Epoch of Twilight - Chapter 573
Chapter 573: An Alien Encounter
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The small islands were located near the equator of the South Pacific, like a pearl ornament sitting in the middle of the ocean.
All these islands were only up to a thousand square kilometers in size, and the smallest of them all was not even larger than a square kilometer.
However, regardless if it were big or small, all of the islands were lush with life. The howls of beasts could be heard one after the other while birds soared in the air as if they were dancing. Even when there was a heavy downpour of rain, it would not stop the vitality and energy of these animals.
On one of the mid-sized islands, a group of evolved humans was nested in a cave located at the mountainside. Most of them were kind of lying on the ground, while those who were getting bored began to chat briefly.
It had been over a week ever since they had reached this island, and the group of evolved humans that were originally very skinny had now fattened up.
The food source here was plentiful as the numbers of mutated beast brought in by the aliens in the past could only be described as bountiful. To add to that, most of them were relatively weak. Each time the evolved humans began hunting, there would be gains. They were also overeating from being starved most of the time in the past. Regardless of their weight or complexion, there were obvious changes during the past few days. The only thing that was not solved was the issues troubling their minds. There seemed to always be a haze in their mind causing them to become very lazy.
An evolved human that was lying in the cave began scratching his back, peeling off layers of dead skin cells before he lazily asked, “Where’s Brother Hu?”
“He’s still outside, looking at the space station that we ‘humans’ have built.” Another evolved human answered in a sarcastic tone.
The group of people began laughing. This was due to days of boredom and this was their only joy ever since that day. Brother Hu had become slightly abnormal, he would either be mumbling to himself daily, or he would run atop the mountains under the heavy rain as he gazed into the sky for as long as possible. Most days, he would go missing for almost half the time.
“He won’t really go mad, will he?”
“You’re the mad one, your whole family’s mad!” Xiaohu’s wife answered defensively, she would never believe that her man had gone mad. That being said, she would not believe in any of Xiaohu’s mumblings either.
“I’m only stating facts! Don’t you start scolding people!” The evolved human did not mind her outburst and waved his hand without even the slightest hint of anger.
Staying together for over forty to fifty years, coupled with Ling Zhong-an’s strong suppressive powers, their corners had long been dulled through time. Although everyone was not close enough to be called siblings, occasions where they would argue and fight each other were rare.
Seeing Xiaohu’s wife beginning to get angry, the topic was then naturally stopped at that point.
“Eh! It seems like the rain has stopped.” At this moment an evolved human suddenly exclaimed,
“Finally it stopped!”
The weather over here was relatively hot and humid. Every day was drenched with water, and after nesting at the cave for a few days, hairs began to grow in every part of their bodies. At that very moment where they saw the rain stop, the group of people could no longer wait and walked out of the cave.
The sky remained as dark as ink. The stopped rain could only be a temporary thing and it was entirely possible that a rainstorm would cause the rain to begin pouring again at the very next moment.
Ling Zhong-an’s looked around with a grim look. After only a day, the plants over here had almost grown an entirely different section, and their leaves and branches had become lusher. If there were no aliens, spending the rest of their lives here living a peaceful life would be quite the bargain.
In the end, the existence of aliens was unfortunately like having the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. It did not matter how they dreaded facing this fact. In the end, they would still have to accept this truth.
Without reason, Xiaohu’s mumbles flashed through Ling Zhong-an’s mind, moving him and causing him to say, “Let’s go to the top of the mountain and have a look.”
The island’s mountain not that high as its vertical height was only around sixty to seventy meters. The cave they were residing in was situated at the half-point of the mountainside so climbing to the top of the mountain was only a few minutes.
The group of men very quickly saw Xiaohu’s figure.
“What was he doing?” an evolved human asked with suspicion.
Noticing Xiaohu desperately moving boulders like a madman, they thought he looked as if he tumbled through a muddy pond as he was fully covered in dirt. It was only when the group of men closed in that they noticed that he was arranging the boulders in an SOS emergency rescue signal, and he was close to completion.
Ling Zhong-an grew gloomy after witnessing such a scene and quickly kicked away the array of boulders before he began yelling.
“What are you doing? Are you bored because the aliens had forgotten about us? Or are you looking to die!?”
There was some discomfort within his heart. He was just like a little girl that was about to be abused. Although he knew that there was nowhere to run, he felt that there might be a miracle that would happen even if dragged their time by just a little. Maybe the aliens have really forgotten about these humans?
“Boss. Why are you all here.” Xiaohu saw the arrival of the group of people and could not help himself but smile.
Seeing Xiaohu maintaining a casual attitude, Ling Zhong-an angrily kicked him off. He was really angry and this caused his entire body to grow with ån imposing manner.
“Other people have said that you’re crazy, I still wouldn’t believe it! Now, I finally know that you’re indeed going mad! If you continue doing as you please, don’t you dare say that I’m cold-blooded. I’m doing this for the greater good of all our people.”
The group of men was trembling. At this moment, even Xiaohu’s wife dared not beg the enraged Ling Zhong-an for mercy.
Xiaohu had been kicked over. Tumbling for a brief moment, he stood up in a disheveled manner and remained silent. He clearly knew that no matter what he said, nobody would believe him. This was clearly too unrealistic. Perhaps, he truly was mad. Perhaps, it was an illusion that appeared in his brain. How else how would he see these airships and the half-built space station that was labeled with the word “Humans”?
“Boss, I understand. I’ll never make the same mistake again,” Xiaohu lowered his head and said in a depressing tone.
Seeing Xiaohu finally admit his wrongdoings, Ling Zhong-an cooled off slightly. Xiaohu had a unique ability. To him, Xiaohu’s abilities were better even if it was compared to ten evolved combat specialists. Following that, he sincerely advised, “Not everything the eye sees is the truth. Perhaps, during these periods, stress has built up within you. When we return home, you’ll have to rest well for some time!”
“Okay, boss,” Xiaohu replied in a melancholic tone.
The group of people was preparing to return. However, at that very moment, a loud but deep buzzing was heard from the sky. The sudden appearance of the strange situation caused everyone to panic as they immediately looked up at it. The only thing they saw were clouds that were as dark as ink, drastically tumbling in the sky. It only lasted for a few moments before the clouds seemed to be pierced by a formless force.
It was through that hole that their eyes saw through to a piece of the azure sky.
At this moment, nobody was in the right mood to even admire the blue sky that they had not witnessed for decades.
The very next moment, an object covered in a flames shot through the clouds rapidly and flew in their direction.
“Not good! Quickly, hide!” Ling Zhong-an panicked and said immediately.
His vision could not be compared to Xiaohu’s but compared to a normal human, it was at least ten times more powerful. He could clearly see that the flame-covered object was not a powerful mutated beast, but was a silver-colored piece of alien flight equipment.
He stared at Xiaohu with deep hatred. However, this was obviously not the time for punishment and lecturing. He quickly hid beneath the cover of the lush canopy. A variety of plants were available here with tall green shrubs growing everywhere. Even wind would not be able to pass through this place, and he had no plans in confronting the aliens.
Xiaohu briefly hesitated as he stood still. In the end, he still did not have the guts to anger his boss again so he followed the group of people and quickly hid in the forest.
The buzzing gradually became louder, causing the air to tremble briefly. There was a terrifying tension in the air which caused everyone to subconsciously hold their breaths. It was as if their hearts were leaping out of their chest.
“It’s coming in this direction,” Xiaohu whispered.
Everyone’s heartbeat was suddenly elevated as a grim look suffused their faces.
“Look at what you’ve done!” Ling Zhong-an said in a deep voice that made him seem both frightened and angry at the same time.
Xiaohu remained silent and closed his palm to tightly grip a knuckle. At this moment, he felt the tension within his heart as well. What he saw with his eyes was one thing, and what was happening now was an entirely different thing.
The aircraft gradually slowed down. As the sparks surrounding it disappeared, it’s silver, streamlined shape was revealed. It took a spin around the island before it slowly landed on the mountain.
A formless force was felt blowing and shaking the woods surrounding them, causing dust and sand to be sent flying everywhere.
The group of men backed away once again as both their legs began to go uncontrollably limp. If it was not for everyone being unprepared for an encounter with the aliens, they would have run away by now.
The airship was not huge at all. Compared to a large commercial plane before the human apocalypse, it seemed much smaller. At the very most, it was close to the size of a light fighter jet. However, the technology that the airship contained and the powerful civilization behind the technology sapped their strength so they were unable to use any strength to resist.
The airship landed on the mountain and sent a gust of dust flying. After a moment, a hatch opened quietly. Just as everyone was wondering with unease at the kind of creature that would exit the ship, a humanoid form with a uniform appeared.
It was only when they saw it that they were shocked, as their gazes now locked onto the so-called “extraterrestrial creature”.
She had a pair of hands, a pair of legs, and also a face that resembled that of a human. It could be said that everything about her body made her seem entirely… human.
“You’re the survivors of Earth?? I’m an Extraterrestrial Information Bureau officer, my name is Chen Hongxia. We’ve discovered the SOS emergency signal that you left behind. No one thought that there would actually still be people on Earth!” she said after looking at the group of people hiding behind the trees. Her tone carried a sort of amazement as she could not believe what she was witnessing.
Her bright and clean smile had stunned everyone. Facing this beautiful and suspicious human female, the group of people looked at each other. Ling Zhong-an saw that no one dared to respond proactively and could not help but curse the useless bastards. He could only force himself to stand before forcing a rigid and tight smile. With a quivering voice, he replied, “W…We’re human survivors. A…are you the aliens… that are coming to pick us up?”
