August 15, 2024, Beijing Time: 03:17.(wee hours)
The colossal launch tower at China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center stood like a silent steel giant in the night. At its apex, the Chang'e-8 lunar probe, atop a Long March 5B carrier rocket, bore a vibrant Five-star Red Flag fluttering silently in the crisp night wind. This time, China's gaze was fixed on the perpetually dark far side of the Moon, aiming directly for a region deep within the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an area marked by geologists as an "anomalous magnetic vortex." Mission code name: Pathfinder.
General Li Mingguo, the commander-in-chief, a battle-hardened soldier in his sixties with temples already streaked with white, was at the core command hall of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center. Massive electronic screens, like countless cold eyes, continuously monitored every minute detail of the rocket's data. His hands gripped the armrests of his chair, knuckles white from the strain. This was not just an ordinary lunar exploration mission; behind it lay a top-secret assignment, of which even he had only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.
The launch countdown proceeded methodically, the air seemingly solidified with an invisible pressure. Finally, with a deep rumble, the Long March 5B, like a colossal dragon breaking free from its shackles, spewed dazzling flames, piercing the night sky as it surged towards the distant Moon.
Days later, Chang'e-8 successfully entered lunar orbit and began executing complex orbital maneuvers, preparing to land in the perpetual darkness of the Moon's far side. For global space agencies, this marked another significant breakthrough for China in deep space exploration. However, only a select few knew that the true exploration had only just begun.
As the probe crossed the gravitational equilibrium point between the Moon and Earth, fully entering the embrace of lunar gravity, the images it transmitted back began to look distinctly different from previous lunar exploration missions. The rugged surface of the South Pole-Aitken Basin was revealed in sharp detail by the high-definition cameras, but near the designated landing area, a structure completely defying natural laws came into view.
It was a cluster of gigantic, jet-black, smooth stone pillars. They varied in shape; some pointed straight up like fractured blades, while others lay dormant on the lunar regolith like prostrate beasts. Their surfaces bore no impact craters or signs of erosion, as if solidified over billions of years. Even more unsettling, these pillars exhibited a twisted, non-Euclidean geometry, as if challenging humanity's understanding of three-dimensional space.
"Report, image analysis shows these structures are not natural formations," a young engineer's voice trembled noticeably.
General Li Mingguo's heart sank. He stared intently at the scenes on the screen, which seemed to originate from another universe. This confirmed the "anomaly" mentioned in the top-secret report from the highest echelons.
The probe continued its descent, targeting the central area encircled by the pillar cluster – a zone marked on lunar geological maps as having "intensely anomalous magnetic fields." As it passed through the last layer of shadow, a massive, circular platform, appearing to have been torn apart by some unimaginable force, materialized in the center of the screen. The platform's edges were jagged and covered with charred marks, as if scorched by extreme heat. And directly in the center of the platform, a bottomless rift, like a gaping maw, swallowed all light.
In the air, the probe's precise sensors detected an extremely faint energy fluctuation, unlike any known electromagnetic spectrum. It seemed to come from another dimension, carrying a chilling, soul-shattering "silence."
"Report, sensors detecting unknown energy fluctuations! Intensity is slowly increasing!"
Just then, something began to writhe in the deep darkness of the rift. It wasn't any known biological tissue, but a pure darkness, an existence like liquid shadow. They slowly extended from the bottom of the rift, twisting, and under the probe's high-intensity illumination, vaguely outlined blurry humanoid forms. These "humanoids" had no clear limbs; they were more like phantoms condensed from nothingness, yet they exuded an ancient, oppressive, suffocating "presence."
"Command! The probe has detected... anomalous life signs! Non-carbon based! Structure unidentifiable! Moving... moving towards the central rift!" The reporter's voice had completely lost its composure, filled with incredible fear.
"Immediately cease all operations, initiate ascent procedures! Full speed withdrawal!" General Li Mingguo sprang to his feet, roaring hoarsely. His mind instantly flashed with the terrifying legends buried in history and mythology.
However, it was too late.
The next second, the images transmitted by the probe suddenly became distorted, colors began to disintegrate, as if torn apart by some invisible force. In the blurry footage, the dark energy humanoid seemed to slowly raise its featureless "head," and an indescribable "light" – more a pure, heart-stopping "gaze" than light – projected from its direction. Although the camera couldn't capture it, everyone watching the screen seemed to feel the chill from the abyss.
Immediately after, all signals on the screen vanished completely, like a flag shredded by a hurricane, leaving only a despairing static.
The core command hall of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center fell into a deathly silence. Only the humming of electronic equipment, like the whispers of ghosts, echoed in the empty hall.
After a long while, General Li Mingguo's dry voice broke the silence: "Record all data... seal all image files... immediately activate the highest classification! Notify all relevant departments, the 'Nantianmen' project, from standby status, elevate to... Level One Alert!"
He knew that China's lunar journey had touched a secret far more ancient, far more terrifying than the stars and the ocean. And the uncovering of this secret might fundamentally reshape the course of human civilization.
Hundreds of kilometers away from the command center, deep within Beijing's Babaoshan, in a heavily guarded underground chamber, several elders, as if emerging from the river of history, sat around a rustic redwood round table. Before them lay a top-secret report, only a few lines long. After reading the report, everyone fell silent.
Finally, an elder dressed in a "Zhongshan suit", with a dark gold badge pinned to his chest, slowly raised his head and looked at the ancient mural hanging on the wall. In the mural, the Guanghan Palace was cold and desolate, Chang'e held a jade rabbit, gazing at the boundless universe. But upon closer inspection, her eyes held not the legendary tragic beauty, but a steadfastness and compassion transcending life and death. Her gaze pointed to a blurred shadow at the edge of the mural, entangled by ancient chains.
"It has begun..." The elder's voice was faint and hoarse, as if weathered by a thousand years, "What was meant to come, has finally arrived." There was no fear in his voice, only a profound sense of destiny spanning ten thousand years.
On the far side of the Moon, silence remained. Only the silent stone pillars still stood motionlessly in the eternal darkness, guarding the bottomless rift, and the ancient existence within the rift, which had once again fallen silent, yet was still "alive." And the countdown to their next awakening had already begun.