The sunset is always so lazy at dusk, with a hint of blood in the orange light, illuminating half of the sky and competing with the dark night rising from the east.

At this time, Xicheng High School was like the setting sun, lazy and tired. It was always like this on campus before winter vacation. The high school students were absent-minded, forgetting the books and homework in front of them, and they were all thinking about where to go during this vacation.

In Grade 14, the last class was a class meeting. Knowing that the children were not interested in studying, the teacher simply turned on the TV news for everyone to watch, as a prelude before the winter vacation.

"Evening news, let's pay attention to a few brief news today."

"The newly promoted general Comrade Leng Luan inspected the Xicheng Military Region today, met with the leading cadres of the military region above the division level, and extended greetings to the group army. Comrade Leng Luan called on all officers and soldiers in the army to vigorously promote the heroic and exemplary spirit and never shrink back when encountering difficulties.

Fulfill the sacred mission of protecting the people."

"This year's Nobel Prize Award Ceremony came to a perfect conclusion. The Church's Chief Honorary Knight, Joan Rison, became the new Nobel Peace Prize winner. He called on people from all over the world to join hands to protect endangered animals. The earth does not only belong to humans, but is the common home of all living things.

.”

"According to reports from the Federal Media Agency, a humanoid UFO appeared in the sky above the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean, which is suspected to be some kind of high-tech advanced weapon. Federal military spokesman, five-star general Agrolonso told the media that the news about the humanoid UFO was not accurate.

To be precise, the military does not have any plans to develop humanoid weapons."

"According to the latest wealth statistics, Mr., the world's richest man, continues to top the wealth list this year. He recently humorously responded to rumors about building a doomsday spaceship, saying that 'today's Internet users have humorous imaginations,' and jokingly said that he is willing to cooperate with Roland Eyre

Cooperate with director Merich to create a movie that surpasses "2012"."

"Capital Science and Technology Times summarized that Chinese scientists have achieved major research results in the field of AI. The first generation of implantable smart chips has been officially named "Future". The birth of this chip means a fundamental breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence, creating artificial intelligence with independent thoughts."

Life becomes possible."

...

The hosts on TV are constantly broadcasting news in various fields, but compared with the attractive winter vacation, the news is too far away.

All the students in Class 14, Grade 2, were all absent-minded. Some were packing their schoolbags. Those who had finished packing were staring out the window in a daze, mentally counting down to the end of get out of class every second.

"Ding dong dong dong——"

Finally, the crisp end of get out of class bell rang, and the campus also rang with cheers of joy.

The liberated students ran out of the classroom cheering and celebrating the upcoming winter vacation.

The head teacher of Grade 2 (14) class came in with a small box and said, "Students who left their mobile phones with the teacher at the beginning of the semester can come and get their mobile phones."

Several classmates jumped over and took back their mobile phones. The class teacher talked and laughed with them, telling them not to play around during the winter vacation and to remember to study every day. The last response they received was a few lazy words: "I know."

”.

Among the classmates who received the mobile phone was a thin young man. He had an unusually delicate appearance, very white skin, and ruby-red eyes. He was as delicate as a doll. If his hair hadn't been so short, some people might have believed him if he said he was a girl.

.

A boy carrying a schoolbag walked up to the young man and patted his back: "Luo You, why don't you go to my house tonight and play black? Five blacks are missing one."

The handsome young man named "Luo You" waved his hand and said with an apologetic smile: "I'm not going. My sister is on winter vacation and is coming to Xicheng today."

The boy poked Luo You on the waist: "Hey, you are so obsessed with your sister, and you forget your friends when you see your sister! Okay, okay, I'll call someone else."

Luo You smiled and rubbed his waist, then couldn't wait to pick up his cell phone, walked out of the classroom, and dialed the number marked "Wei" in his address book.

"Everyone, everyone... beep." Soon, the call was connected.

Luo You couldn't hold back his smile and hurriedly asked with a smile: "Xiao Wei, I'm out of school, where have you been?"

The girl's sweet voice came from the other end of the phone: "Brother, we are still on the road and haven't gotten off the highway yet."

Luo You exclaimed: "Didn't you and dad set off at noon? Why are you still on the highway?"

"Don't mention it, it's almost the Chinese New Year, the highway is full of cars." The girl said, sighing quietly, and her voice lowered, hey... why did your parents do it back then... if they were still together?

, we can meet every day..."

Luo You pursed her lips and her expression became a little lonely.

He is a child of a single-parent family. His parents divorced early. He lived with his mother, and his younger sister Luo Wei lived with his father.

He and Luo Wei live in different cities and can only get together during winter and summer vacations, so they cherish every meeting and always feel sorry for the distance between the two places.

As the elder brother, Luo You took the lead to adjust his mood and comforted him: "Okay, mom and dad have their own choices. Anyway, I will graduate from high school in two years. Then I will go to your city to study at university, and I will come with you every day after school."

You play, okay?"

The gloom in Luo Wei's voice was swept away, and she smiled sweetly: "Okay~"

Luo You warned: "Then I will go back to help mom cook and wait for you. You ask dad to drive slowly, and pay attention to safety on the road."

"Uh-huh."

Luo You walked out of the teaching building. After class, the campus was filled with laughter and laughter, and the air was filled with the fragrance of leaves and grass.

High school students gathered in small groups. Some were sweating on the basketball court, some were walking on the playground with their crushes of the opposite sex, and some couldn't wait to run out of the campus and jump into the arms of their parents who were waiting outside.

When Luo You passed by a bench, he happened to hear a few classmates sitting there, talking to each other about interesting things.

"Have you checked the forum recently? News about a mysterious building is circulating on the Internet again."

"The mysterious building...you mean the "cube"? Isn't that thing fake? The official has refuted the rumors."

"But recently, it seems that someone risked his life and sneaked into the blocked area. It is true that there is a cube, and the photos have been posted."

"It's fake. It's absolutely fake. I've seen that picture. It's so lakeside and the mosaics are all patinated. It must be P's."

"Hey, when will this world turn upside down? Reading is really boring. I want to be like the protagonist in the online novel, fighting monsters and leveling up every day."

"Then you have to be the protagonist first! We are noobs like us, and if we are thrown into an online article, we will be cannon fodder that doesn't even deserve a name."

"You must be cannon fodder, dad and I are definitely the protagonist, hahahaha!"

"Go away!"

Luo You looked at the quarreling classmates. What they had just discussed was a very popular topic in recent years.

All in all, there are rumors that mysterious cube-shaped buildings have appeared in certain places in the world. I don’t know if they were created by aliens or some underground civilization. They also say that there are monsters nearby, and people who are close to them can awaken supernatural powers.

So much.

This incident was quickly publicly denied by local officials, saying it was a rumor. The official WeChat account even posted a blog post full of ridicule, including the meme "XXX, the teacher asked you to go back to school to calculate the area of ​​a cube."

However, this is also the strange thing.

The rumor passed away after a while, but the place where the cubes were rumored to appear turned out to be a closed area, preventing travelers who came after hearing the news from approaching. They asked whether it was a geological disaster or a military exercise.

This quite a bit means "official certification", and it's hard not to associate it with it.

Of course, except for a few pictures that have been circulated online, there is no real evidence on this matter, so it only remains at the level of conspiracy theory.

Luo You shook his head, threw the cube behind his mind, and walked out of the campus humming a brisk song.

He went to the mall to buy some snacks that Luo Wei liked to eat. When he was waiting for the traffic light on the sidewalk on his way home, he saw a little girl holding a dog.

The little girl was born with a pretty face and a cute bun. She was making the dog's face into various shapes with her hands, giggling, and the dog was wagging its tail happily.

This scene reminded Luo You of his childhood.

When he was a child, his parents had not yet divorced, and he and Luo Wei lived together and went to the same elementary school.

He was so happy after school every day. He and Luo Wei would take their change to the canteen to buy their favorite snacks, play marbles on the playground, or find a quiet place to sit down and watch the sunset together.

They had raised puppies before, and they had picked them up from the roadside. Together, he and Luo Weiwei took the puppy home to bathe it, feed it, give it a name, and imagine how it would grow up in the future.

But unfortunately, the puppy had already contracted canine distemper when it was picked up and died soon after. This made the two siblings cry for several days.

The past events were vivid in his mind, and the beautiful and innocent scenes of his childhood floated through Luo You's mind. In his eyes, the little girl seemed to have become Luo Wei himself. Watching her smile happily, he was also immersed in the memories of the past without knowing it.

inside.

Just then, an accident happened.

A wild cat emerged from the corner and crossed the road. The little girl's dog instinctively chased after seeing it.

The little girl was holding the dog leash in her hand. She was caught off guard and failed to hold the dog, and was dragged into the middle of the road.

At this time, the signal light did not change color, and a large truck was approaching. The driver was so frightened that he stepped on the brakes. However, the large truck had too much inertia and could not stop at all.

Seeing the large truck that was rolling over fiercely, the little girl was so frightened that she froze completely. She stood there blankly, unable to make any reaction. In a few moments, she would be crushed into a pulp.

Luo You didn't think about anything at that time, really didn't think about anything.

His mind went blank. Before he could make a rational judgment, his body started to move, and he rushed towards the little girl and pushed her away regardless of his own safety.

What am I doing... The moment he pushed the little girl out, Luo You had this thought in his mind.

The little girl fell forward and was pushed out of the rolling range of the large truck, while Luo You took the little girl's original position.

"winter!--"

First there was heavy pressure, and then there was a severe feeling of weightlessness. Luo You felt like he was flying up. A huge impact surged through his body, and he could even hear the sound of his bones breaking.

Immediately afterwards, he fell heavily to the ground, his vision turned scarlet, the sky soaked by the sunset became distorted, and the cries of the little girl, the barking of the puppy, and the driver's frightened screams lingered in his ears, and finally everything became a blur.

Unclear.

Am I...going to die...

When he was on the verge of death, what Luo You thought about was not the pain that penetrated his bones, nor the regret of his young death. What he thought of was his family.

I die, what should my family do...

Mom usually can only be alone...

Will dad be depressed...

After all, mom and dad still have one child left, what should Xiao Wei do...

Xiao Wei will cry terribly if she doesn't have a brother anymore...

I don't want her to cry...

I also want to protect her when I grow up...

Don't want to die...

I don't want to die...

The sudden drop in blood pressure caused Luo You to lose consciousness, and his heartbeat became slower and slower, and he was on the verge of failure.

He tried his best to stay awake, but the surroundings were getting darker and darker, as if he had been thrown into the boundless black ocean and dragged by the whirlpool to the depths of the sea.

I don't want to die...

I don't want to die...

I don't want to die...

With a strong desire to survive, he struggled in the black ocean, desperately trying to get his mouth and nose out of the water, but he was constantly drowned by the rolling waves.

He rises and falls in this black ocean. Above the sea is the deep and silent space of the universe. Stars that have shone for hundreds of millions of years stretch into a majestic sea of ​​stars. He in the water is like a speck of dust at this scale.

As he was sinking, he suddenly saw something through the water...

He wasn't sure whether it was a real scene or a horrific nightmare...

He saw that the deep light streams in the deep sky gathered together and turned into an eye...

A giant eye hidden behind the stars...

That giant eye was so huge that it occupied the entire sky, overlooking everything like a god.

Suddenly, it turned around and saw him struggling in the black sea of ​​death...

Under the gaze of the giant eyes, Luo You felt that there was some kind of mutation in the deepest part of his body. It was deeper than flesh and blood, deeper than bones, and even deeper than bone marrow and organs. It reached to the center of every cell, and it reached to the very center of every cell.

The lowest level of the gene chain.

In that place that human science cannot explore, something is awakening...

...

...

...

Luo You opened his eyes suddenly and saw the endless night sky.

Am I... dead?

No...I'm not dead...

Just now... was it a dream?

No, no, no...it hurts...this is not a dream...

In the end what happened...

Luo You sat up with difficulty. Suddenly, he noticed something was wrong... Why could he sit up?!

He had just collided with a large truck and was crushed hard. Logically speaking, his body should have been smashed to pieces.

He looked down at his body, his whole body froze there, and the scene in front of him completely defeated his reason.

His body had indeed been smashed, and broken bones could be seen poking out of the flesh all over his body, bloody and exposed to the air.

However, at this time, these flesh and blood are undergoing some kind of mutation. They split into fine scarlet blood filaments, entangled and entangled in the air, re-forming intact tissues and squeezing back into place.

The broken bones are also growing rapidly. The broken bones are squeezed out by the new bones. Perfectly fitting bones grow at the fractures, join each other, and restore.

The same goes for the blood splashed by the huge impact...

The blood stained on Luo You's body, sprinkled on the ground, and adhered to the wheels of the truck seemed to have come to life. They did not solidify or dry up, but kept flowing towards Luo You.

Blood drops crawled densely on Luo You's body, squeezing back into the body from the wound. Finally, as the epidermis healed quickly, his entire body recovered as before, and the injury just now seemed to have never appeared before.

confused...

shudder...

fear...

Looking at his body that was regenerating at a rapid speed, Luo You didn't feel any joy at all, only despair and chaos, as if everything he was familiar with suddenly disappeared, leaving only the unknown.

"How is this going..."

He looked around in despair. After hitting him, the truck hit a telephone pole on the side of the road. The front of the truck was twisted around the impact position and was squeezed into pieces of twisted metal.

It's getting dark now, and a long time has passed since the incident occurred. The little girl and the driver don't know where they went, and they don't know why no ambulance came to the scene.

This neighborhood was originally the busiest business district in Xicheng, and the streets were always bustling with entertainment. But now there is not even a single person. There are scattered luggage, damaged cars, and shoes that have fallen off someone’s feet everywhere.

Messy.

In the end what happened...

Luo You was groping aimlessly around and suddenly touched a fragment of a reflector that had fallen from a truck.

After hesitating for a moment, he picked up the fragment and held it tremblingly in his palm, trying to confirm what had just happened.

The fear of pain made it difficult for him to start, and he tried to exert force several times but gave up.

Finally, in order to verify the reality, he gritted his teeth and rowed ruthlessly.

As the heartbreaking pain came, his palm was cut by the fragment.

Don't show up again...

Don't show up again...

Don't show up again...

Luo You prayed desperately in his heart, praying that everything before was an illusion.

However, reality gave him the cruelest response.

The fragment cut open the palm and blood spilled out, but within a very short period of time, the blood returned to the body, and the wound closed instantly, returning to its original state.

"Ding Dang..." The fragment slipped from Luo You's hand and fell to the ground.

His eyes were completely broken.

"What...have I become..."

At this moment, he thought of the scene when he was about to die...

He thought of the black ocean that symbolized death...

He also thought of the dead and violent deep space of the universe, the shining stars, and the eye overlooking him behind the stars...

From this moment on, his logic of known things completely collapsed, and the world was no longer what it was in his eyes.

He no longer had the courage to look directly at the stars.

Luo You sat on the ground holding his head, trembling every time he breathed. He desperately tried to divert his attention and told himself to focus on other things.

Focus on other things...

"Xiao Wei..." Suddenly, Luo You thought of his family. He kept groping around on his body and found that his cell phone was missing.

But soon, he found his mobile phone not far away. It was thrown out of his pocket during the car accident and was not crushed.

Luo You pressed the side button and the screen lit up. The phone was not broken, but the message on the screen made him completely panic.

It is now 4:13 in the morning, and there are more than a hundred missed calls on my phone, including from my parents and Luo Wei. The latest call was from Luo Wei, an hour ago!

She hasn't called for a whole hour!

Luo You tried to call back, but only heard the cold tone that the call could not be dialed. He looked at the screen and found that the signal had no bars.

He looked around and soon saw the high-rise shopping mall nearby.

Maybe there will be a signal high up...

Luo You rushed into the mall. The place was in a mess. Shopping carts collided with each other, the shelves were almost empty, and useless packaging bags were scattered on the ground. It seemed that there had been a robbery not long ago.

what happened...

what happened...

Luo Youyou was so worried that he took his mobile phone to the elevator entrance. The elevator was still working, so he took the elevator directly to the top floor.

It was already dawn, and the sky was no longer black, but an oppressive deep blue. The wind on the rooftop was raging and noisy, bringing with it the unique coldness of winter. When it blew, it cut like a knife on the face.

On the ground, the cityscape was obscured by tall buildings, and Luoyou could not see anything.

At this time, when he came to the rooftop, tall buildings stretched in front, with a panoramic view of Xicheng, he finally saw the truth of everything...

Luo You is a native of Xicheng. He was born and raised here. He has lived here for 17 years and knows the streets and alleys of this city well.

But is the place I see now really the Xicheng that I am familiar with?

The city streets were filled with black smoke, and there were collapsed and burning buildings everywhere. Vehicles collided with each other on the congested streets, making sharp sirens, and people ran in panic like ants.

There were tanks and chariots on the street. The engines of the armored forces roared like roars. They savagely knocked away the obstacles on the road. The soldiers with infantry and tank coordination followed the side and advanced deeper into the city. From time to time,

You can also see the flames of guns and main guns firing.

In the area where the smoke was thickest, the buildings had long been reduced to ruins, and there were shocking corpses everywhere. Those were not humans or animals, but some alien species that had never been seen in nature.

There are bright green strange insects, monsters covered with biological bones, and even a giant beast that is hundreds of meters long and taller than a building.

"Boom -" a deafening sound came from the dome.

Luo You raised his head and saw a squadron of fighter jets tearing through the sky, leaving a long trail in the sky, crossing the smoke-filled battlefield and striking into the distance.

Looking along the direction of the fighter jet's flight, Luo You saw the rumored thing...

An unimaginably huge cube...

Just as the rumors say, it is a regular cubic giant. Even at the end of the horizon, it still towers into the sky. Its height completely exceeds the scope of human technology today.

The surface of the cube is densely covered with traces of light that are constantly flowing. The energy field is erupting like a stormy wave. The surrounding space is constantly distorting. Those ferocious beasts rush out of the void one by one, endlessly.

Luo You stood there in despair, staring blankly at this city that was warm and normal yesterday, but suddenly turned upside down today.

He raised his cell phone and saw that there was indeed a signal from high up. He dialed Luo Wei's number with trembling hands.

"All, all...drops."

The phone was connected, and Luo Wei's cry came from the receiver: "Brother! Is it you? You speak!"

Hearing Luo Wei's voice, Luo You slumped to the ground as if relieved, and quickly responded: "It's me! It's me!"

Luo Wei cried and said: "Your phone has been unable to get through. I thought you had... ugh..."

Luo You comforted: "I'm fine, there was no signal before...Xiao Wei, are you with your parents? Where are you now?"

Luo Wei's voice trembled, almost hoarse as she cried: "Brother... Mom and Dad are dead..."

"Dong!..." The fierce heartbeat made Luo You feel dazed for a while, and he almost fainted.

Luo Wei's cry came from the phone: "Last night, a monster rushed into our house... In order to protect me, my father took a knife to fight the monster, but... ugh... my mother pushed me away and called me

Run, she led the monster upstairs, and then I heard...woo...woo..."

Listening to Luo Wei's cries, Luo You's heart felt as heavy as a huge stone pressing on his chest, and it became difficult to breathe. He prayed that this was a nightmare, but reality pressed in mercilessly.

Tears welled up in his eyes, his whole body was trembling, and he couldn't say anything. Memories of being with his parents and those happy reunion times in his childhood appeared in his mind.

He couldn't accept that his parents died like this, and he couldn't imagine what life would be like without his parents. The huge grief almost overwhelmed his heart.

"Woo...Woo...Brother...what should I do..."

Luo Wei's sobs kept echoing in his ears, knocking Luo You's consciousness again and again. He struggled to raise his hand and hit his head hard, forcing himself to wake up.

He can't despair yet...

Mom and dad are gone, but Luo Wei is still alive...

This is my only relative...

If he is desperate, Luo Yi will definitely be even more desperate...

Luo You tensed her body tightly to prevent herself from crying, and said in as calm a tone as possible: "Xiao Wei, don't cry, first tell me where you are?"

Despair ensued. Maybe the nearby signal tower was damaged, and the signal at high altitude began to disappear. Luo Wei's voice on the other end of the phone became unclear, filled with the rustling sound of malfunction.

Luo Wei cried intermittently: "Soldiers...many soldiers...they took me to the car...we were driving towards the sun...we were driving in the direction of the rising sun...we just passed by your

School..."

Luo You looked towards the east, and based on his familiarity with Xicheng, he roughly locked onto the area Luo Wei mentioned.

As far as the eye can see, there are clouds of armor and numerous flags.

The army established a blockade in the eastern city. Armored troops gathered in groups and formed an endless line of defense together with the array of soldiers. The red blood flag fluttered in the wind over the position, like a burning fire under the rising sun.

The sound of signal failure in the receiver was extremely obvious. Luo You held the phone tightly and said without hesitation: "Xiao Wei, listen to me!"

"I'll come to you!"

"No matter where you go, no matter how long it has been..."

"I will definitely come to you!"

The sound of the malfunction drowned out everything, and Luo You didn't even know if Luo Wei heard him.

It's not important anymore.

Because these words were not only meant for Luo Wei, but also a promise he made to himself.

Luo You's eyes reflected the military blockade in the distance, and all confusion receded, leaving only unshakable determination.

The 17-year-old boy faced the rising sun and went to his own battlefield.

...
Chapter completed!