"Citizens of Human Union's Underground City No. 1183, based on the latest observations, the Sun will undergo a helium flash in 30 minutes."
"Human civilization has entered its final 30-minute countdown."
"We... have failed."
Throughout the underground city, situated 500 meters beneath the Earth's surface, loudspeakers echoed the solemn female voice, inflicting an indescribable sense of suffocation within the hearts of every listener.
Lyu Yongchang sat expressionlessly in front of a holographic projection.
In the holographic image, a giant ball of fire burned quietly in the depths of space.
This was the image of the sun at this very moment.
Lyu Yongchang took a deep breath and waved his right hand in the air, making a gesture.
The scale of the holographic image suddenly shrank, revealing the current panorama of the Solar System.
Unlike the Solar System in the past, two planets had disappeared from it.
Venus and Mercury had already been consumed by the sun!
And the sun had turned into a deep red giant!
In astronomy, it has a special name.
A red giant!
"Yongchang... do we, no, do humans, perish like this?"
A slightly helpless female voice came from the side.
Lv Yongchang turned his head to look beside him.
A woman in a white lab coat sat on a chair, staring blankly at the holographic projection in front of her.
Lv Yongchang's eyes flickered slightly.
As the chief scientist of the Human Federation Science Academy, this woman named Su Yutong was his partner and capable assistant.
"Yes, humanity is finished."
Lv Yongchang let out a gentle sigh and continued, "There are still more than twenty minutes left. Would you like to go to the surface and see it?"
Su Yutong's eyes flickered slightly, and she withdrew her gaze from the holographic projection in front of her, slowly rising from her chair.
She reached out to untie her neatly coiled dark hair, facing Lv Yongchang and revealing a radiant smile.
"Of course."
In the elevator of the Underground City No. 1183, Lv Yongchang and Su Yutong stood silently in their bulky protective suits, their gazes meeting without words.
On the elevator's screen, numbers constantly flickered, indicating the current depth.
A trace of melancholy flashed across Lv Yongchang's eyes.
In the year 2045 of the Common Era, the Sun, upon which humanity relies for existence, underwent an unknown transformation, prematurely ending its prime and entering a phase of senescence.
Within a mere five years, the Sun transformed into a red giant, engulfing two planets within the Solar System.
Driven to the brink of extinction, humanity set aside all differences and established the Human Federation, or Human Union for short.
And Lv Yongchang, leveraging his lifelong status as an academic prodigy, overcame countless obstacles to claim the prestigious title of Chief Scientist of the Human Union Science Academy!
In his calculations, even if the Sun entered the red giant phase ahead of schedule, it would still take centuries before the helium flash erupted.
Since the surface of the Earth had become uninhabitable, under his call, the Human Union constructed countless underground cities, where all humanity took refuge while simultaneously embarking on the construction of interstellar spacecraft.
However, it was evident that he had miscalculated.
In just five short years, the Sun had traversed the life cycle that normally took billions of years for other stars!
The helium flash was imminent!
Earth, as the planet currently closest to the Sun, would undoubtedly be melted into a ball of magma.
Human civilization had reached its end!
"Ding!"
"Respected Chief Scientist, may your research mission on the surface be a complete success."
A crisp notification sound roused Lv Yongchang from his reverie.
He glanced at the elevator screen.
518°C
That was the temperature outside.
As the elevator doors slowly opened, a blast of heat accompanied by distorted air rushed in!
Looking up at the enormous red giant above and the boiling surface beneath, Lv Yongchang still felt a sense of intense heat despite the protective suit.
"We have one minute before the helium flash erupts," Su Yutong's slightly chilly voice came through the radio.
Lv Yongchang remained silent, merely lifting his head to gaze at the Sun through his filtered mask.
As the only advanced civilization on Earth, he refused to bow down and die!
"Do you know how much effort I put in to become your assistant?"
"Do you know why I did this?" Su Yutong's voice was filled with relief as if it were the final moment. "Because, I like you."
Lu Yongchang's pupils contracted sharply.
The Helium Flash erupted!
A blinding white light, intense to its extreme, poured from the red giant onto Earth!
In the blink of an eye, Lu Yongchang lost consciousness.
...
A fluorescent green expanse before his eyes.
A white line slowly extended, outlining a dendrogram against the fluorescent green void.
Lu Yongchang gazed at everything before him with confusion.
What...is this?
A faint flicker illuminated the base of the dendrogram.
Instinctively, he directed his gaze towards the bottom of the dendrogram.
Nuclear Energy Mastery: Controllable Nuclear Fission.
A line of highlighted white text appeared.
The next instant, the white area began to extend upwards.
Nuclear Power Mastery: Controllable Nuclear Fusion.
As the once dim words lit up, countless texts and symbols instantly engulfed Lv Yongchang's consciousness!
...
"Lv Yongchang! Lv Yongchang!"
"Professor Guan is calling you! Lv Yongchang!"
In a daze, familiar whispers echoed from beside his ears.
Gradually, his vision came into focus.
What met his eyes was a classroom.
Looking up at the elderly man on the podium, who was frowning at him, Lv Yongchang's pupils constricted slightly.
Professor Guan Hualiang!
But...didn't he pass away five years ago?!
"Lv Yongchang! This is your first college physics class! If you dislike physics so much, why did you enroll in the physics department?!"
There was anger in Professor Guan's voice.
Lv Yongchang looked confused, instinctively stood up, and turned to look around.
A familiar scene.
This was...his university classroom!
If he remembered correctly, this was his first physics class of his second year!
He hurriedly pulled out his phone from his pocket and pressed the screen to light it up.
September 6th, 2030!
Re... Reborn?!
In an instant, countless complex emotions flooded Lv Yongchang's mind.
Confusion, sadness, loss, and a glimmer of hope!
"Entrusted by heaven, eternal prosperity."
That was the origin of his name.
As it turned out, his name hadn't been wrongly chosen.
In his previous life, he held the highest position among humans, but... due to his mistake, human civilization came to an end.
In this life, he would rectify everything!
But... how?
"Lv Yongchang! Are you even listening to me?!"
Professor Guan Hualiang on the podium was fuming, his face flushed red with anger.
After teaching at Sandaokou University for so many years, he had never seen such a disrespectful student!
Lv Yongchang looked up at Professor Guan Hualiang on the podium and the blackboard behind him, his eyes flickering with a hint of determination.
Perhaps... he needed an opportunity to make a splash!
The next moment!
Countless formulas and texts from the fluorescent green tree diagram swirled like a storm in his mind!