In the early morning, Noid's coffee shop was at its busiest.
Compared to the past, his shop was now more spacious and impressive. The tables and chairs had been expanded, and the canvas awning had been replaced with a prefabricated house. Only the counter remained unchanged.
Noid couldn't help but marvel at how technology truly changes lives. The prefabricated house was a type of building assembled from composite panels like a jigsaw puzzle. It wasn't as sturdy as reinforced concrete, but the price was affordable enough to buy. Most importantly, it could block wind and snow, which the canvas awning couldn't.
It was Noid's second winter in this world. Outside, the wind and snow howled, but inside the coffee shop, it was quite cozy. Although not crowded, all the seats were full, and the sound of conversation echoed everywhere. After a year in business, he wasn't just selling coffee but had also added other drinks, so his customer base had expanded. Despite the small size of the shop, it wasn't only people from the refugee camp who came; occasionally, people from the inner city would also visit.
At that moment, he was talking to a police officer. The profession of a police officer still existed in this era. The military held the most power, but they were mainly responsible for "doom" and other extremely important matters. Maintaining public order during normal times was still the job of the police.
"Shop owner, your coffee isn't bad! Do you have a secret recipe?"
Wiping a cup in his hand, Noid smiled and replied, "Thank you, but there's no secret recipe."
This also puzzled him. Some time ago, many customers had said similar things. But Noid truly had no secret recipe or special trick; he just felt like he was getting better at it with practice.
The police officer took a big gulp of coffee but then suddenly looked downcast as if thinking of something unpleasant.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, really. It's just that the number of people suddenly going missing has been increasing lately. The police are actively investigating this. I didn't think investigating the population would be so difficult. My team has investigated several districts but only found a few clues."
A main city's area could be as large as several hundred square kilometers. The city of Rorgh, for instance, was over 700 square kilometers, accommodating a population of 30 million. Because the area was so vast, the city of Rorgh was divided into 20 districts, numbered for identification. Noid's current residence was in District 20, the closest one to the military base.
After finishing his coffee, the police officer left to continue his duty.
Noid watched the officer leave, his thoughts turning inward. The population of Rorgh was too large, and the territory was so vast that even if dozens of people went missing in a day, no one would care. When spread out across the districts, dozens of people were like a drop in the ocean, and the police couldn't manage it. This was only investigated when a large number of people went missing simultaneously, or when the disappearances were the result of a kidnapping that was witnessed and reported to the police.
Noid leaned towards the latter possibility. A large number of people going missing at the same time might not even be a matter for the police; the military would get involved to solve it.
Sasha wiped the sweat from her face, a superhuman physique and being an outstanding modified human meant that very few things could make her feel tired unless she was engaged in a prolonged battle.
Having just completed a grueling training session, Sasha sat directly on the floor, her breathing beginning to steady.
"Ms. Sasha, congratulations on completing 100% of the test. You are the only one in all of Rorgh to have done so."
A group of researchers came out. Sasha paid no attention to the praise and went straight to the point.
"So what's the deal? Why did it take over six months to pass this 'test'?"
As someone who had experienced it, Sasha knew how difficult the "test" they were talking about was. So it was no surprise that she was the only one to complete it. What she was most interested in was what all of this was preparing her for.
"I apologize, Ms. Sasha, but only those with the highest authority know. We are only responsible for the testing and escorting."
"Then lead the way."
Following the researchers down a steel corridor underground, Sasha knew this was, more accurately, the real military base. This path led directly to one of the most secure areas. Standing in front of a large, gleaming metal door, the researchers left, leaving her alone. Sasha took out her identification card and began to scan it.
The metal door opened. After she entered, it immediately closed behind her. Inside, besides a few staff members and the base commander, there was also an elderly woman.
Sasha recognized this person, which surprised her. The woman standing in front of her was one of the ten members of the Supreme Council.
The Supreme Council were the current leaders of humanity, originating from the remnants of the old world government. They held ultimate power, followed by the commanders of the military bases in each city. Modified humans had the same authority as a commander. The development of technology from the Martian civilization, the armor project, the modified human project... all were initiated by the Supreme Council.
"Thank you for coming, Ms. Sasha."
"It's my duty, ma'am."
The commander instinctively gave his seat to the woman and offered a chair to Sasha. She and the woman sat facing each other.
"Ms. Sasha, before we begin, I want to tell you a story."
Without needing a signal, the commander and the staff in the room left one by one. Only the two of them remained. Sasha realized that what she was about to hear was very important, so she listened intently.
"It all started in 2017, the first time humans set foot on Mars."
"I was a member of that crew."
"The land there... no, it should be called a pile of sand, was all that existed. Mars was terrifyingly silent. During our exploration and data collection, we ran into a terrible storm. Fortunately, we found a large cave to shelter in."
"Then we discovered the cave wasn't that simple. We memorized the location. After the storm passed, we took our exploration equipment and went deep into the cave."
"That's when the camera found a path downward. The path was truly deep; even looking through the camera, I felt like I was descending into hell."
"And it turned out to be a real path to hell."
The woman gave a mocking smile. Without waiting for Sasha to ask, she continued.
"Going very deep underground, the next image left us stunned. A giant architectural system beneath the ground. And many remnants were left behind. At that moment, I turned to look at the old scientist in our crew; I thought he had died of a heart attack."
"You must have a general idea of what happened next, right? But that's not all."
"There, besides the Martian civilization, we also found a strange-looking spaceship. It was when we were studying that thing that the old scientist was so shocked he nearly died and had to be saved with a pacemaker."
"That scientist was always boasting about himself, always showing off his intelligence to us. But the whole crew had to admit that he was one of the greatest minds in human history."
"In front of the technology of the Martian civilization, he could still show off. But when he stood before that spaceship, what did he say he felt?"
"'We are just like ants that have just learned how to build a nest, standing before the greatest achievements of humanity. This gap is not simply a difference in civilization and knowledge; it's like a difference in dimensions.'"
"Those were his exact words."