midsummer.
In the afternoon.
A prosperous area in a certain colonial city.
The traffic flow on the surface is surging, and drivers follow the physical traffic lights or holographic signs to shuttle between blocks.
There are also airships of different specifications and purposes in the air channel, traveling in an orderly manner...
It should be said that the vast majority abide by the order.
For example, there is now a purple matte paint, streamlined, two-door, four-seater airship that is driving illegally at an extremely fast speed in an area outside the waterway.
The driver who controlled this airship was irresponsible for his own safety, but also seriously endangered the safety of other drivers and even the citizens of the area.
The driver may have mental problems, but the most likely possibility is "drunk driving."
However, before the driver could continue his "drunk driving", two airships from the local public security department quickly approached, attacked, and then spread out their positions, causing the space to slightly distort and looming, forcing the purple airship to slow down.
In the end, the sheriffs took the suspected drunk driver and his car directly into the area, climbed to the dedicated channel, and then drove towards the Sheriff's Department, preparing to conduct a "friendly" interview with the driver.
And below this area.
On the sky corridor for pedestrians to cross the street, there was a group of young high school boys, who looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, all wearing short-sleeved shorts.
One of them, a boy with a muscular build among his peers and a crew cut, raised his head and witnessed the scene of the police officer subduing the "drunk driving" driver. He couldn't hold back his temper and said unhappily to his classmates:
"Tsk, it's almost 2090. How come such guys who threaten social stability still exist? They should all be severely punished. If drunk driving is shot, I'm sure no one will dare to hit the road after drinking!"
"Hey! Tom, your thoughts are a bit dangerous." A classmate shrugged and said, "Besides, things are unpredictable, how can you absolutely guarantee that no one will dare to continue drinking and driving?"
"That's right. With your radical attitude, I think it's hard for you to become the Astartes you've always dreamed of." Another student nodded.
"Go." The boy named Tom waved his hands in disgust, but he didn't refute anything and continued toward the end of the corridor, saying angrily:
"Just pretend that I didn't say anything just now, that's all."
"Don't be so sulky, I'll give you an orange outfit later, what do you think?"
"Huh? Which one?"
"It's a trench coat from the Witcher series..."
After a short interlude, this group of high school students left the sky corridor and came to the bustling commercial street opposite, heading towards their destination.
During this period.
The holographic images on both sides of the commercial street play advertising clips for different products, and at the main entrance of large shopping malls, clips and trailers of popular or upcoming movies are also played.
From the images that can be seen everywhere on the commercial street, you can know that this colony was called "Kogler", and the local time was June 25, 2089.
2089…
Three Earth years have passed since the border sector incident caused by the fallen goddess Pallas Athena, and its impact has been minimized. The Marr Galaxy has long been included in human territory.
The Marr people, whose face and body shape are very similar to humans, really caused a stir in society when they announced three years ago that they would become humans' "allies" and were about to be integrated into the human system.
But it only lasted for a while.
In fact, humans have long been accustomed to such events, and are even prepared for more and more friendly races to gradually be integrated into human life and systems.
What is worthy of discussion among netizens and people is the appearance of the Marr people and their psychic talents.
Thanks to Umbrella's openness and the White Queen's secret guidance and dissemination, "psionic energy" and "abnormal phenomena" have also emerged into the public eye in just three years.
The term psyker has changed from unfamiliar to familiar and commonplace. Some netizens even bluntly asked whether psionic power is a "special power".
At first, many opportunists and criminals used the gimmick of "psionic energy" to commit fraud and make money.
However, as hospitals in various places have gradually disclosed physical examination items to identify psychic levels, and after official intervention, opportunists and criminals have either been imprisoned or "whistle-down" and can no longer thrive.
As for "abnormal phenomena"...
To be honest, for humans who have fully entered the era of interstellar colonization, everything officially announced openly and secretly is just a "small scene" and something to talk about after dinner.
Of course, Umbrella did not disclose high-risk abnormal phenomena that would distort common sense and make people feel creepy, so it did not cause much shock to society.
The commercial street at the moment.
It happened that an advertisement for Umbrella cosmetics was playing, and its spokesperson model was a Marr woman whose ears were different from those of humans, but her face and figure were in line with human aesthetics.
After the passing high school students saw this advertisement, a shorter boy said with emotion: "It would be great to have a wife who is like an elf."
? ? ?
As soon as these words came out, all the partners were immediately "alert", and they all turned to look at the boy who had just sighed with a look like "there is something wrong with you."
then.
A classmate took over the conversation and said: "If you go to the border star area 600 light years away, if you are lucky, you might be able to meet an "Elven Grandma". According to the Internet, the age at which their family matures, converted to us humans, is 270." to 275 years old.”
The boy named Tom made a gesture of cupping his fists and gritted his teeth and echoed: "I don't care whether the humanoid aliens are beautiful or ugly. As long as they are hostile to humans, I should feed them a few bullets."
"Okay, everyone." A tall boy walking at the front stopped, turned around and said loudly to his friends:
"Calm down for a moment, what we have to consider now is how to pass the dungeon! Take advantage of today's double experience and rewards, so cheer up!"
"Oh~!" A group of high school students were in high spirits.
While turning their attention back to the game, they also walked into an "Internet cafe" called Boya.
The Internet cafe industry has not been ruthlessly eliminated due to the rapid development of technology. On the contrary, it has remained full of vitality to this day.
Especially for students who like to form groups and have fun during winter and summer vacations.
However, today’s Internet cafes are quite different from those in the past…
The decoration inside the Internet cafe is neat and bright. There are no excited or angry roars, and there is no computer. Instead, the computers are replaced by rows of "single rooms" close together.
The boss sitting at the front desk next to the door saw a group of young high school students walking into his store. He knocked on the countertop with his right hand and said lazily:
"Come here and scan it."
Hear the words.
The high school students also immediately stopped talking and quickly walked to the front desk. They placed their hands on the front desk like a black flat-panel scanning device.
Soon, the boss saw the holographic screen displaying the gender, age, and name information of these high school students.
After confirming that everyone was over 16 years old, the boss asked a group of high school students: "How long will we play?"
"Four hours." The tall boy answered first.
"right."
"That's right."
Other students responded one after another.
After learning the specific time, the boss directly used the biometric information to complete the deduction, and then reminded: "Okay, you can choose the seat you want, but you can't change it halfway, don't forget it."
"Thank you boss!"
Seeing that the procedures were successfully completed, the high school students thanked the boss and immediately began to select the "single room" with the green light above.
Open the sliding door.
What comes into view is an immersive virtual reality suite with mid-range configuration currently on the market.
There is a treadmill-like platform under your feet, and a helmet placed on top. There are also physical "handles" like rifles, pistols, rocket launchers, and giant swords hanging on the left and right.
Moreover, the helmet of this suit will stimulate the scalp nerves to simulate various touch sensations in the "virtual world". There is no problem with safety, but the operator can also choose to turn off this function.
If it is the highest-configuration suit on the market, it will have a "simulation suit" that is close to the skin, achieving an absolutely immersive experience.
Of course, the price is also far away from ordinary people. Even the mid-range configuration in front of us is not a "toy" that ordinary high school students can afford, and ordinary parents will not use this kind of virtual suit to pamper and spoil their children. .
Therefore, Internet cafes are their best choice.
Moreover, if they are over 16 years old, they are legal and compliant within the rules specified by UEG, but there is a time limit, which cannot exceed four hours.
It didn't take long for all the high school students to choose their respective seats.
After closing the sliding door, Tom walked onto a platform similar to a treadmill, fastened the fixed belt and safety belt, took off the helmet and adjusted the tightness, then used the holographic screen that automatically appeared in front of him to select the game, put on the helmet, and prepared to go to the appointment. Good location to meet up with friends.
only…
As soon as the helmet screen lit up, it quickly returned to dimness, and through the reflection of the mirror, Tom could clearly see his dazed face.
crashed?
It shouldn't be...
Doubtful, he took off his helmet and was about to untie the fixed belt and seat belt when a sudden "boom!" sound echoed around him, and the ground shook violently uncontrollably.
? ? ! !
"This is...ah!!"
Before he could shout, "What's going on here!", he screamed uncontrollably due to the strong feeling of falling and the collapse of the ground.
Outside the single room…
In other words, the outside of the Internet cafe and even the short shop building where the Internet cafe is located are rapidly collapsing downwards. Almost instantly, the entire building has "disappeared".
The billowing smoke caused by the collapse blew into all directions.
! !
This sudden change made people walking and strolling on the street confused about the situation for a while, and instinctively fled from the collapsed area and thick smoke.
However, there are always brave and enthusiastic people. Even though they have witnessed the entire collapse process, they still ignore the obstruction of the thick smoke, raise their hands to cover their mouths and noses, "swim upstream" and rush to the collapse area in the opposite direction.
Wait until the smoke gradually dissipates.
Enthusiastic people standing on the edge of the collapsed area looked down and saw that underground systems such as subways and sewage channels were also severely damaged.
What caused all this was not geological movement or some kind of man-made accident. At the bottom of the collapse area, there was a whirlpool entrance that looked like a warship or ship sailing into the fault space, and emitted a faint blue light.
The diameter is estimated to be approximately thirty meters.
Vortex entrance?
How can this help?
A group of enthusiastic people looked at each other.
At this moment, two security airships patrolling nearby responded to the order from the main station and rushed directly to the sky above this neighborhood.
Descend to the open area.
Four police officers equipped with mechanical skeletons and protective gear immediately left the airship and dispersed the crowd that gradually gathered to watch.
One of the police officers walked to the edge of the collapsed area and used the external sound function of his helmet to loudly remind the enthusiastic people to stay away from here as soon as possible. When he also walked to the edge to look down at the situation, he was also surprised and sighed involuntarily:
"my God…"
Subsequently, the sheriff immediately opened the communication channel: "Head office, this is ke22379 who responded to the collapse of the 116th Commercial Street in District 09 of the city. They are uploading the scene situation and applying for more professional people to assist in handling the incident. .”
"Understood." The communication also immediately sent a response from a female operator: "More police officers are rushing to the collapse site. Please stabilize the situation on site and evacuate the people first."
"ke22379 received."
Next, more and more airships from the Sheriff's Department, Fire Department and Trauma Response Team arrived in the neighborhood.
Sheriff's officers set up isolation zones and trauma teams treated some people who were injured due to panic, but firefighters were unable to directly carry out rescue operations.
After the collapse accident, within five minutes, a large transport boat painted black with red and white umbrella logos printed on its sides and belly, escorted by two intra-atmospheric assault boats, appeared in the sky above. .
lower the altitude.
Before it touched the ground, the assault boat opened the hatches on both sides and unloaded more than twenty "soldiers" wearing special power armor and holding customized laser rifles and rushed to the edge of the collapse area.
Immediately afterwards, two assault boats quickly took off and began to circle on guard.
The large transport boat is completely moored to the ground, and the tail and side hatches are lowered to allow a large number of technicians holding silver equipment boxes and several people dressed in suits and sunglasses to leave the cabin.
At this time, the "soldiers" had taken over the blockade of the edge of the collapse from the somewhat confused police officers, allowing technicians to analyze and investigate the "whirlpool" at the bottom.
The few people in suits and sunglasses walked straight to the temporary command center established by the Sheriff. The first one took out a chip-shaped exclusive mobile phone from the inner pocket of his suit, showed his identity information to a Sheriff's sergeant, and said coldly:
"Umbrella's Emergency Response Department has taken full authority to take over this incident. Sergeant, ask your people to stay away from the collapse area and help us seal it to prevent people from accidentally entering this area."
"Emergency Emergency Department..." After the sergeant confirmed the identity of the man in the suit through the holographic glasses he was wearing, he no longer had any doubts, and then nodded and replied:
"Okay, then I'll leave it to you experts."
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