Prologue:
Our story quietly opens at the dawn of the thirtieth century, a new era forged by the hammer of history. The earth, once a bright blue planet, is now scarred by war. The embers of nuclear winter turn to desert. However, humans did not give up. Beneath an oasis in central Australia, a magnificent underground city has been built - City of Hope.
This underground city is the crystallization of human ingenuity and tenacity, the sunlight shines through the high-tech dome, and the green plants grow stubbornly along the streets, as if symbolizing the last stubbornness of nature. After 600 years of restoration, the surface is gradually coming back to life, but technological progress has been slow. Until a group of mysterious alien visitors - the Zeretas - show up, bringing advanced technology and restarting the rise of humanity.
However, there are more mysteries behind this rebirth. Alex Carter's family has been secretly chosen to protect the historic site. However, Alex knew nothing about all this. A chance discovery uncovers his family's secrets and sets him on a fateful journey full of adventure and responsibility.
Chapter 1: The Veiled Truth
The life of Alex Carter is like a quiet lake that flows day after day. But under this surface tranquility, there always seems to be an unknown undercurrent, waiting for an opportunity to suddenly set off a towering wave.
The first rays of the morning sun crept up his desk through a gap in the curtains, trying to wake the sleeping traveler. Alex slowly opened his eyes, and there was a flicker of indifference to the everyday, but also a kind of longing for the unknown. His life, seemingly ordinary, is in fact like a carefully arranged chessboard, each step is implied, only to that key son, can open a legend of the prologue.
"Hey, Alex, it's another day. How are you going to spend it?" Neighbor Jack's voice came through the window with a hint of playfulness and anticipation. Alex smiled and did not answer directly, but shook his head slightly, as if even he did not know how long the silence could last.
He got up, walked to the window, and gazed at the familiar yet strange world beyond. Something whispered in his heart, telling him that under calm, storms often breed. And he, Alex Carter, is the man who is about to be caught in the eye of the storm.
On this day, there is no special arrangement, but Alex knows that it is these seemingly ordinary days that construct his unique fate trajectory. He took a deep breath, as if he wanted to breathe all the ordinary and extraordinary into his chest, and then, with this complex and firm mood, took the step of a new day.
In this world of endless possibilities, Alex Carter's life is about to change like never before. And it all began with that seemingly ordinary morning, and that dream that never gives up.
The early morning sun pours gently through the dome's daylight system onto the streets of the City of Hope. The underground city is carefully designed to be indistinct from the surface, and the greenery along the streets and the breeze make Alex often forget that he lives in an underground oasis hundreds of meters above the surface. Today, as usual, he walked through the crowds to the college.
Alex is one of tens of thousands of young people in the city, not much different from others of his age. He has a keen interest in history and ancient civilisations - a passion he inherited from his parents. His parents had been famous archaeologists, and their stories were widely told in the city, but for Alex, the memory of them was vague. They disappeared during an exploration mission and their whereabouts are still unknown. Alex occasionally looked through the papers they had left behind, but they were full of complicated notes and maps, too obscure for a young man who was not yet fully grown.
Today's lesson is about pre-nuclear war history. This is what Alex is most interested in, and the rise and fall of the Earth during that period stands in stark contrast to the glorious history he imagines. As the teacher spoke eloquently of the splendour and destruction of that time, Alex seemed distracted. His eyes occasionally drifted out of the window, as if something was calling to him, preventing him from concentrating.
When the bell rang, Alex packed up his books and prepared to leave the college. His good friend Lena Flinton came up to him with a puzzled expression on her face. "You look a little confused today. Did you not sleep well yesterday?"
"Maybe so." Alex shrugged. "I dreamed about my parents last night. I thought they were sending me a message. But when I woke up, I couldn't remember anything."
"Dreaming about your parents? Don't be afraid. We'll find their tracks." There was a firmness in Lina's eyes, as if she could penetrate the mists of time to the unknown but hopeful shore. She stroked her chin, thought for a moment, and then her eyes lit up, "By the way, are you free this afternoon?" I've got an idea. Let's go to the Earth Heritage Museum. I hear there's an unprecedented exhibition going on there -- a feast of pre-nuclear history. Your parents, they're the gemenons of archaeology, and they've covered every corner of ancient civilization. Perhaps, there, we can touch the clues left by them, so that this journey of finding relatives, more guidance, less confusion."
In her words, there are both expectations for the unknown and memories of the past, like the brightest star in the night sky, leading the way forward. Such a proposal undoubtedly stirred up a circle of ripples between the two hearts, making the desire to find loved ones more hot and more urgent.
With a smile on his lips, Alex accepted Lena's offer without hesitation. The afternoon sun filtered through the sparse clouds, giving their steps a golden glow. Together, they enter the most mysterious corner of the City of Hope, the "Earth Relic Museum", where the secrets and glories of the past world are hidden.
One step into that heavy stone door, as if through the cracks of time and space, came to another era. Inside the museum, it is dark and solemn, and the light shines gently through the special glass Windows on each exhibit. The broken clay pot edges, as if there are still traces of the fingerprints of ancient craftsmen; The whispers of history can be seen faintly between the pages of damaged ancient books; And those statues that have gone through the wind and frost, their eyes across the thousand years, quietly watching every traveler who steps into this place, telling the story of those who have been covered by the years.
"Look, this statue," Lina whispered, her fingertips running gently over its cold surface. "Every line of it speaks of an unyielding nature, as if it were a story of an unfinished battle."
Alex's eyes moved as Lina guided him, and a strange excitement filled his heart. These still relics seem to come alive in his eyes, every fragment, every crack is silently telling of courage and sacrifice, tragedy and glory. It was as if he could hear the ancient drums ringing in his ears and see the heroic figure of the warriors charging into battle.
"It's not just a museum," Lina continued, her voice tinged with awe. "It's a bridge between the past and the future, a glimpse into civilizations that have disappeared, a sense of shock that transcends time and space."
Alex nodded gently, his eyes shining like never before, an emotion deeply touched by ancient history. He looked around him, and the silent guardians, the exhibits, in the dim yellow light, seemed to be brought to life, and in an ancient and solemn way, were engaged in a dialogue with him across time and space. The air is filled with an indescribable breath, it is the thick and vicissitudes of time precipitation, people can not help but slow down the breathing, for fear of disturbing the quiet.
Lina stood beside him, her hands folded gently in front of her, her eyes shining with the same awe and longing for the past. "Do you feel that these ruins are not just made of stone and metal, they are more like the whispers of time, telling stories long forgotten?" she said softly.
Alex took a deep breath, as if he wanted to take this ancient breath into his chest and resonate with it. "Yes, I can feel it. They are not only exhibits, but also witnesses of history, every crack, every fragment, telling the glory and suffering of that era."
The two men continued to stroll through the long gallery of the museum, each step unusually heavy, as if each step was stepping in the vein of history. The surrounding exhibits seem to come alive, surrounding them, forming a vivid scene: an ancient battlefield, a bustling city, a quiet countryside... These scenes were woven into a magnificent picture in Alex's mind, making him feel as if he had experienced those distant years.
Suddenly, Alex's eyes were drawn to one of the exhibits -- a seemingly ordinary stone slab with some vague symbols carved on it. When he looked closer, he saw that the symbols were strikingly similar to some of the patterns he remembered in his parents' notes! "Lena, look at this! His voice trembled slightly as he pointed excitedly at the SLATE.
Lina immediately leaned over and studied the symbols on the SLATE. "This is... It's really like the old script your parents studied!" Her eyes also flashed a hint of excitement, "Can it be said that this is really the clue they left?"
They looked at each other in disbelief and anticipation. They knew that this clue might be the key to their search for their parents for years. At this moment, time seems to have really solidified, leaving them and this SLATE, as well as those silent guardians, jointly guarding this precious memory and hope.
Alex's eyes were like those of a cheetah, locked to the ancient stone slab. The surface of the stone slabs is covered with strange and unfamiliar symbols, which seem to whisper ancient secrets and attract deep investigation. A vague throbbing in his heart, this SLATE, seems to have an indescribable call to him.
He slowly stepped forward, each step seemed to tread on the dust of the years, making a slight rustling sound. The tips of his fingers quivered. Finally, unable to resist the temptation, Alex gently touched a sunken symbol on the SLATE.
At that moment, the world seemed to be distorted by invisible forces, and everything before it became hazy and distorted, as if it were shrouded in fog. Then a low, ancient whisper came in his ear, a sound that crossed the boundary of time and space, struck deep into the soul, and made Alex shiver.
"This is... What is it?" He whispered to himself, feeling a shock and uneasiness he had never felt before. Suddenly, he was like being hot to pull back his hand, the scene in front of him gradually clear, but the strange feeling from the SLATE, but like a brand deeply engraved in his heart, for a long time.
'Do you feel it, Alex? A deep, magnetic voice suddenly sounded in my ears, breaking the silence around me. Alex turned abruptly and saw a mysterious man in a cloak standing nearby, his eyes deep, as if he could see everything.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Alex asked warily, with a surge of foreboding.
The mysterious man smiled and did not answer directly, but slowly extended his hand and pointed to the SLATE: "The doubts in your heart may be able to find the answer here." But remember, every path comes with risk, and the choices you make will determine your destiny."
As the mysterious man's words fell, a gust of wind blew through, picking up layers of sand and obscuring the view. When all was quiet again, the mysterious man had disappeared, leaving Alex and the unknown SLATE facing each other.
At this moment, Alex knows that the wheel of his destiny has quietly turned, an unknown adventure is waiting for him to uncover its mystery.
"What's the matter with you? Lina patted Alex on the shoulder from behind and asked him with concern when he looked pale.
"Nothing..." Alex tried to calm himself. "It was just a strange feeling that this SLATE was talking to me."
Lena smiled. "You're too tired. Don't let these old things frighten you."
However, Alex knew in his heart that this was no illusion. He had a sneaking sense that all this had something to do with his family's past. He, on the other hand, still knows very little about all this.
Back home, Alex is still upset. After dinner, he went alone to the family study in the basement. The study is full of traces of his parents, with shelves filled with their notes, research tools and ancient objects. Alex took out an old oil lamp, lit it, and looked through the notes his parents had left.
As he opened an old notebook, a few pages of paper from the book suddenly fell out. It was a battered map and a few lines of text written in code. These were things Alex had never seen before, and they clearly held some secret. He was suddenly filled with curiosity, as if all the puzzles were waiting for him to solve.
"What is this..." Alex muttered, running his finger gently over the blurred lines on the map.
Suddenly he remembered the SLATE he had seen in the museum today. The symbols on it were strangely similar to some of the symbols on the map. Alex's heart beat faster, and the disappearance of his parents seemed to have something to do with it.
He knew he was about to embark on a new journey, a journey full of unknown and danger. The end on the map may be the secret his family has guarded for years - and the beginning of his destiny.