Chapter 01: #1 - Chapter 1: The courier has arrived, activating the space station
Outside the Earth's atmosphere, countless pieces of space debris drifted.
No one had noticed that mixed in with it was a miniature space station, roughly 1 meter in diameter.
This miniature space station, consisting of two modules, had been drifting in space for 230 million years.
On this day, the space station's indicator lights illuminated, and the equipment inside began to function.
And the story of this book begins after this space station was activated.
… …
July 1, 2054 AD.
Earth, China, Binjiang City.
Binjiang Hospital, Intensive Care Unit floor.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
"Seal off the entire floor! No one is allowed to enter or leave!"
A group of people wearing white protective suits were running in the corridor. Two people were assigned to guard each room door, quickly taking their positions.
Those in the wards who wanted to come out were all blocked from leaving.
Another person, holding a megaphone, stood in the corridor, loudly issuing orders.
… …
Binjiang City, a certain residential complex.
"Hello, delivery."
"Delivery?" Dongfang Chen thought for a moment, it didn't seem like he had bought anything recently.
He looked at the delivery slip, and it did indeed have his name on it.
"Whoa!" He lifted the package; it felt quite heavy.
The package was a large cardboard box, and judging from the appearance, it was very likely a computer host.
He carried the cardboard box into the living room and found a box cutter to open it.
The contents were very well packaged, surrounded by thick foam boards.
He turned the cardboard box over, opening facing down, and lifted it up.
He removed the foam packaging.
Inside was indeed a computer host.
This computer host looked a size larger than a typical home computer.
The materials used were very solid, and the workmanship was also good.
However, he didn't buy this computer host, yet he was the recipient, which was a bit strange.
"Who exactly sent this?" Dongfang Chen looked at the computer host, lost in thought.
"Hello, delivery!"
Another delivery.
Dongfang Chen opened the door and saw the deliveryman panting as he carried a very large box.
He hurriedly made way, allowing the deliveryman to come straight in.
The deliveryman put down the box, told him that someone would come to install it later, asked him to wait patiently, and then turned and left.
He looked at the recipient information; it was still him.
"What's going on?" Dongfang Chen couldn't understand.
The product name was printed on the outer packaging; it was a 70-inch touch screen monitor.
He sat down on the sofa, trying hard to remember, but he had no clue.
He had no family; his only grandmother had passed away many years ago. He hadn't been in contact with his relatives for many years, so it was impossible for a relative to buy these things and send them to him.
He hadn't contacted his classmates in a long time, and it was impossible for these things to be sent to him by a classmate.
The deliveryman left after delivering the goods and didn't ask for payment on delivery.
He got up again and walked to the packaging, looking at the delivery slip.
Fortunately, the sender's information was on it.
So he picked up his phone and dialed the sender's phone number.
The other party was a technology company specializing in customizing various computer hosts.
"Hello, help me check an order, I'll read you the order number…"
"I want to ask who placed this order?"
"Yes, that's right, this phone number is mine."
"My name is Dongfang Chen."
"What? I placed the order?"
"That's all, thank you!"
Making the call was useless.
He had actually placed the order himself?
He opened his bank account to take a look, thankfully!
Balance: 16.38 yuan, not a penny more, not a penny less.
He also opened the online store to take a look, nothing in 'pending receipt,' nothing in 'completed orders' either.
"Can't figure it out!"
Before long, the installer arrived.
He took down the TV in the living room and replaced it with this touch screen monitor.
Since the installation service was a value-added service of the product, there were no additional fees, and the installer left after installing it.
He connected the computer host and connected it to the monitor, then turned it on.
The screen displayed something.
"System loading, please wait…"
"Attempting to connect to the internet, please wait…"
"Connection successful!"
"Configuring language, please wait…"
"Querying authorization, please wait…"
"Loading authorization page, please wait…"
"Authorization page loaded!"
As the last prompt ended, the screen flashed, and a huge virtual face appeared on the screen.
"Dongfang Chen, hello, I have been waiting for you here for a long time!" An electronic synthesized voice came from the screen.
Hearing this voice, Dongfang Chen felt a chill down his spine.
The more he looked, the weirder it seemed.
From beginning to end, he didn't perform any operations, but the system was able to directly connect to his home's wireless network, and the entire configuration process didn't require his participation.
That meant that the other party already knew all of his information.
"How do you know my name?" Dongfang Chen frowned and asked.
"I randomly selected 100 candidate profiles with the necessary information from databases around the world, so of course I know everyone's name," the virtual head replied.
"So, you completely understand my personal situation?" Dongfang Chen asked.
"I already understand all the information that can be found on the internet," the electronic voice replied.
"Who exactly are you?" Dongfang Chen asked.
"Sorry, to answer this question, I need to obtain authorization first," the electronic voice replied.
"How do I obtain authorization?" Dongfang Chen asked.
"The authorization interface is open, please select a suitable authorization method," the electronic voice said.
Immediately afterward, a selection box appeared on the screen. There were three authorization methods in the selection box:
Fingerprint authorization
Iris authorization (recommended)
Gene authorization (unavailable)
Dongfang Chen selected iris authorization.
"Please get closer to the camera," the electronic voice replied.
Dongfang Chen moved closer.
"Verifying, please wait…"
"Verification passed!"
"Congratulations, authorization successful!"
Immediately afterward, the screen flashed, and a line of text appeared:
"Downloading core control program, please wait patiently…"
Above the text was a large percentage: 2%.