worthless gravel, pausing for a nanosecond over the "Human Race: Unranked" void before receding as swiftly as it came.
Thud! Thud!
Several technicians and civilian officials, overwhelmed by the sheer existential negation, collapsed into their chairs, faces ghostly pale, gasping for air, eyes wide with primal terror and insignificance. Even the battle-hardened generals felt ice water trickle down their spines! This wasn't power; it was the denial of one's very right to exist!
The golden phantom lasted barely three seconds before violently destabilizing, shattering into a shower of fading light, vanishing. The tremors and interference ceased, leaving only the shrill alarms echoing pointlessly.
Silence.
Absolute, suffocating silence enveloped Pangu Hall.
Every eye, filled with shock and a dawning, horrifying comprehension, locked onto Chu Xuan. The impossible spectacle, the cold, uncaring list, the "Unranked" verdict, the annihilating indifference of that will… it all confirmed, with terrifying clarity, every single word Chu Xuan had uttered. This wasn't prophecy. This was cosmic reality.
General Yang slowly, heavily, sank back into his chair. He closed his eyes, drawing a deep, shuddering breath, as if forcing down an internal tsunami. When his eyes reopened, all doubt, hesitation, and wishful thinking were gone. Replaced by bedrock resolve and a mission burning white-hot.
He picked up an antique red secure phone – a direct line to the very pinnacle of power. His voice, amplified, cut through the silence, reaching the nation's core:
"Supreme Emergency Office, codename 'Great Wall,' Commander Yang Zhenguo, requesting activation of 'Doomsday Ark' Plan! Repeat, requesting activation of 'Doomsday Ark' Plan! Authorization: Top Secret - Eternal! Mobilize all national resources! Objective: Construct ten Ark Cities, capacity ten million each, within ten months! Objective Two: Dedicate all resources to forging… a Human 'Golden Core'!"
His gaze, heavy as mountains, settled on Chu Xuan, filled with unprecedented trust and a crushing burden. "Comrade Chu Xuan, effective immediately, you are the 'Great Wall' Plan's Chief Scientific Advisor, codename 'Pangu'! Granted SSS-Level Authority! All resources, all departments, all personnel of the nation are yours to command! Your task is singular – lead us to survive! Lead humanity… to Ascend!"
SSS-Level Authority! Codename "Pangu"! Chief Scientific Advisor!
A status akin to a national treasure! A collective gasp echoed in the hall.
Chu Xuan met General Yang's gaze and gave a single, decisive nod. No grand speeches, only crushing responsibility. He strode to the central console, ignoring the mix of awe, scrutiny, and disbelief around him. His fingers flew over the holographic keyboard. Encrypted coordinates appeared on General Yang and Zhao Qiming's secure terminals.
"General Yang, Director Zhao," Chu Xuan's voice held unwavering resolve, edged with exhaustion. "Trust demands proof. Dispatch an absolutely reliable special forces unit, equipped with maximum-level protective gear and sampling equipment, to these coordinates – deep within the Northwest Deserts. Codename '404': The ultra-classified deep geological repository for high-level nuclear waste."
He raised his head, his gaze sweeping the stunned assembly, each word a detonation:
"My first experiment. The first step in proving the value of the 'Devourer Physique'—"
"I will publicly consume high-level radioactive nuclear waste!"