Ice Age Apocalypse: I've Stockpiled Billions of Resources

Drones hovered overhead, attempting to scan the interior of the building.

“No,” Chen Shuang’s voice came through. “The scanning beam is completely blocked. The building’s materials can absorb all detection signals. It’s a black box inside.”

“Let’s go in and take a look.” Natasha turned to Lin Luo, her eyes gleaming with the light of an explorer. “Information outside is limited; we can’t tell much just by looking at it from the outside. Besides, this building is so well preserved, the things inside must be even more complete.”

Lin Luo pondered for a moment.

While unknown risks certainly exist, on this resource-scarce Mars, the adage "fortune favors the bold" holds true forever.

Even if only a chair remains inside a building that has stood for tens of millions of years, taking it back for research could be a priceless treasure.

“Okay.” Lin Luo nodded, released the safety of the rifle, and adjusted it to fire. “Chen Shuang, you guys stay in the car and be ready to provide support at any time. If we lose contact inside for more than half an hour, don’t come in to look for us, just drive away.”

"Lin Luo!" Chen Shuang said anxiously.

"Execute the order." Lin Luo's voice left no room for argument.

"...Yes. Be careful."

Lin Luo took a deep breath; the unique ionized air invigorated him.

"Walk."

He made a gesture, and Natasha immediately slipped in, with Lin Luo following closely behind.

The moment the two stepped into the triangular entrance, a soft blue light suddenly illuminated the previously dark passage.

This isn't light; the wall itself is emitting light.

The sensation underfoot was very peculiar; it was neither as cold as metal nor as hard as rock, but rather had a slight elasticity, like stepping on some kind of high-density rubber.

“This is motion-activated lighting,” Lin Luo said in a low voice. “The energy system is still operating. For tens of millions of years… What kind of energy source can operate continuously for tens of millions of years?”

"Nuclear fusion? Or antimatter?" Natasha guessed.

"Anything is possible, it could even be drawing energy directly from the Earth's core or cosmic rays."

The passage wasn't long; after walking about twenty meters, the view suddenly opened up ahead.

This is a huge circular hall.

In the center of the hall, a huge holographic projection sphere floats.

Yes, it's floating.

Without any support, the blue sphere of light, about five meters in diameter, floated silently in mid-air, its surface swirling with countless complex data streams and images.

Around the hall, rows of silver metal capsules resembling hibernation pods were neatly arranged.

“Those are…” Natasha pointed at the metal capsules, her voice trembling slightly, “coffins?”

Lin Luo walked quickly over to the nearest metal compartment.

The hatch is transparent, and although it was covered by a thin layer of fog, the situation inside was still clearly visible.

There was a creature lying inside.

The creature was about two meters tall, with light purple skin, long limbs, and a huge skull.

Its eyes were closed, and its expression was peaceful, as if it were asleep.

Most importantly, its chest... was still rising and falling slightly!

"Alive?!"

Lin Luo felt a chill run down his spine, and a cold sensation shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

Millions of years have passed, and this city has been reduced to ruins, yet there are still living Martians inside this building?!

“Something’s not right.” Lin Luo quickly calmed down. He pressed his face close to the hatch and observed carefully. “The undulations are very mechanical, and the frequency is too low, only once a minute. This should be a state of deep hibernation, or some kind of life support system maintaining the minimum physiological functions.”

“Lin Luo, there are a hundred cabins here.” Natasha quickly counted them. “If they all survive…”

“Then we’ve stumbled into a sleeping temple.” Lin Luo’s expression was extremely solemn.

If these one hundred Martians were to awaken and possess such advanced technology, would they be a blessing or a curse for humanity today?

Just then, the floating sphere of light in the center of the hall suddenly emitted a soft hum.

The data flow that was flowing suddenly stopped, and then the sphere of light began to rotate, and a blue beam of light swept directly towards Lin Luo and Natasha.

"Take cover!" Lin Luo shouted, pulling Natasha to hide behind a nearby pillar.

But the beam of light was not aggressive; it simply scanned the two of them quickly.

Immediately afterwards, a mechanical, cold voice appeared, directly resonating in their minds.

This sound is not a sound wave that travels through the air, but a direct transmission of some kind of mental waveband, capable of transcending language barriers and allowing them to directly understand its meaning.

Carbon-based life forms detected...

[Gene sequence alignment in progress...]

No citizen ID found...

[Determination: Primitive intelligent species.]

[Alarm lifted. Welcome to the "Spark" Archives, visitor from a lowly civilization.]

Lin Luo and Natasha exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Visitors from a less civilized society.

Although the name is unpleasant, it also confirms that this is an archive, a "legacy" left by Martian civilization.

“Since it’s an archive, there must be records of what happened back then.” Lin Luo looked at the sphere of light. “Natasha, keep watch around and don’t touch those hibernation pods. I’ll go check out that sphere.”

Lin Luo cautiously walked towards the center of the hall.

As he approached, the sphere of light seemed to sense his intention and projected a huge holographic image.

The image shows a vibrant, living planet.

That was Mars a long time ago.

There are blue oceans, green forests, magnificent floating cities, and countless aircraft shuttling between heaven and earth.

This was the peak of Martian civilization.

The scene shifts, and the sky changes color.

It wasn't because of war, nor because of a meteorite.

It is the sun.

Suddenly, the sun in the scene burst forth with an eerie dark red light, and an indescribable energy storm swept across the entire solar system.

The Martian atmosphere was stripped away in an instant, the oceans evaporated, and the surface instantly turned into a hellish landscape.

“So that’s how it is…” Lin Luo murmured to himself, “It was an uncontrollable force of nature. The sun’s unusual activity destroyed them.”

The scene continued to change.

The Martians did not sit idly by. They built massive underground cities, constructed these immortal archives, and sent a portion of their elite forces into hibernation pods, awaiting the planet's environmental revival.

Meanwhile, the scene shows massive interstellar spaceships desperately plunging into deep space in an attempt to find a new home.

One of the spaceships was clearly heading towards Earth.

“That’s…” Natasha was also stunned. “The origin of life on Earth, could it be related to them?”

Lin Luo shook his head: "The timeline doesn't match. Tens of millions of years ago, Earth was still in the age of dinosaurs or when mammals were just emerging. Their spaceship arrived on Earth, perhaps it had an impact, or perhaps it had already crashed."

However, the value of this video footage is immeasurable.